The Long Nightmare Is Over: Tacoma Bans Smoking in Public Parks
Double shots of espresso. Emotional repression. A bygone, but defining epoch in popular music. And a weakness for unconstitutional public safety measures. These are just a few of the things that this here burg is known for. But here comes the upstart Tacoma, stepping into the futile gesture game with a recently passed ban on smoking in all public parks. 
Little Mike often wonders how his life would have turned out had the ban been approved a month earlier
By a count of 6-3, the Tacoma city council passed an ordinance on Wednesday that makes smoking in any of the city's public parks a misdemeanor offense. The justifications (supplied by the ordinance's supporters): smoking is bad for you, promoting overall healthy living is good, etc. In other news, water is wet.
So, what is this really about? Take it away Connie Ladenburg.
Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg noted that her 11-year-old grandson has such severe asthma, he cannot enjoy parks when any cigarette smoke is present. Without such a law, she said, her grandson and other nonsmokers will remain vulnerable to secondhand smoke effects imposed upon them by smokers."He doesn't have a choice to breathe, but smokers have a choice if they smoke or not," she said.
All due respect to Ms. Ladenburg's asthmatic grandson, but how is his condition a compelling reason for infringing upon the right of smokers to partake of an otherwise legal product?
Setting aside the fact that definitive evidence that smoking is any more harmful in outdoor environments than the toxins we breathe in daily as a matter of course doesn't exist, and that Tacoma police have no plans to actually enforce the law, the "it's for the children" justication is just a shelter for the ban's supporters who apparently aren't creative enough to come up with a solution both smokers and concerned parents can be content with.
Of course, earning cheap points among the constituents by way of knee-jerk reactions is half of all politics, and we won't begrudge anyone that. Still, it's not like the Tacoma City Council doesn't have a host of more important issues to attend to.
24 comment(s)
Jay says:
As someone who has asthma, I'm totally down for a cigarette ban. They should allow pot smoking and beer drinking in parks though.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 5:54PM
Youvebeenhad says:
In 1998 the World Health Organization completed one of the largest international case-control studies of secondary smoke and lung cancer ever undertaken. When the report was finished however it didn't get the usual big flashy press release and news conference most of these reports do. Instead it was up to a UK Telegraph reporter, Victoria MacDonald, to uncover what it had found and publicize it.
This huge study, the one that had been counted on to deliver a final condemnation of secondary smoke's connection to lung cancer instead found NO significant connection for adults. And when it looked at children the news for Antismokers was even worse: the one, single, significant result of the entire study was that children of smokers eventually got 22% *LESS* lung cancer than children of nonsmokers!
The WHO was not happy with the results of its study being released in that way so they immediately turned around and issued a big bold headlined press release declaring 'PASSIVE SMOKING DOES CAUSE LUNG CANCER, DO NOT LET THEM FOOL YOU', " despite the fact that their own study was not even able to find minimally significant support for such a claim.
The abstract, some analysis, and the link to the full study for your own examination can be found through the courtesies of Michael McFadden and Audrey Silk at the NY Clash site at the bottom of:
http://www.nycclash.com/Philly.html#ETSTable
So take one thing from the WHO's antismoking press release as fact: "DO NOT LET THEM FOOL YOU!" Their actual study did NOT support smoking bans!
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 6:10PM
Youvebeenhad says:
I couldn't help but notice you have a small child smoking in the photo next to the article. Shame on you for using the children to promote your deceitful propaganda.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 6:14PM
Hitlersalutesyou says:
Ah Connie Ladenburg,,,
All propaganda has to be popular and has to accommodate itself to the comprehension of the least intelligent of those whom it seeks to reach.
Adolf Hitler
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 7:53PM
marbee says:
Tobacco control organizations like the Amer. Cancer Society, ASH, Tobacco Free Kids, etc. are now Perception Management firms and paid by big pharma to create "truth". Created truth is controllable using select information involving falsehood and deception. Smoke and mirrors to get people to believe what they? want the "truth" to be. Wars can be created using PM! It requires absolutely no courage to support a popular position, even if completely wrong or illegal.
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 8:55PM
marbee says:
I listened to a local judge recently who spoke of his fear for this country and the lack of respect for the U.S. Constitution and freedom. Shame on you Tacoma! You are complicit!
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 8:58PM
marbee says:
This propoganda has obviously caused widespread psychosomatic mental disturbances. They have treatments for that. Perhaps these people should look into it!
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 9:03PM
marbee says:
If the paranoid threat from smoke were real we certainly wouldn't have any firefighters, or meat-smokers, or wood heater manufacturers, or bar-b-que eateries, or .... and the list goes on! Get real people! How can anyone believe this second hand smoke propoganda? Those creating it could convince you the world is once again flat. How on earth did people survive to this point when they had to use fire to live! Get real Tacoma!
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 9:04PM
marbee says:
The last time a cure was found for a disease was 1959. Jonas Salk developed the vaccine for polio. Since that time, hundreds of millions of dollars has been thrown around by the ACS and the other tax exempt cartels not to fight disease, but to demonize smokers, because cures would put big pharma out of business. It’s time to shut these anything but non-profits down and get back to finding cures!
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 9:07PM
Anonymous says:
While I certainly feel badly for the Councilwoman's grandson, most people with asthma face far more difficulty in parks than would be gotten from any rare and fleeting exposures to highly diluted smoke. It is hard not to feel that she's "playing the helpless children" card with her statement.
While there's never been a study done (who would fund it?) to determine how much of asthmatic reactions to tobacco smoke among young people may be due to parent-transmitted panics caused by antismoking campaigns it's likely that there's a significant portion out there. Of course I can't say anything about any individual case, but I've seen "The Children" card played SO often over the years by antismoking lobbyists that any use of it has to be seen as immediately suspect.
Vernal Coleman is 100% correct: the ban is just a way of earning cheap points: after all, who is going to vote for Evil Big Tobacco and against The Innocent Children?
Michael J. McFadden
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers' Brains"
Posted On: Friday, Oct. 23 2009 @ 10:25PM
Vince says:
This edict comes at the same time that a Canadian Federal Court ruled against similar bans.The judge stated the smoking ban "simply goes too far."
As for Councilwoman Ladenburg's apparently asthmatic grandson,is she sure that he actually has asthma? A recent study found that one third of "asthma" cases have been misdiagnosed. Apparently she is not aware that another study found that children of smokers have lower incidence rates of asthma.It is a common ploy of ban supporters to use diseases like asthma,with no known cause,as an excuse to have needless smoking bans.Smoke,that is any smoke,is not a cause of asthma,it is merely one of 20,000 plus suspected triggers.The main triggers are still pollen and pet dander.Humidity is also well up there.If you are looking to prevent asthma then stop doctors from prescribing anti-histamines and anti-biotics to children as these are thought to be the main causes.
If Councilwoman Ladenburg is supposedly so concerned with her grandson's health,why does she even want him to go outside,let alone in a park? She is exposing him to many "harmful" things.By him going outside,he is also increasing his chances of developing skin cancer.By the way,smokers have a lower incidence rate of this. Assuming the child would be driven to the park because he is so sick,he now would be in "great peril".Children were found to be a "major" cause of auto accidents.Auto accidents are also the leading cause of accidental deaths to children.Using her logic,the only "safe" place for him would be in a bubble.
By what right,or concept of rights,does Councilwoman Ladenburg et al have to set conditions for her relative to enjoy parks or wherever at the exclusion of others? This appears to be nepotism and an abuse of power.
As Vernal stated,"Setting aside the fact that definitive evidence that smoking is any more harmful in outdoor environments than the toxins we breathe in daily as a matter of course doesn't exist".Using median antismoker "death" figures,you would be about 25 times as likely to die from breathing the air than from any supposed risk from secondhand smoke.For that matter,you are far more likely to be killed by a falling coconut.Think that is silly?Apparently 150 people are killed this way each year.Just as with secondhand smoke you are not exposed to enough of either to cause any harm.It should be obvious to all,by now,that all this "smoker bashing" has absolutely nothing to do with anyone's health."Harm" from second-hand smoke is essentially a rumor,usually raised by people that simply hate smokers or those that are trying to profit by it in some way.
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 3:42AM
antismokingfraud says:
those who profit from anti smoking could just gather the brainwashed posse and burn crosses in smokers yards, that will show those humans who choose to smoke
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 4:22AM
smokedbacon says:
The smokers said First it was us they came after, who's next?
Well think about it hunters and fishermen how many hunting and fishing areas are in your state? We want to ban hunting in state parks to preserve the wildlife and make exploring the wild safe for my 2 year old! We don't want your boats stiring up the waters and making wakes, we don't want to see a animal suffer. No camp fires allowed in state parks my 1 year old has asthma and it bothers him 10 miles away!
The excuse my child has asthma is pretty down right stupid if this person is taking the child to a bar to begin with Id say shes a bit, well figure it out you go to a bar and do what?
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 3:00PM
sheila says:
Madam Councilwoman,
Tylenol has been proven to CAUSE asthma in all age group s, but especially in children from birth to one year. Since this product is marketed by Johnson and Johnson, the SAME company that markets Nicoderm, Nicorette, Nicotrol, and Chantix, and is the SAME company that finances smoking ban lobbying, it is NO surprise that the media HAS NOT made the link between Tylenol and asthma, public. J&J, with their "philanthropic" partner, the Robert WOod Johnson Foundation, have financed all clean air groups, state governments, and are know counted amoung the czars, at the White House. These paid groups DO NOT lobby to stop the selling of nicotine as that would also kill all nicotine replacement selling. FOLLOW THE MONEY!
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 3:54PM
NoTobaccoNet says:
As a smoker, instead of thinking "it won't happen here", look at what has happened across the United States. In other states (like New York State for instance) you are not allowed to smoke inside ANY public building. There are even restrictions being placed on a person's residence, if that residence happens to be in an apartment building! What can you do about it? Learn more about what you as a smoker can do to protect your freedoms, and at the same time, improve your health by using the latest technological advancements in nicotine delivery. Find out more about your options at http://www.NoTobacco.net today!
It seems that everywhere we go, there are more and more "No Smoking" zones. However, new technology allows smokers to enjoy their nicotine in a familiar form, without being subjected to No Smoking laws. NO second hand smoke! If you are a smoker, you should at least be AWARE of this technology! It could change your habit completely!
Find out more at www.NoTobacco.net !
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 6:01PM
bronze says:
Finally we'll get use of the Tacoma Police Department.
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 6:24PM
History Buff says:
I'm not that old but do remember when common sense and signs ruled. So people want to ban smoking yet they drive their autos daily putting the real cause of illnesses into the air!
I guess the foods that contain nicotine will be banned next. Say good-bye to tomato, potato, green pepper, chili's and other foods, plus all that is made from it like French Fries, Pizza, Spaghetti, and so on.
It's well known that one segment of our pharmaceutical industry is actually the force and money behind the bans - all formulated to sell their no smoke products while closing down drinking establishments (their real goal) while making big bucks and also formulating other groups. They are the funds that did the start up of Tobacco Free Kids, that costing them $84 Million to do, also being their lobby group.
Wake up people!!! All the bans if various nature in the current media ties to them and the 'cure' they offer for their own profits. It is all a gaint MARKETING SCAM!!!
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 7:17PM
marbee says:
History Buff: I agree, and those that don't like smoking have unwittingly become big pharmas spokesmen! And they don't even get paid for it! They are called Sheeple.
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 8:32PM
Vince says:
smokedbacon,your comment reminded me of this;
When the Nazis came for the communists,
I remained silent;
I was not a communist.
When they locked up the social democrats,
I remained silent;
I was not a social democrat.
When they came for the trade unionists,
I did not speak out;
I was not a trade unionist.
When they came for the Jews,
I remained silent;
I was not a Jew.
When they came for me,
there was no one left to speak out.
There are now quite a few groups that are being attacked by busy-bodies with nothing else to do but harass people.There is even an anti-tobogganing "crusade":)
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 10:00PM
Alijane says:
Busybodies? I used to think that until I started reading www.rottenacorn.com and a few other sites. There is an agenda to tax and control every facet of our lives, our personal choices to partake of any legal product, tobacco, alcoho & yes even the foods we enjoy.
It involves lots of shady character who make millions off of government, foundation and non profit charity grants.
Eventually, union members will be thrown under the bus by their leadership who care more about their perks and benfits than they do working people. The collect your dues and give to groups like ACORN to work against the membership. What a racket and then they support politicians with the union dues that no union member has any control over.
They say they are fighting to exempt union workers from health care surcharges, but as soon as they get a single payer plan, sorry boys & girls your health care will be taxed too.
Posted On: Saturday, Oct. 24 2009 @ 10:30PM
J Harris says:
My grandfather was right, "they are taking over without firing a shot!". If tobacco is sooooooo bad then BAN it completely. All I can say is, we get what we vote for. So VOTE THEM OUT!!!!
Posted On: Sunday, Oct. 25 2009 @ 9:38AM
Ed the Head says:
"He doesn't have a choice to breathe, but perfume wearers and scented soap users have a choice if they use perfume and scented soaps or not," she said.
Okay, Connie Ladenburg didn't say that, but if that's her justification for this outdoor smoking ban, then there's no reason they couldn't ban Chanel No. 5 as well. But it's for the children (!), so I guess that settles the argument right there.
Posted On: Monday, Oct. 26 2009 @ 1:58PM
Michael J. McFadden says:
Someone wrote, ""He doesn't have a choice to breathe, but perfume wearers and scented soap users have a choice if they use perfume and scented soaps or not," she said."
Actually, what's needed is a ban on fast food franchises that cook meat in forms other than boiling it. A few years ago a study was done in Los Angeles showing that roughly 40% of the carcinogenic PAH air pollution in the air came from such places. Really. I'm not kidding. To see the full article AND a short video I took of a Burger King belching smoke near Doylestown PA, visit:
http://www.smokersclubinc.com/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=4415
where they agreed to host my video and place it with an article about the study.
Do I really think such places should be banned? No. Their pollution should be treated seriously, as something roughly 100 or even 1,000 times worse than tobacco smoke, but bans are not the way to go.
Michael J. McFadden,
Author of "Dissecting Antismokers Brains"
Posted On: Monday, Oct. 26 2009 @ 8:09PM
virgilk says:
Anyone thinking a Ban in Parks is needed is a nitwit.
Posted On: Thursday, Nov. 12 2009 @ 4:33PM