The United Pro Choice Smokers Rights Newsletter

Smoking: Council Can Make a Choice: The Windsor Star. At least five restaurants already claim they are going out of business because smokers are avoiding their establishments. ... Council should do the obvious and simply pass a smoking sign bylaw. Label all public establishments as either smoking or non-smoking and let people look after their own health.

Eateries Feeling Bylaw's Effects: No-Smoking Rules Hurting Business: The Windsor Star. Some city restaurants say they have lost up to 40 per cent of their business since a no-smoking bylaw came into effect on Jan. 1 and the city may begin hearing hardship appeals earlier than planned.

*** Sweet Smelling Danger? By Charles Downey. When Cathy Flanders, 41, of Plano, Texas, started burning candles for their pleasant smell in the spring of 1997, it never occurred to her she could be poisoning her family. ….. "The lead deposits in our home are such that we could not sell the house if we wanted to," says Flanders. As for the candles, the doctor ordered a total ban. Testing revealed the lead level in the Flanders' home to be 40 milligrams per square foot -- 27 times the limit allowed in Housing and Urban Development homes.

*** Fat Tax: National Post. If butter and cheese are more expensive, Mr. Marshall reasons, they will be consumed in smaller quantities. He hopes the happy result of his fat tax will be that the number of people who must be treated for severe heart disease falls.

*** Masks Filter Jetliner Germs: Thirdage. Air travel has made it easier for people to get around the world in a hurry, but it's done the same for germs: They spread quicker than ever. The British Aviation Health Institute recommends that you don surgical masks to protect against bacteria floating around aircraft cabins.

CALIFORNIANS: REMINDER!

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CANADA: National Post
Re: Disease Images Take Aim At 'National Evil
Allan Rock's campaign to label a legal product with dire heath warnings is right on the ball. I hope he will not stop with cigarettes. There are thousands of harmful products out there that should carry warning labels courtesy of a nanny state. For example:
Potato chips -- A full frontal picture of a clinically obese politician (not Liberal) with the warning: Keep eating these and you'll soon look like him (or her).
Pianos -- A picture of a morose Glenn Gould hunched over the keyboard. Warning: Excessive practicing on this device could make you very reclusive and bring out possible homosexual tendencies.
I could go on on but you get the idea. Maybe the National Post could have a contest inviting readers to suggest others. First prize would be a collector's set of Allan Rock's speeches.
Don Cumming, East Pennant, N.S.

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CANADA: Smoking Guns
By Landon Kleis
Toronto -- Now that the government has pulled out all the stops in its hypocritical propaganda war against tobacco addiction, I think it's only fair that the cigarette companies fight back on behalf of all citizens. Namely, they should wage a campaign to rid the government of its unhealthy addiction to high taxes. May I suggest a sneering portrait of Sheila Copps or Paul Martin, with messages such as: "Warning, taxes comprise more than 40 per cent of the price of this product," "Taxes fatten your government" and "Increasing government regulation can kill your economy."
Put that in your revenue and smoke it.

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Apples And Lungs
An apple a day keeps breathing problems away. British researchers say that eating at least five apples a week could help you breathe easier. In a study published in the journal Thorax, the researchers looked at medical records of 2,500 Welsh men aged 45-59. The men had been followed by other scientists for five years and questioned about their eating habits. They also had their lung capacity evaluated using a forced expiratory volume (FEV) test, which measures how much air someone can exhale in a second. After taking into account factors such as smoking, exercise, total diet and socioeconomic class, the researchers still found that the men who reported eating apples exhaled 138 milliliters more air per second than men the same age and height who did not eat apples. The researchers could not say exactly why apple eating would lead to stronger lung function, although it could be because apples contain antioxidants, which have been linked to better lung function. The researchers also found a link between vitamin E and improved lung function, although it was not as strong as the link between apples and lung function, The Associated Press reports.