The United Pro Choice Smokers Rights Newsletter

Issue # 24: 07/16/99 Brought to you by:

The Smoker's Club, Inc.

Please send your news items to: info@smokersclub.com
Read this newsletter on a web page. http://www.smokersclub.com/newsltr.htm

In this issue:
1. Take the Citizenship Test
2. Newspapers By State Listing
3. Stuff They Blame On Smoking? 4. City Sues Barkeep Who Defied Ban On Smoking
5. Tobacco Suits: I Lit Up, Now You Pay Up
6. The New Public Health - Enemy of Individual Freedom
7. Cigars Get Good Press Despite Cancer Risk
8. We Are Everyday People
9. 800 # For Local or State Law Information
1. Take the Citizenship Test: Thirdage. Being an American demands high responsibilities. If you're native-born, you'll never have to face the Immigration and Naturalization Service's test for citizenship -- but could you pass it if required to? Quiz yourself with the INS's sample test.
2. Newspapers By State Listing: Kidon Media Link. Also covers Europe, Asis, Africa, Americas, Oceania and languages.
3. Dirty Scopes Sicken Lung Patients: InfoBeat. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said the instruments, called bronchoscopes, were contaminated with bacteria because they weren't connected properly to machines that flush them with disinfectant.

Balloons Trigger Magician's Lung Disorder: New York, Reuters Health. When an accountant developed a mysterious cough and shortness of breath during exercise, with patchy areas on chest x-ray, doctors were puzzled until his hobby jumped out of a hat: the patient was also an amateur magician. He used balloons in his act - and the talc in the balloons appears to have caused his lung disease.

New Lung Disease Linked To Nylon Fibers: New York, Reuters Health Eight workers at a Rhode Island plant have developed a form of chronic interstitial lung disease, apparently from inhaling flock -- short nylon fibers used in automobiles, carpets, clothes, toys and other products.

Workplace Mold, Dust May Affect Lungs: Health Central. A small study suggests that breathing in silica dust, mold or other air pollutants on the job may increase the risk of interstitial lung disease, which can lead to scar tissue in the lungs.

Antidepressant Tied To Lung Condition: Health Central. Exposure to certain tricyclic antidepressant drugs may increase the risk for a lung disease called idiopathic pulmonary fibrosis (IPF), according to a report published by the American Lung Association.

Gene Variation Link to Lung Disease: By E.J. Mundell. Individuals who carry a variation of a gene controlling enzyme activity may be more vulnerable to lung diseases such as emphysema and chronic bronchitis, researchers say. "(Variation) of the mEPHX gene may be an important risk factor in lung disease," according to a study from the University of Edinburgh in Scotland.

Sarcoidosis on Aircraft Carriers: Health Central. Sarcoidosis, a disease that affects the lungs and other organs, may be more prevalent among U.S. Navy enlisted men who serve on aircraft carriers, especially black men, a new study shows.

Don't Inhale Phony Snow: Health Central. It seems the 37-year-old nonsmoking man had been working on a movie set where they had been using artificial snow, a substance composed of polyethylene fibers.

4. City Sues Barkeep Who Defied Ban On Smoking: S.F.Gate. City health inspectors claim they sucked in second-hand smoke one too many times at Delaney's bar in San Francisco, and now the dispute is headed to a courtroom. (If you are near this fine establishment, please stop in and spend money, if you can smoke or not. Thanks!)
5. Tobacco Suits: I Lit Up, Now You Pay Up: Health Central. We know smoking is bad for you, but tobacco is a legal product and people have the right to smoke. The question is: If you decide to smoke, then shouldn't you also take some personal responsibility for the outcome?
6. The New Public Health - Enemy of Individual Freedom: By Dave Pickrell. President and founder, Smokers Fighting Discrimination, Inc. How long will it be before individuals no longer are free to make individual decisions about their lifestyle, health or hobbies? Being free to choose is the very essence of freedom. Having a choice at all, to some, reflect risk. Preventable risk.
7. Cigars Get Good Press Despite Cancer Risk: New York. Cigar smoking is getting a more favorable portrayal in the media, a study suggests, and researchers believe this can be a public health danger.
8. We Are Everyday People:
*** Iraqis Compare Clinton to Cockroach: Infobeat. ``They have the color of Clinton and they invaded Basra,'' the Al-Ittehad weekly newspaper said Tuesday in a banner headline on a report about a species of pink roaches that have recently infested the southern port city of Basra.
*** Class Action Lawsuit That Accuses The CIA: S.F.Gate. Class action lawsuit that accuses the CIA of contributing to the crack cocaine epidemic that destroyed the lives of many city residents.
*** Smoking vs. Non-Smoking Poll: Please vote.
*** Warning Labels On Egg Cartons: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services. New Egg Safety Steps Announced:safe handling labels and refrigeration will be required.
*** FDA Reissues Warning About Sprouts: onhealth. This isn't the first time the FDA has warned against eating alfalfa sprouts.
9. For information about your local or state laws, call the Smokers Rights Action Line at 1-800-333-8683.

The FOC / Penney's case has been delayed until Oct 4th.

Bonneville Salt Flats. (Salt Lake City) It's hot, sandy, and just not the most pleasant place on earth to be if you're looking for nice weather. The people are wonderful, but the land looks like The Almighty pointed his finger at the Earth and said, "Let this be the land of the sand and the scorpion. Let salt pour forth, and let them work on Interstate 80 as Derf comes through.
Armed with a Freedom of Choice membership card, we were able to enter the finest of dining establishments in the Salt Lake City area and decide whether we wanted to enjoy a cigarette with our meal. I asked about the problem with Penny's, out in Stockton Utah.
"Let's go and you can see it first-hand."
The next day, we proceeded to Stockton. What a sight! On the right was the Great Salt Lake, where only brine shrimp live. Just about the only plant I saw was the Morton Salt facility, with mountains of white salt. Nothing grew there. Just salt. On the left side of the road was a mountain owned by a copper mine. They had been strip mining there for years, and it has fouled all air, water and earth for hundreds of miles around. Small wonder that the Salt Lake City area is in one of the heaviest polluted counties in America. We kept on driving, getting off the main road and onto Highway 36. After miles and miles of nothing but miles and miles, we came across the only building within range of an Army cannon, a place called Penny's.
Penny's neighbor? The nerve gas repository for the Free World. That's where all the sheep died about half a century ago.
We went inside and ordered a couple of tall ones. Coca-Cola's, that is. I sat back, took off my sunglasses, and looked around. Nothing special. Just an old converted gas station/motel that had been converted into a bar that serves light food. But, the thing that made Penny's unique was the fact that it had decided to take on the Utah Board of Health on the matter of smoking. The Board of Health. "We're here to help you," don't forget that.
Picking on a place like Penny's is sort of like sending out the army to capture somebody who drove 76 in a 75 zone.
Penny's. Located at the edge of the earth next to a nerve gas storage place. No living anythings around, except the occasional lizard. There's not even bugs on the windshield after driving for an hour at high speed.
And the State of Utah wants to take on Penny's? God help the State of Utah.

Read more from Derf...The Smoker General of the United States

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