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| "One tree is axed and bleached for every 300 cigarettes rolled in paper. That’s one tree every two weeks if you smoke a pack a day." These are the sorts of shockingly clear statistics that Vasil provides throughout the book. Data that will make us each think of our actions and choices and hopefully provide us with motivation to make changes. "Start with three small things that feel manageable to you. Whether it’s driving one less day a week to work or whether it is switching that (disposable) water bottle to a reusable mug . . . or switching your toilet paper over to recycled, instead of using the boreal forest, which really shouldn’t be knocked down for our tissue products." Vasil makes it sound so manageable, and doable, and she is right when she says, "It is not a change in quality either." Obviously being environmentally conscious is not just about buying the "right" product. It is about speaking up, and asking for change. "We should be pressing for local and organic when possible. We’ve got to let the companies we buy from know, we’ve got to let the stores we buy from know. We’ve got to let the politicians know as well, that we want to see change." I asked Vasil if she thinks politicians are genuinely motivated to talk and act "green." "They’re definitely painting a big green stripe down their back because they’re trying to convince voters that they’re just eco-friendly enough that they should be voted in again." But Vasil says this gives us the power to hold them accountable. She says we must hold their feet to the fire and keep watching them. Vasil cautions we have to "beware of the ‘greenwash’ on all levels, from corporations, and businesses and governments. "It’s becoming a bigger problem these days because everyone wants to cash in on the green trend." But armed with accurate information such as Vasil provides, we can be aware of the realities and the consequences of our actions on the environment. Vasil hopes her book will "get the idea across that change is manageable, that we can do it in increments . . . we can do it with a sense of humour . . . that’s what I’m trying to do with the book . . . just encourage people. "I just want to affect people’s lives to be a little greener." Kermit the Frog may have been wrong. It’s easy being green. Mary Jo Anderson is a freelance writer who lives in Halifax. 555 Belomorkanal Bond Camel Chesterfield Dallas Davidoff Dunhill Epique Esse Gauloises Karelia Kent L&M Lucky Strike Magna Marlboro Marlboro Mild Seven Monte Carlo More Pall Mall Parliament Peter I R1 Rothmans Russian Style Salem Sobranie Sovereign Viceroy Virginia Slims Vogue West Winston | ||
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| Anti-smoking stance: a mere political correctness
Smoking has become an outlawed culture lately. Gone are the days when a cigarette held between the lips was considered debonair and a smart thing. Let’s not pretend that the anti-smoking pressure group or the government are losing sleep over the health issue of smokers – far from it. They couldn’t care less about smokers health risk any more than they care about who’s going to win the lottery next week. No it’s not about health nor about imminent lung cancer nor about passive smoking. It’s about political one-upmanship – it’s a campaign against the cigarette companies who are one of the biggest multinational corporations. It’s the same old vile politics being staged ever since politics as an institution left its benign root and began play dirty. Arms industries in UK and in USA are the most lucrative right now and the least honest in terms of its underhand dealings – the leaders of these corporate giants have sway over who walks in the corridors of power – deaths of millions of people (mostly in the third world) are directly linked to arms supplied by these corporations and funded by the ruling power at the time. Now these millions of deaths are surely not the result of “passive smoking” or indeed “smoking”. Every minute a child is killed in a remote dictatorial third world (who your government backs tacitly) by weapons supplied by companies blessed by your government. The Labour or Tory (in UK), Republican or Democrats (in USA) whoever happens to be in power have never failed to supply deadly arms to rogue regimes world wide – of course, these are never reported in the main stream media – the official line has always been to portray a benign and humanitarian façade of the ruling power. No government thus far will ever admit that they have knowingly supplied arms to rogue regimes to further the cause of Arms industries. Where are those anti-smoking pressure groups? We never see a nationwide protest saying “enough is enough”. Every year during the two weeks of festive season (Christmas and New Year), like seasonal phenomena, there are more deaths by drunken driving than any other time of the year. The pubs are buzzing with drinkers on Friday and Saturday evenings, like flies on a carcass – the street corners and alleyways reeks of beer and urines (of course one needs to relieve wherever one finds a wall, like your primeval ancestors did) – the stink can some times turn your stomach – every step of the way you bump into a drunkard whose breath reeks of stale beer and whose faculty is “as good as it gets”. Yet you can not make a protest – yet we never hear any pressure group rising up to say “enough is enough”. Have we ever heard of “No alcohol day”? The cyber-age has given us internet and other paraphernalia that comes with it. The phenomenal surge in available information over the web is mind-boggling. Nevertheless, with every luxury comes a price. The porn industries have found its perfect outlet – it’s no longer that “adult shop tucked away next to that quaint little shop on the high street” (in UK or USA) – rather, it’s on your very own private computer tucked away in your cushy bedroom corner, where a juvenile can feast on whatever filth these companies are throwing at you. The Paedophiles are making careers out of downloading child pornography and their crimes are only now coming to light profusely. Nevertheless, we haven’t heard any pressure group calling for banning or blocking these sites nor have we seen any nationwide crusade (in any country) against these filths. These days it has become fashionable to align oneself on the “politically” correct side, more for one’s need to be socially acceptable and less for any political conviction. And inevitably, anti-smoking stand has become merely a politically correct stand. As for the politically orchestrated myth that passive smoking kills, there is no plausible scientific foundation to this myth. An indeed it’s a myth of colossal proportion. A myth packaged in unfounded and baseless scientific facts, just so that politicians can impose taxations and the pressure group can have their way. And why is it a myth? Here’s an example from Holland: in 2003 the Dutch Health Board put forward a report which asserts that second hand smoke causes at least thousands of deaths each year from heart problem, lung cancer and a small amount of from sudden infant death syndrome. I just wonder why they have forgotten to include rest of the known ailments that afflict mankind. Nevertheless, in 30 or so studies (mostly in research in lung cancer) 81% of the 177 results found no statistically significant correlation between second hand smoking and adverse health effects (source: online library of drug policy, BMJ, WHO). Moreover, a major study done by WHO in 1998 could find no correlation between second hand smoking and lung cancer. Incidentally, WHO is fanatically against smoking. However, WHO tried to deep-six the report (the Economist March 12, 1998) for obvious reasons. If passive smoking is indeed a killer, then how about CO2 and CO emission from fumes created by millions of cars, and how about the substantial (seldom miniscule) dosage of chemicals in the fumes emitted by industry – they stay in the air that we breath – where are those pressure groups ? Have we heard any nationwide campaign to stop these pollutions? Don’t these kill us? So why single out smoking? | |||
| Posted by Anonymous | |||
| Entry 9 of 12 |
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