Smokers Are Now New York's Most Discriminated Minority
Michael Rubens Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg was born in 1942. His estimated net worth is $16 billion (Forbes). He is of Russo-Polish descent. He is said to be an ex-chainsmoker; and this probably explains why he likes harassing people about their smoking habit. He was the Mayor of New York City who introduced the smoking ban in enclosed spaces there. His new crusade is to ban smoking in open spaces such as parks and playgrounds.

Some would consider this man to be a pesky, self-satisfied pip-squeak, his fortune notwithstanding. In any case, he would do well to go away and enjoy his money and leave others alone to have their own fun. Life is too short for bores like this. By the way, is this man short by any chance? – © Mark

THE GUARDIAN: Mayor Bloomberg is extending the New York smoking ban to outdoor public spaces, so London will probably follow suit in a year or two

Maybe the ferocity against Barack Obama in America is generated less by the colour of his skin than by the fact that he still has the odd cigarette. He has always been splendidly honest about this. Unlike Bill Clinton, who lied about his relationship with Monica Lewinsky, the current president refuses to lie about his smoking (which many may regard as a more grievous offence than a sexual misdemeanour). Even after signing into law a new anti-smoking measure, he confessed to having "sometimes fallen off the wagon" in his struggle to quit.

To say this in the current American climate is brave; for the country seems to be moving inexorably towards prohibition. By admitting to being even an occasional smoker, Obama identifies himself with an minority that is now more likely to suffer discrimination than any ethnic minority group. The Mayor of New York, a former smoker himself, has even encouraged the harassment of smokers by saying that giving them "a not particularly nice look" when passing them in the street has shown that "social pressure really does work".

New Yorkers light up in the street because they are mostly forbidden to do so indoors; but even their right to smoke in the open air is under threat. The city's health commissioner, Thomas Farley, has said that he wants to ban smoking in New York's 1,700 parks and playgrounds, and on its 14 miles of beaches – a first step, one would guess, towards banning it everywhere. The mayor seems to have been taken by surprise by Dr Farley's plan, but he did not rule it out. He said that he wanted first "to see if smoking in parks has a negative impact on people's health", which is just about as verifiable as the existence of God. As he campaigns for re-election, however, he probably just wants to see what the popular reaction is, for he himself is as much an anti-smoking fanatic as Adolf Hitler and King James I of England before him. >>> Alexander Chancellor | Friday, September 18, 2009

Other articles by Alexander Chancellor here

Related:
TRIBUNE DE GENÈVE:
New York songe à bannir la clope de ses parcs et places de jeux >>> Jean-Cosme Delaloye, New York | Jeudi 17 Septembre 2009

More Sh** from the White House! Reform Obama First!
To expect people to die for their country and then deny them cigarettes is disgraceful! – ©Mark

MAIL Online: It is an iconic image of movies and real life - a battle-weary GI sits down during a lull in the fighting and sucks on a calming cigarette.

It has endured through two world wars, and major conflicts such as Korea, Vietnam, and Iraq and numerous Hollywood blockbusters - John Wayne and Robert Mitchum in the D-Day blockbuster, The Longest Day and Tom Hanks in Saving Private Ryan.

But it could all soon be a thing of the past - because of health and cost concerns.

Pentagon health experts are urging US Defence Secretary Robert Gates to ban smoking by troops and end the sale of tobacco in PXs, the military base shops where cut-price cigarettes have always been a popular line.

And it’s all due to a new study revealing the hidden cost to America’s three million men and women serving in the US Army, Navy, Air Force, and the Reserve.

An investigation by the influential Institute of Medicine, commissioned by the Pentagon found that one in three members of the US services use tobacco, compared with one in five adult Americans.

The heaviest smokers - maybe, not surprisingly - were soldiers and Marines who had done most of the fighting in Iraq and Afghanistan.

About 37 per cent of soldiers used tobacco and 36 per cent of Marines.

Combat veterans were 50 per cent more likely to use tobacco than troops who hadn't seen combat, it said. The report acknowledges that it is calling for a seismic change.

The sheer number of troops smoking also had economic costs. Researchers discovered that smoking and chewing tobacco costs the Pentagon more than £540 million a year in medical care and lost productivity.

The Department of Veterans Affairs spent up to £4billion a year on treatment for tobacco-related illnesses, the report added.
In comparison, tobacco sales in PXs netted less than £60 million a year which was spent on base recreation schemes and family support programmes.

It said: ‘A ban would confront a military culture in which the image of the battle-weary soldier in fatigues and helmet, fighting for his country, has frequently included his lit cigarette.

Troops worn out by repeated deployments often relied on cigarettes as a ‘stress reliever.’ Pentagon calls for smoking ban among US soldiers >>> Barry Whigmore | Friday, July 09, 2009