Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced on Nov. 1 that former RCMP Commissioner Norman Inkster has been appointed Chair of the Advisory Council on National Security. Inkster has been a member of this Council since it was established in 2005.

The remaining tobacco industry executives living in Canada will probably be sleeping better at night knowing that Inkster is looking out for them. The same is true for the members of the tobacco-industry-funded Canadian Convenience Stores Association. After all, how would Canadian convenience stores survive if they didn't have cigarettes to sell?

Those of us who are not tobacco industry executives or convenience store owners should start figuring out how to bring our own bomb-sniffing dogs to the airport with us. Inkster has a history of providing cover for the People in Charge that goes back to the Mulroney government, when he decided not to execute search warrants against Tory backbench MP Richard Grise during the 1988 election campaign.

Here's a worthwhile article by Bryan Farrell in In These Times: Tobacco Stains: The global footprint of a deadly crop. This article was also published on Alternet.

Excerpt: "The looting of natural resources, the destruction of ecosystems, and the poisoning and enslavement of people are all reasons to end our dependence on a product that is completely unnecessary to humans."

You're a cop in Southern California right now, at the height of "Firestorm 2007." Half a million people have been evacuated and hundreds of homes have been destroyed -- and many more are threatened -- by the still-mostly-out-of-control wildfires, fanned by winds up to 100 kph. One dead, many injured so far.

You're about 30 km from the nearest fire, just patrolling on the outskirts of your quiet and relatively small town (which is not in any immediate danger from the fires), trying to live life and do your job as normally as possible when, all of a sudden, you notice the driver of the car in front of you toss a still-smoldering cigarette butt out of his car window.

After somehow ensuring that the hazard has been eliminated (tinder-dry bushes and trees line both sides of the street...and there are high winds), what do you do? After all, you've heard that cigarettes are the suspected/known cause of some of the fires but...

Do you ignore it (wouldn't want to be accused of over-reacting, making a mountain out of a mole hill, etc.)... pretend you didn't see it and just carry on, like nothing happened? Who would ever know?

The media tends to under-report stories about fires started by cigarette smoking, but somebody forgot to tell the Edmonton Sun. They ran a story on October 4, 2007 with the title Smoke leads to fire.

The case of Philippa Byfield is the most recent of the six fires documented here. She was a 51-year-old terminal cancer patient, and hastened her death by attempting to light a cigarette while connected to an oxygen machine. In the process, she burned down a $1.5 million home belonging to her father, Ted Byfield.

Ted Byfield and Link Byfield (Philippa's brother) were the publishers of Alberta Report and a sister publication, BC Report. Their publishing operation went defunct in 2003. During the period when Vancouver and Burnaby adopted no-smoking bylaws, and the WCB attempted to restrict smoking in workplaces throughout BC, the Byfields, along with writer Derek DeCloet, consistently followed the tobacco industry party line on smoking. Among other things, they ran headlines claiming that restrictions on second-hand smoke were based on "faulty science" (Nov. 10, 1997). Some more random examples:

  • Full-page ad from "Canada's Major Tobacco Manufacturers" (Dec. 14, 1998)

  • "If the WHO has its way (by reducing exposure to second-hand smoke), however, Mexico and other developing countries will soon become less civilized." (Feb. 22, 1999)

  • Bylaw enforcement employees in Victoria characterized as "ashtray cops". (March 22, 1999)

The Edmonton Sun article says that Link Byfield declined comment on the cause of the fire. That's unfortunate; I would like to hear his and Ted's opinion on whether Philippa's smoking habit was worth it.

Delta's (self-confessed smoker) Joann Hamelin had a letter published in the Friday, Sept. 14 Vancouver Sun entitled, "There are worse habits than smoking.", regarding Vancouver's plan to ban smoking on patios, 6 meters from entranceways, etc.

According to Hamelin, vehicle emissions and obesity are "worse" (she conveniently neglects to provide any facts/statistics to back up her claim)...and all of us "anti-smoking activists" are hypocrites.

Hi Christy:

I'll try to keep this reasonably short and to the point: How about a little on-air debate on the "smoking" issue?

Whether it's Vancouver City Council's most recent efforts and/or absolutely any other aspect of the issue that you might like to discuss, it doesn't matter to me.

It could be just you and me. Or maybe you'd prefer to play the role of "neutral" host in a show with me and your pal Dave "Doom and Gloom" Crown. Or maybe Bruce Allen (who is as opposed to Vancouver City Council's most recent amendment to the No Smoking bylaw as you are, although I'm not aware of any direct links to the nicotine cartel in his case) against me... or snake-in-the-grass Dave Laundy (normally, I'd feel some need to clarify who he is, but I'm sure you and/or your brother/husband know him very well) against me... or the ultimate tobacco whore, Nancy Daigneault, president of mychoice.ca (Canada's biggest and priciest [funded by the nicotine cartel, to the tune of at least $2.5 million that we know about] so-called "smokers' rights" group).

Hell, I'll take on all five of you!

In all fairness, though, before you get too excited, Christy, I should tell you: About 3 months ago, a freelance reporter with Co-op Radio contacted Daigneault's office, "challenging" her to debate me on Co-op Radio. Very conveniently, Daigneault had a rather endless list of reasons why the debate couldn't happen from one week to the next; she was booked solid with interviews, she was just too busy, then she actually had a baby. Then she was "just too busy" again... and, some time after that, her office just stopped responding to phone calls and e-mails. All of this from a woman who has claimed that she's ready, willing and able to discuss the issue, with anyone, anytime and anywhere.

As with Daigneault, I won't hold my breath waiting for you -- or any of the above-mentioned "pro-$moking" people -- to take me up on my challenge.

Errol E. Povah
President, Airspace Action on Smoking and Health

This letter to the editor was published (in a slightly edited form) in the Vancouver Sun on July 16, 2007:

"China the leading source of recalled products" (July 9) raises the question, "When will China itself, as well as Canada, the U.S. and all other supposedly 'civilized nations' of the world begin to recall the most defective, disease-causing, debilitating and deadly product of all?

It maims and kills more people than alcohol (including drunk driving), crack, cocaine, heroin, AIDS, homicide, suicide, car accidents and fires, plus all of the 431 Chinese-made products that have been recalled in Canada since 2005...COMBINED!!!

It's a product which, when used exactly as intended by the manufacturer, currently kills about 5 million people a year. And that figure is expected to double over the next 12 years.

Amazingly, about 65 per cent of all men in China use the product, including 60% of male doctors there.

The product: Tobacco.

Please, join Airspace Action on Smoking and Health -- Canada's leading all-volunteer anti-tobacco organization -- in its efforts to, ultimately, totally eradicate the tobacco industry from the face of the planet.

Feel free to laugh at us and say, "It'll never happen!"

We've heard that virtually every step of the way...most notably, just prior to smoking bans in grocery stores, on airlines, in restaurants and bars and, most recently, in multi-unit dwellings (apartments, condos, duplexes, etc.), as well as in parks, on beaches, etc....and, quite frankly, hearing that just inspires us all the more.

Errol E. Povah
Delta, BC

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About Airspace

Airspace Action on Smoking and Health is dedicated to making the Tobacco Industry a health hazard of the past. It is a member-supported society in the Province of British Columbia, Canada.