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

"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

Excerpt: "Those who use tobacco products should not be deemed criminals, only those who engage in the manufacture and sale of these products."

"The good news is that the decision was unanimous (9 to 0), clearly indicating full recognition of the uniquely destructive nature of tobacco... and, therefore, a desire on the part of the Supreme Court to send a strong message to both the tobacco industry and society as a whole," Povah said.

"The bad news: The existing anti-tobacco legislation is so weak and full of loopholes that you could drive a stolen semi loaded with contraband cigarettes through it!"

Povah points out that anyone who suggests that there is currently a ban on tobacco advertising in Canada has been smoking something a little stronger (albeit less deadly) than tobacco.

"The vast majority of the magazines on the shelves at any convenience store, library, etc. are American...and many, if not most of them, still run tobacco ads... even in the supposedly Canadian versions of those magazines (most notably, Maxim magazine). Many freebie newspapers have recently been running half-page, full-colour ads for citrus-flavoured Skoal, one of the most popular (and now, tastier/more palatable) brands of chewing tobacco. Power walls -- scheduled to be phased out by Jan 1, 08 -- still exist. Gas stations and convenience stores seem to be engaged in a cigarette price war. Until recently, the price for a package of cigarettes was getting very close to the $10.00 a pack mark; earlier today, I saw a hand-made sandwich board sign advertising them for $5.99. Such signs must be recognized as 'tobacco advertising'...and included in new legislation."

The solution, Povah says, is brand new, meaningful, well-thought-through (with input only from health professionals...and excluding the tobacco industry), no loopholes anti-tobacco legislation.

"The time is long past due for the Government of Canada (specifically, the Ministry of Health) to take tobacco -- the leading cause of preventable disease, disability and premature death... and, subsequently, one of the biggest drains on our "in-crisis" health care system -- much more seriously. It's also time that we lived up to our commitment/obligations to the World Health Organization, when Canada ratified a WHO treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control."

Press release from Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada: New law needed to end tobacco advertising

Responding to both customer and crew complaints, B.C. Ferry Services Inc. is currently implementing the new restrictions on all vessels on all of its major routes (Mainland - Vancouver Island,  Gulf Islands, Sunshine Coast, etc.).

Philip Morris is planning to test-market a Marlboro-branded snuff product in the U.S., and BAT (the company that sells Player's, Du Maurier, and Matinee) is planning to introduce a snuff product in Canada. At the same time, U.S. Tobacco, the producer of Skoal snuff products, has stepped up their marketing in Canada with print advertising.

The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, a high-profile U.S. organization, has responded by lobbying for giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products. Click here to read their press release about it.

Airspace Action on Smoking and Health is making a similar effort; we are lobbying the governments of Canada and British Columbia to treat snuff like any other consumer product, which would mean removing it from store shelves.

While I'm quite well aware of the corporate links between the Vancouver Sun and the Province (which, coincidentally, aren't entirely unlike those between Player's and du Maurier, for example), I never suspected that the editors of either paper had the time -- or the inclination, for that matter -- to smoke...I mean, to read...the others' paper.  But apparently somebody at the Province has been reading the Sun!

That said, I have no qualms whatsoever about anything Sun reporter Neal Hall wrote in his May 24 article ("Suit filed in condo smoking battle").  It would have been nice, however, if somebody from the Province had taken the trouble to actually interview me, directly (as Hall did), before writing an editorial purporting to know what we, at Airspace Action on Smoking & Health, do or do not 'believe'.

The May 3 and May 10 issues of the Georgia Straight contained ads for “Skoal Long Cut Citrus smokeless tobacco”.

This is a flavoured snuff product. Why flavoured? Because snuff is tobacco that is consumed by putting it in your mouth. Tobacco is a toxic substance, and the natural reaction of anyone who attempts to consume snuff for the first time is to spit it out. Quickly. Giving a cherry or citrus flavour to snuff greatly increases the odds that a snuff user, especially a child, will try it more than once.

Snuff is at least as toxic as cigarettes. Usage of it is not as socially unacceptable as cigarettes, mainly because people who use it don’t make the entire room smell like dead animals. They still get those yellow teeth, though. The tobacco industry would very much like to sell the idea of an alternative nicotine delivery system, and they have a willing accomplice in the Georgia Straight.

The Georgia Straight has a long history of taking the tobacco industry’s money. During the 1990's, when the tobacco industry used sponsorships of motor racing, fashion shows, golf, tennis, jazz concerts, and fireworks displays to evade restrictions on cigarette advertising, the pages of the Georgia Straight were littered with ads for these “products”.During 1996 and 1997, when earlier restrictions on cigarette advertising imposed by Parliament were declared unconstitutional by the Supreme Court, advertisements for “Canadian Classics” cigarettes appeared weekly in the Georgia Straight.

Airspace Action on Smoking and Health has a long history of opposition to flavoured snuff products. We managed to get a private member’s bill introduced in the Legislative Assembly that would have outlawed the sale of such products in British Columbia. It’s time to re-visit this idea.