Famed artist in fight of his life -AB
By ANDREW HANON Fri, August 19, 2005
For local painter Steven Csorba, next week's show and sale of his art might be the most personal and important event of his career.
Csorba, 41, has built an international reputation for his depictions of sport. He's done paintings of Wayne Gretzky and Muhammad Ali. The Oilers have commissioned him to do work. In 1991, Notre Dame University in Indiana hired him to do 20 images depicting the Fighting Irish's storied football history.
But Csorba readily admits the invite-only show at his Edmonton home on Aug. 27 and 28 will be very different from anything he's ever done before.
For sale will be 60 paintings he produced while in excruciating pain in the 18 months following cancer surgery on his jaw and neck.
The paintings, he says, "are all more on the healing side, as opposed to 'Look at me, I'm suffering.' They're very bold, colourful, almost childlike in their energy."
Creating them, Csorba explains, "really was medicine to me. When I was immersed in painting, I didn't feel any pain. I really wasn't aware of it."
He will also launch his website, www.stevencsorba.com, on Aug. 27, where the general public can see the work.
Csorba's life could easily have gone into a tailspin in 2003, when, at the age of 39, he was diagnosed with cancer.
An athlete and lifelong non-smoker, the news that he had a large tumour growing in his throat and another on his jaw was nearly incomprehensible.
He underwent an operation known as a bilateral mandibular swing, which he describes as having a surgeon saw through his jaw and down into his neck, peel his face off like Yul Brynner in Westworld and rebuild his throat with tissue taken from his arm.
The operation took 14 hours and was followed by seven weeks of radiation therapy, which ended up causing permanent damage.
The radiation killed his salivary glands, which in turn has caused his teeth to rapidly deteriorate and has even had an effect on his jawbone.
"I can't produce my own saliva anymore," he says. "I have to continually drink water. I don't get much sleep because I have to keep getting up and drinking water through the night. And my teeth are literally killing the jaw."
On Sept. 1, Csorba will go under the surgeon's knife again to remove all his teeth and reconstruct his damaged jaw. Eventually, he hopes to have prosthetic teeth implanted.
"I can't have regular dentures because I don't produce saliva," he explains.
But he also knows this next round will lay him up for many months.
"I won't be able to talk or do much else," he says. "I call it Back To Hell Round Two."
That's where the art sale comes in. Csorba is trying to raise enough money on which to live in the coming months because he'll be unable to work. Prior to being diagnosed with cancer, he owned a successful communications and marketing company, but lost it while he recovered from surgery.
Csorba has always been extremely active in the community. The father of three coaches and plays soccer and even created a development program for promising young players.
He's helping some local Rotary clubs raise $50,000 through the sale of prints entitled "Inner Peace" that he created to commemorate the organization's 100th anniversary.
And now he works with other cancer patients, helping them discover the therapeutic benefits of art.
Staring death in the face has changed Csorba's life, helping him appreciate every moment he spends on Earth, and he hopes that through his paintings he can help others treasure the precious gift we've all been given.
"I know it's a tired cliche, but I wake up every day now full of appreciation. I've learned to accept things," he says. "Everything fits together the way it's supposed to happen."
http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Columnists/Hanon_Andrew/2005/08/19/1179009.html
MP Chuck Strahl diagnosed with lung cancer
CTV.ca News Staff
Conservative member of Parliament and deputy House of Commons Speaker Chuck Strahl has revealed that he has lung cancer.
He was once a partner in a road construction and logging firm, and says pathologists determined that his cancer might be linked to exposure to asbestos when he was younger.
"My logging days included a time when we used open, asbestos brakes on the yarders, and while my exposure wasn't that lengthy, it was intense.
"Typically, 20-25 years later, the asbestos works its ugly magic. Unfortunately, I'm right on time."
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1124738621810_120147821/?hub=TopStories
Health region enforces smoking ban on property -SK
Workers face repercussions for puffing on grounds
Janet French The StarPhoenix Wednesday, August 24, 2005
The Saskatoon Health Region has started collecting the names of staff who light up on the region's grounds in violation of the organization's smoking policy.
To coincide with the provincial smoking ban, the health region instituted a new policy Jan. 1 that prohibits smoking on any property the region owns or operates, including hospitals and long-term care homes, except in designated smoking areas.
At Saskatoon's three hospitals, those designated areas are only accessible from 8 p.m. until 6 a.m.
"We're trying as a health region to role model good healthy tobacco behaviour," said deputy public health officer Dr. Johnmark Opondo. "If we have this new smoking bylaw and we don't enforce it, it becomes one of the things that just sits in the book."
The region hired a commissionaire in May to monitor health region grounds and record the names and work areas of anyone caught smoking on the property, Opondo said.
If an employee's name shows up twice on the list, the commissionaire will notify his or her supervisor. If a supervisor receives three notices about an employee defying rules, he or she could face disciplinary action, Opondo said.
The health region reports in its July-August newsletter that security personnel asked 99 smoking staff members to move off the grounds during a 13-day period.
"This is not a majority of the staff we're talking about that are being followed-up and hounded for smoking," Opondo said. "It is a small minority who are kind of still struggling with their needs for tobacco and their need for nicotine."
Although patients and visitors who violate the smoking policy will also be asked to leave the grounds, Opondo said the region won't collect their names.
Smokers who work at City Hospital and who gathered by a parkade driveway Tuesday afternoon said there might be better ways to deter them from smoking on health region property.
"I think it's a little harsh," said one female employee, who didn't want to be named. She said she'd rather pay a fine than be reported to her supervisor and have a smoking violation affect her work environment.
"It shouldn't be your department's responsibility to discipline you for smoking," she said.
A male employee who also didn't give his name said most City Hospital staff work during the day, so the fenced-in designated smoking area on the grounds -- which is only available at night -- isn't as useful.
Employees don't want to be out in the rain and cold smoking, he said, but they're addicted to nicotine and don't have a choice.
"Then again, why should the health region build a place for people to smoke when they are trying to promote health? That's the irony of it," he said.
The Service Employees International Union Local 333, which represents licensed practical nurses, maintenance workers, lab technicians and other health-care workers in Saskatoon, is looking into how enforcement of the policy is affecting its members, said president Roselyn Colwell.
In particular, the union is concerned that staff who work 12-hour shifts don't have enough time during their smoke breaks to get to an area where smoking is allowed and that safe outdoor places are available for them to smoke.
http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=43b3ab3d-3819-420f-a5fe-e1b8c4cc6dd6
Blowing smoke
Chris Thomas Wednesday August 24, 2005
Simcoe Reformer — Anti-smoking activists are fuming after the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down part of the law aimed at tobacco advertising this week. A three-judge panel ruled 2-1 that the measure prohibiting the name of a tobacco company from being associated with a public event was unconstitutional.
According to Garfield Mahood of the Non-Smokers Rights Association, the ruling “creates a loophole which can be exploited by the (tobacco) industry.” That loophole is, in effect, a cornerstone of a constitutional right impacting on all Canadians -- freedom of speech.
Canada already boasts some of the toughest anti-smoking legislation in the world with the 1997 adoption of the Tobacco Act. The Quebec ruling does little to dilute the existing restrictions on tobacco advertising and promotion. All that it says is that tobacco company names can be associated with a public event. Specific brands, however, may not be used.
In writing for the majority, Judge Andre Brossard said: “I cannot conceive that a duly incorporated company, whose corporate name was approved by the state, whose name itself bears no harmful connotation going against public order and good manners, could not legitimately use that corporate name.”
Indeed.
For generations, companies such as Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., Benson & Hedges Inc. and JTI-Macdonald Corp. have, through several ownership incarnations, proven to be valuable corporate and community citizens. This area, in particular, has benefited by their presence here and conversely, suffered when their business fortunes took a downturn.
In addition to the thousands of jobs and services they have created, tobacco companies have traditionally supported a wide variety of cultural and sporting events across this country. When they were prohibited from taking part in these sponsorship activities, many popular and worthwhile endeavours were left without the support they required to exist.
It’s highly questionable that preventing tobacco companies from associating their brands with tennis tournaments, car races, entertainment spectacles or even fireworks displays would encourage anyone to smoke. And attempts to eradicate even a tobacco company’s name from the landscape are patently unfair and overbearing.
The companies themselves have largely accepted almost draconian restraints on their business. Yet the powerful publicly funded anti-smoking lobby appears insatiable in their attacks on legitimate business interests.
Everyone knows that tobacco consumption is not good for them. Yet 20 per cent of the population chooses to continue to smoke. The companies are merely catering to these Canadians, as is their right. Because tobacco remains a legal product, companies should be allowed to advertise their presence in the marketplace. We may not agree with the products they purvey, but we can simply choose not to consume them.
For its part, governments’ position on tobacco has been patently hypocritical. While they pass anti-smoking legislation, they are loathe to forgo the billions of dollars in taxation that tobacco generates. If legislators are truly convinced of the evils of tobacco, let them declare it an illegal product.
Until then, the anti-smoking lobby is only blowing smoke and venturing into areas which can impact on the constitutional rights of all Canadians.
Freedom of expression is a nebulous concept and possibly open to abuses. Yet it remains one of the cornerstones of the liberties we hold dear in this country and it must be preserved.
To legislate unreasonable restraints on individual or corporate expression is a slippery downhill slope.
http://www.simcoereformer.ca/story.php?id=180416
Tobacco ruling may be appealed
CanWest News Service Wednesday, August 24, 2005
REGINA - The federal government should appeal Monday's ruling on tobacco advertising to the highest court in the land, federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh urged Tuesday.
The minister said allowing tobacco companies to sponsor events poses a health risk to Canadians.
"We are going to be thoroughly studying the complex judgment and if there is any basis for appeal we will be appealing it," he said. "We want to maintain our leadership on this issue in the world and of course that has an impact on the health of Canadians."
The comments Tuesday came after the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the majority of Ottawa's tough anti-tobacco advertising law Monday, but struck down provisions prohibiting tobacco companies from sponsoring events.
The court said tobacco companies should be allowed to sponsor events, but under their corporate names rather than the brand names of their cigarettes.
Federal Justice Department officials said Tuesday the split decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal is a complicated one and the government will have to study it carefully before deciding whether to seek leave to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.
Any appeal much be launched within 60 days.
Monday's ruling opens a loophole in the law that tobacco companies could exploit, added Dosanjh. If a company launched a brand of cigarettes whose name mirrored the company name, sponsorships in the company name could promote the new brand of cigarettes.
When it went into effect, the ban on sponsorships by tobacco companies hit arts and sporting activities across the country hard, eliminating a lucrative source of funding.
Heritage Minister Liza Frulla says Monday's ruling is good news for cultural groups across the country.
http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/story.html?id=e4eb922c-6651-48fc-bf6e-c3f6e6385061
Appeal tobacco sponsorship decision to highest court, health minister urges
ELIZABETH THOMPSON The Gazette August 24, 2005
Warns advertising poses risks. Heritage minister says ruling is good news for cultural groups with fragile funding
The federal government should appeal Monday's ruling on tobacco advertising to the highest court in the land, federal Health Minister Ujjal Dosanjh urged yesterday, saying allowing tobacco companies to sponsor events poses a health risk to Canadians.
"We are going to be thoroughly studying the complex judgment and if there is any basis for appeal, we will be appealing it," Dosanjh said.
"We want to maintain our leadership on this issue in the world and, of course, that has an impact on the health of Canadians."
The comments yesterday came after the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the majority of Ottawa's tough anti-tobacco advertising law Monday but struck down provisions that prohibit tobacco companies from sponsoring events.
The court said tobacco companies should be allowed to sponsor events, but only under their corporate names - not the brand names of their cigarettes.
Yesterday, federal Justice Department officials said the split decision by the Quebec Court of Appeal is a complicated one, and the government will have to study it carefully before deciding whether to seek permission to appeal the ruling to the Supreme Court of Canada.
While the Quebec court struck down one provision of the law, most of the law emerged unscathed from the challenge by tobacco giants who argued the strict restrictions on advertising their products violate their right to freedom of expression.
The government and the tobacco companies have 60 days to decide whether to seek leave to appeal.
Dosanjh said he was pleased the Quebec Court of Appeal upheld the majority of the law.
However, he said he would like to see the prohibition on sponsoring events reinstated.
"If you are trying to ensure that there is a reduction or cessation in the use of a product that the company is manufacturing, why would you encourage the company to be able to advertise its name?" he asked.
Monday's ruling opens a loophole in the law that tobacco companies could exploit, Dosanjh added.
For example, if a company launched a brand of cigarettes, the name of which mirrored the company name, sponsorships in the company name could promote that new brand of cigarettes.
"That was another reason why, probably, this legislation was as broad as it was," he said.
When it went into effect, the ban on sponsorships by tobacco companies hit arts and sporting activities across the country hard, eliminating a lucrative source of funding.
Heritage Minister Liza Frulla said Monday's ruling is good news for cultural groups across the country, the funding of which is often fragile.
"For the groups I represent, it is sure that if the judgment is maintained strictly in the area of culture, sports and sponsorships, it means an additional player; we allow an additional player to support events, so like it or not, for them it is a possibility to have more support, so it can only be positive."
However, Frulla said public health concerns will have to prevail.
"(Mr. Dosanjh) will have to judge the effect of this ruling on our laws, on the consequences on the level of smoking."
Dosanjh, however, downplayed the importance of the issue of tobacco sponsorships for cultural and sporting events.
"We've fought that battle already and I don't believe we want to revisit that issue. If we can maintain the prescription in the legislation, as is, with a successful appeal, we would want to do that."
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/montreal/story.html?id=a5820ada-ca97-4e26-98d2-e1e8ecd591bc
Reader shares woes of dealing with WSIB -ON
Wednesday August 24, 2005
Timmins Times — To the Editor:
This letter is in regards to the Workplace Safety and Insurance Board and my experience with denial of rightful compensation.
For those who are not aware how this system works, I have some insight for you. I’ve been focusing on this since 1980 and saved all related documentation.
I waited til now to present this information for fear I would get cut off disability income. I was 65-years-old on July 18, 2005 and will be losing both Canada Pension Plan disability and company insurance disability anyway.
WSIB will allow compensation for workers injured on the job and witness(es) verify it. On the other hand, if a worker develops health problems due to workplace environment, they tend to blame it on ‘personal medical problems.’ WSIB was set up to prevent workers from suing the employer in the event of injury or job related health problems.
It is a safety net for the employer and highly paid WSIB employees to do everything possible to discourage claimants with a long, complicated process, and mountains of paperwork.
Now for my stepfather, and my own personal experiences. First, my stepfather:
His lungs were failing badly in the early 70s and he submitted a claim for mining asbestosis, but was denied. WSIB blamed it on smoking cigarettes, which they felt was a medical problem known as emphysema.
Before he died in August 1980, he made a point of telling my brother and I that he wanted an autopsy done after he passed away. He stated that my mother could get something out of this.
Now for the ‘good’ part. Within days of his burial, the local WSIB office requested my mother’s presence at their office.
They wanted her to ‘sign-off’ the claim because my stepfather was deceased and there would be no point in keeping his records anymore.
She was very upset and l stated she would not sign anything, and then left the office in tears. The autopsy revealed severe asbestosis of the lungs, which led to a premature massive heart attack. My mother promptly received WSIB benefits monthly from 1980 until she passed away in December 2003 (23 years). By the way, I noticed the WSIB office in Timmins has a receptionist protected behind heavy glass and a security guard on duty. I suspect this set-up is for protection from disgruntled claimants.
Personally, I worked for 39 years, which was mostly shift work, in process operations in the mill. This is where mined ore is processed through a number of stages to ultimately recover precious metals.
First, I developed Renaud’s Phenomenon, known as ‘white-finger disease’, in both hands. Later, I acquired Granuloma of the lower left lung, which simply is a pocket of milling dust at the base of the lung.
I registered the two claims with WSIB early in 1996, focusing mainly on Renaud’s of my fingers, as this condition, for which there is no cure, affects my quality of life the most.
I went through WSIB’s complete, complicated process only to be denied entitlement at every turn. I even went to Toronto, at WSIB’s request, to see their specialist.
The doctor was give selected documents from WSIB and I was not allowed to bring any of my documentation, or express myself in defence. Medical tests confirmed Renaud’s, but the doctor felt it was probably caused by Rheumatoid Arthritis noted in the WSIB file given to him. Problem is, I never, ever had Rheumatoid Arthritis! I was set-up royally, in what I call a ‘Kangaroo Court.’
A Timmins specialist examined me and wrote his report stating that the Renaud’s was workplace related, but WSIB still denied my claim.
I then arranged to have an independent assessment done in Toronto, at my own expense, through the Worker’s Occupational Health Clinic.
Again, this specialist confirmed my problem and also reported it to my workplace. I sent documentation to WSIB and was denied again.
After nine years of hassles, I now have no chance for rightful compensation. As a side note, I received privileged information that 11 claims were registered with WSIB for ‘white-finger disease’ at my former workplace and only one claim was accepted for compensation benefits.
I last wrote to WSIB in Toronto June 15, 2005, stating my intentions of exposing this scam for what it is.
And to provide written consent to allow any media people, including those who produce with documentary programs, to have access to my files at any time in the future. A t.v. documentary is in my future plans so the public would be informed of my plight.
I have kept all WSIB documents and from all other sources related to my problems to confirm everything that has taken place.
Eugene Jensen
http://www.timminstimes.com/index.php?id=881
Tobacco grow case resolved -AB
CATHERINE POOLEY Wednesday August 24, 2005
Vulcan Advocate — An ongoing legal case was resolved in a Lethbridge Provincial court last week in regards to a tobacco and marijuana grow in Kirkcaldy which occurred in 2003.
A plea bargain arrangement and a guilty plea were the resolution of the case.
The resulting charges were: unlawfully manufacturing of tobacco which resulted in a fine of $20,000 and cultivation of marijuana which resulted in a jail sentence of 90 days which will be served on weekends.
All other charges were withdrawn.
It is is not illegal to grow tobacco in Canada.
Legally, an individual can grow up to 15 kilograms per person over 18-years-old in the household.
The process becomes illegal when the amount grown exceeds an individuals limit or the tobacco is sold without a licence.
Approximately 30 dried plants will give the legal 15 kilograms of tobacco, in Kirkcaldy, nearly 1,200 plants were found.
-with Advocate files.
http://www.vulcanadvocate.com/story.php?id=180217
Parking and signs missing -ON
To the editor: Wednesday, August 24, 2005
A beautiful new hospital! Have you tried to find a parking spot? Lucky you if you found one.
The bottom lot is the only available one so be prepared to climb a hill. Is the top lot for staff? If so, it should be changed as they climb easier than someone with a walker, etc.
On the long weekend in August, I drove a friend to emergency, dropped him off at the main entrance (first time there, didn't notice emergency entrance) parked, then came through the main door.
There wasn't a soul in that large entrance room and no emergency sign. I proceeded down the large hall and still no sign. Finally, I noticed someone who was working and got directions from her.
Still no sign! I'm sure there are people like me who haven't noticed the emerency. entrance.
I finally get to emergency and waited and waited, for three hours. Why, with so many doctors, why do we only have one on duty on a long weekend?
Is it that they don't want weekends or is it because the hospital doesn't want to pay?
After about an hour of children running around and more and more people coming, I decided to sit at the picnic table outside.
I was surrounded by cigarette butts. There wasn't an ashtray in sight, surely one could have been provided.
T. Barker
http://www.parrysoundnorthstar.com/1124912773/
Tobacco ruling could save women's Open
MARK ZWOLINSKI SPORTS REPORTER Aug. 24, 2005. 01:00 AM
Quebec judge loosens sponsorship rules LPGA tournament still seeking backer
Sports organizations starved for sponsorship dollars are keenly eyeing a Quebec court decision Monday to loosen federal bans on tobacco advertising.
Organizations like the Royal Canadian Golf Association, though, say they must balance their moral responsibilities against the temptation to tap into lucrative tobacco dollars that were once the backbone of several major Canadian sporting events.
"The fact that tobacco companies have funds available for sponsorships is pretty attractive," said Richard Desrochers, COO of the RCGA, which lost its tobacco sponsorship in 2001, and has a Sept. 1 deadline to announce a new title sponsor for its flagship Canadian Open women's championship.
"But an organization like ours, which is a governing body of golf, one with involvement with (youth), I would think our board of governors would probably want to weigh any decisions (to renew former funding from tobacco companies) pretty heavily."
A spokesperson said phone lines at Imperial Tobacco were ringing constantly yesterday after the Quebec Court of Appeal struck down parts of the federal Tobacco Act.
Under the ruling, sports and cultural events like the Canadian Open would be able to bear the name of a tobacco company, but not specific brands. The Tobacco Act prohibited brand and company names from being associated with sporting and cultural events. The act was passed in 1997, but its strongest anti-tobacco provisions were implemented in 2003.
Imperial, which sponsored major golf and tennis events through its Peter Jackson and du Maurier brands, reserved comment while executives and lawyers reviewed the decision.
Imperial, which launched an appeal with Benson & Hedges Inc., Rothmans Inc., and JTI-MacDonald Corp., credited the court for recognizing the company's "right to communicate with adult smokers."
Imperial, however, cautioned against tobacco advertising "attracting and inciting" youth to start smoking.
Identical concerns will likely be on the agenda should the RCGA, which needs a title sponsor to avoid cancelling the Canadian Open, pursue a tobacco company for naming rights to the Open.
"Do you really want to take money from (a sponsor) whose product is found to be harmful? ... That's where it becomes a moral question," Desrochers said.
"This (potential return to tobacco sponsorship) is something I think we'd take to our championship committee, then our executive committee, and then the full board ... it's that sensitive an issue."
After losing its tobacco sponsor, the RCGA landed the Bank of Montreal for the Open, a long-time stop on the LPGA tour. It was formerly known as the du Maurier Classic. The BMO deal expired this season.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=97135
8637177&c=Article&cid=1124833811724&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Ontario government resembles dictatorship -ON
Letter August 24, 2005
The letter from Jean Winter Aug.18, Smoking Ban Diminishes Democracy In Ontario, called it like it is. Dalton McGuinty and his appointees appear to think, since they were elected, that they are able to tell everyone how to live their lives without anyone having any recourse until the next election.
Even if a person is right, the Ontario government will tell you what you will or will not do and no one is right except them.
Ontario's democracy was spelled correctly -- dictatorship.
A lot of good men and women lost their lives over the years, and still do, trying to free people from a dictatorship.
There used to be a thing called freedom of the press, but that too is gone for fear of retaliation by the government appointees.
I fully agree with the last statement: If you can read this, thank a teacher.
If you can read it in English, thank a vet.
J. Dawe Leamington
http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/letters/story.html?id=8470f560-014b-457e-bfa7-fbd476f8392b
Tobacco ruling won't boost smoking
The Gazette Wednesday, August 24, 2005
The days of tobacco companies not daring to speak their own names could soon be over - in one sense, at least. The Quebec Court of Appeal this week struck down part of the federal law that bans cigarette-
company sponsorship advertising. It is acceptable the Big Three tobacco giants cannot promote their products on race cars or in lifestyle advertising, the court said, but it is excessive to forbid the firms from simply lending their corporate monikers to sporting and cultural events.
In the 2-1 ruling, likely to be appealed to the Supreme Court of Canada, the appeals court struck down parts of the federal act on the ground they violate the right to free expression. After all, Justice Andre Brossard wrote for the majority, if our laws can't prevent biker gangs from sporting their colours, why should they stop registered companies? It's a reasonable decision.
Under this doctrine there will never again be a du Maurier Grand Prix, but there could be an Imperial Grand Prix.
The anti-tobacco coalition - from non-smokers rights groups to the Canadian Cancer Society - is crying foul. These groups have been lauding Canada's sponsorship ban as a model for the world. Now they argue since the ban on tobacco-company sponsorships is at least partly responsible for declining smoking rates, this ruling will allow the industry to buy back a bit of its steadily eroding legitimacy.
Everyone can recognize there is a strong, genuine public interest in convincing smokers to butt out. But although that goal is important, so is the notion freedom of speech, even commercial speech, should not be unreasonably restricted.To put arbitrary limits on free speech, even unwelcome advertising for unwholesome products, is to start down a slippery slope. The court has tried to make the footing a little more firm and level.
After all, it's not easy to imagine anyone taking up smoking - or starting to drink, or switching cellphone providers - based solely on corporate sponsorship of an event, especially if product names aren't even mentioned. Give people a little credit.
Also, there is a distinction to be made between simply putting a company name on a tennis tournament or fireworks competition and worrisome direct promotion, such as the reprehensible tactic of giving out free sample cigarettes in bars frequented by young adults, or placing cigarette ads on billboards near schools.
More effective in the crusade to end smoking are constant public education, plus restrictions imposed in the name of public health, such as the one coming belatedly into force in Quebec next May 31. As under similar laws in Ontario and New York state, smokers in Quebec will no longer be able to light up in bars, restaurants or other public venues.
The net effect of such measures over time has been a steady drop in smoking. In fact, we may be near a tipping point at which some festivals and other events, no matter how desperate for extra revenue, will turn up their noses at tobacco company money on the ground the public doesn't approve. That day will come, and perhaps sooner than Big Tobacco imagines.
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/editorial/story.html?id=a882bf8c-bbca-49ad-8366-c0ee7a9e5cc2
Canadian Cancer Society Supports Tighter Smoking Restrictions -BC
VANCOUVER, Aug. 25 /CNW/ - Each year 5,600 British Columbians die from tobacco related illness. More than 500 will die from exposure to second-hand smoke alone. More must be done to reduce this growing incidence.
The Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division applauds Vancouver Coastal Health for taking the initiative on pursuing the extension of smoke-free bylaws to bus shelters, restaurant and bar patios, playing fields and other outdoor venues. The Canadian Cancer Society is committed to advocating for healthy public policies to reduce the incidence of cancer in British Columbia, and will lend its full support for such an important issue.
"Tobacco control is the single most important intervention we can implement to reduce the burden of disease on British Columbians and on our health care system", says Carol Finnie, Director, Strategic Initiatives for the Canadian Cancer Society, BC and Yukon Division. "There is no known level of safe exposure to second-hand smoke, and there is only one way to eliminate it from the air - and that is to remove the source. Further, non-smoking legislation helps smokers to quit or smoke less, thus reducing smoking rates".
The City of Vancouver, one of the host cities of the 2010 Winter Olympic Games, should strive to show leadership and showcase to the world that it will be the healthiest city to ever host the Olympic Games by extending its non-smoking legislation.
For more information on cancer prevention visit the Canadian Cancer Society's website
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/August2005/25/c3120.html
Smoking is bad, unless it's third-hand or you're a monkey
National Post Samantha Grice Thursday, August 25, 2005
Second-hand smoke is, of course, a detriment to one's health, but a new study has turned up miraculous findings about third-hand smoke, reports the Weekly World News. "Amazingly, it's beneficial!" says Gladys Milken, a researcher at the Important Scientific Experiments Institute. Likening the health benefits to the old adage, "The enemy of my enemy is my friend," Milken says she has seen substantial improvements to the immune system and skin and sends this message to victims of second-hand smoke. "You might die because someone you know smokes. But that doesn't mean you can't save some lives by hanging around with other non-smokers." Speaking of vices, The National Enquirer reports that impending fatherhood has led Ben Affleck to the therapist's couch in an effort to cut down on smoking and high-stakes poker. Also on his to do list, according to the tab: getting over the pain of growing up with an absent father and rebuilding his career. "Ben was out of control," says a friend. "But his priority is family right now -- he's busy supervising the decorating of the baby's room while Jennifer's starting on a new season of Alias." And the Weekly World News reports that cigarette companies have found a new market -- pets. "Animals like cigarettes," says a cigarette company spokesperson. "We used to give them to monkeys when we were testing nicotine addiction, and we couldn't keep the little fellas away from the stuff."
http://www.canada.com/national/nationalpost/news/artslife/story.html?id=f302eac5-2a23-4d56-b725-93cd57ad89cb
Double standard -MB
Aug 25, 2005
On Compliments to the South Beach Casino for the cordial, efficient and entertaining atmosphere. This is an excellent example of a privately owned and operated small business disgracing a publicly funded government operation. The hospitality is well worth the extra drive to bypass the provincially operated city casinos. The only drawback is the late night drive back to the city after it closes.
When suggesting to staff the facility should be open 24 hours, they advised the Provincial Lotteries Commission regulates their hours of operation. How is it that the province can regulate their hours of operation, but they cannot enforce the provincial smoking ban?
JOHN ROTH Winnipeg
www.winnipegfreepress.com
Gold smoking bylaw too aggressive -AB
Aug 25 2005
I support our veterans in many ways and concur with Royal Canadian Legion members in their fight for freedom to choose to smoke as a private club.
As a city councillor stated, this is a health issue! Therefore, on behalf of many others and myself who have fragrance allergies, I request that "fragrance" be included in this bylaw.
Reluctantly I had to relinquish all my season tickets for the Red Deer College Arts Centre, due to the heavy fragrances in that facility.
I feel that the silver level of the smoking bylaw is a fair compromise, allowing us the freedom to choose which establishments we patronize.
If city council wants to dictate a gold-level bylaw, then it is imperative for health reasons to include this request: smoking/fragrance-free bylaw, when it goes to a public vote. Please make this amendment.
Barbara Kelloway Red Deer
http://www.reddeeradvocate.com/
When in Ottawa, lay off Old Spice
Friday, August 26th, 2005
OTTAWA -- Ottawa won't be hiring perfume police, but it may soon be asking people to lay off the Old Spice aftershave and Chanel scents.
Coun. Alex Cullen said banning scents in city buildings and vehicles could be "the new frontier after pesticides."
Ottawa's health and social services advisory committee is to discuss a report Tuesday from a member of the public that recommends the city adopt a "no-scents" policy.
The report says scented products trigger asthma attacks and skin allergies, and argues that the city run a public awareness program discouraging people from wearing scents.
The report says the city's public transit system should then be declared a "scent-free zone."
But the report says a ban on fragrances in public places, similar to a smoking ban, would be hard to enforce and is not recommended.
The Lung Association says between 15 and 20 per cent of Canadians have some kind of breathing problem and their condition can be aggravated by the chemicals found in scented products.
-- Canadian Press
www.winnipegfreepress.com
Clarification of a Smoker -AB
August 26, 2005
I AM a smoker and over 18. Smoking in establishments that allow children should not be allowed. But any establishment that only allows people 18 and over should have a choice. I will not set foot in a place that serves booze and does not allow smoking. Bingo halls already had smoke-free rooms! I am a smoker, not a leper.
L. Phoenix
(Thanks for the clarification.)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/08/26/1188546.html
Golf's blowing smoke
DAVE PERKINS Aug. 26, 2005. 01:00 AM
Well, that figures. A couple of judges in Quebec curiously strike down a portion of the federal government's anti-tobacco legislation and, pending the inevitable appeals, some sporting organizations are wondering if cigarette money can help bolster or even save their events.
It was Ottawa's ban on tobacco advertising in the first place that affected a number of sporting and cultural festivities. Many of them survived and moved along quite nicely without cigarette money — as some people at the time argued would be the case.
Smart organizations saw the ban coming and simply adapted. For one example, cell phones have more or less become the new cigarettes. Decades ago, when it seemed nearly everybody smoked and tobacco money was all over the sporting scene, cell phones didn't even exist. Now, the guess here is that as many people use cell phones today as smoked cigarettes 30 years ago. So as one market disappeared, another of comparable size arose.
Anyway, for all the events that were able to
get along without cigarette money, one that surely did not survive intact was the women's Canadian Open golf tournament. It used to be a major and had a place of prominence on the LPGA Tour. When it lost du Maurier as title sponsor, it lost pretty much everything.
When the major designation departed, so did the best players in the world. The du Maurier name inspired loyalty among the best women golfers of the time. (It also did on the men's side, to a lesser extent, but men's golf has always been an easier sell and losing tobacco money wasn't as dire.) The women's tournament tumbled down the scale of importance to its current lowly position; this year's Halifax tournament drew almost no one of stature.
The Bank of Montreal took over a few years ago as main sponsor and has now departed, very unsatisfied with the bang it got for its buck.
The Royal Canadian Golf Association, which too often appears to be in over its head, has been trying for a couple of years to find a new sponsor that will try to restore the Open to some kind of status. Suggestions the RCGA might need to turn its needy eyes to a tobacco company, at this point in the proceedings, are ironic in the extreme. Given the wretched publicity simply associated with tobacco these days, what the feds took away, tobacco surely can no longer bring back.
It's too late to turn back this particular clock.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=
Article&cid=1125006612775&call_pageid=969907739820&col=970081601705
Smoking ban fight derailed by ruling -SK
The Star Phoenix Saturday, August 27, 2005
The Hotels Association of Saskatchewan has hit a snag in its fight against the provincewide smoking ban.
A Regina Queen's Bench judge has thrown out the association's case against the government on a technicality.
The association argued that the ban violates the federal Charter of Rights and Freedoms because it does not apply to First Nation's casinos. However, the judge has ruled that individuals and not organizations have charter rights.
The hotels association is now looking for a hotel owner to file a case against the province, according to Global News.
http://www.canada.com/saskatoon/starphoenix/news/local/story.html?id=b72046e5-bbc1-4e73-99d6-a76f311aae7e
Billions Sucked Out by Money Grubbers -AB
IT WAS interesting that in his piece on Steven Csorba's battle with cancer, Andrew Hanon mentioned that Steven is an athlete and lifelong non-smoker (Hanon column, Aug. 19). I believe this demonstrates the degree to which the uneducated media and gullible public have been misled as to the association between lifestyle and cancer. The anti-tobacco parasites alone suck over one-half of a billion dollars from legitimate health care and research budgets annually through their old wives' tales linking smoking and cancer, when in fact far more non-smokers die from cancer than do smokers, and the majority of smokers never get cancer. Perhaps groups like the cancer society feel that by continually parading this red herring, they can avoid criticism over their gross ineptitude to make any real progress despite the billions of dollars squandered over the years supporting their exorbitantly expensive cast of thousands. While we continue to tolerate these money-grubbing organizations, talented and productive people like Steven will pay the ultimate price.
A. Ritchie
(Are we gonna get letters!)
http://www.edmontonsun.com/Comment/Letters/2005/08/28/1190995.html
Smoking showdown tonight -MB
Monday, August 29th, 2005
WINNIPEG School Division trustee Rita Hildahl will force a showdown tonight in a bid to ban smoking completely in the province's largest school division.
Hildahl said last night that it is unacceptable that WSD still allows high schools to designate an outside smoking area on their property for staff and students.
She has a motion on this evening's school board agenda to have a total ban on smoking on division property -- schools, buildings, vehicles and grounds -- imposed as of September of 2006.
But, Hildahl acknowledged, she was uncertain if she can get a majority to back a total ban.
Trustees have repeatedly opted to let each high school decide.
Only Churchill High School and College Churchill have banned smoking entirely.
"My fear is, Winnipeg School Division property is going to be the only place in Manitoba where you can light up a cigarette," Hildahl said.
www.winnipegfreepress.com
RE: The right to a smokeless environment -ON
Published in the Chronicle Journal Aug. 29/05
I believe that non-smokers, like anyone else, have this right. But how far does that right extend?
Should it take priority over someone else's rights? Airplanes, court houses, publicly owned buildings and anywhere else an individual might be forced to go should properly be included in any smoking law.
What should not be included are places located in or on private property, providing an individual is not compelled by necessity or law, to frequent or work at that specific location.
Thomas Laprade Thunder Bay, Ont.
http://www.chroniclejournal.com/
Government should buy the tobacco industry
Letter Monday, August 29, 2005
Re: The Ottawa Citizen editorial, Authors Should Butt Out, that was published in The Star on Aug. 8. Curing the Addiction to Profits: A Supply Side Approach to Phasing Out Tobacco is a book by Cynthia Callard, Neil Collishaw and Dave Thompson, in which they spell out in remarkable detail the logic for "buying out" the Canadian tobacco industry.
The editorial reprinted from the Ottawa Citizen attempts to condemn their proposal on the basis of economics.
Yet ironically, the economics of their proposal is precisely where their idea makes sense.
The Citizen argues the buyout will have an adverse economic impact. Their example of government inefficiency in marketing is the provincial government's LCBO cash cow.
I guess making money is something reserved only for those in the private sector.
We're paying the economic price for the tobacco industry now because the costs of using their products are paid by our health care system, while the profits of the industry go into predominantly foreign pockets.
In buying and consolidating the tobacco industry into one company, we would be taking a page out of the corporate world's book by eliminating redundancies.
From a moral perspective, we already have a conundrum with tobacco, because governments derive tax revenues from its continued sale.
These governments then spend the tax revenues treating smoking-related disease while spending countless millions more trying to convince people not to take up the habit.
Tobacco executives spend just as much time and resources trying to circumvent these efforts on behalf of their shareholders.
Callard, Collishaw and Thompson argue that by taking the shareholders out of the picture, we eliminate the vicious circle and have the means to eventually, gradually, phase out the industry.
As to governments suing themselves, the authors addressed that issue, so perhaps the editors of the Citizen should read the book.
Economically unsound? Give me a break.
Richard Kokovai LaSalle
http://www.canada.com/windsor/windsorstar/news/letters/story.html?id=3303a44b-a4c9-47fe-b0d0-07305d3b0f48
BBBS feels the funding pinch -SK
Kirk Sibbald Monday August 29, 2005
Lloydminster Meridian Booster — With bingo revenues taking a huge hit from the Saskatchewan public smoking ban, local restaurants and bars aren’t the only ones finding it hard to breathe easy.
Twice a month, Big Brothers and Big Sisters of Lloydminster sets up at the Lloyd Bingo Hall, calling out lucky numbers to throngs of locals with ink daubers in hand.
While these nights used to fill the building in Lloydminster’s northeast corner, not being allowed to light up indoors has dropped attendance by about 8,000 patrons so far this year.
Brenda Robinson, executive director of BBBS in Lloyd, says as a result of the smoking ban, bingo revenues – which account for nearly 25 per cent of the organization’s budget – have dropped 93 per cent in recent weeks.
“We were doing pretty good until June – we were down somewhere around the 60 per cent range – but we have had to redo our payout format, so at this point we are down approximately 93 per cent of the usual (bingo revenue),” said Robinson, adding there are also 76 children on the organization’s wait list.
The Sexual Assault Centre has also seen fundraising revenues from bingo nights drop dramatically. Executive director Muriel Ralston said total earnings have decreased about 75 per cent so far in 2005.
With core funding representing less than six per cent of BBBS total funds and nothing for the Sexual Assault Centre, community fundraising events and grants supply the bulk of their respective budgets.
Some good news came last week, when an unexpected windfall from the Alberta government prompted the city to supplement their funding to each agency, with BBBS receiving $1,000 and $2,187 going to the Sexual Assault Centre.
And though every little bit helps, Robinson said the nature of non-profit organizations means financial stability is precarious at best.
“I haven’t received word yet on the grants I’ve applied for, so I can’t say if it’s better or worse. I would have to say our funding is stable at this point, but it could go either way,” she said.
“The thing about non-profit organizations is that one day things can look good and the next day that can change completely.”
While the drop in bingo revenues most vividly illustrates this instability, Robinson said a United Way grant that was cut in half for 2005 is yet another example of how finances can change from day-to-day.
In addition to applying for more grants this year, Robinson said the organization is also spearheading more local fundraising events, such as pancake breakfasts for last weekend’s chuckwagon races and next week’s centennial celebrations.
They will also be teaming up with four other non-profits in hosting the Sept. 24 Great Dine and Duck event, which has changed this year to include dinner, a suitcase auction and impromptu entertainment.
Robinson said the extra $1,000 received by BBBS last week will be put towards the agency’s in-school mentoring program, which is currently provided at Jack Kemp and Father Gorman community schools.
The program teams adult mentors with children identified by the school as being most in need of one-on-one attention.
However, with 76 children waiting to be matched with a big brother or sister in Lloydminster, a shortfall is being seen in volunteers as well as money.
“All we need for the in-school mentoring program is one hour a week. That’s all the time that the mentor has to put in, and that’s only during the school year,” said Robinson.
“With 76 kids on the wait list, one-on-one matches are a little bit more difficult. It is a big commitment on the part of a big (brother or sister), and people tend to shy away from commitment.”
http://www.meridianbooster.com/story.php?id=180913
Lung cancer risk higher for women
Special to the Free Press Marilyn Linton 2005-08-29 01:51:24
Breast cancer is the No. 1 health fear among women, but lung cancer is our No. 1 cancer killer.
Runs and walks raise millions for breast cancer research, survivors are rightfully celebrated, and marketing the pink ribbon symbol involves everything from kitchen appliances to sparkly lip gel.
In contrast, lung cancer is clouded in shame and guilt, fundraisers for it are few and far between, and successful treatment, compared to breast cancer, has moved at a snail's pace for both women and men.
This dreadful disease is front and centre now because of the recent death of TV's Peter Jennings and the announcement shortly thereafter that actor Christopher Reeve's wife, Dana, has it too.
Lung cancer usually kills and, unlike breast cancer, we mostly know what causes it. According to the Canadian Cancer Society, one in 17 women (most of them smokers) will develop lung cancer, compared to one in 13 men. Every half hour or so, a Canadian woman dies as a result of smoking.
But it's not only that lung cancer, with its five-year survival rate of less than 15 per cent, is among the most hopeless of cancers; it's also one of those (along with ovarian and pancreatic cancers) that is not easy to detect.
Chest X-rays are unreliable, and though three-dimensional CT scans show promise, they are not used for routine screening. Lung cancer's symptoms (shortness of breath, coughing up blood, weight loss and fatigue) can ape a number of other illnesses. Even sputum analysis seems to evade early detection, so by the time this condition is found it has often spread to other organs.
As if all this weren't bad enough, Reeve's illness has highlighted a new and alarming trend: An increasing number of lung cancers are being diagnosed in women who are non-smokers. Statistics suggest that the number of non-smoking lung cancers in women are equal to the number of leukemia cases. In other words, significant.
Now there's an organization devoted to raising awareness of this frightful disease in women. Women Against Lung Cancer (WALC) keeps statistics, reviews treatments and raises money for gender-specific research.
It was started by a U.S. oncologist and most of its members are from south of the border, but Dr. Frances Shepherd, an oncologist from Princess Margaret Hospital in Toronto and someone who for years has held a specific interest in women and lung cancer, is also involved.
According to the organization (womenagainstlungcancer.org), lung cancer cases have quadrupled in women since the 1960s and now are even being diagnosed in women in their 20s, 30s and 40s. Second-hand smoke is probably a big factor in cancers affecting non-smokers, but other toxins are also being investigated.
Women are more vulnerable to tobacco smoke, whether they smoke themselves or not. Second-hand smoke increases the risk of heart disease, lung cancer, cancer of the cervix and childhood bronchitis among non-smokers. Women who do smoke run a higher risk of several other cancers and women who smoke and who use birth control pills are 10 to 20 times more likely to have heart disease or even stroke, no matter what their age.
Eighty per cent of women begin smoking in their teens, and research has shown that young women who smoke are seeking independence, status, relaxation, a chance to meet friends and a heightened sense of self-esteem. Women also smoke to dull their appetites.
But women who smoke because they think it's sexy soon find that stinking breath, stained teeth and yellow fingers are not. Because smoking has an adverse effect on a woman's natural estrogen, it also quickens the aging process and brings wrinkles. By then, women are hooked because tobacco is addictive, some say more so than heroin.
It's bad news, all round. But one thing still rings true. Up to 90 per cent of lung cancers can be prevented by stopping smoking. Easier said than done -- but that's all we've got.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Today/2005/08/29/1192243-sun.html
Society more tolerant of drug users than smokers -AB
The Edmonton Journal Monday, August 29, 2005
The Aug. 17 editorial, "No exception for tobacconbists," is less a warning about the dangers of a weakened smoking bylaw than it is a good demonstration of fallacious reasoning.
If the City of Edmonton has created a smoking bylaw to protect the health and safety of those who choose not to smoke, then it is reasonable to assume that it will do so in those areas where non-smokers will congregate in confined spaces.
However, in the case of a tobacconist's shop, who is the city intending to protect from the consumption of an as yet legal and well-legislated product?
At a tobacconist, all of the adult patrons will be either pipe or cigar smokers or people who enter the shop knowing that smoking is taking place.
The adult staff members are tobacco aficionados who enjoy pipe and cigar tobacco as a part of their daily routine and who receive training in the art of tobacco blending and smoking.
Some people actually use tobacco for the pure enjoyment of it and not because of some addiction.
They just want to enjoy it in the one place most suited to do so with other like-minded adults.
Apparently, the city has decided that Martha and Henry are too stupid to know they are at risk and must be protected from themselves.
Ironically, it might be easier on Martha and Henry if they were hooked on heroin, as they would get a clean rig, some methadone, and a quiet room to use it in -- provided at taxpayers' expense.
But God help them, they want to enjoy some tobacco only around other smokers.
So if the staff, patrons and customers of tobacconists are buying and enjoying legal tobacco, where does the public health issue come into play?
The bylaw is certainly sensible in the case of the other businesses, but a tobacconist's shop?
This bylaw goes too far. Clearly, an exception must be made for tobacconists.
Peter Sanderson, Edmonton
http://www.canada.com/edmonton/edmontonjournal/news/letters/story.html?id=f270db5e-7100-41ea-abe6-3fdd7f614dcb
Store fined for selling cigarettes to a minor-YK
By Candice O'Grady
Herbie’s Grocery store has been fined $500 in territorial court after one of its cashiers was caught selling cigarettes to minors.
Judge John Faulkner ruled that the previous store owner, Mary Balsam, failed to prove she had taken reasonable steps to prevent the sale of tobacco products to underaged people.
The “evidence falls short of proving due diligence,” the ruling said.
Faulkner also ordered a forfeiture of cigarettes from the store, located on Wilson Drive in the Granger subdivision.
The events that spurred the case began last September. Heelah Woo, a tobacco enforcement officer for Health Canada, was carrying out compliance checks in the territory.
This involves driving to various tobacco retailers throughout the Yukon and sending an underaged person into the store.
The “test shopper” is usually someone 15 to 16 year
