(Although this refers to an event in California USA...the same points are relevant in the UK and the rest of the world.)

Advance Warning:
Two "anti-tobacco" groups, San Francisco Tobacco Free Coalition and Essential Action, plan a day of free workshops on topic of "Big Tobacco and Globalization"...November 22 at The Women's Building/Edificio de Mujeres, San Francisco. Search either groups' name for info. Or try..  http://www.essentialaction.org/tobacco/event/gloecNCTOH2002.doc

With "enemies" like this, the broad cigarette industry and the corporate globalization entities don't have a thing to worry about.

These organizations say this is about "Smoking and Health" and "tobacco control". With a little info, one notices that, instead, it is about Industry Damage Control and Liability Control...to make sure that cigarette makers are protected from maximum liabilty and criminal charges, to make sure the many cigarette additives and adulterants suppliers escape all scrutiny and liability, to help corrupt gov't regulators escape scrutiny (and charges) for permitting deadly non-tobacco substances to exist in cigarettes, and to assure that all blame and focus for this crime is placed on one natural plant (conveniently, a "sinful" one) and, of course, on the uninformed, unprotected and insufficiently-warned victims.

These groups ignore a LOT, but environmentalists, health care activists, those who dread another "drug war" prohibition, corporate crime activists, pesticides activists, anti-globalization activists and others might simply ASK these folks about any or all of the following:

* They ignore dioxin in cigarette smoke (from all the chlorine contaminants in typical cigs...NOT from tobacco), though this is particularly harmful to "kids" and pregnant mothers;

* They ignore radiation in cigs, from still-legal use of certain uranium- contaminated fertilizers;

* They ignore "Burn Accelerants" in cigs...despite fires, injuries and deaths...and property losses;

* They ignore Addiction-Enhancing additives...though they say they dislike addiction;

* They ignore many sweet & and flavorful and soothing ingredients that serve to attract more kids to the products...thought they say they don't want kids to smoke;

* They ignore the Big Lie about cigarettes being "Tobacco", though cigs may be made partly or even entirely of non-tobacco industrial waste cellulose; (Reason #1009 why they won't label ingredients.)

* They ignore the fact that some top "anti smoking" Health insurers are
owners of cigarette manufacturers via large investment holdings;

* They ignore influences on regulators and "anti smoking" legislators by many non-manufacturing parts of the cigarette industry;

* They ignore the fact that no states, apparently, forbid parts of the cigarette industry to receive "settlement" distributions; (Easy to check...just ASK any State Att'y General's office if there is ANY prohibition of cig interests receiving cig "settlement" funds);

* They ignore the fact that it is NOT cigarette interests who pay these "settlement" penalties...but that the costs are passed onto victims through higher prices;

* They ignore, and seem to actually PROMOTE, the threat of yet another prohibition of yet another plant product...and that this would serve almost exactly the same industries that benefit from cannabis prohibition;

* They ignore the failure to present in courts or legislatures any studies about the real or expected harms of tobacco...without the toxic and untested and carcinogenic non-tobacco contaminants. But they keep saying "tobacco", not Adulterated Tobacco, anyway...just as cigarette makers do.

They present themselves as being "anti Globalization", even to the point of holding an "IMF protest" recently re/ "tobacco" privatization etc. However, a glance at the industries they IGNORE...the industries that will save billions that they would otherwise pay to the public and to victims in penalties and liabilities...the industries that may continue to evade liabilities for other unregulated harms...shows us a list of the top promoters and beneficiaries OF Globalization...namely Big Oil (tobacco pestides), Pharmaceuticals (more tobacco pesticides AND ingredients), Big Timber (paper and fake tobacco cellulose), AG biz (cig additives and more fake tobacco stuff)...and, of course, all their insurers and investors.

Here's Ten Questions I sent to organizers of the Nov 22 "workshops". Perhaps others can add different questions. Send to Mele Lau Smith
or Susana Hennessey Lavery or .

1) Will the vital, integral topic of Non-Tobacco Cigarette Constituents be on the agenda? If not, how may this be introduced?

2) The "Comprehensive Smoking Education Act", that forbids even U.S. representatives to reveal Top Secret cigarette ingredients, is STILL in effect! Will there be any work on demanding that Congress Repeal this Act?

3) Would like to see list of any businesses or agents or the like who may be sponsoring this event. Great care must be taken, of course, to assure that none of them are in the non-manufacturing parts of the Cigarette Industry. For liability reasons, these interests try to remain out of sight. These might include pharmaceutical firms that make tobacco pesticides, insurance firms that hold large investments in cigarette manufacturing and/or ingredients or advertising, food or agricultural interests that supply non-tobacco cigarette ingredients, cigarette advertisers of course, and generally any firm that has significant interests in Chlorine...source of high levels of Dioxin in typical cigarette smoke. (This latter category, expectedly, hopes to lay all blame for "smoking related" illnesses on ANYTHING but their chlorine...even if they do not directly participate in cigarette manufacturing processes.)

4) There are MANY US patents for processes to make FAKE TOBACCO out of all sorts of (usually chlorine-contaminated) Industrial Waste Cellulose. Will copies of these patents be made available to attendees? ...or will there be some workshop or forum so that they can be discussed?

5) Is anything on the agenda about the very worrisome concept of a Prohibition of tobacco...especially in light of the fact that scientific analysis of unadulterated tobacco or it's real or potential negative effects doesn't seem to have been done yet? We are all too familiar with the incredible horrors of the current, scientifically-baseless cannabis prohibition, and the earlier alcohol Prohibition. At all costs, this must not happen again.

6) We would all hope to see the FDA finally regulate cigarettes so that, at last, the non-tobacco ingredients might be removed from the products until they are tested for safety in this use, and then, if any prove to not add to inherent risks of plain tobacco, clearly labeled. Will this be on the agenda?

7) We have witnessed scandalous behavior of states in their "settlements" programs....as millions of these dollars are actually permitted to be RETURNED to various parts of the cigarette industry...such as health insurers that are part owners of cigarette manufacturers, cigarette advertisers (to do Anti Smoking campaigns!), pharmaceutical firms that are tobacco pesticide makers and/or cigarette ingredient providers, and food interests who may also be contributors to non-tobacco cigarette ingredients. I do hope THIS will part of the events.

8) In respect for firefighters, in light of national honors given to them for 9/11 heroics etc, it is unimaginable that our officials STILL permit "burn accelerants" in typical cigarettes (unlabeled, of course, and without specific warning) so that the plague of so-called "smoking related" fires can continue to be maximized. If this is to be on the agenda, I will personally contact firefighter unions and so forth to help promote the events.

9) Re; "kids" and "smoking". You know that chlorine by-product, dioxin, is officially a Known Human Carcinogen. Also, the U.S. signed a treaty to globally phase out dioxin and 11 other of the worst industrial pollutants. The overall worst exposure route into the body for dioxin is via inhalation. and it is particularly harmful to young people. Incredibly, it is still absolutely legal in cigarette smoke due to still legal cigarette contamination with chlorine elements! Neither smokers NOR "second-hand smokers" are informed, protected or specifically warned about this!
The conscience-free officials who permit this atrocity are the very ones who propose, not banning the substances in these products...but burdening the VICTIMS with laws and fines and so forth! The injustice is large and clear. If there is one way to effectively address the topic of Smoking and Health...it is here.
A court case on this might take only two minutes. It is these regulators' OWN testimony on harms of dioxin that may be used against them!

10) If not on the agenda yet...may I propose a "Know Your Congress Person" program? This would be to inform citizens about which members accept funding from, or have holdings in, cigarette cartel interests. This is especially important regarding the less obvious NON-Tobacco/non-manufacturing co-conspirators...as mentioned above. It is not a subtle distinction between Cigarette Manufacturers, and the OWNERS of the manufacturing firms...namely big insurers and investors. Remember, the CEOs of the self-named "tobacco companies" are mere employees of these owners. Ultimate responsibility rests at the TOP.
I might add that above even THAT are the public officials who, to this day, permit any of many hundreds of untested non-tobacco ingredients and some of the world's most deadly industrial substances to be in smoking products!...without a word of information or warning to any consumer. The inhumanity of this is appalling. The implications regarding regulation of ALL consumer products and industrial processes are enormous.


Thank you for any information you may provide.

PS: Please note that California, though not a "Tobacco State", has no shortage of actual or probable suppliers of non-tobacco cigarette components...such as timber (for cig paper AND fake tobacco cellulose materials), Agricultural and food processing firms (untested additives and, again, fake tobacco cellulose), oil firms (tobacco pesticides) and pharmaceutical/chemical firms (tobacco pesticides and so forth).
It WOULD be valid AND newsworthy if some sort of public demonstrations were scheduled at headquarters of some or all of these businesses if their links can be documented.