Truck driver fined for smoking in his truck!

[Inverted2]

Guess it was a slow day for this piggy. Cops are winning over friends wherever they go!
Friggin' communist bastards!


http://www.cbc.ca/canada/windsor/story/ ... 91008.html

[niss]

God Damn do I ever hate this country at times.

[. ._]

The trucker must have been giving some attitude or the cop was a dick.

Well, that, and the law is stupid because second hand smoke does not cause cancer- according to Penn and Teller.

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/cont ... ID_NOT_SET

-istp

[Dust Devil]

I can understand if you have other people in a company vehicle but this is just stupid

[KAG]

Were one more step closer to all of us being placed in a bubble for our own safety.

[dashx]

I remember working with a Canadian cop overseas with the UN and all he could comment on was how many laws were being broken as we drove through town (by the locals).

Ya welcome to the real world buddy....

anyway....

You can´t fix stupid (ron white)

But damn we try hard in Canada..........

[B-rad]

I can't believe how many people still smoke nowadays. It's got to be one of the stupidest things you can do. It's the leading cause of preventable deaths with so many health concerns to nearly every organ in the body, even down to cancer in the bone marrow. The cop is an ass for issuing a ticket especially for this law never being enforced and the offender is only harming himself. Laws like wearing your seat belt and wearing a helmet on a motor bike or bicycle are just as dumb but you don't see people complaining about those.

[niss]

Laws like wearing your seat belt and wearing a helmet on a motor bike or bicycle are just as dumb but you don't see people complaining about those.

Yes you do. All the time.

[Topspin]

I can't believe how many people still smoke nowadays. It's got to be one of the stupidest things you can do. It's the leading cause of preventable deaths with so many health concerns to nearly every organ in the body, even down to cancer in the bone marrow.

I don't agree with this at all.

An idling Honda Civic produces far more toxic chemicals in ten minutes than a cigarette can ever hope. That does not even get into engines running under load or vehicles without emissions controls.

A laser jet printer has been found to emit toxic chemicals doing as much, and sometimes more damage than second hand smoke.
http://www.cbc.ca/health/story/2007/10/ ... study.html
http://www.aerias.org/DesktopModules/Ar ... ticleId=87

We carry around smartphones, Ipods, personal electronics, all broadcasting radiation. Any urban area, the airwaves are full of radiation, cell communications, VHF, radio, Wi-Fi, electrical cables.

Processed and fast food does irreparable damage to far more people every year than tobacco ever will.

*********

Is smoking a completely stupid thing to do? Yes. Is it any different from dozens of activities and harmful environments that we willingly subject ourselves to every day? No.

It's one heck of a political football though. My $.02

[niss]

Sigh....

Remember Remember, the 5th of November..........

[B-rad]

I can't believe how many people still smoke nowadays. It's got to be one of the stupidest things you can do. It's the leading cause of preventable deaths with so many health concerns to nearly every organ in the body, even down to cancer in the bone marrow.

I don't agree with this at all.
...is smoking a completely stupid thing to do? Yes. Is it any different from dozens of activities and harmful environments that we willingly subject ourselves to every day? No.

It is very different. How many people do you know who have died from engine exhaust? Laser printers? fast food? or their Ipods? No doubt they are not good for you and damage the body but how can hundreds of thousands of deaths a year due to smoking not get your attention?? And at what benefit? there is nothing good coming from a cigarette so to me it seams like an easy choice not to. I'm guessing you are a smoker tho? I just don't understand why people still do it after having so much education available and put out to them. Arguing that other things also aren't good for you just doesn't change my mind about it.

I'm not trying to ignore your valid point that we harm ourselves in many ways everyday but it's easier for me to accept those exposures when they come from things that also make my life easier like driving, or using a cell phone, and I'm sure there are a ton of health risks I expose myself to from flying and I'm not gonna stop. They just don't seam to have nearly the same direct and immediate impact that we see coming from inhaling the absolutely toxic poisons from cigarettes.

It is said that quitting smoking has immediate and long term benefits.
http://www.quit4life.com/index_e.asp

[niss]

It is very different. How many people do you know who have died from engine exhaust? Laser printers? fast food? or their Ipods?

How many people do you know of have died of cancer and never smoked?

I agree with you smoking is a no no for healthy living, but I do have a problem when the government tries to clamp down like this.

[Topspin]

I can't believe how many people still smoke nowadays. It's got to be one of the stupidest things you can do. It's the leading cause of preventable deaths with so many health concerns to nearly every organ in the body, even down to cancer in the bone marrow.

I don't agree with this at all.
...is smoking a completely stupid thing to do? Yes. Is it any different from dozens of activities and harmful environments that we willingly subject ourselves to every day? No.

It is very different. How many people do you know who have died from engine exhaust? Laser printers? fast food? or their Ipods? No doubt they are not good for you and damage the body but how can hundreds of thousands of deaths a year due to smoking not get your attention?? And at what benefit? there is nothing good coming from a cigarette so to me it seams like an easy choice not to. I'm guessing you are a smoker tho? I just don't understand why people still do it after having so much education available and put out to them. Arguing that other things also aren't good for you just doesn't change my mind about it.

I'm not trying to ignore your valid point that we harm ourselves in many ways everyday but it's easier for me to accept those exposures when they come from things that also make my life easier like driving, or using a cell phone, and I'm sure there are a ton of health risks I expose myself to from flying and I'm not gonna stop. They just don't seam to have nearly the same direct and immediate impact that we see coming from inhaling the absolutely toxic poisons from cigarettes.

It is said that quitting smoking has immediate and long term benefits.
http://www.quit4life.com/index_e.asp

I'm an ex-smoker. And their are cancerous deaths from things like automotive exhaust, they just aren't reported because their are no agency's purposed to collect stats on them.

Example:
Here is a graph showing a decrease in female smokers, but an increase in the overall lung cancer rate amongst females.

In 40 years, the smoking rate halved, but the cancer rate doubled. Surely their must be more to this.

Take somebody that lives 10 km's from anything that could be considered a built up area. They come down to an urban area, and the air doesn't just stink, it hurts the lungs.

In a place like LA, not only can you see it, you can taste it when you breath.

I've experienced a decade of smoking, yet remain in a better state of health than more than half of my friends. I went to high school with a girl that contracted nasal cancer at age 14 having never smoked a cigarette in her life.

Correlation does not necessarily imply causation. (Note, I am not by any means trying to say that cigarettes are not bad for you.)

Conclusion I draw:
Tobacco is very bad for you, but it is in a club of dozens of other things that are very bad for you.

Saying that cigarettes produce no gain can be applied things like cars and phones as well. You do not need a car. You do not need a phone. The relaxation incurred from having a cigarette can constitute the same gain as driving to the store for a jug of milk as opposed to walking. Never mind the fact that the person driving to the store is posing a far bigger health risk to both himself, and other citizens. Not supposed to say things like that out loud.

If tobacco really is a burden on the health care system, why is the Health Canada not subsidizing nicorette, nicoderm, champix? Why did they move so aggressively to protect their revenue source by banning the E-cigarette? Something that was showing considerable promise in helping smokers quit.

If our better interests were really in mind, they would be attacking all health threats, from vehicle exhaust to factory pollution. It can be done, we just choose not to.

Net Result: Political Football - It gets people in your favor, makes it look like your doing something and builds popularity.

[Icebound]

... and the law is stupid because second hand smoke does not cause cancer- according to Penn and Teller.

http://jnci.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/cont ... ID_NOT_SET

-istp

Aw-heck... and I thought it DOES:

http://ije.oxfordjournals.org/cgi/conte ... /36/5/1048 (scroll down just a little to get to "conclusions")

Conclusions The abundance of evidence, [.....] overwhelmingly support the existence of a causal relationship between passive smoking and lung cancer.

I suppose that SINGLE study of 650 patients could somehow be more relevant than this analysis of 101 such studies????


You might also want to check out this:

http://www.cancer.org/docroot/MED/conte ... f_Data.asp


...for an explanation of how American Cancer Society data was compromised by the Tobbaco industry to come up with the ridiculous "does not cause..." claim.




...

[Icebound]

... but I do have a problem when the government tries to clamp down like this.

Then you have to go after the medical community, not the cops. It's the medical community who lobbied really really hard to get these laws in.


...

[B-rad]

I do have a problem when the government tries to clamp down like this.

Why? You enjoy seeing $50 Billion being used in our health care to avoidable causes? This is the next step in getting people to quit smoking by reducing the places they can smoke. Should they make smoking illegal? I dunno but it seams silly that marijuana is and tobacco isn't.
http://www.canada.com/health/Ontario+su ... story.html

Topspin, Thanks for the graph and info. I try to keep an open mind and learn both sides to issues and you bring up a few things I haven't thought about before. I enjoy seeing the graph you put up. It does seam strange that lung cancer would go up while smoking goes down. It seams the male side shows what you would expect so it only leaves questions in my mind for the females. Birth control for example have been linked to lung cancer so perhaps the increase of these drugs could be a cause? No doubt the trust with drug companies is small for many people as there are many many health concerns and side effects with manufactured drugs.

About your friend who got nasal cancer at age 14 without ever smoking, I just gotta ask if she grew up in a household with parents who smoked inside? I do understand tho the effects of pollution in major cities being a problem for health. I spent about 6 months in Sao Paulo and it is a big city with soo much traffic down every street and constant idling cars. I can't imagine you breath much else other then the exhaust. After a few months in the pollution I started to feel the effects and had nose troubles from stuffed noses constantly and felt like I was getting a wease.

As for political games...is there anything that is not effected by this. I don't believe the government always has our best interest in mind or takes the most effective route for problems. This topic could go on and on as to what is bad for you and no doubt we'll find out a lot of interesting points but already I'm starting to loose interest in it. If someone wants to smoke they can go right ahead. My best friend lost his father to smoking in Dec 2007, 2 weeks before Christmas and the speed at which he went from being at home with no reason for concern to having the family cherish the last few moments with him was 3 weeks. I do think it's stupid that the cop gave him a ticket but I also think it's stupid to smoke.

[niss]

I have a problem when the government starts deciding what I can and can't do on or in my property (within reason: no murder, etc).

Also things are starting to get out of hand, you cant smoke in any building here, and now in Barrie there is a municiple ban on smoking on municipal property outside. This means you can't even step outside of the bar to have a cigarette. In Barrie, unless you own it, or your friend owns it, you are forbidden to smoke outside.

How long until it is against the law to smoke inside the house if there is someone under 16, then essentially it is a complete ban on smoking.

[ottawa,kan]

But Niss, that goes along with socialized medicine. If you want the blessed government to pay for your health care, then that same blessed government can tell you how to stay healthy. And only thier opinion counts. You sound a bit hypocritical here. If you want government goodies, don't you have to accept government paternalism? Strike a blow for Nov 5th. Reject your health care. And your unemployment benefits. And your retirement.

[Brewguy]

I just love Chinese milk products with melamine in them... sure they're bad for you, but it tastes so good and you can't beat the price. And that anti-freeze wine, its fantastic too!

[niss]

But Niss, that goes along with socialized medicine. If you want the blessed government to pay for your health care, then that same blessed government can tell you how to stay healthy. And only thier opinion counts. You sound a bit hypocritical here. If you want government goodies, don't you have to accept government paternalism? Strike a blow for Nov 5th. Reject your health care. And your unemployment benefits. And your retirement.

I pay 25% Taxes, and many pay more. The government isn't paying for my health care, I am, and so are most other Canadians. That said, I don't smoke and I do not like the fact that people who do end up being a burden on the Healthcare system but......

What is the rate of tobacco tax?

Tobacco tax rate

As of January 1, 2001, Ontario's tobacco tax rate is 2.65¢ per cigarette on every cigarette and on every gram or part thereof of any tobacco, other than cigars and cigarettes, purchased by a consumer.
The rate of tax is subject to change.

Any future change in the federal excise tax or duty specific to cigarettes will result in a corresponding change in Ontario's tobacco tax on cigarettes and other tobacco, other than cigars, effective on the same day as the change in the federal tax or duty.
Tax on cigars

The tax on cigars is 45% of the retail selling price. (Chapter 42 of the Statutes of Ontario, 2000 (Royal Assent on December 21, 2000) will change the way that the tobacco tax on cigars is calculated. Please bring yourself up-to-date on whether these changes have come into effect-a separate tax bulletin will be issued to highlight any changes.)

http://www.rev.gov.on.ca/en/bulletins/tt/tob2_2001.html

They are also paying their own way through the healthcare system.

Would anyone tolerate the government coming in and saying it is illegal for you to eat fast food & purchase transfats?

[Topspin]

But Niss, that goes along with socialized medicine. If you want the blessed government to pay for your health care, then that same blessed government can tell you how to stay healthy. And only thier opinion counts. You sound a bit hypocritical here. If you want government goodies, don't you have to accept government paternalism? Strike a blow for Nov 5th. Reject your health care. And your unemployment benefits. And your retirement.

Again though, this raises the question. If tobacco is in fact such a burden on the health care system, why are they not promoting preventative treatment and assisting in removing tobaco use?

This strikes me as the most basic of routes to take. Heroin needles are free, but heaven forbid you receive medication to stop an equally addictive destructive habit.

[BoostedNihilist]

I think they should implant us all with anal shockers. That way, whenever we do something they don't like they can just zap us. We'll give the zappers to people who 'know the absolute difference between right and wrong' and leave justice to them. Sounds good to me.

Whatever the merits of health detriment argument are we all should agree on the fact that being pulled over and charged for smoking in your truck isn't freedom.

[Topspin]

I think they should implant us all with anal shockers. That way, whenever we do something they don't like they can just zap us. We'll give the zappers to people who 'know the absolute difference between right and wrong' and leave justice to them. Sounds good to me.

Whatever the merits of health detriment argument are we all should agree on the fact that being pulled over and charged for smoking in your truck isn't freedom.

[ottawa,kan]

Wholie molie jeesus smeezus. $2.65 tax per cigarrette?? Wait a minute, I have a plane, you live in Ontario...how bout I fly up with some cigs for you?

[ScudRunner]