Tuesday 9 April 2013

And Now For The Outdoor Snus Ban

If you thought Bloomberg's ban on smoking in 29,000 acres of New York parks  - and California banning e-cigs everywhere - was insane, wait till you get a load of this.
Grand Forks outdoor parks have areas where smoking is banned, courtesy of Measure 8 in November. Grand Forks Park Board Commissioner Molly Soeby wants to extend that ban to all varieties of tobacco. 
Commissioner Jay Panzer responded to Soeby’s proposal at Tuesday’s board meeting with a big grin and the words: “This is a ginormous can of worms.” 
After flashing a smile acknowledging Panzer’s assessment, Soeby argued that chewing tobacco is damaging because it’s an unhealthy habit in what should be a healthy environment. 
“We look at parks as a way to make a community healthier,” she said. “There’s no way tobacco makes us healthier. Our community is becoming more healthy and it realizes what a problem tobacco is.”
The "the smoking ban is only to protect those poor bar workers from passive smoke" defence is but a distant memory, isn't it?
She said she will be OK if she doesn’t get a smokeless ban, but . . . 
“I’ll be back next year,” she said. “The times are a-changing.”
They sure are. After 80 years, deeply anti-social prohibitionists have escaped their collective straitjacket and are greasing up the slippery slope on a daily basis.

I don't fancy alcohol's chances much, do you?


11 comments:

Jean Savoye said...

Good luck implementing that.
These jerks probably think smokeless tobacco implies spitting or something like that.

Jean Granville said...

Good luck implementing that. These jerks probably think snus users spit.

SteveW said...

Eating 'non-approved' foods in the park won't be far behind.
I would like to propose retrospective abortion as an option for this useless arsewit.

BenPal said...

' “I’ll be back next year,” she said. “The times are a-changing.” '
In other words: I have the power, I will impose my will on you.

JonathanBagley said...

As snus use is undetectable, a ban would not directly affect the level of use. Only a ban on possession accompanied by some stop and search policy would be effective. Apparently this has been done in Santa Cruz.
http://tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.co.uk/2007/03/santa-cruz-county-bans-mere-possession.html
Isn't outdoor alcohol consumption already banned in some UK parks? I remember picnickers protesting they wouldn't be able to enjoy a civilsed glass of wine with their meal.

Tom said...

You beat me to the punch on the Santa Cruz outdoor "tobacco possession" ban, which includes a $50 fine and on the spot confiscation - the police are authorized to rip the tobacco product off your hands, from out of your mouth and from inside your pockets - and that's been the law there for many years now.

Rursus said...

Mrs. Molly Soeby is the owner of "WelCore Health".

She started by reading labels, she said, looking for items with less fat and calories.

“I am not a dietician, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know
a candy bar with 360 calories is not as healthy as another with 220
calories,” she said" [...]

"The group received a $40,000 grant in 2011 from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention to find ways to promote a healthier lifestyle among Grand Cities’ residents." [...]

"They selected several initiatives, including promoting children’s gardens and restricting tobacco use in parks." [...]

"The group is working with restaurants to promote meals with reduced
portion size, fat and sodium content and highlight foods that are
nutrient-dense, such as whole grain breads, fruits, vegetables, low-fat
milk and cheese, and lean protein." [...]
Source: http://welcorehealth.com/

PAID ZEALOT-RUBBISH!

V Hale said...

Watch this space - Fat people banned from parks...

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cfrankdavis said...

“I am not a dietician, but it doesn’t take a rocket scientist to know
a candy bar with 360 calories is not as healthy as another with 220
calories,” she said"
Actually, since we all require energy in the form of calories, the candy bar with 360 calories is healthier thanone with 220 calories, in that it will keep you alive longer.
These people really do have everything completely back to front.

Rursus said...

to hit the bull's-eye:


“We look at parks as a way to make a community healthier,” she said.
“There’s no way FAT makes us healthier. Our community is becoming
more healthy and it realizes what a problem fat people are.”

Thanks!