Ciggyfree Blog

The public forests of western Oregon provide enormous benefits to the American people. They are the sources of clean drinking water for many communities, provide hiking, fishing, camping, rafting, and other recreational opportunities not often found on private lands, and provide key habitat for a wide range of wildlife and fish species, especially wildlife that are threatened with extinction such as marbled murrelets, northern spotted owls, and wild Pacific salmon.

The plan proposed by BLM for western Oregon public forests will seriously reduce streamside protections, increase clearcuts, and diminish the careful balance of wildlife protections developed through the Northwest Forest Plan. Ancient Forests are scheduled to eventually be logged. The plan unrealistically includes a 43% increase in BLM’s budget, and also depends on the construction of over 1,300 miles of logging roads. The erroneous purpose of the plan is to dramatically increase logging levels. Logging should be focused on restoration projects, and in areas that would benefit by reducing fire threats to homes and property.

I urge you to withdraw the current plan and issue a new plan that focuses on protecting the lands that BLM is supposed to be managing to benefit all the American people.

Bush Administration is rushing to finalize plans that open up thousands of acres of forest in Oregon. Under the plans, these forests with their towering trees, rushing rivers and wildlife habitat, would see logging levels increase dramatically, more than tripling current levels.

But the story’s not over yet. Please join me and tens of thousands of other Americans who are opposing this plan.

Click below to take immediate action.
http://action.wilderness.org/campaign/ognw?rk=rdsNkSs1DNDdW

Ciggyfree Favorite Quit Smoking Meters for 2008!

QuitKeeper (Windows 98/Me/NT/2000/XP)

SilkQuit(Windows)

Quit Time (Windows)
ManillaPush Quit Meter (Windows)
QuitMeter (windows/Mac/Linux)
QuitOMeter 2.0 (OS X ready)
PuffFree v0.8 (Palm)
SMOB-omet-ER (Web TV meter)
Quit Meter Standalone
Quitter quit meter applet for GNOME
LinQuit source code (Linux)
Online Quit Meter
Quitomzilla Plugin for Firefox, Thunderbird and Mozilla Suite
Smoking Cost Calculator Shows inflation rates with varying ages

Quit Stats a google gadget  that you can add to your Google personalized homepage

$700 Billion American Taxpayer Dollars to go to Foreigners!
http://fedupusa.org/

Brad Sherman (D-CA) was on Kudlow and explained to the world that the $700 Billion wasn’t meant for the US, it was meant for foreign investors.

Hundreds of billions of dollars are going to bail out foreign investors. They know it, they demanded it and the bill has been carefully written to make sure that can happen.”

YOU ARE GOING TO GET FLEECED FOR HUNDREDS OF BILLIONS OF DOLLARS IF THIS BILL PASSES - THAT MONEY IS GOING TO GO IMMEDIATELY OUT OF THE COUNTRY!

In my travels around the internet today I ran across an exceptionally interesting article that I felt I must share with you.  On a larger scale our planet is fueled by water and without water, our planet could not sustain life.

I think that every human on this planet has been touched by tainted water supplies.  We are all 1-3 degrees connected via toxins, drugs, or skewed DNA.  We can’t get away from it.

On a smaller scale the human body is fueled by our blood supply and without blood we cannot exist.  With ten pints of blood the heart can pump enough through the arteries to get to our lungs and every other tissue in our body! The connectedness of water and blood leaves me wondering if perhaps we are all addicts to the substances pumped into our environment?

[BARCELONA, SPAIN] — Researchers from the University of Barcelona and water corporation Group Agbar have found that conventional drinking water treatment sequences can remove “drugs of abuse,” both legal and illegal, from contaminated water, according to a recent article in Environmental Science & Technology.

The researchers took samples of water from Spain’s Llobregat River and its tributaries, where more than 55 treatment plants dump their treated wastewater. Sampling was performed at more than a dozen sites during different seasons over a one year period, followed by one year of regular monitoring. The group tested for drugs such as LSD, phencyclidine (PCP), cocaine, ecstasy, caffeine and nicotine. Data shows the river was flooded with caffeine and trace levels of nicotine, and contained about 15 grams of cocaine per day, according to the article. Methylenedioxymethamphetamine (MDMA), which is known by the street name ecstasy, was also found.

Concord, NH – The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services encourages New Hampshire residents to join millions of people around the world on March 29 at 8 p.m. in making a statement about climate change by turning off your lights for one hour.

“Earth Hour” is an event that was created by the World Wildlife Fund in Sydney, Australia in 2007 to reduce energy use and heighten awareness of everyone’s impact on climate change.  In one year the event has grown from an event in one city to a global movement. In 2008, millions of people, businesses, governments and civic organizations in nearly 200 cities around the globe will turn out for Earth Hour.  More than 100 cities across North America will participate.

By participating in this event, New Hampshire residents can take a symbolic step towards making changes that will help to address the impacts of climate change.  Simple things like turning off appliances and lights while not in use, switching your lights to energy efficient bulbs, can make a big difference in reducing your energy use, and can save you money on your electric bill in the process.

To learn more about Earth Hour or sign up to participate, visit www.earthhour.org.  For more energy saving tips, go to www.des.nh.gov/ard/climatechange/.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
DATE: March 28, 2008
CONTACT: Kathy Brockett, 603-271-6284

KILL SPAM DEAD…Use AKISMET!

Akismet has caught 4,805 spam. You have no spam currently in the queue. Must be your lucky day.

How does it feel to be hacked by a group of top notch Russian hackers? I definitely feel violated but have become much more security conscious about locking down the web server and plugging every possible hole.

You may notice that the site loads a bit slower than it used to. Logging is crucial to avoid further interruptions in getting the word out about big tobacco.

Silence is a source of great strength. ~Lao Tzu

Stay tuned!
hugs,
robbster

Today, the Nicaraguan Appellate Court ruled 2-1 in favor of Innocence for Eric Volz and demanded his immediate release. In fulfillment of Nicaraguan law, Judge Ivette Toruno, the convicting judge who is required by law to sign the release papers, arranged for Eric’s attorney to pick-up the release papers at 2pm this afternoon. However, Toruno left the court at 1:30 and will not come back for the rest of the day. It is unclear as to whether or not she will be in the office tomorrow, as well.

Judge Toruno is currently in contempt of court by refusing to make her appointment and sign the release papers. Eric has been freed, but is still being detained illegally, against the orders of the Appellate Court.

Nicaraguan radio broadcasts have been announcing that the people need to take justice into their own hands, since word of the court’s decision. We are more concerned than ever before, for Eric’s safety.

It appears as if no one in the judicial, penal and/or immigration systems in Nicaragua is responding to requests by Eric’s attorney or by the US Embassy to process Eric’s release immediately as ordered by the court.

Eric’s mother, Maggie, will appear on CNN AC360 TONIGHT [12-17-07] and The Today Show [12-18-07]

Reality Check is a proactive group of New York Teens who refuse to allow the tobacco industry to continuously manipulate teens into smoking.

They expose the shady practices of the major companies that sell marlboro, newport, camel, kool, and every other brand of cigarettes that is advertised to teens.

At their website they state: “It would be easier to kick the habit if the tobacco industry didn’t add AMMONIA to cigarettes to make the nicotine reach our brains quicker. Making us crave it even more.”

Reality Check is not against smokers.

“We are against an industry that deliberately goes after us in their relentless effort to addict us to nicotine in order to replace their dying customers.

Check out their site today!
http://www.realitycheckny.org/

 COLUMBIA, SC (WIS) - A local musician and anti-smoking activist died Wednesday evening after a long battle with lung cancer, according to his family.Chris Conner was a member of the Midlands band Sourwood Honey, and was diagnosed with lung cancer earlier this year.

Chris was a smoker for 16 years and quit two years before becoming ill.

Abstract:  Cigarettes have been socially engineered to become potent symbols. Therefore, they need to be understood as cultural products invested with cognitive and emotional salience as well as nicotine delivery devices engineered to create a population of dependent users. In this paper, we look at the symbolism of cigarettes, but unlike many researchers examining this topic, we attend as much to what tobacco users do with cigarettes as to what smoking means to them cognitively. Based on interviews with low-level smokers conducted on two college campuses, we suggest that students use tobacco in order to accomplish interactional goals and to structure social time and space that would otherwise be ambiguously defined. By conceptualizing this structuring activity as play, we gain valuable insights into early stages and trajectories of tobacco use among college students. Our conceptualization of smoking as play is not meant to trivialize low-level tobacco use. Much the opposite, we caution that the contexts in which low-level smoking takes place and the utility functions of such smoking must be taken seriously by researchers in light of current increases in tobacco use among college students.

Continue reading the original paper here

From: Culture, Medicine and Psychiatry
An International Journal of Comparative Cross-Cultural Research

Statement of William V. Corr, Executive Director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids

WASHINGTON, Nov. 7 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ — By telling $12 million
worth of lies, the Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds tobacco companies have
again protected their profits at the expense of children by defeating a
ballot initiative to increase Oregon’s cigarette tax and fund health care
for children. The tobacco companies will profit by selling more cigarettes,
while Oregonians will pay a terrible price with more kids addicted to
tobacco, more lives lost and more kids without health care.

Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds opposed this initiative because they
know that increasing the cigarette tax is one of the most effective ways to
reduce smoking, especially among children, and they also know that the
public strongly supports increasing the cigarette tax. These tobacco
companies knew they couldn’t win by arguing against the cigarette tax
increase, so they spent a record $12 million to change the subject and
deceive the voters of Oregon. In fact, the tobacco companies made this
election about anything but the cigarette tax increase, which is the one
issue they truly cared about.

Throughout the campaign, media reports regularly exposed the industry’s
deceptive tactics, including the creation of an industry-funded front group
– Oregonians Against the Blank Check; RJR’s distribution of a mass-mailed
letter that appeared to come from a first-grade teacher but was mailed from
the office of the company’s lobbyist; and false claims in TV ads. The
tobacco companies’ ads falsely claimed that the money raised would not be
spent on children’s health care and manufactured controversy about amending
the Oregon Constitution despite the fact it has similarly been amended many
times (and the tobacco companies themselves have proposed constitutional
amendments in other states). The $12 million spent by Philip Morris and
R.J. Reynolds more than doubled the previous record for an Oregon ballot
initiative and was nearly four times what proponents of the initiative
spent.

Measure 50 would have raised the tax on a pack of cigarettes by 85 cents to pay for children’s health care and other programs in Oregon.

Don’t let this small failure for the health of Oregon’s children lead you to believe that BIG TOBBACO will always win — there will always be sites like Ciggyfree to point out how BIG TOBACCO poisons our beings, our land, our air, rewires our brains,  and reduces the quality of all human life on our planet — all for the sake of padding the selfish coffers of THEIR corporate greed.

Shame on YOU BIG TOBACCO and shame on those who support BIG TOBACCO.

You are all a bunch of MURDERERS…

~robbster

The Match Test

Light a match in a draft-free room, let it burn halfway, hold it 6 inches from your mouth, and try to blow it out with your mouth wide open. If you can’t, your lungs may not be in the best condition.

Measure Your Chest

Measure your chest at rest. Men should measure the chest around the nipples; women should measure just under the breasts.

Take a full breath and measure again while holding the breath. The second measurement should be at least 1.5 inches more than the first one. If your chest expands less than 1.5 inches with a deep breath, your lungs may be weak and you should see your doctor.
Time Your Exhalation

Take a deep breath, then time yourself while you exhale it as fast as possible. Time only the exhalation, not the inhalation. If it takes longer than 3 to 4 seconds to exhale, you may have a lung disorder and should see your doctor.

Dave Hogan from The Oregonian reported today that:

Reynolds American, the makers of Camel cigarettes, has contributed another $304,000 to the record-setting campaign against Measure 50, which would raise Oregon’s cigarette tax by 85 cents a pack.”

Reynolds, based in Winston-Salem, N.C., has now contributed $4.6 million to the Oregonians Against The Blank Check campaign while Philip Morris, the makers of Marlboros, and its parent company have donated $5.8 million to the Stop The Measure 50 Tax Hike committee.
Those two committees have raised far more money than any other ballot measure campaign in Oregon history.

It looks like Reynolds has a major business problem with measure 50! If fewer people can afford to maintain smoking and fewer children pick up the addiction, tobacco profits will plummet to record lows. In order to profit, a cigarette company needs to always find replacement smokers since the majority of smokers die before their time.

The CDC says that in 2006 tobacco use was the leading preventable cause of death in the United States and that cigarette smoking causes an estimated 438,000 deaths, or about 1 of every 5 deaths, each year. This estimate includes approximately 38,000 deaths from secondhand smoke exposure.

This morning is cloudy, overcast, and drab day here in New England. I’ve been procrastinating about taking the a/c out while silently volleying around the house packing a few more boxes to accommodate this moving to parts unknown plan that I developed late this summer…

Settling down with a steaming cup of coffee, I perused my favorite Usenet quit group. While poking through the posts I became interested in a Freedom Village post that was offering a link to free mentor support to anyone who needed quit smoking assistance. Because the site hosted three advertisements (Wal-Mart, Overstocked, and Netflix):
the Freedom Village site owner (Bubba) was unfortunately rudely intercepted by a few posters.

So I got to thinking that if Freedom Village violated the compost rules (no commercial posts permitted on this newsgroup,) then that would make www.Silkquit.org also a violator of compost policy.

As an example of the direction my thinking is going in: when I clicked on the Silkquit meter page I could purchase a Quit Key for $59.95 or I could get hypnotized for $250.00. Check it out! Google ads rotate so you won’t see the same ads that I did when you visit www.silkquit.org

I also rediscovered that myopic thinking tends to infuriate me. This was another case of obviously palpable double standards. Wikipedia perhaps sums it up best.

“Willful ignorance is a bad faith decision to avoid becoming informed about something so as to avoid having to make undesirable decisions that such information might prompt.”

~robbster

NASMHPD POSITION STATEMENT ON SMOKING POLICY AND TREATMENT AT STATE OPERATED PSYCHIATRIC HOSPITALS

Silently and insidiously tobacco sales and tobacco smoking became an accepted way of life not only in our society, but also in our public mental health treatment facilities.

Revenue from sales of tobacco provides discretionary income for facilities. Smoke breaks became an ‘entitlement’, deserved and protected, and are one of the only times consumers can practice relating to each other and staff in a ‘normalized’ way.

When, what, and how much to smoke are often the only choices consumers make as inpatients, reinforcing cigarette use by virtue of the autonomy it appears to allow. More troubling, cigarettes used as positive/negative reinforcement by staff to control consumer behavior.

While taking seriously and treating illicit drug use by those with mental illness for some time, a substance far more deadly and pervasive, and used disproportionately by this population, has largely been ignored.

And now, a few words about tobacco. It Kills. And, it kills those with mental illness disproportionately and earlier, as the leading contributor of disease and early death in this population.

We first posted about Eric volz in late April of this year.  Here is today’s update:

A Foundation To Build on…Day #291 for Eric in prison

For those of you who read Eric’s last letter (http://www.friendsofericvolz.com/updates.htm#aug8letter ), unfortunately his instincts were correct when he said there would probably be a repressive response by the authorities to the fact that he published such a straight-forward description of how he has become a political prisoner.

We have just been informed that his access to phone calls has been cut to one 15 minute call per week. He must now choose between calling his attorney or his family.

A couple of weeks ago, Eric had his first asthma attack in 10 years. Apparently it was pretty intense and the prison doctor prescribed medicine and asked us to purchase a nebulizer that Eric could keep in his cell for emergencies. We purchased the nebulizer and the medicines and were able to get them to Eric. Two days later the prison warden gave orders to take the nebulizer and the medicines from Eric. That night he had a serious episode and had no medicine.

“Tobacco is fast becoming a greater cause of death and disability than any single disease,” says the WHO.

John Seffrin, CEO of the American Cancer Society, has an even bleaker outlook. “We’re about to witness the largest manmade, tobacco-industry-induced pandemic that the world has ever seen.”

Ad Source:

New York State Smokers Quitline
1-866-NY-QUITS
(1-866-697-8487)

Read about this miracle case of Vanishing lung cancer at The State

The dog days of summer are here once again! I feel like my friend Paul from Musician’s Friend who emailed me last month stating that he was busier than a one legged man at an ass kicking contest.

Aside from being busy working mental health, I am also working on a remote client business logo, business cards, flyers, and a new web development project which gets quite complex when the client gets lost for days at a time in the communication process…

I feel quite sad that I have had zero time to devote to Clean Air Works for New Hampshire and even less time for Global Smokefree Partnership (Article 8 guidelines.) I am still fortunate to be able to devote some energy toward Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, but not as much as I wish I could at this time.

A few more weeks to go before legislators on Capitol Hill vote on S. 625, which allows the FDA to regulate the tobacco industry. I just received two snail mailings today from Senators Sununu (still fence sitting) and Greg (of the Health, Education, Labor and Pensions Committee, who voted August 5 to approve S. 625.) Go Greg Go!!!

As a parting thought I sincerely think it is almost time to switch back to an information technology position. I have been combing the universities and colleges nationwide to see what is currently available. I hope to get back to normal communications by September. Have a great summer and just don’t smoke - not even one!

Hugs,

~robbster

Recently I came across a great wikiHow article on how to deal with impossible people. I’ve had a few impossible people (bullies) that I used to feel inclined to deal with on a regular basis on Usenet, but after reading this article it was apparent to me that the insights and steps for dealing with these types is some of the best information available on the Internet today.

I occasionally work in a professional capacity with victims who are bullied online. It is interesting to note that most online bullies posses varying degrees of a personality disorder. WikiHow states:

Ways to detect if you’re dealing with someone with a personality disorder:

• People either really love the person or really hate him/her (the former may even be the majority, in which case you may feel “crazy” or begin doubting your judgment);
• You, and everyone else, note the person’s “oversensitivity” and feel like you must walk on eggshells around that person;
• The person rarely, or never, accepts responsibility for his/her own actions;
• The person talks behind people’s backs all the time and tries to pit people against each other, causing rifts (or splits);
• The person appears unable to see the “grey area” in people–people are either good or bad (and one little thing can toss someone into their “bad books”);
• The person over-compliments you or other people all the time (tries to create alliances);
• The person has trouble with personal or professional boundaries (over shares, pries, dresses inappropriately, etc.);
• The person has trouble holding an opinion–many people with personality disorders don’t possess their own “personality” and you will see their opinions shift according to their environment;
• The person is highly influenced by external, environmental factors–their mood is a barometer based on goes on around them (for example, they interpret someone looking at them askew and it “ruins their day”, but then someone compliments them and they are suddenly having “the best day ever”, but then they misplace their keys, and their “day is ruined”, etc.);
• The person might complain about having trouble “being alone” or perpetually feeling “empty”;
• Drama always surrounds the person because the person creates it and constantly lives in a state of chaos. Sound brutal? It is. So be sure to bail on that situation ASAP.

1. Get up fifteen minutes earlier in the morning. The inevitable morning mishaps will be less stressful.2. Prepare for the morning the evening before. Set the breakfast table, make lunches, put out the clothes you plan to wear, etc.

3. Don’t rely on your memory. Write down appointment times, when to pick up the laundry, when library books are due, etc.

4. Do nothing which, after being done, leads you to tell a lie.

5. Make duplicates of all keys. Bury a house key in a secret spot in the garden and carry a duplicate car key in your wallet, apart from your key ring.

6. Practice preventive maintenance. Your car, appliances, home, and relationships will be less likely to break down/fall apart “at the worst possible moment.”

7. Be prepared to wait. A paperback can make a wait in a post office line almost pleasant.

8. Procrastination is stressful. Whatever you want to do tomorrow, do today; whatever you want to do today, do it now.

9. Plan ahead. Don’t let the gas tank get below one-quarter full; keep a well-stocked “emergency shelf” of home staples; don’t wait until you’re down to your last bus token or postage stamp to buy more; etc.

10. Don’t put up with something that doesn’t work right. If your alarm clock, wallet, shoe laces, windshield wipers - whatever- are a constant aggravation, get them fixed or get new ones.

KillTheCan.org, created in November 2006, is an online community of people with a common goal of quitting smokeless tobacco. This site hosts QS Xtreme! forums that feature:

1. Quit groups.
2. One day at a time (ODAT) roll call.
3. Hall of Fame (100 days quit)
4. The Playground (a place of distraction)
5. The veterans (those who stick around to help)

They also feature LIVE CHAT

QSXtreme - KillTheCan Online Community

KillTheCan.org states that their site “isn’t about being the “best” site on the web… it’s about getting the most information about quitting chewing tobacco out to anyone who wants it.” Their members have made a total of 72,747 posts and as of June 7, 2007 they have 282 registered members.

Other Links:

Smokeless Tobacco Fact Sheet
Quitting Spit and Other Forms of Oral Tobacco

Cheers,
~robbster

May 24, 2007 between the hours of noon and 11 pm EST.

Cheers! ~Ciggyfree Administration

Meaning: Preoccupied or obsessed with an idea.

“Resolving The Bee In the Bonnet Problem”
by Bear Jack Gebhardt

This article was originally hosted at Seventraditions. I have been unable to locate Bear Jack Gebhardt, but have decided to save this wonderful file here at Ciggyfree until some time in the future when Jack reclaims it. Thank you Jack!

You ever get a bee in your bonnet? Or in your hat? In your car? All
of sudden, you’re not thinking of anything, else, right? Everything in
your life, except that bee, is immediately back burner. You need to do
something about that buzzing bee and you need to do it now. When you
have a bee in your bonnet, life is suddenly very intense, and
uncomfortable, or potentially uncomfortable, and that potential makes
it uncomfortable right now.

For a lot of smokers, quitting smoking is very similar to having a bee
in their bonnet, or a bee buzzing around in the car with them. Life
is suddenly very intense, and uncomfortable, or potentially
uncomfortable. They feel they need to do something about it, “right
now.” Nothing else really matters.

Contrary to popular belief, it is not the lack of nicotine that makes
a quitting smoker so jumpy. The use of nicotine patches, and the new
drug Zyban can be helpful, but, so far, in fewer than 30% of the
cases. Even with nicotine levels at “ordinary,” and with stress levels
reduced, the “bee in the bonnet” feeling persists, and smokers go back
to smoking in order to let the bee out. The “relief ” which a smoker
feels with his or her first cigarette, after an unsuccessful quitting
attempt, is exactly the same relief as when the bee flies out the
window. “Whew, thank goodness that’s over.”

So, what is it, exactly, that makes a smoker feel as if he or she has
a bee in the bonnet, a bee in the car just as soon as the Quit Date
arrives? If we could figure out where the bee comes from, we could go
a long way to making it easier to quit, yes?

The American Nonsmokers’ Rights Foundation (ANRF) houses over thirty thousand articles, news stories, and other materials regarding the tobacco industry; clean indoor air campaigns; and other tobacco policy issues in the United States.

The database is updated weekly.

Dear family and friends,

Only God and Eric and someone else know what is the truth, but from everything that I have seen and read from both sides I am convinced that he is innocent. Please say a prayer for a positive outcome in his appeal which should come back with a verdict in the next couple of days or just ask God to do what is right. Visit these sites and send a letter to Eric to help keep his spirits up. Also, if this touches you like it did me, then please send this on to all your contacts too.

Thank you,
Jeff Muyskens
Director General of ANAPCAA