Charity funds to go toward smoking fines
DEAR EDITOR:
From the greatest generation to our current conflicts, the men and women who've served our country gather in private at our local VFW where those who gave continue giving. Last year alone, we donated more than $40,000 of our own money back into the charities of Warren.
Though our doors are closed to the privacy of war veterans and supporters, we have been singled out and adjudicated by the city as a public entity under the state smoking ban. Mayor O'Brien and the Warren Health Department have fined us anonymously and spuriously in the thousands of dollars.
These same monies, which I used to give to local charities such as the Salvation Army, Warren Family Mission, Hospice, Meals on Wheels and many others, now goes as fines through the health department.
As Veterans Day approaches, on behalf of the men and women of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1090 of Warren, I feel personally obligated as charities chairman to apologize to my fellow citizens. Our loss of revenue has caused me to protect our own interests, redirecting an open policy of charity to lesser amounts in a time when the funds are needed most.
Richard F. Harvey
USMC-USA-DAV-RET
Warren
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frustrated
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11-10-09 8:39 AM
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Leave it to them to want to make their own rules. I am a former employee at this place and this is nothing new. They all think they are high and mighty and don't have to follow the law. Pretty bad when your own people are turning you in. You deserve that $1000 fine. Get with the program and quit complaining about it!
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estimatedprophet
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11-09-09 12:39 PM
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Hey Bob - I support IQ tests for voters, too. We'll make it simple - one question: Would you vote for Sarah Palen for president? If you said yes, you fail. "HALT! Gene Police. YOU-Out of the pool!"
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passintime
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11-09-09 9:28 AM
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fyi i was a social member of a vfw all you need is a vet member to sponser you and pay a fee and push the buzzer and your in.....
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OldVet
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11-08-09 4:24 PM
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This "smoking ban" is just a backdoor prohibition.
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estimatedprophet
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11-08-09 2:33 PM
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Harleywannabe, you're a trip - and a typical conservative hypocrite. You pontificate about freedom and liberty to all - all except the 80 % of people who aren't pathetic addicts. You think THEY are the ones with the problem, and if they don't like it, they can go elsewhere. That's rich. You keep throwing out bogus info about how second-hand smoke isn't harmful, and think people are too stupid to see thru your BS. It's not all about causing cancer - normal people don't want to stink like bums because they have been around smoke - you don't know how disgusting it smells because you can't smell it. And the only people who should be called Nazi's are Nazi's.
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 1:29 PM
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social memberships or not,people CHOOSE to be members period......but the bans are about destroying free choise and freewill....so dont insult our intelligence. The bans are not based upon health or science but upon hate of smoking in general by a few of the going public.America was built upon freedom and liberty to all....somewhere the nazi anti-smoking zealots forgot that.
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passintime
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11-08-09 12:42 PM
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well, unless you count all the social memberships. please don't insult my intelligence
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 11:48 AM
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The truer question is' Why are the rights of the people even up for a vote?'........You do realise mississippi laste year tried to outlaw obese people from eating in public restaraunts. However commonsence is returning to america as we vote these progressive socialists out of office and we restore the rights of the citizens. I too am a veteran.....with 1 war under my belt.....But it seems we were fighting the wrong enemy,when the true enemy to liberty is here at home....named barrack obama,nancy pelosi,harry reid.......the list goes on of those who outlaw freedom and liberty.Smoking is but one issue in the WAR ON FREEDOM.
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soot10
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11-08-09 10:41 AM
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I am a Veteran. I think all Veterans should follow the law. Don't smoke and you won't break the law and in tern will not be fined. If all Vetrans against this law banded together to elect "Veterans for smoking" to the state House and Senate from the VFW and American Legion canteenes then the law could be changed in Columbus. One Vet to another. Put up or shut up. Follow the current law, or change it.
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:19 AM
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SECOND HAND SMOKE IS A JOKE. Ask the anti-tobacco folks to tell you what truly is in second hand smoke...when it burns from the coal its oxygenated and everything is burned and turned into water vapor..................thats right water..........you ever burned leaves in the fall...know how the heavy smoke bellows off.......thats the organic material releasing the moisture in the leaves the greener the leaves/organic material the more smoke thats made......thats why second hand smoke is classified as a class 3 irritant by osha and epa as of 2006........after that time EPA decided to change the listing of shs as a carcinogen for political reasons.......because it contained a trace amount of 6 chemicals so small even sophisticated scientific equipment can hardly detect it .
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:19 AM
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they didnt however use the normal dose makes the poison computation when they made this political decision. However osha still maintains shs/ets as an irritant only and maintains the dose makes the poison position.......as osha is in charge of indoor air quality its decisions are based on science not political agendas as epa's is. We can see this is true after a federal judge threw out the epa's study on shs as junk science.
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:18 AM
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Wednesday, March 12, 2008 British Medical Journal & WHO conclude secondhand smoke "health hazard" claims are greatly exaggerated The BMJ published report at: ***********bmj****/cgi/content/full/326/7398/1057 concludes that "The results do not support a causal relation between environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco related mortality. The association between exposure to environmental tobacco smoke and coronary heart disease and lung cancer are considerably weaker than generally believed." What makes this study so significant is that it took place over a 39 year period, and studied the results of non-smokers who lived with smokers.....
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:17 AM
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meaning these non-smokers were exposed to secondhand smoke up to 24 hours per day; 365 days per year for 39 years. And there was still no relation between environmental tobacco smoke and tobacco related mortality. In light of the damage to business, jobs, and the economy from smoking bans the BMJ report should be revisited by lawmakers as a reference tool and justification to repeal the now unnecessary and very damaging smoking ban laws. Also significant is the World Health Organization (WHO) study:
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:17 AM
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Passive smoking doesn't cause cancer-official By Victoria Macdonald, Health Correspondent " The results are consistent with their being no additional risk for a person living or working with a smoker and could be consistent with passive smoke having a protective effect against lung cancer. The summary, seen by The Telegraph, also states: 'There was no association between lung cancer risk and ETS exposure during childhood.' " And if lawmakers need additional real world data to further highlight the need to eliminate these onerous and arbitrary laws, air quality testing by Johns Hopkins University proves that secondhand smoke is up to 25,000 times SAFER than occupational (OSHA) workplace regulations.
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:16 AM
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The Chemistry of Secondary Smoke About 94% of secondary smoke is composed of water vapor and ordinary air with a slight excess of carbon dioxide. Another 3 % is carbon monoxide. The last 3 % contains the rest of the 4,000 or so chemicals supposedly to be found in smoke… but found, obviously, in very small quantities if at all.This is because most of the assumed chemicals have never actually been found in secondhand smoke. (1989 Report of the Surgeon General p. 80). Most of these chemicals can only be found in quantities measured in nanograms, picograms and femtograms. Many cannot even be detected in these amounts: their presence is simply theorized rather than measured. To bring those quantities into a real world perspective, take a saltshaker and shake out a few grains of salt. A single grain of that salt will weigh in the ballpark of 100 million picograms! (Allen Blackman. Chemistry Magazine 10/08/01).
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harleyrider1978
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11-08-09 10:16 AM
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As for secondhand smoke in the air, OSHA has stated outright that: "Field studies of environmental tobacco smoke indicate that under normal conditions, the components in tobacco smoke are diluted below existing Permissible Exposure Levels (PELS.) as referenced in the Air Contaminant Standard (29 CFR 1910.1000)...It would be very rare to find a workplace with so much smoking that any individual PEL would be exceeded." -Letter From Greg Watchman, Acting Sec'y, OSHA, To Leroy J Pletten, PHD, July 8, 1997 -harleyrider1978
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passintime
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11-08-09 9:44 AM
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i refuse to spend the bar price on a drink and have to go outside and smoke, we use to go to the bar kick back relax and enjoy. not anymore, and winter is coming screw that.. but, i will say there were more people on the patio then sitting in the bar the last time i went. it was a very easy fix, non-smoking and smoking bars it should have been up the owner of the business.. we go the restuarant to eat no big deal there ..
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SURV69
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11-08-09 8:29 AM
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My understanding was that smoking is allowed in any business that is family-run and completely family-operated. A business where no one comes in. What's even more interesting about the "greatest generation"(those of us about 70 years old now) and smoking, is that Uncle Sam, in his infinate wisdom made certain that E-V-E-R-Y member of the armed forces got cigarettes in their K-rations. This helped ensure that those military personnel and no doubt their families would be inclined to smoke for years to come.
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builderbob
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11-08-09 8:13 AM
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don't blame the lawmakers blame the lawbreakers.Do you think that all veterans want to breath your smoke?You come on like you're some compassinate giving person,so why do you want everyone that comes in to your club to be subjected to your nasty habit.
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Dvlschild1961
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11-08-09 7:13 AM
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you said it Lottery!!!!!!!
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FlashGordon
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11-08-09 4:37 AM
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Very Well Stated Mr. Richard F. Harvey! Non-smokers could have opened their own bars and designated them non-smoking. I agree with Lotterydreamer about restaurants, I'll gladly move my butt out the door for a puff.
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estimatedprophet
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11-08-09 3:11 AM
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Hey Richie - here's a solution: Quit breaking the law and you won't be fined. Then you won't have to whine about not beig able to support charieties. Or at least you'll have to think of another excuse. 80 % of the population does not smoke, and that crosses all demographic lines - includng vets, too. Why are you discriminating against them by subjecting them to smoke if they want to visit their "private" club? These brave folks survived wars but have to risk their health to go to the VFW. Ironic, innit?
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Lotterydreamer
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11-08-09 12:17 AM
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The smoking law s...... and needs to be repealed. Private clubs should have been exempt.No smoking in restaurants is fine. Trickle down effect - prime example. thanks to our Warren's finest and the very best health department a community could ever ask for. There are too many people working for the city of Warren. Cut these people off the payroll.
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