May, 2003 Hello to everyone once again, and a special welcome to all of our new PUBCO members across Ontario. It's been a while since we last went to print - but believe us when we say that it's been a really hectic period. The Antis are out in force and, armed with tens of millions of our tax dollars, they have been popping up all over the place. PUBCO has been active across the province, appearing before councils, meeting with Queens Park representatives and local councilors, providing advice to those contemplating legal challenges and, of course, fund-raising to support the constitutional challenge efforts of Morris Manning Q.C in Toronto. HURON COUNTY FLIP- FLOPS Just recently Huron County did a complete flip flop after county council had agreed on a class ‘A ‘exemption for pubs and bars. The motion lasted only one week when it was withdrawn. A vote was consequently held to quash the motion and ended in an 8-8 deadlock. This forced the deciding vote by the mayor of Goderich who voted in favour. Almost simultaneously a motion was passed 12-4 for a 100 percent ban. What a bunch of hypocrites - democracy at its best! Hopefully supporters of Huron County small business will show up at the November polls as this is clearly not the mandate that these people were elected to carry out. HERE WE GO AGAIN. A NEW PURGE IN OTTAWA - IS YOUR PATIO SAFE? Kingston has done the unthinkable and an all out patio ban on smoking goes into effect this month. That's right, Kingston, the patio capital of Ontario! No one believed that even the Anti’s could get away with such a ridiculous ban and a legal challenge is underway as we go to press. However, it just goes to show there's no limit to some people's stupidity. In the meantime, Kingston's bingos are exempted - how's that for hypocrisy? It's hard to understand how sitting just 5 or 6 feet from diesel trucks, or smoking on a patio in a town with a smog warning in effect could trigger a secondhand smoke patio alert. But, remember the initial onslaught of the smoking bylaw in Ottawa? No one believed that it would happen either. But before you knew it, bylaw officers dressed in bullet proof vests and leather jackboots were harassing owners on an hourly basis. As a result of Mayor Chiarelli's intractable position, more than 50 Ottawa bars and pubs have been forced to close. And now it could be happening again. A quick visit to smokefreeottawa.com will demonstrate what the Anti’s are up to. They are compiling a list of smoke free patios in the Ottawa area and are starting to lobby city council for a patio ban similar to Kingston's. Of course it's absolute nonsense, but that doesn't mean it can't happen. Ottawa owners have been drained of money through legal costs and loss of clientele, and many have been driven out of business by this council and it's destructive and unnecessary by-lawif you read Ottawa’s smoking bylaws 148 and 149, there is absolutely no indication that patios are included. Yet, on numerous occasions the city has been bullying owners, and sometimes ticketing them, under the "home-made" provision that requires 25% of any protected patio area to be open to the elements. If you receive a ticket for any patio violation please contact PUBCO. We must remain vigilant province wide in this fight, and make it clear that politicians cannot make important decisions that affect our industry without prior consultation with those concerned. DON’T PULL THEIR NOSES FROM THE TROUGH!! A North Dakota State committee recently came up with the recommendation that tobacco should be totally banned throughout the State. You’d think this would have had the Antis dancing in the street wouldn’t you?. But nothing of the sort. The cancer society and the heart foundation people all made recommendations not to adopt the proposal. Why? – Well we can only assume that they realized they might all end up out of work. Without tobacco taxes there would be no money to pay them to lobby against tobacco! Funny old world eh? THE ANTIS ARE OUT TO DESTROY YOUR BUSINESS WITH THEIR LYING CAMPAIGNS The Anti strategy explained As we run up against more and more dishonest attempts to ram through 100% smoking bans, it is quite clear that they are all structured in the same manner. This is no coincidence, and indicates clearly that they are being directed from a central control point. The approach taken is almost identical, be it in New Tecumseh or Toronto. Before the general public, or members of our industry, are even aware that a drive for a 100% smoking ban has been launched, local medical officers are already at work, softening up as many councillors as they possibly can. The pitch they use is as follows:
The SHS scare tactic is based on a myth, a myth that was dreamt up by Anti strategists in the World Health Organization (WHO) as a means of socially criminalizing smokers and to drive a wedge between smokers and non-smokers, and business owners and their employees. Scientific study clearly shows that air within a bar can be ventilated so that the air inside is of better quality than the air outside! This ventilation process is no different than that employed in other workplaces where potentially dangerous toxic materials are present in the atmosphere – mines, garages, dry-cleaners, chemical plants, etc.,. we are not talking rocket science here. PUBCO would argue that the atmosphere in a bar is far safer than that in a chemical plant, but that is not the point. The point is that both can be adequately ventilated to safeguard workers. What PUBCO continues to demand is the provision of a minimum acceptable level of SHS as is done in other industries. For the Antis to insist that exposure to the equivalent of one cigarette a year warrants destroying our industry, is totally irresponsible and unacceptable. Why do the Antis consistently refuse to accept reality? It's quite simple, they have no choice. It's clear that smokers, non-smokers and employees can simultaneously occupy the same premises with no risk to anyone from SHS. To admit to this would totally undermine the Anti's true objective, which is to "denormalize" the practice of social smoking. They thus continue to chant the WHO’s zero tolerance mantra, knowing full well that, if a lie is told often enough, most people will take it for the truth - the same tactic employed by Goebbels in WW2. However, with the example of how the WHO has so disastrously manipulated the SARS fiasco in Toronto staring them in the face, more and more people are beginning to realize how they have been hoodwinked. Just a few seconds is all it takes to place this whole ludicrous theory in context. In a nutshell, what they are claiming is that if just one cigarette were smoked in Toronto's Air Canada Centre, the health of all 18,000 spectators would be placed at serious risk. Obviously this is absolute hogwash, but a lot of seemingly intelligent persons seem to believe it. Next, let’s take a look at another myth - 100% bans will benefit the hospitality industry through an influx of non-smoking patrons. Experience has shown this to be totally false - the non-smokers just do not show up. Indisputable figures supplied by The Brewers of Ontario show a clear drop of 6% in licensee beer sales in Ottawa when compared to other municipalities with no smoking bans. 6% may not sound like much, but it equates to almost a million dollars monthly. As the brunt of this loss was borne by pubs and bars, it is little wonder that over 50 bars in the Ottawa area have already gone under as a direct result of the ban. We are not interested in how many doughnut shops have opened in the same period - the fact of the matter is that 50 small bar owners, and their employees, in Ottawa have been financially destroyed as a direct result of these do-gooders. As for opinion polls, these are the biggest scam of all. The main question asked is always along the lines of "Are you in favour of a 100% smoking ban in public places?" A majority of those polled vote "Yes" because they are under the impression that "Public Places" means schools, libraries, shopping malls, government buildings and the like. Most have no idea at all that, under the provisions of the by-law, "Public Places” also includes the local corner bar or billiard hall. If another question is asked such as "Are you in favour of arrangements to accommodate smokers in bars?" again the answer will be an overwhelming "Yes". Thus this second question is rarely posed. It was asked in the Ottawa poll, but when over 70% voted 'Yes' to special arrangements for smokers, the medical officer of health kept this a secret from both the public and Council. PUBCO eventually obtained the truth through access to information proceedings - but by then the damage had been done. These are the kind of dirty tricks that public servants - people whose wages you are paying - are up to. A classic example of this subterfuge is now underway in Thunder Bay. That City Council, not having the guts to make an honest decision on the smoking issue, voted instead to have it dealt with by plebiscite in November’s municipal election. “Fine” we hear you say “let the people be heard” – but first take a look at the question! "Do you support a ban of smoking in public places and in work places in the City of Thunder Bay?" As explained, average voters will have no idea “public places” includes the local pub – and even if they do, how are they supposed to decide when a “No” vote technically means agreeing to smoking in day care centres? It’s a lose-lose situation for owners, and demonstrates the skullduggery and trickery that we face every day when fighting the Antis. In this case, obviously a “No” vote has to be cast, thus kicking the issue back to council to be dealt with honestly – an unusual approach to a lot of our elected politicians. Lastly, let's take a look at who is in bed with whom. Before throwing out blanket claims of tainted tobacco funding, the Health Industry would be well advised to take a long look at its own funding practices. Apart from being awash in taxpayers' money, there is an undeniably link between the Antis and the large multi-national pharmaceutical companies. These massive “Pharmas" stand to make hundreds of millions as a direct result of the on-going anti-smoking crusade. Take a look at the cost of the non-smoking drugs on sale through your local pharmacy, they are as expensive as cigarettes - and there are no obscene government taxes to push up the prices -it’s all profit! Another point conveniently overlooked is that, in attempting to quit smoking, some are liable to get hooked on the cure, thus merely exchanging one drug for another. Is it any wonder that many doctors protested the decision to make smoking cessation drugs available "over the counter" rather than by "prescription only"? This put paid to some of the sea cruises and trips to Vegas offered by drug company salesmen to doctors as "incentives" for prescribing their particular brand of smoking cessation drug. Lobbyists for the large "Pharmas" stalk the corridors of the World Health Organization (WHO) - the nerve center of the SHS campaign - - and it's quite normal during the Anti love-ins that are held all over the world to see the "Pharmas" front and centre as major sponsors. While not attached directly to the smoking issue, a practice recently came to light that again underlines the sometimes unhealthy relationship that exists between the medical profession and the "Pharmas". This is a neat little scam called "Ghost Writing", and it is used by the "Pharmas" to promote a new drug. The "Pharma" has a professional writer prepare an article that is highly effusive in its praise of the new product. The drug company then pays a doctor to attach his/her name to the article and it is submitted to a Medical Journal for publication. Prescriptions of the drug increase as a result of the article, everyone makes money, and its triple scotches all round. The only one left out of this cozy little arrangement is the patient who ends up taking the prescription. There seem to be some really sleazy professional ethics at work here don't you think? Ventilation Facts
TORONTO DSRS STILL OKAY - FOR NOW Ruling put off to September Toronto Council last month sidelined a highly controversial call by Board of Health to eliminate designated smoking rooms. In a key 20-19 vote, councillors set September as a deadline for dealing with the controversial issue. They put off making a decision to give representatives of the hospitality industry an opportunity to discuss with council how best to resolve the issue. There are about 200 smoking rooms in Toronto's pubs and eateries and, during the Health Board hearings, PUBCO made a presentation to the Board to maintain the status quo. So What Does PUBCO Offer? Due to the proliferation of smoking by-laws we have had little choice right now other than focusing our efforts on this issue. However, we are in the process of looking at other measures by which we can save PUBCO members money. At present, in the Ottawa region, we are running a pilot project on the supply of poultry to PUBCO members. The savings we have been able to generate are considerable, and, if the pilot proves successful, we hope to expand this service into other areas of the province. We are also investigating other possibilities, but, please bear with us as, right now, as fighting these bylaw battles is a fulltime job. STRANGELY TWISTED PRIORITIES All levels of Canadian government are running around like decapitated chickens trying to control the scourge of SARS that is rampant throughout the country. Outside of the Far East, Canada, per capita, has the worst record of SARS of any country in the world. The reasons for this are varied, but at the top of the list is the fact that our immigration system (if you can even call it a system) is about as effective as our gun control - it stinks! Every year, tens of thousands of illegal immigrants enter Canada from all over the world. They undergo no health checks of any kind, and the tracking of such people is practically non existent. No one knows exactly how many hundred thousands of "illegals" are in the country, but to illustrate how useless the system is, around 36,000 of this group who were actually tracked down and ordered deported, have simply disappeared into thin air! Marvelous! With hundreds of thousands of illegal immigrants roaming the country at will, is it any wonder that SARS is spreading like wildfire and the government is helpless to prevent it? One can be excused for wondering, "after SARS what next?" It would take hundreds of millions of dollars to track all these people down and to sort out the mess, and our governments - at all levels - do not have the intestinal fortitude to take on the task - they prefer simply to ignore it and pretend it doesn't exist. Yet, on the other hand, these same governments have been conned by the WHO and its associated Health Industry groupies into wasting hundreds of millions of our tax dollars to combat the mythical bogeyman of SHS. Our "leaders" have got their priorities somewhat screwed up wouldn't you say? Most thinking persons are fully aware that the alleged hazard of second hand smoke is nothing more than a white elephant created by the zealots to prevent persons from smoking, and yet Ottawa and Queens Park continue to spend hundreds of millions of dollars to perpetuate "the big lie". Introducing smoking bans in pubs and bars throughout Ontario will result in the closure of over 2000 small businesses, and cause immeasurable damage to the hospitality industry as a whole. Whatever the minimal effect of second hand smoke might be, it can be quite simply resolved by ventilation, and yet many persons in our governments seem hell bent on continuing their vicious and cynical attack on small business persons. The time is long overdue for these people to re-evaluate their priorities, and the only way they will get this message is for you, and your customers, to tell them, both now and at the ballot box exactly what you think. Phone, write, email or fax your elected representatives at all levels of government - municipal, provincial, and federal. Tell them you are fed up with their hypocritical do-gooding. Tell them you are fed up with the obscene waste of your tax dollars on this second hand smoke nonsense. Tell them that you are mad as heel that they are trying to put you out of business. It's time that you and your customers started to fight back. If you don't it could well be that, in a year from now, both you and your customers will have lost their favorite bar! There is an old saying dating back to the Nazi regime: "Last week, I watched as they came and took a man from down the street, Yesterday, I watched as they came and took away my neighbour, Today, they came for me - why did nobody come to help me?" You must get out there and join in the battle, both for yourself and everyone else out there in our industry. Maybe you are fortunate and live in an area with a smoking by-law you can live with - or even no by-law. However, be assured that the Antis most certainly have your town on their list, and it's only a matter of time before they come for you. I have come to the conclusion that politics are too serious a matter to be left to the politicians. Charles De Gaulle (1890 - 1970) |