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DEAR ABBY: As we struggle with the emotional impact of the large-scale damage and loss of life, and the feelings of uncertainty following the terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington, D.C., we must be aware that stressful times can be particularly difficult for people who are vulnerable to substance abuse or recovering from addiction.
Research and clinical experience have demonstrated that high levels of stress can lead individuals to turn to drugs, alcohol or tobacco in an attempt to alleviate their anxiety. Information about drug abuse can be found on the National Institute on Drug Abuse Web site at www.drugabuse.gov.
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In the end, it was all of those heart-stopping miseries with the elevators at 2 World Trade Center that prompted Joan Greene to tell her daughter, Lorraine Lee, "to leave that building, to get a job somewhere else," Mrs. Greene said. . .
And since Ms. Lee, 37, regularly went out to the plaza for a smoke, it was annoying to spend all that time taking the elevator down from her office on the 101st floor.
But Ms. Lee would not listen to her mother because she loved her job as an administrative assistant at Aon Consulting, even though she traveled each day from Eltingville, Staten Island. And it was also true that Ms. Lee had quit smoking for eight months before the terrorist attack, and did not need to make all those trips to the plaza anymore. "She loved the people there," Mrs. Greene said. [This graph only]
If working a few blocks away from a mass tomb where some of their friends may lie and smelling the acrid fumes from the still-burning rubble of the destroyed World Trade Center wasn't enough, new security restrictions have made life for workers at the New York Stock Exchange even less tolerable.
A big Christmas tree and festive decorations set up outside the exchange cannot make up for the lost right to have a smoke or grab a bite whenever they want, traders say. . .
Smokers who used to dash out for a quick cigarette now have to plow their way back through a 20-minute checkpoint.
``I usually took four cigarette breaks, now I take two if I'm lucky,'' said an apprentice trader who was grabbing a quick lunch at Champ's delicatessen near the exchange. [This graph only]
The Bush administration sought to use anti-terrorism legislation, rushed through Congress in the wake of the Sept. 11 attacks, to shield U.S. tobacco companies from foreign lawsuits alleging cigarette smuggling and money laundering.
The White House backed a tobacco industry proposal that would have blocked foreign governments from using U.S. courts to go after corporate tax cheats. Canada, the European Union and the governors of Colombia have filed federal civil racketeering lawsuits, seeking billions of dollars in lost revenue and damages from the world’s largest tobacco companies. The suits allege the companies smuggled their cigarettes to evade taxes and duties on their products.
Known in legislative parlance as a "rule of construction," the administration-backed measure was added to the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 late on Oct. 16, on the eve of its passage in the Republican-controlled House of Representatives. But the rule ran into strong opposition from Democratic senators and was not part of the USA PATRIOT Act, which President Bush signed into law on Oct. 26. House wording that would have expanded existing law on money laundering crimes to include specifically fraud against foreign governments, however, was eliminated.
The rule of construction did not refer directly to tobacco companies. But it was backed by the White House, Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Tx., and lobbyists for the tobacco industry, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, congressional sources said.
Proposed wording in the Oct. 15 U.S. Chamber of Commerce letter to Treasury Secretary Paul O’Neill
"Notwithstanding this Act or any other provision of law, no federal or state court shall have jurisdiction over any civil action or claim that has as its aim or effect the recovery of damages for the non-payment of taxes or duties under the revenue laws of a foreign state, or any political subdivision thereof, except as such actions or claims are authorized by a United States treaty that provides the United States and its political subdivisions with reciprocal rights to pursue such actions or claims in the courts of the foreign state and its political subdivisions."
The "Rule of Construction" wording from the Oct. 16 version of H.R. 3004
"None of the changes or amendments made by the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 shall expand the jurisdiction of any Federal or State court over any civil action or claim for monetary damages for the nonpayment of taxes or duties under the revenue laws of a foreign state, or any political subdivision thereof, except as such actions or claims are authorized by United States treaty that provides the United States and its political subdivisions with reciprocal rights to pursue such actions or claims in the courts of the foreign state and its political subdivisions."
"The White House wanted it there," one source said, adding, "The White House put pressure on us to make the case even stronger for the Chamber."
None of the changes or amendments made by the Financial Anti-Terrorism Act of 2001 shall expand the jurisdiction of any Federal or State court over any civil action or claim for monetary damages for the nonpayment of taxes or duties under the revenue laws of a foreign state, or any political subdivision thereof, except as such actions or claims are authorized by United States treaty that provides the United States and its political subdivisions with reciprocal rights to pursue such actions or claims in the courts of the foreign state and its political subdivisions.The "Rule of Construction" wording--backed by the White House, Rep. Tom DeLay, R-Tx., and lobbyists for the tobacco industry, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce-- from the Oct. 16 version of H.R. 3004. Encountering strong opposition from Democratic senators, the rule was not part of the USA PATRIOT Act, which President Bush signed into law on Oct. 26. Beelman, M.
Thanks in part to local resident and syndicated columnist George Will, smokers residing in Montgomery County, Maryland, won't be dragged before a judge for lighting up in the privacy of their own homes. After a barrage of public criticism, including a nationally televised comparison to the Taliban by our friend Mr. Will, the Montgomery County Council performed a political pirouette this week, abandoning legislation that would have made home-smokers pay a fine of up to $750 if neighbors complained. Perhaps Mr. Will's analogy is too kind. We're told even the Taliban appreciate the soothing effects of tobacco from time to time, no doubt more so now when their nerves are a bit frayed. [This graph only]
So far, the war on terrorism has pushed the budgets of the California and federal government into deficits. San Diego County is facing unexpected costs of millions of dollars to protect the public. . .
County deputy chief administrator Rich Robinson told 10News that the county is lucky to have a bit of wriggle room financially.
"Fortunately, as a result of suits related to tobacco use, there are some discretionary funds that are appropriate for this kind of use," Robinson said. [This graph only]
Michael L. Rothschild makes some good points in his Nov. 25 op-ed article, pointing out that even if terrorism were commonplace, the odds of being a victim of terrorism still would be much lower than the odds of dying on the highways or as a result of smoking.
But Mr. Rothschild fails to acknowledge the real reason people are afraid of terrorism: A lack of control over the outcome leaves people psychologically weak in a way that car accidents and cigarette smoke do not. . .
When you believe that you can exercise some measure of control, you feel safer. When all control over the outcome has been wrested from you, you feel more exposed.
Terrorism, more perhaps than anything else, leaves people with the feeling that they have no control over the outcome.
Impressed by Tabacalera A. Fuente y Cia.'s donation of 1,000 Fuente Fuente OpusX PerfecXion "A" cigars to the Twin Towers Fund, Holt's Cigar Store Inc. president Robert Levin has matched the funds raised at his Philadelphia store, donating an additonal $5,000.
"They sold out in a day," said Levin. "We sold 100 of them at $50 each, for $5,000, and we put in $5,000. It was a good opportunity."
Fuente shipped 800 of the cigars to retailers in New York City, New Jersey and Philadelphia. Fuente executive Wayne Suarez said the cigars sold out in one day. . .
Each "A" sold for $50, and every dollar raised went directly to the Twin Towers Fund, which was created by New York City mayor Rudolph W. Giuliani.
The doors of Cigar Aficionado's New York Big Smoke opened early at the Marriott Marquis in Times Square. By special invitation of Mayor Rudolph Giuliani and Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken, some 800 New York City firefighters, police officers and Port Authority police gathered for an hour of complimentary cigars and camaraderie. These New York heroes -- many of them in uniform -- took to the Big Smoke floor for a well-deserved break from work and a hearty thank you from the mayor, Cigar Aficionado magazine and many of the world's leading cigar manufacturers.
Giuliani and Shanken thanked the attendees for their tireless work since the attacks on New York City on September 11. Many of the firefighters, police and Port Authority police had been toiling at the still burning ruins of the World Trade Center, some of them as recently as that day. . .
A who's who of cigar executives were in attendance, gladly handing out their products to New York's finest and bravest. . .
Giuliani approached the mike as the room applauded. "Thank you to Cigar Aficionado magazine and to all the cigar manufacturers that are here," he said. The police and fire department "serve us with such exceptional skill and bravery. I'm so glad there's this recognition for them. And if you like cigars --" with this, the cigar loving mayor took a long, dramatic puff on his cigar as flashbulbs popped and news cameras rolled -- "there are some great ones here. Enjoy them."
Being fined for smoking at home would, at least, be of-a-piece with the national spirit these days. Every week the federal government brings in more state secrecy and expands arbitrary state police power. Attorney General John Ashcroft has decreed that law officers can now eavesdrop on conversations between lawyers and clients and has called for rounding up 5,000 immigrants who fit "a set of generic parameters" (?) -- a plan so dim and desperate sounding that local police chiefs are muttering in rebellion. . .
So maybe there's a bright side to this don't-smoke-at-home nonsense. Often it's the local injustices that raise our ire. As word gets out about this one, perhaps it will remind us why Americans are suspicious of unchecked, unchallenged leadership. Not for nothing have we spent centuries of energy and passion trying to control government -- because the alternative is to have it control us instead.
Biotech startup Targacept Inc. may consider developing a treatment for nerve gas attacks.
CEO Don deBethizy said the project got started last month when Tommy Thompson, the U.S. secretary of health and human services, implored a gathering of 200 biotech CEOs to develop vaccines and other treatments for bioterrorist attacks.
DeBethizy was among the CEOs at a meeting in southern California and he is now in the process of getting in contact with Thompson to discuss laying out a research plan.
"Whenever you get an opportunity like this where there's a national need, it's important to at least apply what you know to do what you can," deBethizy said.
Targacept was spun-out of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. last summer. It grew from the cigarette maker's years of research into nicotine. Targacept is developing drugs that focus on the central nervous system and deal with, specifically, so-called nicotinic receptors.
The company's lead compounds are for treating Alzheimer's and Parkinson's diseases and ulcerative colitis. They are undergoing clinical trials and could be on the market as soon as 2005. The same principles used in developing those compounds may be transferable to nerve gas attacks, deBethizy said.
Firefighters are used to rushing into smoky rooms - but yesterday they did it for fun, as Cigar Aficionado magazine hosted an event for the FDNY and NYPD at the Marriott Marquis in Midtown.
Avid cigar smoker Mayor Rudy Giuliani, the mag's cover boy this month, made an appearance at the affair, telling the assembled firefighters and cops, "You're the reason why the city of New York, having been attacked so brutally . . . is even stronger, brighter and more effective now than it was before Sept. 11."
The magazine invited the city's heroes who worked at the World Trade Center recovery effort to participate in a sampling of some of the best cigars in the world.
"This is just a small way for us to say thank you to everybody for the service they've provided to New York," said Cigar Aficionado editor and publisher Marvin R. Shanken. "It's an honor for us to honor them."
Remarks presented by ACSH President Dr. Elizabeth M. Whelan at a special conference convened by Secretary Andrew Cuomo, Friday, November 16, 2001 . .
Just over two million deaths occur in the United States each year Public health experts estimate that about one million of them are preventable—in the sense they are postponeable.
what accounts for those one million premature deaths?
—500,000 are due to the use of tobacco, primarily in the form of cigarette smoking. It is remarkable how just one lifestyle factor accounts for twenty-five percent of all deaths—and fifty percent of those that are preventable. This is particularly remarkable because many people do not realize how relatively new the cigarette is in our society. While tobacco was the first crop of our fledgling nation, cigarettes did not come on the scene in any commercially viable way until just before World War I. . .
The real danger here is fear and panic—and spending so much time worrying about small, or hypothetical risks, that we overlook the real killers. Consider the mother who is so concerned about biowarfare that she does not put a seat belt on her child in a taxi, or rationalizes smoking as a means of coping with a hypothetical risk.
A person I number among my closest friends confided the other day that since the anthrax scare began, she routinely fishes letters out of her mailbox with a stick, dumps them on the ground and pokes everything around before picking it up. . . here's the kicker: This same individual has been smoking cigarettes for years and still puffs up a storm all hours of the day.
Last I heard, a total of four Americans -- out of 250 million -- had died from breathing anthrax spores. I hate to think how many hundred or thousand times that many people have succumbed over the same period of time to the several diseases associated with tobacco use. . .
One can't help wondering what would happen if the media -- the broadcast media in particular -- were to take deaths from cigarette smoking as seriously as deaths from anthrax. Suppose the news was filled all day long with reports from all over the country of individuals falling victim to the diseases caused by tobacco? How long before even the most hard-shelled smokers would look at their cigarettes in the same way my friend now regards her mailbox?
An article on Nov. 4 about an increase in smoking in the city since Sept. 11 misidentified the director of the Coalition for a Smoke-Free City, who was quoted as criticizing the distribution of free cigarettes to workers at ground zero. The director is Joanne Kildare, not Donna Shelley. Ms. Shelley, who has expressed concern about the rise in smoking, is director of the Tobacco Control Program of the city's Department of Health. [This graph only]