METROPOLITAN DESK | May 7, 2002, Tuesday
PUBLIC LIVES; Where There's Smoke There's a New Rule Against It

By JOYCE WADLER (NYT)

LEAD PARAGRAPH - NEAT as an otter in his gray turtleneck and dark suit, Scott R. Wechsler, the president of the Manhattan co-op board that decided to forbid new buyers to smoke in their apartments, wastes no time getting into his own somewhat fervid defense.

''I'm not a nonsmoking advocate, I just want everybody to know,'' Mr. Wechsler begins, in a torrent of words in his Midtown office. ''We were just a board of directors looking to how we can make the building a better place to live. There were several issues involved. First and foremost, the safety of the shareholders is our No. 1 concern. In the last couple of months we've had a couple of fires in some of the neighboring buildings. We were told at least one of them was caused by smokers in bed.''

George Harrison: Smoker

February 1, 2002

By Elizabeth Whelan, Sc.D., M.P.H.

George Harrison, the "quiet Beatle" died in December, 200l at age 58. The cause of Mr. Harrison's death—a death which clearly by any definition can be characterized as "premature"—was cigarette smoking. In their December l0th issues, both Time and Newsweek extensively covered Harrison's death. Coverage noted, among other details, his devotion to the Maharishi Mahesh Yogi—but neither magazine mentioned the most critical factor: cigarette smoking as the cause of death. Both magazines carry cigarette ads. The omission of reference to cigarettes is significant and raises the question of whether the magazines' own addiction to cigarette ads is a factor in deleting pejorative references to cigarettes.

On the other hand, People, another magazine replete with cigarette ads, did refer in its obituary to Harrison being a "lifelong smoker." Further, People published a letter to the editor on December 3lst noting "the handsome, younger Beatle with a cigarette in his hand speaks volumes about the product that contributed to his early and untimely demise."

Perhaps the temptation to spike the horrific truth about smoking's impact on life and health varies among publications—even among those who rely on cigarette ad revenues.

Hot Dogs and Heroin, per Animal Rights Group

March 19, 2002

Dr. Neal D. Barnard, head of the animal rights group Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine, on the dangers of hot dogs:

"Forget the moderation myth...It applies to healthy foods, not unhealthy ones...moderation does not apply to cigarettes, heroin, or hot dogs. It's easier to make a clean break."

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