<Christine, you want to talk about dangerous items! Balloons KILL!!!>
Sorry it took me so long to answer this, Michael. I am working on catching up on some of my very old messages. I knew that balloons are very dangerous for children, as are other toys that can block airways. Grapes, raw carrots, hot dogs and peanuts should not be fed to very young children, either.
On the other hand, balloons kill only the children who are so unfortunate to have parents who are not vigilant enough to protect them throughout their childhoods. Jet skis disturb the peace of everyone, and kill birds and fish randomly. Of course, the cigarette industry is just the worst!! My latest issue of Newsweek has a public service announcement from the California Department of Public Health, with a timeline of assaults by the tobacco industry. I thought this was very interesting:
1959
The tobacco industry knew that smoking causes cancer.
1961
Tobacco companies knew that cigarette smoke contains arsenic, a substance used in rat poison, which was known to cause cancer.
1963
The tobacco industry knows that nicotine is addictive. They denied any knowledge before Congress in 1994. Four years later they finally admitted it.
1969
Tobacco companies knew that smoking during pregnancy produces low birth-weight babies who tend to suffer detrimental health effects all through life.
1975
The tobacco industry spent millions of dollars targeting ethnic communities. African-American men now suffer a 50% higher lung cancer death rate than white men.
1978
Research on developing a "safer" cigarette was halted by several tobacco companies.
1991
A study reveals that Joe Camel is as familiar to 6-year-olds as Mickey Mouse. And they associate Joe Camel with cigarettes.
1997
According to a study, each year up to a million cases of children's asthma are linked to secondhand smoke.
1998
Recently disclosed tobacco company documents reveal a strategy that relates cigarettes to pot, beer, wine, and sex in their advertising.
1998
For each of the last 10 years, lung cancers have killed more women in the United States than breast cancer. |
