Fools Gold

Alas my friends if you hitched your wagon in support of smoking bans or global warming, you are more than obviously another willing victim of statistical fraud.

Hysteria and fears which are more closely related to your discomfort with the smell of the smoke, than any realistic harm originating from it. It is your fear which allows increased production of bureaucracy inspired fools gold, a growing epidemic which creates huge holes in the public purse and generously rewards those who play the game.

In the 50s and 60s more than half the population smoked in North America 54% in fact, now that those same people are getting older in an evolving population bubble, they are naturally dying from what has always been known as diseases of the elderly, such as cancers and heart disease which occur in the vast majority beyond 70 years of age. A population bubble actually predicted at birth and for many years after, to die at 65.

With an aging population it was expected we would see disease increases in these categories. Because more than half the population smoked and the fact slightly more than half of the so called smoking related diseases are found among smokers is only in reality a reflection of population norms in an aging population, and exactly what was known and expected for decades.

Half of smokers in this age group it is prophesied “will die of smoking related diseases”. Half of those who did not smoke will take up slightly less than half of smoking related diseases [4% less than half or 46%] close to 25% of each population group reflecting less than 25% of total mortality figures in both cases, so what is so scary? What we did not expect as the bubble moved was; despite the drastic reductions of smoking prevalence, little reductions of the disease numbers ever occurred, which we had always believed, were primarily caused by smoking.

No one thought to test other realities once our collective mind was made up, we just stuck to the belief system. Recently Stanton Glanz an avid anti smoker advocate citing information gleaned from his favorite list of research papers, implied; the increased risk of second hand smoke was .3 or 30%. He also stated second hand smoke was more dangerous than primary smoking, but that’s another story. If we look at the numbers that 30% fits quite nicely in the expectation of 4% less non smokers numerically would result obviously in 4% less mortalities from smoking related diseases. 30% of [4% reduction of the 25% of total mortalities classed as smoking related] This apparently demonstrates an elimination of any increased risk due to second hand smoke above population norms. It would also illuminate a tendency of the fanatics, to zero in on research limited to the population bubble, while attempting to present an increased risk in the past still applies to the current population today which creates much larger numbers. With absolutely no credit given to medical innovation in over 50 years and the numerous environmental changes we were told would afford us large benefits over the years, significant factors they seem to be glossing over when distributing ever increasing numbers in mortality predictions.

Statistical research studying population patterns often fails to recognize the split of smokers and non smokers as an evolving percentage number and the majority figure has changed significantly with no apparent effect according to the research. They also fail to realize; few don’t know what cigarette smoke smells like, so virtually all in the population have been exposed. In aging groups all were exposed in much higher volumes and for much longer durations than anything we would see today. Realizing this, how do you develop an increased employment risk with no non exposed control group to measure against?

The answer; You can’t!!!

No disease has ever been determined to have been caused by second hand smoke; there is simply a slim statistical association among 10s of thousands of other statistical associations. What was determined by calculation was; it might be possible. If we choose to ignore the other possibilities anything could be made, more possible. Similarly an association exists between breast cancers and an increased risk of 25,000% if a woman wears a bra, a much more definitive possibility we can ignore, for obvious reasons.

No cause is ever legitimately stated, just a possibility of increased risk. The claims of actual “cause” are a result of the exaggerations and deceptive ad agency spin produced for lobby groups, with obvious financial interests in their sights. Epidemiology is the science of speculation. Nothing is reproducible or even sustainable for long, as perspectives change with media hype driving popular opinions. Nothing grows beyond what a researcher believes, or more accurately; what the researcher wants others to believe. It is a system dominated by an old boy’s network, with strict control over public perspectives with research funding as a reward for the obedient, which serves to sustain the credibility of their promotions of the past, at the pleasure of enormous industry funded Charity foundations. [The guys who write the largest cheques]

People driven to fear will demand to be protected. Lobbies were funded to create political pressures. Gratuitously exaggerated fear did the rest. You now have smoking bans, global warming and fat pandemics, and who could forget the mad cows which destroyed the cattle industry and drove the prices of beef through the roof. SARS pandemics were used as a Whip in Canada who was resisting UN demands at the time. Canada was declared a risky destination by UN lobbies who eventually won, Canadian government obedience. Bird flu preaching pandemic fear from disease strains which do not even exist, resulted in stock piling of vaccines which can offer no protection, from an as yet, undetermined target disease. Irresponsible reporting is driving huge Health Scare expenditures with irresponsible claims. We have as a result a global expression of hypochondria. Hysterics and high drama in the media spotlight are claiming statistical victims wherever it can find them.

Bodies are being claimed now, in many instances multiple times, by multiple competing lobbies. The sum of risk calculations which are always stated as; predicted by the World Health Organization, realistically far exceeds how many are actually dying.

We have a duty to pay taxes, how many lives a government duty or obligation actually saves, by huge investments, is none of our concern. It just sounds so good, while promoting a political brand, when a politician reminds us how many lives they saved today, our level of gratitude in poll numbers actually measures how well we are being conned.

No one has caught on to the idea, surprisingly, that we will all die eventually and no death is really preventable. Nor has anyone considered, what is actually being said when claiming “there is no safe level of tobacco smoke” which is actually saying nothing at all, however the fear produced by that statement places it atop the many historic ad agency creations, as a legend in its own time. We could say there is no safe level of air, water or just about anything you could imagine the placement in relation to cigarette smoke has served its purpose admirably.

The real crime found in all this? The fear in our communities is driven by tax expenditures in support of professional radicals, resulting in the financing of highly deceptive media promotions, no more real than the fanatical sky is falling routine. Fears are then forcing legislators to make much larger expenditures in protecting us from what we believe to be much more dangerous than physical science could ever sustain.

Fools gold!!!

You really do; have nothing to fear but fear itself. Get it?