Award for Smokeless (the first)

Steve Beaumont · Post by **Steve Beaumont** » Sat Jan 14, 2006 2:55 pm

I received the following email on Friday and thought people here might be interested in reading about the following award to be given to Sergei "The Original Smokeless Joe" Sawchyn on Tuesday. I don't imagine anyone who feels they would like to attend will be turned away...

On Tuesday, January 17 at 10:00 a.m., the Minister of Health Promotion, Jim Watson, will give away the first-ever Heather Crowe Award as part of the ministry's lineup of promotional events during National Non-Smoking Week. The award will go to J. Sergei (Smokeless Joe) Sawchyn, who opened a non-smoking bar in Toronto 10 years ago -- eight years before Toronto passed its non-smoking by-law.

The Heather Crowe Award was created last year by the Ontario government in honour of Heather Crowe, an Ottawa-area waitress who developed lung cancer after working for many years in smoke-filled bars. The award recognizes individuals and organizations across the province who have made a significant contribution to tobacco control efforts on a local level.

I'm contacting some of the people who know Sergei from his years running Smokeless Joe to let them know that the event will be taking place. I hope you can attend.

Coffee and muffins will be served starting at 9:30.

Where: Smokeless Joe
125 John Street
Toronto, ON

shrike · Post by **shrike** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 12:33 pm

There is an article in today's Toronto Sun on Smokeless Joe's. Couldn't find a link though...sorry!

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 6:17 pm

As an aside, I was in a 'private club' two weeks ago, and there was of course smoking which is the whole point of 'membership.'

I'm glad smokers can support these 'private' bars but after years away from smokey public places (and the occasional cigarette) you know what, I realized some things.

One: smoking, while it looks rather cool IS, erm, pretty vile. It just doesn't make you feel good being trapped in it. And two: it totally screws your sense of smell if you're tring to enjoy a beer, so forget that.

In a few years I've been 'de-normalized' (and somewhat sensitized) to smoking and that change has shown in striking relief what a quite unneccesary and, well killing habit it really is. I will ungrudgingly tolerate it on patios for the time being, sure, but sorry, patio smoking too is doomed to extinction sooner or later.

People WILL de-normalize to smoking, and it will become less & less tolerated with even one passing generation, with the vehement aversion we now feel to asbestos, lead paint and urea formaldehyde in some older buildings.

Now... if we can only get affordable cars that run on electric while we're in the city core... many hundreds die every year from Toronto air pollution, sadly:
http://www.cehontario.org/content.asp?ID=126&NavID=5

HogTownHarry · Post by **HogTownHarry** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 8:41 pm

Now if only we can eliminate the institutionalized hypocrisy of governments piously telling us not to smoke one minute and the next happily pocketing billions in tobacco tax revenues.

Ban it or can it - if it's legal, get off our backs - if it's lethal, why is it legal? Or does politico greed (at all levels and across all parties) maybe answer that?

Just to clarify - I'm in favour of making tobacco illegal - screw the farmers and the multi-nat companies. And sorry, Dad!

Rob Creighton · Post by **Rob Creighton** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:00 pm

Ah yes... alcohol is now illegal (or did you say tobacco) and Harry has voted to make all personal responsibility for all behaviour equally moot.

How 'bout we make all government employees (all 29 million of them) earn only what the average Canadian makes by law. What's the matter... oh I see, 28 million would be unemployed and none of our services would change...Hmmmm

JerCraigs · Post by **JerCraigs** » Wed Jan 18, 2006 11:40 pm

The difference is that moderate alcohol consumption can be pleasurable and healthy. Im pretty sure that smoking any amount of cigarettes is bad for you.

Mind you they might not be if you were smoking pure tobacco instead of the industrial cancer sticks... Mmmm arsenic. im not sure...

Jon Walker · Post by **Jon Walker** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 8:31 am

Belgian wrote:As an aside, I was in a 'private club' two weeks ago, and there was of course smoking which is the whole point of 'membership.'

Are you a swinger?

tupalev · Post by **tupalev** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 9:38 am

Not sure about Belgian, but personally, I frequent a "private club" back home in the Quinte area, but it is a Royal Canadian Legion, which I assure you is not a Swingers Club

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:25 pm

JerCraigs wrote:The difference is that moderate alcohol consumption can be pleasurable and healthy.

And discrete rather than all-imposing. THAT is the point, it's beyond personal choice and freedoms when you diminish the volitional powers and natural rights of everyone around you.

Belgian · Post by **Belgian** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 2:30 pm

tupalev wrote:Not sure about Belgian, but persoanlly, I frequent a "private club" back home in the Quinte area, but it is a Royal Canadian Legion, which I assure you is not a Swingers Club

Nothing that extravagant, this Private Club is just a 'tobacco ban dodge' like many others. You theoretically can't just walk in off the street. You have to 'join' to hang there, but we didn't. A friend of my sister's set aside an area for our party and we did not even have to pay any 'membership fee' such as the law stipulates.

iguenard · Post by **iguenard** » Thu Jan 19, 2006 3:19 pm

Ban it or can it [...] if it's lethal, why is it legal?

Catchy! You might have something there...