w
«
Minority & Small Business Week
Page 22
September 26, 2012
Opinion articles do not necessarily represent the views of the
Portland Observer. We welcome reader essays, photos and
story ideas. Submit to news@portlandobserver.com.
New Prices
Effective
May 1,2010
Martin
Cleaning
Service
Carpet & Upholstery
Cleaning
Residential &
Commercial Services
Minimum Service CHG
$45.00
A sm all distance/travel charge
m ay be applied
CARPET CLEANING
2 Cleaning Areas or
more $30.00 Each Area
Pre-Spray Traffic Areas
(Includes: I small Hallway)
1 Cleaning Area (only)
$40.00
Includes Pre-Spray Traffic Area
(Hallway Extra)
Stairs (12-16 stairs - With
O ther Services): $25.00
Area/Oriental Rugs.
$25.00 Minimum
Area/Oriental Rugs (Wool):
$40.00Minimum
Heavily Soiled Area:
Additional $10.00 each area
(Requiring Extensive Pre-Spraying)
UPHOLSTERY
CLEANING
Sofa: $69.00
Loveseat: $49.00
Sectional: $ 109 - $ 139
Chair or Recliner:
$25 - $49
tli&
Throw Pillows (With
Other Services)'. $5.00
%
ADDITIONAL
SERVICES
• Area & Oriental Rug
Cleaning
• Auto/Boat/RV Cleaning
• Deodorizing & Pet
Odor Treatment
• Spot & Stain
Removal Service
• Scotchguard Protection
• Minor Water Damage
Services
SEE CURRENT FLYER
FOR ADDITIONAL
PRICES & SERVICES
Call for Appointment
(503) 281-3949
Cigarettes: The Killer that Won’t Die
Tax income
trumps cancer
every time
by
W illiams A.
hand w ith chem ical-laden cotton
balls. A ffected lungs are even harder
to restore.
L uckily, sm oking is now less so-
cially acceptable. It's on the decline,
but the slope isn't steep any m ore,
T he percentage o f adult sm okers
inched dow n to 19.3 percent in 2010
from 20.9 percent in 2005, according
to the C enters for D isease C ontrol,
Public health cham pions had aim ed
for a m uch greater decline and their
C ollins
W ould you be
lieve that 45 m il
lion adult A m eri
cans still sm oke?
T hat's about one
in five o f us grow nups. W orldw ide
this k iller habit ends about six m il
lion lives each year. B ut w hat's m ost
disturbing — 10 percent o f victim s
n ev er even took a puff. T hey got
th e ir c a n c e r fro m se c o n d -h a n d
smoke.
A s a superannuated politician, I
rem em ber we 11 the h undreds o f m eet -
ings in back room s and city council
ch am b ers w here the air w as so thick failure is no accident.
that I could hardly see, let alone
T o b acco com panies continue to
breathe. L uck alone saved me. O th spend m illions to protect their d is
ers w ere not so fortunate.
honest m arket. M any states aid in
B ehind o u r m ayor's dais hung a this quest by redirecting their an
sm oke-blackened W PA mural o f the nual paym ents on old cigarette law
city's founder, w hich depicted him suit settlem ents aw ay from sm oking
cheating N ative A m ericans out o f cessation program s and into other
their land. W hen the tim e cam e to spending. T axes trum p can cer e v
relocate to a new city h a ll, taxpayers ery tim e.
spent tens o f thousands to clean
T he federal governm ent does try
th e-sm o k e o f f o f that p ain tin g -b y • to do som ething about o u r leading-
cause o f p reventable deaths, how -
ever. L ast year, the Food and D rug
rich er nations, tobacco com panies
are flocking to A sia and A frica,
A dm inistration ordered that all ciga-
w here sm okes are ch eap er and ads
rette p ack ag in g d isp lay d isg u st- are som etim es rem in iscen t o f the
ingly graphic photos o f lung cancer cheery tobacco pro p ag an d a A m eri
sufferers in various stages o f de- cans w ere fed in the 1950s.
cay. In A ugust, a federal panel struck
Here at hom e, the long w ar against
dow n that o rd er on the grounds that tobacco keeps flaring in new p o ck
it in terferes w ith c o rp o rate free ets o f resistance. T he latest is "roll-
speech. It's likely that the require- y o u r-o w n " shops. It seem s that
m en t w ill be reinstated on appeal, loose tobacco fo r pipes is taxed at a
but the ruling show s w hy sm oking m ere fraction o f that fo r cigarettes.
N ot deterred by the niceties o f law ,
som e com panies have sim ply been
m islabeling their product and sell
ing it as pipe tobacco. T he m er
chants cheerfully sell the fake p ro d
uct and thoughtfully "rent" the use
o f rolling m achines to custom ers.
Lest you assum e that the overall
effect is trivial, know that it am ounts
to about 20 m illion pounds p er year
and $500 m illion in lost taxes.
is so hard to root out — and how
As long as corporate greed co n
m u ch p o w er th e to b acco giants tinues to infect us, sm oking w ill
wield.
undoubtedly keep killing hundreds
A n enlightening contrast to our o f thousands o f A m ericans every
ow n anti-sm oking system is p ro m i year. B ut you'd think the 5 0 states
nently visible in som e foreign co u n m ight show a little m ore interest in
tries. T he w arnings on their cig a doing som ething to protect their
rette packages can be so glaring people from o ur nation's top killer.
that you'd think you w ere ap p ro ach
OtherWords columnist William
ing C hernobyl. W hich, in a sense, I A. Collins is a former state repre
suppose you are.
sentative and a former mayor of
W ith sm o k in g rates d ech n m g in • Norwalk.' Conn........................ .
With smoking rates declining in richer
nations, tobacco companies are flocking to
Asia and Africa, where smokes are cheaper
and ads are sometimes reminiscent o f the
cheery tobacco propaganda Americans
were fe d in the 1950s.