Bloomberg, Gates Join To Fight Smoking

NYC Mayor And Microsoft Founder Will Donate $375 Million To Discourage Smoking In Low And Middle-Income Countries

(AP)  Microsoft founder Bill Gates and New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg are pooling their piles of money to pour $375 million into a global effort to cut smoking.

The billionaire philanthropists, who have a combined worth of more than $70 billion, said Wednesday that the money will help efforts in developing countries where tobacco use is highest. There are more than 1 billion smokers worldwide.

The $250 million from Bloomberg and $125 million from Gates will support projects that raise tobacco taxes, help smokers quit, ban tobacco advertising and protect nonsmokers from exposure to smoke, their foundations said. It will also aid efforts to track tobacco use and better understand tobacco control strategies.

"Bill and I want to highlight the enormity of this problem and catalyze a global movement of governments and civil society to stop the tobacco epidemic," Bloomberg said in a statement.

Bloomberg, who built his fortune from the financial information company he founded in the 1980s, is adding to an anti-smoking initiative he funded with $125 million in 2006.

That money goes toward tobacco-fighting campaigns in low- and middle-income countries, most specifically China, India, Indonesia, Russia and Bangladesh. The Bloomberg foundation is also conducting a survey to better understand smoking in those countries.

When Bloomberg first announced that $125 million gift, he said at the time that he believed smoking was a public health issue that was largely ignored by philanthropists. He said he hoped publicizing it would bring more attention from other major foundations.

Gates said Wednesday that $24 million of his gift will go directly toward Bloomberg's efforts that are already underway.

The remaining money will be used by his foundation to begin its own anti-tobacco work, including preventing tobacco use from increasing in Africa.

"Tobacco-caused diseases have emerged as one of the greatest health challenges facing developing countries," Gates said in a statement. "The good news is, we know what it takes to save millions of lives, and where efforts exist, they are working."

Bloomberg, a former smoker who quit about 30 years ago, has crusaded against smoking as mayor. In his first term he banned smoking in bars and restaurants and his health department has an aggressive, ongoing campaign to help New Yorkers kick the habit.

[tikay93]

CarlyLaine (& others):

I know it seems unfair of someone to deprive you or anyone else of doing something that you enjoy, but think about it this way: people can't always control exactly where they are going to be all the time, so it's not particularly fair for you to say that someone should just go elsewhere when you want to smoke. I personally have been stuck in places I didn't want to be or forced to go to a restaurant or other smoking establishment simply because there was nothing else around. I have enough breathing problems as it is, (caused in part by too much exposure to second-hand smoke) and being around it sends me into coughing fits. That doesn't seem fair to me.
And even if someone does have a choice, why should they have to sacrifice their right to be healthy in a place of their choosing simply because you want to be "happy"?

[grammawhamma]

Healthy people pay more than they should, unhealthy less. As a non-smoker, non-obsese, low risk person, I should not pay higher rates for these people. Yet I do.
Posted by jimfinster at 11:04 PM : Jul 23, 2008
~~~~~~~
Well jim...it all balances out in the end. See, those evil smokers and those nasty obese people will die early, probably early enough to only collect one or two years of Social Security(if they even make it that long). But those "perfect" healthy people will live so long that they will drain social security, medicare, and end up be a major financial and emotional burden to their children and society. And yet after all that~they will still end up dead.

[grammawhamma]

I live in Wisconsin. They recently raised the taxes on a pack of cigarettes from $0.77 to $1.77...which makes the price of a pack now $6.00. In five months Wisconsin has made 152.5 million dollars from the increase. It hasn''t been determined where the money will be used.

In mean time smoking bans are being enforced in bars. Tavern owners in the non-smoking towns are losing money from lack of customers and going out of business. Where are all those zealous non-smokers who insisted on a smoke free atmosphere so they could socialize in bars? I guess they went up in smoke now that they got their way!!

[rushman71]

CarlyLaine: Thank you!!! Words well spoken. Our freedom is being taken away by neo-nazi health freaks!!! Even at bars, our chance to relax, hold a beer in one hand and a cig in the other is becoming history because of the few people who hardly go into these bars get our rights taken away!!! I understand perfectly well that you can''t smoke at where you work, and I also understand that you can''t smoke at most of the restraunts, but for God''s sake, leave the bars out of it!!! If you want a smoke free bar, build your own danm smoke free bar!!! It should NOT be put under the ordinance of the city or county to make a mandatory law against this!!!

[azik2]

just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

i was thinking how can i leave my friend?how i am going to wake up in the morning and not smoke with some cup of coffee or tea?
another words sigaretes became- me!that night something happend to me..one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

here is how i quit... one day i was sitting home smoking and i thought how can i quit?? cause that time it was getting bigger and bigger..sigarettes became my life,my friend,my everything!!! just the thought quitting used to make me sick..i was thinking how can i leave my friend?how i am going to wake up in the morning and not smoke with some cup of coffee or tea?
another words sigaretes became- me!that night something happend to me..one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

here is how i quit... one day i was sitting home smoking and i thought how can i quit?? cause that time it was getting bigger and bigger..sigarettes became my life,my friend,my everything!!! just the thought quitting used to make me sick..i was thinking how can i leave my friend?how i am going to wake up in the morning and not smoke with some cup of coffee or tea?
another words sigaretes became- me!that night something happend to me..one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

i am all for it!! very good mister Bloomberg and m.Gates... i smoked for a 10 years and now i think i was Fool...its been 6 years since i quit smoking... i feel so good now u cant even imagine guys...
it is very very easy to quit smoking trust me people...it just in ur head... all u need people to quit is one big word -THATS IT...
here is how i quit... one day i was sitting home smoking and i thought how can i quit?? cause that time it was getting bigger and bigger..sigarettes became my life,my friend,my everything!!! just the thought quitting used to make me sick..i was thinking how can i leave my friend?how i am going to wake up in the morning and not smoke with some cup of coffee or tea?
another words sigaretes became- me!that night something happend to me..one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[azik2]

i am all for it!! very good mister Bloomberg and m.Gates... i smoked for a 10 years and now i think i was Fool...its been 6 years since i quit smoking... i feel so good now u cant even imagine guys...
it is very very easy to quit smoking trust me people...it just in ur head... all u need people to quit is one big word -THATS IT...
here is how i quit... one day i was sitting home smoking and i thought how can i quit?? cause that time it was getting bigger and bigger..sigarettes became my life,my friend,my everything!!! just the thought quitting used to make me sick..i was thinking how can i leave my friend?how i am going to wake up in the morning and not smoke with some cup of coffee or tea?
another words sigaretes became- me!that night something happend to me..one big thought came to my head which said, u know what thats it!!!and i bear it!! just like when human dies he goes 6 feet under..and he will never ever comes back right? just like that i put sigaretes into coffin and sent him far far away..where he is never coming back!!! in the morning i woke up and since that time i forgot about existance of sigarsetes..they just dont exist to me!! i put them sooo far down.. they dont deserve to be next to me!! and i know 100000%that nobody will make me smoke that s...t again!!!that i know for sure!! :o) so people trust me its very very easy to quit smoking!! if u have any Q..i mean any Question u more then welcome to ask me and i will take u trough it!!

[jimfinster]

PS - Don''''t start on how smokers raise the cost of health insurance on non-smokers. You pay for coverage on you, not the guy next door. The insurance industry is merely playing the non-smokers as patsies.



Not true at all! Risks are averaged over large groups. Healthy people pay more than they should, unhealthy less. As a non-smoker, non-obsese, low risk person, I should not pay higher rates for these people. Yet I do.

A fair method would be to evaluate the habits and health of each person, then charge them accordingly!