Should the federal government clear the air so its easier for cigarette smokers to switch to electronic cigarettes and vaping products, which don’t burn tobacco but still deliver nicotine and, according to industry claims, are safer that combustible smokes? Or, are those so-far unregulated products also bad for your health and should their access and use be restricted in the same way as regular cigarettes? The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) now are wrestling with that important health policy question, with Congress peering over their shoulders...
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Today, Memorial Day 2014, was a perfect summer day, perfect for the backyard barbeque that Jackie and I held for my softball team, a neighbor, some family and friends. It is my neighbor that this blog is about. The other day while I was mowing my lawn, realizing that his family was in his homeland, Pakistan and he would no doubt be alone. So thinking I should invite him to our party today,I walked over to his gazillion dollar house, rang his doorbell, and invited him...
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Last week I had to cover a Senate committee hearing, the first ever held on electronic cigarettes. The witnesses were officials of the Food and Drug Administration and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and there was sure to be a packed hearing room. On that day, working for my client the American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA), I also participated in several meetings between AWMA member company executives and U.S. Senators, so it was a hectic day with a jammed schedule. I was worried about getting a seat in the hearing room, which I knew was fairly small. "Don't worry," Anne Holloway, AWMA's vice president of government affairs, told me. "I've hired a line stander to hold a place in line for you. Just show up before the hearing starts and you'll be good to go."
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Think about this. Every day, day in and day out, an average of 22 veterans commit suicide, taking their own lives because of the emotional trauma and stress they feel from their service, on our behalf, in the U.S. armed forces. That is a tragedy and it is almost criminal to let such a thing happen. Fortunately, there are increasing numbers of initiatives underway that are intended to help our wounded warriors, and one of the most impressive trains service dogs to help these embattled men and women cope with the stress that is their constant companion.
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I just finished a fascinating article for Convenience Distribution magazine about how a carelessly discarded pack of cigarettes has led to the arrest of suspects in connection with the abduction and murder of a retired local police captain in rural Virginia. The case involves the fatal shooting of Kevin Quick, a retired Waynesboro, VA police officer in February. Discovered in Quick's stolen SUV by a Virginia state police officer was a pack of Newport cigarettes. That police officer knew Capt. Quick did not smoke, and so he realized that pack of smokes could be an important clue to the perps. Quick had been abducted and was found in a rural area of Goochland County, VA between Richmond and Charlottesville. His wallet, containing an ATM card, was stolen.
How did the pack of menthol cigarettes help the cops track down those suspects?
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Rep. Morgan Griffith, a Republican from Virginia, recently saw a story in The Washington Post about families from his state that had moved to Colorado to obtain medical marijuana oil for their children with epilepsy. It struck a cord with the Congressman, long a supporter of medical marijuana, having known a cancer patient who was provided the drug secretly to build up his appetite and survived...
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On Saturday, June 21 at 8 a.m., starting at Bishop O’Connell High School in Arlington, VA, runners and walkers who knew and cared about Doug Richardson and his family will participate in a 5K race that will benefit the ALS Association. G-Net Strategic Communications is proud to be a sponsor of this race, “Run for Those Who Can't.” and to support this effort, as the proceeds will donated to the ALS Association, which funds research into Lou Gehrig's Disease and helps families affected by ALS...
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A few months ago I received an email from a woman named Linda Lysakowski, and almost deleted it without much thought. Oh, yea. I actually thought maybe she was some east European woman looking for an American guy so she could come to the U.S. and live happily ever after. Anyway, I opened the email, and I'm certainly glad I did...
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The American Wholesale Marketers Association (AWMA) late in February held what probably was its best convention ever in Las Vegas after a year’s work of planning, reformatting, and developing a new approach to their show. And as the AWMA Marketplace & Solutions Expo unfolded, we produced daily overnight e-newsletters that were emailed to all attendees and members and potential exhibitors who did NOT attend...
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Once upon a time I worked on Capitol Hill, serving two members of the U.S. House of Representatives as press secretary and chief of staff. The first was a Republican, a moderate from New Jersey, Edwin B. Forsythe. The second was a Democrat, Jim Florio, who later became governor of New Jersey and whose plans to run for governor prompted me to return to journalism and launch the first edition of my communications consulting and editorial services business...
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