Three Track Approach Continues to Fuel "Unknown Smoker" Project

Earlier this year, Friday, May 26, the "Funeral for the Unknown Smoker" - originated by Jim Christopher, author, Escape from Nicotine Country: How to Stop Smoking Painlessly (Prometheus Books, 1999) launched a national awareness campaign. The annual "funeral" event was commemorated as "Unknown Smoker's Day."

The second component, entitled "Memorial to the Unknown Smoker," was proposed by Christopher to be in the form of a plaque to memorialize the tragic statistics on tobacco-related deaths and to be posted in our nation's capital for all to see. Christopher publicly called upon big tobacco companies to sponsor the plaque. The major tobacco companies are being targeted with requests for sponsorship for the "Tobacco Deaths Memorial."

The third component of Christopher's awareness campaign was a call for the foundation of free community support groups for folks who want to "escape from nicotine country."

What follows are photos of the first event taken by Terry Rozelle, office manager of the Center for Inquiry-West; and the official program from the event.


Jim Christopher eulogized smokers who suffered death at the hands of "big tobacco."	Edward Tabash, Esq., an early advocate for "a smoke-free workplace" spoke eloquently about the ravages of smoking.

A poster of "the smoker's body," courtesy of COLORS magazine, was displayed in an open casket.	Prominent professionals, who eschew smoking, portrayed the seven "big tobacco" CEOs who swore before the U.S. Congress in the 1990s that tobacco use was "not addictive."

First Annual

"Funeral for the Unknown Smoker"

Open Casket Ceremony
Friday, May 26, 2000
Everyone Welcome

PROGRAM

"Funeral for the Unknown Smoker"
conceived by JAMES CHRISTOPHER,
author of Escape from Nicotine Country
(Prometheus Books, 1999).

Host: JAMES UNDERDOWN
Executive Director of the Center for Inquiry-West

"Services" held in the Main Room of the Center for Inquiry-West 5519 Grosvenor Blvd., Los Angeles, CA

Special Seating Reserved for Nicotine Country Man, Camel Creature, the Slim Sophisticate from Virginia & C.E.O.'s of Tobacco Companies to whom the Unknown Smoker contributed to for years

The last Friday in May will hereafter be remembered as the "Unknown Smoker's Day" which shall be observed each year to commemorate the tragedy of death and disease that has plagued the "Unknown Smoker." Music about smoking will filter through the air as friends and family grieve his tragic demise and view his remains in an open casket.

The open casket will provide one last unforgettable look at the body that was the final gift of his affluent friends in the illustrious tobacco industry ("the Smoker's Body" courtesy of COLORS magazine).

The long ill "Unknown Smoker" will be eulogized by his best friend, Jim Christopher. During the funeral Mr. Christopher will call on the big tobacco company reps to sponsor a plaque that would memorialize the statistics on smoking-related deaths to be posted in the nation's capital for all to see. Mr. Christopher is an internationally renowned addictions specialist. Christopher will announce the formation of free community support groups for folks who want to escape from Nicotine Country.

Mr. Christopher, a smoker of some 30 years until 1993, is also founder of the worldwide drug and alcohol addiction self-help organization, SOS (Save Our Selves).

"Tobacco: Three Million Deaths a Year and Counting"-the World Health Organization

"Forty-six million adults in the U.S. currently smoke cigarettes and the trend among smokers is to try to quit; 25 percent of U.S. adults currently smoke, compared to 42.4 percent of the U.S. adult population who smoked in 1965.

Surveys indicate that most smokers (70 percent) want to stop smoking, although of the 34 percent who attempt to quit each year, only 2.5 percent are successful.

The scientific literature clearly establishes nicotine as a powerful drug of addiction, with neurobiological effects similar to those of most addictive drugs."

A partial list of supporters for this event: Steve Allen; Ed Batis, C.A.S.; Kenneth Blum, Ph.D.; Veronica Redd; Lew Hollman, Esq.; Ruth Hollman; Manijeh K. Nikakhtar, M.D., M.P.H.; Edward Tabash, Esq.; Torrie Rosenzweig; John C. Gunnell, M.D.; National Association of Social Workers, California Chapter; Santa Monica Bay Area Physicians; L.A. County Health Dept. West Health District; and STAMP (Stop Tobacco Abuse of Minors Pronto), Jim Walker, Founder

Special thanks to: The California Department of Health Services, Tobacco Control Section

To start/attend a free "Escape From Nicotine Country" stop smoking support group, contact: Jim Christopher, ENC Groups, P.O. Box 9522, Marina del Rey, CA 90295

Stop-Smoking Resources

tobaccofacts.org. A hard-hitting, fact-studded site by the government of British Columbia, Canada. Learn what's really in cigarette tobacco, and many other interesting resources.

Kickbutt.org. A web site of Washington, D.C., DOC (Doctors Ought to Care), with an extensive info section about nicotine addiction, links to numerous quit-smoking sites, and information about the tobacco industry.

Quitnet. Based in Boston, this is a many-faceted smoking-cessation resource site. Information, referrals, chats, other links, support by the ton.

American Cancer Society. "Tobacco is a drug, too." Check your local yellow pages for a listing

American Heart Association. Their web site has extensive information about the effects of smoking on the heart, plus a good background on the tobacco industry and its influence and marketing practices.

American Lung Association. Their slogan is "When You Can't Breathe, Nothing Else Matters." They have stop-smoking support practically everywhere, and they know whereof they speak. Check your local Yellow Pages for a listing.

Centers for Disease Control. Tobacco information and Prevention Source (TIPS). "Tobacco use remains the leading preventable cause of death in the U.S." With a page of information on how to quit, plus a broad range of smoking facts.

Unhooked.org. A web site dedicated to supporting people who want to quit smoking. Has nicotine facts, quit tips, nightly support chats, links to other resources.

alt.support.stop.smoking (AS3). A newsgroup where participants explore all aspects of the quitsmoking problem. The group's FAQ File contains a wealth of experience and resources.