The title comes from a line some magicians use for a laugh before they pull off a big illusion.
I got a chuckle out of this headline, Secondhand Smoke Scam. I have a clear bias against smoking, both my parents and sister smoked. I remember sticking my nose into my shirt every time my parents lit up while we were in the car, yelling at them to crack the windows.
But this falls into the misdirection category, where you pick a lay audience to announce your findings, then refuse to release your data to peers for critical review. You do this to maximize your “findings” while tap-dancing as fast as you can to fool the very people who can shed light on what you want to keep secret.
Rabid environmentalists have done this for years. They either make up stuff out of blue smoke and mirrors, or they take one little fact and bend it way out of context. In either case, they start screaming it at the top of their lungs, hoping for it to ripple outwards and get into the national consciousness before they are found out. When the real facts emerge, they are downplayed to the point of invisibility.
Almost every liberal group with an agenda have done this at one time or another. Which is why I am very cynical in regards to any flashy “findings.”
Color me not impressed with this “study.”