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Got Plans?: July 4th, Outdoor Movies, Bars for First Dates, Anniversary Plans  

Columbia, Md.: Hello Gurus - I was at the Chi Cha lounge a little over a year and a half ago and people were allowed to smoke cigarettes inside, I guess cause it is a hooka bar. Is that still the case?

Fritz: I was at Chi-Cha last night for the always-amusing Notoriety DJ night run by the guys from U.S. Royalty and there were plenty of people puffing away on hookahs. Didn't see anyone smoking cigarettes, but I'm pretty sure you're allowed to smoke 'em if you got 'em.

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Chi Cha Smoking: you're not allowed to smoke cigarettes there at Chi Cha actually. I talked with one of the servers about it and it has something to do with the permit they have only allowing hookah smoke. I don't get it either -- but that's what they told me.

Fritz: Makes sense. (The reason they can allow hookah smoking is because they sell a certain amount of hookah tobacco.)

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Smokers React To Signature Dispute  

Smokers are holding their collective breath to find out what happens next in the saga over the statewide smoking ban. The petition drive calling for a statewide vote has given them extra time to light up past the July 1 deadline. But with thousands of suspect signatures soon to be reviewed by the Secretary of State, smokers are wondering just how much longer they'll be able to legally puff away inside businesses.

The fate of the statewide smoking ban vote is as much in the air as the smoke that lingers inside Marlin's Roadhouse Grill.

"I guess if they ban it, I'll quit smoking," Chris Bergh said.

A smoking ban would likely affect business at places like Marlin's.

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Statewide vote no longer certain on smoking ban  

Opponents of South Dakota's new state law banning smoking in bars, casinos and restaurants that serve alcohol might not get the chance to put the issue to a statewide vote after all.

That's because the leader of South Dakota's anti-tobacco movement filed a last-hour challenge to their referendum petitions Thursday.

The referendum petitions had prevented the ban from taking effect July 1 at the same time as most other new South Dakota laws passed by the Legislature last session.

If the petitions survive the challenge, a statewide vote would be held as part of the November 2010 general election. But if Jennifer Stalley of the American Cancer Society is right, there won't be a vote at all, and the ban would kick in when the legal dust settles.

Stalley delivered a thick binder to the office of Secretary of State Chris Nelson, whose staff oversees election compliance, challenging the petitions at about 4 p.m. Thursday. The challenge deadline was 5 p.m.

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Vote Proponents Not Surprised, Discouraged 

Proponents of a public vote on South Dakota's smoking ban say the push to remove the issue from next year's ballot isn't surprising; the petition's organizer is still confident the final decision will lie in the hands of South Dakota citizens.

Petition organizers say Thursday's challenge to keep the South Dakota smoking ban from reaching a public vote was to be expected.

"I knew that they would come up with some number that would invalidate or attempt to invalidate the petition," petition organizer Larry Mann said.

Mann says the argument can only challenge the legality of how the Secretary of State's office validated the petition once it received it, steps he believes the election office took properly. . . .

Mann says ban supporters could be doing themselves more harm than good by trying to take the option to vote off the table.

"I think there is a chance for a certain backlash. I think people protect that right to vote," Mann said.

Backlash that serves as a foundation for those who are trying to get the ban on the ballot.

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• Tobacco Cafe an oasis for smokers 

Salaried workers feeling cornered by the ever-expanding ban on smoking in Tokyo can rest easy at a recently opened cafe in the Shinbashi district that caters exclusively to smokers.

At Cafe Tobacco, smoking is allowed on all three floors, according to its operator, Towa Food Service Co.

The cafe, with 44 places, opened near JR Shinbashi Station in April. Towa Food Service has also opened a second Tobacco Cafe in the nearby Yurakucho business district.

A sign posted at the entrance advises people with children and those under 20 to refrain from using the cafe.

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• Dutch bar owners win new victory in fight against smoking ban 

Dutch bar owners won a new victory in their fight against a smoking ban on their premises when an appeal court cleared two of them of breaking the law and quashed a 1,200 euro fine.

"The law contains no formal obligation for landlords of cafes, restaurants and hotels without staff to implement a smoking ban," the appeal court at Leeuwarden in the northern Netherlands said in a statement.

It overturned the verdict handed down in a lower court against the pair from Groningen who became the first to be prosecuted following the introduction of the nationwide ban a year ago.

In May the appeals court of Den Bosch, in the southern Netherlands, upheld the acquittal of the two owners of the Victoria cafe in Breda, near the Belgian border.

"The court finds that the (ban) is partly non-binding, as it lacks legal grounding" regarding establishments with no staff, said a court statement.

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Backer: Smoking ban has created big cultural shift 

Iowa's anti-tobacco efforts have ushered in a major cultural change that has reduced the number of adult smokers and made workplaces healthier places, backers of Iowa's indoor smoking ban said Wednesday.

"This is probably one of the biggest cultural shifts in a short amount of time that our state will ever see," said Rep. Janet Petersen, D-Des Moines, who helped enact the smokefree air act which took effect July 1, 2008.

Advocates said the restriction covering virtually all public places -- except casino gambling areas, the Iowa State Fairgrounds and the Iowa Veterans Home in Marshalltown -- and state and federal cigarette tax increases have helped reduce smoking among Iowa adults to 14 percent compared to 19 percent two years earlier.

State Attorney General Tom Miller said Iowa has jumped into the top five states nationally in terms of smoking compliance. He noted that in the 1960s about four out of every 10 Iowa adults smoked tobacco products.

"We've really turned a corner," he told a Statehouse news conference.

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• Croatia's Smoking Ban Takes Off and Takes Ashtrays Away 

Stop Smoking- the staunch slogan of the Croatian Government slammed against "Stop Smoking Ban" clamor of coffee shop owners after the Croatian government implemented its strict law against smoking on indoor public places on May 6, 2009.

The government is bent to execute strict "No Smoking" law to safeguard the physical health and well being of Croatian nationals from the hazards of smoking. Prior to the new law, the government's media propaganda against smoking apparently, did not create much of an impact- thus, had fallen into deaf ears.

Restaurants, coffee shops, ice-cream parlors and malls from run-of-the- mill to high end food service joints were filled with employees taking a break from work, friends engaging in a tête-à-tête, football aficionados, coffee drinkers including mothers with tag- along -babies in strollers. These coffee shops habitués either active or passive smokers, oblivious to the dangers of smoking frequent to the coffee shops at any time of the day as part of their daily routine schedule.

However, on the 6th of May 2009, the Croatian government blew its whistle and put a big stop sign to smoking. As the law stipulates -those who are caught smoking in an indoor public place shall be slapped with 1000 Kuna fine for smoker and 15,000 Kuna for business owner to ensure that Croatian public knows that the government means business this time (no pun intended.) Since the Croatian government guards public places keenly watching for smokers who consist of more than half of the coffee shops' costumers started to wane their regular visits to coffee shops for their daily fresh espresso and cigarette ritual.

Thereby, sudden drops of profit sales have recently been the cause of ire of food service entrepreneurs that consequently precipitated a protest among coffee shops owners and restaurateurs requesting the government to relax the smoking ban law.

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Ordinance would mean butts out for smokers  

Hettinger is considering an ordinance that would not allow smoking in public places.

Since last year, City Council members have discussed snuffing out smoking in bars, truck stops and motels.

Mayor Gary Friez said residents called concerning smoking in such places, prompting the council to look into the idea.

“There was a state deal that was going to be in effect that would say you could not smoke in bars,” Friez said. “That didn’t pass so now we’re looking into doing it ourselves.”

The state bill would ban smoking in public places statewide but was killed in late February.

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Supporters of smoking ban seek to stop public vote 

But Jennifer Stalley of the American Cancer Society said she spent the past week checking petition signatures and claims nearly 39 percent are invalid because they do not come from registered voters or contain other flaws.

State election supervisor Kea Warne said the secretary of state's office will consider Stalley's challenge. No one has previously used the state law that allows such a challenge to be filed with the secretary of state because prior challenges of petition signatures for ballot measures have been handled in court, Warne said.

Larry Mann, a lobbyist for video lottery businesses who also heads the coalition that gathered the signatures, said laws dealing with certifying signatures and challenging them seem to conflict. Mann said he would not be surprised if the issue winds up in court.

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MPs want smoking ban before summer recess 

MEMBERS of the House Health Committee yesterday voiced concerns that today's scheduled meeting to discuss the smoking ban proposal may not take place due to absenteeism, reiterating the need to discuss the bill before parliament closes for the summer.

To pre-empt the absences, the committee is set to meet three hours later today. Reports last night said President Christofias would be meeting party leaders today, to hear arguments in favour of postponing the parliamentary vote until October.

Meanwhile, the Non-Smokers League of the Cyprus Anti-Cancer Society is set to hold a demonstration outside parliament today, calling for a smoking ban in entertainment venues.

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New cigar bar gives smokers another option 

When Nevada passed a law banning smoking in places that serve food, Susan and Jeff Melvin discovered it created a niche for people looking for a smoking option.

The Melvins opened Jimmy G's Cigar Bar in downtown Carson City on June 5. While they don't serve food, the option for patrons to light up is good for business.

“The nice thing is, people can choose,” Susan Melvin said. “If they want to go somewhere where there is no smoking, they can, or where people can smoke, they can.”

Melvin said customers can order lunch or dinner from nearby Garibaldi's or Kim Lee Sushi and have it delivered.

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• State vote no longer certain on smoking ban for bars, cafés 

Opponents of South Dakota’s new state law banning smoking in bars, casinos and restaurants that serve alcohol might not get the chance to put the issue to a statewide vote after all.

That’s because the leader of South Dakota’s anti-tobacco movement filed a lasthour challenge to their referendum petitions Thursday.

The referendum petitions had prevented the ban from taking effect July 1 at the same time as most other new South Dakota laws passed by the Legislature last session.

If the petitions survive the challenge, a statewide vote would be held as part of the November 2010 general election.

But if Jennifer Stalley of the American Cancer Society is right, there won’t be a vote at all and the ban would kick in when the legal dust settles.

Stalley delivered a thick binder to the office of Secretary of State Chris Nelson, whose staff oversees election compliance, challenging the petitions at about 4 p.m. Thursday. . . .

Stalley is challenging the signatures rather than the sampling method. Nelson wasn’t at the office when Stalley’s challenge documents arrived with just an hour to spare. Bray said the next step is to begin looking at each one of the 9,891 challenges. That work will begin Monday. “We will have to go line by line,” Bray said. If enough of the challenged signatures are found to be invalid, Bray said Nelson then would consult with state Attorney General Larry Long regarding how to proceed.

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Moorpark modifies anti-smoking ordinance 

The Moorpark City Council changed its anti-smoking ordinance Wednesday night to allow businesses within the city to apply for a temporary permit to host smoking-related events.

The change will delay final adoption and approval of the city's smoking ordinance until a future council meeting.

The council unanimously voted to make the change after Moorpark Chamber of Commerce CEO and President Patrick Ellis said the original smoking ordinance would hurt restaurants and other businesses in Moorpark if passed.

The original ordinance made it illegal to smoke in public areas, including "within 20 feet of the entrance, exit, or open window of any public building."

Smoking is already prohibited indoors at restaurants, but the ordinance would have also prohibited smoking in all outdoor eating areas as well.

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GAMOS: Opponents to smoke ban are only delaying a smoke-free South Dakota  

AT ISSUE: Some 25,000 people have signed petitions to bring the statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants to a vote of the people. One should fight to the death protecting the right of referring legislation to the public, even to oppose the smoking ban. However, opposing the ban only delays having South Dakota smoke free. Opponents to the smoking ban say the issue is a “matter of choice” issue and a freedom thing. But, in reality it is a pure and simple health issue. . . .

AT THE SAME TIME, this freedom thing the group against the ban is arguing has a tender spot in a lot of people’s psyche. There’s no question about that. They are saying it should be the business person’s right to chose whether or not there should be smoking in his or her establishment.

But how does one measure that against a person’s health? According to the Watertown Tobacco Free Coalition, here are a few of the numerous health effects from just second hand smoke on children: asthma, bronchitis and pneumonia, ear infections, lower respiratory tract infections cancers and leukemia, sudden infant death syndrome and adverse impact on learning and behavioral development.

THEN, WHEN IT comes to first hand smoke (smoking a cigarette), do you realize what some of the well known ingredients of cigarette smoke include?

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