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EDITORIAL: Smoking exemptions 

since the Sunflower State already has thrown millions at neighboring states that approved gambling years ago, the majority of legislators apparently don't want to give any more away.

Why the state gets to protect its cash flow while prohibiting bars and restaurants from doing the same defies imagination -- and constitutional muster, for that matter.

Yet lawmakers cling to their good-health position. "You'll be able to tell your children when you go home that you voted for clean air for Kansas," said Rep. Charles Roth, R-Salina.

Except for the air in every fifth hotel or motel room. . . .

This is a law that will not be universally applied. The exemptions to this law were not derived from philosophical concerns, any sense of fairness or one shred of common sense.

Special interest groups, lobbying entities and money drive the process. Legislators who don't go with the program don't get re-elected.

We only can hope the judiciary branch will receive a prompt challenge from any equally deserving business which was exempted from the exemptions. This farce masquerading as law should be struck down before July 1, when it is supposed to take effect.

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• Officials: Weak smoking ban hurts city's hospitality efforts 

The smoking-ban debate in this city and state is getting a new spark from a fired-up group of tourism and convention officials.

They're trying to light a fire under lawmakers, who have been reluctant to approve the kind of comprehensive smoking ban that health--and now tourism--officials say is needed here.

Indianapolis Convention and Visitors Association CEO Don Welsh and other area tourism and convention officials say Indianapolis officials' unwillingness to strengthen anti-smoking legislation is imperiling the city's growing tourism trade. . . .

Welsh is far from alone in his concern.

Jeff Sweet, president of the Greater Indianapolis Hotel and Lodging Association and general manager of Hilton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites, said the complaints he hears from visitors about Indiana's smoking policies are becoming louder and more frequent. . . .

Dirk Ebener, CEO of Atlanta-based NuernbergMesse North America, which represents more than 100 trade shows globally, said a city's smoking policy has a major impact on its image. Ebener, who recently conducted a site inspection in Indianapolis, said the smoking in entertainment hot spots here is a definite drawback.

"There are a growing number of conventions in various sectors that definitely prefer a non-smoking city," Ebener said. "A city's smoking policy says a lot about it. It speaks to cleanliness of the city, demonstrates the health awareness of the city, and calls attention to its overall progressiveness." . . .

Mayor Greg Ballard has said he would veto such an ordinance if it reaches his desk.

That stand, Welsh said, is endangering a critical sector of convention business the ICVA is trying to develop.

. . .

Not everyone in the local convention and tourism sector favors strengthening the city's anti-smoking law. John Livengood, president of the Indiana Restaurant & Hospitality Association, said there's an intense divide among members of his organization.

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Our guests, quite frankly, are taken aback by the smoking in our city. There's no getting around it. It's starting to affect the city's image, and not in a good way. . . . In order to be perceived as being a more progressive city, we have to have a smoking ban.
Jeff Sweet, president of the Greater Indianapolis Hotel and Lodging Association and general manager of Hilton Indianapolis Hotel and Suites.

There are a growing number of conventions in various sectors that definitely prefer a non-smoking city. A city's smoking policy says a lot about it. It speaks to cleanliness of the city, demonstrates the health awareness of the city, and calls attention to its overall progressiveness.
Dirk Ebener, CEO of Atlanta-based NuernbergMesse North America, which represents more than 100 trade shows globally.

Smoking decision has AHA fuming 

THE Australian Hotels Association has reacted with fury to a ban on smoking in Launceston's outdoor dining areas, due to come into effect next year.

On Monday, the Launceston City Council voted to introduce the ban next January, despite opposition from both the Launceston Chamber of Commerce and Cityprom.

The council heard officers had sent out 50 surveys on the proposed ban to outdoor dining operators, but had only received one completed form back.

AHA chief executive Steve Old said he was flabbergasted by the council's decision, and that his organisation would be lobbying aldermen to overturn it as soon as possible.

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VIDEO: Woman Dies In KCMO Motel Fire 

The Kansas City, Mo., Fire Department said an unattended cigarette was the cause of a Wednesday morning northland motel fire that killed a woman.

The two-alarm fire started shortly after 3:30 a.m. at the Super Inn on Northeast Parvin Road, just west of I-29.

The fire was contained to just one of the 115 units at the two-story motel, but 43 units with guests had to be evacuated.

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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson(SM) Opens in Tucson, Ariz.  

The new 79-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson(SM) Tucson City Center today announced it is open for business. Conveniently located off of I-10, the hotel is only minutes from the University of Arizona.

The 100 percent non-smoking hotel features the brand's new interior design package along with an outdoor pool, whirlpool and fitness center and meeting space for up to 35 people

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• BAT Egypt, Egyptian Hotel Association sign public place smoking MoU 

British American Tobacco, Egypt (BAT), together with the Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA) in Alexandria and Hurghada, have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) aimed at providing hotel guests in both cities with designated non-smoking and smoking areas.

Signed in both Hurghada and Alexandria in late 2009, the program has taken immediate effect, and is in place in hotels in both Hurghada and Alexandria.

Building on a similar MoU signed with the South Sinai Governorate in February 2009, the initiative has been developed under the framework of BAT's global "Respecting Choices" program, which ensures that both non-smoking and smoking customers are equally catered to through a mutually beneficial solution. . . .

The "Respecting Choices" project, implemented by BAT in many countries worldwide, targets ETS through two methods: Segregation, which features both smoking and non-smoking areas in the same room, using airflow to limit the spread of smoke; and Separation, which features smoking rooms or lounges, using walls along with airflow techniques to prevent the smoke from spreading.

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Respecting Choices
BAT project to create smoking sections, implemented in many countries worldwide . . . it sez here . . .

As a responsible tobacco company, we believe in working with different entities - whether private or government - to ensure that only consenting adult smokers are exposed to tobacco products. We are delighted to have been able to partner with as influential a body as the Egyptian Hotel Association on such a worthy initiative.
Beverley Spencer-Obatoyinbo, General Manager of BAT Egypt.

It is the responsibility of every hospitality organization to provide its guests with various options, whether they are smokers or non-smokers.
Mr. Waseem Mohiedin, President of the Egyptian Hotel Association (EHA).

Talk About Gracious Accomodations: No Smoking, No Music, No Taxis At Cooper Square Hotel 

The Villager is reporting that Cooper Square Hotel developers Gregory Peck and Matt Moss have "finally caved" and agreed to neighbors' "tough terms for operating [the hotel's] outdoor areas."

Under the deal, outlined on local Community Board 3's Web site, the builders have agreed to restrict loiterers, taxis, and limos along East 5th Street and prohibit smoking on the hotel's second-floor terrace -- located just 30 inches from some neighbors' windows.

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Mobile hotels and restaurants impose indoor smoking restrictions, hope citywide ban follows 

A nonsmoking revolution is under way in downtown Mobile, led by new upscale hotels and restaurants that are trying to attract customers who don't want to go home smelling like an ashtray.

Health officials said they're hoping the trend adds momentum to efforts to pass a citywide ban on smoking in public places.

The bars and restaurants at the Battle House Hotel and the Riverview Renaissance Hotel don't allow cigarettes, although the Riverview is about to open an outdoor bar where smoking will be allowed.

Other late night hotspots, such as Bacchus, Hopjacks and the Royal Scam, also require customers and employees to step outside if they want to take a drag.

"There's a change taking place,"

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Tobacco Act violations: 3 hotels issued challans 

Chandigarh

The state nodal officer, National Tobacco Control Programme, along with the inspector of LHA Chandigarh, inspected the hotels and restaurants in Sector 26 for any violation of the Control of Tobacco Products Act (COTPA) on Wednesday. The team inspected 15 premises and issued three challans for improper signage in the inspected premises. Nearly 80 persons were challan ed for smoking at public places by the enforcement agencies in the month of December last year, while a total of 642 challans were issued between April and December 31 last year for violations of various provisions of COTPA.

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3rd fire victim's body found under rubble 

Detroit Fire Department investigators found the body of Ann Louise Roeder, 67, in the rubble of the charred Huntington Hotel today.

Capt. Steve Varnas said Roeder, who was in a wheelchair and lived on the third floor, was among several people unaccounted for after the Thursday fire ripped through the building . . .

The fire reportedly began after a man lit his cigarette with a piece of paper, accidentally dropping it onto his bed. The man has not been arrested, but Varnas said possible charges will be discussed with the Wayne County Prosecutor's Office.

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Official: Cigarette lighting started Detroit hotel blaze that killed 2  

The deadly fire that ripped through a residential hotel in Midtown on New Year's Eve was caused by a drunken man who used a lit piece of paper to light a cigarette, Detroit Fire Department officials said Friday.

"He was trying to light his cigarette and chose the wrong way to light it," Fire Capt. Steve Varnas said. "It's ridiculous a place like that is burned. ... He should've been paying attention more."

Investigators said the resident of the Huntington Hotel, on the 100 block of West Alexandrine, had dropped the burning paper onto his sheets about 8:30 p.m. The bed caught fire, and then flames spread down the hall when he opened the door to yell for help.

"He's lucky to be alive," Varnas said. Two other residents died Thursday night, fire officials said.

Varnas said another person is in critical condition at a hospital. One firefighter suffered second-degree burns, and a second one was hospitalized with back pain.

Fire officials also are looking for an elderly wheelchair-bound woman who hasn't been accounted for . . .

Varnas said 49 people lived in the building

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Comfort Inn to ban smoking in rooms, lobbies on Jan. 1  

One local hotel has decided not to wait until smoke-free advocates collect enough signatures to get a workplace smoking ban proposal before Maryville voters sometime in 2010.

The Comfort Inn, which opened its doors on the south end of Business Route 71 in 1986, will prohibit smoking in all of its rooms and common areas beginning Jan. 1, manager Chuck Hetrick said Tuesday.

Smokers staying at the hotel will still be able to light up at a couple of outdoor locations placed at least 25 feet away from entrances and equipped with ash receptacles and bench seating.

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• Lobby wants smokers allotted special areas  

Hotel owners and operators of public recreational centres have been urged to allocate special areas for cigarette smoking customers as a way of reducing diseases caused by tobacco smoking.

The advice was given yesterday by Tanzania Tobacco Control Forum general secretary Lutgard Kagaruki at a one-day workshop for owners and managers of hotel and recreational centres held in Dar es Salaam.

Kagaruki said the aim of the seminar was to educate hotel operators on the impact of cigarette smoke to smoking and non-smoking customers, stressing that cigarette smoke affected both smokers and non-smokers.

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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson Opens in Lexington Park, MD. 

The new 88-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson® Lexington Park today announced it is open for business at 44941 Worth Lane. . . .

"This hotel is a wonderful addition to our community. We are confident that this recognized brand and lodging concept will help us grow and prosper in the future," said Antonio Walker, general manager of the Country Inn & Suites By Carlson Lexington Park.

The 100 percent non-smoking hotel features an indoor pool, whirlpool and fitness center with two treadmills, recumbent cycle and personal core fitness kit.

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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson Opens in Washington, Pa. 

new 81-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson® Washington at Meadowlands today announced it is open for business at 245 Meadowlands Blvd. . . .

The hotel is the first Country Inns & Suites By Carlson in the greater Pittsburgh area. The 100 percent non-smoking hotel features an indoor pool, whirlpool and new fitness center with strength and cardio equipment.

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