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• West Burlington bar continues to defy smoking ban 

Iowa and Illinois residents have been breathing easier ever since the Smoke-Free Air Act prohibted smoking in public places. And while most bars and restaurants are smoke free, one has ignored the law and is letting its patrons do the same.

At the West Burlington police station you can get a pamphelet on a smokefree Iowa or you can go right across the street to Otis Campbell's Bar and Grill and have a cigarette and dinner.

"I'm on the other side of the street literally and figuratively. I'm having people complain all the time about they're upset. They go in, they expect a smoke-free environment, they have to tolerate smokers," West Burlington police chief Alex Oblein said. . . .

"I'm not a criminal, I'm not running from anybody. I'm just fighting for the Constitution what almost all of us believe in," owner Larry Duncan said. . . .

The police chief says there have been at least 44 complaints against the bar. But none of those complaints have led to an arrest, a ticket or a fine. . . .

The state still has to give final approval to renew Otis Campbell's liquor license and the police chief says they are aware of his refusal to ban smoking.

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• Personal freedom group fights potential smoking ban 

A group called Smoke-Free St. Louis City released results Aug. 19 that show the majority of registered voters they polled favor prohibiting smoking in workplaces, bars and restaurants.

In releasing the results, the group cited a 2006 U.S. Surgeon General report on second-hand smoke in which the surgeon general said, "The debate is over. The science is clear. Second-hand smoke is not a mere annoyance, but a serious health hazard."

The debate is not over. At least not for a group of St. Louis residents who oppose a governmental ban on smoking in bars and restaurants.Bill Hannegan of the Skinker-DeBaliviere neighborhood is part of a group called Keep St. Louis Free. The group opposes smoking bans in the St. Louis area. . . .

Hannegan said the group is willing to compromise. It put forward a proposal to exempt bars and restaurants that meet a certain standard of air filtration.

"We think air filtration can reduce it to a point that government can leave businesses alone," he said. . . .

David W. Kuneman of Rock Hill serves as director of research for the Citizens Freedom Alliance, a national group that opposes smoking bans and the use of eminent domain. The former pharmaceutical chemist for Monsanto and Mallinckrodt Veterinary said many claims made against exposure to second-hand smoke don't come true when tested.

"We're just not seeing the health benefits anti-smoking groups claim we should get when bans are passed," Kuneman said.

Among the information Kuneman cites are a report issued in 1995 by the Congressional Research Service and a report prepared in 2004 by the National Restaurant Association.

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Citywide Smoking Ban Proposed in Fond du Lac 

Representatives from SAFE say they will be introducing the proposal to the Fond du Lac city council within a couple of weeks.

FOND DU LAC -- First it was Appleton in our area, now a group in Fond du Lac is proposing a total smoking ban in all workplaces. FOX 11's Cameron Clark brings us multiple views.

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• Restaurants extinguishing smoking 

Wichita's new smoking ordinance goes into effect on Thursday, meaning that any business that allows patrons under the age of 18 must either ban smoking or build a separate room to contain it.

Many restaurants are planning to embrace the ban -- including several historically smoky bars and diners.

At Heroes Sports Bar & Grill in Old Town, workers will spend the weekend replacing carpet and cleaning out air vents. And at The Beacon at 909 E. Douglas, employees scrub down walls and freshen up the place.

Several businesses, though, won't go smoke-free and will either stop allowing patrons under 18 or build separate smoking rooms.

Following is a list of some popular local restaurants that currently allow smoking and what they plan to do about the new ordinance:

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Iowa City OKs smoking ban expansion  

The City Council on Tuesday unanimously approved an expansion of the statewide smoking ban, a move that other municipalities in the state are also considering.

The proposed ordinance, which would need approval at two more readings to take effect, would ban smoking near the city's public library and a nearby playground, both of which are along the three-block Pedestrian Mall.

Smoking would also be banned in some park areas

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Ind. smoking ordinance decision set next week  

New Albany Mayor Doug England plans to wait until next week to announce whether he will sign or veto an ordinance prohibiting smoking in enclosed public places, including bars and restaurants.

England has scheduled a news conference for Tuesday at 10 a.m. in front of the City-County Building. He said today he hasn't reached a decision but has made it clear he hasn't ruled out a veto of the measure that was approved 5-4 by the City Council last week. . . .

One of the latest efforts was from the American Heart Association and Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, which took out a full-page ad in today's New Albany Tribune.

The ad said second-hand smoke causes heart disease, cancer and other health problems, that bar and restaurant workers are at greatest risk and that most area residents support the ordinance.

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LETTER: Ban on smoking is in the public interest 

I read Blade staff writer Julie McKinnon’s July 24 story, “Smoke-ban foes support effort to gain exemptions,” with great interest. I was captivated by the comments of Pam Parker and Bill Delaney in opposition to Ohio’s smoking ban.

I am a lung cancer survivor. You will receive little feedback from people like me, for most are either critically ill or dead . . .

Despite the fact that the organizers of the meeting at Sommerset Hall want “to let people know exactly what is going on,” 85 percent of lung cancers are related to smoking.

Nonsmokers exposed to secondhand smoke at home or at work increase their risk of developing lung cancer by 20 percent to 30 percent.

To posit that “Ohio’s draconian smoking ban has financially hurt bars, private clubs, and other businesses” is preposterous in contrast to the interests of the common good and the general public.

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Smoking ban effects mixed  

Nearly two months after a statewide smoking ban took effect, Des Moines area bartenders report mixed results: Some see no change in business, others say profits are noticeably down.

Amber Todwin, a bartender at Stix in Ankeny, said summer months are always slow, but business at the pool hall has suffered since the ban. Since the bar has no patio, smokers hang out in front of the building. Some nonsmokers tell her it's even worse having to walk through the cloud of smoke to get in the bar than it was to sit in the ventilated area inside. . . .

Smoking is still allowed in fairgrounds, casinos and on bar patios. The patio rule is a stickler for many bars that also serve food, since the state defines a bar as a place that doesn't serve food. A coalition of bar owners, Choose Freedom Iowa, filed a lawsuit seeking to overturn the ban.

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LETTERS: Smoking ban vote was not a mandate 

Labor promises more smoking bans 

The State Government says it will step up smoking bans throughout Western Australia if it wins the election.

The Government is proposing to ban smoking in alfresco dining areas, in cars where children are passengers, in children's playgrounds, and between flags on beaches patrolled by lifeguards.

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Cougar Lanes bowling alley closes; smoking ban cited  

The Cougar Lanes bowling alley at 3510 S. 144th St. closed Saturday, and a person associated with the business said the city's smoking ban was a factor.

"Bowling is a sport where you have a beer and a cigarette," said Doris Martin, a former partner in the bowling alley.

In 2007, Martin and two employees were cleared of violating Omaha's partial smoking ban by allowing smoking in the alley's adjacent bar, the Cougar's Den.

Martin and her employees' victory was the first case in which people accused of violating the ban fought the charges in court.

But by the time the case was settled, many leagues had switched to other nearby lanes with keno licenses that allowed them to smoke while bowling, Martin said.

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Smoking law creates haze of confusion  

More than seven weeks after Iowa's statewide smoking ban went into effect, the air around the new law still is clouded with confusion.

About 20 citizens, public health officials and business owners showed up to comment on the Smokefree Air Act at a public hearing held by video conference Friday in Council Bluffs, Creston, Elk Horn, Osceola, Shenandoah and Woodbine.

"We appreciate the benefits of the clean air," said LuAnne Heemstra, respiratory therapist at Clarke County Hospital and president of the Iowa Society for Respiratory Care. "I would like to encourage the Iowa Department of Public Health to keep the proposed rules the same." . . .

All of those exceptions have led to some confusion.

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Ralston questions validity of smoking ban lawsuit 

The City of Ralston intends to fight a lawsuit that would snuff out the exemptions to its smoking ban.

Attorney Christopher Jerram, on behalf of Ralston resident Mary Foster, said the lawsuit was brought against the city seeking "fairness, public health and economic opportunity on a level playing field."

The City Council went into a closed session to discuss the lawsuit Tuesday night. An informal vote was taken during the session.

City Attorney Mark Klinker said after the closed session that he and the city's elected officials do not think Foster has standing to bring the suit because the city's law does not harm her economically or inconvenience her in any unique way.

The lawsuit was filed July 8 in Douglas County District Court. A motion for a temporary injunction is scheduled to be heard Aug. 8.

In November, Ralston adopted an ordinance that banned smoking in workplaces but gave a reprieve to keno outlets, bars with limited food service, tobacco-only retail outlets and private clubs, such as the Ralston American Legion Post 373.

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LETTER: Smoking laws, headlights bothering me  

This smoking ban has bothered me. I found an article in City Pages where Mr. Eisenman does an excellent job of expressing my feelings. What they are doing to the Red Apple is shameful. Wausau should be ashamed of itself. Amen.

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• Study: Ban reduces hospitalizations 

A new study of Kentucky health care usage in four hospitals published in the Journal of Allergy and Clinical Immunology concluded that smoke-fee laws reduced asthma emergency room visits by more than a fifth, according to a news release from Nicole Resch, tobacco control coordinator of Manitowoc County.

University of Kentucky researchers assessed emergency room visits for asthma in the Lexington area before and after the enactment of a countywide smoke-free law. They found that after 32 months in effect, the smoke-free law dropped asthma emergency room visits by 22 percent.

"This research once again shows that secondhand smoke is a health hazard," Resch said in the news release. "It is dangerous to people's health. And it is expensive to treat. This study reaffirms the importance of smoke-free laws."

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