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UT-Arlington bans smoking effective in August 2011  

Starting in August 2011, smoking will be banned at the University of Texas at Arlington, President James Spaniolo said Friday.

The school is the first four-year college in the region to forbid tobacco use campuswide.

"Many of us remember a time when smoking was commonplace in offices, malls, airplanes, public buildings, sports arenas and even hospitals," Spaniolo said.

"But times have changed, and it is time for UT-Arlington to take the next step forward in protecting the health of our campus community."

In April, Tarrant County College trustees approved a campuswide tobacco ban at the two-year school, allowing smoking only in private vehicles.

The University of North Texas Health Science Center at Fort Worth enacted a campus ban in November 2008.

Nationally, 172 colleges and universities forbid tobacco use,

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Lake Saint Louis alderman urges ban on smoking 

Lake Saint Louis aldermen may be the first to consider a smoking ban after St. Louis County voters supported a similar ballot measure.

Alderman John Pellerito, Ward 3, plans to discuss a total, citywide smoking ban in public places during a work session Monday, less than two weeks after the St. Louis County election.

"I jumped on it right away. I thought it would give me momentum," Pellerito said. "I just think it's the right thing for communities and municipalities to do."

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Even Smokers Support Bans at Work 

Most smokers around the world support workplace smoking bans, according to a new study.

Researchers surveyed more than 3,500 employees who smoke and more than 1,400 employers (smokers and nonsmokers) in the United States and 13 other countries. They found that 74 percent of employees who smoke and 87 percent of employers said the workplace should be smoke-free.

"Although there was widespread variation among countries, overall the results demonstrate global support for workplace smoking bans," lead author Michael Halpern, a senior fellow at RTI International, said in a news release. "This study shows support for additional programs and policies to increase those bans and assist employees with smoking cessation."

Support for workplace smoking bans was greatest in India (85 percent) and Japan (75 percent), and much lower in Germany (33 percent) and Poland (37 percent).

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State won't appeal smoking ban ruling 

Attorney General Marty Jackley announced minutes ago that he and Secretary of State Chris Nelson have decided against appealing the decision of Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl in the smoking-ban referendum case. The American Cancer Society doesn't plan to appeal either. That clears the way for the ban to be referred to a statewide vote on the November 2010 election ballot.

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State says it won't appeal smoking ban referral 

Following in the footsteps of the American Cancer Society, state officials Friday said the State of South Dakota doesn't intend to appeal a judge's decision regarding the statewide smoke-free referendum petition.

Attorney General Marty Jackley and Secretary of State Chris Nelson said in a news release that they won't fight a decision by Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled that there were enough petition signatures to refer the smoke-free law to the 2010 ballot and a public vote.

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South Dakota Court Says Inactive Voters May Sign Petitions 

On November 13, a South Dakota Circuit Court Judge ruled that petition signatures are valid if the signer is not on the list of active registered voters, but is on the list of inactive voters. Inactive voters are those who once registered to vote, but whose registration is considered questionable because the post office reported that the voter had moved and that voter has not re-registered. The judge, Kathleen Trandahl, also ruled that petition sheets are valid even if the notary public who notarized that sheet makes errors in his or her notarization statement, such as putting an incorrect date on when the notary's seal expires.

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No Appeal Clears Way For Smoking Ban Vote 

After months of debate, South Dakotans will get the chance to decide the fate of a statewide smoking ban. The American Cancer Society announced Thursday that there will be no appeal of last week's judges ruling.

The smoking ban will be decided during the general election on November second of next year. But now, supporters of that ban have officially kicked off their campaign. . . .

"We're going to move forward with the statewide ballot campaign basically. We're going to use the Great American Smokeout as our jumping off point for launching the statewide campaign," Erik Gaikowski of the American Cancer Society said.

That means, their campaign starts today, and with the fate of the smoking ban out of the courts and going to the people, the American Cancer Society says they feel the ball is now in their court.

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Smoking ban left to voters  

The way has been cleared for voters to decide the fate of South Dakota's smoking ban in next year's general election after Secretary of State Chris Nelson and Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Friday the state will not appeal a Circuit Court decision.

Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled this month that opponents of the smoking ban secured enough valid signatures in a petition drive to meet the threshold for a referendum. The ban was passed by the Legislature in March and signed into law but never enforced. . . .

"I think the reality of the likelihood of success in an appeal made this a fairly easy decision," he said. "Am I greatly troubled by some areas the judge said were OK and found substantial compliance? Absolutely."

Nelson said he might recommend to the state Board of Elections when it meets in December that the Legislature be approached to tighten up statutes to avoid a repeat of the controversy over the smoking ban petitions.

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RC Business: Smoking Ban Has Been 'Positive' 

While some establishments across KELOLAND are waiting for the smoking ban to go to a public vote before they snuff out smoking in their restaurants, many popular bars in South Dakota's second largest city have already made the switch.

You'll find a busy waitstaff, tables filled with food and plenty of hungry customers over the noon hour at Sports Rock in Rapid City, but you won't find a single ashtray. The bar went non-smoking this summer when the ban was first discussed in Pierre.

"A lot of customers wanted to come in and eat and have an environment where it wasn't full of smoke, and we just felt that we should accommodate them because there's a huge number of people who did request that," General Manager Debbi Davids said.

Months later, they've had the option to switch back and allow smoking, but Davids says her customers seem to like the change.

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LETTER: Tobacco-free initiative needs compromise 

So what can we do as a university to compromise between the two groups?

I think we should grab hold of the policy Bluegrass Community and Technical College adopted in August.

With designated smoking areas, smokers will not have to venture off campus to smoke, be late for classes because of their need for a cigarette or drop their cigarette butts in local neighborhoods, but will be forced to group together in a smaller, more controlled area.

In a perfect world, the smoking ban at UK would rid the campus of addiction, pollution and allergies, but maybe the most realistic first step would be a compromise.

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SGA utilizes blog to get input on possible UGA smoking ban  

The University's Student Government Association wants to know what students think about lighting up on campus.

With an increasing number of colleges and universities implementing campus-wide smoking bans, members of SGA said they want to gauge student interest at the University with a poll on the SGA blog.

"The smoking policy on campus is not something that is widely known," said Suzanne Meller, SGA General Assembly secretary. "We're exploring this because it's an issue."

The smoking policy on campus adopted in 2006 prohibits smoking in dormitories, all University facilities, Sanford Stadium and areas adjacent to buildings. An administrator told The Red & Black in an interview in September they would be open to changing the policy if students and faculty supported and proposed a different plan.

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Outside smoking at courthouse doors banned  

Concerns by the director of the Health Department about patient health and compliance with provisions associated with federal funding spurred the Phelps County Commission to take action Thursday.

The Commission approved banning smoking within 25 feet of any public entrance at the courthouse.

Jodi Waltman, director of the Phelps/Maries County Health Department, told commissioners the smokers who congregate near the lower-level entrance to the department posed a health risk to pregnant women and children who enter the building.

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Health trust relaxes smoking rules saying blanket ban was too difficult to enforce 

HOSPITAL chiefs in Sheffield have defended a decision to provide smoking shelters around their sites, saying a blanket ban had proved too difficult for staff to enforce.

Contractors have been putting up the shelters in several locations on sites run by the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust.

Signs are currently displayed which say smoking is banned and inform people they are breaking the law unless they leave hospital grounds before lighting up.

But yesterday deputy chief nurse Richard Parker said the rules would be relaxed to encourage people to smoke in the shelters and move them away from other locations.

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The Inalienable Right to Smoke - Cigarettes  

Several large NYC landlords are moving to ban smoking inside their own apartment complexes, and on the sidewalks outside them, as well. Clearly, this violates our just-made-up list of Places People Can Always Smoke, No Takebacks.

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Outdoor smoking ban becomes law in Timmins 

Timmins city council has passed an amendment to the local anti-smoking bylaw. It says that along with not being allowed to smoke in local bars or restaurants, smokers are no longer allowed to light up in such outdoor spaces as beaches, playgrounds, parks and recreation fields. The bylaw says smoker must be ten metres away from such public spaces.

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