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• REGULATORY IMPACT ASSESSMENT ON DRAFT MINISTERIAL REGULATIONS TO BAN SMOKING IN THE WORKPLACE, INCLUDING HOSPITALITY VENUES (PDF) 

The Irish Hospitality Industry Alliance (IHIA) is a broad representative body comprising members from the following sectors: hotels, pubs, restaurants, guest houses, bed and breakfasts, nightclubs, registered clubs and tourism venues. There are some 214,000 persons employed in around 16,400 tourism and hospitality venues in Ireland.

At the outset, the IHIA wish to make clear that smoking is unhealthy, and that the Alliance supports the Government’s broad strategy which aims to reduce the numbers smoking.

The policy rationale for the Government’s proposals to ban smoking in the workplace is based on a report published in January 2003 by the Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) and the Health and Safety Authority (HSA) for the Department of Health and Children. The report concluded that passive smoking - Environment Tobacco Smoke (ETS) – is carcinogenic i.e. it causes cancer, and current ventilation technologies cannot adequately control worker exposure to ETS.

The purpose of this submission is to carry out a systematic, objective, evidence-based analysis – a Regulatory Impact Assessment (RIA) – of the Government’s proposals to introduce a total ban, with effect from 1 January 2004, on smoking in workplaces, including tourism and hospitality venues. . .

The Government appears set to take a decision to ban smoking in the workplace in the absence of an in-depth research study into the incidence of ETS exposure in workplaces under Irish circumstances.

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Restaurant owners sue council over smoking ban 

County restaurateurs filed a lawsuit in Circuit Court on Monday challenging the county's ban on smoking scheduled to take effect in less than one month.

The restaurants claim that because the ban has an exception for private clubs it violates the equal protection clause of the Maryland Constitution, a position the court agreed with when restaurants challenged a nearly identical ban in 1999. The legislation passed by the County Council in July instructs the court to initate a full ban with no exeptions if the exception renders the ban unconstitutional, but the restaurants argue that state law prohibits counties from banning smoking in private clubs.

Aside from the legal issues at stake, the businesses argued that a total ban on smoking in bars and restaurants would cause smoking patrons to leave the county for neighboring jurisdictions where it is permitted. . .

The restaurants have formed a nonprofit Customer Choice Coalition to help pay for the lawsuit. The principal parties in the suit are Clyde's and the Anchor Inn Seafood Restaurant in Wheaton, businesses that installed expensive air ventilation systems to filter out smoke. Melvin R. Thompson, vice president of government relations for the Restaurant Association of Maryland, said the tobacco industry would not be participating in the lawsuit as it had in 1999. He said more groups will join the coalition, but their identities would not be released.

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Restaurateurs say smoking ban is unfair 

Three Jefferson County restaurant owners say a new smoking ordinance is unfair because it exempts a local racetrack.

Charles Town Races and Slots will not be subject to the county's smoking restrictions, which took effect on Sept. 1, so long as one in every 10 of its video lottery machines is in a nonsmoking area and it maintains an air ventilation system.

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• Little Havana cigar maker says P. Diddy exposed trade secret 

The artist formerly known as Puffy has a Little Havana cigar maker fuming.

The owners of Moore & Bode Cigars have filed a lawsuit against hip-hop mogul Sean Combs -- aka P. Diddy -- claiming he used footage of the shop's ''secret'' rolling techniques in a music video for the Bad Boys II soundtrack.

The suit, filed Sept. 4, names Combs, his label Bad Boys Entertainment and an unnamed cameraman who allegedly filmed the shop's tabaqueros as they crafted the stogies.

According to the lawsuit -- which asks for unspecified compensation -- a cameraman and film crew entered the Moore & Bode facilities on Calle Ocho in June while the owners were out.

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Program touts family togetherness 

Not sitting down with the family for dinner could be depriving parents of an important opportunity to influence their childrens' decisions about alcohol, tobacco and illegal drugs, experts say.

On that note, local groups are encouraging Durham families to make a point of having dinner together on Sept. 22 during the nationwide celebration of "Family Day -- A Day To Eat Dinner With Your Family."

The value of family dinners is backed by research from the National Center on Addiction and Substance Abuse at Columbia University, which has found that it can greatly influence a child's decision not to try drugs, cigarettes or alcohol.

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• Smokers 'Taking it to the Streets' to protest ban 

A collective puff of cigarette smoke will permeate the air outside of restaurants and bars across Western New York tonight, when patrons stand outside with placards and light up to protest the new smoking ban.

During the statewide protest, dubbed "Taking it to the Streets," customers at participating venues will be asked to step outside for a brief protest starting at 8:30 p.m., to show their disapproval of a smoking law, in effect since July 24, that has banned smoking in all workplaces, including bars, restaurants and bowling alleys.

Protests are planned for least three local venues - in Kenmore, Niagara Falls and North Tonawanda.

Organized by the Empire State Restaurant and Tavern Association, the rally is meant for those who cannot attend the group's larger protest, which is scheduled for Tuesday morning on the steps of the state legislative office building in Albany.

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• College students support smoking restrictions 

U.S. college students express strong support for tobacco control policies that aim to reduce cigarette smoking on college campuses, according to a new survey by researchers from Massachusetts General Hospital (MGH) and Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH).

As reported in the September 2003 issue of the journal Tobacco Control, most of the students surveyed favored policies ranging from banning smoking in all dormitories and other campus buildings to prohibiting the sale or advertising of tobacco products on campus. Support for all of these policies was stronger among nonsmokers, but even smokers favored making all college buildings smoke-free and prohibiting tobacco company advertising and sponsorship of campus events. . . .

"Being able to say that the overwhelming majority of college students want smoke-free environments is a powerful tool. Our findings should reassure college administrators considering banning smoking in dormitories and other actions," Rigotti says. "These policies can help students resist tobacco companies' messages and prepare them for the wider world, where smoke-free environments have become the norm in workplaces, restaurants and even bars."

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Young adults - be aware of tobacco companies in clubs 

The Lung Association applauds the recent surge in awareness around the tobacco industry's infiltration of bars with their tobacco promotions geared towards those between the ages of 19-29.

Tobacco is a uniquely dangerous product - and the only legal and widely used product that is extremely addictive and causes the death of up to one-half of all its regular users (in Ontario thats more than 12,000 people a year).

"Until this month, the tobacco company's new strategy got little public notice," said Susan Berek, Tobacco Control Specialist. "We want the public to be aware that tobacco companies are now using new tactics in promoting the product, and we want young people to be asking themselves why the tobacco companies are there. This new way of marketing to young adults is happening due to a loophole in the legislation or regulations that was not foreseen."

Marketing tactics include Imperial Tobacco Canada and Rothmans Canada underwriting must-see DJs and club events at bars and nightclubs in cities across Canada, where brand advertising is everywhere and cigarette girls are paid to sell the companies' products.

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Some swatted litterbugs bite back 

The man swore to his wife that he had quit smoking. She believed him. Until the state of North Carolina informed her otherwise.

The letter started like this: "Recently, a citizen reported someone for discarding a cigarette from a vehicle," and then it listed the vehicle's license plate number -- her husband's.

The Swat-A-Litterbug program strikes again.

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Martiniuk no longer cocky 

It's been quite a merry-go-round for Cambridge MPP Gerry Martiniuk. . . .

Campaign pressure makes it one of the worst times to buck cigarettes, but he'd already started his Zyban program before Eves called the election and he's managed to go smokeless now for six weeks.

"California banned smoking everywhere 10 years ago," he tells the waiter. "I understand incidence of lung cancer there has declined by 30 per cent since.

"Gawd," he says to no one in particular, "it's a terrible habit." [This graph only]

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Protestors say smoking ban is full of hot air 

The smoking ban uproar is flaring up again as senators return to town.

State senators are coming back to Albany Tuesday for a one-day special session. They're expected to give final approval on an environmental cleanup bill and confirm some high-level Pataki nominees.

Outside the Capitol, protesters are planning to rally against the 2-month-old smoking ban. Area bars got into the act early Monday night, organizing protests outside places like Glenville's Flightline Pub.

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Trains set for smoking ban 

Smoking will be banned on all Belgian trains as of January 2004, it was announced Tuesday.

Belgian Rail said the measure was planned as move to protect the health of non-smoking passengers and increase overall comfort.

All other means of transport across the country are smoke-free, and only five percent of train carriages remain smoking zones.

A survey among commuters by VRT reporters shows that the majority of passengers are pleased with the anti-smoking measures.

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In Small Doses: The vicious nicotine cycle 

PEOPLE who think cigarettes help to relieve stress will in fact exacerbate stressful feelings by smoking, a new study reveals.

Researchers from Hillingdon Hospital in north-west London say people who smoke because they are stressed are less likely to be able to quit than other smokers. They say the nicotine in cigarettes can actually make them more stressful.

"People feel stressed, then they smoke, but the nicotine makes them feel stressed it's a vicious circle," according to researchers.

The researchers followed 550 smokers on a seven-week cessation programme

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On the Scene: Fashion Week Eavesdroppings 

Kate Moss telling friends she's not so hyped on New York because "you can't bloody smoke!"

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Kicking The Evil Weed 

SINCE the age of 15, Lorraine Carpenter turned to cigarettes when life got too stressful.

But when she was told she may have just ten years left to live, Lorraine decided there was no choice but to kick the habit for good.

After a nurse broke the shattering news that she had the lungs of an elderly woman Lorraine made the life-changing decision to quit smoking.

After smoking for 32 years, it was a visit to an asthma clinic that put the 48-year-old on the road to a smoke-free life. . .

"The nurse at the asthma clinic tested me on a machine and said I was breathing like a 74-year-old and I had to stop smoking.

"I stopped the same day and my asthma has totally gone now."

She has now been chosen as the Bath Quitter of the Quarter and was presented with her prize yesterday.

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