Tobacco.org

• BUYER: Opposing view: Not a job for the FDA 

This abstinence-only approach to smoking cessation is not a sound public health policy. The Waxman-Kennedy bill places new burdens on the overworked and under-resourced Food and Drug Administration (FDA), which has vital obligations to ensure the safety of our food and drugs.

The FDA is already challenged by tainted food and counterfeit and adulterated drugs . . .

Moving people away from toxic smoking products to smokeless products with up to 99% less health risks is a much healthier approach. For the 96% of smokers who fail to quit smoking every year, harm reduction gives them new options to decrease their health risks. . . .

Americans are familiar with harm-reduction policies such as wearing seatbelts and choosing healthy foods. It is pragmatic to enjoin abstinence with a harm-reduction strategy to improve public health. This week, America has a chance to protect our FDA, oppose ineffective government policies, and use sound science to end our nation's tobacco epidemic by supporting an alternative to FDA regulation, one that calls for innovative, pragmatic, and science-based tobacco harm-reduction strategies.

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• EDITORIAL: Our view on Smoking: After decades-long battle, tobacco regulation advances  

North Carolina, the nation's largest tobacco producer, just did what was once thought impossible. The state enacted one of the nation's strictest bans on smoking in public places, proving the battle against smoking has come a long way since a handful of California cities and counties passed the nation's first smoke-free laws in 1990.

Today, 27 states heavily restrict smoking in public places. A dozen have tax rates of $2 or more a pack in an effort to price this lethal habit beyond the budgets of many teenagers . . .

Yet for all that has changed, there's still one gaping hole in the nation's efforts to fight an addiction that kills 400,000 Americans a year: The federal government, which regulates everything from breakfast cereal to pet food, doesn't regulate tobacco.

For more than two decades, the tobacco companies and their political allies have beaten back efforts by public health advocates to fill that gap. Now, at last, that appears likely to change. The Senate is poised, as early as this week, to debate a measure that would give the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. . . .

Despite all the progress against smoking, the public remains vulnerable to an industry that turned deception into a fine art. New research suggests that the risk of getting lung cancer from smoking today in the USA is far higher than the risk to smokers 40 years ago. One possible reason, according to David Burns of the University of California-San Diego, is the design of cigarettes sold in the U.S. Regulation might enable the government to change that design.

Congress has an opportunity to add an important new weapon to attack the nation's No. 1 killer. More than 1,000 children get hooked on cigarettes each day. That's 1,000 new reasons to regulate this deadly product.

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Despite all the progress against smoking, the public remains vulnerable to an industry that turned deception into a fine art.
USA Today editorial.

• Tobacco - Despite the Risks, Smoking Thrives  

YESTERDAY, Uganda joined the rest of the world to mark the World No Tobacco Day. Anti-cigarette activists are vowing to step up the campaign to compel the Government to tighten its grip on smokers who do not care about other people's health.

According to the Uganda Heart Institute, tobacco is the leading cause of preventable cancer deaths in the world, accounting for over 5.2 million deaths annually.

It is projected that the death toll of tobacco-related diseases will rise to 10 million per year, with 70% occurring in developing countries.

Owing to such health risks, in 2004 the Government passed a law barring smoking in public places.

It is considered a violation of non-smokers' rights to life and to a clean and healthy environment.

The then water, lands and environment minister, Kahinda Otafiire, ordered the ban to take immediate effect. . . .

However, despite the heath risks it poses, smoking has continued to thrive even in public places, in total disregard of the law.

And the bodies that should have implemented the legislation have not intervened much.

As a result, mob justice has increased due to increased smoking in public places, as non-smokers struggle to guard themselves from the effects of passive smoking. . . .

Karugaba blames the environmental watchdog, National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) for failing to crack down on smokers.

The Police in Tororo last year arrested one Julius Opondo over allegedly killing a colleague, Desiderio Okecho, by twisting his neck for lighting a cigarette in Wawulere Market.

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Butts Out Nebraska, The Smoking Ban's Here 

Right on cue with World No-tobacco Day, Nebraska's Clean Indoor Air Act goes into affect Sunday at midnight meaning butts out Nebraska.

"The scientific debate over the dangers of second hand smoke is over, we know it causes damage to non-smokers," said Nebraska Chief Medical Officer Joann Schaefer. "There are studies out now that show when you go smoke free you actually lower the instances of heart attack."

The law bans smoking in all public places and businesses except cigar bars and 20 percent of hotel rooms. Reaction to the ban is mixed.

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New patio will shelter smokers at La Vista Keno  

La Vista Keno owner Rich Bellino doesn't hide his dislike for the smoking ban that will go into effect Monday for bars and restaurants across Nebraska.

Owner Rich Bellino says a smoker-friendly patio at La Vista Keno will be open by Monday.

A sizable portion of his business comes from smokers, so Bellino got to work on an addition to his building -- one that would allow customers to continue to smoke and play keno in a comfortable, sheltered area.

Using state guidelines, Bellino had a large, enclosed patio built on the south side of La Vista Keno. The patio, which has a keno side and a lounge side, can hold up to 160 people.

To be in compliance, 20 percent of the wall space needed to be open to the outside.

But to make it usable year-round, this patio also features heating from above and below. The floor has heating tubes running through the concrete and heating vents overhead that will allow Bellino to keep a constant, comfortable temperature for customers in the wintertime. During the summer, fans will keep customers cool.

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Three Rivers helps businesses prepare for smoking ban 

Somewhere in Kathy Kneifl’s office is her desk. It’s behind the boxes of materials that she has been getting out to area businesses as June 1 approaches.

As environmental health coordinator at Three Rivers District Health Department, Kneifl has been working to help business owners and managers comply with the Nebraska Smoke-Free Air Law that takes effect soon.

As of June 1, all indoor workspaces and public places throughout the state must be smoke-free. That means smoking won’t be allowed inside restaurants and bars throughout the state.

Kneifl said the public health department is a perfect fit to help local business owners and managers implement the new law.

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Agencies set to enforce smoking ban Monday 

Local law enforcement agencies are set to enforce the statewide smoking ban that will go into effect Monday.

The Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act prohibits smoking in enclosed workspaces including restaurants, bars, keno establishments and other workplaces and indoor public places.

“As we receive calls, we’ll respond and investigate as our manpower permits,” Fremont Police Lt. Jeff Elliott said.

Elliott said it will be up to the investigating officer’s discretion whether to issue a citation or give a verbal or written warning.

Likewise, Dodge County Sheriff Steve Hespen said his deputies likely will give warnings to first-time offenders in the time after the law goes into effect.

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EDITORIAL: Smokeless at last ... 

Eighty one years after the first detailed statistical study showing that heavy smokers were more likely to develop lung cancer, the state has decided that people shouldn't have to be exposed to cigarette smoke when they go to work or out for a meal.

Effective Monday, Nebraska is officially 100 percent smoke free, requiring all indoor work spaces and public places to become smoke-free. . . .

We've certainly come a long way from the days when cigarettes were provided to soldiers as part of their rations and advertisers touted the positive health effects of tobacco.

And that routine question, "Smoking or non-smoking?" will be relegated to the ashtray of history.

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• Ban not limited to bars and restaurants 

While bars and restaurants are obvious targets for Nebraska’s smoke-free ban that begins Monday, the East Central Health Department (ECDHD) is finding the much broader ramifications of the new law are largely misunderstood.

“What we have found as we’ve visited with a very wide variety of businesses in our service area, is that most business owners think the smoking ban only affects the bars and restaurants,” said the health department’s Environmental Health Coordinator Roberta Miksch. “The Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008 requires indoor workplaces in Nebraska to be smoke-free effective June 1.

“This means the law applies to all public places from beauty shops to industrial sites, photo shops and auto repair shops to bowling alleys,” she said. *

Miksch said the law applies to all breakrooms, hallways, conference rooms and rest rooms.

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State smoking ban begins Monday 

The Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008 will go into effect Monday, but some local businesses have already made the transition to go smoke-free while others look to make accommodations for their smoking patrons.

The state law that requires workplaces, restaurants and bars to be 100 percent smoke-free initially received mixed reviews locally following its passage last year, but a couple local businesses took pre-emptive action and made the transition early.

Ron Sedlak, owner of Pawnee Bar, said the decision to go smoke free last August was one of the best business decisions he had made.

“It was great. We should have done it years ago,” Sedlak said.

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Smoke-Free Nebraska Enforcement 

To file a complaint, either contact Sara Morgan at 1-877-633-7331 or smoke.free@dhhs.ne.gov or contact your local health department.

Penalties

A person who smokes in a place of employment or a public place in violation of the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act is guilty of a Class V misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class IV misdemeanor for the second and any subsequent offenses.

A proprietor who fails, neglects, or refuses to perform a duty under the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act is guilty of a Class V misdemeanor for the first offense and a Class IV misdemeanor for the second and any subsequent offenses.

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Smoke-Free Nebraska FAQ 

What is the law’s purpose?

The purpose of the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act is to protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment. In 2008, the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act was amended to require every indoor workplace in the state to be smoke-free.

What does the law cover?

The Act eliminates smoking in enclosed indoor areas including restaurants, bars, keno establishments, horse racing venues and other workplaces (retail/office space, manufacturing, etc.) as well as indoor public places.

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Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008: Summary of the Law (PDF) 

The law will become effective on June 1, 2009.

The Act eliminates smoking in enclosed indoor workspaces including restaurants, bars, keno establishments and other workplaces (retail/office space, manufacturing, etc.) and indoor public places. The only exceptions are the following:

• up to 20 percent of hotel rooms

• tobacco-only retailers defined as a “store that sells only tobacco and products directly related to tobacco. Products directly related to tobacco do not include alcohol, coffee, soft drinks, candy, groceries or gasoline.”

• facilities researching the health effects of smoking

• private residences, except when a residence is being used as a licensed child care program

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Nebraska DHHS: SmokeFree Nebraska 

The Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act of 2008 requires indoor workplaces in Nebraska to be smoke-free effective June 1, 2009. The purpose of the Act is to protect the public health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment.

The Act eliminates smoking in enclosed indoor workspaces including restaurants, bars, keno establishments, other workplaces (retail/office space, manufacturing, etc.) and indoor public places. Summary of the Law. Summary of the Law in Spanish.

Information will be added to this site as it becomes available, so check back often.

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Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em 

I'm kind of used to it from Lincoln.

That's the stock answer that most Beatrice residents are sticking to as the last weekend to smoke quickly passes.

Monday, June 1, a statewide smoking ban goes into effect, banning smoking in all indoor public places.

The purpose of LB395, an amendment to the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act, is to protect health and welfare by prohibiting smoking in public places and places of employment, according to the Nebraska Department of Health and Human Services.

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