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Moorpark may ban smoking in public areas 

The smoking ordinance in the city of Moorpark may soon be amended.

On June 17, the Moorpark City Council initially approved an amendment to an existing smoking ordinance, prohibiting smoking in public areas, including parks, sidewalks and athletic fields. Violators

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Warning to smokers 

Two cities in Metro Manila have joined others in implementing a ban on smoking in public places contained in RA 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003. Recently, Mandaluyong and Muntinlupa created task forces and launched campaigns to enforce the law, several years after the law was passed, but a welcome development anyway.

In Muntinlupa, a task force has been created by the city government to ensure that public places-- City Hall, plazas, roads and churches, to name some--are smoke-free. The task force implements an executive order issued by Mayor Aldrin San Pedro, mandating it to apprehend violators of the ban and holding educational campaigns against smoking.

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Shorewood smoking ban to be celebrated in bar  

Shorewood's new smoke-free status will be marked with a celebration at a bar.

The North Shore Tobacco-Free Coalition is offering food and door prizes from 5 to 8 p.m. Wednesday at the Village Pub and Grill, 4488 N. Oakland Ave.

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Guilford County leaders enact smoking restrictions 

Guilford County's health department unanimously passed a new smoking ban in county buildings Monday evening.

Many of the municipalities around the area have already enacted some restrictions. The plan will ban indoor smoking in all county buildings, including PTI Airport. The facility is designated no smoking, but does have a smoking lounge, among the few left these days.

Texan Lou Tornabell was having a cigarette out on the sidewalk Monday and was unaware of the smoking area.

"The last airport I was ever at where there was a lounge was Hong Kong, and if you never smoked before, all you had to do is walk and breathe," said Tornabell.

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LETTER: WORRAL: Amend the smoking ban  

We seek a solution that is fair to smokers, non-smokers and staff alike. We consider it wholly unreasonable that, when up to half of our customers are regular smokers, we can make virtually no provision for them. However, we are also conscious that many pub-goers are keen on a smoke-free atmosphere. That is why we are calling for an amendment to the smoking ban, rather than its full repeal.

If we were allowed, for example, to provide separate smoking rooms while ensuring that non-smokers' preferences were catered for, we could improve our service without causing any upset.

For these reasons, we urge politicians of all parties to help save our pubs and clubs by introducing an amendment to the ban. If they don't, the traditional English pub will continue to wither on the vine.

Antony Worrall Thompson Save Our Pubs & Clubs, Cambridge

David Wright The Windmill, Cheshunt

Kevin Breslin The Beehive, Enfield . . .

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Military advised to ban tobacco gradually 

he U.S. Department of Defense should phase in a tobacco ban in the military, beginning at military academies, an Institute of Medicine report said.

The report was requested by the Defense Department and the Department of Veterans Affairs. The government departments asked the Institute of Medicine to identify policies and practices that could lower rates of smoking and help soldiers and veterans quit.

Tobacco use reduces soldiers' physical fitness and endurance and is linked to higher rates of absenteeism and lost productivity, the report said.

In 2005, 32 percent of active-duty personnel and 22 percent of veterans were smokers. Rates among active-duty personnel have recently increased -- possibly because of growing tobacco use by deployed troops -- the report said.

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EDITORIAL: Saving the local pub from a lingering death  

A combination of cheap alcohol from supermarkets and shops, the ban on smoking in public places and changing lifestyles has conspired to place immense pressures on the traditional pub. . . .

In such circumstances, one would expect the pub industry to be straining every sinew to make their operations as attractive as possible to a dwindling customer base.

Not a bit of it, if today's report from the Commons business and enterprise select committee is anything to go by.

The MPs have found that the way pub firms compel their tenants to buy their alcohol from them is pushing up prices and leading to an "ever-increasing disparity" between beer prices in pubs and those in supermarkets, thereby undermining the viability of pubs.

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PRESS CONFERENCE WITH STUART BONDURANT, DEAN EMERITUS AT THE SCHOOL OF MEDICINE AND THE UNIVERSITY OF NORTH CAROLINA-CHAPEL HILL; KENNETH KIZER, CHAIRMAN, MEDSPHERE SYSTEMS CORPORATION ($$) 

I'm Sarah Frueh from the news office at the National Academies. And with us today, we have two members of the committee that wrote the report: Committee Chair Stuart Bondurant, professor of medicine and dean emeritus at the School of Medicine at the University of North Carolina-Chapel Hill; and Kenneth Kizer, former undersecretary for health in the Department of Veterans Affairs and former director of the California Department of Health Services, where he was one of the architect's of California's tobacco control program. ...

Registered users, please login to view the full transcript:

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Greece Bids To Stamp Out Smoking In Public With New Law 

Greece, Europe's heaviest-smoking nation, will introduce a tobacco ban in public places on July 1, its third attempt in a decade to stamp out the country's love affair with cigarettes.

However, critics fear loopholes in the legislation and its unpopularity mean it could prove just as ineffective as previous antismoking bids.

About 20,000 Greeks die each year from tobacco-related ailments, and 42% of the population smokes, according to the country's health minister, Dimitris Avramopoulos.

Greece lags behind many of its European peers who have outlawed smoking in public places in recent years.

However, Avramopoulos is convinced Greece can now catch up, declaring: "The moment of truth has arrived, this ban aims to bring a change that will revolutionize people's outlook."

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Lessons Learned from Kanawha County Smoking Ban 

Now, the health department is taking a look back at its success and downfalls. Health Department officials said they've received a lot of positive feedback, but they don't ever expect to have a 100 percent compliance rate.

They've taken 12 business owners to court so far, but all of those cases are still pending. Environmental services director Anita Ray said she wishes they would have educated the public more on the dangers of smoking before they passed the ban. Complaints are still coming in, especially from businesses losing big money.

"I believe we've given it more than a chance, and we have not seen our business come back," said Rich Treslar, executive director of casino operations.

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Prison smoking bans to start today  

Smoking will be banned inside most of the State’s prisons today and limited to designated areas, prompting renewed calls for the State Government to crack down on a prisoner’s right to light up in jail.

The move, which will make all cells and units smoke-free, finally brings the prison system into line with other workplaces but health groups argue the changes do not go far enough.

Australian Council on Smoking and Health president Mike Daube welcomed the partial ban but warned that prisoners were not getting the same protection as the rest of the community.

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Lawmakers still support smoking ban 

If officials of Tri-State Racetrack had any hopes for a legislative exemption from a countywide smoking ban, they may already be in the ashes.

Several Kanawha County legislators, Republicans and Democrats alike, defend the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department's smoking ban, which was expanded July 1, 2008, to include bars and gambling parlors, including Tri-State Racetrack in Nitro.

They say the Legislature gave counties the authority to impose such rules, and it would make lawmakers look weak and irresponsible to reconsider the issue or make exceptions.

For several months Tri-State executives have been blaming dwindling revenues on the county's tough new smoking ban. Racetrack officials say the facility should be exempt because state laws define table games as lotteries and the state as the owner of the operations.

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• Antony Worral Thompson leads campaign to overturn smoking ban  

Antony Worrall Thompson, the celebrity chef, is spearheading a campaign to overturn the ban on smoking in British pubs.

The Ready-Steady-Cook star and restaurateur is leading the Save Our Pubs & Clubs campaign calling for changes to the blanket ban which came into force in 2007.

Campaigners say the ban is "ripping the heart out" of British pubs, which are now closing at a rate of 40 a month, and want publicans to be allowed to tempt customers back by permitting smoking in some areas.

He said: "The smoking ban has had an extraordinarily detrimental effect on pubs and clubs and you can understand why. They used to be bastions of adult entertainment where young and old could meet and chat over a pint without the health police looking over their shoulders... The legislation as it stands is excessive and I would like to see it amended."

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• Smokers Snuff Out in Hong Kong Bars as Ban Begins (Update1) 

Hong Kong smokers will be squeezed out of the city’s bars and clubs when a tobacco ban takes effect at midnight after the government rejected pleas for further reprieve, saying owners have had enough time to prepare.

“It’s time for the smokers to think about quitting,” said Ronald Lam, head of the Department of Health’s Tobacco Control Office. “The key message is that the government is working with the community to push for a smoke-free society.”

The ban aligns Hong Kong with much of the European Union, the U.S. and Australia, which have all acted to protect workers from tobacco smoke. While the city banned smoking in offices and at beaches, parks and shopping malls in 2007, more than 1,000 pubs, nightclubs and mahjong halls were granted temporary exemptions, which expire tomorrow.

“It’s 2 1/2 years overdue,” said James Middleton, chairman of Hong Kong anti-tobacco pressure group Clear the Air. “Health of the workers must always come before business profits.”

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CORRECTED: EU health chief proposes stricter laws on smoking  

The European Union's health chief proposed on Tuesday that uniform laws be drafted for all 27 countries in the bloc to regulate smoking more strictly in public areas and workplaces.

Many EU countries have laws limiting exposure to second-hand, or passive, smoking. The rules are strictest in Britain and Ireland, where smoking is banned in enclosed public places, public transport and workplaces, including restaurants and bars.

"Each and every European should be entitled to full protection from tobacco smoke," EU Health Commissioner Androulla Vassiliou told a news conference.

The recommendation calls on all member states to implement laws that will limit exposure to tobacco smoke in public places, workplaces and public transport, and aims to protect children.

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