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Smoking ban passes 1st vote in Cayce  

It was a hair-thin preliminary vote on a smoking ban in Cayce, but City Council on Tuesday gave a highly qualified OK.

The deciding vote by Councilman Kenneth Jumper came with conditions he demanded but did not explain.

"This has to be redone," council's senior member said after suggesting the whole proposal be delayed a month. Council pressed ahead and the proposed law passed 3-2. . . .

If Cayce adopts a ban on a second and final vote, it would become the third municipality in Lexington County to prohibit smoking in workplaces.

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Widener University set to institute smoking ban 

Widener University, as of July 1, will become the first four-year college in the Philadelphia area to change policy by banning smoking and use of other tobacco products on its campuses - indoors and out.

The ban at the Chester-based school was recommended by a committee of faculty, staff, and students concerned about the effects of secondhand smoke and the financial impact of health-insurance costs for students and employees who smoke or chew tobacco.

The university is offering free smoking-cessation classes and nicotine-replacement drugs for employees, students, and family members, and a year's notice before the policy is enforced. The university's board of trustees approved the ban last spring.

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AUDIO: Tobacco kicked off campus 

Smokers and chewers will be restricted from using in University buildings - and on its grounds.

Jennifer Ibrahim is a professor at Temple University. She says it's a positive step toward reducing smoking and chewing.

Ibrahim: Here in Philadelphia, this is the first ban that I know of that's a complete ban. So there's no tobacco products, not just no smoking or a limitation from the entrance of a building, but no tobacco products at all, which is pretty significant.

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Months Before Smoking Ban, Widener Univ. Already Breathing Easier 

Widener University is seeing some success in becoming tobacco-free, months before it actually does so.

Widener president James Harris says this is more of a continual process than the July 1st deadline.

He says the idea of creating a healthier college community began six years ago and evolved into the coming tobacco ban:

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LETTER: Tobacco settlement dollars haven't been used for intended purpose  

Thursday's Opinion page included an excerpt from a Philadelphia Inquirer editorial advocating Medicaid support for anti-smoking efforts. Apparently the settlement reached between the government and tobacco companies didn't provide enough money to the states to cover this.

Why, then, is it legal for the states to divert these funds away from anti-smoking efforts? Did the government lie when it said the money was needed as reimbursement to the states for smoking-related medical expenses and anti-smoking efforts? And why is the Fourth Estate not holding the government's feet to the fire for this dishonesty?

That settlement has ended up being nothing more than a pass-through tax levied upon tobacco users because they are today's easy target

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Health Department Eats In Smoke-Free Air  

The question "smoking or non-smoking" is a thing of the past for many restaurants and most bars in North Carolina.

Starting today, smokers will have to step outside many bars, clubs and restaurants in order to smoke.

To celebrate the first day of the smoke-free law, members of the Durham Health Department ate lunch at a restaurant in the American Tobacco Historic District.

A manager at one restaurant that went smoke-free early said the ban has helped busines

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EDITORIAL: A safer state 

Clearly, the cradle of mass cigarette manufacturing has turned over a new leaf. North Carolina's legislated ban on smoking in bars and restaurants takes effect today (having allowed one last smoke-filled holiday), and as of yesterday, all cigarettes made or sold here must be of the "fire-safe" variety. . . .

Profitable and important, but not healthy or safe. That's the bottom line that persuaded a majority of legislators to enact the smoking ban and the fire-safe requirement. Even allowing for a smoker's right to choose his or her own poison, the case for restrictions in public settings is strong. Research has convincingly shown that secondhand smoke, which restaurant and bar patrons and employees breathe in when smoking is allowed, is a health hazard. And, to state the obvious, fires caused by discarded or unattended cigarettes do harm to smokers and nonsmokers alike.

So the issue is public health and safety, and those concerns outweigh owners' rights to run their businesses solely as they see fit.

Yes, the 20 percent or so of adults who smoke are indeed in for a change. But everyone will be better off for it.

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Clearing the air Smokers must resist urge in public bars, eateries 

A turning point in North Carolina's long tobacco history has arrived: Today is the first day of a strict new law that bans smoking in restaurants and bars.

The ban was a long time coming. About 20 other states have similar restrictions on public indoor smoking, and state Rep. Hugh Holliman, D-Davidson, fought for years to pass a smoking ban in North Carolina.

He and other legislators finally succeeded last spring, striking a compromise to get enough votes to pass the law. They argued that employees and members of the public should not have to be exposed to secondhand smoke, which can cause cancer.

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• SONGÜN: Turkey's smoking ban changes habits, inspires innovations  

I panicked when I was first assigned to this story even though it was not a risky assignment like covering a flood, a May Day in Taksim or a street clash between pro-Kurdish protestors and the police.

My assignment was to cover Turkey's smoking ban that came into effect July 19 by violating it to see if it really worked. The problem was that I had never smoked, not even tried, not once. . . .

One teahouse owner's innovative efforts were admirable. He found a way to smoke inside without violating the ban via a homemade mechanism with two hoses that reached outside and enabled smoking in enclosed areas. Maybe it was not the first innovation, but I found it to be the most intriguing. Suat Karakaya, owner of a teahouse in Istanbul for 15 years, drilled two holes in a window and passed two thin hoses through each. A lit cigarette is attached to the end of one hose outside the window while the customer smokes from the other end in the comfort of the establishment. The offending cigarette never needs to come inside. The second hose is for the smoker to exhale the smoke back outside.

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Patrons, restaurant owners expect changes for the better after smoking ban 

Nonsmokers at restaurants and bars will be able to breathe a little easier starting Saturday. Owners of those establishments are expecting some positive changes, too.

A new statewide law is taking effect and banning indoor smoking at restaurants, bars and other food venues, with a few exceptions such as cigar bars. Businesses that break the ban can be fined $200 per day, and individual smokers can be fined $50.

"The adjustment will be tough," said John Hinnant, executive director of Wilmington Downtown, via e-mail. However, in his and others' experience, smoke-free restaurants "typically do better," particularly restaurants.

"I think business will improve overall," said Paul Stone, president of the North Carolina Restaurant and Lodging Association. More people may go out to eat if they no longer have to walk through a smoky bar section to get seated.

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Editorial - Local businesses may be surprised at who comes back to visit after smoking ban  

On April Fool's Day 2008, after more than half a century serving up breakfast and lunch, Whitey's Restaurant on Market Street quietly went smoke-free. "Best thing that ever happened to me," owner Whitey Prevatte says. Rather than killing business, the switch brought in more customers, including many who had quit patronizing the restaurant because of the smoke. Says the 81-years-young owner: "I wish I had done it 10 years ago."

For those who enjoy a cigarette with their coffee or after dinner, the new law will be inconvenient. It will anger some who now have to leave the building to light up. The rest of us will be thankful for the clean air we breathe.

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2010 brings smoking ban  

Many local restaurant, bar, and hotel owners say they are concerned about the state-wide smoking ban that was recently signed into law and will take effect in May. Others say they don't expect it to have much of an impact.

The smoking ban was signed into law by Gov. Jennifer Granholm on Friday, Dec. 18, making Michigan the 38th state to prohibit smoking in public places.

The law takes effect May 1, and bans smoking in most workplaces, restaurants and bars. Cigar bars, the three Detroit casinos, and tobacco specialty shops are exempt from the ban.

Hereford & Hops owner Becky Moody said she expects the smoking ban will have a negative effect on business.

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Tax 'em if you got 'em; bill would raise cigarette tax 

A state representative from West Seattle has introduced a bill that would increase the tax on cigarettes.

Democrat Eileen Cody dropped House Bill 2493 late last month. The 2010 legislative session begins Monday. With lawmakers facing a $2.6 billion operating budget deficit, bills like Cody's will get a hard look. Raising "sin taxes" on things like cigarettes and alcohol is usually popular as there's less of an anti-tax backlash.

Cody's measure would increase the tax on cigarettes by $1.00 per pack and raise fees on "smokeless" products frequently aimed at children, like flavored chewing tobacco and lozenges.

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TN says Colombian cigarette maker owes $300,000 

Tennessee's attorney general has filed suit against a South American cigarette maker, claiming the company failed to make legally required payments.

In a lawsuit, the state claims Bucaramanga, Colombia-based cigarette company Procesadora Nacional Cigarillera S.A., also known as Pronalci S.A., owes $300,000 for cigarettes sold in 2009.

The state claims that money should have been paid into an escrow account to help Tennessee pay health-care costs the state must cover to treat smokers.

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• Tennessee AG sues Colombian cigarette company over unpaid fees 

Tennessee Attorney General Bob Cooper is suing a Colombian cigarette manufacturer over unpaid fees on smokes sold in his state.

Cooper said in a statement that Procesadora Nacional Cigarillera S.A. / Pronalci S.A., or Pronalci, is required by law to make payments into an escrow account for all cigarettes sold in Tennessee.

He is seeking back payment of $300,000 plus attorney fees and penalties for cigarettes sold in Tennessee last year. The lawsuit was filed in the 20th Judicial District Circuit Court of Davidson County in Nashville.

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