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City Council hears smoke-free presentation  

Jason Sharp, Phelps County Regional Medical Center's director of radiation oncology, presented City Council members Tuesday with statistical information on the dangers of smoking.

With the aid of a PowerPoint production, Sharp presented what he called evidence -- from Smoke-free Air For Everyone Rolla (SAFE Rolla) -- for why city officials should embrace a smoke-free workplace ordinance.

"We're not asking for a ban of smoking," Sharp began. "We recognize the right to smoke."

Still, Sharp did not mince words when he talked about the dangers of smoking he experiences in his partnership with Dr. Mary Graham of the PCRMC's oncology unit.

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• Blog U.: Smoking - Confessions of a Community College Dean  

A regular correspondent stumped me with this one. Has your campus found a solution to smoking?

With record enrollments, my college has cigarette butts all over the grounds. There's a strong no-smoking policy inside the buildings, and so far, that hasn't really been an issue. Even the bathrooms have been remarkably smoke-free. The outdoors is another story. Smokers are supposed to stand x number of feet away from entrances, but in practice, they seem to interpret that part of the policy as advisory. That can mean that those of us who don't smoke (hi!) get to fight our way through a cloud of carcinogens to enter a building. . . .

It's fine to support smoking cessation programs for both employees and students, but by definition, those only reach the folks who are inclined to quit anyway. The problem is the conflict between the folks who just have to puff away on a regular basis, and those of us who'd rather not breathe carcinogenic air or step on the butts.

Wise and worldly readers, I'm hoping someone has seen this done right. Have you seen it? . . .

Tim Hart, of folk group Steeleye Span, dies aged 61 

Tim Hart, a founding member of UK folk group Steeleye Span, has died at the age of 61, it has been announced.

Hart, who left the band in 1983, died of lung cancer on Christmas Eve in La Gomera on the Canary Islands.

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• Ifs, Ands and Butts 

Blame it on the rock stars.

A semester after instituting a campus-wide smoking ban, Boise State University is backtracking. Under an unpublicized exemption approved by officials last month, the university will allow smoking in designated areas at its Taco Bell Arena. It’s simply impractical to have to tell the likes of George Strait that he can’t have a cigar on stage, much less usher his roadies to the edges of campus for a smoke break, arena officials say.

“Certainly if we were to send security on stage to prevent an artist from smoking [we're not] going to be in business any longer,” said Ron Janeczko, associate director of the arena.

The smoking ban also wasn’t practical for audience members, Janeczko added. Since the arena doesn’t allow re-admittance, smokers couldn’t leave the venue for a cigarette and return later, he said.

In addition to the arena, Boise State will allow for designated smoking areas at its football stadium and the Morrison Center for the Performing Arts.

The added exemptions at Boise State highlight the difficulties colleges across the country have had maintaining all-out bans and ensuring absolute compliance. . . .

A wave of smoking bans took hold on college campuses last year, and now at least 381 institutions have all-out prohibitions or significant restrictions . . .

But colleges are wrestling with how to handle that small percentage of students, faculty and staff who may not abide by the policy.

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Smoking ban gets mixed reviews 

Through a loophole, En Fuego Cantina in downtown Del Mar was one of the last restaurants able to allow smoking in part of its outdoor dining area. But due to a city ordinance banning all smoking in public, En Fuego Cantina is now one of the first to have to stop people from lighting up anywhere in its dining area and even near its front doors.

"It's not like it was front-page news - we've been having to tell people a ton," said owner John Wingate.

Those who smoke on city streets in Del Mar will be subject to a $100 fine if cited by a police officer. That could increase to up to $500 with repeated offenses.

Encinitas Sheriff Lt. Bill Donahue, whose department enforces the law, said officers have already issued "several" citations.

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• Olympic smoking zones slammed 

Special smoke pits will be set up at the rear of Olympic venues to ensure coaches and officials have a place to puff without having to leave the security perimeter.

Vanoc's chief medical officer said designated outdoor smoking areas will be set up in strategic positions away from crowds after requests from some international sport federations.

Critics say the accommodation flies in the face of Vanoc's commitment to a smoke-free Games.

"We have special arrangements being made so some people can smoke," NDP health critic Adrian Dix said.

"If the message is it's a smoke-free Games and don't smoke, that's what it should be. If it's something else, they should be honest about it."

Up to 25 smoke pits are expected to be in place, typically one at the rear for high-ranking officials and another one for everyone else outside the venue's front entrance, well away from the doors to comply with provincial law.

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• AUDIO: Finnish-style crackdown long way off in Czech smokers' paradise 

Finland made international headlines recently with news that its government plans to completely eradicate smoking – not just a ban on smoking in public places, that already exists, but the total and final eradication of smoking amongst the Finnish population. It’s a lofty goal to be sure, and has reignited the smoking debate in other European countries, many of which have banned smoking in cafes, pubs and restaurants. The Czech Republic, however, like most former communist states, seems to be trailing behind.

Around a quarter of all Czechs – 2.5 million people - are smokers, addicted to a drug that will eventually kill one in five of them at huge expense to the state. Many, of course, want to give up. Those that do often find themselves at the Tobacco Dependence Treatment Centre in Prague.

The director of the centre is Dr Eva Králíková, one of the country’s most vocal anti-smoking campaigners. She’s particularly concerned about the effects of passive smoking, and is disappointed that new legislation due to enter into force in July falls short of a total ban on smoking in pubs, cafes and restaurants. She says even the law’s provision that non-smoking areas must be separated with a wall does not go far enough. . . .

Anti-smoking campaigners suspect the powerful tobacco industry is behind the failed attempts to introduce a total smoking ban. A leading Czech newspaper claimed recently that representatives of three international cigarette companies actually work as assistants to MPs.

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Ban smoking on patios: tobacco council 

A Quebec anti-tobacco group wants a ban on smoking outside bars and restaurants.

The Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health says second-hand smoke is a danger outdoors as well as indoors. (CBC)The Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health is asking the government to extend the indoor smoking ban, in effect since 2006, to outdoor patios.

Second-hand smoke is just as dangerous in close quarters on terraces, when people are sitting just a metre apart, as it is inside, council president Mario Bujold said Wednesday.

"Different research shows that outside tobacco smoke could have a level as high as indoor second-hand smoke concentrations," he said.

Bujold would like the government to change the law next fall, at the same time it's scheduled to review its tobacco policy. He said the smoking ban should also be extended to bus shelters, where people are close together.

The idea is even going over well with some smokers, including Montrealer Josh Bouzaglou.

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Smoke ban touted for Windsor-Essex County rec areas 

WINDSOR, Ont. -- The local health unit is promoting an idea sure to have puffers fuming: a ban on smoking at outdoor sports and recreation areas.

The Windsor-Essex County Health Unit released a poll Thursday showing that 71 per cent of 1,165 respondents favour such a ban on tobacco, including chewing tobacco.

Though the What's Sporting About Tobacco survey was not random -- the online questionnaire offered prizes to complete -- the health unit says respondents represent a wide range of the population. About 16 per cent of respondents were smokers, while 47.5 per cent were between the ages of 15 and 19.

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Chesaning Council looks at smoking ban ordinance 

CHESANING - The Village Council Tuesday began consideration of a new ordinance to regulate smoking on business properties.

The ordinance, when complete, will work in conjuction with the state's new workplace smoking ban, which goes into effect May 1.

The Council's initial ideas include a ban on smoking during company time, unless an employee is on a break. The proposal also would affect people who work outdoors.

Village Council Trustee, Damion Frasier said, "Unless, you're on break, no smoking. Even if [working] outside."

Frasier said he has looked for an ordinance that would cover smoking bans, but there are none. He said he has spoken to three lawyers from three communities on how they handled the issue within their cities.

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PROBST: Blowing smoke 

In the dictionary, right next to the term "double standard" there's a definition that reads: A set of principles that applies differently and usually more rigorously to one group of people or circumstances than to another.

Maybe for an illustration, the dictionary should add a map of Kansas to that definition. . . .

Establishments geared toward adult activities, such as drinking and gambling, attract adults and to some degree adults who smoke.

A ban on smoking in those businesses, however, that at the same time lets the state avoid its own laws, is a clear illustration of a double standard and will leave open questions about the integrity and authority of a statewide smoking ban.

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Electronic Cigarettes As Strategy In Quitting Smoking, Ranked No.1 

Last week the FDA announced that their laboratory tests detected carcinogens (tobacco-specific nitrosamines) in electronic cigarettes and warned electronic cigarette smokers to stop using electronic cigarettes, also known as e-cigarettes. This scare tactic certainly made front page news, but it was not the entire story. According to www.ElectronicCigarette123.com , e-smoking is so rampant that e-smokers disregarded the scare tactic. . . .

The FDA seems to be trying to sway public opinion by not providing all the facts to the consumer. Sabina King of www.e-CigaretteDirect.com stated that the "FDA scare intimidated some of our customers. After learning all the facts, customers continued to place their electronic cigarette orders. We feel that electronic cigarettes are a healthier option for cigarette smokers. Our sales have increased at astounding rates every month. This demonstrates the need of these potentially life-saving products by consumers."

Electronic cigarettes are touted by some to help them quit smoking. Many e-cigarette smokers claim they feel better and breathe easier using electronic cigarettes versus traditional tobacco cigarettes. Distributors of electronic cigarettes say that their products have helped many people kick the habit. . . .

and carcinogens.

Several leading tobacco researchers, including Dr. Siegel and Dr. Joel Nitzkin of the AAPHP Tobacco Control task Force have criticized the FDA and request that the FDA validate their warning with more substantial scientific evidence.

Easy as Step 1,2,3 is an Electronic Cigarette or E-Cigarette, is a product by ShinSachchi Media Inc., which represent the revolutionary attractive alternative smoking products, gadgets, accessories and it is now available Online to serve you.

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City of Solana Beach receives 'B' grade for its anti-smoking policies 

Talk about making an upgrade.

Just one year after receiving an "F" from the California American Lung Association in terms of tobacco-related legislation, the city of Solana Beach reversed its academic fortune and got a "B." The city recently passed laws eliminating smoking in outdoor dining areas and is imposing a $110 licensing fee to tobacco retailers.

"It's really kudos to Joe Kellejian and Dave Roberts because they have been fearless leaders on this," said Debra Kelley, senior director of advocacy for the San Diego office of the American Lung Association. "We have been working with them specifically. They have both been incredible advocates."

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Smoking ban unlikely  

A recommendation to turn down a request to introduce a Dunedin City Council bylaw banning smoking on footpaths around Dunedin Hospital is disappointing, but not surprising, hospital managers say.

"It was an unusual request," Otago District Health Board chief operating officer Vivian Blake said.

The request was made as a way for the board to stop people smoking outside the hospital's main entrance.

However, council environmental health team leader Ros MacGill said enforcing such a bylaw would be difficult, costly, and unlikely to reduce the number of smokers.

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Smokers' Haven Coming To Alexandria 

A new cigar lounge, billed as a "members-only club" is apparently coming to Alexandria. The news comes just weeks after Virginia enacted a smoking ban in bars and restaurants.

According to the Web site www.StogieGuys.com, the new lounge will have everything you expect to find in a cigar bar, but it will also feature "a state-of-the-art air ventilation system, an access-only elevator, an all-female wait staff." It will be called "CXIII Rex."

The lounge may cater to people with money to burn. The site says its costs $5,000 to become a member

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