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Wis. tobacco policies get mixed marks  

Wisconsin earned mixed grades for tobacco control in a nationwide report recently released, with a failing grade in tobacco prevention and control spending and an improved grade in cigarette tax policy.

The American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control Report graded the 50 states along with Washington, D.C., in four categories -- tobacco prevention and control spending, smoke-free air, cigarette tax and cessation coverage.

Wisconsin received an F in tobacco prevention and control spending as the state cut the Wisconsin Tobacco Prevention and Control Program's funding 55 percent in the 2009 budget, according to the report. Wisconsin is among nine states and Washington, D.C., to reduce spending more than 25 percent. . . .

Amy Wergin, Manitowoc County public health nurse, said the grades did not surprise her and called the budget cuts tragic for tobacco control.

"I think they (grades) are honest and that we really are doing a bad job related to tobacco control and spending," Wergin said. "I don't think our grade in tobacco prevention and control will be any better next year because the state won't work on a new budget since it's biannual."

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E-cigarettes not illegal in Abilene  

Assistant City Attorney Theresa James said the city's smoking ordinance was not drafted to prohibit the use of electronic cigarettes. But she said even though e-cigarettes are not in violation, that does not prevent a business owner from prohibiting them.

"The smoking ordinance indicates that an object has to be lit, and if there is no flame then it is not in violation of the smoking ordinance," James said.

Smoking Everywhere, an importer of electronic cigarettes, sued the FDA last year after the agency blocked two shipments at Los Angeles International Airport amid claims that the cigarettes contain dangerous chemicals.

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Bar owner circulating anti-smoking ban petition  

It hasn't been around very long, but some bar owners say North Carolina's smoking ban is bad for business. A petition is circulating to repeal the law that prohibits smoking in bars.

Deborah Tinae owns Smitty's Tavern in Monkey Junction. Although the smoking ban has been in place for less than a month, she's seen profits slide.

Tinae has been going door to door, bar to bar, asking for signatures to help repeal the state's ban. So far, she says she has received a good response, although some have chosen not to sign. Tinae has about 2,000 signatures from all over our five-county area.

It's only been 20 days since the smoking ban took effect. Still Tinae says she realized after only two days, her business was going south.

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LETTER: Let people smoke in private clubs 

Buddy Motz's actions during the Jan.19 York County Council meeting showed his bias and a total disregard for objectivity. During the meeting, he redundantly mentioned that his support of the smoking ban was because it is a serious health issue. He is correct. Smoking has been proven to be very bad for your health. Mr. Motz is missing the point. The issue is SHS (secondhand smoke). It seems he is adamant, almost delusional, in compromising through an amendment that would allow private clubs and business owners to make decisions that would be fair to nonsmokers and smokers alike.

I suggest we all research some of the scientific data and reports on SHS. If you read the report by the EPA going back to 1993, you'll see it is flawed and shows the dishonesty on the anti-smoking movement. www.davehitt.com/facts. Another site you might visit that shows the corrupted research concerning SHS is www.smokingaloud.com/ets.html. . . .

The economics of smoking bans have proven to be an inequity. The American Legion's Post 34 is in the city of Rock Hill, and as a result of the smoking ban has lost over 35 percent of bingo revenues. This money goes back to our community.

All of the smokers who play bingo are now playing bingo in Fort Mill, where they have exempted private clubs. Post 34 had installed over $37,000 of "smoke eaters" years ago with the rights of our non-smokers in mind. The Rock Hill City Council, with their thoughtless smoking ban, has turned that into a waste.

I'd like to see the smoking ban revisited by both the city and the county. Our veterans who are fighting for this country and ideas are being told as they light up a cigarette that they cannot smoke.

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7 Chinese cities all fired up to curb smoking 

About 60 per cent of its men and 3 per cent of women are hooked. Passive smokers number 540 million, the most in the world. A million people die from tobacco-related reasons every year, also the most in the world.

'China is a world leader in its smoking problems. It is not something to be proud of,' health-care analyst Wu Yiqun told The Straits Times. 'With so many 'firsts', we are desperately in need of some measures to control smoking.'

The latest move has been applauded, even though it comes four years after China made a similar pledge under a United Nations treaty. The seven cities - Shanghai, Wuxi, Ningbo, Changsha, Luoyang, Tangshan and Qingdao - want to end indoor smoking to protect children and pregnant women. Few details have been released, and no timeline or targets set.

'Most people would support such a move,' said Professor Zhao Liang of the China Academy of Health Policy in Beijing University. 'With better living standards and rising awareness of the ill effects of smoking, the number of smokers in China will be reduced.'

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Hearing set in smoking ban case  

Hot Pockets tobacco shop owner Jim Suwalski faces a hearing next month on a citation accusing him of violating Topeka's smoking ban.

Suwalski said Friday that Kendall McVay, an administrative hearing officer for the city, is scheduled to hear the case at 5:30 p.m. Feb. 17 at the city's Cyrus K. Holliday Building, 620 S.E. Madison.

Suwalski said he plans to be represented by Topeka attorney Bruce Harrington, who has agreed to serve as his counsel free of charge for that particular hearing.

Suwalski is accused of violating the city's clean air ordinance banning smoking in most public places, which took effect Dec. 4 after being approved by the Topeka City Council Sept. 29.

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Ex-student sentenced to 60 months in teacher's death  

In what’s believed to be Washington’s first vehicular homicide conviction due to text-messaging, Cellestine was sentenced to 60 months in prison. Phone records indicate Cellestine was texting his girlfriend at the time his car hit and killed the Hudson’s Bay High School teacher.

Cellestine, a former student of Patterson’s, wasn’t drunk or high on drugs. But in the eyes of Clark County Superior Court Judge Roger Bennett, it didn’t matter. . . .

Cellestine first made up a story to police about smoking a cigar while driving and brought it up again in court Friday. But police say they found no evidence he was smoking.

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Young man gets five years in death of Hudson's Bay High teacher 

VANCOUVER -- Gordon Patterson was the kind of teacher who made the bashful freshman feel special, the kind who pushed valedictorians to excel, the kind who wanted the best for every student -- and Antonio Eugene Cellestine knew that as well as anybody. . . .

Cellestine pleaded guilty to vehicular homicide and hit-and-run in Patterson's death four months ago. Clark County Superior Court Judge Roger A. Bennett sentenced him to five years in prison as part of a plea agreement.

Before sentencing, Cellestine read a statement admitting he was checking his cell phone to see if someone had responded to his text message and was brushing away ashes from a cigar when the crash occurred.

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N.C. smoking ban upheld by complaint system 

The smoke officially cleared Jan. 2 in North Carolina, but public health officials say it could take a few more months for the dust to settle with the state's new indoor smoking ban.

Some warning letters have gone out to businesses not complying, but most owners appear to be adhering to the new rules, said Erin Morrissette, tobacco prevention educator for the New Hanover County Health Department.

Morrissette, who is fielding complaints made about New Hanover County establishments, said the ones made so far appear to be about owners getting used to the law and not repeat violators.

"I think that we're pretty typical as far as comparing to other states" that have adopted smoking bans, she said. "Always in the very beginning, it takes about six months for them to basically drop off to just the people who are going to just not follow the law."

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Barry: No veto power on smoking ban 

A lot of Meridianites have strong opinions on the smoking ordinance that was passed by the Meridian City Council Tuesday, and many of those Meridianites have been awaiting news on whether Mayor Cheri Barry will veto the ordinance.

Before Tuesday's meeting Barry said she was inclined to go with what the council passes, but that she wanted to see exactly what the ordinance says before making a decision.

But Barry was out of town at the U.S. Conference of Mayors on Tuesday.

After Tuesday's meeting Meridian Chief Administrative Officer Mark McDonald said Barry would not be able to read the ordinance passed until she returned to Meridian.

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Electronic fags draw huff and puff  

Electronic cigarettes have ignited international debate over their health effects, after New Zealand researchers ruled the battery-powered inventions were safe.

The cigarettes, known as e-cigarettes, are at the centre of a legal battle in the United States, with the Food and Drug Administration attempting to ban them from being imported into the country over safety concerns. Greek researchers have also called for more studies, saying in the British Medical Journal the information available is "very limited".

Meanwhile, a local anti-smoking group is hesitant to praise the new cigarettes, saying more research is needed and they do not encourage anti-smoking behaviour.

However, Kiwi researcher Dr Murray Laugesen said concerns about safety were unfounded.

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Cigarette sparks fire that displaces 11  

A neglected cigarette on a balcony started an apartment fire Friday that displaced 11 people in Dentsville.

The Columbia Fire Department was called to the Paces Run Apartments on Parklane Road around 1:43 a.m.

Discarded smoking materials on a second-floor balcony started a fire that traveled up the outside of the three-story building and entered the attic, Deputy Chief Aubrey Jenkins said.

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St. Joseph County smoke-free since 2006 

Business went up, he said, while complaints went down.

Cocquyt, who was strongly opposed to the ban at first, said he was surprised by the impact but felt he "let the people speak."

Nearly four years have passed since the St. Joseph County smoking ordinance first went into effect. Smaller businesses that received a two-year extension to comply have now had more than a year to adjust to the regulations.

Like Cocquyt, many business owners are now adjusted to the ordinance, although many admit the change took some getting used to. . . .

While some have hesitantly accepted the regulations, others would like to see Indiana join other states in going completely smoke-free.

Newly proposed legislation on the subject is currently showing movement in the statehouse, but opinions differ on whether a statewide ban would be for the best or another blow to some.

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EDITORIAL: FDA on track with tobacco additive law  

"Tobacco products today are really the only human-consumed product that we don't know what's in them," Dr. Lawrence R. Deyton, the director of the Food and Drug Administration's new Center for Tobacco Products, said recently.

That veil of secrecy will soon be lifting. A new law will require cigarette makers to disclose to the FDA what's in their products. It's no secret that tobacco and its smoke contain more than 60 carcinogens.

The information on other ingredients should help the FDA determine which ingredients might also make tobacco more harmful or addictive.

The agency is being asked to use the data to develop standards for tobacco products or to ban some ingredients or combinations.

The FDA should make sure it uses this new information to protect smokers who can't or won't stop smoking to protect themselves.

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MELVINDALE: City might ban smoking at ball diamonds  

The City Council is revisiting an ordinance to ban smoking on baseball fields.

The ordinance would prohibit smoking within 30 feet of any bleachers and near backstops at baseball fields within public parks.

Anyone violating the proposed ordinance would be found guilty of a civil infraction and fined $50 per offense.

A similar ordinance failed after being proposed in July by Councilwoman Stacy Striz. . . .

"The first time around there was a lot of questions about it, people opposing it in the audience saying you cannot solicit good manners," she said. "I think that the smoking ban through Michigan kind of made people think there is something we need to do."

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