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EDITORIAL: Connecticut's tobacco control: More to be done  

We're not surprised to learn that the State of Connecticut scored poorly yet again in the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control 2009 report.

For the third year in a row, the state received Fs in two categories: tobacco prevention and control spending and cessation coverage of Medicaid recipients.

However, the state did receive one A: for its high cigarette tax . . .

It was our understanding that while smokers were spending $8.12 a pack, Connecticut was using the revenue for two initiatives: cessation programs and to prevent people from starting in the first place. Unfortunately, with record budget deficits, the state is using the revenue to help lessen its financial burden. . . .

Tobacco-related illness remains the No. 1 preventable cause of death in the U.S. and is responsible for an estimated 1,270 deaths per year in Connecticut.

"It is time for Connecticut elected officials to marshal efforts to reduce tobacco use, which is at the heart of a crisis plaguing America's health and economy,"

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Restaurant owners fume over smoking ban 

The reactions are pouring in: Some restaurant owners are fuming about Michigan's new smoke-free law that takes effect May 1.

"The state has stepped in and said, 'We know more about the hospitality business than you do.' Many of them are very upset," said Andy Deloney, the Michigan Restaurant Association public affairs director.

Gov. Jennifer Granholm signed the bill in December that prohibits smoking in public places such as bars, restaurants, hotels and other businesses. The only establishments exempt are the gaming floors in Detroit casinos and cigar bars.

Tribal casinos aren't covered, because state laws don't apply to Native American land.

The Michigan State Medical Society (MSMS) is welcoming the change.

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Edison State College to ban tobacco usage 

The Board of Trustees voted Tuesday to prohibit tobacco use at its Lee and Collier county campuses, becoming just the third Florida college to implement an all-out ban.

"Smoking produces 400,000 deaths a year in the U.S.," said Edison trustee Dr. Washington Baquero. "It's like crashing a jumbo jet every day, and nobody's doing anything about it."

Edison's Charlotte campus went smoke-free in August, and the districtwide ban takes effect May 17. The policy includes patrons at the Barbara B. Mann Performing Arts Hall, and also prohibits students and faculty from smoking inside their vehicles on college property. Ashtrays will be removed this summer.

Sophomore Stephanie Tague, 20, gives the ban a thumbs-up, saying some smokers cluster near buildings in a cloud of stink.

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Santa Clara County wants to ban smoking in apartment buildings  

Santa Clara County took aim Tuesday at smokers and drinkers, with proposals to ban smoking in apartment buildings and toughen penalties for those who provide alcohol to minors.

The smoking proposal was unveiled by Supervisor Ken Yeager, who was sworn in as the board's new president. It echoes a controversial law passed last year by Belmont, which garnered national headlines. . . .

But his proposed ban on smoking in apartment buildings takes its inspiration from further north. Belmont last year became California's first city to install such a ban; Richmond has followed suit, and Menlo Park council members are still weighing the issue. Yeager's proposal differs in that it would not target condominiums or townhomes.

Yeager also wants the county to ban smoking in parks, as San Jose has done, and to prohibit pharmacies from selling cigarettes.

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Smoking ban recommendation stalled by more citizens with input  

Killeen's smoking committee was scheduled Tuesday to decide whether to remove certain businesses' exemptions from the smoking ban, but postponed that discussion for another two weeks after citizens showed up to the meeting wanting to give further input.

A public hearing was already held Tuesday, Jan. 19, and this meeting on the 26th was meant for committee discussion and decision only. Now, a new hearing will be held the week of Feb. 1.

"I believe the committee was ready to make a decision tonight. However, there were numerous citizens, many of whom were representing the Boys' Club, the bowling alley, and some private clubs in town that wished to speak and felt that they were disenfranchised, or not allowed to speak. And I think every citizen as the right to voice their opinion before the council makes their final decision," said Kenny Wells, chair of the smoking committee.

Bowling alley owners have been one of the more vocal citizens in the past, saying that they have already seen a drop in business and hope not to lose their exemption that allows for smoking during adult-league play. . . .

But several bowlers who have health conditions told News Channel 25 they couldn't wait for the exemption to go away.

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Non-smokers to cough up a protest for campaign 

The next time you are enjoying a smoke near your office building, don’t be surprised if someone around you starts coughing noisily and, perhaps, deliberately too.

A group of NGOs have started a new campaign — ‘Khaasi Sunao, Sutta Bhujhao’ (Cough aloud, stub out cigarette) — to encourage non-smokers to get proactive about their right to breathe clean air.

“We want non-smokers to register their protest by coughing aloud and also educate smokers about the law that bans smoking in public places,” said Dr Surendra Shastri from Tata Memorial Hospital, which is actively involved with the NGOs who run the ‘Smokefree Mumbai’ campaign.

He added that teaser advertisements regarding the ‘Khaasi...’ campaign would be up on BEST buses and billboards soon.

The NGOs have tied up with Seth GS Medical College (attached to KEM Hospital) to reach out to youth and doctors.

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• Statewide smoking ban bill introduced  

Sen. Dan Foster, D-Kanawha, introduced legislation Thursday to ban smoking in public places statewide (SB360) but conceded the bill is primarily intended to spur discussion.

"It's as much for the discussion of the issue, and to make sure people recognize the success of what has been done at the local level," said Foster, a surgeon and medical administrator.

Foster's bill would prohibit smoking statewide in all public places, including restaurants, bars, clubs and gaming facilities, as well as in all college dormitories.

The only exemptions would be for private residences, retail tobacco stores, and for designated rooms in hotels, motels and nursing homes.

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Fishers restaurant starts year smoke-free  

The Fishers Cheeseburger in Paradise rang in 2010 by going smoke-free.

Fishers doesn't have a smoking ban, but some restaurants have chosen to eliminate smoking.

Cheeseburger in Paradise switched its rules Jan. 1 because smoke would waft from the bar area into the dining area, proprietor Chris Allen said in a press release from the Fishers Chamber of Commerce.

"There is an overwhelming public preference to go non-smoking," Allen said. "This is a restaurant for everyone to enjoy, plus going non-smoking is just the right thing to do."

Cheeseburger in Paradise, located at I-69's 96th Street exit, isn't the only local restaurant to become non-smoking this year.

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Calif. county may outlaw apartment smoking  

An official in California wants his county to ban smoking in all apartment buildings and parks and to bar drugstores from selling cigarettes.

Ken Yeager, the newly elected president of the Santa Clara County Board of Supervisors, made his proposals Tuesday in his State of the County address, the San Jose Mercury News reported.

At least two California towns have banned smoking in apartments, and a third is considering it. San Jose, the Santa Clara County seat and biggest city, has already made smoking in parks illegal.

Under Yeager's proposal, condominium buildings and townhouses with contiguous walls, would not be included in the ban.

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Conway dog park, smoking ban in the works 

Generating other park-related discussion at Tuesday’s meeting were a pair of plastic jugs that between them held about 2 gallons worth of cigarette butts picked up from Laurel Park — most found near the playground.

The jugs completed several circuits about the meeting tables as aldermen were eager to pass them from in front of themselves to their peers for closer inspection, sometimes with a few ceremonial words.

The carelessly discarded smokers’ remnants were collected from the park by members of the Asian Pacific Coalition for Smoke Free Arkansas, several of whom spoke to the council in favor of banning smoking in local parks on the basis that the roughly 25 percent of the population that chooses to smoke should not negatively affect the other 75 percent.

Townsell said that an ordinance banning smoking in city parks would likely find council approval, but how to handle the issue of snuff or “dip” could generate more discussion.

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State smoking ban forces changes on local establishments 

Following Gov. Beverly Perdue's signing into effect the no smoking laws in North Carolina, many businesses struggle to remain open.

"We know from the 2006 Surgeon General's report that there is no safe level of exposure to second-hand smoke," said Karen Caldwell, a tobacco prevention specialist in Asheville. "The best way to protect everyone is to have smoke-free policies and laws."

Many grassroots coalitions and nonprofit agencies influenced legislators to pass the non-smoking policies and emphasized the importance of smoke-free workplaces, according to Caldwell.

"The state legislators finally came around and voted in favor of it, basically to protect the health of people," she said.

Cigar bars and businesses with ABC licenses received information from state officials outlining policy changes, including which businesses are exempt.

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City Council votes park smoking ban into law 

Nevada City council members snuffed out the option of lighting up at last night's meeting, voting 4-1 on an ordinance to ban smoking in parks and outdoor public places.

Councilwoman Barbara Coffman was the lone dissenting vote on the issue, which has been winding its way through council channels for several years.

Coffman said she opposed the ordinance “because there is no designated area where people can go to smoke, rather than going into a neighborhood.”

The issue of smokers' rights came up in previous discussions.

“As much as I value smokers' rights, I put more value on the rights of every citizen to breathe clean air,” said Mayor Reinette Senum.

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Smoking debate to continue Monday 

The public will get its chance to weigh in on a proposed smoking ban in Twin Falls city bars at next week’s City Council meeting.

The city announced this week that council members will hold a public input session at 6 p.m. Monday to get feedback on a proposed ordinance. The draft would ban smoking inside bars and within 20 feet of their exits and entrances outside. Outdoor dining areas would not be part of the ban.

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• 'Threat to corner shop' as MSPs vote to ban cigarette displays 

CORNER shops across Scotland could struggle to stay in business after MSPs voted to ban cigarette displays, it was claimed last night.

The ban is part of a package of measures being brought in to try to stop young people from taking up smoking. MSPs also increased the minimum smoking age from 16 to 18 and outlawed cigarette vending machines.

The display ban will come into force in 2011 for large shops and 2013 for small shops.

It was passed by 103 votes to 14, with only the Conservatives voting against, despite lobbying by retailers and the tobacco industry.

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Bayer starts clinical Phase I study with personalized vaccine from tobacco plants  

The transfer into clinical development of a patient-specific vaccine represents a milestone for Bayer Innovation GmbH. Following approval of the Phase I study by the FDA (Food & Drug Administration) in the United States, the vaccine is now being tested in human subjects. This is the first time that proteins obtained from tobacco plants using magnICON® technology undergo clinical testing. The patient-specific vaccines produced in the pilot plant operated by the Bayer-subsidiary Icon Genetics in Halle, Germany, are intended for the treatment of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma (NHL), a type of cancer affecting lymphocytes. The objective of the therapy is to activate the patient's immune system, enabling the malignant cells to be targeted and destroyed by the body's own defense system.

"This personalized vaccine is being developed with the aim of keeping patients who have responded well to chemotherapy in complete remission," explains Dr. Detlef Wollweber, head of Bayer Innovation GmbH. "In other words, it should prevent a recurrence of the tumor. The initiation of this clinical trial also demonstrates that our magnICON® technology is suitable for manufacturing proteins for potential pharmaceutical applications."

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