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Your Say: Hollywood continues to glamorise smoking  

• VIDEO: Kansas Gov. Parkinson vows to veto House smoking bill  

Gov. Mark Parkinson on Friday said he would veto a House bill that would establish a statewide ban on smoking in indoor public places but allow numerous exemptions.

Parkinson called House Bill 2642 “a ridiculous piece of public policy that is nothing but a fraud.”

Parkinson said he wants a statewide ban on smoking in public places like one already approved by the Senate.

A hearing on the House bill is scheduled for Wednesday before the House Health and Human Services Committee.

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• Alarming Rise in Number of Saudi Smokers 

The number of smokers in Saudi Arabia has increased to six million, including 600,000 women. There are also 772,000 teenage smokers, including intermediate and secondary school students.

According to Dr Mohammed Al Baddah, supervisor of an anti-smoking programme at the health ministry, cigarette smoking in the kingdom was growing at an alarming rate.

Saudi Arabia is the fourth largest importer of cigarettes in the world. Thousands of workers die annually as a result of inhaling the smoke of fellow smokers during working hours.

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Miss. governor cuts another $21M from state budget  

Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour on Friday cut another $21 million from what started as a nearly $6 billion state budget.

It was the fourth round of spending cuts he has made since the fiscal year started July 1, and the total reductions now stand at $458.5 million. . . .

The chamber reversed itself on an earlier version of the bill, passed Thursday, that would have given $45 million to public education. Both proposals called for tapping the health care trust fund, where annual payments from the state's tobacco lawsuit settlement are deposited.

The new plan calls for taking $58 million from the fund and spreading the money across numerous programs and agencies.

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EDITORIAL: Wrong direction 

A bill introduced in the Kansas House this week is taking consideration of a statewide smoking ban in the wrong direction.

About the only positive thing to say about HB 2642 is that it is, indeed, a statewide ban. However, the ban it proposes is far weaker than the bans already imposed by many Kansas cities. The bill also expressly prohibits local governments from passing more stringent laws, meaning that Kansas cities, like Lawrence, that already have smoking bans of their own would have them wiped off the books. . . .

The bottom line is that this legislation would make the smoking problem in Kansas worse, not better. It’s hard to imagine that the legislators making this proposal really thought it even would be seriously considered.

Lawmakers should set this proposal aside and try again for a real statewide smoking ban.

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Legislation introduced to create uniform, statewide smoke-free standards  

Several state representatives have filed legislation to create uniform, statewide smoke-free standards in bars and restaurants.

House Bill 1766 is sponsored by Reps. Jill Schupp, D-Creve Coeur, and Walk Bivins, R-St. Louis County.

"While other states have taken the lead on improving indoor air quality, Missouri has been among the last holdouts," Schupp said. "The time has come for uniformity statewide to create a healthy environment in all public places and replace the existing patchwork of local restrictions."

Because of the lack of a statewide law on smoking in bars and restaurant, restrictions vary widely in Missouri.

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More Iowans ask for help to quit smoking 

Despite decreases in adult smoking, more Iowans are asking for help in quitting.

The number of calls to Iowa’s helpline for quitting tobacco use skyrocketed in late December and January.

The 5,284 calls to Quitline Iowa (1-800-QUIT-NOW) exceeded the total received during the same period last year by nearly 36 percent.

“Frankly, we’re very surprised by these numbers,” Iowa Department of Public Health Director Tom Newton said. “Iowa has seen a 22 percent decrease in adult smoking since 2006. A smaller pool of smokers should mean fewer calls to Quitline Iowa, not more.

“Whether it’s the economy or some other factor, these numbers clearly show that Iowans appreciate and need this valuable public health service,” Newton said.

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Proposed ban on smoking in public places in Missouri sparks debate  

A bipartisan pair of St. Louis County state representatives have introduced legislation that would ban smoking in all bars, restaurants, casinos and workplaces in Missouri.

The legislators say a statewide ban is needed to protect non-smokers from the harmful health and financial effects of secondhand smoke exposure.

"It's not really a ban on smoking," said Rep. Jill Schupp, the lead Democratic sponsor of the bill. "It's taking smoking out of public places to protect the patrons and the people who work in those places."

But Jeremiah Gill, a local filmmaker and patron of Patton Alley Pub, disagrees. . . .

In November, 65 percent of St. Louis County voters approved an indoor smoking ban for most public places.

"With that kind of mandate, I felt like it was something we ought to consider statewide," said Rep. Walt Bivins, the bill's main Republican sponsor.

Since the state's three largest cities -- Kansas City, St. Louis and Springfield -- each have some form of indoor smoking ban, Bivins said there should be "one uniform ban" to make the varying rules less confusing.

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KU to ban sale of tobacco products from its campus  

KU and Kansas State were the only state universities that still sold tobacco products on campus — and they were asked last month to review whether this was appropriate. The ban would apply to cigarettes, cigars, pipe tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and other forms of “smokeless” tobacco.

In a statement released Friday, Chancellor Bernadette Gray-Little said tobacco products would no longer be sold as of July 1, 2010.

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If B. Bow bar owner still allows smoking, he’ll be in contempt 

A Broken Bow bar owner accused of allowing patrons to smoke has been told to stop under penalty of being held in contempt of court.

Judge Karin Noakes issued a temporary injunction against Sylvester’s Bar owner Fred Schumacher Thursday in Custer County District Court.

The Department of Health and Human Services requested the injunction Jan. 13 because Schumacher had allegedly been allowing smoking in the Broken Bow bar in violation of the Nebraska Clean Indoor Air Act.

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• Tobacco bill draws strange allies 

A proposal to make it illegal for youngsters to use or possess tobacco in Nebraska created some strange bedfellows.

Both the American Cancer Society and Reynolds American (formerly RJ Reynolds Tobacco) backed the bill introduced by State Sen. Arnie Stuthman of Platte Center.

The Judiciary Committee heard testimony Friday on Legislative Bill 886. The committee took no immediate action.

Under the bill, youngsters under age 18 could be charged with infractions for using or possessing cigarettes or other tobacco products.

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Bill targets kids caught smoking 

Kids caught smoking, or with chewing tobacco cans in their pockets, could be charged and fined as much as $100 under a bill Sen. Arnie Stuthman thinks might help curb teen smoking.

It's already against the law for minors to buy tobacco.

Stuthman's bill (LB886) would make it against the law for anyone younger than 18 to possess or use it.

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Fire-safe cigarette delay 'costing lives' 

Anti-smoking campaigners say lives will be lost because of a delay in bringing in new self-extinguishing cigarettes. . . .

They were due to be introduced across the EU later this year, but work on developing an EU standard is running at least six months behind schedule.

Deborah Arnott, of anti-smoking group Ash, said the cigarettes would mean a "significant decline" in fire deaths.

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Pender commissioners seek compromise in smoking ban 

BURGAW - The ability to ban smoking on government facilities has the Pender County commissioners looking for a compromise to satisfy those on each side of the issue.

On Monday, county Health Department Director Dr. Jack Griffith appeared before the board with an ordinance that would ban smoking outside at county facilities and in county vehicles. The only exception would allow smoking to take place on county property in a private vehicle.

The recommendation came from a vote of the Board of Health supporting the ordinance on Jan. 19.

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VIDEO: Wear Red Day draws attention to heart disease in women 

Friday is national Wear Red Day, and the Empire State Building is decked out in red.

Mount Sinai Medical Center offered free heart screenings for women, just one of many events around the country marking the American Heart Association's Go Red For Women campaign.

It is meant draw attention to women's heart health, as many women don't know if they're at risk for heart disease or what puts them at risk.

Red is the color of your heart, so that's the basis for Wear Red Day to make women aware that heart disease is still the number one killer of women in the country. It's seven times deadlier than breast cancer, even in young women. . . .

Beth then read up on heart disease and perhaps saved her own life by being aware of risk factors, such as smoking. But even quitting still leaves you at higher heart risk for the next 20 to 30 years.

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