Tobacco.org

DENNEY: Your Turn: Berkeley's smoking regulations are ridiculous  

Berkeley's current proposal for smoking restrictions in multiunit housing is so full of loopholes that it reads like a tobacco industry dream. . . .

When the tobacco industry targets the gay community or the African-American community, people object. Targeting homeless and mentally disabled people gets little such reaction.

Tobacco industry rhetoric is prevalent in the discussions of Berkeley's recent, embarrassing proposal.

Berkeley deserves to lose its leadership role in public health policy if it thinks a smoking section in multiunit housing can still be called "smoke-free." And "90 percent smoke-free" is a contradiction.

The tobacco industry once created cigarettes targeting homeless and mentally disabled people. Perhaps it's time to launch a special Berkeley brand called "irony."

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LETTER: Stub it out for good this time  

If you've tried and failed, it's easy to give up hope. But you'll find few ex-smokers who quit the habit on their first attempt.

So how can you make sure this quit attempt is your last? . . .

Get free local help. Find your nearest NHS stop smoking service; you're up to four times more likely to succeed with their help.

To find out more about quitting, click www.nosmokingday.org.uk and say 'I'm out!' once and for all.

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Smoke Free Carthage now numbers 1,200 members 

Carthage R-9 officials seem keen in joining scores of other Missouri school districts in embracing the popular Smokebusters program, according to Project Smokebusters outreach coordinator Jo Thompson.

Thompson briefly spoke Tuesday during the most recent Carthage Caring Communities Coalition meeting about "recruiting" Carthage High School as the latest school to adopt the program.

Project Smokebusters, by the way, is a Missouri-wide, three-year program promoting tobacco-free environments by decreasing exposure to second-hand smoke as well as reducing tobacco initiation and use among young people, particularly those in high school.

She was invited to speak to the group by T.J. Teed of Smoke Free Carthage.

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Germany's Greens strike a chord with voters 

While Chancellor Angela Merkel's partners in government have been languishing in the polls, the Greens have more supporters than ever. Their success has sparked talk of an alliance of unlikely bedfellows. . . .

Meanwhile, the Greens have enjoyed a successful run in the governments of the western state of Saarland and the northern city-state of Hamburg.

As partners in Saarland's Christian-Democrat-led coalition, which also includes the Free Democrats, the Greens have managed to push through two pieces of legislation. Saarland now has the strictest smoking ban of any German state

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Menard Co. gets serious with smoke ban 

PETERSBURG -

Menard County health authorities say they're getting serious about enforcing Illinois' statewide smoking ban - two years after it took effect.

The county health department recently sent letters to every licensed business in the county, notifying owners that smoking in their establishments is prohibited under state law and they face fines if they allow smokers to partake.

The ban took effect in 2008, but the county, which has received five complaints since the ban became law, hasn't issued any citations

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• A combustible situation  

Tension between the Grand Forks City Council and owners of bars, truck stops, and casinos could rise to an all-time high in the coming months due to a proposed smoking ban that would include all public establishments in the city.

These places were the last safe haven for smokers since the passing of the statewide ban on public smoking five years ago. In February 2007, a bill came before the North Dakota Legislature requesting that all public workplaces, including bars, become smoke-free. Around 150 people showed up to the meeting, sporting buttons and posters emblazed with the American flag and the word "freedom" advocating against taking away the bars' exemption. The legislature rejected the proposal and bars were allowed to keep their smoke-friendly status.

However, under the original smoking ban, local city governments have the power to control smoking with stricter guidelines than the state government. Currently the city council has three options: do nothing, make an executive decision as a council, or put the issue in the hands of the public to decide.

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Officials defer action on state smoking ban 

TRENTON -- Legislation that would ban smoking at beaches, amusement parks and racetracks in New Jersey is on hold.

The Senate health committee was expected to vote Thursday to consolidate three bills that would expand restrictions already imposed by some Jersey shore towns.

But the panel instead decided to hold the legislation, and it's not known when a vote may be scheduled.

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EDITORIAL: Regressive tax  

The answer, of course, is that state lawmakers are looking at all kinds of unpalatable ways to address the state’s budget deficit. It’s good that they are looking at eliminating some costly sales tax exemptions, but eliminating the exemption on residential water, electric and natural gas bills should be low on the list.

Raising taxes on optional purchases, like cigarettes or alcohol, makes some sense. . . .

the state should at least avoid adding another regressive tax to the heating and electric bills many low-income Kansans already are having trouble paying.

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• Ottawa accused of wanting U.S. smokes off the market 

A group of Republican and Democratic lawmakers has joined a U.S. tobacco industry battle with the Harper government over accusations Ottawa is seeking a global ban on American-style blended cigarettes.

The fight, which was triggered last year by Canada's new anti-smoking legislation, has escalated amid claims Health Canada is now pursuing international restrictions on flavouring ingredients that remove the harsh taste of burley tobacco in Marlboro and other popular U.S. brands.

The conflict features tobacco industry charges of Canadian "duplicity" and claims that "rogue" bureaucrats have a hidden agenda to eliminate American-style cigarettes from the global market.

Health Canada, meantime, contends Canada's goal is simply to bar cigarettes with flavours — such as vanilla, licorice and chocolate — added to appeal to youth.

In the past month, seven members of Congress from districts in Kentucky, Virginia and Indiana have written to Prime Minister Stephen Harper asking him to intervene.

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• Loophole in Smoking Ban Could Allow Smoking Indoors  

"Why do people go to a bar? They go to a bar so they can enjoy company, drink, and smoke," My Place tavern owner Larry Kubinski said.

The owner of My Place in Neenah just put up about $30,000 into a new outdoor smoking patio, but according to how the smoking ban law is written, he might not need the patio.

"I was totally unaware of it," Grand Chute building inspector Cary Nate admits. "I thought it was considered an indoor smoking ban like everybody is talking about it -- but it's not an indoor smoking ban, it's an enclosed-area smoking ban."

The law, which takes effect in July, bans smoking in nearly every public, enclosed space.

But the law defines an enclosed space as having a roof and two walls which have "an opening that may be used to allow air in from the outside that is less than 25 percent of the wall's surface area."

What that basically means is, any room that has two walls and at least 25-percent window coverage that opens to the outside air, you bypass the smoking ban.

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• Meridian Smoking Ordinance Now in Effect 

A smoking ordinance went into effect Friday in Meridian. It effectively bans smoking in public buildings, including restaurants and bars. Not everyone is happy about it.

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U.S. Asks Justices to Review Tobacco Company Ruling 

The Justice Department asked the Supreme Court on Friday to review a 2006 federal fraud racketeering conviction against the tobacco industry and to authorize the district judge in the case to require tobacco companies to give up as much as $280 billion in "ill-gotten gains." . . .

If the Supreme Court were to agree to reopen the case, "it puts everything back on the table," said Richard A. Daynard, a tobacco law specialist at the Northeastern University School of Law in Boston. "However rich these companies are, they're not quite that rich. The court would have to decide whether it wanted to bankrupt the companies."

David Adelman, a tobacco industry analyst at Morgan Stanley, predicted that the Supreme Court would accept the case. But he said it was unlikely that the necessary legal decisions would go against the tobacco companies to require them to pay the money the Justice Department was seeking.

"It's certainly not a good development for the industry," Mr. Adelman said, but added, "I think it's a manageable issue."

In its filing Friday, Philip Morris, maker of the dominant Marlboro brand, wrote that some of what it termed the trial judge's "flimsy" findings had penalized companies for exercising free-speech rights in questioning some of the emerging science on tobacco and addiction.

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State Report: Most Nebraskans Support Smoking Ban 

Chief medical officer Joann Schaefer says Nebraskans recognize the harm of cigarette smoke and support the state's recent ban on smoking in most public places.

Her comments came earlier this month as the state Department of Health and Human Services released a report detailing reaction to the ban.

The report says more than 80 percent of Nebraskans surveyed said they believe the law is important, while more than 85 percent said bars and restaurants are healthier under the ban.

The state also reports that it received 108 complaints about violations of the ban in its first six moths.

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FISCHER: Healthy tax for New York  

Maintaining adequate funding for New York's Tobacco Control Program and increasing the tobacco excise tax by $1 are wise strategies to contribute to the health and financial stability of the residents of New York State. . . .

An increase in the price of tobacco is also an effective deterrent to youth smoking and a strong motivator to quit among adult smokers. Every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes will reduce youth smoking by about 7 percent and overall cigarette consumption by about 4 percent.

According to estimates by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, an increase of $1 per pack would be expected to prevent more than 100,000 children from becoming smokers and cause more than 50,000 adult smokers to quit. In New York, 59 percent of adults support a $1 increase in the cigarette tax. If revenue from the tax is used to help smokers quit, 77 percent of New Yorkers support a tax increase.

Both of these measures - increasing the excise tax on tobacco and maintaining funding for New York's Tobacco Control Program - directly contribute to the personal and financial health of the residents of New York State.

--Sharon Fischer is tobacco control coordinator for the Broome County Health Department.

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You may now smoke in Perugia Park 

Seattle Parks superintendent Tim Gallagher seems to have a new strategy for making decisions: Make a decision, wait for media backlash, change mind at end of day but leave possibility original decision might not go away completely adopt Parks Board recommendation.

In an e-mail, the department just said they are backtracking on the smoking ban in Seattle parks they announced only hours earlier.

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