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Working toward smoke-free living 

An initiative to create more apartments where smoking is prohibited in Columbia and Greene counties is quietly but concertedly growing in the area and officials say landlords and tenants are becoming increasingly receptive to the idea.

A partner of the Healthcare Consortium, and funded by the New York state Tobacco Control program, the Rip Van Winkle Tobacco-Free Action of Columbia and Greene Counties has been trying to reduce the influence of tobacco in the region since 2001.

Program Director Karen dePeyster and Communications Coordinator Lisa Heintz say their initiative is not out to change laws but to make other choices available to non smokers and those who want to live in second-hand smoke-free environments.

The program's most visible accomplishment was getting the management of the Crosswinds workforce housing complex on Harry Howard Avenue to designate six of its nine buildings smoke free.

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Selectmen propose beach smoking ban 

At their meeting this week, the board decided to put an article on the May town meeting warrant asking for a prohibition on smoking from June 15 through Labor Day

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R.C. widens smoking ban  

RANCHO CUCAMONGA - Smoking and waiting in lines do not mix, according to the City Council, which gave initial approval on Wednesday to an ordinance that prohibits tobacco use in transit stops and outdoor service lines.

The ordinance, expected to go into effect mid-April, will prohibit smoking within 20 feet of bus stops, train stations and lines for services such as ATMs and theaters.

Fabian Villenas of the city manager's office said people waiting in lines are a captive audience.

"If you're in line and an individual lights a cigarette, it's difficult to remove yourself from the second-hand smoke," Villenas said.

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Police cracking down on smoking ban  

The Chillicothe Police Department is stepping up efforts to cut down on illegal public smoking within the city limits.

According to a news release issued by the CPD yesterday (Thursday) afternoon, officers will be taking "proactive" measures to ensure that the smoking ordinance will be enforced.

On April 3, 2007, Chillicothe voters endorsed an ordinance prohibiting smoking in public places. The smoking ban includes the prohibition of smoking in taverns open to the general public, as well as private clubs.

Despite the passage of the ban, the police department has received numerous complaints of smoking violations within several local taverns

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Economy, Smoking Ban Hurt Montana Liquor Sales  

Growth in liquor sales was tempered in 2009, likely due to the economy and the indoor smoking ban that took effect for bars and casinos in October, state officials said.

Figures from the Department of Revenue's Liquor Control Division show liquor sales grew 1.9 percent in 2009 after growing at least 5 percent a year over the past decade. The worst month was October, when liquor sales were down $1.5 million compared with the same month in 2008.

"It's undeniable across the board that the smoking ban had a negative impact on licensed premises," said Mark Staples of the Montana Tavern Association.

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Dana Point to consider smoking ban at parks  

On the heels of the results of a community opinion survey in which nearly two-thirds of respondents wanted smoking prohibited in all areas of local parks, the City Council on Monday will consider a law banning the activity there.

The city of Dana Point on Monday will consider banning smoking at city parks, following the lead of other cities in Orange County.

The last question in the survey of 400 randomly selected registered voters in the city released last month dealt with whether smoking should be banned in parks.

Sixty-one percent said they want a ban in all areas of public parks; 20 percent preferred that smoking be allowed only in designated smoking areas; and 17 percent favored allowing people to light up in all areas of public parks.

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Rock Hill club manager cited for violating smoking ban  

The manager of a Rock Hill club was cited this week with violating the city's ban on smoking in public places.

Thomas Marsh, 36, manager of Emerson's on South Cherry Road, was cited Thursday after a Rock Hill police officer responding to a complaint about smoking inside the club saw and smelled smoke in the air, according to a police report.

The officer visited the club around 11:20 p.m. In addition to seeing and smelling smoke, the officer also saw ash trays on the tables, according to the report.

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• Smoke clears 

Tulane’s Tobacco Free Campus Policy, passed in May 2008 by the University Senate, has been enacted.

The policy bans smoking within 25 feet of any university building doorway. The Student Health Center installed 20 green smoking poles around campus to indicate areas where smoking is permitted. The SHC said that these areas are strategically located to limit secondhand smoke exposure to fellow students.

There are currently no penalties for smoking away from the designated smoking areas, but officials hope students and faculty respect the rule.

“We made sure that these smoking areas are safe and accessible,” Wellness and Health Promotion Director Scott Tims said. “A smoking area could be next to a building, just away from the door. Our goal was to make sure people were not having to walk through second-hand smoke.”

The university is giving students and staff time to adjust to the new policy.

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City Council to Consider Smoking Ban in Public Parks  

The city of Dana Point may be the next California community to prohibit smoking in outdoor public parks.

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In light of information gathered in the recent Community Opinion Survey showing that 61 percent of those questioned would like to see smoking banned in public parks, City Council has scheduled a first reading of an ordinance that would add a smoking ban to the Dana Point Municipal Code to the Monday, March 8 City Council meeting agenda.

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LETTER: Deal with real issues; leave smoking alone 

Abandoned property, public safety, school funding and city budgeting are far more important, immediate and appropriate issues for the City Council's attention.

I recently moved to Evansville from a major Eastern city and one of the reasons was precisely because it is not like those cities. If the councilman wishes to keep up with the politicians in other cities, I can recommend him to an excellent real estate agent in Massachusetts.

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• Supreme Court upholds smoking ban  

The Kansas Supreme Court issued a decision Friday upholding Newton’s smoking ban.

The Whitesell-Finnel Post No. 971 Veterans of Foreign Wards and Wayne G. Austin American Legion Post No. 2, both of Newton, filed a lawsuit Dec. 20, 2007, against the city’s smoking ban.

The two fraternal organizations argued the law was unconstitutional under the Fourth and 14th amendments. They also alleged they should be exempt from the ordinance as private clubs. . . .

The Supreme Court, in its decision Friday, said the ordinance did not violate the organizations’ members’ rights to due process under the 14th Amendment or the right to privacy under the Fourth Amendment as asserted by the VFW and American Legion.

“Plaintiffs’ argument is apparently based on the simplistic notion that a private organization with a private clubhouse has a constitutional right to privacy,” the court said in its judgment. ... “Upon the merits of the argument, the city pointed out that a right to privacy action requires the existence of a fundamental privacy interest and that no court, to date, had recognized the smoking of tobacco as a fundamental right.”

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Plaintiffs’ argument is apparently based on the simplistic notion that a private organization with a private clubhouse has a constitutional right to privacy. Upon the merits of the argument, the city pointed out that a right to privacy action requires the existence of a fundamental privacy interest and that no court, to date, had recognized the smoking of tobacco as a fundamental right.
Kansas Supreme Court, in its decision Friday upholding Newton’s smoking ban.

Santa Clara Considers Anti-Smoking Policies 

Smoking in unincorporated areas of Santa Clara County could soon be a much tougher proposition, as the Board of Supervisors is considering a number of new anti-smoking policies.

One of the proposals is to ban smoking in apartment complexes in unincorporated parts of the county.

"These are often old apartment buildings with poor ventilation and a smoker in one apartment ," said Board of Supervisors President Ken Yeager. "There smoke would just go right through the vents to people in the adjoining apartments." . . .

Yeager said they also want to reduce the number of stores selling tobacco.

"Unfortunately, a lot of these liquor stores that sell tobacco are much denser in low income areas," said Yeager. "I think there's a real target, not only for youth, but people in our minority communities, where unfortunately, smoking can be quite high."

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Smoking snuffed out 

All restaurants, bars and workplaces, including bowling alleys, will be covered by the ban. The only exemptions would be tobacco shops, private clubs such as Veterans of Foreign Wars posts, designated smoking rooms in hotels, and the gambling floors of state-run casinos.

At the moment, Alstatt is uncertain what his outlet will be. But he is also far from alone with his concern about the future of smoking in public places.

The crack of falling bowling pins mingled with laughter throughout the cavernous building that was blanketed in a haze of smoke as league bowlers competed against one another Wednesday.

League nights are usually smoke filled at Countryside, said David Allen, the owner. A former smoker, Allen said he hasn't had a cigarette in 30 years, but as a business owner he knows a lot of bowlers smoke. . . .

After hearing about the impending statewide smoking ban, the owners of Bumpers Cafe, Ed and Trisha Hudson, in South Hutchinson, discussed the possibility of becoming a private club.

"We have the separate room; we could have gone private," Trisha Hudson said.

But it's too late for that option: The law required that an establishment become a private club by Jan.1, 2009, to be exempt from the smoking ban.

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A closer look at the smoking ban 

A number of places around Hutchinson can still allow smoking if, and when, a new statewide smoking ban takes effect July 1 - but vastly more cannot.

Workplaces could be the most affected, with all smoking indoors and within 10 feet of building entrances now prohibited, though many businesses in recent years already implemented smoking restrictions or bans.

Aside from the general ban in businesses and public places, key determinants whether smoking is allowed are whether a building is "public" and enclosed, or whether it's defined as private or open to the air.

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Smoke clearing on council support  

* City Councilman Dan Adams will present a stricter city smoking ban at the council's meeting Monday night

* The amendment would ban smoking in all restaurants and bars, with exemptions for Casino Aztar and private clubs

Three of nine Evansville City Council members say they support banning smoking at the city's bars and restaurants. . . .

Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, said much progress has been made by places such as Bloomington, Elkhart, Fort Wayne and West Lafayette, all of which have strong prohibitions in place.

"We have a lot of great examples of communities that didn't wait and are doing well," Sneegas said.

Yet representatives of local governments in the Tri-State said their priorities don't include policies meant to stamp out smoking in public places. Shari Sherman, president of the Newburgh Town Council, said none of her fellow public officials has expressed an interest in passing a ban. The same goes for Don Williams, president of the Warrick County Commissioners.

He recalls hearing from only two or three constituents who favored a strict smoking ordinance during his 10 years in office.

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