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The Briar and the Burley’s recent move should be smoke shop’s last, longtime owner says ($$) 

The Briar and the Burley has been in four locations since Mike Fisher started the business back in 1972, but he swears h ...

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Ballard to veto stricter smoking-ban proposal  

Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard plans to veto a proposed ordinance that would expand the city's public smoking ban, his spokesman confirmed Thursday.

The Indianapolis City-County Council on Jan. 30 voted 19-9 in favor of expanding the citywide ban to include bowling alleys, hotel rooms and most bars. Tobacco shops, hookah bars and over-18 private clubs would be exempted.

"As the Mayor has said since since it passed, this proposal does not meet his requirements," communications director Marc Lotter said in an e-mail. "By law, he must return the proposal to the clerk of the City-County Council by Saturday. "

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ENOCHS: IN RESPONSE: Smoking issue a political football  

On Saturday, Dr. Ray Nicholson, Vanderburgh County health officer, wrote a Community Comment in this newspaper and stated that owners of smoking establishments are more interested in profit than people.

He wrote: "Their claims are made in the name of freedom of choice, when it is, in fact, perceived financial gain." The state of Indiana and the U.S. government are "in fact" profiting from the sale and use of cigarettes to the tune of roughly $2 per pack. . . .

Bans and stigmatizing individuals may make nonsmokers feel self-righteous and "pro-active," but they do nothing to help smokers want to quit. In fact, they make many smokers angry and want to continue smoking just to spite them. As a former smoker myself, none of their actions or taunts made me want to quit; they in fact kept me smoking for many more years.

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Mayor likely to veto Marion County smoking ban  

Saturday is the deadline for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard to approve or veto the current proposed smoking ban that covers bars, bowling alleys, hotel rooms, workplaces, and nursing homes. Many people say they agree with a ban, but are against this one. Under this proposal, private clubs would have to choose to go smoke free, or not allow children inside.

Marc Lotter, a spokesman for Mayor Ballard, says the mayor believes private clubs and their membership should make the decisions on how to regulate their private clubs, and wants them to have a fair choice.

"As the proposal is currently written, you'd basically be asking a club that if they wanted to be smoking, they could never have a wedding reception. They could never have a retirement party a person's grandchildren could attend.

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Indiana Senate Considers Statewide Smoking Ban  

Smoking could be banned in restaurants across Indiana if the legislature passes the bill currently in the Senate.

A statewide smoking ban’s fate now lies in the Indiana Senate, where it has never passed out of committee. While hopes for its passage are bright, there are still significant obstacles to overcome.

The smoking ban passed the House the last five years, but never got so much as a committee hearing in the Senate until last year. One of the key compromises in this year’s version is an 18-month exemption for bars and taverns.

Danielle Patterson is the co-chair of the Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air. She says that 18-month window gives the General Assembly a chance to revisit the idea during a later legislative session and exempt bars and taverns permanently.

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Indiana dithers as tobacco burns 

Visitors to Indianapolis over the past week likely saw celebrities, professional athletes, a thriving downtown and a colossal Super Bowl Village.

They also saw a lot of Hoosiers who smoke.

When the American Lung Association recently graded the states on tobacco use, Indiana received an F.

There is one thing the state is doing better - keeping kids from tobacco products, police said. But tobacco-free advocates say the best thing that could happen for Indiana's health, a statewide smoking ban, is tied up in the General Assembly.

What is the State of Tobacco Control, as the American Lung Association calls its annual report, in Indiana?

The organization said that nationwide, tobacco-control advocates have seen a frustrating mix of backsliding and progress. But little of that progress was seen in Indiana, according to the report released last month.

Scored in four categories, Indiana's highest grade - on its cigarette tax - was a D. The state charges $1 per pack of 20.

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1 In 5 Kids Exposed To Second Hand Smoke While In Vehicles  

A new government survey of middle and high school students shows that one in five kids are being exposed to second hand smoke while in a vehicle.

While the overall number of smokers and kids exposed to second hand smoke has dropped, experts say far too many kids are still exposed to dangerous fumes that can lead to asthma, infections, and other health problems.

Amanda Fall from Tobacco Free Allen County says, "A lot of people don't realize, just having the window down isn't doing anything. The amount of secondhand smoke exposure is more than in a smokey bar if you're in a car."

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EDITORIAL: Smoking ban debate might benefit from a compromise 

The Evansville City Council has before it a long-sought amendment to its public smoking ban; it would add a prohibition against smoking at bars, restaurants and Casino Aztar inside the city. . . .

If there is a compromise to be had, it might be to allow smoking on the casino's gambling floors only. Shaw has said Aztar took smoking off a gambling floor, but that it underperformed by 50 percent.

Look, if a council majority is opposed to any toughening of the ordinance, this issue will die for another year, and that would be unfortunate. But if a compromise might sway some members, then that approach might be worth the gamble.

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• Your guide to the smoking ban debate  

Smoking ban advocates are holding out hope that this is the year a statewide smoking ban with heft will pass the Indiana Senate, the measure's graveyard for five years running.

Those advocates also are bracing for Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's expected veto of a similar smoking ban proposal that passed the City-County Council last week. Ballard generally supports it but is upset about a provision that would force some private clubs and veterans halls to choose between permitting smoking and allowing children on the premises.

Hundreds of anti-smoking advocates have taken to the Internet to lobby Ballard to change his mind.

At the Statehouse, Senate President Pro Tempore David Long and Gov. Mitch Daniels support bringing the smoking ban bill to a vote, but the issue still faces hurdles.

After today's Super Bowl glory subsides, expect the smoking ban debate to reignite at both ends of Market Street. Here's a look at the issue.

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General Cigar kicks off Super Bowl weekend in style  

General Cigar will be the toast of Indianapolis this weekend, with sampling events that are on par with the Big Game itself. In fact, two of the three events that General Cigar is participating in have been named to BleacherReport.com's highly-publicized ranking of the "10 Best Parties of Super Bowl Week."

According to Alan Willner, General Cigar's vice president of marketing said, "General Cigar has long been known for associating our brands with high profile events that elevate the cigar smoking occasion. This year, we'll once again be at the best parties leading up to the 'Big Game' to bring the ultimate cigar smoking experience to A-list athletes, celebrities and football enthusiasts."

Last night's Jaws Cigar Party was hosted by none other than Ron Jaworski at Nicky Blaine's cigar bar in downtown Indy. This fundraiser benefitted Ron's pet charities -- Jaws Youth Playbook Foundation and Gleaners Food Bank's BackSack program. . . .

Tonight (Friday, Feb. 3) is the SPP Sports Poker Tournament to be held at the Indianapolis Zoo. General Cigar will be on hand to sample Punch, Grand Puro and Grand Cru cigars to event hosts Devin Hester, LeSean McCoy. Other noteworthy names expected to attend are Patrick Warburton (Rules of Engagement) and Quinton Aaron (The Blind Side) and a slew of NFL greats. Stay tuned for more info.

Saturday night is the big Rolling Stone party at the Crane Bay event center. To celebrate Bacardi's 150th anniversary, General Cigar has teamed up with the premier rum brand and will serve La Gloria Cubana and CAO La Traviata to a roster of A-list guests.

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EDITORIAL: Our view: Smoke ban offers bars opportunity  

The statewide smoking ban has been a long time coming for state Rep. Charlie Brown and its other supporters, and their recently achieved but not-quite-complete ban is perhaps the Waterloo of their opponents.

But the partial ban requires continued vigilance. Two of the exemptions in the new law — exempting casinos and various private social groups — are understandable, but still unfortunate. The 18-month transition phase for bars, though, seems unnecessarily long.

Brown was being magnanimous when he said that “realistically, bars are not going to be able to do this overnight.”

But it isn’t clear why not. There’s nothing special that needs to be done — no special renovations, facility upgrades, technology to be purchased. It is, literally, something that can be done overnight.

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NICHOLSON: COMMUNITY COMMENT: Smoking ban is common sense  

In my role as health officer for Vanderburgh County, it would be dereliction of duty if I failed to comment on the proposed smoking ban ordinance.

The Vanderburgh County Board of Health unanimously supports a comprehensive ordinance to ban smoking in all public places, including all restaurants, bars, private clubs and gaming facilities.

We can talk about how smoking affects the body and how secondhand smoke has a significant role as well, but this information is well-known and has established evidence to support the facts. Obviously, some operators of bars, etc. choose to ignore the evidence even though they place themselves, their employees and their patrons at risk. Their claims are made in the name of "freedom of choice," when it is, in fact, perceived financial gain.

The reality of the situation is that this problem is now of epidemic proportions. More people die every year from the effects of smoking than any epidemic the world has ever seen. . . .

One of my favorite restaurants recently closed its doors after many years of serving the public. They had chosen to be a smoking establishment and advertised so. One day my family and I went in about 2 p.m. to eat a late lunch. Nearly every chair was taken by people drinking coffee and smoking. We sat down but couldn't stand the polluted air and left. . . .

Join me in urging our elected officials to do the right thing for all of our citizens — and not to give in to special interest groups.

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Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard won't take action on smoking ban this week 

A newly passed smoking-ban proposal that would cover most bars landed on Indianapolis Mayor Greg Ballard's desk Thursday, but his chief spokesman said he wouldn't act on it until after Sunday's Super Bowl.

"I can tell you it won't be this week," spokesman Marc Lotter said. Ballard's schedule has been dominated by Super Bowl-related activities.

The council-approved proposal would add most bars, bowling alleys and hotel rooms to Indianapolis' existing 2005 smoking ban.

However, Ballard has said he likely will veto

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Guest column: Bans defend against secondhand smoke ($$) 

This guest column was submitted by Dick Kovacs, M.D., John Strobel, M.D., and Ed Fry, M.D. who are the immediate past-pr ...

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Bar owners see smoke-free benefits ($$) 

Chad Stayner, owner of Rudy's Bar and Grill in downtown Kendallville, can see both sides of implementing a statewide smoking ban. As a bar owner, he knows about 80 percent of his customers light up. As a nonsmoker, he doesn't like coming home smelling like cigarette smoke each night. "But that's just the cost of doing business," he said. A bill that passed the Indiana House of Representatives 62-34 Tuesday would ban smoking in most...

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