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It's another tobacco growing season, and the president's new law will likely have an impact on local farmers.
"I say, eventually in the long run, there is going to be less tobacco use, so there is going to be less needed to be produced," tobacco farmer Shawn Brumfield said.
Under the new anti-smoking bill, cigarette packages must have a warning label that covers 50 percent of the front and back packaging, and light or mild cigarettes are off the market.
"Obviously, tobacco is a product that is harmful to the health of a person, so it seems to me like the FDA will try to have some control over that," Brumfield said.
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Rep. Steve Buyer of Indiana has suggested that smoking tobacco is no worse than smoking lettuce. -- "It's the smoke,'' he maintains.
The public isn't clamoring for this one, however: The Gallup Poll has found that 52 percent of Americans disapprove of the new law expanding the federal government's power to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. Jut 46 percent support it. Only 17 percent of those surveyed say smoking should be banned.
Obama has spoken publicly of his own struggles to quit cigarettes. The garden bill-signing is set for 2 pm EDT. It's a sunny day in Washington.
Fires caused by cigarettes kill about 800 Americans each year. On July 1st, cigarettes sold in Indiana will have to be fire safe cigarettes, which are less likely to burn when left unattended. Lafayette fire inspector David Thomas is glad to see the change.
"We applaud any efforts to reduce home fires. Mattresses and home furnishings are less likely to ignite now with some fire retardancy properties and with smoking being the top causes of home fires it is certainly going to help that," said Thomas.
Last week, Indiana Sens. Lugar and Bayh courageously joined their colleagues in the U.S. Senate to pass landmark legislation giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. They deserve credit and our sincere gratitude. Because of their efforts, we are now closer than ever to reining in a rogue industry that has been able to operate unregulated for far too long. . . .
The passage of this legislation is an historic moment in the effort to stop Big Tobacco's deceptive and manipulative marketing practices, which have preyed on children and misled the public about the harm of tobacco for decades. Fortunately, Sens. Lugar and Bayh took the appropriate action to protect all Americans from tobacco-related addiction, disease and premature death.
Last week, Indiana Sens. Lugar and Bayh courageously joined their colleagues in the U.S. Senate to pass landmark legislation giving the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate the manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products. They deserve credit and our sincere gratitude. Because of their efforts, we are now closer than ever to reining in a rogue industry that has been able to operate unregulated for far too long.
There is no way to underestimate their historic action. Granting the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products and its marketing will reduce its deadly toll -- particularly on our nation's children.
Smoking is back -- it's legal.
As long as it's an Elxtro Vapor Cigarette.
Elxtro is a company started by 26-year-old Valparaiso resident Marc Smith. He got the idea after his mother saw a commercial for an electronic cigarette, or "e-cigarette" and promptly ordered $400 worth.
"I got into the business," Smith said. "I did all the research and contacted the manufacturers." . . .
Smith said he has exclusive arrangements to sell his product in several other Westfield malls and plans to launch in the West Coast and Florida as well. He has bartenders in Chicago demonstrating the cigarette behind the bar, hopes to vend the product at cancer treatment centers and gas stations and plans to take the E-cigarette to the stage.
"My next target is theater," he said.
Hoosier smokers may notice their cigarettes burning a bit differently next month.
That's because a law passed last year requires that all cigarettes sold in Indiana be "fire-safe" starting July 1.
Unlike traditional cigarettes, the new fire-safe smokes will burn out more quickly when left unattended and are designed to cut down on the number of smoking-related fires.
"The cigarettes are made from the same blend of tobacco as regular cigarettes," said State Fire Marshal Jim Greeson. "The only difference to the consumer is they need to puff it more often or relight it."
According to the National Fire Incident Reporting System, 138 smoking-related fires occurred in Indiana in 2008, causing four deaths, 11 injuries and $3.4 million in property damage.
But for every person who agreed with Lemke, there were two who did not, according to City Council President Ken Kingshill's tally.
"My interpretation is that the overwhelming response in the community has been for a comprehensive ban," said Kingshill, the ordinance's sponsor.
At the hearing, about 20 people spoke, a number Kingshill considers low, but about 70 were in the audience. The City Council, which received close to 200 e-mails about the ban, will likely discuss the issue again at its next meeting. It has not set a date to vote on the ban.
Four of the seven council members opposed the ordinance when Kingshill introduced it last month. They thought banning smoking in places such as restaurants, bars, offices and eight of 10 hotel rooms was imposing too much government.
Two said they would support a ban if the public wants it.
The restrictions in the ordinance could change based on feedback, Kingshill said.
Indiana smokers may notice some small changes in the cigarettes they purchase beginning July 1. Fire-safe cigarettes have a reduced propensity to burn when left unattended and have proven to decrease the number of home fires.
Fire-safe cigarettes place two bands on the cigarette paper that are less porous than the surrounding paper. These bands require smokers to inhale at these bands to increase oxygen and the temperature of the burning cigarette paper enough to burn through the bands.
Smoking addictions are difficult to overcome for anyone, but for a person struggling with mental illness, it can be nearly impossible to stop without seeking help, according to experts.
Three guest speakers were at the Sheraton Louisville Riverside Hotel in Jeffersonville to educate area mental health professionals about ways to integrate smoking cessation into regular practice.
"Our being here is part of a statewide effort to educate mental health professionals on implementing effective tobacco cessation policies," said Tom Lux Jr., project director for ReThink Tobacco with Mental Health America of Indiana.
Dr. Jill Williams, the director of the Division of Addiction Psychiatry at the Robert Wood Johnson Medical School in New Jersey, was the keynote speaker for the conference.
"The mental health system hasn't done enough," Williams said.
Three Elkhart bars now have two strikes against them for allegedly failing to comply with the city’s smoking ban.
For most establishments, the ban took effect in May of 2008: but for bars the deadline was May 15th of this year--less than two weeks ago.
City Building Commissioner Dennis Mann says he has issued a total of three written warnings in response to citizen complaints.
ISU will be quitting cold turkey when the smoking ban takes effect July 1, and preparations are being made for any problems that result.
Bill Mercier, the director of public safety, said he expects people to comply "voluntarily," where people would follow this regulation without needing police incentive.
"We don't really envision us having to enforce this," he said.
Mercier said if someone did choose to not comply with the smoking ban, the person would first be asked to stop smoking.
R.J. Reynolds is test-marketing another smokeless tobacco product in Central Indiana, and this one really has opponents worried. It's a dissolvable tablet that opponents believe resembles candy.
Convenience store clerk Raj Kumar says he's been giving the samples away for a month, but nobody has returned to buy the product. It's called Orbs.
R.J. Reynolds markets its new product as "the best tobacco you never smoked."
Store customer Keith Young tried Orbs. He said, "It's not very tasteful. I don't like it at all."
Karla Sneegas, Executive Director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation hopes the product test fails miserably.
Are Illinois gaming enthusiasts flocking to casinos in Hammond, East Chicago, Gary and Michigan City primarily because they can smoke, or are there other reasons?
According to the opinions expressed by Illinois resident Karen H. in an e-mail to this column, there's a lot to like in Northwest Indiana. Here are some of her thoughts:
"My husband and I made a list of all the reasons why we very seldom visit Illinois casinos anymore. In our opinion, it has little to do with the smoking ban. He enjoys playing craps and blackjack, and likes Indiana casinos because of the lower table stakes.
"The buffets and restaurants at the Indiana casinos are great. . . .
"I will say one good thing about gambling in Illinois casinos – it is very nice not having to go home with our hair and clothing smelling like ash trays."
There's no doubt the smoking ban has negatively impacted Illinois casinos, but at the same time the competition in Northwest Indiana has become much more formidable.
Only ten Indiana communities now ban smoking in bars and taverns. After midnight tonight, Elkhart will become the 11th.
When Elkhart passed a ban on smoking in public places in 2008, it allowed some bars an extra year to comply.
A total of 24-bars asked for, and received the extensions. Those extensions run out at midnight tonight.
“We got to go on and make the best of it,” said Gail Bope of Crimaldi’s. One year ago when Crimaldi’s applied for the extension, keeping smokers on site meant banning children.
The expiration of the extension, in turn, re-opens the door to kids. “So we’re trying next weekend to have a kids weekend here. We’re having entertainment for the kids and we got a lot of reservations already,” said Bope.