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The wording of part of the smoking ordinance brought discussion between Alexander City Mayor Barbara Young and the city council at Monday night's council meeting.
Section 4, subsection A, which regards prohibition of smoking in places of employment, includes a line prohibiting smoking in vehicles.
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As a result of the tobacco lawsuits, some Republican politicians and tobacco industry lobbyists -- such as now-Mississippi Governor Haley Barbour -- appear to have become implacable foes of the trial lawyers who had frustrated them and their clients. . . .
In Mississippi, the corporate client was big tobacco -- and their chief lobbyist now sits in the Mississippi governor's chair.
The second aspect of the strategy is the politicization of US law enforcement by the Bush administration, . . .
In addition, by targeting Paul Minor, Barbour and his backers ensured a glacial freeze in contributions to Democratic candidates, since other Democratic trial lawyers were afraid of being targeted by the US Attorney's office as well. . . .
That summer, the Mississippi state legislature had begun holding hearings on whether to enact tort reform, the strategy promoted by the tobacco industry to limit settlements to plaintiffs which had been so effectively used by Rove to defeat Democratic judges in both Texas and Alabama and pass pro-corporate legislation.
A few months later, Mississippi newspapers began to print leaked allegations that the FBI had launched an investigation of Paul Minor -- a leading opponent of tort reform . . .
In early 2004, Haley Barbour took office as governor of Mississippi. Almost immediately thereafter, he called a special session of the legislature to ban class action lawsuits and cap damages in almost all tort cases. In 2006, Barbour won a lengthy court battle to completely withdraw funding from an anti-smoking program which had been highly successful in reducing smoking among middle school and high school students.
Big tobacco had finally accomplished its goals through the use of the political machine.
A series of questions regarding banning smoking in public places in Fort Payne is expected to be on the municipal election ballot on Aug. 26, according to City Clerk Jim McGee.
But the question remains as to what those questions will be. McGee said the Fort Payne City Council is expected to develop the questions at an upcoming meeting.
The council waited to take up the smoking ban in March because of a bill in the state Legislature that would have banned smoking in restaurants and work places across Alabama.
Once a year, before the end of school, the Alabama Board of Education, Alabama Department of Public Health and the Alabama Center for Disease Control get together and administer an anonymous survey for student's in grades 6-12 to fill out about smoking and tobacco use.
Last year, the results were mellow compared to this year's highs. Demetra Peoples, tobacco prevention coordinator for Alabama's Public Health Area 8, said officials were expecting lower numbers this year but were surprised to see them growing.
"The numbers did just what we didn't want them to do. They rose. So now we are trying to figure out ways to help reduce those numbers," Peoples said.
The Senate approved a state public smoking ban Thursday afternoon, but the legislation could have difficulty passing the lower chamber.
The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Vivian Figures, D-Mobile, bans smoking in most restaurants, stores and sporting areas, while providing exemptions for private homes, most bars and private clubs. Smokers would also be banned from smoking within 10 feet of the doors or windows of an establishment where smoking had been banned.
The House of Representatives had yet to consider a smoking ban by late Monday night ‐ the last day of the legislative session ‐ and the bill appeared unlikely to win approval.
The House was bogged down by filibusters for most of the day, slowing action on bills debated before the smoking measure, which would ban smoking in most restaurants, workplaces and indoor public areas.
Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, sponsored the anti-smoking bill. She has championed similar measures for more than a decade. Figures indicated she would be disappointed if it failed to pass before the midnight end of the session.
A bill that would ban smoking in most public places and work places in Alabama had still not come up for debate as the Alabama Legislature moved into the final hours of the 2008 regular session.
The bill by Sen. Vivian Figures of Mobile would ban smoking in restaurants and other public places. It would make an exception for bars where food sales make up less than 20 percent of their business.
Smokers can still light up in inside many public places after the Alabama Legislature adjourned Monday without voting on a proposed smoking ban.
The 2008 legislative session ended at midnight without a final vote on the bill.
The sponsor of a proposed smoking ban said she'll try again next session if legislators don't approve the bill this year.
"It's a very important issue. It affects the lives of all Alabamians. It's a health issue," said Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile.
Some hospitals have banned smoking inside a person's own vehicle if it's on hospital property, a step viewed as logical by the anti-smoking movement but repugnant to its critics.
"Many of us see this as the beginning -- and easiest part -- of a growing encroachment of government into people's private lives," said George Koodray, New Jersey coordinator for the Citizens Freedom Alliance.
A bill that would ban smoking in work places and many public settings in Alabama still has a chance of becoming law as the Legislature prepares for the final day of its 2008 session.
House Speaker Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia, says the smoking ban will be one of the bills considered by the House when business concludes on Monday. The bill by Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, passed the Senate 28-3, but would likely have to go back to the upper chamber for final passage because of changes made in a House committee.
House Speaker Seth Hammett, D-Andalusia, says the smoking ban will be one of the bills considered by the House when business concludes Monday. The bill by Sen. Vivian Davis Figures, D-Mobile, passed the Senate 28-3, but would likely have to go back to the upper chamber for final passage because of changes made in a House committee.
Former cigarette smoker Gov. Bob Riley said Monday that he would sign into law a broad ban on indoor smoking at workplaces and public places, if the bill were to pass the Legislature next week.
"I think it's a good bill. I really do," Riley said. "I think that anything that we can do to prevent people from smoking is something that we need to continue to do."
Riley used to smoke Winston Lights but said he kicked the habit last summer while on vacation.
The state Senate on April 30 passed Senate Bill 229, which would ban people from smoking cigarettes, cigars or pipes in restaurants, stores, malls, convention halls, theaters, sports arenas and many other public indoor places.
While a handful of states ban smoking in cars if there are minors inside, the move by hospitals to prohibit any puffs behind the wheel represents new territory for those seeking a smoke-free environment.
The ban is part of the more widely recognized effort by hospitals to prohibit lighting up inside or outside the building, out of public health concerns. The American Nonsmokers' Rights Foundation in Berkeley, Calif., counts more than 1,200 with campuswide bans.
George Koodray, New Jersey coordinator for the Citizens Freedom Alliance, says many see this as the beginning -- and easiest part -- of a growing encroachment of government into people's private lives.
'Many of us see this as the beginning -- and easiest part -- of a growing encroachment of government into people's private lives,' said George Koodray, New Jersey coordinator for the Citizens Freedom Alliance.
While a handful of states ban smoking in cars if there are minors inside, the move by hospitals to prohibit any puffs behind the wheel represents new territory for those seeking a smoke-free environment. . . .
No exact count is kept on which hospitals extend the ban to inside a car or truck, but an Associated Press check of hospitals in Alabama and elsewhere found that a number do.