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Smoking ban debated 

On Oct. 6 the Aldermanic Human Services Committee approved the hospital’s request to ban smoking on the publicly owned sections of Chapel, Orchard and George streets and Sherman Avenue, and sent the request to the full Board of Aldermen, which will vote on it Nov. 5. At the same meeting, Ward 20 Alderman Charles Blango, who chairs the committee, decided to delay action on a similar request by Masjid al-Islam, a neighboring mosque on George Street, until the Board of Aldermen’s Nov. 5 meeting.

“I didn’t want to open up a Pandora’s Box,” Blango said of his decision, citing his reluctance to set a precedent for allowing non-medical, private institutions such as the mosque to restrict smoking on public property. When Ward 23 Alderman Yusuf Shah, who is a member of Masjid al-Islam, submitted in late September the original proposal to ban smoking around the hospital, the proposal banned smoking on the sidewalks around both the hospital and the mosque. In late September, the Board of Aldermen unanimously voted down the proposal because it wanted to hold a public hearing on the issue. The board sent the request to the Human Services Committee for review because it had done so for a similar proposal by Yale-New Haven Hospital earlier this year.

At the committee’s Oct. 6 meeting, a number of aldermen asked Shah why he had included the mosque in the proposal, and Shah said he feared the ban would deter smokers displaced from St. Raphael’s from smoking in front of the mosque.

But Blango introduced an amendment to separate the two areas because people on the committee said they had concerns about legal problems that could arise if the ban were approved, Blango said. Blango also asked to see a legal opinion from an outside expert on any potential legal problems that could arise from the mosque’s request.

The debate about the appropriateness of the city’s efforts to regulate smoking on public property is playing out on streets surrounding St. Raphael’s, where half a dozen employees and patients interviewed expressed mixed feelings about the pending ban.

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Kunrath: Making our campus tobacco-free 

Signs designate the childcare center at the Yale School of Medicine as a smoke-free area, but cigarette butts litter the sidewalks and smokers regularly light up on the Medical School campus. This tolerance of smoking across the street from Yale-New Haven Hospital sends a mixed message to patients, students and community members, who look to the school and the hospital for guidance on all matters related to health.

Yale University proudly advertises its many sustainability efforts, including the Yale Farm, biodiesel buses and LEED-certified Kroon Hall. However, there is a missing component to this picture: sustainable health. In order for Yale to promote sustainability on all levels, the administration should adopt a 100 percent tobacco-free policy for all indoor and outdoor areas of the medical campus. . . .

Tobacco-free policies are not inherently anti-smoker; their purpose is to support a healthy environment, not to exclude those who smoke. Considering the economic and health burdens of tobacco use, Yale University should join the tobacco-free movement, creating a cleaner and safer campus, setting a health-promoting example for students and the community, and achieving sustainability in both health and environment.

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Fire deemed an accident 

The fire in a Branford College suite last Thursday was an accident, New Haven fire marshal Joseph Cappucci said Tuesday, and the Fire Department will not pursue legal action against the students involved. Branford Master Steven Smith said any potential disciplinary decisions will be handled by the Executive Committee.

Cappucci attributed the brief blaze to a “carelessly discarded cigarette.” The Yale College Undergraduate Regulations ban smoking in suites. But until Tuesday, a policy on Yale Council of Masters Web site stated that smoking was allowed in an upperclassmen suite if all residents agreed to permit it. Yale College Dean Mary Miller said the posted policy was out of date and did not match Yale College regulations or a 2003 Connecticut statute prohibiting smoking in dormitories.

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E-cigarettes enter the tobacco wars  

Connecticut and other states are taking aim at electronic cigarettes, a battery-powered device with vaporized nicotine, officials said.

"We're actively investigating these companies and their products," Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told USA Today in a story published Monday.

Public health officials in California, Oregon, New Hampshire and New Jersey said the smokeless devices are the latest thing in the tobacco wars and could be used to circumvent smoking bans.

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Officials: Windsor Locks Barn Fire Was Arson 

The fire that destroyed three empty tobacco barns Monday was set intentionally, the deputy fire marshal said Wednesday.

Investigators have ruled out all causes other than arson in the fire that consumed the barns about 4 p.m. Monday on land off Old Colony Road, said Deputy Fire Marshal John Kupernik.

Investigators are now appealing to the public for help as they seek those responsible.

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Troubled times for tobacco farmers  

A disastrous growing season plagued by bad weather and crop viruses -- combined with sagging cigar sales -- has left many tobacco growers in the Connecticut River Valley reeling.

There's no better place in America to grow broadleaf and shade tobacco, used for premium cigar wrappers and binders. But these are troubled times along New England's own tobacco road, roughly 75 miles straddling western Massachusetts and Connecticut.

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Fire Destroys Windsor Locks Tobacco Sheds 

WINDSOR LOCKS - Fire crews from Windsor and Windsor Locks spent Monday evening battling a massive fire that has destroyed several tobacco sheds

The fire broke out at a tobacco shed on Rainbow Road near Route 20 in Windsor Locks around 4pm. Over a hundred firefighters were called in from surrounding towns to combat the intense flames, which created thick plumes of black smoke visible for miles.

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Fire destroys tobacco barns in Conn. 

WINDSOR LOCKS, Conn.--More than 100 firefighters have been battling a blaze that has destroyed several tobacco curing sheds in Windsor Locks.

The fire broke out at one of the hulking barns on Rainbow Road around 4 p.m. on Monday.

Thick black smoke was visible for miles in the Connecticut River Valley.

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EDITORIAL: Higher Cost A Deterrent To Smoking 

Connecticut's decision to hike the state cigarette tax to $3 per pack was a no-brainer. The new rate, effective on Oct. 1, will raise millions in urgently needed state revenue, will convince more people to quit smoking and will slash health care costs associated with smoking-related illnesses.

One of the greatest benefits is that more teenagers will not take up the dirty habit in the first place. The national Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids estimates that Connecticut's $1-per-pack tax increase will deter 24,000 youths from becoming addicted smokers, and will convince 10,000 adults to quit. The group also projects $520 million in health care savings. These are significant numbers. . . .

Connecticut can do better. Lawmakers who saw the wisdom of raising taxes on cigarettes ought to demand that some of that new revenue be used to support effective smoking cessation programs.

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State's Cigarette Tax Increases Today  

Perspectives vary widely on the $1-a-pack tax increase on cigarettes that goes into effect today, making projections about increases in state revenue and improved health of the citizenry hazy at best.

Some smokers say they're sure of the tax's effect.

"I'm going to quit because of it," said Josh Braccidiferro of Middletown, a smoker for about 10 years. "I'm not spending $7 on a pack of cigarettes."

People who sell cigarettes say a scrounging state government is rifling the pockets of blue-collar Nutmeggers.

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VIDEO: New Bottle Deposits, Higher Fees  

Smokers will pay $3 a pack in state taxes, up from $2 a pack. That means a two-pack-a-day smoker will pay $6 a day, or nearly $2,200 each year, in cigarette taxes alone.

In addition, the tobacco products tax -- which applies to cigars, pipe tobacco and similar products -- goes up from 20 percent to 27.5 percent of the wholesale price, and the tax on snuff tobacco goes from 40 cents to 55 cents an ounce.

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Cigarette tax has smokers fuming 

In Frank De Cato's 69 years of smoking, he's seen the price of a pack of cigarettes jump from 15 cents to about $7.

But the additional $1 that will soon be added to the price of a pack due to a state tax hike is the last straw for the 83-year-old New Haven resident.

"I'm gonna quit smoking. I'll have to," De Cato said when he learned the state tax on a pack of cigarettes will rise from $2 to $3 per pack in October. "I started smoking when I was 14 years old. I've been smoking a long time."

By the time De Cato was done describing how he bought his first cigarette for a penny and his first pack for 15 cents, he was on his second cigarette and incensed by the additional tax, saying it disproportionately affects poor people.

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State tacking another $1 on cost of lighting up 

If smokers have somehow remained unaware that the state tax on cigarettes is jumping by another $1 a pack Thursday, places that sell smokes are doing their best to inform them -- and urging them to stock up in the next couple of days.

The trend is saving savvy shoppers some money while boosting businesses' bottom lines.

"People are buying more. (They) are doubling up and tripling up right now," said Raj Tala, who owns Hess gas stations in Guilford. "They are buying them by the carton."

He expects to see a surge in sales through mid-week.

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St. Raphael sidewalks may go smoke-free 

Despite a legislative snag last week, sidewalks around the Hospital of St. Raphael, located on Chapel Street near Orchard Street, will in all likelihood become smoke-free in the coming weeks.

At the Board of Aldermen meeting last Monday night, the board shelved a proposal to ban smoking on the sidewalks surrounding the hospital. Ward 23 Alderman Yusuf Shah, whose ward includes St. Raphael’s, attempted to fast-track the ban through a process known as unanimous consent, but Ward 1 Alderwoman Rachel Plattus ’09 and Ward 9 Alderman Roland Lemar voiced objections, arguing that the ban should not go into effect before residents of the neighborhood have a chance to voice potential concerns.

A public hearing on the measure is scheduled for Oct. 6, although city officials said the ban is sure to pass without much opposition.

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READER POLL: Should revenue from the tax on cigarettes be used for smoking cessation programs?  

Yes 57.3%

No 42.7%

votes: 124

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