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Sidewalk smokers, beware: The D.C. Council might be coming after you.
And people who buy cheap cigars -- whether for legal or illegal purposes -- you, too, should be on guard.
Three years after the council approved a ban on smoking indoors at bars and restaurants, the council is now considering a proposal to give business owners the right to ban smoking within 25 feet of the front door of an establishment.
The legislation, which also makes it a crime for anyone younger than 18 to possess tobacco, represents another step in the District's efforts to curb smoking.
"I think it is reasonable to say to a proprietor you can put up no smoking signs if you've got a problem with people standing on the sidewalk in front of your establishment," said council member Phil Mendelson (D-At Large), a sponsor of the bill.
In addition to Mendelson's bill, council member Yvette D. Alexander (D-Ward 7) is proposing to ban the sale of single, cheap cigars, which she says are increasingly being used to roll marijuana. . . .
Several advocates for health organizations, including the American Lung Association, testified in support of Mendelson's bill. Altria, the parent company of Richmond-based Philip Morris, also announced its support for the legislation, even though it would be the city's first effort to allow restrictions on smoking in outdoor public spaces.
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The largest tobacco manufacturer in the United States is supporting a D.C. Council proposal that would limit the sale of some tobacco products and regulate where people can smoke.
Representatives from Altria Group Inc., owner of tobacco giant Philip Morris, testified at a council hearing Tuesday that they were backing a bill that contained a slew of provisions.
In fact, Altria lobbyist Mary Eva Candon drafted the majority of the legislation, at-large Councilman Phil Mendelson told The Examiner. And the day he introduced the bill, Mendelson received a $500 campaign contribution from Candon.
"That's the problem when you work with friends and they have suggestions," Mendelson said. "It all gets into the mix."
Among its 10 provisions, the bill would:
-- ban the sale of single cigars, except in tobacco shops;
-- set weight-based requirements for the number of cigars per package;
-- and require all tobacco products be sold from behind the counter.
But the head of the Cigar Association of America said Altria would benefit while those provisions would leave the rest of the cigar industry suffering.
Altria's Black and Mild are the nation's top-selling cigars and control almost a quarter of the market. Because they're sold in five-packs, CAA President Norman Sharp said the ban on single cigars would boost Black and Mild sales.
The D.C. Council is eyeing an extension of the city's anti-tobacco prohibitions into public space, allowing all private property owners to ban smoking outside their buildings -- including the public sidewalk.
The proposed legislation, a major expansion of the District's smoke-free law, sets 18 as the legal age to purchase or possess tobacco products, requires retailers to post signs warning of the dangers of smoking, ramps up enforcement of sales to minors and authorizes smoking bans up to 25 feet from the wall of any private property -- residential or commercial.
The goal of that last provision is to disperse packs of smokers who congregate outside office buildings, said Councilman Phil Mendelson, who introduced the bill with Councilwoman Yvette Alexander. A 25-foot ban, under the measure, could encompass an adjacent sidewalk.
"I want the owner of the property to be able to say 'no' if he wants to," Mendelson said. "We're not prohibiting smoking. We're saying the owner can say no, even if it's on the sidewalk."
But property owners are unclear whether they could legally boot smokers off the sidewalk and into the street, said W. Shaun Pharr, senior vice president of government affairs with the D.C. Apartment and Office Building Association. . . .
Also under the bill, retailers nabbed selling tobacco products to minors face fines and possible jail time plus mandatory license suspension or revocation. Minors caught attempting to purchase cigarettes, or in possession of a tobacco product, face fines as high as $500, up to 25 hours of community service and forfeiture of their smokes.
The American Legacy Foundation(R) applauds Speaker Nancy Pelosi and all those in the U.S. House of Representatives who have worked tirelessly to protect Capitol Hill staff and visitors from the dangers of second-hand smoke.
On Thursday, the House's last two indoor smoking rooms are being cleaned and converted to smoke-free dining areas. It is no secret that secondhand smoke is dangerous - it causes 50,000 deaths per year in the U.S. Our halls of government should be playing a leadership role in ensuring clean indoor air for their staff and the visiting public and setting a positive example for other work places and public spaces nationwide. . . .
The closing of the smoking rooms in the Longworth and Cannon House office buildings is one more indication that we're moving in the right direction and toward a smoke-free America.
Anti-smoking activists want the D.C. Council to devote new funding for cessation programs after the body voted to hike the cigarette tax and raid the tobacco settlement fund but dedicate the associated revenue to the budget shortfall.
At-large Councilman David Catania, chairman of the health committee, served up the tobacco fund during last week's closed-door deficit sessions. When members threatened to raise property and other taxes rather than cut more from the budget, Catania offered additional dollars from the settlement fund to bridge the gap.
The pot was ultimately drained of nearly $27 million.
"No one likes having to use part of these proceeds for gap-closing measures, but the alternative was worse, and that's why we recommended that we use a portion, not all," Catania said Thursday. "There still will be substantial tobacco funds held in reserves for future activities."
The council also backed a cigarette tax increase, from $2 to $2.50 per pack. The associated revenue, expected to be $9.7 million in 2010, will flow to the general fund.
For the first time, the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District linked up with the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program to help clear out tossed-away cigarettes left behind by smokers.
Three high-traffic areas on Capitol Hill were picked: the southeast corner of Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE; on First Street SE in front of Bullfeathers and Tortilla Coast; and on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between Third and Fourth streets SE.
Recently two of Naval Support Activity (NSA) North Potomac's installations have experienced fires with all signs leading to the improper discarding of smoking materials. These smoking materials were discarded near plants and mulched areas either from people smoking in non-smoking areas, or from being discarded from moving vehicles. As a result of theses actions the recent fires have resulted in property loss on the installations. . . .
In an attempt to eliminate these types of incidents in the future, the Naval District Washington (NDW) Fire Prevention Division would like to remind everyone of the current NDW Instruction 5100.2C. This document defines the policy for smoking and tobacco use for NDW and all tenant command activities located onboard installations under the regional jurisdiction.
In accordance with this document, the described policies are applicable to all Department of Defense, military personnel, civilian employees (including non-appropriated fund employees), contract personnel, military families and visitors.
The instruction states that smoking is not allowed in any government vehicles, buildings or garages. Also, smoking is not permitted in any common areas. Smoking is only allowed in ''Designated smoking areas" which are identified by signs and tobacco receptacles. Employees should make themselves aware of these areas and be sure to use them.
One day, I saw at a mall kiosk the perfect solution for satisfying Obama's cravings while allowing him to remain at work in the Oval Office: the electronic cigarette. It was clear that my patriotic duty as the Human Guinea Pig was to test this device as a proxy for the president. I would try smoking electronically in places that banned the real thing, which meant nearly every place in Washington, D.C., and my neighboring home county, since both have some of the most restrictive smoking laws in the country.
As I approached the Smoking Everywhere kiosk at Westfield Montgomery mall, the young woman selling e-cigarettes took a deep inhale of one and let out what looked like a cloud of smoke. She was "vaping," . . .
Dr. Saul Shiffman, an expert on nicotine addiction at the University of Pittsburgh, says the manufacturers are pushing their products as both a way to quit smoking and a way to keep smoking, which is problematic. He echoes Henningfield's safety concerns, "How do you know what chemicals are being dissolved and conveyed? Or that they're not full of bacteria that [are] setting up residence in your lungs? When you buy this, you're becoming the guinea pig." Exactly! (I was somewhat relieved to see the Ruyan Group paid for a New Zealand researcher to test its product, and he found it to be safe.) . . .
Considering the various downsides—bad breath, headaches, the FDA says they're illegal—perhaps the e-cigarette is not the answer to our president's surreptitious vice. So, Mr. Obama, when you're at your desk and you get that insatiable craving, do all of us a favor, stay where you are and pop a piece of nicotine gum.
In recent weeks across the country, telephone "quit lines" have registered a jump in calls in advance of this week's biggest-ever increase in federal tobacco taxes.
If the past is any guide, the sizable tax boost should have an immediate impact in getting many smokers to quit, and anti-smoking advocates were making the most of the moment yesterday. Much research has shown that smoking is an extremely "price sensitive" habit, with fewer people taking up cigarettes and more people putting them down every time a pack becomes more expensive.
The 62-cent tax increase was adopted this year as a way to fund the expansion of the State Children's Health Insurance Program. On Wednesday, the day the increase took effect, the District's quit line got 131 calls, a record. The same day a week earlier, it had 44 calls; a month earlier, 19.
"I'm in shock, quite frankly," said Debra Annand, director of health education services for the American Lung Association's District of Columbia office, which contracts with the local health department to provide smoking-cessation services.
"Obviously something happened to drive that call volume up," Annand said. "Lots of research has shown the number one thing that helps people quit is increasing the price."
"Several measures are proven to reduce tobacco use. Foremost is taxation," wrote the author of a report two years ago in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report . . .
A national telephone number, 1-800-QUITNOW, connects callers to programs in all 50 states and the District. In March, it registered 203,374 calls, more than twice February's 91,316. In January, it got 76,685.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) wants to ban a smoking device that several House Republicans have trumpeted for helping them quit smoking. . . .
Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) have all been spotted using the device on Capitol Hill. . . .
Stearns shot back at Lautenberg on Monday, saying that there is no evidence that the device is harmful.
“Before the FDA takes any immediate action, it should put forward scientific evidence that these products are harmful or unsafe,” he said in a statement.
“These e-cigarettes are smokeless and do not produce carcinogens. The nicotine in e-cigarettes is controlled in a capsule that can help in smoking cessation by allowing the user to reduce gradually the nicotine level, hopefully to zero.”
Stearns has sent electronic cigarettes to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama to help them quit smoking. He’s been seen using the device in the Speaker’s Lobby, where Speaker Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) banned smoking two years ago.
Before the FDA takes any immediate action, it should put forward scientific evidence that these products are harmful or unsafe. . . . These e-cigarettes are smokeless and do not produce carcinogens. The nicotine in e-cigarettes is controlled in a capsule that can help in smoking cessation by allowing the user to reduce gradually the nicotine level, hopefully to zero.Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), who, along with Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.), has been spotted using an e-cigarette on Capitol Hill. He has sent electronic cigarettes to House Minority Leader John Boehner (R-Ohio) and President Obama.
About a thousand members of D.C.'s Irish community may be exempted from the city's smoking ban so they can continue the annual rite of toasting St. Patrick with a tumbler in one hand and a cigar in the other.
Ward 2 D.C. Councilman Jack Evans has introduced legislation sparing the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a social organization that comprises much of Washington's elite Irishmen, from the ban for their 81st annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at the Capital Hilton on March 17.
The city's smoke-free law provides an economic hardship waiver for struggling bars and restaurants, Evans said, but it leaves no wiggle room for a single event, like the St. Patrick's Day gala or Fight Night at the Washington Hilton.
"Once a year, 1,000 plus people go there to drink Irish whiskey, smoke cigars and have dinner," Evans said of the dinner. "Now they're not allowed to do that. From my reading of the law there's no other way to get an exemption but to legislate."
Evans is a member of the Friendly Sons organization, though he claims not to partake in the cigar end of the toasting tradition.
A short time ago, the American Lung Association set up a petition asking the Obama administration to ban interior smoking in federal buildings and protect all federal employees from second-hand smoke.
It may be a coincidence. But, effective on December 22, 2008 the General Services Administration, the agency that used to ensure every federal agency had an ample supply of light brown, heavy ashtrays in every building, has issued a new bulletin.
Entitled "Protecting Federal Employees and the Public From Exposure to Tobacco Smoke in the Federal Workplace," this new edict (FMR Bulletin 2009-B1) says that "cigarette smoking is the number one preventable cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Studies also have shown that the harmful effects of smoking are not confined solely to the smoker, but extend to co-workers and members of the general public who are exposed to secondhand smoke as well."
The bureaucracy does not move quickly. For example, the new GSA issuance cites the 11-year old Clinton Executive Order which "encourages the heads of executive agencies to evaluate the need to further restrict smoking at doorways and in courtyards under executive branch control and authorizes the agency heads to restrict smoking in these areas in light of this evaluation."
After long and careful consideration over the past eleven years, the agency has decided to implement this remnant of the Clinton administration's policies. The new bulletin highlights its new policy as: "smoking is prohibited in courtyards and within 25 feet of doorways and air intake ducts on outdoor space under the jurisdiction, custody or control of GSA."
And, as part of the new policy, all interior smoking areas will be closed as well.
The new policy is already effective as a government policy but agencies have six months to implement it. Some astute readers may be wondering why, if second-hand smoke is such a dire problem, there is a six-month delay.
The reason for the delay is to give federal employee unions a chance to negotiate on the implementation of the change. . . .
The new policy may test the ingenuity of some agencies and unions. In any event, the GSA bulletin does not provide a solution other than to stop smoking. "The heads of executive agencies are encouraged to use existing authority to establish programs designed to help employees stop smoking. Cessation program materials for agencies interested in establishing a smoking cessation program for their employees are available from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...."
Government workers at federal buildings who want a cigarette break will have to take a stroll before they light up, according to a new federal policy.
A regulation published last week in the Federal Register by the General Services Administration prohibits smoking in the courtyards of federal buildings, or within 25 feet of doorways and air intake ducts. It also bans designated smoking rooms in federal buildings. The policy is to be implemented within six months.
The regulation replaces an executive order signed by President Bill Clinton in 1997 that prohibited smoking in federal buildings but allowed smoking in designated rooms or outdoor areas. Anti-smoking advocates viewed the exceptions as significant loopholes that exposed co-workers and passersby to secondhand smoke, and they welcomed the new regulation.
"We see this as a major victory," said Heather Grzelka, director of media relations at the American Lung Association. "This is going to go a long way to protecting workers from exposure to secondhand smoke."
The answer, the American Lung Association of D.C. believes, depends partly on the culture you come from. So it is aiming two flashy anti-smoking campaigns in two very different directions: one in English, targeting African Americans, and one in Spanish, for Latinos.
"These are the populations that have the highest rates of smoking, and of tobacco-related health disparities -- heart disease, stroke, cancer -- particularly in the Medicaid and under-served population," says Debra Annand, director of the lung association project that launched the ad campaigns two months ago.
The radio and television spots, plus bus shelter and Metro posters, mark the first big push to come out of the $10 million the District allocated for anti-smoking efforts in mid-2007, using its portion of a 1998 national settlement by tobacco companies. In both languages, they try to get smokers to call the local lung association's "QuitLine," where staffers offer free nicotine patches, lozenges and counseling.
The difference in tone between the two campaigns is striking.
When I was at a D.C. restaurant recently, I saw eight students walk in, sporting middle-school mascots on their shirts. They looked no older than 14. They ordered two hookahs and smoked for about an hour. No one bothered them. No one questioned them. It seemed as though no one even cared that what seemed like 14-year-olds were smoking. No one, that is, except me.
I asked my medical and public health school friends what they thought about what I saw. They all agreed and were "sure" that hookah smoking was not unhealthy or unsafe. Boy, were they wrong -- although their opinions are apparently the norm.
According to the American Lung Association, hookah smoking is thriving because of a false belief that it is safe when, in fact, it carries many of the same risks as smoking cigarettes. . . .
Shouldn't there be a minimum age for hookah smoking, as there is for cigarettes? Why is hookah smoking exempted from D.C. smoke-free laws? How is this fad going to affect future morbidity and mortality rates? I'm not sure I want to know.
The most important task at this point is to raise awareness. The city should broaden its anti-smoking campaigns to include hookah smoking. After all, this hot fad may be on its way to becoming a deadly epidemic. It's just that few people know enough about the dangers of hookah to stop the hype and drop the pipe.