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Fire guts Irish Eyes Pub in Lewes 

It was lunch time at Irish Eyes Pub, on the waterfront in Lewes, when someone smelled smoke.

The restaurant managers got the 10 employees and several tables of patrons out of the building before smoke and flames engulfed it.

No one was injured but the year-old building was reduced to little more than a shell, said Kathy Newcomb, one of the owners. The interior was gone. . . .

The cause has not been determined, though Newcomb said there is some speculation that a smoldering cigarette rolled under the building, caught fire and was stoked by high winds.

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• Fire-safe cigarettes hit Del. shelves  

After a fast-moving fire caused by a discarded cigarette claimed three lives near New Castle last year, state fire officials urged legislators to mandate fire-safe cigarettes in Delaware.

Beginning 12:01 a.m. Thursday, a new law will require all cigarettes sold in Delaware be reduced ignition propensity cigarettes -- better known as fire-safe cigarettes.

"This is a significant step in Delaware," Assistant State Fire Marshal Michael Chionchio said. "The goal for us is fire prevention."

Delaware joins 22 other states, plus the District of Columbia, in enacting fire-safe cigarette laws. New York was the first state to pass such a law in June 2004.

Laws in Delaware, Iowa, Oklahoma, Texas and Pennsylvania all take effect Thursday.

Another 15 states have laws that take effect later in 2009 and in 2010, while New Jersey and Maryland implemented fire-safe cigarette laws this year, according to the Coalition for Fire-Safe Cigarettes.

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Quick, Take a Drag!  

This New Year will bring not only a clean slate and fresh start but fire-safe cigarettes for all the draggers buying smokes from the state of Delaware.

A new law requires that all cigarettes sold in Delaware, starting January 1, must be fire-safe. Fire-safe meaning the cigarettes should extinguish themselves in about 15 to 20 seconds if not smoked.

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'SERIOUS IMPROPRIETY': Alcohol, tobacco regulators in Delaware face termination  

DOVER -- The head of Delaware's Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement has been fired, and the division's supervisory agent is on the way out as well.

In a statement released Tuesday, Department of Safety and Homeland Security Secretary David Mitchell said DATE director Daniel Kline was terminated Monday, and that agent Michael Downs had been suspended with the intent to terminate last week.

The two men were suspended with pay in August following a complaint that state officials said involved "serious impropriety."

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REHOBOTH BEACH: Town mulls beach smoking ban 

Rehoboth Beach commissioner Paul Kuhns says town council members will have more discussions later this year about a possible smoking ban on the beach.

Kuhns says the discussion is being driven by complaints about litter on the beach and on the boardwalk and complaints about second-hand smoke.

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LETTERS: Reader Views 

Bethany Beach Votes to Regulate Smoking 

Bethany Beach town council members Friday night voted 6 to 1 to regulate smoking.

The new rules outlaw smoking year-round in town parks and on the beach and boardwalk in the summer.

Those caught breaking the new law face fines up to $500.

On Friday afternoon, several visitors filled the popular town attractions where buzz of the proposed ban was the hot topic of discussion.

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Bethany ends ambulance, beach smoking  

Smokers: Puff wisely on the beach this summer. The Bethany Beach Town Council passed a new chapter to the town code regulating smoking in areas of the town, most notably large portions of the beach and boardwalk.

In a 6-1 vote Friday, the council approved an ordinance making it illegal to smoke in town parks, playgrounds and the Boardwalk Plaza at the east end of Garfield Parkway at all times of the year, and make smoking illegal on the vast majority of the boardwalk and beach between May 15 and Sept. 15. Designated smoking areas are planned for both the beach and the boardwalk, equipped with proper disposal receptacles for cigars and cigarettes.

The passing of the ordinance was not without discussion.

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Bodybags to be displayed on courthouse lawn Wednesday 

Kids across Ohio will rally against tobacco on Wednesday as they join thousands of young people nationwide for the 13th annual Kick Butts Day, sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Hundreds of events are planned across the nation.

At noon at the Clinton County Court House lawn, youth from STAND will display 54 body bags which represent the number of Ohioans who die each day in the U.S. from tobacco and secondhand smoke.

This year, Kick Butts Day is raising awareness about continued tobacco marketing and sales to kids and the need for Congress to crack down on these harmful practices by passing legislation granting the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products.

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• Bad habits can cost you your job 

nsurance costs and survive a wheezing economy, some are scrutinizing their employees' off-duty behavior, firing those who smoke, tacking surcharges onto overweight workers' health plans and even dismissing people for having an off-duty drink.

Such practices are raising claims of unwarranted intrusion, a few cries of illegal discrimination and warnings of fraying liberties. "If it's your own business and you can't do what you want, that's communism," said Mill Creek resident Helen Muhlmichl, a nonsmoker and smoking opponent who has even lost a father to lung cancer.

But without a change in the law, experts see little prospect of bringing a successful legal challenge in Delaware.

Twenty-nine states have laws specifically protecting workers from being fired for off-duty smoking, but Delaware isn't among them. . . .

employers mainly are targeting smokers. In part, society's crusade against smoking has made smokers politically "safe" to persecute, Siegel said.

Governments and businesses routinely impose increasing restrictions on where they may light up -- even when second-hand smoke is not a risk. Cash-strapped states, including Delaware, have come to realize that raising smokers' taxes will cause the least squawking and minimal sympathy.

"It's a voluntary act," Sean McDevitt, partner at Pepper Hamilton in Wilmington, said of smoking. "Let's face it, we push them outside to smoke on rainy days. ... I think there is little pity on smokers."

Some companies offer smoking cessation programs and other assistance before taking more drastic measures. . . .

Delaware's legal and legislative atmosphere does not seem conducive to creating more restrictions on employers

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Stores that don't sell to minors recognized 

The state Division of Alcohol and Tobacco Enforcement has begun a new initiative that recognizes Delaware liquor stores and other licensed establishments that refuse to sell alcoholic beverages to people younger than 21.

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Bethany may ban smoking on beach 

Bethany Beach, a popular Delaware vacation spot, is drafting legislation to ban smoking on its beach and boardwalk.

The town council, with one member absent, deadlocked Friday in a 3-3 vote on a proposal to completely ban smoking on the boardwalk and restrict smoking on the beach to seven or eight areas to be determined by the town manager.

The council then voted 5-1 to draft legislation that would ban smoking on the boardwalk and the beach from May 15 to Sept. 15. If passed, the law would take effect no later than June 1.

More beach towns are considering outdoor smoking bans, mainly because of environmental concerns over discarded cigarette butts

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Ifs, butts greet talk of ban 

Maryland residents are just getting used to a smoking ban imposed Feb. 1 in restaurants and bars, but the public debate over lighting up may not end with inside spaces. A small Delaware town is preparing to ban smoking on its beach and boardwalk, and other municipalities along the coast are taking notice.

Cigarette butts add to beach clean-up efforts -- they usually have to be picked up by hand, rather than by a machine -- and the smoke can bother tourists sitting downwind, ban proponents say. Others counter that prohibiting smoking outdoors, even in crowded areas like boardwalks and beaches, is the height of government intrusion. . . .

The town council of Bethany Beach, Del. -- about 15 miles north of Ocean City -- voted last week to draft smoking prohibitions for the beach and boardwalk during the summer and for the parks and bandstand all year. Eight designated smoking areas would be created along the back of the beach.

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Bethany Council Expected to Approve Smoking Ban 

The Bethany Beach Town Council is expected Friday to approve an ordinance that would ban smoking on the beach, the boardwalk and in municipal parks.

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• No smoking allowed  

Effective Friday, Feb. 1, smoking indoors is prohibited by law in the state of Maryland. That means bars, restaurants, clubs and hotels, as well as government-operated public transportation, are smoke-free areas where repeat offenders get stuck with hefty fines.

"Secondhand smoke is a true health hazard," said Claire Mullins, spokesperson for the American Lung Association of Maryland. "Limiting it in public places like bars and restaurants is just another step to improve public health.

"This is a public health issue, it's not a civil liberties issue," she added.

The smoking ban also falls roughly at the same time as an increased cigarette tax, going from $1 to $2 per pack, which took effect Jan. 1. . . .

However, Maryland also earned a "D" for tobacco prevention spending and an "F" for youth access. . . .

Smoking bans are nothing new to the area, particularly in Delaware.

In 2002, the state enacted the Clean Indoor Air Act . . .

Restaurateurs now say that several years into the ban, indoor smoking is practically a non-issue. But, that's not to say there wasn't an initial impact.

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