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Chatham may ban all indoor smoking 

Chatham County is taking steps toward banning smoking in bars and other indoor venues not covered under state law.

County commissioners are scheduled to give a first reading to a proposed smoking ban Friday. A final vote would come at a later meeting.

The proposal would apply only to unincorporated areas of Chatham County. Its largest city, Savannah, enacted a similar smoking ban that took effect in January 2011. The bans go a step further than Georgia law, which prohibits indoor smoking in restaurants and other public buildings that allow children.

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Chatham Weighs Indoor Smoking Ban 

A coastal Georgia county is taking steps toward banning smoking in bars and other indoor venues not covered under state law.

Chatham County commissioners are scheduled to give a first reading to a proposed smoking ban Friday. A final vote would come at a later meeting. The ban goes a step further than Georgia law, which prohibits indoor smoking in restaurants and other public buildings that allow children.

The proposal would apply only to unincorporated areas of Chatham County. Its largest city, Savannah, enacted a similar smoking ban that took effect in January 2011.

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Murphy: Smoking ban: Not matter of 'choice'  

I once had a favorite patient who lived a scrupulously healthy life. . . .

"Lung cancer? He never smoked," his family members said. But his wife did.

In August 2010, the Savannah City Council passed the Savannah Smokefree Air Ordinance of 2010, which eliminated smoking in all workplaces, closing loopholes in the 2005 Georgia Clean Air Act. The law was expanded to prohibit smoking in all public places and workplaces in the City of Savannah as of January 2011.

The city ordinance did not extend to the unincorporated areas of Chatham County. A recent vote by the Chatham County Commission stripped the smoking ban from private clubs and from bars allowing only patrons 21 and older in the unincorporated areas, as well as outdoor serving areas and retail tobacco stores.

Surprisingly, Commissioner Harris Odell -- perhaps our most health-savvy political figure, with a master's degree in Public Health from Tulane -- supported the watered-down proposal, saying, "I believe in individual choice." . . .

Smokers have a right to smoke. They do not, however, have a right to expose nonsmoking citizens to the consequences of their unhealthy habit.

The final draft of the Chatham County smoking ordinance will be submitted to the commission for adoption at a future meeting. Here's hoping that wisdom will prevail and that the county will adopt a measure that mirrors the City of Savannah's.

This is not about "individual choice." It's about providing for the health of the majority of Chatham County's citizens. That's plain old common sense -- something we could afford to see a bit more of in local government.

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LETTER: Is smoking law necessary? 

I have attended prior meetings concerning the proposed smoking ordinance, and as the final vote is scheduled for today, I have several questions.

Who brought this smoking ordinance to the Augusta Commission in the first place? Was it a local concerned citizen who wrote a simple letter or stood up before the commission and asked that it be drafted? Could it have been lobbyists who get paid to travel from city to city in groups to skewer our government?

Is this smoking ordinance necessary? We get it – smoking, among other things, is bad for you. But nobody is forcing a nonsmoker to be around it.

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Savannah university to enforce smoke-free campus 

SAVANNAH, Ga. -- A Georgia university plans to ban smoking on its Savannah campus later this year.

Administrators at Armstrong Atlantic State University says smoking, chewing tobacco and all other tobacco use will be prohibited on it property both outdoors and indoors once the fall semester starts next August. The school will be the 16th college in Georgia to completely snuff out smoking.

Armstrong Atlantic's president, Linda Bleicken, says the change will "support the health and well-being" of the university's 7,500 students as well as faculty and staff.

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Armstrong commits to tobacco-free campus in 2012  

Armstrong Atlantic State University announced Friday that it become a tobacco-free campus in August.

The ban would include cigarettes, cigars, pipes, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products and electronic cigarettes. The policy will go into effect at the beginning of the fall 2012 semester. Armstrong has allowed smoking in designated areas on campus, according to the university.

The announcement makes AASU the 16th Georgia university to go 100 percent tobacco-free and American Lung Association's list of more than 250 schools that are already tobacco-free, according to news release.

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Our Opinion: Tobacco-Free off To Promising Start 

Emory’s tobacco-free policy has been in place since the first of the year, but now with students back on campus, the effects of the policy can be seen on a wider scale. So far, it appears that the policy will work smoothly within the Emory community and that the impact of the policy will be a positive one.

We have noticed that students have been taking advantage of the temporary smoking zone near the library and that there have been fewer smokers on campus overall.

Additionally, we have taken note of instances around campus where an individual has suggested that someone who is smoking relocate to a smoking zone.

Accessibility to the University’s smoking cessation programs is wide, which is important for those looking to quit by the time Emory becomes completely tobacco free in the fall. These programs, however, would be better publicized using methods beyond bulk emails to the Emory community.

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Efforts to curb cigarette smoking failing in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama 

As students, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama flunked the no-smoking class.

The three states racked up a row of F's from the American Lung Association's annual report card that grades states on their efforts to curb cigarette usage. The State of Control report looks at four categories: tobacco prevention, control and spending; state smoking restrictions; cigarette tax rate; and state cessation coverage.

Out of the three states, Tennessee has the highest number of smokers -- 20 percent of adults and high school students -- and the highest number of deaths from smoking per 100,000 population.

However, Alabama and Georgia are not far behind in both percentage of smokers or deaths caused by smoking, with all three states ranking high in national percentages. . . .

In its annual report, the Lung Association found many states regressed in 2011. No state passed a strong smoke-free air law, and Nevada weakened its existing law. No state increased its tobacco tax significantly and more than a dozen states cut or eliminated funding of tobacco control and prevention programs.

Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama all spend only a fraction of the recommended funding for tobacco prevention and control spending.

In addition, three states have some of the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation, with Georgia's ranking fourth lowest, Alabama coming in at fifth and Tennessee adding a few more pennies at the 13th lowest tax in the nation.

It doesn't look as if 2012 will bring many improvements in the tri-state region

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VIDEO: Mayor pro tem: 'Votes are there' for Augusta smoking ban 

Augusta's law department has put the final touches on a plan that would ban smoking in public places in Augusta.

"When you ban smoking, you are basically shutting down my business," said bar owner Rachel Brewer.

Brewer has a message for leaders reviewing a new draft that would ban smoking in public places like bars and restaurants.

"Bad idea for the small business owner," she said.

Eric Bailey, with the American Cancer Society, challenges them to prove it.

"And I don't like to call it a smoking ban because we are not taking away peoples individual freedom to smoke," he said.

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Guilty plea, 3 more indictments in cigarette trafficking case 

One man has pleaded guilty in Gwinnett County and three other persons have been indicted in DeKalb County in a continuing investigation into the illegal trafficking of untaxed cigarettes in Georgia, authorities said.

Cajetan Fernandes, a former employee of an alleged cigarette trafficker, pleaded guilty to one felony count of possession of cigarettes with counterfeit stamps, according to the Georgia Attorney General's office.

Fernandes was sentenced to 11 months 29 days in prison, with three months reduced to time served. He is to be turned over to U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement agents after he is released from jail.

Separately, a DeKalb County Grand Jury has returned indictments against Shaukat Sayani, Leslie Charles and Amin Hudda.

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New report tracks cancer trends 

A report released recently by the American Cancer Society indicates that while cancer death rates decreased in men and women between 2004 and 2008, the incidence of several cancers has increased in the past decade.

The report, titled Cancer Statistics 2012, indicates between 2004 and 2008, overall cancer incidence rates declined by 0.6 percent per year in men and were stable in women, while cancer death rates decreased by 1.8 percent per year in men and by 1.6 percent per year in women.

The cancers that are on the rise include cancers of the pancreas, liver, thyroid, and kidney and melanoma of the skin, as well as esophageal adenocarcinoma and certain subsites of oropharyngeal cancer associated with human papillomavirus (HPV) infection, according to the report.

Two of those types of cancers are also on the rise locally, according to Dr. Devaki Siva, a hematologist/oncologist with Marietta Memorial Hospital's Strecker Cancer Center. Cases of esophageal and oropharyngeal cancer-cancer of the head and neck- have increased, she said. The most recent data available indicates in Washington County, the incidence rate for oropharyngeal cancer in men is 16.1, while in women, it is 5.5. The rates are per 100,000, with adjustments having been made because of Washington County only having about 61,000 residents.

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EDITORIAL: Smoking ordinance: Clear the air  

LET'S REMEMBER that the year is 2012. There's no need to remind people about the health risks associated with tobacco use, or that adults have the freedom to partake of a legal product.

But let's also remember that any freedom a person exercises should not infringe on another person's freedom, or their health. Those lines can be blurry. But when the issue is smoking, they're pretty clear.

Unfortunately, a majority of Chatham County commissioners appear to have a tough time recognizing where to draw them. . . .

Commissioners are expected to take up this proposed ordinance again in February. Let's hope they do a better job of seeing the legitimate public health issue here.

One final thought: An estimated 20 percent of adult Americans smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control. That is a ratio of about four nonsmokers for every smoker.

Is it really easier to tell four people to "deal with it or leave?" Or is it easier to simply ask one person to step outside if he or she chooses to light up?

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University Officially Launches Tobacco-Free Policy 

As of Jan. 1, 2012, the campus of Emory University is tobacco-free. Smoking areas have been temporarily designated across campus in order to give people more time to quit smoking.

The beginning of the spring semester brings not only new classes and campus activities but also signifies the first time Emory students will experience the impact of the University’s new tobacco-free policy. The policy, which was implemented on Jan. 1, prohibits the use or sale of tobacco on Emory owned and leased property, as well as at Emory-sponsored or sanctioned events, with the exception of designated temporary smoking zones.

Beginning August 2012, there will no longer be temporary smoking zones and Emory will be completely tobacco-free.

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E-Cigarettes, private clubs and more gets pass in smoking ban  

Its was a decision that may surprise most people. Friday, Chatham County Commissioners voted 5 -4 to release tobacco shops, 21 and over bars, private clubs and electronic cigarettes, which do not emitt second-hand smoke, from the proposed smoking ban in unicorporated areas.

The smoking would still be banned in long-term health care facilities, outdoor work areas, airport and convention facilities, and bars and restaurants that allow patrons under 21.

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21-and-over bars, electronic cigarettes get pass in Chatham County smoking ban 

21-and-over bars, electronic cigarettes get pass in Chatham County smoking ban

Chatham County commissioners voted 5-4 this morning to eliminate private clubs, tobacco shops and bars that only serve those who are 21 and over from a proposed smoking ban ordinance for the unincorporated area. Electric cigarettes, which do not emit smoke, will also be allowed.

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