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Ban has reduced smoking across U of I, officials say  

Dozens of cigarette butts were mashed into the concrete, and the no-smoking signs were charred with the black residue of snuffed-out tobacco.

The evidence of smoking in the University of Iowa Hospitals parking ramp was easy to spot. Finding the smokers themselves was harder.

Smoking was banned at the hospital complex in 2006, and a U of I campuswide ban was implemented in concert with enactment of the Iowa Smokefree Air Act in July 2008. Campus police issued warnings to violators during the first year of the ban; now they are writing citations.

Since July, U of I police have cited 15 people for smoking on campus. One-third of the citations were issued at the hospital's Parking Ramp 2. Citations carry a $50 fine.

While the ban hasn't eliminated smoking on campus, it has helped decrease it, said U of I Public Safety Director Chuck Green.

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EHL: Running Rampant  

"The public health authorities never mention the main reason many Americans have for smoking heavily, which is that smoking is a fairly sure, fairly honorable form of suicide."

Kurt Vonnegut

Today's generation might have a difficult time understanding how pervasive cigarette smoking once was. I can remember school board and city council meetings during the 1960s and '70s when ashtrays littered the meeting rooms. . . .

As one gets older and closer to that great abyss, the prospect of debilitating diseases becomes more real. This is what motivated my most recent cessation. Coincidently at this time, I was approached at the Johnson County Fair by two young women working for the University of Iowa Hospitals on a national clinical research study. . . .

Participants are given a chest x-ray CT scan, breathing tests and questionnaires dealing with their health history. I figured this was a cheap way to get a free physical, plus $75 for taking part in the study. . . .

The University is still looking for volunteers and any past or present smokers 45 or older can call 353-8862 for more information.

My examination results are back and the bright side is that it appears my heart and lungs are normal - so it is a good time to quit when I am ahead.

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State response to Duncan petition delayed  

A brief responding to a petition for judicial review of the statewide smoking ban due this weekend will be a few days late.

The state was expected to respond to West Burlington bar Otis Campbell's petition by Aug. 22, according to an order from a Des Moines County District Court judge.

The state is expected to file its responding brief the first week of September, after requesting an extension, according to a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General's Office.

Otis Campbell's owner Larry Duncan's attorneys also turned in their brief a few days past the July 22 deadline.

The nearly 80-page brief in support of petition for judicial review can be summed up in one short sentence: The Iowa Smokefree Air Act is unconstitutional.

All but two of the brief's eight points argue against the constitutionality -- both Iowa's and the United States' -- of the ban.

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State response to Duncan petition delayed  

A brief responding to a petition for judicial review of the statewide smoking ban due this weekend will be a few days late.

The state was expected to respond to West Burlington bar Otis Campbell's petition by Aug. 22, according to an order from a Des Moines County District Court judge.

The state is expected to file its responding brief the first week of September, after requesting an extension, according to a spokesman for the Iowa Attorney General's Office.

Otis Campbell's owner Larry Duncan's attorneys also turned in their brief a few days past the July 22 deadline.

The nearly 80-page brief in support of petition for judicial review can be summed up in one short sentence: The Iowa Smokefree Air Act is unconstitutional.

All but two of the brief's eight points argue against the constitutionality -- both Iowa's and the United States' -- of the ban.

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Smoking war continues 

Smokers across campus are still adjusting to the smoke-free rules set in place last year, especially after UI police began issuing tickets for violating the policy last month.

Police gave their first tickets on July 14 to two people smoking outside Rienow Residence Hall.

Authorities have since issued 12 more tickets, said Charles Green, the assistant vice president for the UI police.

Police said all the violators have been on the West Campus, he said, mainly near the UI Hospitals and Clinics.

“We will always have problem areas,” Green said.

Hospital ramp 2 — directly connected to the hospital via a skywalk — has traditionally been a place where smokers go during breaks.

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Supervisors exclude courthouse parking lot from smoking ban  

The recent discussion of the smoking ban on county property ended Wednesday with the Cass County Board of Supervisors approving to allow smoking in the parking lot next to the courthouse.

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VIDEO: UI Tickets Smokers on Campus 

IOWA CITY - The University of Iowa has kicked it up a notch when it comes to enforcing the "no smoking" rules on campus.

University of Iowa President Sally Mason told Regents that campus police started issuing tickets to those who violate the smoking ban.

But Mason says officers are not targeting visitors or others who violate the rules accidentally.

"Tickets are only being issued if an individual clearly has done this before and continues to do. And my understanding is we've only issued 5 citations so far," said Mason.

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U of I steps up enforcement of smoking ban  

Cedar Falls, Ia. - University of Iowa officials have cracked down on smokers in the wake of complaints about people who light up near the hospital.

Campus police have started ticketing smokers who refuse to extinguish their cigarettes after they've been caught, U of I leaders told state regents Wednesday. More no-smoking signs also have gone up on campus.

Smoking is illegal at the U of I and other college campuses as part of a statewide smoking ban, which took effect more than a year ago.

The U of I's efforts are a response to complaints from a College of Medicine faculty member who reported smokers in the hospital parking ramp, officials said.

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Hampton bar under new management. .. 

A Hampton bar is under new management after having its liquor license suspended temporarily for violating the state public smoking ban.

The Alcoholic Beverages Division of the Iowa Department of Commerce suspended the liquor license for the Pit Row Pub for seven days, from 6 a.m. on July 27 through 6 a.m. on Aug. 3, for violations of the Iowa Smokefree Air Act.

Bar owners Kevin and Vickie Pralle also paid a $1,000 fine.

Vickie Pralle said the liquor license was up for renewal on Aug. 25. She said she and her husband agreed to voluntarily cancel the license to make it easier for new managers Tom and Jennifer Rooney to get their liquor license and reopen the bar quickly.

The Rooneys, who are leasing the building from the Pralles, have reopened the bar under the shortened name of Pit Row.

Pralle said she and her husband could have renewed their liquor license and continued to run the business, but "we do not believe in this (non-smoking) law. We don't think that it is fair."

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UIHC smoking ban burns some  

CEDAR FALLS --- Smoking around University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, which has been a smoke-free campus since 2006, is becoming a drag for some people.

Regent Bob Downer, of Iowa City, and UI officials have reported complaints about the lack of enforcement of the no smoking policy, particularly of people smoking in parking ramps, which is off limits.

"We are working with Chuck Green's office (Department of Public Safety) to review this issue, but we will never resolve it. There will always be people that smoke," UI Vice President for Medical Affairs Jean Robillard said.

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VIDEO: FDA Issues E-Cigarette Warning  

CEDAR RAPIDS – It's advertised as a way around Iowa's smoking ban. But even though there's no smoke, there are some burning health concerns.

Makers of electric cigarettes pushed the product as the healthy way to smoke. Federal Health Officials say that's not true. E-cigarettes emit a puff of flavored water vapor with nicotine and other chemicals to inhale. . . .

North Liberty's Cigarette Outlet specializes in all kinds of tobacco products, and just recently started selling electronic cigarettes.

"When they first came out, we were selling quite a bit. We sold out of our stock,” North Liberty Cigarette Outlet clerk Gabe Rael said. . . .

The Iowa Attorney General's office is beginning to take a look at electronic cigarettes to see if there are any legal issues with using them in public.

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Smoking ban case under way  

West Burlington bar owner Larry Duncan's ongoing fight against the statewide smoking ban boils down to one short sentence: The Iowa Smokefree Air Act is unconstitutional.

What the Otis Campbell's owner has said since the ban was enacted July 1, 2008 -- and repeated often since that time -- has been expounded upon, in nearly 80 pages, by his attorneys Darwin Bunger and George Eichhorn in a brief in support of petition for judicial review.

The brief, which was due on July 22 based on an order by 8th Judicial District Judge John G. Linn, was filed in Des Moines County District Court Friday afternoon.

All but two of the brief's eight points argue against the constitutionality -- both Iowa's and the United States' -- of the ban.

"Casinos, tobacco stores, and hotel/motels belong to the same class of persons who own, operate and manage a lawful business that wants to sell their goods and services to all people, which include people who choose to smoke," the attorneys wrote.

Opponents of the statewide smoking ban have often cited Article 1, Section 6 of the Iowa Constitution, which states that the "general assembly shall not grant to any citizen, or class of citizens, privileges or immunities, which, upon the same terms shall not equally belong to all citizens."

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The cost of quitting smoking could Take your breath away  

"You always hear about how expensive it is," she said. "And that can be a little scary, too."

Nachtmann shares her fear with smokers nationwide, said Kara Schroeder, the anti-tobacco coordinator with Hillcrest Family Services.

"That is absolutely something I hear all the time, about how expensive it is to quit," she said.

That worry is not without justification. Quitting can cost, and it can cost a lot.

The popular prescription medicine, Chantix, helps reduce the urge to smoke, but decreased desire with the help of this drug could cost about $345 without insurance, according to the American

Ways to cut cost of quitting

Check your insurance policy. A survey by America's Health Insurance Plans, a majority of insurers reported providing full coverage for some form of smoking-cessation treatment.

Take advantage of free counseling and support services. The American Lung Association recommends calling the national quit line at 800-QUIT-NOW to find out about local free programs. . . .

But that was then, Schroeder said.

While the anti-tobacco worker said she did not know how much the quit smoking industry made, she said she would guess it was a profitable one, although she said that smokers looking to quit have many more options now than they did before.

"You can get help for free most of the time now," she said. "There is help. It is available to people. You just need to know where to look. Ask around. Call the proper organizations. It can be done affordably."

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Iowa GOP candidates give views on smoking ban, gambling 

Five GOP candidates for governor weighed in on the state's smoking ban, casino gambling and medical marijuana during a forum Wednesday.

The candidates competing for the chance to take on Democratic Gov. Chet Culver complained about the smoking ban that went into effect last year and was signed into law by Culver.

Some of their harshest criticism was aimed at an exemption carved out by the Iowa Legislature that allows smoking on the gaming floors of casinos, while still banning smoking at bars, restaurants and other workplaces.

"This is a perfect example of why the legislative process is so broken and why the processes in Des Moines are so broken," Cedar Rapids businessman Christian Fong, one of the candidates seeking the GOP nomination, said during the forum at Drake University.

Sioux City businessman Bob Vander Plaats said he doesn't smoke, but thinks private property owners should be able to decide whether smoking is allowed. . . .

Rep. Christopher Rants of Sioux City, who opposed the smoking ban, said if elected governor he'd choose to spend his "political capital" on issues besides repealing the ban.

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Larry Bob's Oasis in Davenport faces smoking ban punishment 

The proposed punishment for Larry Bob's Oasis' violation of Iowa's Smokefree Air Act could have been worse, but Davenport owner Larry Hergert said it could have been much better, too.

Hergert learned Tuesday he faces a 14-day suspension of his liquor license for violating the statewide smoking ban. The proposed decision by administrative law judge John M. Priester stated a 30-day suspension was considered but rejected because the violations were "minimal."

The decision also noted two verified complaints by Davenport police officers in late February and early March, which Hergert thinks should merely result in a $200 fine. . . .

He's told one bartender of the proposed punishment by the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. Three people will be out of work, he said, two bartenders and himself. At minimum, he has to make about $450 per day to keep the bar going.

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