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It is safe to say Hoosiers do not look forward to the release of national health rankings with quite the same eagerness folks in Florida and Texas harbor for the weekly round of football polls.
The latest survey, covering one of our several "strong" categories, is out. We ought to be more than disappointed to be number two.
Consistently in the top 10 year after year, Indiana trailed only West Virginia in the percentage of adults using cigarettes in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. . . .
The Indiana General Assembly couldn't muster the willpower this past session to join the 26 states with comprehensive smoking bans, but Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, vows to renew his push next year.
The City-County Council is close to mustering enough votes to join more than 300 cities with total smoking prohibitions; but sadly, Mayor Greg Ballard says he would veto such a measure for the sake of local business. His stance ignores ample evidence that going smoke-free is not hazardous to the health of bars and eateries.
We do know that smoking -- and, critically important, secondhand smoke -- are killers. And that we arm them, as individuals, as communities and as governments.
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Watch your back, West Virginia. Indiana is now No. 2 -- and gaining -- when it comes to smoking.
More than 26 percent of all Hoosier adults smoked in 2008, according to a report released Thursday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Indiana was sixth the previous year, but it has puffed past the national median of 20.6 percent -- not exactly something to celebrate.
"It saddens me tremendously," said state Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, who sponsored legislation last spring for a comprehensive smoke-free workplace law. "I knew we were up there, but I didn't know we had inched our way up to No. 2. We need to turn that around."
Indiana has ranked in the top 10 in recent years for smoking prevalence. The difference between sixth and second is not statistically significant, and the top 10 clump closely together, said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation. . . .
Experts recommend three measures to address a high rate of smokers: Passing a statewide, comprehensive smoke-free law, increasing state taxes and increasing the amount of money for tobacco prevention efforts.
"It's a trifecta," said Danny McGoldrick, vice president for research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "When you put those three things together, that's when you have the biggest impact."
Many of the states that have the lowest smoking rates -- California, Arizona and New Jersey -- are those that have been the most aggressive about indoor smoking laws and about state taxes that drive up the cost of cigarettes, said Dr. Thomas Frieden, the CDC's director.
After a setback last month that put its future in question, a proposal to ban smoking in most Indianapolis workplaces will return to the City-County Council in a few weeks.
A 16-12 council vote Monday brought the measure out of limbo, reinvigorating a heated, months-long battle pitting public health against personal freedoms. The proposed ban, which would strengthen an existing ordinance to include venues such as bars and bowling alleys, is scheduled to go before the council at its Nov. 30 meeting.
That would set up a potential showdown between the council and Mayor Greg Ballard, who has said he opposes expansion of the existing ban and made clear to council Republicans before the initial vote that he didn't want the ordinance to land on his desk.
Though lead sponsors admit they face a battle to get the measure passed, it could pick up support from some council members who previously voted against it.
In fact, in the past four years, more than 250 municipalities across the country -- including 11 in Indiana -- have limited smoking in those public places. Which begs a question: What makes Indianapolis different?
Experts say it is a combination of factors: Hoosiers' reluctance to change; the absence of a strong health culture; and a cautious political climate.
Others point to a lack of support from leaders, including Mayor Greg Ballard, who, after weeks of silence on the issue, last week said the city's current ban on smoking in restaurants and other public spaces works just fine and no further restrictions are needed.
On Monday, the City-County Council voted 14-13 to table the issue. It would take support from a majority of the 29-member council to revive debate on the ban.
Running through the current of opposition, experts say, is an individualistic spirit rooted deep in Indiana's pioneer culture.
"There's a real sort of libertarian streak in this city: Don't let government tell me what to do, and don't let government tell businesses what to do," said Dave Strong, an Indiana University-Purdue University Indianapolis sociology professor who studies social movements. "There's no question we're months and, in some cases, years behind the curve." . . .
But there's another powerful business lobby speaking in favor of the ban: the Indianapolis Chamber of Commerce.
Roland Dorson, the chamber's president, said having a comprehensive smoking ban bolsters the city's progressive image, and that helps attract talent.
A proposal to ban smoking in nearly all Indianapolis workplaces faces an uncertain future after a narrowly divided City-County Council tabled it Monday night.
The 14-13 vote means the ordinance can return to the council agenda with majority support, but some on the council said achieving that could be difficult. The vote is the latest in a series of close decisions by the 29-member body in recent months.
Opponents of the ordinance, which would strengthen a current ban on smoking in most restaurants and public spaces such as hotel lobbies, were declaring victory after Monday's vote. . . .
No public comment was allowed Monday, but nearly all the seats in the Public Assembly Room of the City-County Building were filled.
Opponents donned red shirts to signify stopping the resolution and had to be subdued for making comments during the council members' remarks. Proponents wore green shirts to promote passing the ban.
"I don't think this council is going to bring it back," said Brad Klopfenstein, former executive director of the Indiana Licensed Beverage Association who is leading an opposition group called Save Indianapolis Bars. "I'm glad to see they're representing the rights of adults to make adult decisions."
Others interpreted the vote differently. Bruce Hetrick is a volunteer for Smoke Free Indy whose wife died of cancer after years of working in a smoke-filled environment.
"We have tonight stared in the face of overwhelming health and economic evidence and just scoffed at it," Hetrick said. "This delay tonight is another death sentence. It's deeply disappointing."
A new study was released today on secondhand smoke in Indianapolis. The study measured air quality at ten workplaces in the city.
The group Smoke-Free Indy found the indoor air pollution was 11 times higher in these venues compared to smoke-free establishments.
"It is time to enact a comprehensive public health ordinance that seeks to protect workers in Indianapolis - our patients - from the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke. It is unconscionable especially in this current economy to place our citizens in a position of having to decide between their own health and whether or not to keep their current job," said Dr. Christopher Doehring, St. Francis Hospital.
The results were announced at Crackers Comedy Club, a smoke- free venue. This comes as the City-County Council considers expanding the smoking ban to all work places in Indianapolis.
Purdue University is considering a policy that would ban smoking anywhere on campus and in university vehicles. The university is now gathering feedback on the issue from the Purdue community.
If the proposal is approved, Purdue University will be one of more than 300 universities nationwide with a smoke-free campus. A similar policy already is in effect at several other Indiana colleges and universities, including Indiana University's Bloomington campus.
The proposal is being considered because of evidence of the effects of secondhand smoke, said Alphonso Diaz, executive vice president for business and finance and treasurer.
He added that smoking by faculty and staff contributes to increased absences, higher insurance rates, and lower productivity.
Graduate student Jessica Raffelson is adamantly against the proposal.
Smokers in Indianapolis soon could be banned from lighting up in bars, bowling alleys and nightclubs.
In coming weeks, the City-County Council will debate a proposal to strengthen an existing workplace smoking ban that prohibits lighting up in Indianapolis restaurants and public spaces such as hotel lobbies and elevators.
The new ordinance, to be introduced to the council Monday, would eliminate exemptions and give Indianapolis a comprehensive ban similar to those in 11 other Indiana communities and 26 states, including Illinois and Ohio.
"We're way behind on this," said Missy Lewis, chairwoman of Smoke Free Indy, a coalition of health advocates that lobbied for the existing ban. "This is about people being able to be healthy in their workplace."
Even with momentum for smoking bans in the state and nationwide, the debate is expected to be heated.
Indianapolis is now a test market for a new kind of tobacco. Normally, it's easy to tell when people are getting their nicotine fix. But smoking laws are changing and people can't light up in as many places as they used to.
"So, the tobacco companies are coming up with alternative so people can still have their tobacco."
R.J. Reynolds company is now selling what's called dissolvable tobacco under the brand name of Camel. It's actually tobacco you put in your mouth and it dissolves on your tongue. The product is being tested in only three cities and Indianapolis is one of them.
"We aren't happy that individuals are being used as human guinea pigs. " Karla Sneegas, Indiana Tobacco Prevention.
Indiana Tobacco Prevention is furious about the newest way to keep people from quitting, and that the dissolvable tobacco is on shelves in Indiana. "They don't know what the long term risks are."
Nearly three hours of debate ended without a single change. The Elkhart city council voted 5-4 against an exemption that would have allowed smoking inside bars and pubs, so long as they only allowed those over the age of 21 inside.
Democrat Dave Osborne joined Republicans Brian Thomas, David Henke and Mary Olson voting in favor of the proposed changes. Democrats Ron Troyer, Brent Curry, Tonda Hines, Ralph Bean and Council President Rod Roberson voted against it.
City leaders passed the original smoking ban in April 2008, but bars had one year to comply.
"I just don't want to get addicted and suffer when I'm old," Pacheco said. The Northrop High School student was one of a record majority of Indiana youths who - responding to a survey last year - said they didn't smoke.
According to the report released Thursday by Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation, youth smoking rates in the state have dropped to the lowest levels on record.
The organization's executive director and a local health official said the main reasons for the decline were ordinances in the state banning smoking in public places, including Fort Wayne's comprehensive smoking ban; higher cigarette prices brought on by a 2007 state cigarette tax increase; and education.
Smoking rates among high school students dropped from 23.2 percent in 2006 to 18.3 percent in 2008, a decline of 21 percent. The totals come from a survey of about 3,700 students in the state.
The council passed the smoking ban for the city of Franklin. The ban will take effect in 30 days.
Johnson County - The Franklin City Council is set to vote on a stricter smoking ban Monday night.
Members of the American Legion in Franklin discussed the ban before the vote Monday, considering how they would cast their ballot.
"We've got one now, why don't they just leave it the way it is," said Bob Harris, a non-smoker.
Franklin passed a smoking ban in 2006 that covers most public places but excludes bars and clubs. . . .
This latest plan would make it illegal to light up in all public places, making it the most restrictive in Johnson County.
It wasn't a 35-year smoker who recently won the statewide Quit 2 Win contest in Indiana. According to David Ayers, a spokesman for the Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Agency, it was a 20-year-old mother who had been smoking since she was 9. She adopted the habit from a parent, and her husband also smoked.
Ayers said the young woman quit cold turkey -- and for her effort, she won $2,500 in Gov. Mitch Daniel's campaign to turn Hoosier smokers into ex-smokers.
The governor's challenge was not enough, though, to convince many hardcore smokers to kick the habit. But a 62-cent increase in the federal excise tax on cigarettes might just do the trick. . . .
Jennifer Walker of Ready, Set, Quit Tobacco said when the state tax was levied in 2007, over a year's time, there was more than a 20 percent drop in cigarette consumption. She is hoping this new tax will have the same effect.
Walker has been active in Morgan County, trying to get government officials to ban smoking in local restaurants and in the workplace. She has personal reasons for being involved.
"My cousin was a smoker and only 42 years old when he died of lung cancer. He left behind three children," Walker said.
The activist said she becomes incensed when she sees how tobacco companies target youth in their ad campaigns, luring a whole new generation to a lifelong habit.
"There are fancy new flavored brands like chocolate or strawberry,"
The Fort Wayne Fire Department is stepping up its compliance checks in places where smoking is banned.
Those who wish to submit a complaint may call the city's call center at 311 between 7:30 a.m. and 5:30 p.m. Monday through Friday. On weekends or after hours, call 427-1222. The fire department hotline number, 427-7665, also remains an option, although emergency situations take priority.
BLOOMINGTON -- The Monroe County commissioners have amended the county's smoking ordinance to prohibit smoking in vehicles carrying children 13 and younger.
The ordinance won't officially go into effect until after it is advertised twice in local newspapers. County attorney David Schilling said today he expects that process will take about two weeks.