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UK students plan smoking strategies as ban approaches 

After nearly a year of laying the groundwork to enforce its new policy, UK will officially become a tobacco-free campus on Nov. 19 -- the day of the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.

The University of Kentucky will spend $25,000 to $30,000 on more than 100 signs declaring UK a "Tobacco-Free Campus."

However, many of the signs already placed contain a misplaced hyphen in lettering in a red Ghostbusters-like circle.

Bob Wiseman, vice president of facilities management, said officials noticed the hyphen problem this week and will correct it easily without adding to the cost.

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Crestview Hills Votes To Support Smoking Ban 

Crestview Hills city council met Thursday night.

Some want to snuff out cigarettes in Northern Kentucky.

This Thursday night, in a very close vote, one Northern Kentucky city council says it supports an indoor smoking ban inside public buildings.

If this ban passes at the county level, many restaurants in the Crestview Hills Town Center will be affected.

The vote was close. Tied at 3 to 3 actually, with the tie breaking “yes” coming from the mayor of Crestview Hills.

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• Crestview Hills Votes To Support Smoking Ban  

This Thursday night, in a very close vote, one Northern Kentucky city council says it supports an indoor smoking ban inside public buildings.

If this ban passes at the county level, many restaurants in the Crestview Hills Town Center will be affected.

The vote was close. Tied at 3 to 3 actually, with the tie breaking “yes” coming from the mayor of Crestview Hills.

Crestview Hills City Council decided to support an ordinance, urging Kenton, Boone and Campbell counties to prohibit smoking inside public buildings.

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Panel pushes for smoking ban  

CRESTVIEW HILLS - Nearly two years ago, county officials in Northern Kentucky began studying a possible regional, indoor, smoke-free workplace law, but the issue has yet to come to a vote.

Tuesday, Crestview Hills' economic development and zoning committee attempted to prod county officials to take action.

By a 4-2 vote, the committee of three council members and three residents recommended that their council adopt a resolution encouraging Boone, Kenton and Campbell fiscal courts to adopt a public indoor smoking ban.

Crestview Hills City Council meets Thursday. . . .

Linda Vogelpohl, chair of Northern Kentucky Action, a coalition of health organizations and others who support a regional public indoor smoking ban, cited a recent University of Kentucky study that concluded restaurants and bars in Kentucky counties bordering Ohio did not profit economically because of Ohio's smoke-free law.

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Crestview Hills seeks smoke-ban views 

This afternoon, city officials want to hear what business owners, residents and other stakeholders think about a proposed indoor smoking ban for restaurants, bars and offices.

Crestview Hills economic development and zoning committee will hold at public forum on the issue at 4 p.m. at the city building, 50 Town Center Boulevard.

No decision will be made today. Council Member Dave Kramer, who chairs the economic development and zoning committee, said the meeting is strictly for information-gathering and educational purposes to determine where the city goes from here.

In September, Kramer, a former smoker, suggested that city officials consider an indoor smoking ban for public places because of concerns that a vocal minority was holding up adoption of regional smoke-free legislation governing restaurants and other Northern Kentucky workplaces. He says it's the right thing to do for health reasons.

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Another cigarette tax hike could help Kentucky budget, Gov. Beshear says 

Gov. Steve Beshear suggested Tuesday another hike in the cigarette tax could be part of a solution to solving the state's grim budget outlook and help reduce smoking.

In answering a question about Kentuckians' relative unhealthiness at a breakfast with Louisville business people, Beshear said the state should "continue to look at increasing our cigarette tax."

"No question it makes a lot of difference," he said, referring to the tax's effect on habits. "We have got a lot of teens smoking in this state."

Hard hit by losses in income and sales taxes, the state's revenue is expected to be at least $1.3 billion short of expenses over the next two years, Beshear said at the event, which was sponsored by Greater Louisville Inc., the metro chamber of commerce.

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• Tobacco czar maps new agency's path 

Today Dr. Lawrence Deyton, who at 57 still goes by his childhood nickname of "Bopper," is the nation's first anti-smoking czar. He directs a new agency in the federal Food and Drug Administration -- the Center for Tobacco Products -- that is writing rules to govern the previously unregulated tobacco industry.

In last week's interview, Deyton twice stressed that he is not an anti-tobacco zealot.

"I am not an expert in tobacco," he said. "But I am an expert in public health, and I am an expert in government health programs."

And what Deyton promises is "methodical, science-based tobacco regulation."

But Deyton already has been greeted with worry from growers in tobacco-producing states like Kentucky, and three lawsuits from the industry challenging the agency's authority to restrict advertising and marketing.

The center was created under a sweeping anti-smoking law passed by Congress and signed into law by President Barack Obama on June 22.

Its three key goals are to reduce youth smoking rates, which in recent years have leveled off at about 20 percent; to reduce the overall toll of tobacco-related disease, which annually kills more than 400,000 Americans; and to provide the public with information about the ingredients of tobacco products and their health effects.

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Hospital grounds go tobacco free Nov. 19 

Frankfort Regional Medical Center is going tobacco free - outdoors and in.

In conjunction with the American Cancer Society's 34th Great American Smokeout Challenge on Nov. 19, the local medical center is creating a tobacco free environment.

Administrators and medical staff believe the move is vital to promoting the health of patients, visitors, employees, volunteers, medical staff and others, according to a news release.

Tobacco use of any kind will not be permitted:

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City wide smoking ban hot topic at council meeting 

The possibility of a smoking ban for the city of Middlesboro was discussed at Tuesday night’s city council meeting.

Council member Ronnie Carter said several citizens had asked him about the possibility of a smoking ban in the city. Carter said he wanted to bring the matter before the council to discuss and find out if it was something that they could vote on.

Carter expressed his opinion on the matter.

“I don’t have a big problem with [smoking],” said Carter, adding that he thought smokers were more courteous now to those who didn’t smoke.

Council members Rob Lincks and Gary Mills also voiced their opposition to a ban.

When asked by council, Safety Director James Pursifull said that no city building had a smoking ban. . . .

Middlesboro resident Angela Jackson addressed the council and urged them to consider non-smokers in the debate.

“You have to work out something where you’re fair to everybody,” said Jackson.

Council members agreed that in order for the matter to be voted on, concerned citizens would likely have to present a petition.

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Smoking ban is in effect  

Today is the first business day since the smoking ban started. There are people who were strongly for the ban, against it, and those who are neutral.

Most supporters say it is a health issue, but others say their rights are being violated.

Harold Burchell smoked for 18 years. He gave up the habit, and is glad Prestonsburg restaurants are now smoke-free.

"I do believe people have a right to smoke, that would be their choice. However, I also understand the medical problems caused by smoking," Burchell said.

Jerry Stone is not a smoker, but says the ban doesn't really concern him one way or the other.

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• State's smoking rate still high  

Smoking by women is one of the gravest preventive health concerns in Kentucky. While numerous smoking cessation and public health programs have been initiated to address the problem, Kentucky women continue to smoke in numbers that lead the nation and they are not quitting or even trying to quit, according to health experts at the University of Kentucky.

The median state prevalence of current smoking was 22.4 percent, but Kentucky prevalence is 34.7 percent (the next highest was West Virginia at 34 percent), while the median percent of daily smokers who quit is 39.8 percent - in Kentucky, it's only 28.9 percent, according to data from the Center for the Advancement of Women's Health at the University of Kentucky in Lexington.

Further, the median percent of daily smokers who made a quit attempt was 58 percent, but in Kentucky it was only 43.4 percent.

"So we are not quitting in Kentucky," said Dr. Leslie Crofford, the center's director. "We're not even trying to quit."

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Sidewalks next to UK not smoke-free yet 

City sidewalks adjacent to the University of Kentucky campus will not be covered by the university's upcoming smoking ban -- at least not soon.

Anthany Beatty, assistant vice president for campus services, asked the Urban County Council at its work session last week to let UK enforce its tobacco-free policy "to the curb."

A resolution adopting a memorandum of understanding with UK was placed on a special-meeting docket on Tuesday.

UK wants smoke-free to include sidewalks

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EDITORIAL: Coffin nails 

Health advocates in Kentucky should follow the lead of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. The new law will require cigarette packages to carry graphic pictures of disease caused by smoking, accompanied by stark warnings such as "Smoking can kill you," just in case the consumer didn't understand the picture.

Those health advocates need to draw the same kind of stark image for lawmakers in their bid to get the state to cough up more money for smoking cessation programs for Kentucky Medicaid patients. Apparently, a 2007 bill authorized such a program, but it was never funded. Meanwhile, Kentucky wallows in these misery-laden statistics:

No. 3 in the nation in adult smoking rates. (Yes, we fell from No. 1 to No. 3, but that's no cause for celebration.)

Highest cancer death rate in the country . . .

As it is, the health advocates who spoke out this week are not asking for the moon: They want the state to kick in $1.5 million, which would shake loose $3.5 million in federal funds, for Medicaid stop-smoking programs in Kentucky.

One advocate said it is penny-wise and pound-foolish for the state not to offer this life-saving service.

We wouldn't be that polite about it.

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University of Kentucky Tobacco-Free Policy 

"Enacting the tobacco-free policy at the University of Kentucky in November will greatly improve the campus atmosphere for all members of our community," said UK President Lee T. Todd, Jr. "This policy has already created a healthier environment for patients, workers, and visitors at the UK HealthCare Medical Campus, and we look forward to the long-term benefits of its implementation throughout all areas of the UK campus."

The University of Kentucky campus will become completely tobacco-free on all campus grounds and parking areas on November 19, 2009, coinciding with the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout®, held annually on the third Thursday in November. A tobacco-free policy, which prohibits the use of all tobacco products on all grounds and parking areas (cigarettes, chew, pipes, cigars, snuff, etc.), has already been in effect at the UK Medical Center and all UK HealthCare-owned facilities within Fayette County since November 20, 2008, and will now apply to all areas of the contiguous UK campus in Lexington, indoors and out. . . .

Frequently Asked Questions

-When does the tobacco-free policy go into effect?

November 19, 2009, in conjunction with the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout.

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• Up in smoke?  

In less than a month, though, one college campus will no longer allow any tobacco on its grounds-the University of Kentucky.

On Nov. 19, UK will join the American Cancer Society's Great American Smoke-Out initiative and will enact a completely tobacco-free policy. The policy will apply to all UK property within Fayette County, and to everyone on campus: students, faculty, visitors, etc.

The policy will eliminate all tobacco-related practices from the campus. People will not even be able to smoke a cigarette in their own cars.

"The goal is to promote a healthy environment so people can live, work and learn," said Ellen Hahn, the director of the Kentucky Center for Smoke-Free Policy.

Hahn said the Board of Trustees at UK has been discussing the move for several years. Currently, smoking is prohibited in or within 20 feet of all buildings. Last year, the UK Medical Center became completely tobacco-free.

"There has been very little push-back," Hahn said. "There has been a lot of positive support."

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