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Uniontown Hospital Now Smoke-Free; Fine Set  

A hospital in Fayette County is the latest to go smoke-free.

The ban on smoking in Uniontown Hospital, or on property it controls, went into effect Monday.

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Hospital snuffs out smoking 

Smokers beware: As of today, Uniontown Hospital is smoke-free and violators may be prosecuted.

"We are going to be completely smoke-free on our entire medical campus, which includes the block the hospital is on and the medical arts building next to us,'' said Paul Bacharach, hospital president and chief executive officer.

The hospital is taking a stricter position by banning smoking inside and outside, especially at its entrances.

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Blawnox High-Rise Fire Caused By Cigarette  

Investigators say a fire in Blawnox that forced dozens of elderly residents of a high-rise to evacuate was caused by smoking.

Officials say a resident fell asleep while smoking a cigarette in a fifth-floor apartment.

Two years ago, a fire started in the same building because a tenant threw a cigarette in a wastebasket.

The Allegheny County Housing Authority is considering changing its policy.

"What we're going to do is send a survey out . . .

Aggazio says he spoke with evacuated residents at Hoboken Presbyterian Church.

"And I talked to smokers and non-smokers alike and it was very unanimous that they wish that we could ban smoking in the units," he said.

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Arbitrator rules ACMH's smoking ban unreasonable  

EAST FRANKLIN -- Employees of one union at ACMH Hospital have won the right to smoke in a designated area, after an arbitrator ruled against a hospital policy this week.

The union representing the nonprofessional employees at the hospital had challenged a ban that was initiated Jan. 1 that prohibits smoking by anyone anywhere on hospital property, in an unfair labor practices complaint.

The arbitrator in the complaint decided the hospital's policy is unreasonable because it fails to make reasonable accommodation for employees to smoke in a designated area -- a past practice of the hospital, it was ruled as well.

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• Man says he was fired for complaining about judge smoking 

A former Bucks County employee said he was fired from his job last year because he complained about a county judge smoking in his courthouse office, a federal lawsuit alleges.

But the defendant in the civil suit, the county's court administrator, said the county employee was fired for poor job performance, according to subsequent court filings.

Douglas Praul, the court administrator, also denied having any knowledge of county Judge Alan Rubenstein smoking in county offices, according to court records.

James Frederick, a former supervisor of domestic relations officers, filed the suit in U.S. district court in Philadelphia in August. The suit alleges that Frederick's right to free speech was violated because he complained about the smoking in a county building, a matter of public concern. . . .

There is a no-smoking ban in all county buildings. Frederick allegedly sent a memo to a supervisor complaining about the smoking. That supervisor allegedly told him in response that everyone in the courthouse knew that Rubenstein smoked in the building.

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Funding cut for Franklin County stop-smoking program  

The Healthy Communities Partnership of Greater Franklin County has had to eliminate its classes to help people with their efforts to quit smoking. Grant Coordinator McCole said she had to tell about 10 people that an eight-week class that was to start in a couple of weeks was being canceled, and to turn away a handful of people looking for help in kicking the habit.

"We had classes scheduled, but they're all gone now," she said.

Last year the organization conducted about 10 classes that were completed by about 60 people. . . .

McCole said the most frustrating part of the financial cuts is not being able to assist people who are looking for help to better their health. McCole said that she comes from a family of smokers and that if a relative of hers were to come to her now looking for a class to help them quit, she doesn't have any to offer.

"To turn them away is heart-breaking," she said.

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Franklin County area smokers fired up about cigar tax  

The struggling state coffers will burden smokers to get more revenue.

Little cigars -- the ones that come with filters in sweet flavors and look like cigarettes -- will more than double in price because of the state budget crisis.

Beginning Nov. 1, the cigars will cost an additional $1.60 per pack. The price will jump from 99 cents a pack to $2.59. At the same time, the price of cigarettes will go up an additional 25 cents.

"They need to start picking on the drinkers for a change, and not just the smokers," said Melody Hopkins, manager of Puff N Snuff, Chambersburg. "There's not a lot of people who would die because you light up on the road, but a lot of people die when you drink and drive."

The state tax on small cigars was only recently passed. It equals about 8 cents per stick.

"There were some proposals that involved all cigars and smokeless tobacco, but the one that passed was for small cigars," said Wendy Lewis, budget analysis for the Democratic House Committee on Appropriations in Harrisburg.

Currently there is no tax on small cigars.

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Newville weighs prohibiting tobacco products in parks 

Municipal parks are designed to provide a place where residents can take walks, play sports and enjoy green space and fresh air. And in the Borough of Newville, park air could get fresher.

Borough Council is expected to vote Tuesday on an ordinance prohibiting the use of tobacco products at Newville Community Park and the Newville Rails-to-Trails trailhead.

Council’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the borough building on West Street. Public comment will be accepted on the issue.

Borough officials said they have received complaints about the use of tobacco products near children using the park and the trailhead.

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Newville weighs prohibiting tobacco products in parks 

Municipal parks are designed to provide a place where residents can take walks, play sports and enjoy green space and fresh air. And in the Borough of Newville, park air could get fresher.

Borough Council is expected to vote Tuesday on an ordinance prohibiting the use of tobacco products at Newville Community Park and the Newville Rails-to-Trails trailhead.

Council’s meeting begins at 7 p.m. in the borough building on West Street. Public comment will be accepted on the issue.

Borough officials said they have received complaints about the use of tobacco products near children using the park and the trailhead.

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Police: Mom Left Baby Home Alone To Rob Store Of Tobacco  

Jacqueline Moore, 20, of Rockwood, is accused of putting on a mask and pointing a toy gun at a clerk at the S & S Quick Stop. Police said Moore demanded all of the snuff tobacco behind the counter. The clerk refused, and Moore allegedly fled the scene.

Moore was arrested on charges including leaving her 5-month-old baby home alone.

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• $700,000 Monroe County Jury Award in Careless-Smoking Case  

A Monroe County jury has awarded $700,000 to the insurance company for the owner of a Marshalls Creek building that was destroyed by fire as a result of careless smoking by an employee of an electrical contractor, it was announced today.

The jury deliberated less than two hours at the end of a two-day trial before finding on behalf of Harleysville Insurance Company, represented by the Law Offices of Robert A. Stutman, of Ft. Washington, Pa, in the civil action stemming from the April 21, 2006, fire at the unoccupied building, a former Odd-Lot Outlet store, on Route 209 in Smithfield Township. The 20-year-old building, which was demolished following the fire, was in the process of being renovated into a day care center. Its owner was local developer Frank Riccobono.

Daniel Hogan, Esq., who tried the case for the plaintiff, established that the only possible cause of the fire was careless smoking by one of the two employees of the electrical contractor that had been working in the attic of the two-story structure. Investigators determined that the discarded, smoldering cigarette from the worker ignited the aged attic insulation, which over time loses fire-retardant qualities.

"The worker never admitted smoking while in the attic, where the fire started, that day," said Hogan. "But he testified to carrying cigarettes and a lighter to work and to having been a habitual smoker."

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Mom's cigarette ignites oxygen supply; son charged 

A western Pennsylvania man has been charged with neglecting his disabled mother who weighed just 70 pounds when she died of burns caused when her cigarette caught her oxygen supply on fire.

Police say 53-year-old Rosemary McCurdy died Dec. 26 after suffering facial burns from a "flash fire." The woman had multiple sclerosis and had been bedridden for five years when she was burned Dec. 21.

Police say 22-year-old Victor McCurdy didn't take her to the hospital until five days after she was burned.

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VIDEO: Lit Cigarette Blamed For Fatal Assisted-Living Home Fire 

BRIDGEVILLE, Pa. --

The state fire marshal said a lit cigarette is to blame for a fire at an assisted living high-rise that killed an 86-year-old woman.

More than 100 senior citizens were evacuated Monday from the 11-story Bridgeville Towers at 479 Bank St.

Fire crews were called to the building shortly after 7 p.m. and found Dorothy Haskins burned inside a fourth-floor apartment, where the fire started.

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• Today’s smokeless tobacco is just as addictive and marketed to the young 

It's a misconception that just because you don't smoke nicotine, it is less addictive and less dangerous than a cigarette.

That's the fallacy and danger behind a marketing ploy for a new take on a centuries old product, snuff.

Whereas the old snuff, popular in the 1970s and 1980s in round paper containers or bags under the name Copenhagen or Skoal, was chewed and spit out, today's snuff comes in fancy containers with equally avant-garde aromas and names. And unlike its predecessor, this snuff isn't pinched into one's gums or chewed, it's inhaled through the nostrils. And it isn't being used just by baseball players or teenage boys emulating their sports idols.

Snuff is being marketed to tweens, teens and college students, both female and male, as hip, cool and healthy. It's available for a nominal cost with a simple click online.

Yet, it's anything but harmless, according to an area ear, nose and throat specialist, who is concerned that in any form, nicotine is extremely addictive. And what makes snuff so dangerous is that it doesn't fall under any federal regulations, according to a local tobacco expert.

Many feel it's the burning and inhaling of tobacco that exposes users to most carcinogens. Some specialists feel that, for health reasons, if you are going to use tobacco, you are better off using nasal snuff. But nasal snuff contains nicotine and is highly addictive, says Dr. Zephron Newmark, an ENT specialist with Geisinger Wyoming Valley Medical Center, Plains Township.

"There is danger for long-term use," said Newmark. "If you become hooked, it can be difficult to stop."

Tony Delonti, a member of the local chapter of the American Lung Association who also serves on the Luzerne County Tobacco Free Coalition, said these latest products are outside the realm of the regular tobacco industry. "It's not a direct tobacco product so it's not regulated by the Food and Drug Administration and it doesn't come under the recent tobacco guidelines passed by the Obama administration," he said. . . .

Just how addictive and seductive is cigarette smoking and a nicotine habit to area youth?

According to a 2007 survey by Steps To A HealthierPA Luzerne County, more than half of the teens surveyed (52 percent) reported trying a cigarette. About 12 percent indicated that they had smoked their first cigarette before the age of 13. About 22 percent smoked during the past month with about 7 percent saying they smoked at school. Approximately 14 percent said they smoked 20 or more days in the past month.

More than half of the respondents (53 percent) also said they had tried to quite the habit during the past year.

Education still remains the most viable tool to get children to pass up on snuff

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Cigarette Smokers to Pay Price for New Budget 

Now that the state budget has been signed, those affected are getting a look at how the spending plan will affect them.

For some tobacco users it's going to mean higher prices to take a drag.

Sharon Minarchick of Mahanoy City wasn't happy Monday when she bought her cigarettes. She found out soon she will be paying more for every pack she buys because of a new cigarette tax included in the new state budget.

"I am not going to be smoking that much. Instead of a carton a week I'll go down to half," Minarchick said.

Dealers said although the price of a pack of cigarettes is going up by 25 cents a pack, the price of a pack of small cigars, is going up by $1.60 a pack.

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