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• Lobbyists open wallets to influence Pa. budget  

- When it became clear that the state budget was in crisis mode, three industries with much at stake in Harrisburg opened their wallets.

Gambling interests, natural-gas drillers, and tobacco companies have since January spent more than $4.5 million combined on lobbying efforts, according to expense reports filed last week with the state.

Those industries were among the few winners in a budget ravaged by the recession.

Casinos are poised to introduce poker and other newly legalized table games. Natural-gas drillers and tobacco companies fought off new taxes. . . .

Republican legislative leaders defeated the proposed cigar tax, along with one proposed for smokeless products such as chewing tobacco and snuff. Left standing was a new tax on little cigars - cigarillos.

In all, tobacco interests large and small spent nearly $1.5 million on lobbying from January through Sept. 30, records show.

Reynolds American Inc., whose subsidiary Conwood Co. is the nation's second-largest producer of smokeless tobacco products, devoted the most - $670,658.

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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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• $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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• 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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• Smoking bans slow to filter in for some areas 

CHARLESTON, W.Va. -- From West Virginia to the West Coast, smokers are trying to fend off further restrictions on their habit, and local officials are starting to listen.

In some cases, smoking bans have even been rescinded or postponed, a much less common occurrence than officials declining to impose restrictions.

Opponents of smoking restrictions say these rollbacks are largely driven by economic woe, with local governments wary of imposing new costs or business burdens on restaurants and bars that may already be struggling.

"The economy is in a slump, and these bans almost always hurt the shot-and-beer-type bars and some restaurants," said Gary Nolan, U.S. regional director of the Citizens Freedom Alliance, which opposes laws that restrict smoking.

"If times are trying now in the hospitality industry, you're compounding that by telling bar owners they can't cater to their own crowd," he said.

The concerns of bars and fraternal organizations were at the forefront of a dispute over a proposal in Berkeley County to ban smoking in those establishments.

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• State's tobacco industry helped avert new Pa. tax  

Pennsylvania is poised to maintain a long-standing tax exemption on the sales of cigars and smokeless tobacco, despite two attempts by Gov. Ed Rendell over the past three years to remove it.

Even though all other states tax the items, such a tax is not expected to appear in a nearly week-old budget agreement that is still being hammered into shape in the Capitol.

Earlier this year, Rendell proposed the tax to help wipe out the state's multibillion-dollar revenue shortfall. His attempt in 2007 would have helped underwrite an extension of state-subsidized health insurance to adults who lack coverage.

Resistance by Pennsylvania's legislators can be attributed to their desire to protect tobacco growers in southeastern Pennsylvania, cigar makers that employ hundreds and heavy use of snuff and chewing tobacco by miners and steelworkers in southwestern Pennsylvania.

"That would be a very unpopular tax in my communities," said Sen. Richard Kasunic, D-Fayette. "And I'd rather not have to vote on that."

In addition, Pennsylvania is home to four of the nation's eight leading cigar retailers. One, Cigars International of Bethlehem, would have to consider moving to Florida if Pennsylvania approved a tax on cigars, company president Keith Meier told the Senate Finance Committee at a February hearing on Rendell's proposal.

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• A Pennsylvania tax idea goes up in smoke  

Johnna Pro, press secretary for the House Majority Appropriations Committee, has a theory.

"Because the majority of people negotiating the budget are cigar-chomping men," she said. "It's sexism."

That tongue-in-cheek reasoning aside, Pennsylvania lawmakers have clearly rebuffed an idea that most agree could have generated $38 million in new tax revenue this year.

Last week, leaders of three of the four caucuses announced that they had reached a budget agreement on a $27.9 billion spending plan. They said the package provided $1.2 billion in new revenue that the state could count on for years to come, including a 25-cent-per-pack hike in the cigarette tax.

But still no tax on smokeless tobacco or cigars - a proposal that seven out of 10 Pennsylvanians support, polls have shown.

Antitobacco groups said they were stunned that the products were not included in the plan as they had been led to believe by top legislators.

"It makes zero sense," said Kevin O'Flaherty, the Northeast advocacy director for the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids.

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• Smoke-free? Sort of --  

Pennsylvania's been a ''smoke-free'' state for nearly a year.

Except for the 3,100 clubs exempt from the 2008 Clean Indoor Air Act. And the nine casinos that still cater to smokers. And the 2,700 restaurants, bars and lounges granted exemptions in the past year.

That's almost 6,000 establishments -- including 96 restaurants and lounges and more than 150 private social clubs in the Lehigh Valley -- where people can still smoke 'em if they got 'em. An additional 350 applications for exemptions are in process, and new ones are arriving each week.

So thousands of workers and nonsmoking customers continue to breathe second-hand smoke each day. Still, even the most dedicated anti-smoking advocates say the law is doing what it was intended to do -- protecting most Pennsylvanians. . . .

People on both sides still are trying to get a handle on the law's impact. It's clear some patrons have switched watering holes, based on whether they smoke or not. But it's less clear how much it has affected business, largely because of the recession.

Several things seem clear: The people who lobbied against the law still hate it, those who worked to get it passed say it is working, and exemptions are generating buzz.

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• Bars, restaurants not having trouble attracting customers under smoking ban 

Singer, the manager of Grille 31 in Mt. Pleasant, said the smoking ban has not exacted a toll on business there.

"We still have smokers who still come in here and we have an outside patio now and they go outside and smoke. Our business hasn't changed at all. I was shocked," Singer said.

And patrons are breathing easier since the Pennsylvania Clean Indoor Air Act took effect on Sept. 11, 2008.

"The Clean Indoor Air Act is clearly an improvement because it is saving lives and saving money in Pennsylvania," said Joy Blankley-Meyer, executive director of the Pennsylvania Alliance to Control Tobacco.

But anti-smoking groups are not completely satisfied because people can still smoke in some public places.

"The other way to look at it is that there are several exceptions in this law and that causes some workers in the hospitality industry not to be protected and we want everyone to be protected," said Blankley-Meyer.

State Sen. Stewart Greenleaf, a Montgomery County Republican who advocated for the law, has introduced a bill to close the remaining "loopholes" allowing smoking indoors, she said.

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• A year later, smoking ban gets mixed reviews from restaurant owners  

A year after it was implemented, the statewide smoking ban is receiving mixed reviews from bar and restaurant owners.

At Theo's Bar & Grille in Lower Allen Township, owner Ted Kalathas said he lost some of his regular bar clientele. "My bar crowd was tremendous. At the same time, what can I do? The people out for happy hour who want to light a cigarette are going to go somewhere else," he said.

On the flip side, food sales at the FireHouse Restaurant & Bar in Harrisburg rose 10 percent and alcohol sales remained steady in the past year since the ban was enacted, said owner Donny Brown. "For us, everything is better. We used to allow smoking at the bar but the diners were so sensitive to it. Now that there is no smoking, we have more patrons," he said.

The ban, part of the Clean Indoor Air Act, brought fresh air to public places such as sports venues, workplaces and restaurants. The law carves out exceptions for private clubs, cigar bars, and bars where sales of food consumed on the premises make up 20 percent or less of annual sales.

Restaurant owners say since the law took effect last year on Sept. 11, it has both helped and hurt business. Some establishments are attracting more customers in their dining rooms while others have lost bar regulars.

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• Pension policy goes up in smoke 

Washington County Commissioner Bracken Burns was fuming Thursday when it appeared that a ban on tobacco-related stocks in the county employees' pension fund was about to go up in smoke.

Even after Burns read an eight-minute statement on tobacco-related mortality statistics and the high cost of illness from smoking, the retirement board voted 2-1 to lift a restriction excluding tobacco stocks from its employees' pension portfolio.

"These people are actively in the business of addicting our young folks to a known carcinogen," Burns said of tobacco companies after the meeting. "The link between tobacco and cancer death and the deleterious effect it has on our society is 100 percent clear."

Burns said he quit smoking 40 years ago, but that wasn't the reason he favored a continuation of a tobacco-stock ban he and then-members of the retirement board voted for 12 years ago.

The two votes to reverse the no-tobacco stocks policy were also those of nonsmokers: Commission Chairman Larry Maggi and Controller Michael Namie, who were not on the board in 1997.

While each said they had no quarrel with Burns' statistics, Namie cited a report in June from Twin Capital Management that the county's investment restrictions, "particularly the 5 percent initialization restriction on Exxon Mobil and the restriction on tobacco holdings," were responsible for about 30 percent underperformance.

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• Address smoking, drinking as one health risk  

A new study conducted by Temple researchers has shown that children who engage in heavy drinking will more than likely also engage in heavy smoking, suggesting that health teachers can help combat the trend by addressing both topics as one health risk.

"These are important findings because they emphasize the need for education and intervention programs that target the co-occurrence of these two health risks," said Brian Daly, assistant professor of public health in the College of Health Professions and Social Work.

The researchers determined rates of smoking and binge drinking through the collection of anonymous survey data from 2,450 African-American, Hispanic and Caucasian students in grades 9-12 at Philadelphia public high schools.

They compiled the students’ responses from the 2007 Philadelphia Youth Behavioral Risk Survey (YRBS).

In their study report, they have revealed that the students were asked how many cigarettes they''d had per day over 30 days, and how many days over a 30 day period they''d had 5 or more drinks in a row. . . .

It was found that while Caucasian adolescents were more likely than African-Americans to engage in either binge drinking or smoking, both groups were equally likely to engage in both at the same time.

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• Secondhand Smoke in Pennsylvania Casinos: A Study of Nonsmokers' Exposure, Dose, and Risk  

Methods. I measured respirable suspended particles (RSPs), particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAHs), and carbon dioxide inside and outside casinos; measured changes in patrons' urine cotinine after casino visits; and assessed SHS impact on workers and patrons, using exposure-response models, air quality standards, and odor and irritation thresholds.

Results. PPAH and RSP concentrations in casinos were, on average, 4 and 6 times, respectively, that of outdoor levels despite generous ventilation and low smoking prevalence. SHS infiltrated into nonsmoking gaming areas. Patrons' urine cotinine increased 1.9 ng/mL on average after about 4-hour visits.

Conclusions. SHS-induced heart disease and lung cancer will cause an estimated 6 Pennsylvania casino workers' deaths annually per 10 000 at risk, 5-fold the death rate from Pennsylvania mining disasters. Casinos should not be exempt from smoke-free workplace laws.

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• Secondhand Smoke Threatens Casino Workers’ Health  

New research suggests that casino workers face a higher risk of heart disease and lung cancer because they work in buildings filled with tobacco smoke.

By one scientist’s calculation, six of every 10,000 nonsmoking casino employees in Pennsylvania will die each year because of exposure to secondhand smoke.

The estimate does not rely on the tracking of individual casino workers over time, nor does it compare them to workers who have not had smoke exposure. Still, the findings suggest a significant risk to the health of the workers, said study author James Repace, a Washington D.C.-area consultant who studies the effects of secondhand smoke.

Casino workers “are really the most exposed group in society now,” Repace said. “The only other group that’s exposed so much is bartenders,” but many states have banned smoking in bars and restaurants.

The Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute — which has studied the risk of secondhand smoke to flight attendants when airlines allowed smoking — funded the study. The casino findings appear online and in the August issue of the American Journal of Public Health.

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• Teachers Union's Objections Sink Smoking Ban in Pennsylvania  

The teachers at Pennsylvania's state colleges and universities have succeeded in doing what their students couldn't: overrule a statewide ban on smoking on campus.

Some students in the Keystone State raised a ruckus last September when the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education banned smoking throughout its 14 campuses, including all outdoor areas.

But the students' outcry went largely unheeded -- until their professors chimed in.

The Association of Pennsylvania State College and University Faculties (APSCUF), the union that represents the 6,000 faculty members and coaches in the state school system, objected to the smoking ban -- and last month the state's Labor Relations Board overturned it, ruling that the education board had failed to negotiate with with the union.

The labor board ordered the education board to rescind the smoking ban for union members and to "cease and desist" from refusing to negotiate with the union. . . .

That leaves schools such as Clarion, West Chester and Kutztown Universities, among others, with tenuous holds on their smoking bans -- much to the delight of smokers like 21-year-old Clarion student Steven Dugan.

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