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REP. JIM BATTLE: South Carolina Agricultural Interests Must Be Protected  

As a farmer I’m proud to note that South Carolina agribusiness accounts for almost 200,000 direct and indirect jobs with payrolls totaling approximately $7.4 billion. Clearly, agribusiness is big business in our state and must be protected.

As such, there is a potentially destructive piece of legislation coming out of Canada that must be addressed. Initially drafted as a health initiative, C-32 has a well-intentioned goal of reducing youth smoking by banning the production, marketing and sale of “flavored” tobacco in Canada. While I have no problem with the bill’s intent, its implementation is cause for concern if it is passed as written. The problem is that “non-characterizing flavors” we use as additives in the production of most of our tobacco are included in C-32’s definition of “flavoring.” This will essentially ban American tobacco from being sold in Canada – thus destroying the tobacco trade between our countries and resulting in numerous job losses throughout South Carolina and across the United States.

Tobacco is still a top 10 cash crop in South Carolina worth an estimated $71 million to the state. . . .

It’s my hope our Congressional Delegation and other officials in Washington will take the necessary steps to help ensure the trade agreements we have in place are adhered to and push to have this legislation rewritten so as to protect our vital agricultural markets.

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EDITORIAL: Richland council shouldn’t tamper with smoking ban  

The Richland council is scheduled to take a final vote today on a proposal that would allow an establishment to operate "a portion of its workplace" as a "designated smoking area" as long as that area is separate from its nonsmoking area and has its own outside entrance and a separate heating and air system. This preposterous proposal would defeat the primary purpose of the smoking ban, unnecessarily exposing workers to secondhand smoke. . . .

There is growing sentiment among local communities that a web of smoking bans should be approved to protect workers and the public. Richland County wisely joined that movement by passing its smoking ban. This is no time to give ground.

It hasn't yet been proven that patrons abandon bars and restaurants -- or bingo parlors -- that don't allow smoking. Richland officials concerned about that have an alternative to making unwise changes in the county's smoking ban. They could -- and should -- approach neighboring governments about adopting uniform smoking bans. It makes sense for all parts of Lexington and Richland counties to have similar bans. Making public accommodations in the two counties smoke-free would address businesses' concerns that patrons will abandon them for nearby competitors.

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Richland County could allow some smoking  

Richland County Council is considering a change to its smoking ban allowing businesses to establish separate areas for smokers -- down to the air they breathe.

The proposal would accommodate a bingo parlor whose owner said he poured $300,000 into two ventilation systems so nonsmoking customers could play in half of his building.

Then the county passed a smoking ban.

Councilman Jim Manning sponsored the change to protect Carolina Gold Bingo, which invested in Decker Boulevard, an early suburb the county has targeted for revitalization.

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EDITORIAL: Officials must resist calls to relax smoking bans  

IT NEVER SHOULD have been on the table in the first place, but it was good to see Richland County Council reject a misguided effort to weaken the county's smoking ban.

The council responded emphatically Tuesday in killing a proposal that would have allowed any establishment to operate "a portion of its workplace" as a "designated smoking area" as long as that area is separate from its nonsmoking area and has its own outside entrance and a separate heating and air system. It also would have allowed some employees to work in smoking areas. While the proposal's chief proponent, Councilman Jim Manning, said workers would have to volunteer to work in smoking areas, there's little doubt people would have been forced to choose between their health and a job.

Fortunately, the council saw the error of making such a change that, while reportedly aimed at addressing concerns of a single bingo operator, would have opened the door to all businesses, including bars and restaurants. Council members didn't even hold a planned public hearing before summarily nixing the proposal. . . .

With Lexington County finally taking action to protect workers from unnecessary exposure to carcinogens, its towns and cities -- from West Columbia and Cayce to Irmo and, yes, Springdale and Chapin -- also should adopt smoking bans. Those who claimed to be waiting for the County Council to act no longer have that excuse.

While any smoking ban is better than none, it's imperative that these cities and towns adopt more than minimal protections. They should all adopt the same or similar bans that would eliminate secondhand smoke in workplaces. A uniform effort would go a long way to safe-guarding communitywide public health. . . .

The more prudent and effective way to guard all South Carolinians against harm that can be caused by secondhand smoke would be for the Legislature to develop the courage to pass and defend a strong statewide ban. There is simply no good reason for our legislators not to require this minimal level of workplace safety for all of South Carolina's workers.

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Richland kills plan to ease ban on smoking  

Public health advocates turned back an attempt to make an exception to Richland County's smoking ban Tuesday.

"Smoke-free's the new norm," Ian Hamilton, with the S.C. Cancer Alliance, said later.

The Richland County Council undermined Councilman Jim Manning's effort to protect a bingo parlor in his district that invested $300,000 in separate heating and air systems and divided the business in two before the county went smoke-free last year.

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Lexington Co. council votes in favor of smoking ban  

Lexington County will be joining other counties in South Carolina in banning smoking in businesses.

The Lexington County Council voted 5 - 4 in favor of the ban which will go into effect on Jan. 1, 2010.

The ban does not cover all areas of the county.

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• Finally, Lexington County smoking ban OK'd  

Opponents of a workplace smoking ban said Tuesday that members of at least five organizations plan to target for defeat the five Lexington County Council members who voted for the ban.

After one of the longest and most divisive smoking-ban fights in South Carolina, County Council gave its ban final approval Tuesday by the slimmest of margins.

As it has most of the times it has voted, council split 5-4 on the ban, which takes effect Jan. 1 for all businesses in unincorporated Lexington County.

The five who voted for the ban are chairman Debbie Summers and council members Bill Banning, John Carrigg, Smokey Davis and Johnny Jeffcoat.

"John Carrigg is my representative, and I will do all I can to be sure he gets defeated the next time," said Paul Seidelson, a member of ABATE. . . .

Along with ABATE, the organizations whose members pledged Tuesday to unseat those voting for the ban were the Lexington County chapter of the 912 Project and a sister group from Northeast Richland, the Campaign for Liberty and Pelion Good Neighbors.

Most are conservative organizations that draw support from former presidential candidate Ron Paul and television commentator Glenn Beck.

Jim Hanks, with one of the 912 Project groups, said some members have compiled maps of council districts and begun canvassing businesses in Banning's district to build opposition to him.

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The South Carolina Tobacco Festival 

September 18, 19, 20, 2009

Celebrating our 53nd year of Saluting the Men and Women who till the soil and remembering our Farming Heritage

The Tobacco Festival is held each year in Lake City this two day event in September celebrates the number one cash crop of the area: Tobacco.

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Economy leads to smaller Tobacco Festival, chamber says  

The economy has caused Lake City's South Carolina Tobacco Festival to be scaled down in its 53rd year, but this September's event will still include a street dance and golf tournament.

The Greater Lake City Chamber of Commerce's board met to review all aspects of this year's festival, from Sept. 18-20, and decided unanimously to shorten the schedule of events, chamber Director Rita Smith said.

The chamber, however, is planning for the festival's grand return when the economy improves, Smith said.

"The hope is that we'll be able to do it even bigger and better than in the past, and we're even working on that now," she said.

The festival has had to rely on local businesses because it no longer receives grants or sponsorships from the big tobacco companies, according to a chamber press release.

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EDITORIAL: Tobacco Festival should make big comeback next year 

The South Carolina Tobacco Festival is returning for its 53rd year in Lake City, although the schedule is leaner this year as a result of the economy. The decision to offer a scaled-down series of events for the 2009 festival, which will run from Sept. 18-20, was a conscious and unanimous one by the Greater Lake City Chamber of Commerce's board.

In spite of the bleak economic scenery surrounding us, Lake City is fortunate to still have a festival, and an abbreviated schedule is a small sacrifice to make as our local businesses fight to stay alive. . . .

Festivals are good for the morale in towns and cities. They give residents a chance to have fun and take pride in their community.

The people of Lake City and the surrounding areas still have an opportunity to do that as the Tobacco Festival stays alive, and it's something to be thankful for.

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Gaffney council moves a step closer to smoking ban in city-owned vehicles  

Gaffney City Council now, apparently, has the votes to snuff out smoking in city-owned vehicles. In a meeting Friday morning, Police Committee members unanimously approved a recommendation to ban smoking in city vehicles.

The full version of this story will be available to all readers after 1 week

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Ban smoking? Now it's the towns' turn  

The push to snuff out smoking in Lexington County restaurants, bars, stores and offices is set to shift to 13 municipalities.

Anti-smoking forces will urge municipal leaders to follow County Council's example in outlawing smoking in workplaces.

Council is expected to give final approval Tuesday to a smoking ban in businesses in unincorporated areas -- home for 71 percent of the county's estimated 250,000 residents.

It would follow a ban in force in the town of Lexington for 10½ months.

But the reluctance of some municipal leaders to take up the idea suggests anti-smoking advocates won't get uniform limits throughout the county immediately.

"It won't start out that way," said Jim Bowie of Ballentine, executive director of the South Carolina Tobacco Collaborative. "We may not get some smaller groups (municipalities)."

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Upstate University To Impose Fines On Smokers  

Lander University is preparing to give added emphasis to its status as the first state college or university in South Carolina to ban the use of tobacco products on its campus, a prohibition that was introduced with the start of the fall semester in 2007.

Lander president Daniel Ball accepted the recommendations of a committee that he appointed to come up with a strategy for introducing the tobacco-free policy to newcomers, and reminding returning students, faculty and staff that the use of tobacco is not allowed anywhere on Lander property. The ban includes campus parking lots and the university's off-campus student housing facilities. The smoking ban also applies to visitors.

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Grant will expand former smoker-led intervention program 

Researchers are helping women who live in public housing in Georgia and South Carolina stop smoking through a proven former smoker-led intervention program.

With $3.1 million in funding from the National Heart, Lung and Blood Institute, Drs. Martha Tingen, a nurse researcher at the Medical College of Georgia's Georgia Prevention Institute, and Jeanette Andrews, associate dean for research and evaluation and director of the Center for Community Health Partnerships at the Medical University of South Carolina, will expand the Sister to Sister program to women in public housing units in Augusta and Charleston, S.C. Dr. Andrews, the grant's principal investigator, developed and tested the program while she was a faculty member in the MCG School of Nursing.

Sister to Sister utilizes help from former smokers from the community, a nicotine patch and group support to help the women kick the habit.

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Death of the Smoking Ban 

The regularly scheduled July 13th City Council meeting was the appointed date of review and discussion for the proposed ban. There was no motion made to move forward with the process of the proposed ban, and so in political terms it is officially dead.

The ordinance was drafted and given to Council members for review, but when Mayor McCollum asked for a "motion that we do proceed with this ordinance on secondhand smoke...do we have a motion...realizing that if we don't get a motion it will die at this time..." only an awkward silence followed.

There was however, discussion of the matter among council members after the dead silence at motion opportunity time.

Councilwoman Janeth Walker conveyed the citizen feedback in opposition to the proposed ban, citing one example of a voter who called her from vacation to remind her of the strong opposition she had against the ban. "I have been told that it is 'too much government in government.' . . .

Councilwoman Nancy Foster pointed out the lack of participation by citizens in favor of the ban at previous meetings.

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