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Butt out: Health agency kicking smokers out in Tumwater  

Smokers for a long time have been unwelcome in or near the doors of public areas, including state agencies.

But the new decree announced today (Wednesday) means that beginning in mid-May, visitors and state employees cannot use smokeless tobacco, cigarettes and other tobacco products at the state Department of Health's headquarters and campus in Tumwater.

A similar rule is in effect at the state's Public Health Lab in Shoreline, and next year it will apply to DOH's four buildings, parking lot, parking garage and grounds in Tumwater.

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Health department bans tobacco at Tumwater campus 

The Washington State Department of Health will ban smoking and other use of tobacco on its main work campus in Tumwater effective Feb. 16.

Secretary of Health Mary Selecky notified agency employees of the policy change Wednesday, according to a news release.

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WARNER: Anti-smokers just can’t quit  

The Wenatchee City Council could have banned smoking in parks. Many cities have, and many are considering it. The city can do it, just because. It doesn’t even have to pick from the usual anti-smoking justifications, real or imagined, like protecting public health or protecting children or fighting litter. It’s enough that most people who use city parks find smoking objectionable and don’t want to watch people do it, or smell it, or get a small whiff of their personal residue. The implications of banning a normally legal personal habit simply because it produces an odor doesn’t matter. A city can ban a public nuisance, and a public nuisance is usually whatever the city says it is. The limits are broad, and smoking has so few defenders the political risk is slight. . . .

So where does it stop? Not at your threshold. The next great frontier of anti-smoking law is the private residence. . . .

We should be able to sleep without fretting that someone somewhere might be sitting on their couch smoking a cigarette, but we just can’t give it up. Onward, prohibitionists.

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City Council approves tobacco-free zones in parks  

WENATCHEE — The city will use courtesy as its main tactic in controlling smoking in parks.

The City Council Thursday unanimously agreed to create “tobacco-free” zones around playgrounds and other areas where people gather within Wenatchee city parks.

Signs will be posted around the new zones gently reminding smokers to light up elsewhere.

But compliance will be voluntary.

“I see this as a voluntary enforcement activity,” Mayor Dennis Johnson told the council. “We don’t have the resources to be policing parks for smoking.”

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Lit cigarette, oxygen tank fuel Port Townsend fire 

Firefighters say a lit cigarette and oxygen tanks likely fueled a blaze that destroyed a home early Wednesday, leaving two people homeless.

East Jefferson Fire Rescue spokeswoman Keppie Keplinger says a man who lived at the single story duplex used oxygen tanks for health problems - and that he had the habit of lighting up a cigarette outside in the evenings.

Keplinger says that apparently the man suffered a seizure or passed out, and pulled the oxygen tank loose near the lit cigarette.

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WHO recognizes Washington stop smoking program 

The World Health Organization has invited the director of Washington state's smoking prevention program to speak at an international conference.

The meeting later this week in Tunisia focuses on effective prevention strategies. Terry Reid, the Washington program's director since March 2001, is the only person from the United States invited to the conference.

Since Washington began its stop smoking program, adult smoking has decreased by 30 percent and youth smoking has dropped by about half.

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Man dies in Seattle fire started by smoker 

One man was killed and another injured in a fire early this morning that the Seattle Fire Department says was started by smoking in bed.

The fire was reported about 2:30 a.m. in an older house that had been converted to apartments.

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Plan now for Great American Smokeout  

The American Cancer Society's annual Great American Smokeout is Nov. 19, and the best way to participate successfully is to plan ahead.

First, define a goal for the day. It could be to not smoke at all, or it could be to smoke half your usual number of cigarettes for one day.

Set a goal that is attainable and yet challenging. After one successful day, you may feel like going for a second day of not smoking or cutting back.

As with any change, it helps to think about why you want to quit smoking.

It might be because you have been getting short of breath, because your doctor recommended it, or because you worry about not seeing your grandchildren grow up. Whatever it is, write the reason down on a piece of paper and keep it with you as a reminder.

Breaking the habit of smoking is often more difficult than dealing with the physical addiction to nicotine.

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Quit for good in November  

The Great American Smokeout will be Nov. 20 this year. On this day, the local Health Department and American Cancer Society challenge you to quit smoking cigarettes.

Stop for at least this one day or the rest of your life. If you do not smoke but have friends or family members who do, encourage them to stop smoking.

About 1 in 5 Thurston County adults smoke and are at risk for the negative effects of tobacco use.

Some effects are more immediate and noticeable such as a cough, bad breath, yellow fingernails and discolored teeth.

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Wenatchee teens take part in state smoking study  

Wenatchee High School students were part of a teen smoking study by the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

The study, published in mid-October, was the first time researchers proved that one-on-one counseling makes a significant difference in teen smoking rates.

“When this study started, despite decades of research and dozens of intervention trials, there was no proven way to reach teens from the general population and recruit them into smoking cessation programs, and there was no proven way to help these teens quit,” said lead researcher Arthur Peterson in a prepared statement.

Statewide, more than 2,000 students at 50 high schools participated in the study.

Half of the schools, including Wenatchee High School, were control schools. With parental consent, students from the Class of 2005 took a survey about smoking habits and attitudes during their junior year, and again in their senior year. . . .

By the end of the study, about 22 percent of the smokers in counseling had stopped smoking for six continuous months, compared to nearly 18 percent of smokers at the control high schools, according to a news release from the Fred Hutchinson Cancer Research Center.

Intervention also increased three-month, one-month and seven-day smoking abstinence rates compared to the control group.

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Medical, or small business?  

Michael Dresden holds high expectations for Washington’s marijuana trade. Dresden’s vision is to use local, sustainable and highly taxed micro-crops of marijuana to eliminate the state’s deficit and fight international terrorism. Despite Dresden’s lofty goals, many may view the twenty-something Vancouver resident as a simple drug dealer with delusions of grandeur.

Dresden, whose name and date of birth varied on each of the six Washington state ID cards he presented during a recent interview, uses a straight forward business model. Dresden collects what he describes as “surplus” marijuana from state licensed medical marijuana growers and distributes it to recreational cannabis users at a sizable mark up. . . .

Dresden’s greatest business fear is a tobacco industry take-over of the marijuana trade. “Sooner or later, the tobacco industry will get tired of its dwindling profits and will use its entire army of lobbyists to control the marijuana trade” Dresden stated. Dresden fears tobacco companies will lobby for laws and regulation that give exclusive marijuana grow rights to mega-corporations. “I think what will happen is that congress will place so-called ‘safe-guards’ in a future legalization [of marijuana] bill that really just give large international corporations a monopoly of marijuana.” Dresden’s concerns of a tobacco industry takeover have been around for decades and gained credibility when a 1976 document surfaced during a 1990’s lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

A 1976 confidential tobacco industry forecast prepared by Forecasting International, Ltd for Brown and Williamson Tobacco Corporation made direct references to national trends in recreational marijuana use and the tobacco industry’s ability to offer marijuana as a retail product. “[Marijuana] also has important implications for the tobacco industry in terms of an alternative product line. [Tobacco industries] have the land to grow it, the machines to roll it and package it [and] the distribution to market it… Estimates indicate that the market in legalized marijuana might be as high as $10 billion annually." the report stated. . . .

Dresden believes a tobacco industry changeover to marijuana would pose insurmountable competition for Northwest marijuana growers. “When the tobacco industry starts to switch over to marijuana, it will use the same locations, equipment and tactics that is has used for tobacco… Southern states will get the employment and tax benefits and the traditional Northwest trade will be destroyed.” Dresden stated. Dresden’s concerns also include product quality and environmental impact. “Look at what large corporations did to tobacco, the additives, the genetic modification, the use of environmentally harmful fertilizers and pesticides; do we really want them to be in charge of future marijuana farms?” Dresden asked rhetorically.

The idea of switching over tobacco farms to hemp or marijuana has gained momentum in the face of declining tobacco sales and the current economic recession.

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COLEMAN: The Long Nightmare Is Over: Tacoma Bans Smoking in Public Parks 

Councilwoman Connie Ladenburg noted that her 11-year-old grandson has such severe asthma, he cannot enjoy parks when any cigarette smoke is present. Without such a law, she said, her grandson and other nonsmokers will remain vulnerable to secondhand smoke effects imposed upon them by smokers.

"He doesn't have a choice to breathe, but smokers have a choice if they smoke or not," she said.

All due respect to Ms. Ladenburg's asthmatic grandson, but how exactly does that a justify infringing upon the right of smokers to partake of an otherwise legal product? . . .

Of course, earning cheap points among the constituents is half of all politics, and we won't begrudge anyone that. Still, it's not like the Tacoma City Council doesn't have a host of more important issues to attend to.

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• Tacoma bans smoking in public parks 

By a 6-3 vote, the Tacoma City Council approved late Tuesday an ordinance that makes smoking in any public park in the city illegal.

"To me, this is like the noise ordinance," said Councilman Jake Fey, who supported the measure. "There needs to be a balance."

The ordinance makes such public smoking a misdemeanor punishable by up to a $25 fine, although city officials have said police do not plan to actively enforce the law.

Supporters said the measure is a way to protect seniors, children and others from the dangers of second-hand smoke, as well as to promote overall healthy living.

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All smoke, no fire at meeting  

Less than a handful of interested residents came to Walla Walla City Council chambers to discuss smoking in and around play areas in city parks.

Three members of the Parks, Recreation and Urban Forestry volunteer advisory board showed up, meaning no quorum for the nine-member board.

And no decision.

This was the second opportunity people had to offer input on the subject at a public meeting. As well, the city has received e-mails and phone calls about the matter. The Walla Walla County Public Health Department has asked the board to consider the proposal and make a decision whether or not to bring it to City Council for a vote.

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Editorial > Smoking ban clearly was the right move 

Four years ago, a lopsided majority of Washington voters approved a ban on smoking in public places. While citizens may have the right to smoke, voters felt that right should not extend to subjecting others to their secondhand smoke. . . .

A number of tavern and restaurant owners in this and other states with smoking bans have complained anew in recent weeks, saying they need every advantage they can get to stay afloat in this deep recession.

We're not convinced easing the smoking ban would help. To the contrary, there's evidence that it might hurt business. The Washington Department of Revenue reported last year that tax data showed that the food and beverage industry's earnings rose by 20 percent from 2006 to 2007.

In any event, the health benefits from this ban would seem to far outweigh concerns raised by its opponents. Indeed, according to a new report by the Washington, D.C.-based Institute of Medicine, those benefits are greater than voters in this state knew in 2005. . . .

A University of California , San Francisco study concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke is about 80 percent as harmful as being a smoker.

Given these risks, there can be no justification for subjecting nonsmoking restaurant employees or patrons to secondhand smoke. This is not a question of personal freedom. It's a public health issue, pure and simple.

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