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Smoking plan divvies up liquor licenses 

Dennis Doughty isn't proposing to make all Chippewa Falls taverns smoke-free.

But the president of the Chippewa Falls City Council is looking at setting aside up to five of the city's 30 liquor-beer licenses as non-smoking licenses.

"I think it promotes business in Chippewa Falls and doesn't take away from it," Doughty said Friday.

Doughty's idea will be taken up by the city's Transportation Committee at 7:30 p.m. Monday in Committee Room No. 2 of City Hall, 30 W. Central St.

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Smoking Ban: Presentation to Prep Businesses 

Eau Claire's smoking ban takes effect July 1st. To make the transition a bit easier, the health department will make a presentation on Monday. One part of that presentation will inform businesses about what to expect in the mail. The city will be sending signs about the ban for businesses to post.

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Tobacco-free group to meet in Chilton  

Community Action For Tobacco Free Living will begin hosting countywide meetings here beginning Tuesday.

Meetings will be held at 4 p.m. on the second Tuesday of every other month at Calumet Medical Center. Tuesday's meeting is in the lower-level conference room.

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• State tells smokers to cough up taxes 

State Revenue Department officials have sent more than 1,000 letters this year to Wisconsin smokers who bought cigarettes from Internet vendors, telling them to either stop buying them that way or pay the $1.77-per-pack state tax that took effect Jan. 1.

"You have been reported to DOR as a person who recently purchased cigarettes where the cigarette use taxes and sales taxes . . . due may not have been paid," the warning letter says.

It lays the groundwork for those smokers to be billed if their names show up as repeat buyers from Internet vendors. . . .

some Wisconsin residents got an ad in the mail last week from an online vendor associated with the Seneca Indian Nation, offering a 10-pack carton of Skydancer cigarettes over the Internet for $12.99 - about $5 less than the Wisconsin taxes owed on it.

Another Internet cigarette vendor, smokin4free.com, tells potential customers it won't cooperate with federal or state tax collectors under any circumstances: "IMPORTANT: We have never and do not report any information about our customers to any authorities. We guarantee your safety while shopping with us and will uphold our promise in keeping your information 100% confidential."

Asked about such ads, Ervin said his agency is quietly doing all it can to work with Internet vendors, retailers and Indian tribes that sell cigarettes, and Wisconsin smokers who are avoiding the $1.77-per-pack tax. . . .

At www.NoCigTax.com, a site belonging to the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., toll-free phone numbers appear with urgings to call lawmakers to speak out against rising cigarette taxes.

A supervisor reached by phone who identified himself as Hyson Blitz said callers to NoCigTax.com are asked their ZIP codes so they can be given the names and contact information for their local legislators.

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Wis. sends 1,000 letters about Internet cigarette purchases  

The state's Revenue Department has sent out more than 1,000 letters this year to smokers who bought cigarettes online telling them to stop buying cigarettes that way or to pay the $1.77-per-pack state tax that's now in effect.

The letters could mean the smokers could be billed if their names show up as repeat buyers later.

The state said it got the names from Internet cigarette vendors after notifying 75 of them that a federal law makes it their responsibility to ensure Wisconsin gets the tax money.

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It's never too late to quit: Women who give up smoking can reverse health hazards, study says 

According to the latest figures from the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 20.8 percent of adults in the United States smoke, accounting for about 438,000 deaths each year. In Wisconsin, 21 percent of adults smoke, according to the latest statistics from the Wisconsin Department of Health and Family Services.

Fiore said that a third of all smokers try to quit each year, and that 70 percent of Wisconsin smokers say they've tried to stop at least once.

Shirley Reimer started smoking a half-pack of cigarettes daily when she 18 years old because it seemed cool and helped her relax. She was unaware she had a genetic lung disease called sarcoidosis that would be worsened by her habit.

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Doughty wants action on smoking ordinance 

Dennis Doughty has a long memory when it comes to the city considering taking action on banning smoking in public places.

"We had promised (action) this spring and spring is pretty much gone," Doughty, the council president, said Tuesday.

Council member Jack Covill, who heads up the city's Transportation Committee, said the panel was waiting for more information from the Chippewa County Department of Public Health.

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Doughty wants action on smoking ordinance 

Dennis Doughty has a long memory when it comes to the city considering taking action on banning smoking in public places.

"We had promised (action) this spring and spring is pretty much gone," Doughty, the council president, said Tuesday.

Council member Jack Covill, who heads up the city's Transportation Committee, said the panel was waiting for more information from the Chippewa County Department of Public Health.

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YOUNGWITH: Smoke-free is public health policy 

At the very least I'll give Ryan Evans credit for reading the Federalist Papers. It's nice to see political debates taken to a higher level.

But how he stretches Federalist Papers Number 10 into the right of smokers to make other people sick, doesn't do much justice to the Founding Fathers. In fact, it borders on laughable.

It is fairly clear that Evans, a blogger whose site is sponsored by two cigar makers, doesn't care much for the facts. But for everyone else, this might be a healthy time to review them:

First, the debate really is about protecting public health. . . .

There is nothing unusual about passing laws to protect health, just as we already do to restrict drunk driving or ensure that hamburgers are cooked in a clean kitchen.

This is the right thing to do. It is good public health policy. It is even the democratic thing to do. Evans' tobacco sponsors know this to be true.

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ROBSON: Support is growing for smoke-free laws 

Although the statewide smoking ban would not extend to homes and cars, it would clean up the air in bars, restaurants and other public places where smoking is still permitted.

Support for a statewide smoking ban is growing, according to a poll of Wisconsin voters in March.

Sixty-nine percent of people surveyed support a statewide ban on smoking in “most indoor public places, including all workplaces, public buildings, offices, restaurants and bars.”

That is a five-point increase from last year.

Support for a clean indoor air law stretches across party lines, demographic groups and geographical regions.

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Wendy Arnone: Largest health insurance provider backs smoking ban 

The Wisconsin Legislature postponed a golden opportunity to affect a healthful, positive change in our state this past month.

The Breathe Free Wisconsin Act would have played a key role in improving the health and well-being of many of Wisconsin's citizens and would have helped businesses struggling to provide health care benefits to their employees.

As Wisconsin's largest health care insurance provider, UnitedHealthcare fully endorses the Breathe Free Wisconsin Act, as we believe it will help citizens lead healthier lives and businesses thrive in a healthier economy.

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Ho-Chunk Nation loses bid for Wis. cigarette tax refund 

The Ho-Chunk Nation has lost a legal bid to receive thousands of dollars in cigarette tax refunds from the state.

The tribe was seeking a refund on cigarette taxes collected on sales at its DeJope Gaming property in Madison for portions of 2003 and 2004.

The Ho-Chunk cited a state law that allows tribes to get refunds on 70 percent of cigarette taxes collected on tribal lands designated before 1983.

But a state appeals court says the DeJope property was not an Indian land until 1983

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Legislators look to refinance tobacco bonds to help fix budget 

Legislative leaders are still trying to reach an agreement on how to fix the more than $0.5 billion deficit in the current state budget.

They're now looking at getting $247 million by refinancing bonds the state issued to get cash more quickly, after settling its lawsuit against tobacco companies.

Gov. Jim Doyle had earlier suggested a smaller re-financing for $37 million. That was when a hospital tax was still being considered. That's out of the cards now.

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Green Bay program demonstrates dangers of smoking for Hispanics 

Chico was one of two people who shared their experiences with tobacco use at an event directed at the Latino community about the dangers of smoking on Sunday at St. Willebrord Parish in downtown Green Bay. About 75 people attended.

After almost 30 years of smoking -- Chico was 14 when he started -- he finally made the decision to quit because of his children, the youngest of whom is 7 months. Chico also suspects secondhand smoke was responsible for two cancer deaths in his family.

Lung cancer -- "cancer pulmonar" in Spanish -- is a leading cause of cancer death for Hispanic men and the second leading cause for Hispanic women.

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Two local businesses decide to impose their own smoking ban 

TWO RIVERS -- After more than a century, Kurtz's Pub & Deli is going smoke-free Tuesday -- almost.

"I do have a smoker in the basement, and we'll still be serving hickory smoked ribs on Tuesday and Thursday nights," said owner Jim Christensen.

On Wednesday afternoon, he was seated in a booth at his Washington Street eatery, founded in 1904, next to John Jagemann, who opened his Courthouse Pub in 2001 in downtown Manitowoc. He's snuffing cigarettes, too. . . .

"We have watched the state jawbone this topic to death, and we felt it was simply time to act on behalf of our employees and customers," Jagemann said.

The Legislature has wrestled with various statewide smoking bans, but none have passed, and the Assembly and Senate are not scheduled to take up any related legislation the remainder of 2008.

"The number of people with breathing difficulties -- or just people who do not wish to smell smoke while they eat -- has increased," said Christensen, who is third generation ownership and has been in the restaurant business since 1963.

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