Tobacco.org

DHHR Report: Tobacco use down among W.Va. youth  

According to a report released recently by the Department of Health and Human Resources, more West Virginia Youths are choosing to abstain from tobacco use.

"For decades, tobacco use was a rite of passage for teens in West Virginia, but a new report released by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources Health Statistics Center indicates that more kids are choosing to be tobacco-free," the DHHR said in a released statement.

The report analyzes data from the 2007 and 2009 Youth Tobacco Survey and compares data from previous years, detailing the use of tobacco, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars and popes for middle school and high school students.

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VIDEO: Statewide Smoking Ban? 

Smoking bans are popping up in counties all across the state but if some state lawmakers have it their way, there could be a statewide smoking ban in the near future.

Senate Bill 28 is calling for a statewide smoking ban in most public places but there are few exceptions.

This bill is being called the Smoke Free West Virginia Act. Lawmakers behind the bill say there's no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke. It calls for a ban in all public places including bars, gaming facilities, health care facilities and restaurants. No one would be allowed to smoke in any enclosed areas. There are exceptions to this bill, such as some retail tobacco stores, private and multi-private rooms in nursing homes where everyone is a smoker and designated smoking rooms in hotels or motels.

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Local Colleges Mulling Campus Tobacco Bans 

WHEELING - Two local colleges may institute campus-wide no tobacco policies.

During a recent Wheeling-Ohio County Board of Health meeting, Administrator Howard Gamble told board members he had sent letters to West Virginia Northern Community College, West Liberty University and Wheeling Jesuit University, asking the schools to consider going tobacco-free, which would include no smoking and no use of chewing tobacco on campus.

Gamble said he learned WVNCC and WLU both already were considering such policies, and he had not heard back from WJU officials.

Robert DeFrancis, WVNCC dean of Community Relations, said his school has been considering such a measure for years. But just in recent months it has started investigating whether it should make its campuses totally tobacco free.

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Teens in West Virginia Appear to be Smoking Less  

A report by the West Virginia Department of Health and Human Resources shows that fewer teens are using tobacco.

The report compares data on middle and high school students who participated in the 2007 and 2009 Youth Tobacco Survey with information from previous years. It details the use of tobacco, cigarettes, smokeless tobacco, cigars and pipes.

"The students who have never tried or used any form of tobacco ... has significantly increased 90 percent among high school students from 2000 to 2009," said Dan Christy, director of the WVDHHR Health Statistics Center.

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Back With The Tobacco Tax Increase  

Right now, the state tax on a pack of cigarettes in West Virginia is 55 cents. Lawmakers will, again this year, consider a bill that would take that tax to $1.55.

Opposition killed similar proposals at the State Capitol last year.

Hamsher says they have to try again. "The tobacco tax is one of the proven strategies to reduce usage," he said.

"It prevents kids from picking it up. It is encouragement for adults to quit and it equalizes the playing field as well. Smokers begin paying their fair share to the state."

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Countywide Smoking Ban Passes in Mon County 

Ushered in by a round of applause, the Mon County Board of Health passed the Clean Indoor Air Act on Monday.

The unanimous vote ended a four year struggle in the county.

"I felt like clapping myself," BOH chairman Sam Chico III says. "We had a nice smoking ordinance before this. We have dramatically strengthened it."

With the vote, Mon County becomes the 20th county in the state to approve a smoking ban. It prohibits lighting up at hotels, restaurants, and most bars in the county.

"We have a regulation in place that's going to help protect the health of our citizens," says Chris Roberts with the Breathe Easy Alliance.

Some business owners worry the ban will drive away customers.

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Monongalia County Approves Smoking Ban  

The Monongalia County Health Department passed a county-wide smoking ban Monday, and it even has some bar owners breathing easier.

"We're ecstatic," said Jared Riggleman, a manager at the Boston Beanery in downtown Morgantown.

They went smoke-free in August to prepare for a Morgantown smoking ban that was set to go into effect. Instead, the city waited for the county to keep pace and left the Beanery to watch their smoking clientele walk away.

If the city started enforcing the ban before the county's ban went into effect, all of the city businesses could have suffered while smokers simply went beyond city limits.

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Smoking ban awaits county approval  

The City of Morgantown will adopt a ban regulating smoking within enclosed public spaces pending the adoption of an ordinance by the Monongalia County Board of Health.

The BOH will vote today to determine the parameters of a county-wide ordinance prohibiting smoking in all enclosed public spaces within the county.

The Monongalia County Clean Indoor Air Regulation will prohibit smoking in most enclosed public spaces, including all means of public transit, retail stores, tobacco businesses, restaurants, private clubs, video lottery parlors, bars, public assembly areas, all portions of public health facilities and enclosed shopping malls.

City Manager Terrence Moore said the current city-wide smoking ban that went into effect on Jan. 1 is not enforceable.

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Smoke-Free In Monongalia County  

The Monongalia County Board of Health has unanimously approved a countywide smoking ban. The Clean Indoor Act prohibits lighting up in bars restaurants and hotels across the county.

"It's a huge, huge day for public health advocates and individuals that have been looking to provide smoke free work places for everybody in the county," said Christina Mickey with Breathe Easy Alliance said following the Monday morning vote.

The ban will go into effect on March 9th, although some business owners could receive extensions if necessary. The only businesses that are exempt from the ordinance is an existing hookah lounge on Walnut Street in Morgantown and cigar bars.

Morgantown City Council will now amend its citywide ban to match up with the ordinance approved by the county health board and both will be enforced starting on March 9th.

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Editorial - County-wide smoking ban inhibits freedom  

Owners of private establishments should have the right to ban or permit smoking if they choose.

The City of Morgantown, which has been in the process of instating a smoking ban for four years, is now on the verge of accomplishing its mission.

The Morgantown smoking ban, in effect Jan. 1, will have the final vote today, but cannot be enforced until 60 days after it has passed. . . .

The issue of (second hand)smoke can be solved without inhibiting the freedoms of those who wish to continue to smoke.

It could be solved through the simple principles of supply and demand.

There are demands for bars and restaurants that smokers and non-smokers can enjoy. . . .

The Monongalia County Board of Health should promote healthier lifestyles for its citizens, but it should not force all establishments to be non-smoking.

Laws should be made to protect the rights and freedoms of all citizens.

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• Judge delays smoking ruling  

PARKERSBURG - A Wood County Circuit Court judge is prepared to issue a partial ruling on a smoking ban but has also requested more information before doing so.

Judge Jeff Reed sent a letter earlier this month to attorneys involved in the civil suit over the Clean Indoor Air Regulations between the Hill House Pub and the Mid-Ohio Valley Health Department.

"...the court is prepared to issue a partial ruling. However, before issuing a full ruling more information is needed in one area," Reed said in the letter to attorney Bill Merriman representing the Hill House Pub and Wood County Prosecuting Attorney Jason Wharton.

Reed wants to know why the health department provided exemptions to retail tobacco stores.

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Folks Given One Last Chance to Speak About Proposed Smoking Ban 

We're only one vote away from having a county wide smoking ban in Mon County, but before that happens folks had one more chance Tuesday afternoon to speak their mind about it.

Compared to other times when folks had the chances to let their voices be heard, Tuesday's meeting was relatively calm and short.

Earlier this month the county's Board of Health passed a committee's proposal of the ban.

The proposal would not allow folks to smoke in most bars and all hotels.

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Monongalia County One Step Closer to Smoking Ban  

The Monongalia County Board of Health heard more from the public Tuesday about a proposed smoking ban.

Tuesday's special meeting was open to the public because some people complained at the board's last meeting, that it wasn't doing enough in a public setting.

Hot Spot owners are seeking an exemption from the smoking ban but health experts said it should go through.

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WVU Smoking Policy Changes to be Released for Comment Next Semester  

Recommended changes in WVU's smoking policy are expected to be distributed for public comment next semester, according to a news release from the university.

The university's Office of Legal Affairs and Office of Administration and Finance have been reviewing recommendations from a Smoking Policy Task Force as requested by President Jim Clements, officials said.

Throughout the month of January representatives from the two divisions will be following up with the task force and a revised smoking policy will be published online for the 30-day mandatory comment period, according to the news release.

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Smoking Ban’s Expansion Tabled 

- Smokers can keep puffing away inside the casino without being told to snuff out their cigarettes - at least for now.

A proposed plan to expand a countywide smoking ban has been suspended indefinitely. The Wheeling-Ohio County Board of Health on Tuesday voted to table the measure that would have made the Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack, video gambling parlors and gambling areas inside bars 100 percent smoke-free.

Chairman Dr. John Holloway said there is no timetable for the board to take up the measure again, but he did not expect any reconsideration in at least the next few weeks or months.

He said members of the public, businesses such as the casino, and city and county officials all expressed concern about how an expansion of the ban would impact their coffers.

"I have spoken individually to each member of the board of health and many members of the community," Holloway said. "Although there is support for the proposed changes, it would appear that it is the consensus of this board not to act on these proposed regulations at this time until greater support from the community has been achieved."

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