Tobacco.org

• HLS HSC halts ban on smoking: Other area hospitals ready for Nov. 19 

A smoking ban slated to take effect next week at WVU's Robert C. Byrd Health Sciences Center (HSC) has been postponed indefinitely.

The HSC, Monongalia Health System, HealthSouth Mountain-View Regional Rehabilitation Hospital and WVU Healthcare -- which includes WVU Hospitals and University Health Associates (UHA) -- announced plans earlier this year to eliminate on-site smoking by the date of the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout, Nov. 19.

However, the HSC can't implement a smoking ban without approval from the WVU Board of Governors (BOG). The board met Friday, but the smoking policy was not on the agenda.

Dr. Fred Butcher, vice president for planning and operations, said the HSC will wait to see what happens with a campuswide smoking policy review initiated by WVU President James Clements.

"I'm absolutely confident we'll get there," Butcher said. "We just need to go through the appropriate process." . . .

At Friday's BOG meeting, Clements said a task force is being formed to review the smoking policy. Faculty, students and staff will be included, but Clements said it will likely take time to address the issue.

It can take a year or more to address a campus smoking policy, he said.

"The discussion about that is fairly complex," Clements said. "When are you on campus, when are you off campus. ... It's a complicated issue. I just want to allow people to have input."

Jump to full article »

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In some cases, smoking bans have even been rescinded or postponed, a much less common occurrence than officials declining to impose restrictions.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

Jump to full article »

• Smoking ban hits tax till  

The drive by West Virginia bar owners to protect their businesses from the smoking ban has taken a hit from the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., maker of Winston cigarettes.

Kerry "Paco" Ellison, owner of the Blackhawk Saloon in Charleston, took the double blow after resisting the ban for more than a year and becoming prominent statewide in the movement by bar owners.

Reynolds charged Ellison with using an inflatable balloon of a pack of Winston cigarettes to the detriment of the company by promoting "unlawful smoker rights and to encourage patrons of your bar to violate the county's smoking ban."

Ellison told Gazette staff writer Eric Eyre, "It just baffles me that no matter what I do, somebody goes and gets a bigger dog. At this point the fight continues."

But since then, he has had second thoughts about continuing to defy the smoking ban by offering special nights for smoking in the bar. Yet no decision to move the giant Winston sign ballooned at the front of the place, though the lettering has been revised with duct tape.

Jump to full article »

• Marion County Rescinds Smoking Ban  

FAIRMONT -- The Marion County Board of Health has had to deal with its share of controversy over the past few months.

The most recent troubles were over the removal of Alan Parks from the board and allegations its smoking ban vote wasn't legal, because it wasn't on the agenda.

On Friday, the board took a step to remedy the situation, when it revisited the county's Clean Indoor Air Act The smoking ban was on the agenda and officials say the vote to rescind the ban was about making the situation right.

"We voted 3 to 1 to rescind the Clean Indoor Air Act and go back to the original version," says BOH President Randy Elliott.

The vote reinstated the county's 2004 Clean Indoor Air Act, keeping smoking illegal in restaurants and public buildings, but allowing it in bars and fraternal organizations.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking holdout gives up 

Kerry "Paco" Ellison, owner of the Blackhawk Saloon, said he is giving up his fight against the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department's smoking ban.

As of Tuesday night after 4 p.m., the bar that has openly defied the ban for more than a year was smoke-free, Ellison said. Only one section of an outdoor patio, located more than 15 feet from the entrance, was reserved for smokers, he said.

Ellison said his decision to end his battle with the county's health board came after a visit Tuesday, just as his bar was opening, from an official with the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration.

Ellison, who was not present when the official arrived, said his employees were told that the bar would lose its liquor license if one more person was caught inside smoking.

"The eagle has landed and the Blackhawk is smoke-free," Ellison said Tuesday night.

Jump to full article »

• Blackhawk Saloon giving up smoking battle  

A Charleston bar owner who flouted the Kanawha County smoking ban for more than a year will no longer allow his customers to light up.

Kerry "Paco" Ellison, who owns the Blackhawk Saloon, said the state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration threatened to revoke his liquor license Tuesday night, if he continued to allow patrons to smoke.

"They said if they see one cigarette, they'll begin the revocation process," Ellison said. "In other words, checkmate."

Earlier this year, Ellison was convicted in Kanawha Magistrate Court of violating the smoking ban. Ellison appealed, but a Kanawha circuit judge upheld the conviction.

Jump to full article »

• R.J. Reynolds joins Kanawha smoking-ban fray 

The R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is demanding that a Charleston bar owner remove a giant inflatable "Winston" cigarette pack replica outside the Blackhawk Saloon.

Kerry "Paco" Ellison has used the mock cigarette pack to protest Kanawha County's expanded smoking ban.

R.J. Reynolds alleges that the inflatable advertisement is harming the company's reputation because Ellison also is using it to advertise "unlawful smoker nights" and "encourage patrons of your bar to violate the county's smoking ban," according to a letter sent to Ellison by the tobacco company's chief lawyer.

"Obviously, it's a matter we take very seriously," said R.J. Reynolds spokesman David Howard, who declined additional comment Monday.

Ellison said he wasn't sure whether he would leave the inflatable advertisement up or take it down.

Jump to full article »

• Bar's inflatable Winstons broke tobacco ad limits, health officials say  

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department has asked the state Attorney General to investigate a Charleston bar owner who flouted the county's expanded smoking ban by setting up a giant inflatable cigarette pack replica outside his bar.

Health officials allege that Blackhawk Saloon owner Kerry "Paco" Ellison violated the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement that limits cigarette marketing and advertising. Last month, the 16-by-18-foot inflatable Winston cigarette pack was visible for weeks to motorists on Interstate 64, just east of the state Capitol.

"It was visible to children," said Brenda Isaac, the health board's president. "We thought people should look into whether it's breaking federal law. You can't put up a billboard like this and advertise cigarettes."

Ellison, who has butted heads with the Health Department over the county's expanded smoking ban for more than a year, said he put up the custom inflatable to help advertise a "smoker's night" at his bar on Aug. 19. . . .

"I'm going to have to get that up again," Ellison said. "I'll have to do that. I call it my inflatable doll." . . .

Ellison said the Winston inflatable was originally displayed at the Charlotte Motor Speedway, which hosts NASCAR races. The product replica was discarded at some point, he said.

"It was in a Dumpster down there, and some guy fished it out," he said. . . .

Ellison said Winston did not pay him to display the air-blown advertisement.

Jump to full article »

• West Virginia: Berkeley Co. Health board snuffs out clean-air proposals 

MARTINSBURG, W.VA. --In what the Berkeley County Health Department administrator called a "totally unexpected chain of events," the county's board of health Monday unanimously voted down changes to the county's clean-air ordinance.

The Berkeley County Board of Health voted 5-0 in favor of not imposing tougher restrictions on smoking in public spaces and workplaces, according to Bill Kearns, the county's health department administrator, who authored much of the proposal.

"Basically, the clean-air indoor ordinance of 2001 stands and no revision was approved," Kearns said in a telephone interview after the meeting.

Martinsburg Mayor George Karos, a member of the board, made a motion to vote in favor of not implementing the changes, Kearns said.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking ban for clubs nixed  

MARTINSBURG - Clubs, bars and fraternal organizations will not be forced to ban smoking, thanks to unanimous action taken at Monday's night's Berkeley County Health Department meeting.

Just minutes after board member George Karos made a motion not to make a proposed change in the county's clean indoor air policy, the other four board members also echoed his sentiment, although for a variety of reasons.

At least one person disagreed with the action. Dr. Diana Gaviria, the department's health officer, said after the meeting she feels board members made the wrong decision.

"This decision was not in the interest of public health. It was in response to a very effective and very vocal opposition. Unfortunately, I don't think it serves the members of the community well," Gaviria said.

"The priority of the Board of Health should be public health," she said.

Before making his motion, Karos said he had read and considered all of the public's comments. Karos also said the county already has an indoor air ordinance, which was enacted in 2001, and it is working well.

Jump to full article »

• Smokers Rally 

MARTINSBURG - Pete Snow may have to breath with the assistance of an oxygen tank, but that didn't stop the senior citizen and Berkeley County war veteran from joining scores of protesters Wednesday night in Martinsburg for a rally and march to show support for opposition to a proposed smoking ban.

The ban, proposed by the Berkeley County Health Department, would eliminate smoking at private bars, clubs and fraternal organizations.

"I just don't believe they should take the rights away from the private clubs. I mean I'm on oxygen, but if I don't want to go, I can go someplace else. Don't take rights away from other people," Snow said while standing amidst the protesters at the square in downtown Martinsburg. "I think too much of this is going on in my country today. Rights are being taken away."

The protest was organized by local businessman and smoking-ban opponent Butch Pennington, who owns three clubs and two liquor stores. The board of health could vote on the ban at their next regular meeting, which is at 4 p.m. Monday at the old Berkeley County Courthouse across the street from the square where protesters gathered.

Jump to full article »

• Bar owners charged for follow-up smoking inspections 

The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department is taking a new tack in its battle against bars that habitually violate the county's smoking ban: Make them pay for it.

Since July, the Health Department has sent invoices to a handful of bars and gambling parlors that have violated the Clean Indoor Air Act and require a follow-up inspection.

Kerry "Paco" Ellison, who owns the Blackhawk Saloon and recently received two invoices totaling $175, said Tuesday he wouldn't pay the bills.

"They've got people dying of swine flu, and they're worried about cigarettes?" said Ellison, who faces five misdemeanor charges for smoking ban violations. "I'm going to go over to the Health Department with a mop and bucket, clean their floors and send them an invoice."

Health Department officials said only repeat offenders must pay re-inspection fees.

Jump to full article »

• Smoking ban enforcement on hold ($$) 

FAIRMONT -- As of noon on Friday, the Marion County Clean Indoor Air Regulation was no longer being enforced in local bars, clubs and video poker parlors.

Just three weeks after the updated regulations went into effect, county officials explained that a legal issue in the process of how the smoking ban was adopted would prevent them from enforcing it any further.

Acting on a citizen complaint brought up during this week's county commission meeting, Commission President Randy Elliott said he contacted the West Virginia Ethics Commission to discuss the appointment of Alan Parks to the county board of health last year.

Jump to full article »

• Bar owner plans second annual smoke-in  

Controversial bar owner Kerry "Paco" Ellison is planning his second-annual smokers' celebration at his Charleston bar.

Ellison, owner of the Blackhawk Saloon in Charleston, said the second-annual smokers' night activities begin at 4 p.m. Wednesday at the saloon.

Ellison and his clientele have flouted Kanawha County's indoor smoking ban since the regulations barring smoking at bars and gambling establishments went into effect last year. Ellison was convicted in Kanawha Magistrate Court of disobeying the ordinance, but an appeal is pending in Kanawha Circuit Court.

Jump to full article »

• Tri-State asks Nitro to help overcome smoking ban 

Owners of Tri-State Racetrack & Gaming Center are planning an end run around Kanawha County's indoor smoking ban.

Dan Adkins, vice president of track owners Hartman & Tyner Inc., plans to meet with officials with the city of Nitro next week about smoking at Tri-State. The track lies inside Nitro city limits.

"We're going to take whatever remedy, legal or otherwise, to solve this problem," Adkins said Monday.

Revenue at Tri-State Racetrack is down by $15 million compared with last year, Adkins said. He and company officials blame most of the loss on a countywide smoking ban that went into effect in July 2008.

Nitro Mayor Rusty Casto plans to introduce an ordinance at a town council meeting July 21 that would allow both smoking and non-smoking sections at Tri-State.

Jump to full article »