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While the omnipresent electronic gaming and casinos in Montana don’t appear to be going anywhere, the iconic smokey barrooms of that state are now just a memory. On Oct. 1, Montana became the most recent state to prohibit smoking indoors of all public places. Bars across Montana have scrambled, several news outlets reported, to concoct new ways to provide alternative smoking areas, by putting chairs and heaters in adjacent garages, or even building makeshift “butt huts” outside.
The Wyoming state legislature, meanwhile, has declined to touch the issue, with few indications it might pick it up in the forseable future. Some have suggested the influence of tobacco lobbyists in Cheyenne is to blame. But others, including a state representative involved in the smoking issue in Teton County, say Wyoming legislators are politically hardwired to avoid what they perceive is over-governing, which would include passing a statewide smoking ban. Legislators have decided instead to let individual communities decide whether to implement local smoking bans.
So when the Teton District Board of Health took it upon itself in March to pass a county-wide rule that would prohibit smoking inside public places, with an exception or two, it followed a few other communities that have passed some kind of smoking ban. Cheyenne, Evanston and Green River have adopted smoking rules (yet bars are exempted in Green River), but no other county health board in the state has taken on smoking, according to county attorney Keith Gingery.
A lawsuit filed soon after the vote put the ban on hold, allowing people to keep lighting up in the Virginian, which happens to be the only bar in the valley that has not voluntarily prohibited smoking. The owners of the Virginian Saloon and three other organizations are challenging the ban. . . .
In her decision, Judge Guthrie will weigh whether the smoking ban meets equal protection laws, which state that a law must be evenly applied to everyone. Freudenthal argues the smoking rule should be struck down in part because it forbids employees from smoking in company-owned vehicles. . . .
The judge could rule on the case sometime in the first months of 2010, Gingery said.
Until then, smokers will continue to light up in the Virginian, where, according to some, cigarette smoke is as much a part of the atmosphere as the jukebox, the shake-a-shift and the baskets of free popcorn available at the bar. A smokey bar is an increasingly rare site in America, but it remains to be seen whether its time has come for Jackson Hole. One thing is clear: some form of public smoking ban found today in all but 14 states, including Wyoming, the spark of community bans across the state, and the dominance of voluntary smoke-free policies locally, has spelled out the shift against smoking in general.
“I think some people are already saying ‘Why didn’t we do it here sooner?’” Blue said.
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Ninth District Judge Nancy Guthrie issued a ruling Tuesday afternoon denying county attorney Keith Gingery's motion to dismiss the lawsuit.
In her ruling, Guthrie said the case meets several state criteria that warrant judicial review and should be allowed to continue in court.
"The court finds that [the Smokefree Air Rule] is a final order of an administrative agency with no further administrative remedy available and it is thereby subject to judicial review by the court," Guthrie said in the ruling.
Flat Creek Development, which owns the Virginian Saloon, and three other organizations filed the lawsuit on the grounds that the Teton District Board of Health does not have the authority to approve such a rule, that the regulations are vague and that smoking is a legal right.
A coalition of about 50 Goshen County students and parents have filed a 34-page lawsuit against the Goshen County School District regarding the district's new random drug and alcohol testing policy.
The suit was filed with the Goshen County District Court after the coalition claimed the policy unconstitutional. They claim that the policy, passed in April, violates the Fourth and 14th Amendments of the United States Constitution. . . .
Sec. 4002 of the Act allows schools to conduct random drug testing to prevent violence in and around schools, and to prevent the illegal use of alcohol, tobacco and other drugs to foster a safe and drug free learning environment.
According to the Associated Press, this lawsuit is the first challenge a school district in Wyoming has received against its drug testing policy.
The Teton Health District filed a motion Thursday to dismiss a lawsuit challenging its Smokefree Air Rule.
Flat Creek Development, which owns the Virginian Saloon, and three nonprofit organizations did not make an adequate argument that the district doesn't have the authority to ban smoking in public places, the motion alleges.
"We filed the motion to dismiss because we don't think it rises to the level of actual suit," said Keith Gingery, attorney for Teton County and the health district.
The Teton District Board of Health voted in March to enact a smoking ban, which went into effect May 23, for all public places, including bars, restaurants and places of employment. Tobacco Row was given an exception to the rule.
Flat Creek Development teamed with the Wyoming Contractors Association, Wyoming Trucking Association and the State Liquor Association to file a lawsuit challenging the validity of the ban the day before it went into effect.
The lawsuit has not affected the status of the ban.
The only bar in Teton County that still allows smoking is one of four plaintiffs to file a lawsuit challenging the county's new smoking ban.
The Teton County Board of Health's rule goes into effect today.
Claim the rule is unconstitutional are Flat Creek Development Co., doing business as The Virginian Saloon in Jackson; the Wyoming Contractors Association; the Wyoming Trucking Association; and the Wyoming State Liquor Association. They want the air rule declared null and void in their lawsuit filed in Teton County District Court on Friday.
The defendants are the Teton County Health District and the Teton County Board of Health. . . .
Terri Gregory, Teton County public health manager, said the department was aware of the lawsuit. "We intend to go ahead and implement the rule tomorrow," Gregory said late Friday afternoon.
"We will be taking an educational approach with the business owners," and no one will be arrested, she added.
The owners of The Virginian Saloon and three nonprofit groups filed a lawsuit Friday opposing the Teton Health District's Smokefree Air Rule, which is set to go into effect Saturday.
The lawsuit asks 9th District Court Judge Nancy Guthrie to "declare that the 2009 Air Rule is void and unenforceable."
The Teton County board of health approved the rule, which prohibits smoking in all public places including bars, restaurants and places of employment, in late March following a mandatory public comment period. . . .
Flat Creek Development Co., which owns the Virginian, Wyoming Contractor's Association, Wyoming Trucking Association and the Wyoming State Liquor Association argue the health department doesn't have the authority to enact or enforce the smoke-free air rule.
The agency is an appointed body that has only the powers bestowed upon it by elected officials, and elected officials have defeated legislation on the state and local level in recent years, the lawsuit states.
The complainants argue the rule is unlawful because Wyoming law "prohibits the delegation of municipal functions, other than those which are purely administrative, to officials not subject to the control of the people."
Public health concerns trumped property rights arguments Tuesday as the Teton District Board of Health unanimously approved a countywide smoking ban.
Seven appointed board members listened to about 45 minutes of public comment before approving the measure called the Teton District Smokefree Air Rule of 2009.
Julia Heemstra, program manager for Teton County Tobacco Prevention, and her supporters have worked for more than two years to pass a smoking ban.
"This is landmark," she said after the meeting. "It sets the highest precedent. The fact that the board of health decided to move forward themselves is incredibly courageous."
For nearly two years, a fight has been ongoing in Teton County, Wyoming, to ban smoking from bars and restaurants.
Tuesday morning, county commissioners voted to institute a smoking ban.
Nearly 40 people were in the chamber at 9 a.m. for the two hour meeting.
Commissioners began taking public comment, most from emails in favor of the ban. Commissioners then discussed the issue for the second hour.
Then at 11 a.m., the conclusion was made to not allow smoking in bars, restaurants or within 20 feet of public buildings.
Those in attendance cheered the decision. Many in the community also felt that it was the right thing to do stating those living in Jackson are about being healthy.
The Teton County Health Department has received a late surge of public comments against a countywide smoking ban.
E-mails continued to trickle in to the health department Monday, the day before the public health board was to consider a measure that would prohibit lighting up in all public places, including bars and restaurants. The board is expected to vote on the proposal during a meeting at 9 a.m. today in the Teton County commissioners chambers.
County health manager Terri Gregory extended the comment period until today's meeting even though the required 45-day period ended March 15. She provided a copy of the comments Monday. More than 50 people had expressed their views through e-mails, phone calls and the county's Web site.
Last week, Gregory reported that a vast majority of the comments were in support of the rule. Since then, the number of opponents weighing in has nearly equaled that of supporters.
"I am not a smoker, but am fine with the current arrangement, where all but one restaurant/bars have banned smoking on their own," Dave Rhinehart wrote in his comments.
The Teton District Board of Health will likely vote this week on a rule that would bar smoking in all public buildings, bars, restaurants and ski resort lines.
Board members are expected to hear public comments and consider the smoke-free air rule during their meeting at 9 a.m. Tuesday in the Teton County commissioners' chambers.
An overwhelming majority of comments county health manager Terri Gregory received were in favor of the rule.
The health department has received nearly 40 responses since the public comment period began at the end of January.
Wyoming Medical Center will become one of 16 hospital campuses in the state to be completely nonsmoking.
As of July 1, there will be no designated smoking areas in or around the hospital, including the parking garage and adjacent sidewalks, the hospital announced Wednesday at its quarterly open board of directors meeting.
You've got to give Mike Moser credit. The man has a sense of humor.
While talking about the current state of the proposed ban on smoking in public places in Wyoming -- which the state House has riddled with more holes than fishing net -- the lobbyist for the Wyoming State Liquor Association said: "Our position is that it is a good middle ground."
Right, Mr. Moser. It no doubt is a "good middle ground" for liquor dealers, who are all lathered up about the possibility that they will lose business if the ban is passed.
Of course, if the playing field were level across Wyoming, one wonders where their customers would go. . . .
And it no doubt is a "good middle ground" for the tobacco companies that Mr. Moser so sneakily represents. Indeed, we are willing to bet that no more than a handful of lawmakers -- much less the people of this state -- know that Mr. Moser lists both R.J. Reynolds and Altria Client Services among the allied members of his association.
R.J. Reynolds is a name that is easy to recognize. It paid $1,750 for its "gold" membership.
Altria, on the other hand, is lesser known, but it tossed $750 Mr. Moser's way. It is the parent of Phillip Morris USA, the biggest U.S. tobacco firm.
Making matters worse is that Mr. Moser told a House committee during this session that he has no ties to the tobacco industry. Oops. . . .
Statistics show that 90 adults will die in Wyoming this year from the effects of secondhand smoke. Perhaps Mr. Moser and the tobacco companies don't care about that, but we do, and so do the people of this state. The time will come when a ban will be accepted in Wyoming. Just not this year.
Gruen von Behrens stood before nearly 900 students Friday afternoon at Cheyenne's East High.
"Take a good, long, hard look at my face," he said. "Think of me when you take a cigarette or chew."
His ravaged face is caused by the effects of chewing tobacco, he said. . . .
Behrens has talked to 2 million students in 36 states about the dangers of spit tobacco. He is a spokesman for Oral Health America's National Spit Tobacco program. Laramie County Tobacco Prevention sponsored his visit here.
Katie Grzemski, 15, was among students at the assembly. His message had an impact on her, she said. Students "hear about tobacco being bad all the time, but they don't get to see the effects of it."
In Wyoming, some kids start chewing because they saw their dad do it.
"We call that a generational problem," Mark Hicks, project coordinator for Wyoming Through With Chew, a statewide program focused on smokeless tobacco prevention through the Wyoming Department of Health (WDH), said.
"Unfortunately, some of them then get addicted as well," Hicks said.
To prevent kids -- and adults -- from ever becoming smokeless tobacco users, Through With Chew is hosting a weeks worth of events Sunday through Feb. 21. The week will also focus on helping users quit.
According to the 2008 data, 15 percent of 10th grade Albany County students surveyed reported using smokeless tobacco in the past 30 days, compared to 12 percent statewide, Hicks said. But regarding lifetime use, 25 percent of 10th grade Albany County students reported using smokeless tobacco, compared to the statewide average of 23 percent.