Email
Password
(Forgot Password?)
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.
Jump to full article »
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 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.
As a debate rages in Cheyenne over statewide smoke-free legislation, opponents are questioning the timing of a state-sponsored billboard campaign targeting second-hand smoke.
Top Department of Health officials, meanwhile, insist that the billboard campaign and an accompanying print advertising blitz are appropriate, and were not purposely timed to influence the vote.
"This is part of our mission is to educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use and second-hand smoke," said Department of Health Deputy Director Roger McDaniel.
A day after it endorsed a nearly comprehensive ban on smoking in public buildings, the House inserted exemptions for private business offices and establishments that admit adults aged 21 and older.
Another major amendment would allow city and county governments to opt out of the ban by local ordinance.
Supporters of the bill said they were outraged by the changes, but opponents said the amendments represented a move toward middle ground, and reflect the true desires of cities and counties across the state.
"Ninety-five percent of Wyoming communities have not passed smoking bans," said Mike Moser, executive director of the Wyoming State Liquor Association. "What the Legislature did was an approach of moderation."
The changes now put the bill in a precarious place.
An effort to boost the state cigarette tax by 50 cents a pack died a speedy death in the state Legislature Wednesday.
The House Revenue Committee took testimony on House Bill 224 and then declined to even consider the bill. It died for lack of a second.
HB 224, sponsored by Rep. Lori Millin, D-Cheyenne, would have raised the tax on a pack of cigarettes from the current 60 cents to $1.10. . . .
Marian J. Schulz, lobbyist for tobacco giant Philip Morris USA, said the cigarette excise tax is not a dependable source of revenue for local governments, and is "aggressive and unfair to adults who smoke."
Schulz said the tax increase would hit the poorest Wyoming residents the hardest, and retailers would suffer because of the resulting decrease in cigarette sales.
She noted that convenience stores nationwide depend on tobacco products for more than a third of their revenue.
"Philip Morris USA believes Wyoming smokers already pay a fair amount of tax on the cigarettes they purchase," Schulz said.
After two hours of sometimes emotional debate Thursday, the House gave initial approval to a statewide ban on smoking in all public buildings except private smoke shops.
Testimony on House Bill 31 featured a personal anecdote about cancer survival, a speech comparing second-hand smoke exposure to assault with a firearm and testimony likening the bill to regulations imposed under Germany's Nazi regime.
Multiple attempts to exempt bar and restaurants failed, in large part because of technical problems with the amendments. The exemption for smoke shops, sponsored by Rep. Jim Roscoe, D-Wilson, passed on a voice vote.
In its current form, HB 31 would ban smoking in nearly all buildings where the public is allowed. It contains exemptions for private vehicles, homes, designated smoking rooms in hotels and motels and federally approved American Indian religious ceremonies.
As in previous smoke-free debates this session, Thursday's testimony focused on two principle themes: private property rights vs. public health safety.
State lawmakers are considering an overhaul of the way "moist tobacco" is taxed in Wyoming, a change that could increase the price of most or all fine-cut chewing tobacco products.
House Bill 67 won final approval from the House on Monday.
If HB 67 becomes law, the tax on chewing tobacco will be based on product weight rather than a percentage of the product price, as is the case under current law.
Consumers currently pay a 20 percent tax on the price of chewing tobacco. Under HB 67, the tax would be 60 cents per ounce.
That will mean substantial increases in the price of low-cost brands of chewing tobacco, and much smaller increases for premium brands. . . .
Opponents of the bill, including the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, say they're uncomfortable with the legislation in part because it is has the backing of some tobacco companies, a scenario that raises warning flags.
Rep. Dan Zwonitzer, R-Cheyenne, said the tax will make the most expensive premium brands of dip more competitive with cheaper brands, a potentially unfair business scenario.
Increasing taxes on tobacco and employing a statewide ban could reduce smoking and its effects in Wyoming.
That's according to a report by the University of Wyoming Survey and Analysis Center. It was presented Thursday at a news conference here by the Wyoming Department of Health.
Making cigarettes more expensive and enacting bans on smoking in public places make people think twice about starting and encourages others to quit, Brent Sherard said.
He's the director of the state Department of Health and the state health officer. . . .
The UW report concluded: "enacting a cigarette excise tax increase and/or a statewide smoking law could improve the health and increase the life expectancy of Wyoming citizens by reducing the prevalence of the leading cause of preventable death."
And it's not just a health issue.
Based on figures from 2004, Wyoming could save over $1,500 in health-care costs for every smoker that quits.
The Wyoming House of Representatives on Thursday rejected a proposed statewide ban on smoking in public places, including bars and restaurants. The House voted 31-28 to introduce the bill. It failed to gain introduction under a provision of the rules that requires at least a two-thirds vote for nonfinancial matters to be heard in the budget session. Rep. Lori Millin, D-Cheyenne, had proposed the ban.
Statewide smoking restrictions are in play for the legislative session that begins Monday.
Despite a death threat and nasty messages from some residents, state Rep. Lori Millin, D-Cheyenne, is sponsoring House Bill 87. It would prohibit smoking in enclosed public places statewide. . . .
Millin's proposal would prohibit smoking in places such as bars, restaurants, offices and on public transportation.