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As the city readies to weigh public input on new citywide smoking rules at a hearing Tuesday, residents and visitors to Columbus, randomly surveyed Friday, all supported the council passing a city-wide smoking ban.
"I think it's good (to ban smoking in public places)," Corey Thompson, of Columbus, said while shopping at Leigh Mall. "The people who don't smoke don't want to be around it and the smokers can go outside, I guess."
"I don't smoke," said Jamelia Joiner, of Macon, who was dining in Columbus. "I think it's a good idea."
"That's a good idea (to) ban people from smoking," agreed Shedrick Shanklin, of Macon. "I can't stand all that smoke."
KNOWN AS THE COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI NON-SMOKER PROTECTION ACT
WHEREAS, scientific studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution; and
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Starting Thursday, smoking will be forbidden on the campus of the Novato Community Hospital.
The hospital timed its smoking ban to coincide with the day of the American Cancer Society’s annual Great American Smokeout.
The ban applies to the hospital’s entire campus, which includes two office buildings near the hospital itself.
“When you drive across the bridge, you’ve entered a smoke-free (zone),” said hospital spokeswoman Mary Strebig. Smoking will even be forbidden inside vehicles.
The idea to snuff out smoking at the hospital came from Chief Administrative Officer Anne Hosfeld. Smoke-free hospitals are a growing trend, Strebig said. It’s something that’s recommended by the commission that accredits hospitals, she said.
The South Padre Island Board of Aldermen convened in a room crowded with interested spectators Wednesday evening.
Most of them were there to see what the board would do with one item on its agenda: "Discussion and possible action regarding a 'No Smoking' ordinance in offices, retail shops, hotels/motels and enclosed restaurants."
Alderman Sam Listi, who had placed the item on the agenda, led off the discussion. He said smoking is an addiction, and he managed to quit many years ago. "Tobacco smoke contains nicotine, a drug that is addictive and can make it very hard, but not impossible, to quit," he said.
He contended that more than 400,000 deaths in the United States each year are due to smoking-related illnesses, and recommended adoption of an ordinance to prohibit smoking in offices, retail shops, hotel/motels, restaurants (except for outdoor areas) and bars that derive more than half their gross income from the sale of food.
Listi said he had many letters and e-mails supporting his position, and none against it. He also had a long list of Texas cities that have passed similar ordinances, including Houston.
Alderwoman Alita Bagley said she was personally against such an ordinance in principle, but she, too, had many letters of support for the "No Smoking" ordinance
If you smoke or use other tobacco products, don't apply for a job with Susquehanna Health System based in Williamsport.
Beginning Jan. 1, all job applicants must pass a nicotine screening besides the current drug test. Those who fail will not be hired, said Traci L. Witter, a spokeswoman for the health system, which consists of Williamsport, Divine Providence and Muncy Valley hospitals.
The ban on hiring smokers and other tobacco users is the first in the state, according to the Pennsylvania Department of Health.
LEBANON TOWNSHIP-- The grounds of Hagedorn Psychiatric Hospital are now smoke-free, making it the last of the state psychiatric hospitals to prohibit smoking anywhere on campus.
The Lebanon Township hospital has for more than a year implemented smoking-cessation programs, according to a Division of Health Services' (DHS) press release.
"This initiative mirrors what is being done at hospitals, medical centers and corporations throughout the country and supports the DHS' efforts to embrace a system that focuses on wellness and recovery," said DHS Commissioner Jennifer Velez. "We must help our patients break the cycle of nicotine addiction and live longer, healthier lives."
After months of intense debate, the moment has arrived. Thursday, the start of the campus-wide tobacco ban, coinciding with the 34th Great American Smokeout, is finally here.
At a news conference Thursday, members of the Tobacco-Free Campus Task Force highlighted some of the implementation and treatment plans, while encouraging tobacco users to quit.
Thursday is a historical day for UK, said UK President Lee Todd, and the plan puts students, staff and faculty first.
Co-chair of the task force Ellen Hahn said between Nov. 11 and Nov. 17, 1,282 UK employees were anonymously surveyed, in which 26 percent said they would be more likely to quit using tobacco because of this policy. In the same survey, 76 percent said the policy would reduce secondhand smoke, and more than 50 percent said the policy would help them quit using, Hahn said.
From Sept. 10 through Nov. 13, 667 students were surveyed. Around 34 percent said the policy would reduce their tobacco use, and 27 percent said they would quit in the next 30 days at that time.
A federal appeals court says a Rhode Island judge was correct to order a new trial for a state trooper who was ultimately cleared of using excessive force during a raid on a tribal smoke shop. . . .
The lawsuit stemmed from a violent July 2003 state police raid on a Narragansett Indian Tribe smoke shop that was selling tax-free tobacco products.
U.S. District Judge Ernest Torres threw out the verdict, saying the evidence showed Jones had used reasonable force. An appeals court reinstated the case, and Torres granted Jones a new trial. A second jury last year ruled in his favor.
The appeals court said Thursday that Torres' decisoin was correct.
At its Board Meeting on Nov. 18, the Board of Directors of ClearWay Minnesota approved five grants for new research on topics ranging from cigarette replacement products to commercial tobacco use in Minnesota's American Indian communities. ClearWay Minnesota will award more than $1.8 million to Minnesota researchers through these grants.
"These new grant awards show our continuing commitment to the innovative research that shapes our work to reduce tobacco's harm," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer at ClearWay Minnesota. "This significant investment in research will pay healthy dividends for Minnesotans well into the future."
2009 has been a monumental year for Doug Dawson. Motivation of first-time fatherhood paired with "moneyvation," from QUITPLAN Services' QuitCash Challenge, helped the 31-year-old Columbia Heights man quit a 17-year smoking habit and win The Challenge. Nearly 2,000 Minnesotans, including Doug, attempted to quit tobacco use during October for a chance to win the $5,000 grand prize.
On Thursday, November 19, the day of the 34th annual Great American Smokeout, QUITPLAN Services will celebrate Doug's success in quitting smoking with a celebration event at the Mall of America in Bloomington. In addition to Doug's $5,000 grand prize, another contest participant will receive a $2,000 Mall of America gift card and two others will receive $1,000 Gander Mountain gift cards. . . .
"We were delighted to learn that Doug had used The QuitCash Challenge and QUITPLAN Services to help him and his family stay tobacco-free," said David Willoughby, Chief Executive Officer at ClearWay Minnesota(SM), the nonprofit organization that administers QUITPLAN Services. "We encourage Minnesota tobacco users looking to quit to use QUITPLAN Services any time of the year to achieve success."
Sadly, West Virginia has America's worst rate of deadly cigarette smoking and exposure to dangerous second-hand smoke inside homes. That's the finding of a Centers for Disease Control survey released last week. A CDC announcement said:
"Among states, smoking prevalence was highest in West Virginia (26.6 percent), Indiana (26.1 percent) and Kentucky (25.3 percent). ... Home exposure [to second-hand smoke] varied widely from 3 percent of adults exposed in their homes in Arizona to 10.1 and 10.6 percent, respectively, in Mississippi and West Virginia." . . .
Nicotine is as addictive as heroin. Tobacco companies are basically drug pushers, because their profits depend on getting young Americans hooked, then reaping revenue from them for years - with little concern for health damage they suffer.
Today, the American Cancer Society will hold its yearly Great American Smokeout, urging hooked people to overcome their craving for cigarettes. It isn't easy. Personal courage and willpower are required to fight off the deadly habit. But we urge West Virginia's excessive number of smokers to be brave and break free.
TAMPA - No, it wasn't more early morning fog you spotted over Centennial Park.
It was the smoky haze of the 11th annual Cigar Heritage Festival, which drew aficionados of all things stogie to the Ybor City park Saturday.
The festival, a fundraiser for the Ybor City Museum Society, included a successful attempt by local cigar maker Wallace Reyes to earn a Guinness World Record.
Reyes completed assembling a 180-foot cigar
Jon Gosselin was spotted by photographers when he arrived at the LAX airport in Los Angeles, California on November 20, 2009. Jon is obviously enjoying California, check out the cigarette on his mouth while accommodating his fans.
Some UofL smokers complain that it's cruel to restrict smoking when final exams are only weeks away, and some don't expect the ban to ever be strictly enforced. Indeed, UK and Bellarmine officials told the newspaper that citations won't be issued to smoking ban violators and that the focus is on "changing behaviors."
The fact is that college smoking bans are in the best interest of the students and faculty, something that benefits everyone. That's so, even if quitting proves tougher than taking an organic chemistry final.
When Montana’s smoking ban went into full effect Oct. 1, it hit some businesses hard and left others virtually unscathed. In general, establishments that catered specifically to the gambling crowd suffered most.
“Some little bars did well, but some, absolutely no one’s coming in,” said Steve Arntzen, chief operating officer for Century Gaming. The Billings-based business accounts for 25 percent of the video gaming machines in Montana. “Where gaming is secondary, those places haven’t been impacted nearly as much.”
That general rule seems to have traction in the Billings region. At CJ’s on the West End, food takes center stage over its 21 gaming machines. Co-owner Dave Holland said the ban made barely a ripple there.
“Some weeks are up, some weeks are down,” he said. “But everything sure smells a lot better.”
The Sports Page on Broadwater, with 23 television sets but no video gaming machines, was one of the few that actually benefited from the ban.
Pikeville College announced Friday that the school will be tobacco-free by the fall semester of 2010.
The decision has not been endorsed by all faculty members, however.
Some students and faculty feel their rights are being infringed upon. One of those students is Cathy Coleman, a social work and psychology major, who says the decision to ban smoking from the school was done without getting student opinions first.
"We have rights as smokers just like people that don't smoke," she said. "We're paying to go to school here and we should be allowed to smoke if we choose to."