http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/exceptions.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.statenews.com/index.php/article/2009/11/senate_has_not_yet_taken_action_on_smoking_ban_bill http://tobacco.org/news/292851.html The smoke still has not cleared between the Michigan House and Senate on whether state residents should be allowed to enjoy cigarettes while dining. It has been six months since the Michigan House passed a statewide smoking ban for public places, such as restaurants and bars, and the Senate still has not picked up the bill, which exempts casinos and cigar bars. Some representatives still are pushing for the Senate to take action on the bill, but experts said disagreement between the two houses could mean the Senate might not pick it up at all. “Having just finished up the budget process, we are looking at our agenda for the upcoming year and we haven’t had any discussion of how we will address the smoking ban,” said Matt Marsden, spokesman for Sen. Majority Leader Mike Bishop, R-Rochester. The Senate passed a smoking ban with no exemptions in 2008, but the House never picked up that bill, he said. “If there is going to be a smoking ban, we don’t believe there should be carve-outs for certain establishments,” Marsden said. But exempting casinos and cigar bars would create a “middle ground,” State News Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=11524264 http://tobacco.org/news/292849.html December first, a new statewide smoking ban takes effect. Restaurants and bars must go smoke-free or provide a separate room for smokers. Will this help or hurt local restaurants? Restaurants are allowed to let customers smoke only in a separate room that has its own ventilation, so that smoke does not drift into the main dining room. They can also allow smoking on outdoor patios. At Calabash Seafood in Mechanicsville, a club and restaurant where patrons can currently smoke, they're building a new smoking section: an enclosed patio. "We're going to put in some heating and some ceiling fans and try to make it as comfortable as we can for them," said owner Dennis Smith. Owners Dennis and Janet Smith say they're spending about $20,000 to build the smoking patio and remodel their indoor restaurant and lounge, which will be smoke-free. They believe it will pay off. WWBT NBC12 hsullivan@nbc12.com ( Heather Sullivan - Posted by Terry Alexander ) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.presstelegram.com/opinions/ci_13801552 http://tobacco.org/news/292776.html With a recession and record unemployment in full swing, with furloughs of city employees and the negative effect on their family budgets hanging over the heads; with revenue shortfalls threatening even more cuts; with all these and more, it's no wonder some residents hanker for a good cigar or a toke on a tobacco hookah. . . . Long Beach was a pioneer in regulating smoking in public and in workplaces, and it appears the city will pioneer restrictions on where smokers can enjoy their habit. Let's hope they don't go that one toke over the line. Without too much more discussion - given the gravity of the economics of city budgeting - it's time to let smokers smoke, without inflicting their nasty habit on the rest of us. Long Beach Press-Telegram Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_13792512?source=rss http://tobacco.org/news/292688.html Smoke 'em if you got 'em - but only with a ventilation system and not if you're serving any food or beverages - may become Long Beach's new policy for the city's recently legalized smoking lounges. Oh, and don't invite any of your friends - we're happy with the eight cigar lounges and four hookah bars that we have now, thank you - might also be added to the policy. That last caveat could become the biggest challenge as the City Council tackles how to regulate smoking lounges Tuesday. The council's Economic Development and Finance Committee voted to recommend new smoking lounge regulations last week, but committee members were concerned about a proliferation of new lounges. City attorneys and city staff said the city has limited legal right to restrict the number of lounges. "Once we open this up, I think that there is the potential for other legitimate businesses to qualify under the regulations, and I think that is a consideration the council has to weigh," Director of Health and Human Services Ron Arias told the committee Wednesday. Long Beach Press-Telegram paul.eakins@presstelegram.com (Paul Eakins, Staff Writer) Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3733 http://tobacco.org/news/292610.html The Columbus City Council Tuesday is scheduled to consider a city-wide smoking ordinance which includes options for non-smokers and smokers. The proposed ordinance, which largely is modeled after a Tennessee state law, bans smoking in "all enclosed public places," including restaurants. But it allows smoking in "age-restricted venues," or bars, restaurants and other establishments, which only allow people age 21 or over to enter, and "private clubs," which restrict access to the general public. "I just think it's the right thing to do," Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said of the ordinance, which he proposed. "Secondhand smoke is one of the most dangerous things in the world. There's just study, after study, after study on that. . . . Proposed ordinance AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI, ENACTING AN ORDINANCE BANNING AND/OR RESTRICTING SMOKING 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 WHEREAS, such scientific studies, including st Columbus Commercial Dispatch support@cdispatch.com (Kristin Mamrack ) Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.khou.com/news/galveston-smoking-ban-reconsidered-69959352.html http://tobacco.org/news/292602.html Island voters may get a chance to decide during the May election where smoking should be allowed. Dissatisfied with the smoking ordinance they adopted earlier this year, city council members voted unanimously to consider four options for changing it. The ordinance, which takes effect Jan. 1, bans smoking in restaurants, bars, outdoor seating areas, tobacco stores and private clubs. During their Dec. 3 meeting, council members will talk about amending it to allow smoking in tobacco stores and bars. They also will consider either rescinding it permanently or rescinding it and putting it on the May ballot. Complaints from business owners, including the bar and restaurant owners who initially supported the ban, prompted the council to reconsider the changes. . . . The ordinance as adopted is one of the strictest in the state. But as it was proposed, the ordinance was more consistent with regulations in other cities, allowing smoking in outdoor seating areas and tobacco stores. The Galveston Restaurant Association supported the proposed ordinance but said the adopted regulations were too strict. Most restaurant owners wanted to allow smoking in outdoor seating areas. KHOU CBS 11 assignments@khou.com ( Leigh Jones / The Daily News ) Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.presstelegram.com/ci_13765892?source=rss http://tobacco.org/news/292565.html Figuring out a way to allow existing smoking lounges to continue in Long Beach yet prevent more from opening is easier said than done, a City Council panel learned Wednesday afternoon. The three-member Economic Development and Finance Committee got a first look at new regulations for smoking lounges, which the council voted to legalize in February, 15 years after Long Beach's groundbreaking ban on smoking in public places and workplaces went into effect. The full council will consider the lounge regulations next Tuesday. The committee voted 2-1, with Councilwoman Rae Gabelich opposed, to recommend that the council approve the proposed regulations with a few changes, but was forced to stop short of implementing controls to prevent new smoking lounges from opening. "You are old enough to make your own decisions," Gabelich said to several cigar lounge owners who attended Wednesday's meeting, "but I do not want any more of these anywhere in the city." Long Beach Press-Telegram paul.eakins@presstelegram.com (Paul Eakins, Staff Writer) Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.kokomotribune.com/local/local_story_315225512.html?keyword=secondarystory http://tobacco.org/news/292556.html The Indiana Public Health Association wants the smoking ban in Kokomo strengthened and extended to all of Howard County. Michelle Lindley with the Indiana Public Health Association and Shirley DuBois with Smoke Free Kokomo asked members of the Howard County Board of Health Monday to support the effort. Kokomo banned smoking in public buildings in 2006, but the ordinance -- approved by the Kokomo Common Council -- included exemptions for taverns and restaurants that cater to those over the age of 21. Lindley said three studies published since 2006 by the Surgeon General, Institute of Medicine and the World Health Organization outlined the dangers of second-hand smoke. Kokomo Tribune ken.delabastide@kokomotribune.com (Ken de la Bastide Tribune enterprise editor ) Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.stltoday.com/blogzone/chas-beat/politics/2009/11/st-charles-and-dardenne-prairie-mayors-want-countywide-vote-on-smoking-ban/ http://tobacco.org/news/292507.html Mayors Patti York of St. Charles and Pam Fogarty of Dardenne Prairie want St. Charles County voters to decide whether smoking should be banned in restaurants and other public places across the county. The two city leaders weighed in on the issue in separate interviews on their reaction to the successful push in last week’s election for a smoking ban in St. Louis County. “I think it was the right way to do it, take it to the public,” York said. ”In just a matter of time, we’ll all be smoke-free. It will be one by one, watching the pins drop.” Last year, when a St. Charles city panel on health issues made an unsuccessful proposal for a smoking ban limited to her city, York said she preferred that the issue instead be addressed on a statewide basis by the Legislature. Now that St. Louis County has acted, York said, it makes sense for St. Charles County to vote as well. To ensure that businesses in St. Charles County aren’t at a disadvantage, York said, any ballot proposal should contain the same exemptions that St. Louis County adopted. Among the exemptions to the smoking ban there are casino gambling floors and bars that derive 25 percent or less of their income from food or other non-liquor items. St. Louis Post-Dispatch Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thecurrentonline.com/opinions/illegalizing-what-s-legal-1.2058451 http://tobacco.org/news/292462.html While it's no big secret that smoking can harm your health, the ban that St. Louis County voted on and approved Tuesday is misguided. . . . For a non-smoker, this means clearer, fresher air in their favorite public place. For a smoker, it means freezing outside in the wintertime, only to receive dirty looks and fake coughs from passersby. However, even non-smokers can agree that the way the ban, or Proposition N, is being executed is wrong. First, less than 20 percent of eligible voters voted last Tuesday . . . Second-hand smoke kills right? Actually, there are studies, not well publicized by the government or anti-smoking campaigns, which show the effects of secondhand smoke to be statistically irrelevant. However, there are studies that say precisely the opposite. . . . Stopping the spread of second-hand smoke may seem noble at first glance, but the way St. Louis is doing it is limiting both personal freedoms and harming small business owners who cannot afford lobbyists to get them onto the elite "exemptions" portion of Proposition N. The Current Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wcbi.com/article.php?subaction=showfull&id=1257908281&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2,5,6,40,45& http://tobacco.org/news/292441.html Officials say the City Council could decide as early as its meeting Tuesday to adopt an ordinance based on a Tennessee state law that bans smoking in all public buildings except for those that exclude customers who are under 21. The age provision is targeted at businesses that are almost strictly bars or taverns and seldom have underage customers anyway. Bars and restaurants could allow smoking in open air patios and decks or in areas that have open ventilation where smoke doesn't go inside the main building. Chili's in Columbus has a patio that could meet the requirement. WCBI steverogers@wcbi.com Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wowt.com/home/headlines/69725177.html http://tobacco.org/news/292438.html For the first time since smoking was banned inside Omaha businesses, some are now legally lighting up. A special license has been granted to a Benson business, the first within Omaha city limits. A smoky bar hasn't been seen in Omaha in quite some time. The city outlawed the habit at such places in June 2008. Strict tobacco retailers were the exception. "I can't tell you how many times I'd be at a bar, and I'd just reek. I didn't really care for that, so I was pretty happy they banned it." A state ban took effect this past June. By September, it was amended with a loophole for business owners like John Larkin of Jake’s Cigar Bar & Spirits, 62nd & Maple.. "It's right in our name, Jake's Cigars,” he says, “and to not be able to smoke in the business was very tough, and now that we can, we expect cigar sales to go back up." Monday, Larkin was granted a license to allow cigar smoking.A business qualifies with a class c liquor license, earning at least 10% of business from sales of tobacco or tobacco products. They cannot serve food and must have a walk-in humidor. A license costs $1,000, and it does not allow cigarette smoking. With the first such license granted in Omaha, some familiar arguments resurface. “There is absolutely no safe level of second-hand smoke exposure," says Mark Welsch, president of the Group to Alleviate Smoking Pollution. WOWT Channel 6 sixonline@wowt.com Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/529590.html http://tobacco.org/news/292437.html In the three years Ohio has been smoke-free, not a single building has qualified for the ''private club'' exemption, according to state officials, leaving some clubs like the VFW Post 1090 in Warren expressing outrage and frustration. That club on High Street has racked up four smoking violations totaling $1,600 since enforcement began. Despite a pitch during the 2006 election campaign to make the state smoke-free that smoking would remain permissible at private clubs, Ohio Department of Health spokesman Kristopher Weiss said this week that none of the 280,000 public places covered by Ohio's ban has been able to meet the stringent rules outlining a private club exemption. ''They just want to be left alone,'' said U.S. Marine Corps veteran and Post 1090 member Richard Harvey. According to Harvey, the post just recently and grudgingly began directing its members to obey the law and smoke outside, but they're filing a brief with the city board of health arguing that they should be exempted as a private club as promised during the election. Warren Tribune Chronicle brodgers@tribtoday.com (BILL RODGERS Tribune Chronicle) Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://media.www.capahaarrow.com/media/storage/paper768/news/2009/11/05/CampusEvents/Southeast.Smoking.Ban.Little.Known.And.Largely.Ignored-3824216.shtml http://tobacco.org/news/292314.html As taxes on tobacco increase, smokers decrease. At least the colleges and the state of Missouri hope that's true. Smoking bans have become popular on college campuses, gaining the attention of the State Senate, who are debating whether it is even possible, but they are determined to try. It has also gained the attention of Southeast, staff and students alike. Southeast's solution: forbid smoking everywhere with some exceptions. The consensus - comprised of both smokers and non-smokers - was nearly universal on the topic of designated areas in Aug. 2008 when the ban was first implemented. Only a small minority desired a completely smoke-free campus. Southeast student Diana Carter said, "I didn't even know there was a smoking ban. But I'm glad. A smoke free Illinois was good. I'm glad Southeast is smoke free, too. I do wish it was a little stricter, but at least it is there. The smokers have their own place to smoke and I have my own place to breathe clean air." There are 24 places scattered outside the main campus that allows smoking. There is no smoking indoors or in university vehicles with two exceptions. . . . DPS is not the only one responsible for noting smoking in non-designated areas. Everyone needs to assist in smoking prevention. That means if someone, like Post, other students, or professors, witnesses someone continually smoking, remind the person of the law. If it persists, inform the Office of Student Conduct The Arrow Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.omaha.com/article/20091105/ENTERTAINMENT/711059867 http://tobacco.org/news/292201.html Sniff, sniff. Cigar smokers smell victory at hand as two new cigar bars -- Ravenite Cigar Bar & Lounge and Havana Garage -- get ready to open. The Nebraska Liquor Control Commission recently approved rules to facilitate a new state law that exempts cigar bars from the statewide public smoking ban. Under those rules -- which are still waiting approval from the governor and attorney general -- to become a cigar bar, businesses would have to obtain a special liquor license, install a walk-in humidor (a special room with temperature and humidity controls for storing and displaying cigars), generate at least 10 percent of their gross revenue from tobacco sales (except cigarettes), and would be prohibited from allowing cigarette smoking and selling food. (Tobacco shops also are exempt from the statewide smoking ban.) Omaha World Herald bluemarkentertainment@yahoo.com ( Josefina Loza WORLD-HERALD STAFF WRITER ) Thu, 05 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT