http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/smoking_bans.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://healthday.com/Article.asp?AID=633206 http://tobacco.org/news/293090.html Most smokers around the world support workplace smoking bans, according to a new study. Researchers surveyed more than 3,500 employees who smoke and more than 1,400 employers (smokers and nonsmokers) in the United States and 13 other countries. They found that 74 percent of employees who smoke and 87 percent of employers said the workplace should be smoke-free. "Although there was widespread variation among countries, overall the results demonstrate global support for workplace smoking bans," lead author Michael Halpern, a senior fellow at RTI International, said in a news release. "This study shows support for additional programs and policies to increase those bans and assist employees with smoking cessation." Support for workplace smoking bans was greatest in India (85 percent) and Japan (75 percent), and much lower in Germany (33 percent) and Poland (37 percent). HealthDay [HealthScout] Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mitchellrepublic.com/event/article/id/38824/ http://tobacco.org/news/293086.html Attorney General Marty Jackley announced minutes ago that he and Secretary of State Chris Nelson have decided against appealing the decision of Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl in the smoking-ban referendum case. The American Cancer Society doesn't plan to appeal either. That clears the way for the ban to be referred to a statewide vote on the November 2010 election ballot. Mitchell Daily Republic Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.rapidcityjournal.com/news/article_c7620b6a-d618-11de-a9d4-001cc4c002e0.html http://tobacco.org/news/293085.html Following in the footsteps of the American Cancer Society, state officials Friday said the State of South Dakota doesn't intend to appeal a judge's decision regarding the statewide smoke-free referendum petition. Attorney General Marty Jackley and Secretary of State Chris Nelson said in a news release that they won't fight a decision by Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled that there were enough petition signatures to refer the smoke-free law to the 2010 ballot and a public vote. Rapid City Journal Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.ballot-access.org/2009/11/20/south-dakota-court-says-inactive-voters-may-sign-petitions/ http://tobacco.org/news/293084.html On November 13, a South Dakota Circuit Court Judge ruled that petition signatures are valid if the signer is not on the list of active registered voters, but is on the list of inactive voters. Inactive voters are those who once registered to vote, but whose registration is considered questionable because the post office reported that the voter had moved and that voter has not re-registered. The judge, Kathleen Trandahl, also ruled that petition sheets are valid even if the notary public who notarized that sheet makes errors in his or her notarization statement, such as putting an incorrect date on when the notary's seal expires. Ballot Access News Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=92949 http://tobacco.org/news/293083.html After months of debate, South Dakotans will get the chance to decide the fate of a statewide smoking ban. The American Cancer Society announced Thursday that there will be no appeal of last week's judges ruling. The smoking ban will be decided during the general election on November second of next year. But now, supporters of that ban have officially kicked off their campaign. . . . "We're going to move forward with the statewide ballot campaign basically. We're going to use the Great American Smokeout as our jumping off point for launching the statewide campaign," Erik Gaikowski of the American Cancer Society said. That means, their campaign starts today, and with the fate of the smoking ban out of the courts and going to the people, the American Cancer Society says they feel the ball is now in their court. KELOLAND TV sneisteadt@keloland.com Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.argusleader.com/article/20091121/NEWS/911210338/1001/news http://tobacco.org/news/293082.html The way has been cleared for voters to decide the fate of South Dakota's smoking ban in next year's general election after Secretary of State Chris Nelson and Attorney General Marty Jackley announced Friday the state will not appeal a Circuit Court decision. Judge Kathleen Trandahl ruled this month that opponents of the smoking ban secured enough valid signatures in a petition drive to meet the threshold for a referendum. The ban was passed by the Legislature in March and signed into law but never enforced. . . . "I think the reality of the likelihood of success in an appeal made this a fairly easy decision," he said. "Am I greatly troubled by some areas the judge said were OK and found substantial compliance? Absolutely." Nelson said he might recommend to the state Board of Elections when it meets in December that the Legislature be approached to tighten up statutes to avoid a repeat of the controversy over the smoking ban petitions. Sioux Falls Argus-Leader pharrima@argusleader.com ( Peter Harriman) Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.keloland.com/News/NewsDetail6371.cfm?Id=92637 http://tobacco.org/news/293081.html While some establishments across KELOLAND are waiting for the smoking ban to go to a public vote before they snuff out smoking in their restaurants, many popular bars in South Dakota's second largest city have already made the switch. You'll find a busy waitstaff, tables filled with food and plenty of hungry customers over the noon hour at Sports Rock in Rapid City, but you won't find a single ashtray. The bar went non-smoking this summer when the ban was first discussed in Pierre. "A lot of customers wanted to come in and eat and have an environment where it wasn't full of smoke, and we just felt that we should accommodate them because there's a huge number of people who did request that," General Manager Debbi Davids said. Months later, they've had the option to switch back and allow smoking, but Davids says her customers seem to like the change. KELOLAND TV kramaekers@keloland.com Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://kykernel.com/2009/11/19/tobacco-free-initiative-needs-compromise/ http://tobacco.org/news/293079.html So what can we do as a university to compromise between the two groups? I think we should grab hold of the policy Bluegrass Community and Technical College adopted in August. With designated smoking areas, smokers will not have to venture off campus to smoke, be late for classes because of their need for a cigarette or drop their cigarette butts in local neighborhoods, but will be forced to group together in a smaller, more controlled area. In a perfect world, the smoking ban at UK would rid the campus of addiction, pollution and allergies, but maybe the most realistic first step would be a compromise. Kentucky Kernel Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://media.www.redandblack.com/media/storage/paper871/news/2009/11/20/News/Sga-Utilizes.Blog.To.Get.Input.On.Possible.Uga.Smoking.Ban-3838169.shtml http://tobacco.org/news/293076.html The University's Student Government Association wants to know what students think about lighting up on campus. With an increasing number of colleges and universities implementing campus-wide smoking bans, members of SGA said they want to gauge student interest at the University with a poll on the SGA blog. "The smoking policy on campus is not something that is widely known," said Suzanne Meller, SGA General Assembly secretary. "We're exploring this because it's an issue." The smoking policy on campus adopted in 2006 prohibits smoking in dormitories, all University facilities, Sanford Stadium and areas adjacent to buildings. An administrator told The Red & Black in an interview in September they would be open to changing the policy if students and faculty supported and proposed a different plan. Red and Black Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.therolladailynews.com/news/x1792904080/Outside-smoking-at-courthouse-doors-banned http://tobacco.org/news/293075.html Concerns by the director of the Health Department about patient health and compliance with provisions associated with federal funding spurred the Phelps County Commission to take action Thursday. The Commission approved banning smoking within 25 feet of any public entrance at the courthouse. Jodi Waltman, director of the Phelps/Maries County Health Department, told commissioners the smokers who congregate near the lower-level entrance to the department posed a health risk to pregnant women and children who enter the building. Rolla Daily News agerstenecker@therolladailynews.com (KC Kotyk Mid-Missouri Media) Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/news/Health-trust-relaxes-smoking-rules.5843420.jp http://tobacco.org/news/293074.html HOSPITAL chiefs in Sheffield have defended a decision to provide smoking shelters around their sites, saying a blanket ban had proved too difficult for staff to enforce. Contractors have been putting up the shelters in several locations on sites run by the Sheffield Teaching Hospitals NHS Foundation Trust. Signs are currently displayed which say smoking is banned and inform people they are breaking the law unless they leave hospital grounds before lighting up. But yesterday deputy chief nurse Richard Parker said the rules would be relaxed to encourage people to smoke in the shelters and move them away from other locations. Yorkshire Post UK Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://gawker.com/5405777/the-inalienable-right-to-smoke http://tobacco.org/news/293072.html Several large NYC landlords are moving to ban smoking inside their own apartment complexes, and on the sidewalks outside them, as well. Clearly, this violates our just-made-up list of Places People Can Always Smoke, No Takebacks. Gawker Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.timminstimes.com/ArticleDisplay.aspx?e=2178203 http://tobacco.org/news/293071.html Timmins city council has passed an amendment to the local anti-smoking bylaw. It says that along with not being allowed to smoke in local bars or restaurants, smokers are no longer allowed to light up in such outdoor spaces as beaches, playgrounds, parks and recreation fields. The bylaw says smoker must be ten metres away from such public spaces. Timmins Times Canada Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.glendalenewspress.com/articles/2009/11/20/news/gnp-smoking112009.txt http://tobacco.org/news/293066.html When resident Stephen Brown learned last year that the city had enacted citywide smoking restrictions, he looked forward to sitting outside at his favorite coffee shop and breathing in the fresh air. "For the past year I have been looking forward to the day when the patio will be smoke-free so that I may enjoy the outdoors. That day has not yet arrived," he said. The city's smoking restrictions took effect last November with an emphasis on public education before the officials started hard enforcement. A year later, just 15 citations have been issued, according to the city attorney's office. A year after Burbank enacted its own set of less restrictive smoking restrictions, more than 500 citations had been given out, albeit without a warning period. . . . Armine Jimenez, Glendale's Fresh Air Ambassador, attributed the low number of citations to the law's warning requirement. Under the ordinance, violators can be cited only after first receiving a warning from a code inspector or police officer. Warnings are difficult to track, which has made enforcement difficult, she said. . . . The City Council is set to revisit the ordinance next month -- at which point Jimenez said city officials plan to ask that the warning requirement be removed. In the wake of the city's education campaign, which included stickers, banners, posters and advertisements, most residents should now be aware of the law, she said. Glendale News-Press Fri, 20 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thebluebanner.net/upcoming-state-smoking-ban-concerns-local-tobacco-farmers-1.935211 http://tobacco.org/news/293065.html North Carolina restaurants and bars go smoke-free in January, the result of a new state law. What may be an inconvenience for smokers impacts local tobacco farmers much more severely, several said. "I've been farming tobacco for 47 years," said Neal Woody, a Leicester farmer who grows and sells tobacco. "My dad did the same thing. I grew up around tobacco as a kid. I tried some other things when I got older. I ran store on Leicester Highway and farmed a little while I took care of cattle, but I came back to tobacco full time around 1972." Woody said his family business boomed until recent decades. The 64-year-old called the latest smoking ban another blow to growers who depend on it as a staple crop. "I started out with about 130 acres, but now I'm down to 85," Woody said. "Things have changed since the buy out. They just keep taking away from farmers." The Blue Banner jdhowell@unca.edu (Jason Howell ) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT