http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/smoking_bans.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/070608/met_464677.shtml http://tobacco.org/news/268338.html The final readings of no smoking ordinances in Aiken and North Augusta are up for votes this month, and affirmative decisions would make all of Aiken County smoke-free. North Augusta delayed a decision on a smoking ban until the South Carolina Supreme Court ruled on the legality of existing local smoking bans in the state. Approval of the final version of the ordinance on Monday would prohibit smoking in parks and restaurants. The Aiken City Council will take up its proposed smoking ban on second reading July 14. Augusta Chronicle houle@msc.cornell.edu (Julia Sellers* From Staff) Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.khaleejtimes.com/DisplayArticleNew.asp?col=&section=theuae&xfile=data/theuae/2008/July/theuae_July220.xml http://tobacco.org/news/268336.html All private and public sports clubs and stadiums in the emirate will become 'smoke free' from September this year, Ahmad Saad Al Shareef, secretary-general of the Dubai Sports Council (DSC), said. Further, smoking will also be banned in sports activity halls, sports goods shops and amusement and games centres, he said. Speaking on the sidelines of a function held to mark the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MoU) between the council and the Dubai Municipality, Shareef said both the bodies would initiate steps through which smoking could be completely curbed in stadiums, sports clubs and other sports-related outlets and centres. Hussain Nasser Lootah, Acting Director-General of the municipality, said with the youth brigade idolising famous personalities, they would be roping in popular local and international sports stars to Khaleej Times Uae: Dubai Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tri-cityherald.com/915/story/231904.html http://tobacco.org/news/268335.html But business has bounced back, and Mowery said she sees more nonsmoking customers than before the ban. "I think people are liking it more," she said. The same situation seems to be playing out at bars and taverns across the Tri-Cities and the state. Numbers released by the state Department of Revenue show that bars and taverns in Washington saw a more than 20 percent increase in gross income in 2007, compared with 0.3 percent in 2006. "We're not totally surprised because experience in other states is similar," said department spokesman Mike Gowrylow. "Eighty-two percent of the public doesn't smoke, so if you clear out the smoke, you greatly expand your potential customer base," he said. Tri-City establishments appear to have enjoyed a similar resurgence. All three cities reported drops in taxable retail sales at bars and taverns from 2005 to 2006, and each experienced a gain last year. . . . Kennewick saw the biggest jump, at almost 36 percent. Ken Nelson, the city's director of economic development, credited the jump to a more pleasant environment for lunch. "I do think it's had a positive impact on lunch business," he said. Richland and Pasco rose 5 percent and 6.4 percent, respectively. Tri-City Herald Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://scotlandonsunday.scotsman.com/health/Sly-smokers-spark-more-pub.4260486.jp http://tobacco.org/news/268333.html Plans to scale down smoking inspectors are to be scrapped after new research suggested many pub customers are lighting up during lock-ins. Health officials had hoped that the ban on smoking in pubs and clubs would become self-policing. The study on the effectiveness of the ban – introduced in Scotland in March 2006 – was carried out by a team of academics from Stirling, Strathclyde and Central Lancashire universities. Over 18 months, they sent secret observers to eight pubs to check whether drinkers and staff were keeping to the law. The Scotsman UK-Scotland Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.news-tribune.net/local/local_story_187181433.html http://tobacco.org/news/268331.html A topic that usually drives high emotions on each side of the issue, the New Albany City Council will tackle the idea of implementing a smoking ban during a public hearing Monday. The 6 p.m. gathering will prelude the regular council meeting, and is organized for residents to speak their minds on a smoking ban. "It's the council's way of getting the opinions of the public on whether or not they want a smoking ban," City Clerk Marcey Wisman said. She confirmed the council will not vote on the issue, as an ordinance has not been placed on the agenda. News-Tribune.net Evening News) Daniel.Suddeath@newsandtribune.com (DANIEL SUDDEATH) Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/business/2008/jul/06/fooddrinks.retail?gusrc=rss&feed=business http://tobacco.org/news/268330.html Pubs have sold 175 million fewer pints in the past year as a direct result of the smoking ban, according to market analysts AC Nielsen. Jake Shepherd, marketing director AC Nielsen, said: 'The winter months were particularly bad. Sales fell nine per cent through November to January when smokers would have been reluctant to stand outside in the cold to have a cigarette.' The Observer business.editor@guardianunlimited.co.uk UK Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.spokesmanreview.com/breaking/story.asp?ID=15581 http://tobacco.org/news/268329.html Bar patrons are talking over tall mugs of beer, nothing unusual about that. But there are ashtrays – ashtrays! – on the tables. And a slight smoky haze hangs in the air, as people happily puff away on cigarettes and cigars. Three years after voters overwhelmingly approved Washington's toughest-in-the-nation smoking ban, a handful of bar owners, clubs and others continue to seek ways around it. Among their recent efforts: •An American Legion post in Bremerton has a case before the state Supreme Court, arguing that the ban was never intended to apply to private clubs. •Frankie's owner Frank Schnarrs has been in court for two years, arguing that his upstairs bar is actually a members-only club, and that the servers are volunteers. •Cigar fans gathered tens of thousands of signatures this year in an unsuccessful effort to restore smoking in cigar stores and smoke shops. The Spokesman-Review sr.com@spokesman.com (Rich Roesler Staff writer July 6, 2008 ) Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://dallasmorningviewsblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2008/07/smoking-in-bars.html http://tobacco.org/news/268328.html We had an interesting discussion this week about smoking. It is the centerpiece discussion on today's Letters page in Points. The editorial board is divided on whether the city should pass an ordinance banning all smoking in bars and other public areas. I'm sure lots of people, mainly smokers, will insist that they have a "right" to smoke in bars . . . But I had an interesting experience a couple of months ago. My 82-year-old mother came to town. She's asthmatic. . . . We went in, and my mother instantly started wheezing. She could not breathe because of all the smoke. What if a business were to post a sign saying, "We reserve the right to refuse service to asthmatics." Would that not be discriminatory? Or replace "asthmatics" with your favorite racial minority, or your favorite disability. Wouldn't it be just as discriminatory? Don't all businesses have to be wheelchair-accessible specifically because you're not allowed to discriminate on the basis of physical disability? In effect, by giving smokers the "right" to pollute the air, the bar's owner is posting a sign telling asthmatics they are not welcome. "You type a folk ain't wanted 'round here. Now get outta here and go back with yer own kind." Dallas Morning News blog mlandauer@dallasnews.com (Tod Robberson ) Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.leadershipnigeria.com/product_info.php?products_id=30759&osCsid=71d1ca8052fa937f4bffa9b14a907e60 http://tobacco.org/news/268327.html The recent ban on smoking in public places has attracted a lot of mixed feelings amongst Nigerians. This is because it is a welcome development for non-smokers while smokers view it as underestimating their personality. . . . Some controversy exists between those who believe smoking is an individual choice and those who believe society has the right to act on its own behalf. People should learn to make choices that are healthy. Public health messages should target smokers at all stages. This is why the Federal Ministry of Health have cautioned that smokers are liable to die young. Smokers should abstain because delay could be dangerous. Leadership Nigeria Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.goerie.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080706/OPINION01/807060373/-1/OPINION21 http://tobacco.org/news/268326.html The Pennsylvania smoking ban is law. Now we await the rules and enforcement. The Pennsylvania Department of Health will write the regulations . . . A Web site, www.smokechoke.com, encourages those who patronize bars and restaurants that violate the law to add violator names. We hope Pennsylvania citizens won't adopt that quasi-vigilante stance. The smoking ban has aroused strong feelings on both sides of the debate, and we want the response to the ban to be smooth and civil. Besides, there will be time for more finger- pointing as we continue to push the state Legislature to allow Erie County to adopt the same type of stiff anti-smoking rules currently permitted in Philadelphia. Erie Times-News Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.lasvegassun.com/news/2008/jul/06/respect-smokers-and-nonsmokers/ http://tobacco.org/news/268321.html Since I stopping smoking, I realize that we have a complacent attitude about important issues directly affecting our health. My addiction to smoking seemed to give me the right to ignore nonsmokers’ rights. As long as I got my craving for nicotine satisfied, that’s all that mattered. Casinos were my sanctuary. . . . Now I understand what the big deal is. As a nonsmoker, I’m more sensitive to smoke now. We’ve been way too complacent about this issue. A point in fact, though: Nonsmokers need to be more understanding. It isn’t easy to quit and most of us don’t have sufficient will to counteract our addiction. However, it’s time for all of us to speak up and come to terms with the smoking issue once and for all. Las Vegas Sun Tobaccobgone@aol.com ( Martin McColly, Las Vegas ) Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.insidebayarea.com/sanmateocountytimes/localnews/ci_9795975?source=rss http://tobacco.org/news/268318.html Local community college students have helped toughen up policies to restrict smoking at next month's San Mateo County Fair. A group of students from Skyline College in San Bruno and College of San Mateo known as the Smoke-Free San Mateo County Advocates worked with fair officials to prohibit smoking in the children's carnival area. San Mateo County Times Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/opinion/letters/stories/DN-3p_smoking_0706edi.ART.State.Edition1.4d440ed.html http://tobacco.org/news/268315.html Show me a reputable medical study or autopsy that lists secondhand smoke as a cause or contributor to death or illness to the exclusion of the everyday pollution, such as engine exhaust, pollen, cement plants, perfume and all the others, and I would take to the streets carrying signs and be the leading advocator for banning smoking throughout the nation. But it is impossible to scientifically make this link. Dallas Morning News Sun, 06 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://chronicle.augusta.com/stories/070508/met_464591.shtml http://tobacco.org/news/268313.html Mr. DeLoach is moving toward peanuts and other crops -- a trend the former president of the Tobacco Growers Association of Georgia said is prevalent. "That, here again, is more due to economics than it is smoking bans or prices or whatever," Mr. DeLoach said. Georgia farmers' move away from tobacco has little to do with the 3-year-old law prohibiting smoking in public places, say experts and cigarette opponents. The lack of collateral damage is all the more reason to wage war against smoking, supporters of tougher measures argue. The state's spending on programs aimed at stopping smoking is a sliver of what the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends, even as 10,000 Georgians die from smoking every year and the state spends an estimated $1.8 billion annually on tobacco-related health-care costs. It has been three years since anti-smoking groups celebrated their landmark victory: Gov. Sonny Perdue's reluctant signing of a measure banning indoor smoking in most public places except bars and restaurants that don't serve minors and small businesses with fewer than 10 employees. . . . That's happening, Mr. DeLoach said, but not because of changes in the law. Rather, it's because energy and fertilizer prices are beginning to make tobacco less profitable when compared to food products, whose value is soaring. Augusta Chronicle brandon.larrabee@morris.com (Brandon Larrabee* Morris News Service) Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080705/EDIT01/807050368/1019/EDIT&template=printart http://tobacco.org/news/268312.html As we reported the other day, a Survey USA poll shows that 56 percent of Northern Kentucky residents favor a smoking ban in public places. The judge executives of Boone, Kenton and Campbell counties are seeking a united front both to be fair to businesses in all three counties and, I suspect, for political cover. . . . There ought to be a smart way to craft a smoking ban that allows for limited smoking in bars and restaurants that meet certain requirements - perhaps involving clear separation and good ventilation. Cincinnati Enquirer Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT