http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/CA.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.canyon-news.com/artman2/publish/santamonica/Will_Santa_Monica_Create_Non-Smoking_Apartments_and_Codos.php http://tobacco.org/news/293095.html The Santa Monicans for Non-Smoking Renters Rights wants the city to expand non-smoking laws by creating non-smoking sections in multifamily residential buildings, including individual units. The group is asking that the City Council review its current non-smoking laws, and look into expanding those laws to require that landlords designate sections of apartment buildings and condominiums as non-smoking. They also ask that City Council require landlords to disclose information on locations of smoking and non-smoking units to potential renters and buyers. The Santa Monicans for Non-Smoking Renters Rights, formerly known as the Alliance for Protection from Secondhand Smoke in Apartments and Condominiums, have been successful in the past when they lobbied the City Council to ban smoking in common areas of condominiums and apartments. The City Council has been urged to take up measures similar to that of Oakland and Calabasas Canyon News Sat, 21 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mcpost.com/article.php?id=2327 http://tobacco.org/news/293093.html When the statewide smoking ban took effect in 1999, Capitola's cigarette and cigar puffers were driven outdoors. But soon the outdoors -- or at least much of it -- may no longer be an option. A proposal put forth by Capitola Councilman Dennis Norton would ban smoking on the Esplanade, the wharf, at city parks, the library, City Hall and the Stockton Avenue Bridge. Beyond that, Norton also hinted at the possibility of a citywide ban in 2010 that would apply to all public outdoor spaces. Citing concerns about secondhand smoke and piles of cigarette butt litter, Norton says it's time to take action. Mid-County Post ads@mcpost.com (R.T. Sideman) Fri, 20 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.ksro.com/Programs/KSROAMNews/Interviews/blogentry.aspx?BlogEntryID=10071701 http://tobacco.org/news/293008.html A proposed state initiative would increase cigarette taxes by 1 dollar a pack to provide more than 500 million dollars a year to prevent and cure cancer. Cigarette tax proposals in California tried before and failed, but the question, will this proposal help or hurt the bottom line...smokers? Guests: For the Pro-Tax side, Paul Knepprath, an executive with the American Lung Association of California, which underwrote the survey... AND Grant D. Gillham, a Government Affairs Consultant in California for the nation's oldest tobacco company, Lorillard Tobacco Company. 1350 KSRO reneebakos@maverick-media.ws Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.sfbaytimes.com/index.php?sec=article&article_id=11877 http://tobacco.org/news/292993.html “BUTT OUT! Ending Tobacco Industry Exploitation of the LGBT Community” will mark the Gay American Smokeout by staging a public spectacle to draw attention to the impact of Big Tobacco on the LGBT community, on Nov. 19 from 5:30 to 6:30 p.m. at Harvey Milk Plaza. BUTT OUT!, a local LGBT advocacy group that works against the tobacco companies, and dozens of local concerned citizens dressed in black and wearing skull makeup to represent those who have died from tobacco, will chase out of the Castro the tobacco company’s proxy, the Grim Reaper, standing close to 10-feet tall while wielding a three-foot cigarette. State Senator Mark Leno, who has pledged to refuse campaign donations from tobacco companies, will be speaking at the event. San Francisco Bay Times Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mydesert.com/article/20091119/OPINION02/911180422/1004/opinion/Lose+the+cigarettes++gain+more+customers http://tobacco.org/news/292992.html I find it offensive to enter or exit any building that stinks from smoke. Actually, I won't go into a shop or restaurant if I have to endure the odor. Several years ago Beverly Hills had to make the same decision. Business owners were worried that business would be lost to neighboring cities. There was no negative effect on businesses and it is a pleasure to dine smoke free, both inside and out. Palm Springs Desert Sun Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.marinij.com/ci_13821488?source=rss http://tobacco.org/news/292974.html Two Marin hospitals have chosen Thursday, the date of the 34th Great American Smokeout, as the day to initiate a total ban on smoking on their campuses. It has been years since anyone was allowed to smoke inside either Novato Community Hospital or Kentfield Rehabilitation and Specialty Hospital. Beginning Thursday, those two hospitals will begin enforcing a campus-wide ban on smoking that will include property inside and outside buildings, including parking lots and vehicles in parking lots. State law banned smoking from all workplaces in 1995. To demonstrate that it means business, Novato Community Hospital on Wednesday removed its last refuge for employees and hospital visitors who smoked, a three-sided structure affectionately known as the "smoking shack." Marin Independent Journal rhalstead@marinij.com ( Richard Halstead) Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.theunion.com/article/20091118/NEWS/911179983/1053/rss03 http://tobacco.org/news/292961.html Nevada City council members will review wording for ordinances banning medical marijuana dispensaries and smoking in parks at a meeting today. Smoking in parks was banned for a six-month trial period after council approval in 2007. A new ordinance would make the ban permanent. Grass Valey Union Thu, 19 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mydesert.com/article/20091118/OPINION01/911170345/1026/news12 http://tobacco.org/news/292920.html For nonsmokers, few things are more offensive than to walk out of the office door and be greeted by a cloud of cigarette smoke. This became commonplace a few years ago when smoking was banished from most buildings. On Thursday, the Palm Desert City Council did something about this. It voted to amend its smoking ordinance to rule that smokers must be at least 20 feet away from building entrances. The Desert Sun applauds the decision. . . . Thursday is the 34th annual Great American Smokeout. Smokers should quit for a day and visit the Web site www.cancer.org/GreatAmericans for tips on how to quit for good and add years to their lives. Then they can join us in applauding Palm Desert's new limits on smoking. Palm Springs Desert Sun Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.contracostatimes.com/bay-area-news/ci_13809354 http://tobacco.org/news/292897.html Fresh out of the gate, a ballot measure to raise cigarette taxes for cancer research proposed by former state Senate President Pro Tem Don Perata is taking heat from early childhood education advocates who rely on tobacco taxes, too. Perata -- a 2010 Oakland mayoral candidate -- had hoped this California Cancer Research Act, launched at a news conference Monday, would garner good publicity and widespread public support as a war on Big Tobacco. Instead, some say, it could end up facing united opposition from tobacco companies and the education advocates who warred with them 11 years ago. Contra Costa Times jrichman@bayareanewsgroup.com ( Josh Richman Oakland Tribune ) Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://clinicaltrials.gov/ct2/show/NCT01007760?term=%22secondhand smoke%22&recr=Open&rank=3 http://tobacco.org/news/292871.html Purpose The purpose of this study is to determine the vascular effects of brief second-hand smoke exposure on normal healthy individuals. . . . Despite evidence to suggest that secondhand smoke contributes to adverse cardiovascular outcomes, little is known about the dose-dependent vascular effects of brief secondhand smoke exposure at low doses commonly encountered in the community. This study will investigate the acute vascular effects and dose-dependent biological mechanisms of secondhand smoke on endothelial function and oxidative stress. Clinical Trials.gov pfrey@medicine.ucsf.edu Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.insidebayarea.com/oaklandtribune/localnews/ci_13801774 http://tobacco.org/news/292800.html Former state Senate President Pro Tem and 2010 Oakland mayoral candidate Don Perata joined cancer research and health advocates Monday to launch a ballot measure that would hike cigarette taxes by a dollar a pack. "This is the right measure for the right time," Corey Goodman, a UC San Francisco professor and former biotech entrepreneur, said at a news conference in the Children's Hospital Oakland Research Institute, adding the half-billion dollars per year this measure could raise would help move scientific breakthroughs "from the bench to the bedside" to save lives. Perata said he conceived of the measure while still in the state Senate, well before being treated for prostate cancer earlier this year. He called it "probably the most exhilarating and hopefully the most rewarding thing I will have done in my years in politics." Money raised would go into a trust fund, with 60 cents of every dollar to fund research on causes, prevention and treatment of cancer and other smoking-related illnesses; Oakland Tribune jrichman@bayareanewsgroup.com (Josh Richman Oakland Tribune ) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.capradio.org/articles/articledetail.aspx?articleid=7356 http://tobacco.org/news/292799.html Anti-smoking groups are working to get a measure on next year's ballot that would raise the state tax on cigarettes. The money would help pay for cancer research in California. Capital Public Radio's Steve Shadley reports... Capital Public Radio Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/224068-calif.-group-pushes-for-1-tobacco-tax-increase-for-cancer-research http://tobacco.org/news/292783.html Smokers in California will have to dig much deeper into their pockets to buy a pack of cigarettes next year if a proposed ballot measure passes. The Californians for a Cure plan is aimed at raising millions of dollars for cancer research, smoking prevention programs and to help bankroll anti-tobacco smuggling efforts. The measure is backed by, among others, cancer research and health advocates. Their plan calls for a buck increase in the state's excise tax on tobacco, to $1.87 per pack. The money raised would flow into a trust fund. Sixty-cents of the dollar raised from a pack of smokes would to go to fund research on cancer and other smoking-related illnesses. Under the plan, 20 cents would go to fund smoking cessation and tobacco use prevention programs, 15 cents would go to help fund research facilities, while three pennies would go to fund tobacco smuggling enforcement. The plan calls for about two percent of the revenue to go for administrative costs. How the money would be spent would be overseen by a nine-member oversight committee. Legal NewsLine chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com (CHRIS RIZO) 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