http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/OR.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.ktvz.com/global/story.asp?s=12074267 http://tobacco.org/news/297880.html A few big changes are coming to the Bend Parks and Recreation District. New items up for discussion and decisions in coming weeks include a tobacco ban at all public parks to revised dog leash rules. . . . Another proposed rule change is banning all tobacco products on district property. David Visiko of Deschutes County Heath Services was one of the people who proposed the idea to the board. "We're trying to create a social norm that most people don't smoke," Visiko said. "Our numbers here in Deschutes County is about 17 percent of adults smoke, so generally that is, most people choose the healthier behavior." It's an easy sell to some parents, like Erin Colley. KTVZ Channel 21 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.portlandtribune.com/news/story.php?story_id=126704716744962400 http://tobacco.org/news/297523.html There's just one problem with the smoky haven at Bar of the Gods: It's illegal, according to the Oregon Public Health Division. The patio has three walls and a ceiling, which, by the state's definition, qualify it as an "indoor" or "enclosed" area -- and indoor smoking is not allowed. The case is an anomaly, however: One year into the new smoking ban for bars, Bar of the Gods is the only business in Multnomah County to be cited for violations and issued a $500 fine. Additional complaints could result in more fines, but no more than $2,000 within a 30-day period. The Bar of the Gods co-owner Tom Pena declined to comment for the story. Overall, business owners and state officials report that the transition to the law -- as well as the state's new 10-foot rule, which prohibits smoking within 10 feet of any business entrance -- has gone smoothly. "We've had a lot of luck with the educational approach," says Cathryn Cushing, a state health division spokeswoman. "Our goal is to bring every business into compliance, not to impose penalties." The vast majority of businesses have been able to resolve any complaints lodged against them and come into compliance through remediation efforts. Statewide, just four other businesses were cited in the law's first year. Portland Tribune Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/02/20/business/bay_watch_stick_that_in_your_o_966.txt http://tobacco.org/news/297319.html Today is International Pipe Smoking Day, a day briar-loving brethren the world over will puff proudly from their increasingly obsolete utensils -- and a day that means squat to local tobacco sellers. The once-rich tradition of smoking from a pipe "has really tailed off," says Greg McNair, owner of Coquille Smoke Shop, 399 North Central St. McNair doesn't carry pipes, though he special orders pipe tobacco for the roll-your-own crowd. The World news@theworldlink.com (Nate Traylor) Sat, 20 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://kdrv.com/news/local/162847 http://tobacco.org/news/297131.html MEDFORD, Ore. - Rogue Community College is considering becoming a smoke free campus. Currently, people are allowed to smoke anywhere outside, as long as it's at least 20 feet from an entrance. There are currently 3 proposals the school board is considering. The first is a full cigarette and chewing tobacco ban. The second is a ban only on smoking, the third is having designated smoking areas. KDRV ABC 12 Tue, 16 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://kezi.com/news/local/162684 http://tobacco.org/news/297054.html EUGENE, Ore. -- A woman is left homeless after her oxygen hose caught on fire, destroying her mobile home. It happened Monday afternoon in the Mobile Towne West Mobile Home Community in Eugene. KEZI-TV Mon, 15 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://kezi.com/page/161947 http://tobacco.org/news/296688.html Action on a smoking ban amendment was on the agenda for city councilors Monday night. The council voted to change the current ordinance. Instead of 25-feet away from any walkway, window or vent to a public building, the smoking ban now includes the space all the way to the curb. KEZI-TV Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.kval.com/news/local/83920817.html http://tobacco.org/news/296687.html The Eugene City Council unanimously approved a plan to ban smoking outside the Eugen Public Library and other city buildings that serve children. The ban takes effect in 30 days. The ban "makes it more pleasant for a lot of people using the library," Mayor Kitty Piercy said, "and certainly healthier." Piercy said she would eventually like to take the ban a step further and outlaw smoking in public parks. However, she said such a proposal will require extensive study. Library staff initiated the drive to ban smoking outside the building in an effort to clear the air for patrons. KVAL-TV Channel 13 kvalnews@kval.com (Todd Milbourn KVAL News and KVAL.com staff) Tue, 09 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://kezi.com/news/local/161804 http://tobacco.org/news/296593.html SPRINGFIELD, Ore--The air outside Eugene city-owned buildings, such as libraries and community centers may soon get a bit cleaner. Eugene City Councilors are expected to pass an amendment to the current smoking ordinance. Eugene Mayor Kitty Piercy expects Monday's vote to pass, since last month's public hearing didn't draw any strong opposition to the upcoming change. The current ordinance requires smokers to be 25-feet away from a door, window, or vent to a public building. But the new ordinance would extend that to the curb. We talked to some local residents to get their thoughts on upcoming vote. "For the benefits of kids, who don't really have the option of deciding whether to smoke or not. It makes sense in those circumstances, especially if you're talking about places where kids are going to be. Then I actually support it," Eugene resident Christopher Kohl said. KEZI-TV Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.oregonlive.com/opinion/index.ssf/2010/02/let_locals_decide_on_tobacco_t.html http://tobacco.org/news/296589.html Lawmakers should allow Oregon cities and counties to raise taxes on cigarettes We're not prepared yet to conclude that voters in Multnomah County should approve a cigarette tax increase to raise millions of dollars a year to help pay for local health and human services programs. We are already convinced, though, that Multnomah County and its voters should have the right to make that decision. The Legislature is considering Senate Bill 1042, which would grant cities and counties the authority to raise local taxes on tobacco. As it stands, the state is the only government jurisdiction in Oregon permitted to adjust and collect tobacco taxes. That's just fine with those who produce and sell tobacco. . . . as a matter of government responsibility, cities and counties and their constituents ought to have the authority to look at the facts, consider how tobacco taxes fall disproportionately on low-income people, and decide for themselves whether to raise taxes on tobacco and other products. On Friday in Salem, opponents of SB1042 warned again and again that tobacco taxes are a declining revenue source, and that further increases in cigarette taxes would dampen cigarette sales and reduce tobacco tax revenue. Well, yes. But falling tobacco revenue means lower cigarette use, which means better public health and reduced costs for health providers, including Multnomah County. In the end, that may be the best argument for the bill giving cities and counties the right to set their own tobacco taxes. The Oregonian thestump@news.oregonian.com (The Oregonian Editorial Board) Mon, 08 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dailytidings.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20100205/NEWS01/100209988 http://tobacco.org/news/296513.html After a year of study, RCC is considering a ban on all tobacco on its campuses in downtown Medford, White City and Grants Pass. In January, the community college's board heard the first reading of a draft policy that would bar the use of all lighted or smokeless tobacco products on college property, except in personal vehicles. However, board members wanted to hear more options and asked to see proposals banning only smoking as well as an option to leave designated smoking areas on each campus, RCC spokeswoman Margaret Bradford said. On Medford's Riverside campus, the smoking area is on the corner of a former parking lot along Eighth Street between Central Avenue and Bartlett Street. Ashland Daily Tidings aburke@mailtribune.com (Anita Burke For the Tidings) Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.oregonlive.com/politics/index.ssf/2010/02/senate_panel_considers_bill_to.html http://tobacco.org/news/296477.html Oregon legislators on Friday will consider a bill that would allow local governments like Multnomah County to tax cigarettes and tobacco. An Oregon Senate committee tomorrow will hear public testimony on a bill that would give local governments authority to tax tobacco and cigarettes. Multnomah County officials are seeking that authority to raise money for county health and human services, discourage teenagers from smoking and reduce smoking-related health costs, said Deborah Kafoury, member of the Multnomah County Board of Commissioners. The House narrowly passed a similar bill in the last session, but the Legislature adjourned before the bill reached the Senate floor. The proposal, Senate Bill 1042, would lift a ban against local governments taxing cigarettes and tobacco. If the 2010 Legislature passes it, Multnomah County will begin having public hearings on a county tobacco tax, Kafoury said. County leaders want to settle on a tax that is high enough to have impact without being so high it sends smokers across county lines in search of cheaper cigarettes, she said. The Oregonian billgraves@news.oregonian.com (Bill Graves, The Oregonian) Fri, 05 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/01/26/opinion/editorial/city_should_butt_out_of_tobacco_fight_553.txt http://tobacco.org/news/296124.html A group of earnest, compassionate advocates of public health approached the council last week, supporting a ban on smoking in public parks. Their reasoning was ambitious: . . . Let's be clear about what the council is contemplating. The goal is not to protect non-smokers from breathing secondhand smoke. It is to drive tobacco use underground, making it inconvenient for smokers and invisible to everyone else. The city will be using its police powers to coerce healthier living. Call this movement "Prohibition Lite." The federal government declines to outlaw tobacco; so the public health bureaucracy is enlisting municipal government in its war on lung cancer. No one will deny that the war is virtuous. The dangers of tobacco are not in question. Rather, the issue is the increasingly lopsided contest between personal liberty and official highmindedness. Does the council acknowledge any limits on its authority to make everyone an ideal citizen? The World news@theworldlink.com (The World Editorial Board) Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.theworldlink.com/articles/2010/01/24/opinion/letters_to_the_editor/keep_those_smokers_out_of_public_parks_letter_to_the_editor_51a.txt http://tobacco.org/news/295924.html Tuesday I attended my first Coos Bay City Council meeting. I went to support Jennifer Stephens who was proposing a smoking ban at Coos Bay parks, specifically Mingus Park. This meeting was very enlightening, as it gave me a glimpse into the minds and personalities of our city council. I was pleased and encouraged that most of the council expressed support for the ordinance . . . Mr. Melton gave the most astonishing diatribe about how the public has been "brainwashed" by the medical community in regards to the dangers of second-hand smoke. He went on to compare the "dangers" of duck excrement (he used the term duck poop) to our school children with the dangers of second-hand smoke exposure. Mr. Melton, admittedly a long-time smoker, was clearly prejudiced from the start. The World news@theworldlink.com ( Michelle Caldera Coos Bay) Tue, 26 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.katu.com/news/local/82562242.html http://tobacco.org/news/295909.html It could soon be butts out for smokers in Coos Bay city parks - as a new effort is underway by a group of concerned community members, including doctors, nurses and public health workers - to ban smokers from lighting up. KATU TV Ch. 2 Mon, 25 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.legalnewsline.com/news/225113-e-cigarette-company-faces-legal-fights-on-multiple-fronts http://tobacco.org/news/295821.html Officials in California are making a strong push against one of the largest electronic cigarette retailers in the United States. It seems that the manufacturer -- Smoking Everywhere LLC -- is facing attack on at least two fronts in the Golden State: from the attorney general and a leading state lawmaker. State Attorney General Jerry Brown, a Democrat, is suing Smoking Everywhere, alleging that the Sunrise, Fla.-based company is targeting minors in its marketing and making "misleading and irresponsible" claims that its tar-free alternatives to traditional cigarettes are safe. "Smoking Everywhere launched a misleading and irresponsible advertising campaign targeting minors and claiming that electronic cigarettes do not contain harmful chemicals," Brown said. "We are asking the Court to take these cigarettes off the market until the company has proven the products are safe." For its part, Smoking Everywhere claims that their products, which come in a range of flavors including mint, strawberry and chocolate, are designed to replicate smoking without some of the harmful side-effects of a traditional cigarette. . . . A similar lawsuit was filed last year against Smoking Everywhere by Oregon Attorney General John Kroger, a Democrat. The case is pending, a Kroger spokesman said Thursday. Complicating the two state cases could be a recent ruling by U.S. District Judge Richard Leon of the District of Columbia, who in a 32-page opinion found that the FDA has no authority to regulate electronic cigarettes. If Brown's lawsuit did not mean enough legal trouble for the company in California, a state senator here has renewed her push to curb the sale of so-called e-cigarettes. But this time she is just targeting sales to minors. Legal NewsLine chrisrizo@legalnewsline.com (CHRIS RIZO) Thu, 21 Jan 2010 05:00:00 GMT