http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/RI.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.wpri.com/global/story.asp?s=8432111 http://tobacco.org/news/266459.html Local hospitals announced on Wednesday their plans take part in "The Great American Smokeout." Hospital throughout Rhode Island will be establishing tobacco-free campuses beginning November 20th 2008. The new policy will prohibit the use of tobacco on any hospital property. WPRI Fox 12 bmorin@wpri.com Wed, 04 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.pawtuckettimes.com/content/view/31118/27/ http://tobacco.org/news/266104.html After Rhode Island banned smoking in virtually all public places, including restaurants and bars, Pawtucket Rep. Elizabeth Dennigan asserts, restaurant revenue actually increased in the next quarter by about 20 percent and has remained at about the same level until the economic downturn hit a couple of months ago. That, Dennigan says, takes away the rationale for exempting the gambling areas and certain bars at the Twin River and Newport Grand slot parlors, as lawmakers did when they passed the no-smoking bill, fearing a drop-off in revenue at those two facilities that would hurt the state's share of the take. She has introduced legislation that would prohibit smoking on the gambling floor of the two sites as well as bars and restaurants inside the buildings. That bill got a hearing Wednesday The Times Thu, 29 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=772a461a-4324-4723-9cf5-6ca2ce0facca http://tobacco.org/news/266096.html The Westerly Hospital will host a four-week smoking cessation program in June as part of its Healthy For Life Community education series. The program will start June 7 and continue for the following three Saturdays through June 28, from 10 a.m. to noon in the hospital's Henry J. Nardone Conference Center. Katie Gates, a former smoker and a certified smoking cessation instructor, will lead the program. Gates will teach participants how to reduce the number of cigarettes they smoke as they work to stop smoking completely with the use of gums, patches, and other nicotine substitutes. The Day l.mcginley@theday.com Thu, 29 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/content/URI_MIDDLE_SCHOOLS_05-27-08_GTA859E_v74.372dd8e.html http://tobacco.org/news/266017.html Statewide, 3,400 sixth graders -- roughly a third of public school sixth graders -- are participating in a $3.5-million research experiment, Project BEST. Designed by researchers at the University of Rhode Island, the computerized program aims to guide pre-teens away from smoking and drinking before those risky behaviors take root, as well as encourage them to eat right and exercise. The program, financed by a five-year grant from the National Institute of Drug Abuse, is being run by URI's Cancer Prevention Research Center, which conducted similar projects for older students and adults in the 1990s that showed improvement, according to the center. The computer survey asks the students a series of questions and provides support in curbing risky behavior. The students' answers trigger follow-up questions specific to that student. Researchers hope Project BEST's personal approach will help it succeed where other programs targeted toward preventing risky behaviors among middle school students have failed. "We haven't had a lot of success so far with classroom approaches in health class or with DARE officers talking to kids," Providence Journal-Bulletin jjordan@projo.com (Jennifer D. Jordan Journal Staff Writer) Tue, 27 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.pbn.com/stories/31247.html http://tobacco.org/news/263885.html The Hotel Providence this month became the latest to follow the industry trend to ban smoking in guest rooms. For the boutique hotel, it was a decision based on demand and the well-being of guests [..] Providence Business News Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/ri/providence/content/MC_FIRE_04-18-08_GK9QNPO_v9.34a9d01.html http://tobacco.org/news/263737.html From now on, any Providence firefighter diagnosed with cancer will be presumed to have contracted the cancer on the job, and will be given a generous accidental disability pension, assuming they can prove that they do not smoke, use drugs or abuse alcohol, under a measure passed by the City Council last night. . . . The fire chief and the firefighters union have made the case that firefighters are exposed to numerous carcinogens and have greater risk of developing blood, lung, lymphatic and skin cancer than the rest of the population. . . . Firefighters would have to submit to annual physical exams administered by doctors hired by the city to prove that they do not use tobacco products, abuse alcohol or use illegal drugs, and sign affidavits stating that they have not used those substances. Firefighters who use those substances now have a clean slate going forward, but will have to prove on their next annual physical that they are not using them anymore. Providence Journal-Bulletin dbarbari@projo.com (Daniel Barbarisi Journal Staff Writer) Fri, 18 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/opinion/letters/content/LT_reeseRDY_04-21-08_519MBMV_v13.39d62b8.html http://tobacco.org/news/263735.html Because I was there for every minute of testimony and because I participated in the jury deliberations, it seems absolutely clear to me that this verdict is far from an endorsement of the state police, Atty. Gen. Patrick Lynch and the governor. Only a very narrow view of the trial -- that any finding of guilt was a victory for the state, and only a not-guilty on every charge would have been a victory for the Narragansetts -- could possibly interpret the verdict as vindication for the state. . . . given the events leading up to that day and the governor's subsequent behavior with regard to the smoke-shop raid, the trial, and the Narragansett Indians, I'm not holding my breath for the day when the tribe gets a fair shake from the governor. Providence Journal-Bulletin Mon, 21 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/content/SMOKESHOP_COSTS_04-19-08_529Q2L1_v21.3661f56.html http://tobacco.org/news/263733.html The criminal cases that grew from the state police raid on a Narragansett Indian smoke shop in July 2003 took almost five years to bring to trial at legal costs estimated in the tens and, for the tribe, hundreds of thousands of dollars. Though the charges were misdemeanors that typically entail little if any jail time, the cases represent something more to the parties involved: matters of principle. Providence Journal-Bulletin kmulvane@projo.com (Katie Mulvaney Journal Staff Writer) Sat, 19 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/extra/2003/smokeshop/ http://tobacco.org/news/262680.html Documents: A look back 6.01.1978 The Narragansett Indian Land-Claim Settlement with the state of Rhode Island 7.12.2003 The state's search warrant 7.15.2003 Rhode Island State Police's press release on raid and arrests Providence Journal-Bulletin Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/mcharlesbakst/BAKST_COLUMN_05_04-05-08_IE9LFBJ_v13.35849d4.html http://tobacco.org/news/262679.html The state police were understandably pleased with the outcome of the Narragansett Indian smoke-shop trial -- Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two others were convicted -- but this saga will continue to course through Rhode Island's history. It is a history that, certainly from the tribe's point of view, has been marked by heartache. . . . The state police were understandably pleased with the outcome of the Narragansett Indian smoke-shop trial -- Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two others were convicted -- but this saga will continue to course through Rhode Island's history. It is a history that, certainly from the tribe's point of view, has been marked by heartache. . . . Thomas came across yesterday as a bundle of resentment, irony, amusement and pure anger. At one point he asserted, "The people that have dealt with us really have not dealt truthfully and honestly." On this 40th anniversary of the slaying of Martin Luther King Jr., Thomas said, "It's a shame that he was murdered for trying to win fairness and equality, huh?" Does Thomas feel that he is in a foreign country when he's in the courthouse? "I'm in a foreign country any time I walk off our reservation," he chuckled. As for the smoke-shop saga consuming so much of his life, Thomas said, "There's always something interesting in my life. My life is chief sachem of the Narragansett Indian tribe." Not a day goes by, he said, "where I don't have to fight for justice." Providence Journal-Bulletin mbakst@projo.com (M. Charles Bakst ) Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.beloblog.com/ProJo_Blogs/newsblog/archives/2008/04/providence_chie_1.html http://tobacco.org/news/262678.html Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas had little to say outside the courtroom late this afternoon after the jury returned its verdicts in the smoke-shop trial. Thomas was found guilty of assaulting a state trooper, but cleared of two other charges, and his tribal members were cleared of most other charges. "I think what happens, happens and we'll see what happens on the 28th," Thomas said, referring to the date Superior Court Judge Susan E. McGuirl set to hear motions. Asked if he fears punishment, Thomas said, "No, no. I did what I had to do..." 7 to 7: Projo's daily news blog Fri, 04 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/courts/content/SMOKESHOP5_04-05-08_KP9LG0O_v23.3746b52.html http://tobacco.org/news/262677.html A Superior Court jury found Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas and two other tribal members guilty of misdemeanor charges while clearing four others in an emotional case that pitted the state against its only federally recognized Indian tribe. The jury of seven women and five men deliberated about 20 hours across four days before reaching a mixed verdict yesterday on 16 misdemeanor counts stemming from the 2003 state police raid on a tax-free smoke shop. Although the jury found Thomas guilty of assaulting Sgt. Ernest C. Quarry by grabbing him from behind on the smoke-shop landing, they acquitted him of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. In addition, the jury convicted Tribal Councilman Hiawatha Brown of assaulting Trooper Ann Assumpico by slamming her arm in the shop door, and also of disorderly conduct. He was acquitted of resisting arrest. First Councilman Randy Noka was found guilty of disorderly conduct, while being cleared of resisting arrest. Though found innocent of 12 counts, the Narragansetts remained bitter about the verdict and the six-week trial itself. "I think everyone should have been acquitted," said Councilman John Brown, the tribe's medicine-man-in-training who was found not guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Bella Noka took a particularly dark view, though cleared of assaulting a trooper, disorderly conduct and obstructing an officer trying to place her husband, Randy, under arrest. "They took our land, another life and now they want more," she said while leaving the courtroom. She repeated -- as heard during trial testimony -- that she was pregnant at the raid. She lost her baby afterward due to hemorrhaging, she said. Providence Journal-Bulletin kmulvane@projo.com (Katie Mulvaney and Edward Fitzpatrick Journal Staff Writers) Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/ri/charlestown/content/projo_20080404_smokeshop_verdict.302f9f22.html http://tobacco.org/news/262676.html Four years and eight months after a Governor Carcieri-ordered raid on the Narragansett tribe's tax-free smoke shop turned into a tense clash between state troopers and Indians, a jury today cleared seven tribal members of 12 out of 16 misdemeanor charges. But Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas, who was captured on video and in photos struggling with a trooper, was not among them. He was found guilty of simple assault, while cleared of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest. Defendant Hiawatha Brown was found guilty of simple assault and disorderly conduct, and cleared of resisting arrest. Randy Noka was found guilty of disorderly conduct, but cleared of resisting arrest. Providence Journal-Bulletin Sat, 05 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/courts/content/warrant_search_04-06-08_P09DQQJ_v33.3664de3.html http://tobacco.org/news/262675.html Legal experts say authorities must show a search warrant at some point, or at least leave a copy of the warrant behind, but they say the police are not required to show a warrant at the outset of a raid, even if someone is demanding to see one. Still, legal experts say it's a good idea to show a warrant at the beginning -- unless the police believe evidence is being destroyed or a situation is spiraling out of control, placing the police or other people in danger. The issue arose during the trial of seven Narragansetts accused of resisting arrest and fighting with the police during a July 14, 2003, raid, which stopped the tribe from selling tax-free cigarettes from a roadside store on tribal land in Charlestown. On Friday, a Superior Court jury returned 4 guilty verdicts and 12 not-guilty verdicts. Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas was found guilty of simple assault but not guilty of disorderly conduct and resisting arrest Providence Journal-Bulletin efitzpat@projo.com (Edward Fitzpatrick Journal Staff Writer) Sun, 06 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/courts/content/SMOKESHOP2_04-02-08_IU9JTLG_v22.373dcea.html http://tobacco.org/news/262674.html The cases against seven Narragansett Indians arrested during a state police raid on a tribal smoke shop are in the hands of a Superior Court jury. Seven women and five men deliberated about four hours yesterday afternoon after receiving more than an hour of instructions from Judge Susan E. McGuirl. “You are to make this decision based on the evidence and the facts,” McGuirl said. Race, sympathy, prejudice or compassion do not play any role, she said. In all, jurors will weigh 17 misdemeanor counts against seven tribal members, including the tribe’s leader, Chief Sachem Matthew Thomas. Providence Journal-Bulletin kmulvane@projo.com (Katie Mulvaney Journal Staff Writer) Wed, 02 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT