http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/TX.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/dn/latestnews/stories/DN-prisons_03tex.ART.State.Edition1.4c24520.html http://tobacco.org/news/297904.html AUSTIN - A convicted burglar slipped out of his prison unit to buy cigarettes, then returned unnoticed a short time later, authorities said, eventually leading to a contraband search and further criticism of Texas prison security. "It might be funny if it weren't so absurd," said state Sen. John Whitmire, D-Houston, chairman of a committee that oversees the prison system. "People shopping at a Walmart shouldn't have to worry that the person standing next to them in line is supposed to be in a prison." . . . "The fact that Walmart has better security cameras than our prisons, well, this whole situation begs a whole lot of questions," the senator said. AP Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.fortbendnow.com/2010/03/03/44305 http://tobacco.org/news/297898.html Residents of Missouri City will have the chance May 8 to vote on whether city council should create an ordinance prohibiting smoking in certain public places. The proposition will be on the Special Election ballot, along with the adoption of a consolidated municipal trash program. Council members wanted to make it clear at Monday night’s meeting that the smoking ban has not been drafted and will not be until, and if, voters approve the proposition. FortBendNow.com Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.khou.com/news/local/No-smoking-ordinance-goes-into-effect-in-Conroe-85836497.html http://tobacco.org/news/297731.html The ordinance bans smoking indoors in almost all public places in the city, and also prohibits smoking within 20 feet of entrances and windows. The only businesses exempt from the ban are tobacco stores, private clubs and bingo halls with separate areas for non-smokers. KHOU CBS 11 assignments@khou.com (khou.com staff) Mon, 01 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/10/16/conroe_courier/news/mccoy1017.txt http://tobacco.org/news/297687.html Sometimes, a cigar is just a cigar – at least in the famous words of Sigmund Freud. But a cigar shop is a friendly gathering place of civil, political discourse. That’s what Mike’s Cigar Room, which opened two weeks ago at 8000 Texas 242, Suite 119, in Conroe, represents – not only to its owners but to the store’s first customer, Mike Bialka, who lives in downtown Houston. Bialka, a pilot, had shopped at Mike and Nancy McCoy’s original cigar store, which opened 25 years ago, and followed them to their new location. Conroe Courier Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/02/26/conroe_courier/news/smokingban022710.txt http://tobacco.org/news/297684.html The city of Conroe’s smoking ban goes into effect Monday. Adopted Aug. 27, 2009, the ordinance prohibits smoking in enclosed public places and places of employment. These include banks, bars, bowling alleys, childcare and adult day care facilities, convention facilities, educational facilities (public and private), health care facilities, hotels and motels, lobbies, hallways, and other common areas in apartment buildings, condominiums, trailer parks, retirement facilities, nursing homes and other multiunit residential facilities, restaurants, restrooms, lobbies, reception areas, stairways, hallways, elevators and other common-use areas, retail stores, theaters and other facilities primarily used for exhibiting motion pictures, stage dramas, lectures, musical recitals, or similar performances. Conroe Courier Fri, 26 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/02/17/fort_bend_sun/news/sws_-_mc_propositions_216.txt http://tobacco.org/news/297676.html It will be left to Missouri City voters to decide if the city bans smoking in public facilities, offers a homestead exemption and consolidates residents under a city-wide garbage collection contract. The three issues will be carried as propositions on the ballot in the upcoming May city election. Missouri City Councilman Jerry Wyatt suggested the items be placed on the election ballot as propositions. Fort Bend/Southwest Sun dtezeno@hcnonline.com (DIANE TEZENO) Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2009/10/05/conroe_courier/news/petition1006.txt http://tobacco.org/news/297674.html A group of business owners trying to overturn a smoking ban recently approved by the Conroe City Council submitted more than enough signatures Monday to send the matter back to the council, a local restaurant owner said. Connie Malone, owner of Malones, a Conroe bar, and notary public Dave Luttrell turned in 680 signatures, said Jim Hallers, owner of Tailgators Pub and Grille at Texas 242 and Interstate 45. Conroe Courier Mon, 05 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/feb/20/no-headline---scott/ http://tobacco.org/news/297396.html have people considered the ramifications if the proposal were to pass? San Angelo is a tourist attraction. Tourists like to be comfortable. What are you going to do when half of the town ignores this ban? Put them all in jail? Give them a criminal record that goes everywhere they go? How about taxes the city receives from tobacco sales? Don’t we need those anymore? San Angelo Standard-Times Sun, 21 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://galvestondailynews.com/story.lasso?ewcd=09cdd8d5d0e3f725 http://tobacco.org/news/297382.html A group of bar, nightclub and restaurant owners has filed a lawsuit asserting the city and individual council members ignored state law by refusing to formally assess how a smoking ban would hurt the market value of their properties. The group, which includes well-known restaurants to holes-in-the-wall, filed the lawsuit in the 405th State District Court in Galveston on Friday, reigniting a fight about property rights and secondhand smoke that has been smoldering for months. The plaintiffs say they filed the lawsuit against individual council members to get around sovereign immunity that protects governing bodies from some legal liability. They are seeking to stop the city from enforcing the ban, which went into effect Jan. 1, until it undertakes a "takings impact assessment" of each owner's land and "those similarly situated." Galveston Daily News Tue, 23 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.timesrecordnews.com/news/2010/feb/22/university-settling-into-new-smoking-ban/?partner=yahoo_feeds http://tobacco.org/news/297351.html On Jan. 1, MSU joined 222 other colleges and universities around the country that prohibit smoking and all forms of tobacco. MSU is one of only two campuses in Texas, along with Alamo Community Colleges, to be 100 percent smoke-free. MSU was the first public university in Texas to establish such a policy. The new rule appears to be accepted and followed, even though MSU Vice President for Student Affairs Keith Lamb admitted Friday that adherence probably isn’t 100 percent campuswide. Indeed, some students have been seen walking to classes with a burning cigarette held down low. Others say that some tenured faculty members still puff on cigarettes on campus when they’re not in class, just like they did for years before the ban. Wichita Falls Times Record News Mon, 22 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.hcnonline.com/articles/2010/02/18/fort_bend_sun/news/sws_-_mc_propositions_216.txt http://tobacco.org/news/297186.html It will be left to Missouri City voters to decide if the city bans smoking in public facilities, offers a homestead exemption and consolidates residents under a city-wide garbage collection contract. The three issues will be carried as propositions on the ballot in the upcoming May city election. Missouri City Councilman Jerry Wyatt suggested the items be placed on the election ballot as propositions. . . . Cynthia Lenton Gary believes it is important to allow voters to decide on the various propositions, including the proposed smoking ban. A mother of three sons with asthma, Gary, who also suffers from heart disease, said she supports such a ban. "I hope that the community realizes how important it is because smokers don't realize the effect that second-hand smoke has on individuals." Sugar Land Sun dtezeno@hcnonline.com (DIANE TEZENO) Thu, 18 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.gosanangelo.com/news/2010/feb/16/san-angelo-city-council-contentious-zoning/?partner=yahoo_feeds http://tobacco.org/news/297134.html The San Angelo City Council determined Tuesday there is “not enough time” to perform the procedural requirements dictated by the city charter, state law and election code to meet the deadline to get a smoking ban ordinance on the May ballot. The council decided during its regular meeting to cancel a special meeting that had been scheduled for the same afternoon at which the council had been expected to accept the petition from the City Clerk Alicia Ramirez. Ramirez had validated the petition Saturday. According to the charter, the council has to accept such petitions at a regularly scheduled meeting, call for its publication in the Standard-Times, then hold a public hearing at another regularly scheduled meeting before it can approve the petition. . . . Smoke-Free San Angelo, the group that organized the petition, thought the meeting today would count as one of the two required, thus leaving one more regular meeting March 2 for a public hearing. However, because the meeting at which the petition was to be accepted was a special meeting, the petition will not be able to go through the required two regular meetings and public hearing. San Angelo Standard-Times Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dallasnews.com/sharedcontent/dws/news/localnews/stories/DN-smokeban_17met.ART.State.Edition2.4c0e900.html http://tobacco.org/news/297133.html University Park officials approved a ban on smoking in public places Tuesday, becoming the latest - if not the last - city in North Texas to do so. The City Council's unanimous vote was an anti-climax to the weeks of negotiating that preceded it. Bar and restaurant owners, as well as some smokers, had complained about the proposal when it reached City Hall late last year. But the final version adopted Tuesday contained a few compromises that appear to have eased concerns. Dallas Morning News lstahl@dallasnews.com (LORI STAHL / The Dallas Morning News) Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.amarillo.com/stories/021710/our_ourtown5.shtml http://tobacco.org/news/297125.html Tobacco Free Amarillo recently gave Amarillo Independent School District a Tobacco Ages software system, which shows students how they will look in the future. While the photography program uses standard age-progression software, the system also shows students how tobacco use, obesity and sun damage can affect their appearance through time, said Melynn Huntley, director of the Safe Schools/Healthy Students Program at AISD. Amarillo Globe-Times newsroomfb@amarillo.com (Bruce Beck) Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/life/society/6870134.html http://tobacco.org/news/297109.html As I picked up my tuxedo from the dry cleaners on Thursday, I asked the woman behind the counter if she'd seen an unusually high number of tuxes dropped off the day before. . . . On Feb. 9, the Coronado Club had been packed for Wild Things, a black-tie men's evening benefiting the Alley Theatre. Along with co-chairs Meredith Long and Jonathan Finger, the generous gents smoked cigars, drank cocktails, duked it out in bidding wars over silent- and live-auction items, smoked more cigars, enjoyed a game dinner paired with fine wines, smoked still more cigars and took a nostalgia trip with baseball great Larry Dierker. "This is the first time in my whole career that I've ever been able to make a speech smoking a cigar," an ebullient Dierker quipped Houston Chronicle douglas.britt@chron.com (DOUGLAS BRITT SOCIETY WRITER) Wed, 17 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT