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Keyword: niconazis

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  • Maine: Maine touts smoking bans to its visitors

    07/01/2006 5:33:12 AM PDT · by SheLion · 62 replies · 1,225+ views
    MaineToday.com ^ | une 27, 2006 | TESS NACELEWICZ,
    Everyone knows the traditional reasons why Maine is a great place to take a vacation - it has ocean, mountains, lakes and lobsters.Now the state is promoting one more inducement for people to visit: No smoking is allowed in Maine's public buildings.The state is putting up five signs at various points this week along the Maine Turnpike and Interstate 95 that advertise the fact."Breathe easy, you're in Maine," said the blue signs with white lettering. "All indoor public places are smoke-free."Dr. Dora Anne Mills, who heads the Maine Center for Disease Control and Prevention, said Maine may be "the...
  • Holy tobacco warriors take aim at the womb

    06/30/2006 10:20:03 PM PDT · by SheLion · 61 replies · 1,180+ views
    United Pro Smoker's Newsletter ^ | June 27, 2006 | Kathleen Parker
    First they came for the workplace, then for people's homes and cars, and then the great outdoors.Now the anti-tobacco jihadists, having helped ban smoking in most public and many private places, have turned their attention to the most private space of all — the womb.  That very personal place where humans incubate could be the next battlefield between smokers and those who have never uttered the words: “It's none of my beeswax.” This latest brainstorm comes from Arkansas, where Rep. Bob Mathis successfully shepherded legislation making it unlawful to smoke in cars in which small children are passengers. Apparently...
  • IL: Liquor trade group challenges Springfield smoking ban

    06/30/2006 3:20:31 AM PDT · by SheLion · 9 replies · 1,152+ views
    SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - A trade group that represents liquor retailers is mounting a legal challenge to Springfield's new indoor smoking ban for public places. The Illinois Licensed Beverage Association filed a lawsuit in Sangamon County Circuit Court Wednesday, seeking an injunction to prevent the ban from taking effect Sept. 17 in all indoor workplaces. The association has also asked the court to nullify the sections of Springfield's Clean Indoor Air Ordinance that apply to bowling alleys and taverns, saying state law does not give the city the authority to include such establishments in its definition of "public places." "We have...
  • Puff, Puff, Bash - The smoking ban is based on an agenda of lies.

    06/28/2006 10:39:04 PM PDT · by SheLion · 124 replies · 2,250+ views
    Philadelphia City Paper Net ^ | June 29, 2006 | Michael J. McFadden
    Psst! Hey kid! Come over here and jump off this bridge! All the cool kids've done it 'n you're the only one left! It won't hurt, it'll be fun. Anyhow, if ya don't do it, I'm gonna come back 'n bugya, 'n bugya, 'n bugya forever till ya do. With that sort of reasoned discourse in the background, accompanied by taunts of "You smell like an ASHTRAY!", Philadelphia finally jumped on the bandwagon and banned smoking. Well, sorta. They banned it unless you're a bar that agrees not to feed its customers anything healthy, one that's well-off enough to have...
  • Colorado: Bar owners still fuming

    06/28/2006 2:40:06 AM PDT · by SheLion · 46 replies · 2,458+ views
    Steamboat Pilot & Today ^ | June 25, 2006 | Dave Shively
    STEAMBOAT SPRINGS — Saturday marks the one-year anniversary of Steamboat Springs' controversial municipal smoking ban, but local businesses that once catered to the smoker's dollar have no reason to celebrate.  Mike Miller, owner of Sun�--pie's Bistro, thinks the city's ordinance goes too far, banning smoking anywhere within the restaurant or bar's liquor license boundaries. "It's almost impossible to enforce," Miller said about enforcing a ban that encompasses Sunpie's entire 5,000-square-foot outdoor seating area along the Yampa River. "You can be 150 feet from being indoors, and you're not allowed to smoke. You can inform customers of the law and...
  • Smokers' airline ready for take-off

    06/27/2006 4:38:32 AM PDT · by SheLion · 74 replies · 1,522+ views
    Telegraph.CO.UK ^ | 6-27-06 | Kate Connolly
    A German businessman has founded an airline dedicated to smokers.Smintair, or Smokers' International Airways, aims to cater for smokers who feel excluded in an age when all major airlines have banned the habit.A Dusseldorf-Tokyo service is due to begin in October and is expected to serve mainly Japanese businessmen.Smintair's founder, Alexander Schoppmann, a 30-a-day man, said: "There are no laws banning smoking on board. The airlines have made these rules themselves because no-smoking planes are cheaper. It means you don't have to change the air filter system so regularly."
  • Colorado: For some, smoking ban is a bitter pill to swallow

    06/26/2006 8:19:38 PM PDT · by SheLion · 30 replies · 851+ views
    LovelandFYI ^ | 6/25/2006 | Christine Steele
    While some say the introduction of the statewide smoking ban next Saturday will level the playing field, a group of restaurants and bar owners are fuming over what they say are unfair exemptions.Smokers who travel to Colorado’s casinos and Denver International Airport will be able to light up.Puffing on a Basic Ultra Light last week over a game of bingo at Loveland Elks Lodge 1051, Frank Bustos said the law is unfair. “They shouldn’t hold the bar and pool hall owners back,” said Bustos, who has been a smoker for 53 of his 65 years. “Bars are traditionally a...
  • Oregon Smokers Beware: Web tobacco buyers targeted for back taxes by state

    06/25/2006 8:10:40 PM PDT · by SheLion · 184 replies · 2,067+ views
    The state moved to expand its pursuit of tax dollars from smokers who buy cigarettes over the Internet. The Department of Revenue — at a cost of $88,000 — sent tax bills late last year to 7,500 smokers who bought cigarettes online without paying Oregon’s tax of $1.18 a pack. Roughly 33 percent of the people who received letters paid their taxes, generating $686,000. On Thursday, a subcommittee of the Legislative Emergency Board gave preliminary approval to the Department of Revenue to spend another $240,000 to send letters to people listed on another 23,000 invoices. The full Emergency Board,...
  • New Jersey: Smoking ban limits donations

    06/05/2006 7:07:50 AM PDT · by SheLion · 49 replies · 1,385+ views
    United Pro Smoker's Newsletter ^ | June 04, 2006 | Jim Six
    MONROE TWP. -- About a half dozen American Legion members sat around an old picnic table behind Post 252 Friday, despite the humid heat. Inside, the air conditioner was keeping the bar cool -- but out here, they can smoke. Thanks to new state legislation prohibiting smoking in all public places but casinos, this American Legion post lost approximately $5,000 in bar income during the month of May, said Commander Joe Reed. The post has a gaming license that allows them to operate a couple of Pull-Tab gambling machines, and the income from them is down about the same...
  • New York: More VLTs For Smokers at Batavia Downs

    06/03/2006 6:00:41 PM PDT · by SheLion · 18 replies · 562+ views
    cnn.com ^ | 6/2/2006
    The owners of Batavia Downs say they are going to move ahead with plans to put 50 video lottery terminals (VLTs) in a new smoking room. Right now, Batavia Downs does have a room where patrons can legally smoke. That room has 18 VLTs. The plan is to create a larger room with fifty terminals, because those “smoking” terminals get twice the play of others at the track. The project still needs approval from state lottery officials.
  • Florida: St. Cloud hires smokers again

    05/25/2006 6:03:57 AM PDT · by SheLion · 39 replies · 968+ views
    United Pro Smoker's Newsletter ^ | May 24, 2006 | Linda Florea
    ST. CLOUD -- What seemed to many like a good idea several years ago has gone up in smoke. St. Cloud's ban on hiring employees who use tobacco, which was enacted in 2002, has been revoked by the City Council. "Number one, it never did do what it was supposed to do -- help on insurance," City Manager Tom Hurt said. "And it put a cramp on hiring." With more jobs to fill as the city grows, there was a shrinking pool of workers to fill the jobs. Osceola's unemployment rate for the 12 months ending in April was...
  • Maine: AG Rowe seeks stricter tobacco delivery law BARF Alert!

    05/23/2006 9:00:21 AM PDT · by SheLion · 16 replies · 654+ views
    bangordailynews.com ^ | May 23, 2006
    AUGUSTA - Maine's attorney general called for congressional action Monday after the 1st Circuit Court of Appeals last week upheld a ruling that invalidated a significant portion of a 2003 state law aimed at preventing youth access to tobacco from Internet and mail-order sales. A three-judge panel of the appellate court in Boston on Friday agreed with a federal judge in Maine and ruled that Maine's law interfered with timely delivery procedures by private delivery firms such as United Parcel Service. Attorney General Steven Rowe is considering an appeal to the U.S. Supreme Court, his spokesman Chuck Dow said...
  • Maine: Coalition encourages smoke-free housing- BARF ALERT

    05/21/2006 7:42:17 PM PDT · by SheLion · 92 replies · 2,032+ views
    bangordailynews.com ^ | May 19, 2006
    BANGOR - A majority of Maine residents - 79 percent - are nonsmokers, a statistic provided by the Smoke-Free Coalition of Maine on Thursday to local policy-makers, tenants and landlords to get them involved in making their public and private housing facilities smoke-free. The coalition's conference, attended by nearly 50 people, was designed to reduce the involuntary exposure of tenants to secondhand smoke, which can seep through ventilation systems, walls and electrical outlets. The coalition hosted a similar conference on Wednesday in Portland. Twenty-eight percent of Maine's housing is renter occupied, Jim Bergman, keynote speaker and co-director of Smoke-Free...
  • Burned out by butt-inskis

    05/21/2006 4:00:08 AM PDT · by SheLion · 91 replies · 1,985+ views
    Boston Herald.com ^ | May 20, 2006 | Michael Siegel
    As a physician who has devoted 21 years to advocacy in tobacco control, conducting research and publishing a number of studies on the hazards of secondhand smoke, it is not surprising that I favor a wide range of anti-smoking measures. But anti-smoking tactics adopted by some municipalities, companies and organizations do not serve smokers or the public. The methods are mean-spirited, unsupported by science and attempt to stamp out smoking by punishing and marginalizing smokers. They go too far. The City Council in Calabasas, Calif., recently enacted an ordinance - supported by several anti-smoking groups - that bans smoking in...
  • Illinois: Smokers welcome, cities say

    05/21/2006 3:27:09 AM PDT · by SheLion · 10 replies · 2,065+ views
    The News Gazette.com ^ | May 20, 2006 | Tim Mitchell
    That big cloud of smoke you see leading out of Champaign-Urbana could be the trail of smokers driving to restaurants, bars and bowling alleys in neighboring communities.City and village leaders in Gibson City, Gifford, Mahomet, Monticello, Paxton, Philo, Rantoul, Savoy, St. Joseph, Tolono and Villa Grove all say they have no plans to follow Champaign's lead in passing a comprehensive smoking ban, which will be effective Aug. 1 if Urbana approves a similar ordinance in the next several weeks.Meanwhile, business owners in the surrounding communities say Champaign-Urbana smokers will be welcome there. They anticipate increased sales from C-U smokers looking...
  • WA: Lawmakers Push To Ease Smoking Ban

    05/08/2006 1:26:21 PM PDT · by SheLion · 43 replies · 1,059+ views
    KIRO7.com ^ | May 5, 2006 | Chris Halsne
    This comes after we showed you video on Thursday night of elderly and disabled residents, risking their lives, shuffling across a busy street. On the other side was the new designated smoking area. Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne discovers our video has revved-up interest in scaling back the state's tough smoking ban. Our new law clearly says you can smoke inside your residence, but there is not an exemption for people residing at assisted living centers. As our cameras found out, that means smokers, already in poor health, may have to brave dangerous conditions to light up. Some legislators say that...
  • WA:Nursing Home Puts Resident Smokers at Risk (How Sick)

    05/05/2006 3:45:22 AM PDT · by SheLion · 100 replies · 1,642+ views
    kirotv.com ^ | May 4, 2006 | Chris Halsne
    A group of elderly and disabled cigarette lovers say Washington's smoking ban has become extremely hazardous to their health. Investigative Reporter Chris Halsne found them dodging traffic in wheelchairs and walkers. Folks are starting to get used to seeing "no-smoking" signs at bars, restaurants and public buildings. But, what happens when a nursing home bans smoking without making any accommodations for residents? Crossing the street in front of the Bremerton Health and Rehabilitation Center is not for the faint of heart, but that's exactly where we found the faint of heart traveling. No matter their disability, if residents like...
  • HONOLULU: Legislators Approve Tough Smoking Ban

    05/04/2006 6:36:27 AM PDT · by SheLion · 61 replies · 1,680+ views
    HONOLULU -- Hawaii lawmakers have approved one of the strictest smoking bans in the country. The bill prohibits smoking in almost every public space. The governor is expected to approve the bill. She is a former smoker herself and has always been openly in favor of legislation to encourage smokers to give it up and to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke. The bill prohibits smoking in all public places including: bars, restaurants -- even open air restaurants -- office buildings and any place workers would be affected by smoke. "I think this is a huge step forward for public health...
  • WI: Smoking ban stalls

    05/03/2006 5:26:21 AM PDT · by SheLion · 18 replies · 610+ views
    United Pro Smoker's Newsletter ^ | May 3, 2006 | Amanda Sheaffer
    Milwaukee's proposed smoking ban is smoldering in a Common Council committee and not likely to go anywhere.Last month Alderman Terry Witkowski, who represents the 13th Aldermanic District, suggested any action on the proposed ban be held at the Common Council's Public Safety March 2 committee hearing. No action will be taken until the committee's chair, Alderman Bob Donovan of the Eighth Aldermanic District, schedules it for a meeting.Donovan said he does not plan on bringing the issue up again because he is opposed to the ordinance. "I think it's an individual choice issue, a business choice issue and I don't...
  • La. Senate passes restaurant smoking ban

    05/03/2006 5:13:08 AM PDT · by SheLion · 129 replies · 1,612+ views
    BATON ROUGE (AP) — Louisiana restaurant patrons who want an after-dinner smoke should be forced to leave the dining room before lighting up, the full Senate decided today. Senators approved Sen. Rob Marionneaux’s plan to prohibit smoking in all restaurants’ dining areas but allow smoking in bars and casinos, cigar shops, and hotel and motel rooms. Marionneaux cited several polls conducted by anti-smoking groups showing that a majority of residents in Louisiana’s cities support such a ban. “Let’s afford our citizens the right to have dinner with their families without the bother of second-hand smoke,” said Marionneaux, D-Livonia. The...