http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/pufflist/ en-us Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:12:37 GMT Focus Forum 15 http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416255/posts A noticeable drop in recorded crimes on the Isle of Man is being attributed to the opening of Europe's only completely no smoking prison. The island which is one of the safest places to live in the British Isles, has seen a massive reduction in total crimes since the new £42m jail opened in August 2008. In the nine month period from April 2008 to December 15 2008 the total recorded crimes stood at 2,508. But in the same period this year crimes dropped off 14 per cent, with a total of 2,157 crimes committed. At present there are just... Telegraph (U.K.) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416255/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 15:12:37 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416063/posts The city is failing to snuff out smoking speakeasies. No trendy club or neighborhood pub has ever been shuttered for repeat smoking violations, despite the city having the authority to yank their licenses after three tickets in one year. There were 66 recalcitrant recidivists this year, and 87 in 2008. Offenders include Chelsea's Bungalow 8, which has been slapped with multiple violations three years in a row, and Buddha Bar, a favorite of Eva Mendes and Lindsay Lohan. About 1.7 percent of city-inspected locales were hit with smoking scofflaw fines this year, a drop from 6.4 percent in fiscal year... New York Post http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2416063/posts#comment Mon, 28 Dec 2009 04:00:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414942/posts Restrictive smoking law takes effect Jan. 2December 19, 2009 10:00 PM Sue Book Sun Journal Staff Tar Heels and tobacco are typical tag words for North Carolina, but 2010 won’t be a smokin’ New Year in this state. After New Year’s Eve parties and a day to deal with hangovers, no legal smoke will be hanging in North Carolina restaurants and bars. A state smoking ban begins at 12:01 a.m. Jan. 2. Restaurants, bars and other establishments that fail to enforce it will be warned twice, and then fined $200 for each subsequent violation. Private, non-profit clubs that serve only... New Bern SJ http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414942/posts#comment Fri, 25 Dec 2009 15:05:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414581/posts West Hollywood is moving toward banning outdoor smoking and has directed city staff members to draft an ordinance that would prohibit such activity in outdoor areas of dining establishments. But business owners and those from West Hollywood's bustling nightclub industry say the regulation would hurt the local economy. Read more in the WeHo News: Following in the region’s wake, Mayor Abbe Land, the co-executive director of the Saban Free Clinic and a long-time health advocate, joined with constitutional law professor Mayor Pro Tem John Heilman in a resolution to direct the city attorney to draft a ban on smoking in... LA Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2414581/posts#comment Thu, 24 Dec 2009 18:21:51 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2408902/posts Just Say No Smoking Malcolm A. Kline, December 16, 2009 On Monday the National Institute on Drug Abuse (NIDA) gave us some good and bad news. “The report says cigarette smoking was at the lowest point in the survey’s history on all measures for eighth, 10th and 12th graders,” NIDA reported on December 14, 2009. ‘For example, only 2.7 percent of eighth graders describe themselves as daily smokers, down from a peak rate of 10.4 percent in 1996.” “Similarly, 11.2 percent of high school seniors say they smoke daily, less than half of the 24.6 percent rate in 1997.” The... Accuracy in Academia http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2408902/posts#comment Wed, 16 Dec 2009 18:47:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405728/posts Michigan's state Senate and House passed a smoking ban that will make indoor smoking illegal, save for gambling areas, cigar bars and cigar shops. The measure, HB 4377, passed by a vote of 24 to 13 in the Senate and was overwhelmingly approved by the House in a vote of 75 to 30. The legislation will become law when Gov. Jennifer Granholm signs it; she has come out in favor of such legislation, according to press reports from Michigan. The law will go into effect May 1. Exemptions to the legislation include cigar bars, tobacco stores and casinos. A smoking... Cigar Aficionado http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2405728/posts#comment Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:10:09 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400690/posts A new Legislative Analyst's Office report predicts California's early-childhood education program will lose $45 million per year under a cigarette-tax-for-cancer-research ballot measure proposed by former state Senate president and 2010 Oakland mayoral candidate Don Perata. The education program, First 5, would lose about $8.66 million in the Bay Area, including about $2.2 million from Santa Clara County, $1.7 million from Alameda $1.1 million from Contra Costa and $785,000 from San Mateo, according to a breakdown provided by Alameda County First 5 CEO Mark Friedman — and that's why early-childhood education advocates could end up joining tobacco companies and anti-tax groups... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2400690/posts#comment Sat, 5 Dec 2009 02:09:35 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398099/posts Gov. Tim Kaine did a victory lap around Virginia on Tuesday to mark the beginning of a historic ban on smoking in bars and restaurants, speaking confidently of the law's longevity despite his successor's opposition to it. Flanked by legislative allies at Chadwicks restaurant in Alexandria, the outgoing governor said the ban would cut heart and lung disease associated with exposure to secondhand smoke among restaurant patrons and workers, while not hurting the businesses' bottom lines. The stop was sandwiched by visits to Charlottesville and Richmond. The new law represents one to Kaine's few major policy wins in a term... The Washington Examiner http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2398099/posts#comment Wed, 2 Dec 2009 02:11:44 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397098/posts Restaurants all across Virginia are preparing for new smoking regulations. Beginning tomorrow, restaurants will be allowed to have a smoking area only if they segregate smokers into rooms with separate ventilation systems. The law also allows smoking on outdoor patios and in private membership clubs. Richmond Times-Dispatch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2397098/posts#comment Mon, 30 Nov 2009 20:42:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395141/posts REDWOOD CITY — A South San Francisco man faces attempted murder charges for stabbing his roommate in the face and neck after a disagreement about smoking on a balcony turned violent, officials said. Bernie Castro, 58, started arguing with his 48-year-old roommate after the man left the balcony door open in the first block of Gardiner Avenue while he had a cigarette on Nov. 11, said South San Francisco Sgt. Joni Lee. The roommate, who has shared a house with Castro for three years, came back in after the cigarette and opened some windows. The arguing escalated to violence when... San Mateo County Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2395141/posts#comment Thu, 26 Nov 2009 23:48:58 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391675/posts Mr2001 writes "Consumerist reports that Apple is refusing to work on computers that have been used in smoking households. 'The Apple store called and informed me that due to the computer having been used in a house where there was smoking, [the warranty has been voided] and they refuse to work on the machine "due to health risks of second hand smoke,"' wrote one customer. Another said, 'When I asked for an explanation, she said [the owner of the iMac is] a smoker and it's contaminated with cigarette smoke, which they consider a bio-hazard! I checked my Applecare warranty and... Slashdot http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391675/posts#comment Sat, 21 Nov 2009 21:59:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391113/posts STOCKHOLM (Reuters) – Swedish police have arrested two North Korean diplomats on suspicion of smuggling 230,000 cigarettes into the Nordic country, the Swedish Customs Office said Friday. The pair, a man and a woman who have diplomatic status in Russia, were stopped by Swedish customs officers Wednesday morning as they drove off a ferry from Helsinki, the Finnish capital. Customs officials discovered Russian cigarettes in the car driven by the couple, Swedish Customs spokeswoman Monica Magnusson told Reuters. The two North Koreans claimed diplomatic immunity. "They were accredited as diplomats in Russia, but had no accreditation in Sweden," she said.... Reuters on Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2391113/posts#comment Fri, 20 Nov 2009 23:24:06 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387954/posts OAKLAND — 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... Oakland Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2387954/posts#comment Tue, 17 Nov 2009 04:18:19 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385836/posts More than £1 million worth of counterfeit cigarettes filled with rabbit droppings instead of tobacco have been confiscated by customs officials in Spain. The fake cigarettes - due to be sold on the black market as famous brands - were discovered after British holidaymakers in the Canary Islands smelled a rat whenever they lit up. "They stunk. They smell just as you'd imagine burning poo to smell," said one customs official in Tenerife. Police and customs staff arrested 12 smugglers in an undercover operation to intercept the cigarettes as they landed on a boat from China. "They not only smell... www.ananova.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385836/posts#comment Fri, 13 Nov 2009 21:10:39 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385031/posts ATLANTA – Cigarette smoking rose slightly for the first time in almost 15 years, dashing health officials' hopes that the U.S. smoking rate had moved permanently below 20 percent. A little under 21 percent of U.S. adults said they smoked, according to a 2008 national survey by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. That's up slightly from the year before, when just 19.8 percent said they were smokers. It also is the first increase in adult smoking since 1994, experts noted. ~snip Between 1997 and 2004, the average retail price of a pack of cigarettes — adjusted for... AP/Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2385031/posts#comment Thu, 12 Nov 2009 21:58:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379700/posts FALLS CHURCH, Va. — Fourteen people have been charged with illegally purchasing 77 million contraband cigarettes from undercover agents in Virginia and smuggling the cigarettes to New York. Two are also accused of paying an agent posing as a hit man to kill a husband and wife whom they believed had stolen from them. The indictments handed up Thursday in federal court in Alexandria are the culmination of a yearlong investigation. Authorities say the smuggling ring paid $8 million plus guns and drugs to the undercover agents for the cigarettes. Cigarette smuggling has increased in recent years as high taxes... Fox News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2379700/posts#comment Fri, 6 Nov 2009 03:47:43 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2376261/posts ....They say residents and visitors at Solone's home smoke in the backyard at all hours of the day and night. Several people puffing away at once has resulted in smoke settling in their backyard like a low fog, Richard Ganguet said.... Sacramento Bee http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2376261/posts#comment Mon, 2 Nov 2009 03:45:55 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2370477/posts Once upon a time in a land not that far away there existed happiness and freedom. Then a regime of persecution, taxation and control came along. And the country was cast into eternal darkness and despair. The end? I bloody hope not. This YouTuber is great! A Patriot from across the sea. (a few rough words in the video) You Tube http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2370477/posts#comment Sun, 25 Oct 2009 14:18:57 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363472/posts Smoking bans in places like restaurants, offices and public buildings reduce cases of heart attacks and heart disease, according to a report released Thursday by a federally commissioned panel of scientists. The report, issued by the Institute of Medicine, concluded that exposure to secondhand smoke significantly increased the risk of having a heart attack among both smokers and nonsmokers. The panel also said it found that a reduction in heart problems began to take effect fairly quickly after a smoking ban was instituted and that exposure to low or fleeting levels of secondhand smoke could cause cardiovascular problems. “Even a... NYSlimes http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2363472/posts#comment Thu, 15 Oct 2009 23:45:18 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360686/posts ORONTO (Reuters) – A Canadian truck driver has been fined for smoking in his vehicle because it is considered his workplace, a police spokeswoman said on Friday. A police officer saw the 48-year-old trucker driving on a highway in southwestern Ontario with a cigarette in his mouth on Wednesday, and gave him a C$305 ($290) ticket. The Smoke-Free Ontario Act, adopted in 2006, prohibits smoking in an enclosed workplace or enclosed public area, and that extends to work vehicles, said Constable Shawna Coulter of the Ontario Provincial Police in Essex County. Reuters via Yahoo http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2360686/posts#comment Mon, 12 Oct 2009 17:16:10 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2356730/posts San Francisco is asking basketball superstar Michael Jordan to snuff out the cigars, after he was caught on the front page of The Chronicle's Sporting Green breaking the city's ban on smoking on public golf courses. City officials sprang into action after seeing the full-color photo Tuesday of the NBA Hall of Famer enjoying a good cigar while teeing off at Harding Park's 14th hole during a Presidents Cup practice round.In an interview with PGATour.com, Jordan was asked how many cigars he planned to smoke during this week's tournament. "Well," Jordan replied, "that depends, because I heard this is a... San Francisco Chronicle http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2356730/posts#comment Wed, 7 Oct 2009 14:57:11 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355630/posts As Montana bars dealt with their first smoke-free weekend since the state’s indoor smoking ban went into effect, ingenuity ruled. In Missoula, according to a great piece by Michael Moore in the Missoulian, the Rhino Bar gave smokers their very own place to light up: a Butt Hutt, created by Dave Golden of Well Done Welding and Jim Bell, a general contractor. Moore describes the hut as a 4-by-8-foot “metal smoking dugout” in the alley behind the Rhino in Missoula. The no-smoking laws spark the type of debate that never seems to get extinguished. Pro-smokers argue that the bans hurt... New West http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2355630/posts#comment Tue, 6 Oct 2009 01:12:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354884/posts The Food and Drug Administration on Thursday began collecting millions in fees from the nation's tobacco companies to help fund the agency's newly granted authority to regulate the industry. The user fees, which will be collected quarterly, are based on each company's share of the U.S. tobacco market. The FDA will collect about $23 million for fiscal 2009. That will rise to $235 million in 2010 and grow to $712 million by 2019. The FDA would not disclose the assessments for specific companies. Stifel, Nicolaus & Co. analyst Christopher Growe said in a note to investors that Richmond, Va.-based Altria... Business Week http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2354884/posts#comment Mon, 5 Oct 2009 00:34:50 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2348461/posts Velvet Glove, Iron Fist author Christopher Snowdon interviews cigarette advertising model David Goerlitz. We here present the collected interview segments which are available in eleven parts at YouTube. David Goerlitz, called the “Winston man,” came to feel guilty about promoting cigarettes. He felt he was influencing children wrongly. He came to despise crass Big Tobacco executives. He began lecturing kids in schools about avoiding tobacco. He became a darling of the antitobacco movers and shakers. Then he came to see these prohibitionists for the essentially greedy, fanatical, and immoral snakes that they are. He says he was naïve. He still... Forces.org http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2348461/posts#comment Fri, 25 Sep 2009 22:34:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342625/posts The bill in California, SB400, Has Passed - The right to Vape (inhale from a non-combustible e-cig) is slipping away. California has passed a bill (although not yet signed into law) that will ban the sale of Electronic Cigarette in California. What began as a bill to "prohibit the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors", morphed into a bill that prohibits the sale of electronic cigarettes to anyone until or unless the FDA approves them. And the legislature passed SB400 while we were focused on the 9/11 commemorations. The vote was AYES **** Aanestad Alquist Cedillo Corbett Correa DeSaulnier Ducheny... http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2342625/posts#comment Fri, 18 Sep 2009 06:24:37 GMT