http://www.freerepublic.com/tag/smokingban/ en-us Fri, 11 Dec 2009 22:10:09 GMT Focus Forum 15 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/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/2339981/posts New York City’s workplace smoking ban six years ago drove cigarette and cigar puffers outdoors. But soon some of the outdoors may be off limits, too: The city’s health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley, said Monday that he would seek to ban smoking at city parks and beaches. Dr. Farley said the ban — which officials said may require the approval of the City Council, but could possibly be done through administrative rule-making by the city’s Department of Parks and Recreation — was part of a broader strategy to further curb smoking rates, which have fallen in recent years. The... New York Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2339981/posts#comment Tue, 15 Sep 2009 12:01:59 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2294695/posts Here is a video report from Indiana that features U.S. military personnel sounding off about the ban on smoking in the military being considered. According to the report, if adopted, the ban would require all new recruits to quit smoking before enlisting, and would not allow smoking on military bases, in military vehicles, or onboard ships. Cigarettes would also no longer be sold in military facilities. In the report, one soldier says, "I don't agree with it. I think it's a waste of taxpayer's money to get involved with this." . . . . (Watch Video) Freedom's Lighthouse http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-bloggers/2294695/posts#comment Fri, 17 Jul 2009 13:34:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278557/posts Sales have been hurt by the spread of indoor smoking bans, which have forced people to go outside to smoke. Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. The company announced the closing today. Many employees there make Hav-A-Tampa's iconic Jewels, inexpensive machine-made cigars known for their birchwood tips. Some workers have labored there for two decades or longer, including one who's been there for 50 years, said Richard McKenzie, a senior vice president of human... Tampa Bay Online http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2278557/posts#comment Wed, 24 Jun 2009 18:46:04 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2277022/posts President Obama on Monday signed a landmark anti-smoking bill which he said will reduce the number of children who take up smoking and ultimately save American lives. The bill would give the federal government unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco. The law allows the regulatory Food and Drug Administration to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings and block labels such "low tar" and "light." Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large graphic warnings. www.foxnews.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2277022/posts#comment Mon, 22 Jun 2009 19:46:41 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2210101/posts PIERRE, S.D. (AP) — South Dakota Gov. Mike Rounds has signed a law banning smoking from nearly all indoor public places, including bars, video lottery casinos and gambling halls. Associated Press http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2210101/posts#comment Thu, 19 Mar 2009 18:24:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2187476/posts PORT HOPE -- It's only a matter of time before someone "snaps" after being pulled over under Ontario's new law forbidding smoking in a vehicle carrying a minor, a police officer said yesterday in response to a quirk in the legislation that was made evident during a weekend incident. "People got mad enough when they couldn't smoke in bars anymore or bingo parlours," Port Hope Sgt. Bryant Wood said. "Now you're telling them they can't smoke in cars. At some point somebody's going to snap along the way here." Nova Scotia is the only other jurisdiction in the country to... The Toronto Sun http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2187476/posts#comment Tue, 17 Feb 2009 16:00:48 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2186489/posts TOPEKA, Kan. (AP) — A proposed ban on smoking in most public places will be debated Monday in the Senate, and the chamber's top two leaders said Friday that the bill's chances for passage are good. "If there are no substantive amendments, I would assume it would pass," said Senate President Steve Morris, a Hugoton Republican. Senate Vice President John Vratil agreed, but cautioned that opponents will try to load it up with amendments. The Topeka Capital Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2186489/posts#comment Mon, 16 Feb 2009 02:58:47 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2181607/posts APOLLO — Volunteer fire departments are hurting from the state smoking ban, which has driven players away from the bingo games that raise cash for training firefighters and paying bills, representatives of seven Westmoreland and Armstrong county departments said Sunday. Leader Times (Kittanning, PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2181607/posts#comment Mon, 9 Feb 2009 16:50:33 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2157333/posts Cheers To You bar owner Robert Brown wants his customers to smoke if they want to. And Brown said he found a way to keep his private club in Salt Lake City smoker-friendly despite, or maybe because of, the Jan. 1 smoking ban. But Utah Department of Health officials, in a formal declaration issued Tuesday, said that loophole doesn't exist, and the smoking ban stays. The Salt Lake Tribune http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2157333/posts#comment Thu, 1 Jan 2009 21:26:02 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2153748/posts Union that represents Pa. university faculty wants indoor/outdoor ban rescinded. HARRISBURG — Grabbing a quick smoke between classes has become impossible for Lock Haven University political science professor Robert Storch. An indoor and outdoor smoking ban imposed at Pennsylvania’s state university system in September means Storch must walk off campus whenever he craves nicotine — a 20-minute roundtrip excursion that he cannot cram into a 15-minute break between classes. “I find it ridiculous,” Storch told a Pennsylvania Labor Relations Board hearing examiner Tuesday. “You feel like a leper anyway. It’s really very demeaning.” Storch was among a handful of professors... Times Leader (Wilkes-Barre PA) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2153748/posts#comment Wed, 24 Dec 2008 15:26:17 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043095/posts When they weren't breaking the law or going in and out of jail, the Jersey Boys who went on to become the Four Seasons were hanging out on street corners singing with cigarettes dangling from their mouths. Not in Chicago. Here, lead singer Frankie Valli, song-writing sensation Bob Gaudio and the boys have gone cold turkey Following an apparent complaint from an irate theatergoer, the Chicago theatrical production of "Jersey Boys" has snuffed out cigarettes... The Chicago Sun-Times http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2043095/posts#comment Wed, 9 Jul 2008 21:54:36 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029491/posts HARRISBURG -- The state Senate has broken a yearlong stalemate on a statewide smoking ban, approving a compromise bill Tuesday that would make Pennsylvania the 33rd state to outlaw smoking in many workplaces and public spaces. The Senate voted 41-9, sending the bill to Gov. Ed Rendell to be signed into law in what supporters hailed as a step forward for public health and protecting people from the dangers of second-hand smoke. All but one senator representing parts of York County gave approval. The sole holdout was retiring Sen. Terry Punt, R-Franklin, who voted in favor of the same legislation... York (PA) Dispatch http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2029491/posts#comment Wed, 11 Jun 2008 16:26:29 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022011/posts A group in Santa Fe says the city is discriminating against them because they say that they're allergic to the wireless Internet signal. And now they want Wi-Fi banned from public buildings. Arthur Firstenberg says he is highly sensitive to certain types of electric fields, including wireless Internet and cell phones. "I get chest pain and it doesn't go away right away," he said. Firstenberg and dozens of other electro-sensitive people in Santa Fe claim that putting up Wi-Fi in public places is a violation of the Americans with Disabilities Act. The city attorney is now checking to see if... KOB.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2022011/posts#comment Tue, 27 May 2008 18:24:15 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003159/posts NORTH ROYALTON, Ohio -- A local community is breathing a little easier after a new crackdown on smoking is approved, NewsChannel5 reported. North Royalton has banned smoking in parks, fields, parking lots and outdoor seating areas or on any city-owned land. That means there's no smoking at places like the local ballpark, and the new ordinance takes place just in time for little league season. Council members said they were just exercising the will of the people who want to curb the amount of second-hand smoke they have to breathe. "We just don't like the cigarette butts laying all over... NewsNet5.com http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/2003159/posts#comment Thu, 17 Apr 2008 23:25:21 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1989186/posts Initiative Would Exempt Cigar Bars From Indoor Smoking Ban By Austin JenkinsOlympia, WA  March 19, 2008 3:28 p.m. Washington State’s two-year-old indoor smoking ban is facing a challenge. Cigar shop owners have filed a citizen initiative to roll-back part of the law.Dale Taylor is with the newly formed Cigar Association of Washington. He says the initiative would allow smoking in cigar shops, cigar bars, private clubs and service organizations like the Elks.Dale Taylor: “What we’re asking for here is a fair and reasonable exemption to the law that allows a cigar store, for instance like the one I work in,... OPB News (Oregon) http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1989186/posts#comment Fri, 21 Mar 2008 02:24:52 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1982207/posts All the world's a stage at some of Minnesota's bars. A new state ban on smoking in restaurants and other nightspots contains an exception for performers in theatrical productions. So some bars are getting around the ban by printing up playbills, encouraging customers to come in costume, and pronouncing them "actors." The customers are playing right along, merrily puffing away — and sometimes speaking in funny accents and doing a little improvisation, too. The state Health Department is threatening to bring the curtain down on these sham productions. But for now, it's on with the show. At The Rock, a... Newsvine http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-backroom/1982207/posts#comment Fri, 7 Mar 2008 23:42:20 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974362/posts If it is indeed true, as George Bernard Shaw commented, that democracy ensures we get the government we deserve, then I have little sympathy for my neighbors who whine about the smoking ban as they puff their Camel filters in the parking lot outside the bowling alley in the freezing February rain. Besides -- I like to point out -- we voted for the shysters and party hacks who passed the ban. Or -- more likely -- we failed to vote at all. I then call attention to the fact that right next door in Missouri, where the Republican Party... The American Spectator http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1974362/posts#comment Fri, 22 Feb 2008 06:55:07 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972354/posts Should Illinois lawmakers lift the statewide indoor smoking ban at certain facilities, such as riverboat casinos, veterans' halls and private clubs? Yes 40.1% No 59.9% Total votes: 1964 State Journal Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1972354/posts#comment Mon, 18 Feb 2008 19:14:56 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967973/posts To most political observers, the near-certainty that John McCain will be the Republican nominee ends any prospects for a Michael Bloomberg candidacy as an independent. Alas, Bloomberg begs to differ. He reportedly sees the current state of play as another opening for his presidential dreams. After telling friends he believes Hillary Clinton will be her party's nominee, Bloomberg said at a recent event, "Hillary should pray I get in the race because that would help her," according to a source quoted in the Daily News gossip column Rush & Molloy. Bloomberg, whose office would neither confirm nor deny he made... The New York Daily News http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1967973/posts#comment Sun, 10 Feb 2008 10:12:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955820/posts 1/18/2008 - MAYVILLE — It only took two members of the Chautauqua County Board of Health to save the coveted waivers that permit a handful of area clubs, businesses and veterans organizations to allow smoking in their establishments. Until Thursday, it was unclear how determined Board of Health members were to eliminate the waivers, which were first distributed after the state’s indoor smoking ban went into effect five years ago, banning the practice in almost all places of business. But motivated by studies that have pointed to significant health benefits in the wake of the smoking ban, board member Marcia... The Post Journal http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955820/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jan 2008 17:33:25 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955598/posts Germans puff on as smoking ban fizzles By Sarah Roberts Tue Jan 15, 8:39 PM ET Photographer Frank Blum puffed contentedly on a hand-rolled cigarette in a cafe in central Berlin, blatantly ignoring a ban that went into effect in most of Germany this month. "I'm smoking because no one's stopping me," Blum, 43, said from behind his laptop, one of a dozen customers happily smoking without fear. "The cafes aren't making it difficult." Blum is just one of many disobeying a law banning smoking in public places -- cafes, bars, restaurants and night clubs -- in force in Berlin... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1955598/posts#comment Fri, 18 Jan 2008 06:13:08 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947223/posts The head of the Portuguese agency responsible for enforcing a new ban on smoking in public was seen lighting up at a New Year party, breaking the law on the first day it came into effect. Antonio Nunes, president of Portugal's food standards agency, was photographed by the daily Diario de Noticias smoking a cigar at a casino on the outskirts of Lisbon. Nunes told the daily he was not aware the anti-smoking law, which applies to cafes, restaurants and bars, also included casinos. But a spokesman for the Ministry of Health said it did. "We will have to look... Reuters http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1947223/posts#comment Wed, 2 Jan 2008 18:24:27 GMT http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945880/posts The statewide smoking ban is ... good for Illinois. 33.5% bad for Illinois. 66.5% Total votes: 248 State Journal Register http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-news/1945880/posts#comment Sun, 30 Dec 2007 13:31:07 GMT