Free Republic

SAN FRANCISCO (KCBS) – Smoking anything other than medically-prescribed marijuana at San Francisco street fairs, festivals and other outdoor events held on city property would be banned under new legislation before the Board of Supervisors. Supervisor Eric Mar said he introduced the proposal because of the health impacts of secondhand smoke when people light up in public. “It’s widely known that secondhand smoke is responsible for as many as 73,000 deaths among non-smokers each year in the United States, and there is no safe level of exposure,” he said.

York, PA - When Blaine Bosserman was searching for an apartment, he stayed with his mother until he could find a building that allowed smoking. And when he settled upon a high rise in the 400 block of East King Street owned by York's housing authority, Bosserman, 45, made sure there were no conditions in the lease that would prevent him from lighting up inside. But a proposed ban on smoking in the York Housing Authority's 1,068 units countywide could soon force Bosserman to extinguish his cigarettes. Pending approval of the authority's board and the U.S. Department of Housing and...

The Ministry of health and social development has submitted to the Government Bill, radically restricting smoking in public places, said on Sunday the site of the Ministry. The main restrictions-prohibition of smoking in public places, including workplaces, as well as to European prices. The document provides for the ban on smoking in all catering establishments, government buildings, workplaces (indoor), elevators, educational, medical, cultural and sports institutions, all means of public transport, train stations and ports. Therefore, smokers will leave only their own House and the street. The tobacco control activists stress that even the most modern ventilation and specially designated...

COLUMBUS, Ohio (AP) — A bill in the Ohio Senate would ban smoking in cars if children under 6 are on board. The measure's sponsor says the idea is to safeguard youngsters from secondhand smoke. Democratic Sen. Charleta Tavares of Columbus testified Wednesday at a hearing on her bill and said smoke inside cars is especially dangerous because the space makes the smoke much more concentrated. Multiple news outlets report that Senate Highways and Transportation Committee Chairman Tom Patton questioned how law enforcers would be able to spot that a child is younger than 6, in order to enforce the...

ELK GROVE (CBS13) – You’ve heard the saying smoke ‘em if you got ‘em. But if you got ‘em and you live in an apartment complex in Elk Grove, the luxury of lighting up may soon go up in smoke. “i think it’s a pretty good idea,” one apartment resident said. He’s talking about the possibility of banning smoking in all apartment complexes in the city. A Sacramento-based trade association that works with landlords is against the idea, however. “We don’t think it’s necessary,” said Cory Koehler with the Rental Housing Association. We support an owner’s right to choose the...

The Maryland Senate passed a bill Wednesday morning that would make it illegal for a driver or passenger to smoke in a vehicle occupied by a child under 8 years old. Senators voted 27-19 to send the bill to the House of Delegates after a lively debate over the rights of children to be protected from the dangers of second-hand smoke versus the rights of parents to be free from government intrusion in their vehicles. The legislation would allow police officers to pull over drivers observed to be smoking in cars with a child in a booster seat. Children 8...

For all the bluster a statewide smoking ban sparked at the beginning of the 2012 legislative session, the version Indiana lawmakers may end up approving seems little more than a wisp of smoke. The Senate approved a statewide ban Wednesday for the first time in its history, with 13 Democrats joining 16 Republicans for a 29-21 vote. But the proposal passed hardly resembles the one the House has approved six times in recent years.

MARIN COUNTY, Calif. (KGO) -- A Marin County smoking ban is on hold while lawmakers consider weeding out marijuana from the measure. The ordinance as written would outlaw smoking in unincorporated county apartments and included marijuana and other herbs as well as tobacco. It was abruptly sent back to committee Wednesday when Supervisor Kate Sears said only tobacco should be banned...

INDIANAPOLIS— Anti-smoking advocates are on the verge of success in the Indiana General Assembly but must wait out House Democrats' boycott of a divisive labor bill. A bipartisan group of lawmakers in both the Senate and House is pushing to ban smoking in most public places and workplaces, including bars. The only exemptions it includes are the gambling floors of casinos and pari-mutuel betting parlors, private clubs and cigar and hookah bars.

Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels says he will push for a statewide smoking ban and mild local government reforms in the 2012 legislative session. Those are among the priorities Daniels, a Republican who will begin his last year in office in January, plans to outline in a noon speech Friday at the downtown Skyline Club for the Kiwanis Club of Indianapolis. In an interview Thursday, he also hinted that he would support a proposal seeking legislative approval to let voters decide whether to increase local income taxes to expand mass transit in Marion County and surrounding counties. “My attitude is the...

RALEIGH – Emergency room visits by North Carolinians experiencing heart attacks have declined by 21 percent since the January 2010 start of the state’s Smoke-Free Restaurants and Bars Law. State Health Director Dr. Jeffrey Engel reported the results to the Justus-Warren Heart Disease and Stroke Prevention Task Force this morning. “We pushed for passage of this law because we knew it would save lives,” said Governor Bev Perdue, who signed the law into effect. “Our goal was to protect workers and patrons from breathing secondhand smoke and we are seeing positive results.” The N.C. Division of Public Health report cites...

Pam Lezotte, owner of Buster's Place in Trenton: “I've lost my smoking clientele. Instead of coming here, they're holding house parties, where they can smoke while they drink.” She also said it isn't difficult to distinguish between the effects of the ban and those of the recession. “We (the bar) were packed right up to the day that the smoking ban started,” Lezotte said. “It's clear that the ban chased away regular customers. When we held an outdoor event my smoking customers were back, but they aren't back into the bar. They want to be able to smoke while they...

Small bar owners angered over losing their butts to the statewide indoor smoking ban plan to give lawmakers the boot. A newly formed group, Protect Private Property Rights in Michigan (PPPRM), has organized an effort to ban lawmakers from their establishments in protest against Michigan's smoking ban. This lawmaker ban is scheduled to start Sept. 1. PPPRM, which claims to have a membership of about 500 businesses, argues that the smoking ban has been disastrous for Michigan's small bar owners and their employees. “We're not smoking advocates or advocates for tobacco use,” PPPRM Executive Director Stephen Mace said. “We 're...

A majority of Americans (59%) support a ban on smoking in all public places for the first time since Gallup initially asked the question in 2001. At the same time, fewer than 2 in 10 support the idea of making smoking totally illegal in this country. According to the American Lung Association, 27 states plus the District of Columbia have passed comprehensive smoke-free laws. A New York City law bans smoking in virtually all public places, including outdoor plazas and beaches. When Gallup first asked about a ban on public smoking in 2001, 39% were in favor, an attitude that...

ANN ARBOR (AP) — Lights-out time is approaching at the University of Michigan, where a campuswide ban on smoking outdoors and indoors takes effect next month. The school says it is the first major university in the state to adopt such a ban, while Big Ten rivals Indiana University and the University of Iowa already have them in place. “We are approaching this issue with great respect for the difficulty in discontinuing tobacco use,” said Robert Winfield, the university’s chief health officer. “It is our expectation that this will entail a culture change that will take a number of years...

Attention Times Square denizens and those out for a stroll in Central Park: It will soon be time to put out your smokes — forever. The New York City Council is slated Wednesday afternoon to approve a ban on smoking in parks, beaches, marinas, boardwalks and pedestrian plazas like Times Square. The legislation marks the most ambitious expansion of the city’s antismoking laws since Mayor Michael Bloomberg convinced the city lawmakers to approve a ban on smoking in indoor workplaces and park playgrounds in 2003. “When this legislation is passed, all New Yorkers will be able to enjoy a walk...

ADRIAN, MI (WTOL) A blatant act of civil disobedience is planned on New Year's Eve in Michigan. Bars and restaurants are being urged to ignore the state's ban on smoking in public places and allow customers to light up. This protest is being organized by a Bloomfield Hills group called Protect Privacy Rights in Michigan. They believe you should run your business the way you see fit without government intrusion. The group claims 350 bars and restaurants have already agreed to break the law. Since Michigan's smoking ban went into effect May 1, business at Club 109 in Adrian, MI...

Giving up smoking may be a New Year's resolution for some, but all US sailors will now have to follow suit, as the US Navy moves to ban its crews from smoking aboard submarines starting Friday. In a country where fights against Big Tobacco are common, troops deprived of fresh air and natural light for months were surprisingly allowed to smoke in submerged submarines. But no more, after a Pentagon study found the risks of second-hand smoke were severe in those highly confined spaces. Submarine Forces Commander Vice Admiral John Donnelly ordered the ban aboard 73 US subs, citing health...

A recent survey by a restaurant lobbyist group shows that restaurants are seeing a drop in sales due to the state-wide smoking ban that took effect May 1. But Andy Deloney, a spokesman for the Michigan Restaurant Association which did the survey, feels the impact may be greater once the warm weather fades. Deloney said his association expects to do another survey in the winter on sales. "It's one thing to step right outside the door when it is 80 degrees out but it's another to do that when it is a blustery 15 degrees," Deloney said. The survey found...

The City Council on Thursday approved a fortified smoke-free ordinance aimed at protecting public health, despite pleas from frustrated bar and restaurant owners who said that the ban would hurt their business. The new ordinance, which will qualify San Antonio as a smoke-free city under criteria set by Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights, closes exemptions that have allowed smoking in bars, pool and bingo halls, comedy clubs and restaurants with enclosed smoking areas. Council members listened to 90 minutes of public input and then deliberated for more than two hours before voting 7-4 to approve the ordinance. The vote was the...