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Cannabis lovers will be exempted from a public smoking ban in the Netherlands from next week onwards. Marijuana is technically illegal in the Netherlands but has been decriminalised, with small quantities sold in coffee shops, making them big attractions for tourists. Cutting the Cannabis with tobacco which some smokers do, could land the shop owners a fine of up to 2,400 euros (3,778 US dollars). Not a problem, says coffee shop owner Arjan Roskam whose marijuana strains have won 31 Cannabis Cup prizes over the years and who count Hollywood celebrities, members of Europe's royal families, lawyers, judges and police...

Businesses have had more than a year to acclimate to Ohio's indoor smoking ban, but state lawmakers are now exploring ways to adapt that ban to businesses. Two legislators are pushing for changes in Ohio's Smoke Free Workplace Law, with one asking for new definitions of family-owned businesses and private clubs and the second seeking to exempt bars that serve little food. Sen. Robert Schuler, R-Sycamore Township, said the goal of Senate Bill 346 is to redefine businesses covered by the law. House Bill 592, proposed by Rep. Diana Fessler, R-Bethel Township, would add the term "standalone bars" to the...

Smoking in public places could be banned in rural Dane County towns under an ordinance being introduced Thursday night before the Dane County Board of Supervisors. Backers, including County Executive Kathleen Falk and County Board Chairman Scott McDonell, announced the effort at a news conference Thursday morning at the Nau-ti-gal restaurant in the town of Westport. County Board Supervisor Mark Opitz of Middleton, who is one of the ordinance's sponsors, said their hope is to encourage cities and villages to follow the lead of the county and other area municipalities that have adopted smoking ordinances. If approved, the ban would...

Press Release Source: Opponents of Ohio Bans Ohio Voters Misled When They Voted for Smoking Ban; Ohio Senator Introduces Common Sense Bill Thursday June 12, 10:37 am ET COLUMBUS, Ohio, June 12 /PRNewswire/ -- On Nov. 7, 2006, Ohio voters passed Issue 5, Ohio's smoking ban, which included exemptions for private clubs and family-owned businesses. Over a year later, no private clubs are exempt and no family-owned businesses are exempt as far as we know. Ohio citizens have serious concerns about Issue 5 and an apparent concerted effort by special-interests to mislead Ohio voters. Ballot Language: What voters read when...

Looking for good ethnic food? Sample San Antonio. Attractive people? Head to Minneapolis. A romantic escape? Try Santa Fe. They may not be the most obvious choices, but lately they have all out-ranked Boston. Once deemed the most European city in America and routinely ranked as a top travel destination, Boston's place in the minds of travelers has been eclipsed by up-and-coming cities in recent years. When Travel + Leisure rated the best cities in North America earlier this year, Boston wasn't even on the list. Condé Nast Traveler's "Reader's Choice Award" this week put Boston at No. 10, a...

HARRISBURG, Pa. - A coalition of health associations on Tuesday pulled its support from Senate legislation to ban indoor smoking in Pennsylvania because the bill would extend partial or full exemptions to private clubs, bars and casinos. In addition, Gov. Ed Rendell threatened a veto over an exemption added Monday that he said would allow smoking in small home-based child-care settings. The legislation, which also would upend a stricter ban enacted in Philadelphia last year, was scheduled for a final vote in the Senate on Tuesday, one day after the chamber added the exemptions to a broadly written bill. The...

A day after he implied that Ireland should not follow New York City’s example and pass a ban on smoking in all workplaces, Rudolph Giuliani called Mayor Michael Bloomberg to say that was not what he meant. Bloomberg said the former mayor told him that he meant that Ireland, which currently has no smoking restrictions, should begin to restrict smoking slowly, rather than all at once. “He just thought that sometimes you go partways to get there, let people adjust and then go the rest of the way,” Bloomberg said yesterday. Giuliani said that it made more sense to restrict...

Gov. Jim Doyle's proposal to ban smoking in all public places, including bars, is likely to reignite a longstanding feud between local tavern owners and casinos owned by American Indian tribes. The casinos would be exempt from the proposed ban because they are located on tribal lands not subject to state or local laws.The smoking ban proposal announced Wednesday "would probably not apply to us," said Katie Funmaker, a spokeswoman for the Ho-Chunk tribe, which operates casinos in Wisconsin Dells and Black River Falls and the Dejope gaming facility on Madison's east side.Funmaker noted that smoking is allowed at Dejope...

A year after a statewide smoking ban took effect at workplaces, restaurants, bars and other public places, a new battlefield over secondhand smoke is emerging: apartment buildings. Spurred on by nonsmoking tenants and public-health leaders, more private landlords are considering restricting smoking inside their rental units. And local public-housing agencies are also looking at banning smoking in the units of some buildings. *snip* While the state ban prohibits smoking in the common areas of private apartment buildings, such as hallways, community rooms and libraries, residents may smoke inside their units unless the landlord prohibits it. But smoke from one unit...

Stop smoking guru Allen Carr dies of lung cancer Last updated at 13:00pm on 29th November 2006 Allen Carr - the man who convinced millions of people to give up smoking - has died after losing his battle with lung cancer. The 72-year-old was at his home near Malaga in Spain and his family were with him, a spokeswoman said. Mr Carr was diagnosed with inoperable lung cancer in the summer. Friends said it seemed probable that the years he spent curing smokers in smoke-filled sessions at his clinics must have contributed to the illness. Mr Carr had said: "Given...

Texas Department of Protective and Regulatory Services has approved a new rule that will prohibit any family that has foster children living with them from smoking in their own home. "The rule prohibits foster parents from smoking in their homes, as long as there are children assigned to their homes," said Darrell Azar of the TDPRS. "It also bans foster parents from smoking in their cars if there are children present in their cars. It is believed to be the toughest anti smoking rules in the country, and the first rules ever approved that prohibit smoking inside detached homes. Azar...

Sunday, November 5, 2006 | Serving Baytown and the Surrounding Areas Past Week Past Month Advanced | Browse | Help Register | Sign In | Subscribe Home Marketplace Classifieds Jobs Homes Autos Place an ad Newspaper Ads Special Sections Sections Today's Front News Permits Opinion Baytown Talk Sports Lifestyle Calendar Special Reports Photo Gallery Obituaries Communities Columns Weather Email Extra Mobile News RSS 1-Month View Search AP News Top News Texas Nation Politics Business Finance Technology Sports Health Arts Multimedia Podcasts Service Center Service Home Circulation Home Delivery Newsstands Back Issues Vacation Stops NIE Our choices From staff reports Baytown...

GRAND RAPIDS -- Spectrum Health and Saint Mary's Health Care will require all their employees to not use tobacco at any time during their work shift beginning January 1. The staffs of both hospitals will need to arrive without smelling of smoke, and they can't use any tobacco products until they leave hospital property after their shift. Metro Health is also joining in the Smoke-Free Work Day Every Day campaign. In 2003, the Grand Rapids hospitals became the first in the country to jointly declare their hospital campuses smoke-free. Today, more than 30 Michigan hospitals have smoke-free campuses. This...

SEATTLE -- Non-tribal casinos have already lost tens of millions of dollars because of Washington’s new indoor smoking ban. A new financial study, conducted by our own KIRO Team 7 Investigators, discovers taxpayers could loose millions as well. Card-rooms, charity bingo halls, and some bars and restaurants are required to report financial information to the state every year. The state hasn't had a chance to look at the figures since the smoking ban took effect. I have. It looks like "no smoking" means economic devastation for the non-tribal gaming industry. If there was ever any doubt that gamblers are also...

Following are actual statistics reflecting examples of the negative impact upon individual businesses following the recently instituted smoking ban ordinances, effective in Springfield, Illinois and surrounding unincorporated Sangamon County this September 15, 2006 (less than two weeks ago). When small businesses account for about two-thirds of our country's economic growth and new jobs, it is difficult to comprehend elected officials' reasoning in voting to implement an intrusive ordinance which will hurt those same business owners. A restaurant owner who does not permit smoking will see it as a violation of his property rights if a coalition uses the political...

Delaware County's ban on smoking in most work places has become a problem for some nursing homes, which are both work places for employees and homes for the residents. The smoking ordinance does not prevent people from smoking in their homes, but it does ban smoking in most public buildings and work spaces. If a nursing home bans smoking, they could lose federal funding for failing to comply with regulations, but if they allow smoking they could face fines or a lawsuit from the county health department, officials said. Federal regulations state that if a nursing home changes its...

Churchill Downs could be hurt financially if it is forced to go completely smoke free, a company official said Wednesday. Kevin Flanery, Churchill Downs Inc.’s vice president for national public affairs, told a Louisville Metro Council committee considering a new, tougher smoking ban, that the race track is already facing heavy competition from Indiana and from computer and telephone betting services.And he said the company’s experience at a Florida track shows some people will stop betting when a smoking ban takes effect. But the former head of the Greater Louisville Medical Society testified that his group favors a complete...

A private smokers club in Smiths Falls challenged Ontario's indoor smoking ban with its grand opening Friday — and Ontario officials did not brave the fumes to attend. Instead, the club's founder was charged under the province's Smoke-Free Ontario act the day before it opened. Since Ontario's indoor workplace and public smoking ban went into effect, ashtrays and cigars have been illegal in bars. The grand opening of Do' Little's pub as a club for members of a private smokers association took place at noon at the Comfort Inn on Centre Street in Smiths Falls, about 65 kilometres south of...

Park Ridge aldermen will resume discussion of the city's public smoking ban, following complaints from three restaurant owners that their businesses have been adversely affected by it.The restaurant owners spoke briefly to the City Council Monday night, prompting Mayor Howard Frimark to ask the aldermen if the smoking ban should be brought back before the Procedures and Regulations Committee. Alderman Jeannie Markech agreed that it should, and made a motion for the discussion. Eight aldermen voted in favor of the issue going back to committee and five voted against. One alderman was absent.The next meeting of the Procedures and Regulations...

There have been a bunch of books about the mistakes made after the American invasion of Baghdad, George Packer's Assassin's Gate and Thomas Ricks' Fiasco being the two best in my opinion.Yesterday, the Washington Post published an excerpt from Rajiv Chandrasekaran's effort. He was their bureau chief there for a few years and his book, Imperial Life in the Emerald City: Inside Iraq's Green Zone, will be released tomorrow.I haven't read the book, but the excerpt is as damning as anything could be. It outlines how people were recruited to serve in the Coalition Provisional Authority, the group that ran...