Tobacco News

The University of California has proposed a plan that would permanently smother cigarette smoke, but UC Merced students including Diana Gonzalez aren’t worried.
Gonzalez, 18, supports the plan to make all UC campuses smoke- and tobacco-free.
She knows from personal experience that the effects of smoking can be deadly and devastating.
“I personally think it’s perfect, because I have family history where they smoked, and my grandma died because of lung cancer (and) brain cancer,” she said. Ream more »

Adults visiting public schools in Bedford County are now prohibited from using tobacco products on school property, according to recent action by officials.

The school board last month updated a policy that includes the ban on tobacco use by adults who visit school grounds. Those in violation will be asked to comply immediately and anyone failing to do so would be required to leave school grounds, according to the policy. Ream more »

In the United States, there is a big debate among nonprofits about whether some sources of charitable donations are offensive. Some groups have developed “gift acceptance” guidelines identifying categories of generally corporate donors whose grants are to be avoided as antithetical to the recipient’s values. Typical categories are corporations that manufacture handguns or liquor—or tobacco. But there are plenty of people who would argue that a nonprofit would be foolish to turn down money regardless of the source, Ream more »

Brookline’s selectmen have thrown their weight behind a resolution that would ban tobacco sales at schools and pharmacies.
At their Tuesday evening meeting, the board unanimously voted for the article, which Town Meeting member Tommy Vitolo is bringing to the Special Town Meeting in November. The article was one of several the selectmen considered at the meeting. Ream more »

Banning tobacco won unanimous support from Montana State University leaders last week, but on Monday opinion was still split among students, professors and employees.
A noon public forum saw a lively debate over individuals’ right to be free of government dictates versus individuals’ right to a clean and healthy environment.
About two dozen people attended the forum, sponsored by the MSU Leadership Institute, MSU political science department, Montana PBS and Associated Students of MSU. Ream more »

Faced with a proposal to ban tobacco from all school district property, the School Board opted to butt out.

The comprehensive tobacco-free policy, advocated by the state Department of Health, would forbid smoking and other forms of tobacco use on all district property, including athletic fields and parking lots.

That would have meant snuffing out all tobacco use not just on school campuses but also on other property where students rarely or never go, such as the maintenance office and the district administration headquarters in Brooksville. Ream more »

“I feel like I’m smoking a lot more now that I can’t smoke on campus,” Zack Garett, a University Southern Indiana student said a week after classes started.

The policy, which took effect July 1, doesn’t permit students or faculty to smoke on campus. It will only allow students and faculty to smoke and use other tobacco products in their own cars. Previously smokers were restricted from buildings and 30 feet from the entrances to the buildings.
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A number of new measures, including a Scottish Tobacco Retailer Register and a ban on the display of tobacco in shops, are being introduced following the passage of the Tobacco and Primary Medical Services (Scotland) Act 2010.

A ban on sales of tobacco products from vending machines was to be implemented from October 1. However, due to the ongoing legal challenges, the Scottish Government has reluctantly come to the conclusion that it is no longer possible to introduce the ban on that day.
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Hartsville City Council gave preliminary approval to an ordinance that makes city parks tobacco free.

The measure, which council approved unanimously on first reading Tuesday, bans smoking as well as the use of other tobacco products in all of the city’s public parks and other outdoor facilities owned by the city. The ordinance also provides for a $25 fine for violations.
Ream more »

Death by fire has declined significantly over the past 100 years, but there’s one surprising policy that may actually increase the prevalence of fires: smoking restrictions and bans. A new paper by Emory economist Sara Markowitz finds that “laws regulating indoor smoking are associated with increases in some types of fires. Ream more »