Tobacco News

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.
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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 »

The Jammu and Kashmir government today announced a ban on entry of persons carrying cigarettes and other tobacco products in its offices in the Valley. “No one shall be allowed to enter government offices with cigarettes and tobacco products,” a notification issued by Divisional Commissioner, Kashmir, Asgar Hassan Samoon said.
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An ordinance here prohibiting tobacco sales in drug stores could violate he equal protection clauses of the state and federal constitutions, a state appeal court ruled this week, according to a report by Law.com.

The unanimous decision by San Francisco’s 1st District Court of Appeal reverses a demurrer in the city’s favor, and allows Walgreen Co. to go ahead with a suit challenging the city’s controversial ordinance.
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July 1st, 2010 could prove to be a very big day on the UCO campus, as well as the lives of some of its patrons. On this day, UCO will officially become a tobacco-free campus.
What this means is that anyone present on the campus, be it students, faculty, or visitors, will be forbidden from using tobacco products of any kind while on campus.
Naturally, a very important group to consider in light of the ban is the students it affects. There are many different opinions as to whether the ban is necessary or effective.
“I support the ban, because I hate walking through a cloud of smoke to my classes,” says Lauren Garrity, a UCO Senior. “I don’t smoke, and even when people smoke further away from the buildings on sidewalks, I still have to use that sidewalk to get to class.”
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BRYAN CO., OK – A new law in Oklahoma aims to make illegal drug use a little more difficult, and it’s starting right in your neighborhood convenience stores.

You’ve probably seen them – small glass pipes on or behind counters at your local gas station.

“The statute reads that if they’re selling tobacco or related items… if they’re selling tobacco then they can have pipes for smoking tobacco,” said T.J. White, Calera’s Assistant Chief of Police.

The little glass products are sold as small flower holders or even tobacco pipes. And when they’re clean, the pipes are not illegal to sell, purchase or even own.

“They’re really not paraphernalia until they’re used as such or in the vicinity of other drugs,” explained White.
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The Government will present a second draft of the System for the Prevention and Control of Tobacco Smoking to the Second Standing Committee of the Legislative Assembly (AL) on June 15, president of the committee Chan Chak Mo told reporters.
Yesterday, lawmakers and Government representatives gathered to discuss the bill, since the committee had demanded clarification last week regarding the law’s enforcement. “The Executive has listened to our opinions and will present a new draft of the bill,” Chan said.
According to the committee president, the Government did not give much detail on the changes to be introduced but he assured that the most controversial articles, regarding the places where the smoking ban will and will not be applied, will be changed.
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