Tobacco News

Commissioners discussed a new policy Tuesday that bans all tobacco use on all county property including boat ramps, parks, trails and the sports complex, which will roll out in three phases starting Jan. 1 2012.

“It is tobacco free. It does not just cover smoking, it is all tobacco products,” said Assistant County Administrator June Fisher told the board. Phase 1, which includes the downtown Sebring campuses like the Government Center, Courthouse, State Attorney, Public Defender, Government Annex, Facilities Office, the Children’s Advocacy and all EMS centers.
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A proposed ban on smoking and other forms of tobacco use on all city property, even outdoors, goes before city councilors on Thursday. The new tobacco ordinance is up for the first of two readings by city councilors at their meeting, which is scheduled to start at 7 p.m. in the council chambers at City Center.

The ban would apply to all city parks and athletic fields and, except for designated smoking areas, the outdoor areas surrounding all city buildings. Violators of the proposed new ban could be subject to a $50 fine. Before that, though, city parks staff or police would warn violators to stop, officials said.
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I am a former smoker. I hate the odor of tobacco smoke. I will not go to anyplace that allows smoking. I am fully aware of the dangers of smoking and of secondhand smoke. However, I believe that an overreaching government is much more dangerous.

How can it be right that government can dictate whether or not a private business can allow customers to use a legal product in their premises? No one is forced to frequent or to work in a business that allows smoking. Each of us can choose where we wish to spend our time and our hard-earned income. Ream more »

The Philippines is gaining headway in its flight against tobacco use. It has been cited by the Framework Convention Alliance (FCA), representing 350 non-government organizations in more than 100 countries that support the World Health Organization-Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO-FCTC), for “taking concrete steps toward protecting its citizens from the global epidemic that is caused by tobacco use.”
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Prefer to prohibit puffing in parks and other public places outdoors? That’s what the City of Kirkland is asking, inviting the public to take an on-line survey about all tobacco use in Kirkland’s parks, playgrounds, sports fields and on its trails.

And the city is not just blowing smoke. The Kirkland Parks and Community Services Department is taking the survey in conjunction with other cities and King County Parks, which recently received a federal “Communities Putting Prevention to Work” (CPPW) grant.
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The school district isn’t any closer to being 100 percent tobacco free, but school board members’ interest in creating a smoking cessation program is at least something that pleases anti-drug coalition members.

All but one school board member agreed Tuesday that they didn’t support a proposal by the county anti-drug coalition to make all school district-owned properties tobacco free — a restriction that would have primarily impacted maintenance and other nonteaching employees.
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Calhoun County supervisors agreed Monday to look into the feasibility of supplementing the new county courthouse with solar energy and to make all courthouse property tobacco-free.
Norman Griffin, of Calhoun City, spoke to the board about the possibility of installing a Solar Electric Generation System for the new courthouse.
Griffin said his company Blue Spectra Solar installs the largest system approved by TVA. Ream more »

Tobacco use in movies dropped sharply between 2005 and 2010, and this may have contributed to a decline in smoking rates among U.S. teens, according to a new study.
55% of movies with box office success in 2010 had no scenes that included tobacco use, compared with a third of the top-grossing films in 2005, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
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It’s been more than 10 years since the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners banned smoking in county buildings.

Fast forward to 2008 when the county decided on policy that restricted smoking within a “45-foot radius of street-level entrances of county-owned buildings” and banned the county’s employees from smoking while working or while in a Hennepin County vehicle.
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The KGMC students in collaboration with Khyber-Pakhtunkhwa Health Foundation (KPHF), organised a programme in connection with World No Tobacco Day which was celebrated all over the world on May 31. KPHF Managing Director Dr Umar Ayub attended the event as the chief guest.
Addressing the students, Dr Ayub explained the hazards of smoking. He said even though shisha smoking was banned in Sindh, people in other provinces had open access to it. Ream more »