For the Smoke-Free Environments Law
Project home page, click here.
For the
Smoke-Free Policies in Facilities Serving Older Persons home page, click here.
NEW: MISmokeFreeApartment web site
& Campaign to Promote Smoke-Free Apartments
Visit SFELP's award-winning MISmokeFreeApartment web
site, which has a wealth of information and resources for apartment owners and
for tenants seeking smoke-free apartments. To access the site, click above. To
access a press release describing the campaign, click here. To access a
press release titled Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Came of Age in 2007 which describes the dramatic progress made in 2007,
click here. To
access a press release titled End of Year Heralds Record Numbers of
Smoke-Free Apartments in Michigan and the Nation which describes the enormous progress made in 2008,
click here. To
access a press release titled Smoke Free Multi-Unit Housing in Michigan
& the Nation: A Decade of Enormous Growth, which described the progress made between 2000 and
the beginning of 2010, click here.
News Updated September 2, 2010; 1 note posted today
Washington
group makes PUSH for smoke-free housing
9/2: The following is from an August 29th Seattle
Times news report: The fight over
smoking restrictions in Washington state has moved from bars and office
buildings to private residences. The
News Tribune reports that a group
called People United for Smoke-Free Housing (PUSH) has asked the Tacoma-Pierce
County Health Board to classify secondhand smoke as a "nuisance" in
multi-unit housing, because smoke can seep from one apartment to another and
bother other residents. That could allow landlords to evict people for smoking.
The proposal, which backers hope to have inserted into the state's
landlord-tenant law, is one of dozens of attempts in communities around the
country to extend no-smoking restrictions to rental housing. "This
is the last piece of the puzzle that needs to be placed," said Nan Hogan
of University Place, who helped write the proposed legislation. "We've got
smoke-free motel rooms, smoke-free restaurants, smoke-free bars, smoke-free
office buildings and even prisons. Why should we go home and have to breathe it
there?" PUSH wants the board to pass the proposal, so it then can use it
as ammunition in efforts to make a statewide change in the law. To access
the full story, click above.
Detroit Housing
Commission adopts smoke-free policy for all properties, effective January 1,
2011
8/17: We're very pleased to report that the
Detroit Housing Commission — Michigan’s largest public housing authority —
adopted a smoke-free policy for all its multi-family properties. The
smoke-free policy goes into effect for all residents — no grandfathering — on
January 1, 2011 in all its 15 properties with a total of 2,118 units. The
policy covers 10 elderly buildings with 1,440 units and 5 family buildings with
678 units. Smoking will only be allowed in outdoor designated smoking
areas, if any. The Detroit Housing Commission will provide assistance to
residents to quit smoking. It has been our pleasure to assist the Detroit
Housing Commission in adopting this policy. Michigan now has 42
housing commissions with smoke-free policies for some or all their properties.
The policies cover about 85 apartment buildings/developments and over 384
townhouses/scattered site units, with about 7,744 total apartment units. Three of the largest housing commissions in
Michigan now have adopted smoke-free policies — Grand Rapids with about 900
units, Detroit with 2,118 units, and Lansing with 834 units. Nationally,
there are now at least 179 local housing authorities that have adopted
smoke-free policies for some or all their properties. Among the largest housing authorities to have
adopted smoke-free policies for almost all their properties are the 3 three
Michigan ones named above; Portland, Oregon with 1,993 units covered and may be
adding 3,760 units soon; and Everett, Washington with 1,047 units to be smoke-free
in June, 2011. Other large housing authorities that have adopted
smoke-free policies, but only for a few of their properties or are phasing in
the smoke-free policies over the next few years include: Minneapolis,
Boston, Denver, and Seattle. To access an updated listing of all the
housing authorities we know of with smoke-free policies, click above.
Michigan
veterans fight for right to smoke; VFW post in Baraga defies state's new ban,
files lawsuit
8/17: The following is from an August 15th Detroit
Free Press article: The veterans at
the American Legion Post 444 see it as pretty straightforward. Smoking
tobacco is legal. They own, run and risk failure at their post's tavern in tiny
Baraga at the base of the Keweenaw Bay in the Upper Peninsula. So they
get to decide whether patrons get to smoke. That wasn't an issue before
May 1, when a statewide ban on smoking in places of employment took effect
(with a few, minor exceptions and one major one: Detroit's three casinos). Now
Foucault-Funke Post 444, where the ashtrays never came off the tables and
smokers line the bar each afternoon and evening, is at the center of what could
be a decisive showdown for the new state law and -- as the vets see it -- for
the individual liberty and self-government they fought to defend. Earlier
this month, the post sued the Western Upper Peninsula Health Department to
strike down as unconstitutional the department's order to end indoor smoking. To access the full article, click above.
Boston
Housing Authority pushes for smoke-free housing; Ban in Hub could be nation’s
largest
7/28: The following is from a July 27th Boston
Globe report: Meena Carr figured out
years ago why her young grandson, Malik, was chronically coughing and wheezing:
Her home made him sick. Carr, 69, didn’t smoke cigarettes, but some of her
neighbors in the Washington-Beech housing development did, often in the
hallway. The smell permeated Carr’s apartment. Last month,
Washington-Beech in Roslindale became the city's first smoke-free public
housing development. Today, Carr plans to join other community leaders,
public officials, and housing advocates to discuss the Boston Housing
Authority’s more ambitious long-term objective -- clearing the air by
2013 at all 64 public housing developments. That positions Boston to
become the first city in Massachusetts, and perhaps the largest housing
authority nationwide, to impose such a ban. Under the proposal, still in its
initial stages, about 27,000 residents in 12,000 units would be prohibited from
smoking in common areas and their own apartments. "This new initiative will go a long way to
encourage more healthy living styles for our residents," said Mayor Thomas
M. Menino, who earlier this year unveiled the plan to make housing developments
smoke free. "You don't live in a single-family home, you are in multiunit
housing," Menino said. "What you do there has an effect on all other
folks living in that building." Today's meeting at Suffolk
University is being billed by officials as a "summit" to launch the
campaign. Details, including how a ban would be phased in and how violators
would be punished, are still unclear. Housing officials say the process will
include community debate and a public comment period. By January, they hope to
submit a proposal to the Department of Housing and Urban Development. Nationwide, about 170 public housing
authorities -- roughly 5 percent -- have instituted some kind of no-smoking
policy in the past few years, according to the Smoke-Free Environments Law
Project in Michigan, a nonprofit that tracks the issue. But so far none as
large as Boston’s has implemented the ban, making the city a leader if it moves
more quickly than other authorities of similar size. Click above for the
full story.
25 of the 50 states
now have at least one public housing authority with a smoke-free policy
7/28: Illinois and New York state now both have a
local housing authority that has adopted a smoke-free policy. That
provides another milestone -- 25 of the 50 states now have at least one
local housing authority with a smoke-free policy for some or all their
buildings. Seven of the top 8
states in population have at least one local housing authority with a
smoke-free policy. Well over 50% of the nation’s population resides in
those 25 states. The city of Gloversville Housing Authority in
New York state adopted a tobacco-free policy that will go into effect September
1, 2010. The Housing Authority
adopted the new policy in May. All residents will be covered by the
policy on September 1st, and all of the buildings will be tobacco free. As
of July, 2010, at least 171 local housing authorities had adopted smoke-free
policies for some or all of their apartment buildings, with about 157 being adopted since the beginning of
January, 2005; an average of over 2.3 per month. That constitutes an increase
in the number of housing authorities with smoke-free policies of over 1,000% in
67 months. The 25 states with such policies, with the number of
individual local housing authorities with smoke-free policies in parentheses,
include Michigan (40), Minnesota
(33), Maine (19), Colorado (14), Oregon (11), Washington (8), California (8),
Nebraska (6), New Hampshire (5), Alaska (4), Idaho (3), Utah (3), New Jersey (2),
Wisconsin (2), Arkansas (2), Florida, Montana, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania,
Texas, Massachusetts, Connecticut, Vermont, Illinois and New York. To
access the listing of all 171 in pdf format, click above.
West
Branch Housing Corporation adopts smoke-free policy; 40th Michigan housing
commission to do so
7/26: On July 21st, the West Branch Housing
Corporation (WBHC) became the 40th housing commission in Michigan to adopt a
smoke-free policy. The WBHC board approved a smoke-free policy for all 87
units of senior housing in their Victorian Trails and Maplewood Manor apartment
buildings. The policy goes into effect on August 1st for all new
residents and all WBHC staff. Current residents who are smokers have a
temporary exemption from the policy until January 1, 2011, when the buildings
will become totally smoke-free. It has been a pleasure working with WBHC
Executive Director Stacy Alley on the development and adoption of this policy.
WBHC joins 39 other Michigan housing commissions which have adopted
smoke-free policies – the largest number of housing authorities with smoke-free
policies of any of the 50 states. These 40 housing commission smoke-free
policies cover about 66 apartment buildings and over 134 townhouses/scattered
site units with about 4,800 total apartment units. To view the
Maplewood Manor property, click above.
Sault
adds smoke-free housing; Smoke-free units in St. Ignace could be on the horizon
7/26: The following is from a July 20th Cheboygan
News article: Smoke-free
housing units could be available for tribal members in St. Ignace, just as they
are at Kincheloe, said a spokesperson for the Sault Tribe of Chippewa Indians.
"We're hoping so," said Michelle Bouschor of the tribe's public
relations office. "The goal is to move forward with this policy to change
over as many as possible. Keeping members healthy is a priority." On
Monday, the Sault Tribe became the first tribe in Michigan -- and the fifth in
the nation -- to establish smoke-free housing units for tribal members. Four
duplex units housing eight tribal families were opened by the Sault Tribe
Housing Authority. Additional smoke-free housing units will be established in
future years under a new policy adopted earlier this year by the tribe's
Housing Authority Committee. To access the article, click above.
Mixed
reaction to tough Sebastopol, California smoking ban
7/26: The following is from a July 21st Press
Democrat article: The Sebastopol City
Council voted Tuesday to ban cigarette smoking in multi-unit dwellings, while
preserving the right to consume medical marijuana in such abodes. It's
something out of "1984," George Orwell's famous story of government
run amok, said Ranta, who lives in Bear Meadows Townhomes on Bodega Avenue.
"That's Big Brother talking," he said. "You're
taking rights away from a person." Not so, says Councilwoman
Kathleen Shaffer, one of the main champions of the change. She's said the
restrictions -- which passed unanimously -- are about giving rights to
children, not taking rights. ... In California, only the city of Belmont has an
ordinance as broad as Sebastopol's, although Rohnert Park will have a smoking
prohibition in half of that city's apartments that takes effect next year.
To access the full article, click above.
Sault
Tribe is first Michigan tribe to establish smoke-free tribal housing
7/21: The following is from a July 20th EUPNews report: The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa
Indians has become the first tribe in Michigan -- and fifth in the nation -- to
establish smoke-free housing units for tribal members. The Sault Tribe
Housing Authority today celebrated the opening of smoke-free homes for eight
tribal families (four duplex units) in Kincheloe, Mich. Additional smoke-free
housing units will be established in future years, under a new policy adopted
earlier this year by the Sault Tribe Housing Authority Commission.
"Providing a healthy living environment for tribal members is our
main goal," said Sault Tribe Housing Director Joni Talentino. "We
want to give our members the opportunity to join the nationwide movement toward
becoming smoke free." All of the smoke-free units are full. To
access the full story, click above.
Editorial:
Smoke-free public housing makes good sense
7/21: The following is from a July 19th Rochester
(MN) Post Bulletin editorial: If you
smoke, live with a smoker or in an apartment complex where some residents
smoke, here are some points to ponder. ? The United States Fire
Administration, a division of FEMA, says residential fires caused by smoking
kill 700-900 people in the United States each year. ? A fire caused by
careless smoking is nearly four times as likely to result in a fatality, and 25
percent of those who die each year in smoking-related fires are NOT the actual
smoker. ? In 2006, there were 67 smoking-related fires in multi-unit
residential properties in Minnesota. ? One smoking-related fire in
Burnsville in 2007 resulted in $1.5 million in damage to an apartment complex,
and residents suffered an $800,000 property loss. So it is that we
applaud the decision by Fontaine Towers and Central Towers in Rochester to
phase in an outright ban on smoking inside their buildings, which are home to
people who are 62 or older or disabled.
The new policies, strongly endorsed by the U.S. Department of Housing and
Urban Development, make a ton of sense. It's hard to imagine a worse fire
situation in Rochester than a 15-story building that's occupied primarily by
people who would require assistance in escaping. Any step that can be taken to
prevent such a fire is worth taking. But there are many other reasons to
embrace these new rules. Cigarette smoke is bad for both the smoker and those
nearby, and we believe every resident of a publicly-funded housing facility
should have the right to breathe smoke-free air. When those residents are
elderly or have physical disabilities, that right becomes even more important.
Insurance rate change? Encourage by fire department? Easier to rent?
Furthermore, we're not thrilled with idea that some of the tax dollars we
send to Washington are used to subsidize housing for people who smoke. It's
expensive to clean an apartment after a smoker has occupied it, and frankly, if
someone's income is low enough to require subsidized housing, perhaps they
shouldn't be buying cigarettes. So, if anyone cares to float the idea
that smoking should be banned from all public housing complexes, count us in.
To access the editorial, click above.
Sault
Tribe Housing Authority offers smoke-free housing
7/20: The following is from a July 20th
SooToday.com news story: The Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa
Indians has become the first tribe in Michigan - and fifth in the nation - to
establish smoke-free housing units for tribal members. The Sault Tribe
Housing Authority today celebrated the opening of smoke-free homes for eight
tribal families (four duplex units) in Kincheloe, Michigan. Additional smoke-free housing units will be
established in future years, under a new policy adopted earlier this year by
the Sault Tribe Housing Authority Commission. "Providing a healthy
living environment for tribal members is our main goal," said Sault Tribe
Housing Director Joni Talentino. "We want to give our members the
opportunity to join the nationwide movement toward becoming smoke-free."
All of the smoke-free units are full. Starting in November 2008,
as an initiative of the Sault Tribe Strategic Alliance for Health Project, the
Sault Tribe Tobacco Task Force, the Sault Tribe Housing Authority, the Sault
Tribal Youth Council, the Chippewa County Tobacco-Free Living Coalition, the
Smoke-free Environments Law Project and the Michigan Department of Community
Health worked together to adopt the policy and establish the smoke-free housing
units. Other supporters of the
policy included the Tribal Youth Council and smoke-free environments.
"Many tribal and non-tribal entities worked hard on obtaining this
status," said Donna Norkoli, project coordinator of the Sault Tribe
Strategic Alliance for Health Project. "It truly could not have been done
without these partnerships." The Sault Tribe Housing Authority joins
nine other local housing commissions in the U.P. who have adopted smoke-free
policies. "Of 11 tribal housing authorities in Michigan, the Sault
Tribe has taken the lead in adopting a smoke-free policy," said Jim
Bergman of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project. "Hopefully, other
tribes will soon follow the Sault Tribe’s leadership role." ... The Sault
Tribe Housing Authority manages more than 500 housing units across the Upper
Peninsula. To access the news story, click above.
Day One Of Wisconsin Smoking
Ban Goes Just Fine
7/7: The following is from a July 5th WTMJ
Radio story: A handful of patrons sat
at the bar in Steny's Tavern Monday night. They drank and talked about
another Brewer's loss. That activity took place in an environment of
unspoiled air. There was no smoke, not so much as a scent of nicotine. It
was day one of Wisconsin's statewide smoking ban. "I love not
smelling like smoke in the morning when I wake up," said Ryan Stenstrup as
he looked up at the television monitors to relive the woeful outing by his
beloved Brewers. After pausing to watch the replay of a Brewer's
strikeout, Ryan chimed in again. "We'll see how people will like
going outside when it's twenty below zero or something like that," he said
with a knowing smile. Bar manager Laura Jean Gwiazdowski is entirely
optimistic. "I really don't see it hurting business," she said
conclusively. "I've had customers that say they're going to come
back more and bring their families in for dinner because there's no
smoking." Smoker Sam Zevnik was able to sit comfortably at the bar
with his friends without puffing Monday night. TODAY'S TMJ4 asked if he
might quit his habit because of the ban. "I could definitely see
that happening," he said. "Because the only time I want to smoke is
when I'm drinking in a bar." Click above for full article.
Investing in
Prevention: The New National Prevention, Health Promotion and Public Health
Council
7/1: The following is from a June 30th Fact
Sheet from the U.S. Surgeon General's office: Chronic diseases -- such as heart
disease, cancer, stroke, and diabetes -- are responsible for 7 of 10 deaths
among Americans each year and account for 75% of the nation's health spending. Often
due to economic, social, and physical factors, too many Americans engage in
behaviors -- such as tobacco use, poor diet, physical inactivity, and alcohol
abuse -- that lead to poor health. A focus on prevention will offer our
nation the opportunity to not only improve the health of Americans but also
help reduce health care costs and improve quality of care. By concentrating on the underlying drivers of
chronic disease, the Affordable Care Act helps us move from today's sick-care
system to a true "health care" system that encourages health and
well-being. The Affordable Care Act signed into law by President Obama
creates a National Prevention, Health Promotion, and Public Health Council. The
Council, composed of senior government officials, will elevate and coordinate
prevention activities and design a focused National Prevention and Health
Promotion Strategy in conjunction with communities across the country to
promote the nation's health. The Strategy will take a community health approach
to prevention and well-being -- identifying and prioritizing actions across
government and between sectors. On June 10, the President signed an
Executive Order creating the National Prevention Council. Established
within the Department of Health and Human Services, the Council is chaired by
the U.S. Surgeon General. Click above to access the full Fact Sheet. To
access the Council's report in pdf format, click here.
Survey:
More than 75 percent favor Mich. smoking ban
6/21: According to a June 21st Detroit Press report: More than 75 percent of people surveyed
by the state Department of Community Health favored Michigan's smoking ban,
according to results of a study released this morning. Researchers with
the agency completed the public opinion survey before the law, which bans smoking
in bars, restaurants and other public venues, went into affect May 1. The
survey of 10,030 people was distributed to clients receiving services at local
health departments in 80 of Michigan's 83 counties between March 1 and April
23. Among those participating, 88 percent thought that secondhand smoke
was a serious health threat to nonsmokers. Nonsmokers were significantly more
supportive of the law than smokers. About 87 percent of participants were
aware that all bars and restaurants would be smoke-free starting May 1. Overall,
89.5 percent of those surveyed reported they would go out to eat more often or
would not change if smoking were prohibited in restaurants and bars. "The results of the survey indicate strong
support for the smoke-free law prior to implementation," Teri Wilson, a
Consultant with the MDCH Tobacco Section, said in a press release. "The
good news for the economy is that almost 90 percent of participants indicated
they would go out to eat more often or just as often as they did prior to
Michigan being smoke-free." The results belie comments from some bar
and restaurant owners who say the smoking ban has hurt their business. Click
above for full story.
Should
public housing projects go smoke-free?
6/17: The following is from a June 16th CNN report: Between puffs of his cigarette, Aristo Lizica
explains why he's all for a smoking ban in public housing -- including his own
housing project on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. "When you smoke
indoors, it hurts everybody," the 59-year-old says, leaning against an
iron fence outside his building. "It's better for me to just make myself
sick." Lizica would prefer to avoid making himself sick too, of
course. "I want to quit," he adds. "I know cigarettes are bad
for my health." Yet he remains unable to kick the habit. Federal
housing officials are trying to help people like Lizica -- and his neighbors --
by making public housing smoke-free. Full or partial smoking bans would reduce
secondhand smoke drifting between apartments, prevent cigarette-related fires,
and even help smokers quit, they argue. "We see it as a win-win for both residents and
housing authorities," says Donna White, a spokesperson for the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development, the federal agency that oversees public
housing. In a 2009 memo, the department highlighted the dangers that
indoor smoking poses to the nation's 2.1 million public housing residents, and
"strongly encouraged" local housing authorities to implement smoking
restrictions. But doing so remains
voluntary, and so far only about 4 percent of local authorities have taken the
step. "Change is hard," White says. Public health experts are
hoping to light a fire under the cause. In a paper published today in the
New England Journal of Medicine, a team of researchers and attorneys from
Harvard University argue that the health and safety gains of a smoking ban in
housing projects would far outweigh the losses, which some say would include
the privacy rights of smokers.
Yet smokers like Lizica could prove to be the biggest winners, the
authors suggest. "If federal officials and public housing authorities take
this cue, we can expect to have large numbers of people quit smoking,"
says the lead author of the article, Jonathan Winickoff, M.D., a pediatrician
and assistant professor at Harvard Medical School, in Boston. "That could
be the single greatest health benefit." Click above for the full CNN
article. To access the full NEJM article, click here.
Medical Marijuana and
Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing: An
Analysis
6/11: We at the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project
(SFELP) are pleased to release a new document by SFELP Consulting Attorney
Cliff Douglas, J.D., titled Restricting the Use of Medical Marijuana
in Multi-Unit Residential Settings: Legal and Practical Considerations. This may be one of the first such analyses
done anywhere in the U.S., and, while it focuses on Michigan's Medical
Marihuana Act, it has great relevance for other states (at least 13 to 15
states have such laws). We have now added a section to the Landlord
Rights page of the
MISmokeFreeApartment web site where you can access the analysis. At that
site, you can also access a copy of the Michigan Medical Marihuana Act and a
copy of a 1999 HUD legal memorandum on this topic. The analysis is 12
pages, but the introduction is just one page, and it summarizes the question
addressed -- Do multi-unit residential property owners have the authority to
prohibit the smoking of marijuana in their properties when the individual
marijuana user is authorized by the state of Michigan to user it? -- and
provides answers to that question for both market-rate properties and for
affordable housing, including public housing. Our conclusion is that
owners may prohibit the smoking of marijuana, including medical marijuana, in
their properties. We addressed this issue because many multi-unit
residential property owners, including housing authorities, who had adopted
overall smoke-free policies, wanted to know how they would deal with
individuals who are licensed by the state to use marijuana for medicinal
purposes. We encourage you to go to the site and download copies of the
analysis and the HUD memorandum. Also, feel free to do a link to the page
from your own web sites. To access the analysis and 1999 HUD memorandum,
click above.
6/9: The following is from a June 7th Harvard
School of Public Health press release: Researchers at the Harvard
School of Public Health (HSPH) have found that children and adolescents living
in non-smoking homes in counties with laws promoting smoke-free public places have
significantly lower levels of a common biomarker of secondhand smoke exposure
than those living in counties with no smoke-free laws. The children living in non-smoking homes in
U.S. counties with smoke-free laws had 39% lower prevalence of cotinine in
their blood, an indicator of tobacco smoke exposure, compared to those living
in counties with no smoke-free laws. Children living in homes with smokers
exhibited little or no benefit from the smoke-free laws. The study
appears in the June 7, 2010 advance online edition of the journal Pediatrics. "The findings suggest that smoke-free laws are
an effective strategy to protect both children and adults from exposure to
secondhand smoke. In addition, interventions designed to reduce or prevent
adults from smoking around children are needed," said Melanie Dove, who
received her doctorate in environmental health at HSPH in 2010 and led the
study. ... Over the past decade the number of state and local smoke-free laws
in the nation has grown significantly. For example, the number of smoke-free
laws in workplaces, restaurants and bars in the U.S. has increased from 0 in
1988 to 175 in 2006. "These laws have been shown to reduce
exposure to secondhand smoke among adults. Our results show a similar
association in children and adolescents not living with a smoker in the
home," said Gregory Connolly,
senior author of the paper and director of the Tobacco Control Research Program
at HSPH. Douglas Dockery, professor of environmental epidemiology and chair of
the Department of Environmental Health, also was a study author. ... Approximately
20 percent of the youth in the HSPH study lived with a smoker in the home.
These children had the highest cotinine levels and could benefit the most from
an intervention to reduce exposure, regardless of smoke-free laws that might be
in place, say the researchers.
"One way to reduce or prevent adults from smoking around children is for
physicians to counsel parents to stop smoking," said Connolly. Click
above to access the full press release.
No
smoking policy at Michigan Stadium starts this fall
6/8: According to a June 7th Detroit News article: The Big House will be smoke free.
University of Michigan officials announced Monday that Michigan Stadium
will be a smoke-free zone when football season opens this fall. The
opener is set for Sept. 4 against Connecticut. In the past, smoking had
been allowed on the concourse of the stadium. Athletic director Dave
Brandon said the change is going into effect ahead of when the entire campus
becomes smoke-free in 2011. Smoking already was banned in the Ann Arbor
stadium's seated-bowl area. "We have allowed individuals to smoke on
the concourse in the past but with the new renovations and the university's
commitment to become a smoke-free campus in 2011, we decided it was in the best
interest of everyone to institute the change now," Brandon said. "The
move will ensure a healthier environment for all fans attending Wolverine
football games." In all, more than 260 campuses in the United States
and elsewhere have gone smoke-free. Click above to access the article.
5/27: The Montcalm County Housing Commission (MCHC),
on May 25th, adopted a smoke-free policy for all its 20 units of
elderly/disabled housing and its 20 units of scattered site family duplexes and
houses. The policy goes into effect on June 1st for all current residents
who are not smokers, all guests, all staff, and all new residents.
Current residents who are smokers can have a temporary exemption from the
smoke-free policy until December 1, 2010, at which time they will also have to
smoke outdoors. The SFELP is pleased to have been able to work with Mary
Ellen Yost, the MCHC Executive Director, on this policy. Montcalm becomes
the 38th housing commission in Michigan to have adopted a smoke-free policy.
There are now at least 4,474 units of public housing covered by these
policies in Michigan. About 27% of the 136 housing commissions in
Michigan now have smoke-free policies. In June, 2005, there were none
with smoke-free policies. There are now at least 166 housing authorities
in the U.S. with smoke-free policies for some or all their housing. To access
a listing of those housing authorities with smoke-free policies, click above.
Secretary of HHS
announces tobacco-free initiative
5/12: On May 11th, HHS Secretary Sebelius
announced a major new initiative to prevent and reduce tobacco use and its
effects. Her web site states: Smoking harms nearly every organ of the
body, causing many diseases and affecting the health of smokers in general.
Quitting smoking has both immediate and long-term benefits for you and your
loved ones. Despite progress in reducing tobacco use, more than 20% of
Americans still smoke and smoking rates that have been falling for decades have
now stalled. The good news is that we know what it will take to get those
numbers dropping again – comprehensive, sustained, and accountable tobacco
control efforts based on evidence-based interventions. We have identified
the following set of actions to accelerate our efforts to prevent and reduce
tobacco use. To go to the web site, click above.
California
city to consider sweeping laws on smoking
5/11: The following is from a may 6th Solana
Beach Sun news story: If history is
any indication, smokers in Solana Beach could soon be facing another pack of
extinguishing restrictions. In 1993, the city became the first to outlaw
smoking in restaurants. In 2001, Solana Beach was the first to ban
lighting-up on beaches. Later this month, it will consider how much staff
time to invest in researching the possibilities of a variety of tools that
could make it the first in the county to limit smoking in apartments or
multi-unit housing. Currently El Cajon is the only city in San Diego
County that extends its public smoking ban to common areas of apartment
buildings. It does not, however, limit use in apartments themselves.
Thought of by many as a champion of anti-smoking legislation, Solana
Beach was one of only 15 cities in California last year to receive an overall
"B" grade in the American Lung Association's anti-smoking annual
report card. Just four out of the more than 400 jurisdictions assessed in the
state received "A's". The reason the top grade is so rare is that
cities must take steps to limit smoking in apartment buildings, which is
controversial and can be hard to enforce. ... The city council could consider a
resolution requiring a certain percentage of apartments in each building to be
non-smoking, or even one defining secondhand smoke as a "public
nuisance," enabling someone to sue if an issue becomes irresolvable.
Click above for the full article.
California
Governor rejects smoking ban at beaches, parks
5/6: The following is from a May 4th San
Francisco Chronicle article: Gov.
Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed a bill Monday that would have prohibited smoking
at nearly all state beaches and parks, saying the law would have been too
intrusive and would not have done much to curb litter on California's
shoreline. The groundbreaking legislation would have created the nation's
most far-reaching smoking ban in a state that already restricts people from
lighting up in cars with children, restaurants and bars. State Sen. Jenny
Oropeza, D-Long Beach, who authored the bill, said Schwarzenegger's veto stands
in "stark contrast to what is already being done at more than 100 local cities
and counties statewide," including smoking bans at beaches and parks
controlled by local jurisdictions. Oropeza and other supporters said the bill
was necessary to cut down on litter, secondhand smoke and forest fires at the
278 parks and 64 beaches owned by the state. "I'm sorry the governor did
not agree with this widely supported effort to increase public awareness about
the environmental threats carelessly tossed cigarettes are doing to our marine
life and to the great outdoors," Oropeza said in a written statement. But
Schwarzenegger - whose cigar habit is well known - wrote in his one-page veto
message that Senate Bill 4 was an "improper intrusion of government into
people's lives." Noting that he has supported other smoking bans, the
governor nonetheless said that Oropeza's bill "crosses an important
threshold between state power and command and local decision making.
Click above for full article.
City of Winters housing to
soon be smoke free
5/6: The following is from a May 4th Daily
Democrat article: Winters city
officials have taken a proactive step by passing a resolution encouraging the
housing complexes designate at least half of their property as smoke-free.
The city is the second municipality in Yolo County to pass this
resolution, following Woodland which passed it in April 2008. As many
California cities debate laws to ban smoking in outdoor and indoor spaces, more
and more Yolo County multi-unit housing complexes are going smoke-free. At least 16 Yolo County multi-unit housing
complexes restrict smoking in at least 50 percent of individual units according
to the Smoke-Free Apartments Project of the Yolo County Health Department, according to the Yolo County Health Department. A
2009 survey of Woodland residents showed that 79 percent of respondents agree
that apartment complexes should have 50 percent of the units smoke-free by law.
"It is wonderful that the Winters City Council is working with the
Smoke-Free Apartments Project to encourage apartment owners and managers to
protect children and families from secondhand smoke exposure in their
homes," states Dr. Joseph Iser, director-health officer of the Yolo County
Health Department. Click above for the full article.
Children
Living in Apartments With Nonsmoking Adults Still Exposed to Secondhand Smoke,
Study Finds
5/5: The following is from a May 3rd Science
Daily article: The majority of
children living in apartments are exposed to secondhand smoke, even when they
don't live with smokers. This study from the University of Rochester Medical
Center is the first to examine whether housing type is a potential contributor
to children's exposure to cigarette smoke. The abstract was presented at the Pediatric Academic Society Meeting
in Vancouver, Canada. Among children who lived in an apartment, 84
percent had been exposed to tobacco smoke, according to the level of a biomarker (cotinine) in their blood that
indicates exposure to nicotine found in tobacco, and this included more than 9
of 10 African-American and white children. Even among children who lived in
detached houses, 70 percent showed evidence of exposure. "We are
starting to understand the role that seepage through walls and through shared
ventilation may impact tobacco smoke exposure in apartments," said Karen
Wilson, M.D., MPH, author of the study and an assistant professor of Pediatrics
at the University of Rochester Medical Center's Golisano Children's Hospital.
"We see that children are being exposed in ways we are not picking up, and
it's important, for their health, that we figure out where this exposure is
taking place, and work to eliminate it. Multi-unit housing is one potential
source, but a very important one." Previous studies have shown
that children with cotinine levels indicating tobacco smoke exposure have
higher rates of respiratory diseases, decreased cognitive abilities and
decreased antioxidant levels.
The study analyzed data from almost 6,000 children between 6- and
18-years-old in a national database (National Health and Nutrition Examination
Survey 2001-2006) to see if there was any relationship between their smoke
exposure and their housing type. Apartment living was associated with a 45
percent increase in cotinine levels for African American children and a 207
percent increase for white children. About 18 percent of U.S. children live
in apartments, and many of these children are living in subsidized housing communities
where smoking is more prevalent.
Wilson said many parents are trying to limit their children's tobacco
smoke exposure by not allowing smoking in their apartments, but they say they
can smell tobacco smoke coming from other apartments or from common areas. Last
summer, the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development released a memo
recommending that their housing developments enact smoke-free policies. A
smoking ban within multi-unit, subsidized housing could further reduce the
tobacco smoke exposure for children and reduce smoking rates among residents.
Click above for the Science Daily article.
Statewide
smoking ban put into effect in Michigan
5/5: The following is from a May 3rd Michigan
Daily article: Though the
University's campus-wide smoking ban will not go into effect until July of next
year, a new statewide ban on smoking has Ann Arbor restaurants and bars turning
away patrons who choose to light up, sending them outside instead. The
Michigan smoke-free legislation, which went into effect on Saturday, forbids
all cigarette and cigar use in workplaces, including bars, restaurants and
offices. As a compromise between the
interests of both smokers and nonsmokers, the mandate permits smoking directly
outside of work establishments. According to the new law, cigar and
hookah bars will be able to remain open provided that they file an affidavit
with the state of Michigan. Following the lead of other states, Michigan
is now the 38th state to implement legislation that bans smoking in public
areas. California became the first state to pass a workplace smoking ban in
1998. Jim Bergman, a member of the University’s Tobacco Research Network
and director of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project at the Center for
Social Gerontology, said he believes that the initiative will reduce the
exposure of restaurant and bar customers to secondhand smoke. Bergman
said the ban will also help smokers cut down on the frequency of their
cigarette use by limiting the number of places available for them to smoke
legally. In anticipation of the heated debate between smokers and
nonsmokers, the University has assembled a body of experts to discuss the
smoking ban and its impact on local restaurants and bars. Cliff Douglas,
an adjunct lecturer in health management and policy at the University’s School
of Public Health and a consultant on tobacco control policy to the U.S.
Assistant Secretary for Health, said he is very optimistic about the economic
benefits that the ban will bring to Ann Arbor restaurants. Douglas, who is also
the director of the University's Tobacco Research Network, said restaurants in
other states have reported that their business has remained steady and, in some
cases, have even improved, since the enactment of their state's smoking ban.
The reported financial stability, he added, should be encouraging to business
owners. Click above to access the full article.
Michigan's
non-smokers can now breathe easy
5/4: The following is from a May 1st Detroit
Free Press article: Michigan’s ban on workplace smoking arrived at 6 a.m. A
team of Free Press reporters spread across the state to cover how the first day
went. To view all the commentary, click above.
Buffalo
landlords required to disclose smoking policy to tenants
5/4: The following is from an April 30th Buffalo
News report: A new city law
requires Buffalo landlords to disclose to tenants whether or not they allow
smoking in their buildings. It is the first such policy in the state and
one of only a few in the nation. The disclosure law clarifies to
smokers and non-smokers the tobacco policies in a building before they sign a
rental agreement. But tobacco-control advocates also see such laws as a
way to encourage landlords to make their apartments smoke-free. "A smoke-free building is more attractive
to tenants and tends to get higher payments," Anthony Billoni, coordinator
of the Erie-Niagara Tobacco-Free Coalition, said Thursday. The
coalition worked with the city on the law, which went into effect with little
notice in March. The law, which is
modeled after a policy in Oregon, requires landlords to disclose whether
smoking is prohibited or allowed in a building, or allowed in limited areas. If
smoking is allowed in limited areas, those areas must be identified.
Notification must occur at the time tenants sign a lease agreement.
Landlords can draft their own disclosure forms or use sample language available
from such tobacco control organizations as the coalition. Click above for full
article.
Michigan
to eat, drink smoke-free Saturday, May 1st
4/30: The following is from an April 30th Detroit
Free Press article: At 6 a.m.
Saturday, Michigan joins 37 other states that have indoor workplace smoking
bans. Most of the attention has been on how it will change the culture and
success of Michigan bars and restaurants. Here's a look at the Dr. Ron Davis
Smoke Free Air Law. To access the full Free Press article, which explains how and where smoking is
prohbited, click above. To access a Detroit News article, click here.
In
Arab-America capital, ancient hookah tradition threatened by Michigan smoking
ban
4/28: The following is from an April 24th Chicago
Tribune article: This scene is now
clouded by a new state law that bans a popular feature of the local eateries --
the hookah, or Arabic water pipe filled with flavored tobacco. Come
May 1, when the law goes into effect, Dearborn's cafes will have to choose
between serving food or allowing smoking. Hookahs will be welcome only in
specialty tobacco stores. Tough
tobacco restrictions have been imposed in many states in recent years,
threatening some smoky nightspots but usually leaving the local social life
unchanged. But in perhaps no other city does the aroma of fragrant smoke,
the bubbling of water pipes and the tang of Arab dishes blend so intrinsically
with the local lifestyle and economy. ... In the cafes, the smokers choose from
as many as 30 or 40 tobaccos in a variety of flavors, such as coconut, mint,
cinnamon and even cafe latte. The blend is heated in the hookah pipe, drawn
through a cooling bowl of water, and inhaled through a hose. Often, older
men smoke hookah during the day while younger people come in at night. They
talk, smoke and enjoy plates of Mideastern food. Some customers say that
smoking in a tobacco shop wouldn't be the same. ... Mike Berry, owner of
the 360 Lounge and Grill, says he can't decide whether to keep his hookahs or
his food service. Hookah, which generally costs $10 to $15 a bowl, represents
about 60 percent of his business; food is 40 percent. If he lost either,
"I'm shutting down," he said. He and Akram Allos, a tobacco and
hookah wholesaler who owns Sinbad's Cafe, are gathering petition signatures to
protest the new law. But Joe Loush, the owner of Arabica who emigrated
from Lebanon in 1977, has opened a smoke-only shop next door to his restaurant.
He said the hookah scene may be another old world tradition that surrenders to
modern American culture. In the Arab-American business community, he said,
"always, always, we (react) after the bill passes, which is too
late." Click above for the full article.
Plans
to allow women and gays, ban smoking shake world of Navy submarines
4/23: The following is from an April 22nd Washington
Post article: Imagine 150 fraternity
brothers packed into a container the size of a three-bedroom house. Announce
you are breaking hallowed traditions by taking away their cigarettes and
admitting women. Then lock the doors and push the container deep into the sea,
for months at a time. That's what the Navy, after decades of contemplation and
controversy, has decided to do with its Submarine Force, an elite fraternity of
13,000 active-duty sailors that has been patrolling the oceans for 110 years.
As of Dec. 31, smoking aboard the entire submarine fleet will be
summarily banned -- no small hardship
for the estimated 35 to 40 percent of sailors who are nicotine addicts and
can't exactly step outside whenever they want a puff. To access the full
article, click above.
4/22: We are delighted to report that the Sault
Tribe Housing Authority in the Upper Peninsula of Michigan on April 19th adopted
a smoke-free policy for some of their Tribal Housing homes. The policy
states that "The Housing Authority Board of Commission has declared that
certain Tribal Housing homes, located in the Seven-County service area of the
Sault Ste. Marie Tribe of Chippewa Indians, shall be designated as smoke-free.
Smoking is not permitted in any inside area of the designated
homes." The Housing Authority Board of Commission will, at the May
meeting and at subsequent meetings as needed, approve a resolution for each
individual property that will be designated as smoke-free. We expect that
initially a number of duplexes will be designated as smoke-free, as well as
some triplexes that will be constructed in 2011 for elderly housing. This
is a great achievement by the Sault Tribe Housing Authority and is something
that has been worked on for well over a year. Our congratulations to
their Board, their Executive Director Joni Talentino and her staff, including
Mariea Mongene, who worked tirelessly on this. Congratulations also to
Donna Norkoli of the Sault Tribe Health Center, as well as Lauren Eveleigh of
the Health Center, and Julie Trotter of the Chippewa County Health Department
and to all the other folks who contributed so much to this effort. It has
been our pleasure at the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project to be a part of
this endeavor. The Sault Tribe Housing Authority is the first tribal
housing authority in Michigan to adopt a smoke-free policy and, as far as we
know, only the fifth in the nation.
There are three tribal housing authorities in Alaska and one in Maine
that also have adopted smoke-free policies. The Sault Tribe Housing
Authority has about 500 units of housing in the 7-county area. To access
the Sault Tribe web site, click above.
Only
a few places to light up on either side of the Michigan-Ohio border
4/22: The following is from an April 22nd Detroit
Free Press story: Michigan's smoking
ban kicks in May 1, nearly four years after a similar one was approved in Ohio
that sent some Buckeye State residents across the border so they could smoke in
Michigan bars and restaurants. Both bans state that proprietors have to
prohibit smoking, remove ashtrays and post no-smoking signs. The Ohio signs are to have a toll-free
enforcement number. Here's a quick look at the rules in both states.
To see more, click above.
Sinus
trouble? Secondhand smoke may be to blame
4/21: The following is from an April 19th CNN
Health story: If you have
perpetually clogged and swollen sinuses, secondhand smoke -- even in small
amounts may be to blame. According to a new study, secondhand smoke may be
responsible for up to 40 percent of cases of chronic sinusitis. "People
should be aware of their exposure when they go to friends' houses, when they go
to parties and weddings, [when they're] playing card games," says the lead
author of the study, Martin Tammemagi, Ph.D., an associate professor of
community health sciences at Brock University, in St. Catharines, Ontario.
"They shouldn't allow themselves to be exposed and they shouldn't be
exposing other people." Sinusitis describes a range of unpleasant
and sometimes debilitating symptoms that include nasal and sinus inflammation,
congestion, cough, runny nose, difficulty breathing, and a reduced sense of
smell. The chronic version of the
condition -- which is defined as lasting for 12 weeks or more -- affects about
1 in 6 adults in the U.S., according to the study. In the study, Tammemagi and
his colleagues surveyed more than 600 nonsmokers from the Detroit area -- half
of whom had been diagnosed with chronic sinusitis -- about their exposure to
secondhand smoke at home, at work, in public places (such as bars, restaurants,
and bowling alleys), and in private social settings over a five-year period.
In each case, more people diagnosed with sinusitis reported being exposed
to secondhand smoke. More than 50 percent of those with sinusitis said they'd
inhaled secondhand smoke at private parties and social functions, compared with
just 28 percent of those who did not have sinusitis, for instance. Overall,
the researchers found, breathing secondhand smoke in private social settings
nearly tripled the risk of being diagnosed with sinusitis, while breathing it
at work more than doubled the risk. Being exposed to secondhand smoke at home
or in public places increased the risk of diagnosis by 69 percent and 50
percent, respectively, according to the study. (To pinpoint the effects of secondhand smoke, the researchers
factored in the participants' socioeconomic status and their exposure to air
pollution and other airborne irritants.) And the more often people inhaled
cigarette smoke, the more likely they were to develop sinusitis. Click
above to access the full story.
No
smoking in Vancouver, B.C. parks, on beaches as of Sept. 1
4/21: According to an April 20th The Province story: Smoking will be banned in Vancouver
parks and beaches effective Sept. 1. That was assured when the Vancouver parks
board voted unanimously Monday night to approve a staff report recommending the
bylaw to prohibit smoking in all parks and beaches be implemented after a
four-month "education and awareness" program. Board chairman
Aaron Jasper said he was "very, very supportive" of the ban, which will
be implemented in more than 200 city parks and nearly 18 kilometres of beaches.
"Even though it's an open space, the dangers of second-hand smoke
are still there," said Jasper, who also cited the environmental concerns
of cigarette butts littering beaches. "These are toxic pieces of
garbage." The staff report noted that about 87 per cent of B.C.
residents are non-smokers and said that "for many, a visit to the park or
beach may be improved substantially if the environment were to be designated a
smoke-free area." Click above for the full story.
Michigan
smoking ban takes effect May 1
4/20: The following is from a Channel 13 TV
report: The Michigan smoking ban is about to go into effect.
Starting May 1, there will be no more smoking in bars, restaurants, or
workplaces, with the exception of Detroit's three casinos as well as cigar
bards, tobacco stores, specialty stores, home offices, and motor vehicles.
Michigan's 20 American Indian casinos are also exempt from the state law.
Michigan is the 38th state to ban smoking in public places. Governor
Jennifer Granholm says it will make Michigan a healthier state. Penalties
for violation of the ban are $100 for the first offense and $500 for subsequent
offences. Click above to access the TV report.
Smoke-Free
Affordable Housing: Picking on
Poor People or a Case for Social Justice?
4/15: The Non-Smokers' Rights Association in
Canada has just released a new resource for tobacco control and smoke-free
housing advocates entitled "Smoke-Free Affordable Housing: Picking on Poor
People or a Case for Social Justice?" To access this informative
analysis, click above.
Three more
Ontario social housing providers adopt smoke-free policy
4/15: According to a report from Ontario:
Three social housing providers in and around Peterborough have adopted
no-smoking policies which are already in effect: 1) Millbrook Non-Profit
Housing in Millbrook; 2) St. Giles Retirement Home in Peterborough; and 3)
Maryland Place in Peterborough. Congratulations to our colleagues at the
Peterborough County-City Health Unit who assisted these housing providers adopt
their policies. To read the press release, click above.
CDC:
Adults with depression more likely to smoke
4/15: The following is from an April 14th CNN
report: Adults with depression are more likely to be cigarette smokers than those
without depression, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for
Disease Control and Prevention’s National Center for Health Statistics that
reinforces previous findings. More than half of men with depression ages
40-54 were current smokers compared with 26 percent of the men who did not have
depression. For women in the same age category, 43 percent who had
depression smoked, compared with 22 percent without depression. More than
half of smokers with depression reported having their first cigarette of the
day within five minutes of waking. They were also more likely to smoke over a
pack a day. These are indicators of heavy smoking. These findings were
based on interviews and examination samples of approximately 5,000 people of
all ages from 2005 to 2006. Previous studies have shown that smoking is
more prevalent in people who have depression. One possible factor is that
people use smoking to cope with depression. Click above for the CNN report. To
access the CDC report, click here.
Smoking To Be
Extinguished On Submarines
4/13: The following is from an April 8th U.S.
Navy notice: Commander, Submarine Forces (COMSUBFOR) has effected a policy
April 8 banning smoking below decks aboard all U.S. Navy submarines. The
smoking ban, announced via naval message, will become effective no later than
Dec. 31, 2010. The impetus behind the
change of policy is the health risks to non-smokers, specifically exposure to
secondhand smoke. "Our Sailors are our most important asset to
accomplishing our missions. Recent testing has proven that, despite our
atmosphere purification technology, there are unacceptable levels of secondhand
smoke in the atmosphere of a submerged submarine. The only way to eliminate
risk to our non-smoking Sailors is to stop smoking aboard our submarines,"
said Vice Adm. John J. Donnelly, COMSUBFOR. ... Subsequent to the 2006 Surgeon
General report, the Submarine Force chartered the Naval Submarine Medical
Research Laboratory to conduct a study on U.S. submarines. The study indicated
that non-smoking Sailors were exposed to measurable levels of Environment
Tobacco Smoke (ETS), also called secondhand smoke. The year-long study was
conducted in 2009 on nine different submarines, including at least one from
each class of submarines in the force. In conjunction with the policy
change, cessation assistance to Sailors is being offered. The program will
incorporate education techniques and nicotine replacement therapy, such as
nicotine patches and nicotine gum, to assist in kicking the smoking habit. In
keeping with current submarine policy, drugs such as Zyban and Chantix are not
authorized. Click above for full article.
4/8: The following is from an April 7th Burlington
Free Press report: Burlington
Housing Authority's three high-rise buildings will become smoke-free Nov. 1, but at least one resident of Decker Towers on St.
Paul Street vows a legal challenge to the new policy. "If I can't
find someone to help me, I'll do it myself," said Chris Hersey, who has
lived in the high-rise for six years. "I'll walk into federal court by
myself if I have to. I won't let some city bureaucracy tell me what I can and
can't do. I'm not letting them get away with this." The new
policy will affect the 159 units in Decker Towers, the 65 units in South Square
Apartments on College Street, and the 50 units in Champlain Apartments on North
Champlain Street. The apartments provide housing for income-eligible people
over age 62 and for the disabled.
BHA Executive Director Paul Dettman said the new policy, announced in
late February in a letter to residents, is part of a national trend encouraged
by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which provides funding
for the housing. The shift is motivated by concerns about the effects of
second-hand smoke on residents and by safety concerns. He said BHA has
not tested the flow of second-hand smoke in the three Burlington high-rises but
has received "infrequent" complaints about smoke from some tenants.
The letter to residents said, "BHA takes the health, safety and welfare of
our tenants very seriously" and noted that Decker Towers had an apartment
fire Feb. 17 "caused by careless smoking." Water from the building's
sprinkler system caused $100,000 damage, Dettman said. He said the BHA
decision was not arbitrary but part of a national movement. The
Smoke-Free Environments Law Project of the Center for Social Gerontology in Ann
Arbor, Mich., is an advocate for smoke-free housing units. Jim Bergman, the
project director and co-director of the gerontology center, said the increase
nationally in smoke-free, market-rate and affordable housing has been dramatic.
... The BHA policy will require resident smokers to leave the property. "Violating this policy," BHA's letter said,
"will result in terminating your tenancy." Bergman and Dettman
said they are unaware of any legal challenge to smoke-free housing policies
such as those being implemented in Burlington. "I'm totally
confident a legal challenge would not prevail," Bergman said. Click
above to access the full article.
A
Closer Look: Outdoor smoking bans
4/7: The following is from an April 5th Los
Angeles Times article:
California legislators want to ban smoking at state beaches and parks,
and they've sent a bill to the governor that would do just that. It remains to
be seen whether he'll sign the measure, designed to reduce the public's
exposure to secondhand smoke, not to mention cut back on cigarette butt litter.
But just what are the health effects of inhaling the smoke of somebody
else's cigarette? And does it matter if exposure is fleeting -- and outdoors? Researchers have answers about the health effects
(and yes, they're negative), but their conclusions are based on smoke-filled
indoor environments; the relevance for outdoor settings is less clear. In
recent years, the U.S. surgeon general, the Institute of Medicine and the
California Environmental Protection Agency have reviewed evidence and found
that regular exposure to secondhand smoke can increase the risk of heart attack
and heart disease, respiratory infection, lung cancer and sudden infant death
syndrome. In addition, a growing body of research has found that smoking bans
in workplaces, public buildings and restaurants have a positive effect on
public health. People might not think they're inhaling much smoke, at
least not enough to be dangerous, when they're around smokers. But, says
Stanton Glantz, who directs the Center for Tobacco Control Research and
Education at UC San Francisco, "a cigarette is like a little toxic waste
dump on fire. If you're upwind of it, you don't have much effect. But if you
happen to be in the plume -- or you're congregating around a doorway --
you can get quite high levels of exposure." Cigarette smoke contains
hundreds of chemicals, including benzene, carbon monoxide and nicotine, many of
them known carcinogens. Fine particulate matter within smoke can carry those
chemicals deep into the lungs, Glantz says. Here's a closer look at the
health effects of secondhand smoke. Click above for full article.
Michigan
prepares for May 1st implementation of smoke-free law
4/6: The following is from an April 5th Detroit
News article: With less than a month before
Michigan's smoking ban goes into effect, the state isn't sure who should
enforce the law, and counties are warning it shouldn't be them. The
impasse comes as the state is fielding hundreds of calls from owners of
restaurants to pool halls, even hookah bars, looking for clarity on how to
comply with what becomes law on May 1. Michigan will become the 38th
state to limit smoking in public places including government buildings,
workplaces, bars and restaurants.
Besides enforcement questions, there's confusion over other aspects of the law,
such as how big "no smoking" signs should be, whether charity events
fall under the statute, the dimensions of outdoor smoking areas and who will
monitor work forces. Lawmakers are also getting resistance from veterans
groups who want an exemption so they can light up in private clubs.
"What we have to do is figure out some details to make sure people
are in compliance, and that we have a law people can follow," said state
Department of Community Health spokesman James McCurtis. The biggest aspect of
the law facing state health officials is determining who will police
establishments to ensure patrons don't get away with sneaking a smoke.
"Most likely it will be the local health departments (enforcing the
ban). It will fall into restaurant inspections (and) it will be complaint
based," McCurtis said. "It's not quite concrete, but I
guarantee it will be concrete by May 1," he added. "I'm sure some
(local health departments) may be unhappy." Click above for the full
article.
Michigan
eateries snuff out smoking before May 1st ban
4/1: The following is from an April 1st Detroit
Free Press article: Michigan's
smoking ban might seem unfair to smokers or another blow to a wobbling
restaurant industry. But others see an opportunity to do what they've wanted to
do for years: toss out their ashtrays. More than 150 Michigan eateries have
opted to go smoke-free since Dec. 10, when the Legislature voted for the ban.
Some had wanted to do it for years, but feared losing customers to other
restaurants. The looming May 1 ban snuffs out any chance of that. Light up in
any restaurant or bar and most workplaces, and you can be fined $100 for the
first offense, and up to $500 for repeated violations. All 23 National
Coney Island sites in metro Detroit went smoke-free in January. Though
customer response was overwhelmingly positive to a test ban last year, Tom
Giftos, president and CEO of the chain his father started in 1965, said the
economy had him worried. "Nobody wants to turn away business in any
shape or form these days," he said. The state ban "gave us a bit of
justification." Vitale's Italian eatery in Grosse Ile went
smoke-free Jan. 1, said Maria Vitale-Cusumano, one of the owners.
"They complained a bit, sure," she said, referring to her few
smoking customers, "but it has been nothing major." Click above
for full article.
Editorial:
Thumbs Up: Milford Housing Authority smoking ban
3/31: The following is from a March 29th
editorial in the New Haven Register:
We are usually leery of incursions by government into our private lives,
such as the requirement in the Democrats' health legislation that chain
restaurants post calorie counts for the food they serve. The idea of government
do-gooders looking over our shoulder while we eat is galling. However, Milford
made the right call in banning smoking from its 465 units of public housing.
The ban in the living units was enacted because of concerns about the
health effects of secondhand tobacco smoke, accidental fires and the extra
costs of maintenance. Tenants can smoke outside. Concerns about secondhand smoke may have been a main
factor in the authority’s vote. Two other factors supported the ban. The
tenants are not owners, but renters. They have to live by rules that do not
apply to homeowners. Second, it takes twice the money to refurbish a unit after
a smoker moves out, according to Hilary H. Holowink, chairwoman of Milford
Redevelopment and Housing Partnership. Just as some landlords ban pets, there
is a sound economic reason for Milford to ban smoking in its public housing.
To access the editorial, click above.
Smoking
in senior housing a burning issue in Massachusetts legislature
3/30: According to a March 26th The Sun
Chronicle article: Area
lawmakers and housing officials are questioning whether a proposed law to limit
smoking in state-assisted senior housing infringes on smokers' personal
freedom. "How can they say to people, 'you can't smoke in your own
home?'" said state Rep. Betty Poirier, R-North Attleboro. "Smoking is
legal." The proposal, sponsored by state Reps. Anne Gobi,
D-Spencer, and Theodore Speliotis, D-Peabody, would require larger senior
housing complexes to dedicate at least one building as smoke-free. Smaller
facilities would need to ban smoking in at least 20 percent of the rooms. Those
living in other units would be able to continue smoking in their rooms. The bill has been reported out of committee,
but does not seem to be a high priority for this session as no vote has been
scheduled. ... Current policy for state-assisted housing in Attleboro allows
for smoking in private apartment units but bans smoking in common areas like
laundry rooms and meeting spaces. Click above for the full article.
Parents
in Scotland urged to cut home smoking
3/30: The following is from a March 26th BBC
news report: Campaigners marking the fourth anniversary of Scotland's smoking
ban have called for more action to protect young people from passive smoking.
ASH Scotland wants a "positive" campaign urging adults not to
light up when children are present. Sheila Duffy, the charity's chief
executive, said there were about 300,000 children under 13 living with at least
one parent who smokes. The ban on smoking in public places was introduced
on 26 March 2006. Ms Duffy stated: "Today marks four years since
Scotland's smoke-free public places legislation was introduced and our public
health is benefiting greatly from this law which remains widely supported in
terms of both public opinion and compliance." She added:
"Smoke-free public places were introduced to protect workers and others
from the harm caused by second-hand smoke, but people are not protected in
other areas such as the home. "I would like to see much more work
done to raise awareness of the harm that second-hand smoke can cause to
children and a positive campaign to encourage adults not to smoke when children
are present." ASH Scotland
is also calling for increased awareness of the dangers of second-hand smoke.
Ms Duffy said this had been linked to a number of health problems in
youngsters, including respiratory problems, asthma and sudden infant death
syndrome. Earlier this week doctors had called on the Scottish Government
to ban smoking in cars in order to reduce health risks for children. A
report by the Royal College of Physicians into the effect of passive smoking on
children said smoking in cars was an "important and persistent"
factor in exposing children to cigarette smoke. Click above to access the
article.
Phoenix
Senior Apartment Complex Goes Smokefree
3/29: According to a March 25th press release
from the Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention Program: Manistee Manor Senior
Apartments will go completely smokefree on April 1, 2010, according to Debi
Widahl, property manager. This 75 multi housing unit is following the July 2009
HUD document that "strongly recommended all HUD funded properties go
smokefree or partially smokefree." A celebration will be held at
Manistee Manor located at 7987 N. 53rd Ave. Glendale, AZ at 1 pm on Thursday,
April 1. An award will be presented by the Maricopa County Tobacco Use
Prevention Program. Sue Bergquist, Community Development Specialist in
Multi Housing says, "Manistee Manor has gone above and beyond in setting
the standard for multihousing. Smoke-free multi-housing is a critical frontier
that needs to be promoted to protect the health of non smoking residents.
Residents often experience exposure to secondhand smoke that migrates into
their apartments through common air ducts and walls under which they have no recourse
under most state clean indoor air acts." While considering the
decision to become smokefree, Manistee Manor had a smoking related fire that
could have been disastrous. It occurred on a balcony at 3:00 in the morning.
The heat was so intense it melted the metal railing. Someone adjacent to the
building saw the fire and called the fire department. Luckily it was contained.
Smoking is the number one cause of residential fires. Residents were
notified in April 2009 that the property would go smokefree in April 2010. A
few residents chose to move, some quit and some agreed to smoke off the
property. Interviewed residents say they are thrilled and have thanked
management for their decision. Management now has a waiting list for tenants
who want a smokefree environment. ... Maricopa County Tobacco Use Prevention
Program was instrumental in helping Manistee go smokefree. It provided a
Tobacco 101 presentation to residents, information regarding the state-funded
ASHLine that provides free online or phone cessation counseling for those that
want to quit, and sample document language for the property owners. Click
above for the full press release.
3/26: According to a March 26th USA Today report: A growing number of states are cracking
down on tobacco use on prison grounds to prevent illness and help bring down
health care costs. Virginia, which instituted its ban in February, is the
most recent state to do so, said Larry Traylor, spokesman for the Virginia
Department of Corrections. A USA TODAY review of the 50 states found that 25
states ban tobacco for staff and inmates on prison grounds. Georgia plans to enact a smoking ban Dec. 1,
according to Bronson Frick, associate director of the Americans for Nonsmokers'
Rights Foundation. Many other states have bans that primarily outlaw
tobacco use but have some type of exception such as staff smoking areas, the
review found. The trend is growing, Frick said, because the bans help
save the states money on health care and prevent guards and inmates from being
exposed to secondhand smoke on the job. "These policies work once
they are in effect," he said. Instead of a "cold turkey"
approach, some prisons allowed their bans to phase in gradually, hoping that
would create less of a stir among the prison populations. Click above for
the full article.
3/25: The following is from a March 24th New
Haven Register article:
Residents in the city's 465 public housing units soon no longer will be
able to light up in their homes. Spurred in part by a "strong recommendation"
from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Milford
Redevelopment & Housing Partnership banned smoking in all parts of its
buildings in a recent split vote.
"It is a smoke-free facilities policy," Milford Housing Authority
Executive Director Anthony Vasiliou said Tuesday. "It covers 100 percent
of all of the property we own and operate." The last day current
residents can light up inside their MRHP-owned house or apartment is Nov. 1.
The ban takes effect immediately for anyone signing a new lease, and smoking in
common areas already has been banned for more than a decade. Smoking
still will be allowed outside the buildings, but designated areas will be
established if people don't "exhibit common sense" and stay away from
the entrances when they go out for a cigarette, Vasiliou said. Vasiliou
said public housing smoking bans are becoming more prevalent across the
country, but particularly have taken
root in the Northeast. In supporting the ban, MRHP Chairwoman Hilary H. Holowink
cited health concerns over secondhand smoke, safety surrounding accidental
fires and economic reasons concerning smoke damage. "We voted for the
health benefits and the fire safety benefits and to be a good steward of state
and federal money," Holowink said Tuesday. "It takes at least twice as much money to
refurbish a unit after a smoker has been living there." Click above
to access the full article. This brings the total nationally to at least 153
housing authorities. To access a list of all 153, click here.
3/25: An article of the above title was released
on March 23, 2010 and was authored by Goodarz Danaei1, Eric B. Rimm, Shefali
Oza, Sandeep C. Kulkarni, Christopher J. L. Murray, Majid Ezzati. The
following is from the abstract of the study: There has been substantial
research on psychosocial and health care determinants of health disparities in
the United States (US) but less on the role of modifiable risk factors. We
estimated the effects of smoking, high blood pressure, elevated blood glucose,
and adiposity on national life expectancy and on disparities in life expectancy
and disease-specific mortality among eight subgroups of the US population (the
_Eight Americas_) defined on the basis of race and the location and
socioeconomic characteristics of county of residence, in 2005. ... Individually,
smoking and high blood pressure had the largest effect on life expectancy
disparities. ... Disparities in
smoking, blood pressure, blood glucose, and adiposity explain a significant
proportion of disparities in mortality from cardiovascular diseases and
cancers, and some of the life expectancy disparities in the US. To access
the full journal article, click above.
3/25: The following is from an April 27, 2009
press release concerning the release of a related report: Smoking, high
blood pressure and being overweight are the leading preventable risk factors
for premature mortality in the United States, according to a new study led by
researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH), with collaborators
from the University of Toronto and the Institute for Health Metrics and
Evaluation at the University of Washington. The researchers found that smoking
is responsible for 467,000 premature deaths each year, high blood pressure for
395,000, and being overweight for 216,000. The effects of smoking work out to
be about one in five deaths in American adults, while high blood pressure is
responsible for one in six deaths. It is the most comprehensive study yet
to look at how diet, lifestyle and metabolic risk factors for chronic disease
contribute to mortality in the U.S. The study appears in the April 28, 2009
edition of the open-access journal PLoS Medicine and is referenced as follows:
"The Preventable Causes of Death in the United States: Comparative Risk
Assessment of Dietary, Lifestyle, and Metabolic Risk Factors," Goodarz
Danaei, Eric L. Ding, Dariush Mozaffarian, Ben Taylor, Jurgen Rehm, Christopher
J.L. Murray, Majid Ezzati, PLoS Medicine, April 28, 2009, Volume 6, Issue 4. To
access the full press release, click above.
3/24: The Board of Commissioners of the Everett
Housing Authority (EHA) in Everett, Washington, adopted a policy for
their Five Year and Annual Plan to read: "EHA will implement a
no-smoking policy for all of its public housing properties to be effective no
later than June 30, 2011." The Board unanimously passed the proposed
change and then passed the Five Year Plan. Everett becomes the 8th public
housing authority in Washington state to adopt a smoke-free policy for some or
all its buildings. This brings the total nationally to at least 153
housing authorities. To access a list of all 153, click here. To go
to the Everett Housing Authority site, click above.
California
moves to ban smoking at all state parks
3/24: The following is from a March 23rd Washington
Post article: California
lawmakers on Monday [March 22nd] moved a step closer to banning smoking at
state beaches and parks, following the lead of hundreds of communities
nationwide. The state Assembly voted 42-27 in favor of the ban.
Anti-smoking groups say the bill would make California the first state to ban
smoking throughout its entire park system if it is signed into law. The
Senate passed it previously but must agree to amendments made in the Assembly
before it is sent to Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who has not taken a position
on it. ... Cigarettes are the No. 1 item collected by volunteers at
beach clean-up days throughout the U.S., according to the Ocean Conservancy. Under the California bill, smoking in
prohibited areas would be an infraction punishable with a $100 fine. Any
state park that does not have the money to buy no-smoking signs alerting
visitors to the rules would be exempt, although some parks already ban smoking
during fire season. It's not clear how many of California's 279 state parks
would be unable to erect such signs. About 3 percent of wildfires are
caused by cigarettes each year in California, said Daniel Berlant, a spokesman
for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection. Click above for full article.
3/23: The following is from a March 19th
press release from the Department of Health & Human Services: The U.S.
Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today announced awards of more
than $372 million to 44 communities, to support public health efforts to reduce
obesity and smoking, increase physical activity and improve nutrition. As part
of the Community Putting Prevention to Work initiative, the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services awarded grants to prevent chronic disease and promote
wellness to 44 communities around the country on March 19, 2010. Under
the Community Initiative, the communities receiving awards are diverse and
highlights of these projects are grouped below by type of project:
Communities Funded for Both Obesity and Tobacco; Large Cities with
Obesity Projects; Large Cities with Tobacco Projects; Urban Area Tobacco
Projects; Small Cities/Rural Areas Obesity Projects; Small Cities/Rural Areas
Tobacco Projects; Obesity Projects by Tribes; and Tobacco Projects by Tribes.
To access the full list of projects, click above. To access the press
release, click here.
3/23: On March 16th, the Milford Redevelopment
and Housing Partnership adopted a smoke-free facility policy covering all 465
units of public housing. The policy went into effect on March 17th for all new
residents and all guests and staff; the policy is effective November 1, 2010
for all current residents. It covers all 465 units of Milford_s housing
for families and the elderly and disabled. We at SFELP are pleased to
have been able to assist them and pleased that they were able to use our model
policy for their own. This is the first public housing authority in
Connecticut to adopt a smoke-free policy for some or all their buildings.
To access the Milford Redevelopment and Housing Partnership web site,
click above.
Waterloo
region in Ontario bans smoking in multi-unit public housing
3/18: The following is from a March 17th news
report from Ontario: Janet Lowrey hopes a new Waterloo regional policy
banning smoking in multi-unit dwellings will help her quit the habit.
Isabel Adams has a heart condition and welcomes a move that should reduce
the smell of smoke seeping into her apartment from adjoining units. But
Gary Smith, a smoker for 54 years, is opposed to the ban which takes effect
April 1. "What I do in my apartment is nobody's business," he
said. All three are tenants at 74 Church St., a 48-unit seniors' apartment
building in downtown Kitchener, owned by the region. This smoke-free
policy will only apply to new tenants who move in on or after April 1. It does not apply to existing tenants unless they move
to a new unit. The new policy also restricts outdoor smoking to five
metres from a building. Irwin Peters, regional manager of housing, said
22 tenants are slated to move into public housing units on April 1, and all
have signed leases with no-smoking clauses. And only a handful of the
about 3,500 people on a waiting list for public housing have dropped out
because of the new smoking policy, Peters said. "Not everyone is
going to be happy with the change. That is expected," said Deb Schlichter,
regional director of housing. She said the region is the first housing
provider in Ontario to ban smoking in public housing units and it will be
watched closely by other municipalities. Hamilton banned smoking in
specific buildings as a pilot project.
Click above for the full article.
New York City
Tries to Shut Club It Says Flouts Smoking Ban
3/18: The following is from a March 14th NY
Times story: The Bloomberg
administration is moving closer to shutting one of the largest and busiest
nightclubs in the city, as part of an aggressive new strategy to revoke the
operating licenses of clubs that health officials believe promote smoking.
The nightclub, the M2 UltraLounge on West 28th Street in Manhattan,
went on trial last week at a special administrative court that the city uses
when it seeks to take away property. If the case against the club succeeds, it
would be the first time the city had closed a business solely for flouting a
ban on smoking. City officials
have also moved to take several other clubs before the court, seeking to revoke
their food and beverage licenses. It has been an open secret for years among
the late-night set that there is a network of so-called smoke-easies throughout
the city, from little neighborhood dives to glossy, exclusive bo_tes, that let
patrons smoke illegally. Health department officials say that the vast
majority of businesses comply with the 2002 law forbidding smoking in clubs and
bars, but that inspectors have struggled to enforce it at a handful of high-end
places that seem to market themselves as smoker-friendly, some even offering
loose cigarettes for sale. Generally,
health officials have looked for signs of active tobacco use as part of their
inspections concerning other rules, like those for food safety, and have cited
clubs for violations that often result in fines of $200 to $2,000. But
they have had difficulty gaining access to the clubs when patrons are actually
smoking. "Some of the clubs where smoking is going on tend to be
very, very cool clubs, and a bunch of guys showing up in jackets tend to be
very, very uncool," said Thomas Merrill, general counsel for the health
department. So in recent months, the department has deputized a team of
inspectors -- many of them younger and hipper-looking than the stereotypical
bureaucrat -- to work into the wee hours, posing as patrons and hunting for
tolerance of smoking by clubs' employees. Because the inspectors found
many instances of patrons smoking without being asked to stop, the department
petitioned the administrative court, the Office of Administrative Trials and
Hearings, known as OATH, to recommend revoking the food and beverage licenses
of 16 bars and clubs. "We found
places with repeated nights of smoking, with sort of flagrant violations --
selling cigarettes, clearly creating an atmosphere in which smoking appeared to
be tolerated or even welcomed," said Daniel Kass, the acting deputy
commissioner for environmental health. "Those places are clearly not
responding to the idea that we're going to fine them periodically for
violations." Five of the clubs have settled with the city,
typically agreeing to devise a plan for correction and to pay for any
violations, health officials said. In all but one of the cases, if
inspectors find indications of continued smoking during the next year, they can
immediately shut the club down and bring it to trial. Two clubs closed for other reasons, and most of the
rest, including the downtown spots Lit Lounge, the Box, Tenjune and Southside,
are weighing possible settlements against a looming trial date, city officials
said. The M2 case has gone the furthest. The administrative law judge
hearing the case, Alessandra F. Zorgniotti, will make a ruling that will serve
as a recommendation to the health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A. Farley.
Click above for full story.
Vermont
court: 'Reduced risk' cigarette ads are false
3/16: The following is from a March 12th Burlington
Free Press report: A Vermont court
has ruled that tobacco giant R.J. Reynolds engaged in deceptive and misleading
advertising in promoting its Eclipse cigarettes as less risky than conventional
smokes. The case was hailed by a national anti-tobacco group as one that
would be read carefully and likely followed in other states. Cheryl Healton,
president of Legacy, called the decision "an enormous victory,"
meaning that for cigarette makers to claim their products are less risky than
others, "you can't say it unless you can prove it." Chittenden
Superior Court Judge Dennis Pearson's decision, issued Wednesday [March , 10th]
turned on Vermont's law against consumer fraud and provisions of an agreement
between the tobacco industry and 46 states reached in 1998. Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell's office
argued the tobacco company's claims that Eclipse might carry less risk of
cancer and other diseases than other cigarettes were not backed up by
sufficient scientific evidence, thereby violating the state's law against
consumer fraud. In addition, Pearson found that the advertisements
violated the 1998 "master settlement agreement" provision barring the
affected tobacco companies -- of which Reynolds was one -- from making
"any material misrepresentation of fact regarding the health consequences
of using any tobacco product." Sorrell said the ruling meant
"companies cannot make health claims about their products unless they have
the proof to back them up. This decision also shows that the tobacco industry
has to live up to the promises they made in the 1998 nationwide
settlement." He called it a "huge decision with national
implications." Click above for the full story.
3/16: The following is from a March 13th Buffalo
News report: The Seneca Nation's
lucrative mail-order cigarette business appears doomed. The Senate late
Thursday [March 11th] unanimously voted to ban the mailing of cigarettes, and
congressional sources said Friday the House is likely to adopt that Senate bill
sometime in the coming weeks. After that, only one more thing --
President Obama's signature -- will be needed to devastate a business that the
Senecas claim now employs 1,000 in Western New York. The Senecas vowed to
keep fighting, even though the usual fractious Senate has united against them
and they found a mere 11 supporters in the 435-member House the last time the
issue came up. "We will not back down," said Seneca Nation
President Barry E. Snyder Sr. "We will pursue an aggressive campaign of
outreach and education to inform the voters of Western New York which political
leaders stand with the Seneca Nation and those who don_t."
Meanwhile, supporters of the bill -- who argue that the mailing of
cigarettes leads to tax-dodging, shady profits and an increase in teen smoking
-- talked as if they were on the cusp of winning their long legislative fight.
"Today, we begin to provide law enforcement authorities with the
tools they need to combat a very serious threat to our states_ coffers, national
security and public health," said Sen. Herb Kohl, R-Wis., the chief Senate
sponsor of the legislation. Kohl might be a bit premature in his
comments, but congressional sources and the bill_s supporters said its final
enactment is now probably imminent. Rather than setting up a conference
committee to merge the slightly different versions of the bill that the House
and Senate have passed, congressional sources said House leaders simply plan to
have the House vote on the Senate measure. Click above to access the full
story.
3/11: The following is from a March 10th San
Francisco Chronicle report:
Smoking soon will be snuffed out at sidewalk cafes, restaurant patios,
movie and ATM lines, bingo halls and the common areas of housing complexes.
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to extend smoking restrictions
to those places, along with lighting up near doorways and windows of offices,
shops and restaurants. It already is illegal to smoke in offices and commercial
establishments that don't have a legally designated smoking area.
"This legislation will protect thousands of San Franciscans from
secondhand smoke," said Supervisor Eric Mar, chief sponsor of the
legislation. Board support for the proposal was unanimous. However, a
second vote is required next week for final passage. Mayor Gavin Newsom will
review the amended legislation before deciding whether to sign or veto it, but
he is generally in support of smoking restrictions, said spokesman Tony
Winnicker. Click above for full article.
Indiana may eliminate anti-smoking
agency
3/10: According to a Mach 10th CNBC news story: New state figures
show that Indiana's adult smoking rate has dropped to its lowest level in at
least a decade at the same time as legislators are considering a proposal that
would eliminate the state's anti-smoking agency. The plan approved by
the Republican-controlled Senate would transfer the duties of the Tobacco Use
Prevention and Cessation board to the State Department of Health. State Budget Director Chris Ruhl has
told legislators that abolishing the agency could save between $1.1 million and
$1.5 million in overhead and administration. Ruhl said smoking is the only
health issue with its own state agency and oversight -- and he questioned the
board's effectiveness in cutting smoking rates. "If we are making
progress it's very slow, particularly given how much money is being
spent," Ruhl said. The Journal Gazette of Fort Wayne reported that
Indiana's adult smoking rate for 2009 dropped to 23.1 percent -- down from 26.9
percent when the board was created in 2000. The Senate voted 32-18
last month for a bill that included eliminating the anti-tobacco board. The
Democrat-led House hasn't acted on the legislation as the General Assembly
faces a Sunday night deadline to adjourn. Kevin O'Flaherty, Indiana's director of advocacy for the
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said that funding levels dropped when similar
stand-alone agencies were eliminated in Ohio and Mississippi. "It was a power grab and a money
grab in those states," he said. "The question is whether Indiana's
efforts would suffer over time due to the switch. There are no parameters in
the bill. It just abolishes the board and folds the assets and responsibilities
in the state department of health." State Health Commissioner Judy
Monroe, who is leaving to take a position with the federal Centers for Disease
Control, said the department could run a tobacco prevention program with fewer
employees than the separate agency, but she cautioned against an "erosion
of funding." "The funding should be sustained," she said.
Click above to access the news story.
Smoking ban
planned in American Samoa
3/10: According to a March 8th Radio New
Zealand report: Smoking will be
banned in workplaces, buses and taxis, restaurants and all public places in
American Samoa under planned new legislation. A person who smokes in a no
smoking zone would be subject to a fifty US dollar fine. The owner or
manager of a public place or place of employment who fails to comply with the
no smoking law would be fined 100 dollars for a first violation and 200 for
each additional violation within one year. The legislation also provides
that a person or business operator who repeatedly violates the proposed law
could have any government issued licenses revoked. Click above to access
the report.
3/8: The following is from a March 6th Kansan report: The Kansas Supreme Court issued a
decision Friday [March 6th] upholding Newton's smoking ban. The
Whitesell-Finnel Post No. 971 Veterans of Foreign Wards and Wayne G. Austin
American Legion Post No. 2, both of Newton, filed a lawsuit Dec. 20, 2007,
against the city's smoking ban. The two fraternal organizations argued
the law was unconstitutional under the Fourth and 14th amendments. They also
alleged they should be exempt from the ordinance as private clubs. The lower court issued a summary judgment in
favor of the city, saying the ordinance did not violate the constitutional
rights of the VFW or American Legion and their members. The lower court also
ruled the lawsuit was preemptive in that neither organization had been cited
under the ordinance. The ordinance was passed on Nov. 13, 2007. It
banned smoking in all public places and all enclosed places of employment in
Newton. The VFW's lawsuit was filed
by Gary Loyd on Dec. 20, 2007. Loyd was later taken off the case and the VFW
and American Legion added. The Supreme Court, in its decision Friday,
said the ordinance did not violate the organizations' members' rights to due
process under the 14th Amendment or the right to privacy under the Fourth
Amendment as asserted by the VFW and American Legion. "Plaintiffs_
argument is apparently based on the simplistic notion that a private
organization with a private clubhouse has a constitutional right to
privacy," the court said in its judgment. ... "Upon the merits of the
argument, the city pointed out that a right to privacy action requires the
existence of a fundamental privacy interest and that no court, to date, had
recognized the smoking of tobacco as a fundamental right." Click above to access the full news story.
3/4: According to a March 3rd news report: Menlo
Park's City Council at its March 2 meeting agreed on revisions that would
strengthen the city's smoking ordinance. The revised ordinance will prohibit
smoking in public parks, parking lots open to the public, places of
congregation such as ATM machines and bus stops, and in common areas within
multi-unit residences. Perhaps most significantly, the ordinance
declares second-hand smoke a nuisance -- enabling people to take legal action
against others who smoke in their vicinity, in an adjoining apartment unit, for
instance. The council approved
the wording of the ordinance by a 4-1 vote, with Councilman John Boyle
dissenting. The ordinance will come before the council at a later date, and
will go into effect 30 days after it's enacted. ... The city drafted the
ordinance in response to an extraordinary lobbying effort by Barbara Franklin,
who decided to take up the issue after she was bothered by smoke wafting into
her condominium unit from an apartment below hers. She began making
presentations to the council about the dangers of secondhand smoke in late
2008, and has attended most council meetings since then, often sitting through
the several hours of the meeting. Click above to access the full article.
Secondhand smoke
damages arteries in teens: study
3/4: The following is from a March 3rd Reuters
report: Children as young as 13 who have evidence of secondhand smoke in
their blood also have visibly thicker arteries, Finnish researchers reported on
Tuesday [March 2nd]. Their study suggests that the damage caused by
secondhand tobacco smoke starts in childhood and causes measurable damage by
the teen years. "Although previous research has found that passive smoke
may be harmful for blood vessels among adults, we did not know until this study
that these specific effects also happen among children and adolescents,"
Dr. Katariina Kallio of the University of Turku in Finland, who led the study,
said in a statement. Her team studied 494 children aged 8 to 13 taking
part in ongoing research on heart disease. They measured levels of cotinine, a
byproduct of nicotine that is found in the blood after someone breathes in
tobacco smoke. Click above for the full news story.
Thousands upon
Thousands of Michigan Apartments are Smoke-Free
3/3: As a result of the statewide MISmokeFreeApartment
Initiative begun in 2003-2004, Today there are thousands upon thousands of
smoke-free apartment buildings throughout Michigan. The number goes
almost daily, including market-rate housing, public housing and other
"affordable" housing. To access listings of many of these
smoke-free apartments, go to the MISmokeFreeApartment site by clicking above.
Massachusetts
House gave initial approval to bill to ban smoking in some senior public
housing
3/1: According to a Feb. 26th news report: The
Massachusetts House gave initial approval to a bill (H 1181) requiring local
housing authorities to provide for nonsmoking buildings in multi-building
senior housing complexes or for a no-smoking floor in single-building senior
housing. The bill phases in the proposed law, grandfathers in current
smokers and prevents their eviction. The bill still must pass another vote in
the House and then go to the Senate. Click above to access the news report.
To access a copy of H 1181 click here.
Indiana House approves
smoking ban
3/1: The following is from a Feb. 25th news
story: A statewide smoking ban is on the table again at the Indiana
Statehouse. The House of Representatives voted 54-44 Thursday to impose a
statewide smoking ban with just two exceptions: casinos and pari-mutuel horse
racing venues or racinos. "This is something we should have done
three years ago, ladies and gentlemen. I don't think we can wait another year
as has been quoted by the president Pro Tem of the Indiana Senate. That is why
I want to send it back over there," said Rep. Charlie Brown (D-Gary). ...
The smoking ban passed by ten votes so the Senate will have the chance to
concur with the changes or differ and send it to conference committee to iron
out the differences between the bills that passed out of the House and the Senate.
Click above for full article.
Kansas smoking ban passes, on
its way to governor
2/26: The following is from a Feb. 25th Kansas
City Star report: In a landmark
move, the Kansas House passed a statewide public smoking ban Thursday and sent
it to Gov. Mark Parkinson. If Parkinson signs the legislation as
expected, Kansas will join nearly 40 states that have some statewide
restrictions on where smokers can light up. The ban would go into effect July 1. Today's
vote was 68-54. Supporters said they were tired of waiting as ban proposals
languished for years on the legislative agenda. "While we continue
to debate and debate... people are dying," said Rep. Barbara Bollier, a Mission
Hills Republican and a physician. "People are becoming ill, and they are
asking you to help them." In the end, supporters of the ban used a
procedural move to force a vote on the legislation on House floor Thursday.
Since the Senate has already passed the measure it now goes straight to
Parkinson, who has said he supports a ban. The proposed ban would
prohibit smoking in bars, restaurants, workplaces, 80 percent of hotel rooms
and taxi cabs. Casino floors, tobacco shops, private clubs and designated
smoking rooms in hotels would be exempt. The ban will not replace
stricter local smoking bans now in place. Some 39 Kansas cities and counties -- including all in the metro area
-- already ban smoking to some degree. Click above for the full article.
Stimulus Funds
Support Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing Project in Michigan
2/19: We're thrilled to announce
that the Michigan Department of Community Health's (MDCH) Tobacco Section
has just been awarded a $1.5 million grant for a 2 year project to greatly
expand the smoke-free multi-unit dwellings (SF MUDS) efforts we have been
involved in since 2003. The funding is from the funds the Centers for
Disease Control & Prevention received under the American Recovery &
Reinvestment Act of 2009 (ARRA) aka "stimulus funding". 15
grants were awarded nationwide (to 13 states), and it appears that only 2 dealt
with tobacco or secondhand smoke issues, and Michigan's appears to be the only
one that dealt with SF MUDS. The other awards dealt with reducing obesity,
increasing physical activity, improving nutrition, and decreasing
smoking. This project has as its goal to increase smoke-free public and
other affordable housing in Michigan by making 80% to 90% of all public and
other affordable housing smoke-free by the end of 2011, including tribal public
and other affordable housing. This ambitious project is a partnership of
the MDCH Tobacco Section, the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project, two tribal
organizations (the South Eastern Michigan Indians, Inc., and the Sault Tribe),
and about 10 local health departments. The project will involve working
closely with local public housing commissions, tribal housing authorities,
other private affordable housing owners/operators, sovereign tribal entities,
and others. The project starts almost immediately and will go on until
February, 2012. You can access the HHS press release on this by clicking above.
Tenants Should
Press Utah Landlords For Smoke-free Accommodations
2/19: According to a Feb. 17th
television report from Salt Lake City: A recent
advertising campaign urges
renters to work with their landlords for help in dealing with neighbors who
smoke. Cristina Flores reports. To access the video of this news
story, click above.
2/19: The Smoke-Free Environments
Law Project maintains an up-dated listing of all the public housing
authorities/commissions in the U.S. that we know of which have adopted
smoke-free policies for one or more of their apartment buildings. The
listing is done largely in the order in which the policies have been
adopted. As of January, 2010, at least 145 local housing authorities had
adopted smoke-free policies for some or all of their apartment buildings, with
about 130 being adopted since the beginning of January, 2005; an average of
over 2 per month. That constitutes an increase in the number of housing
authorities with smoke-free policies of over 866% in 60 months. The 22
states with such policies include Michigan (33), Minnesota (29), Maine (19), Colorado
(13), California (7), Nebraska (6), Washington (6), Oregon (5), New Hampshire
(4), Alaska (4), Idaho (3), Utah (3), New Jersey (2), Wisconsin (2), Arkansas
(2), Florida, Montana, Indiana, Kentucky, Pennsylvania, Texas and
Massachusetts. To access the listing, in pdf format, click above.
County Health Rankings Include
Smoking Rates
2/18: On Feb. 17th, the County Health Rankings
-- the first set of reports to rank the overall health of every county in all
50 states -- were released by the University of Wisconsin's Population Health
Institute and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation at a briefing in Washington,
D.C. The health rankings include the smoking rates in each county.
To access the rankings web site, click above.
2/17: The following is from a Feb. 9th MSNBC
report: Add a new health threat to smoking: In addition to the harm caused by
actually smoking and exposure to second-hand smoke, so-called third-hand smoke
may also pose a threat, particularly to babies and toddlers. A new
study reveals that the residue of nicotine that lingers on surfaces can react
with another chemical in the air to form potent carcinogens -- chemicals linked
to various cancers. While first-hand smoke is that inhaled directly by the
smoker and second-hand is the smoke exhaled (and inhaled by others), third-hand
smoke is the residue from second-hand smoke. ... "The burning of tobacco releases nicotine in the form of a
vapor that adsorbs strongly onto indoor surfaces, such as walls, floors,
carpeting, drapes and furniture. Nicotine can persist on those materials for
days, weeks and even months," said Hugo Destaillats, a chemist with
Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in San Francisco, and one of the authors
of the study. Scientists have been aware for several years that tobacco
smoke sort of sticks to surfaces where it can react with other chemicals. But
reactions of residual smoke constituents with molecules in the air have been
overlooked as a source of harmful pollutants, the researchers of the new study
say. Destaillats and colleagues investigated the formation of harmful
chemicals in the air after exposing material to cigarette smoke. They found that
it reacts with one chemical in particular. "Our study shows that
when this residual nicotine reacts with ambient nitrous acid it forms
carcinogenic tobacco-specific nitrosamines or TSNAs," Destaillats said.
"TSNAs are among the most broadly acting and potent carcinogens present in
unburned tobacco and tobacco smoke." Click above for the full story.
2/17: Michigan leads the nation in having 33
local public housing commissions that have adopted smoke-free policies for some
or all their buildings. The most recent was the Manistee Housing
Commission which adopted its policy in December, 2009. The policy applies
to two duplexes and to all future units which have substantial repairs or
renovating. The commission is also considering making certain other of
its buildings smoke-free. Nationwide, there are now at least 143 local
housing authorities with smoke-free policies. To access a list of these
housing authorities, click above.
Suit
over secondhand smoke targets Boston real estate broker
2/11: The following is from a Feb. 9th Boston
Globe story: Alyssa Burrage
says she was smoked out of her new $405,000 condominium. Burrage, a 32-year-old
advertising company employee with a history of asthma, had smelled cigarettes
when she first visited the bright, parlor-level condo in Boston's South End in
2006 with her real estate broker. But the broker, she alleges, assured her that
the owner must be a smoker and the stench would disappear. After Burrage
moved into the Milford Street brick row house, she says, she discovered the
secondhand smoke was coming from one of two men living in the condo below. The
men and the condo association refused to fix the problem, she adds, and she had
to move out. Today, in what tobacco law specialists call one of the
first lawsuits of its kind to go to trial in Massachusetts, a jury is scheduled
to decide whether Burrage's real estate broker is liable for damages. In recent years, there have been a handful of lawsuits
over secondhand smoke in the state, including several disputes between tenants
and landlords in Housing Court. But no one has ever won monetary damages in
a case over smoking fumes, legal specialists say. If Burrage wins in Suffolk
Superior Court, it could encourage similar litigation and open a new front in
the battle over secondhand smoke.
Burrage, who has leased her condo out since she left the building in May 2008,
says she dislikes confrontations and is hardly an antismoking crusader.
"I'm certainly not a person who's on a soapbox saying people
shouldn't smoke," she said in the Back Bay office of her lawyer. "But
when it affects somebody else, that's where the line needs to be drawn. It's an
awful thing to not be able to escape from something that's hurting your
health." ... Burrage also sued the two men in the downstairs
condominium -- Edward J. Allan, who
owns the two-story garden-level apartment, and Michael Schofield, the smoker
who has lived with Allan for 13 years -- and the condominium association.
All three defendants settled with Burrage out of court yesterday, according to
Burrage's lawyer, Colleen C. Cook. No details were available. Earlier in the day, Schofield's lawyer defended
his client, saying that when the Massachusetts Legislature banned smoking in
restaurants, bars, and other workplaces in 2004, it specified that it was still
legal to smoke in one's home. "What Mr. Schofield has been doing,
smoking in his home, is perfectly lawful," said Henry A. Goodman, a Dedham
lawyer. Nonetheless, Schofield agreed to pay Burrage a settlement
yesterday because it was less expensive to do that than to pay for his defense
at trial, Goodman said. The case against DeAngelo is expected to raise
thorny questions about the rights of people to smoke inside their own
apartments and the duties of real estate brokers to disclose accurate
information about smoking to prospective buyers. Click above for the full report.
Santa
Clara County wants to ban smoking in apartment buildings
2/3: The following is from a Jan. 26th Mercury
News article: Santa Clara County took aim Tuesday at smokers and drinkers, with
proposals to ban smoking in apartment buildings and toughen penalties for those
who provide alcohol to minors. The smoking proposal was unveiled by
Supervisor Ken Yeager, who was sworn in as the board's new president. It echoes
a controversial law passed last year by Belmont, which garnered national
headlines. ... But his proposed ban on smoking in apartment buildings takes its
inspiration from further north. Belmont last year became California's first
city to install such a ban; Richmond has followed suit, and Menlo Park council
members are still weighing the issue. Yeager's proposal differs in that it
would not target condominiums or townhomes. Yeager also wants the county
to ban smoking in parks, as San Jose has done, and to prohibit pharmacies from
selling cigarettes. Click above for full article.
2/1: The following is from a January 31st Boston
Herald article: Mayor Thomas M.
Menino is opening a new front in his war against tobacco: the city's
cigarette-riden housing projects, which he vows to make smoke-free in the next
four years. "What we are
trying to do is make a healthier environment for people who work and live in
our city," Menino told the Herald. By this summer, smoking could
be banned in more than 100 new units in Boston Housing Authority public housing, which currently sees rates of smoking 50 percent
higher than the general population. According to a 2006 city survey, 15.5
percent of nonpublic housing residents smoke, compared to 23 percent of BHA
renters. ... The newly built smoke-free units include: 14 at Franklin Hill
in Dorchester that opened in October; up to 100 at Roslindale's
Washington-Beech that will open in August; and 100 at Old Colony by 2012. While those units represent less than 2
percent of the BHA's 12,000 units, it's a start, said Menino. "I
would think in the next three to four years every public housing unit will be a
smoke-free unit," he said.
The ban comes amid a perfect storm of factors, according to BHA
officials: Demand by parents. Children in public housing are more likely to
have asthma and to live with or around cigarette smoke, which triggers asthma
attacks. "People are trying to escape second-hand smoke and so we're
trying to create this option for folks," said BHA director of planning
Kate Bennett. Pressure from the feds. In July, the U.S. Department of
Housing and Urban Development "strongly encouraged" public housing
authorities go smoke-free. Click above for the full article and two
related articles.
Kiwis
want cigarettes banned by 2020
1/29: The following is from a TV New Zealand report: Half the nation, including smokers, support
completely banning cigarettes within 10 years, a study has found. The
2008 Health and Lifestyles Survey compiled nationwide interviews from the
Health Sponsorship Council of 1608 people, including 422 smokers, and has just
been published in the NZ Medical Journal. It found 49.8% of people agreed cigarettes should no longer
be sold in New Zealand in 10 years, 30.3% disagreed and 19.9% neither agreed
nor disagreed. Of the smokers surveyed, 26.2% agreed and 55.3% disagreed. The study also showed public support for
plain, unbranded cigarette packets and fewer tobacco retailers. Pacific
Islanders, in particular, showed strong support for the measures. One of the
study's authors, Dr George Thomson, from the University of Otago, Wellington,
called on the Government to take action. "There's now a need for
politicians to embrace and act on the idea of a foreseeable and planned end to
tobacco sales through a predicable timetable by 2020. The public wants more
defined action to reduce smoking, and not a series of incremental steps."
Click above to access the full story.
1/28: According to a January 26th Post-Tribune report: Rather than watch it die a death of a
thousand cuts, State Rep. Charlie Brown of Gary angrily withdrew a bill Monday
that would have banned smoking in public places all over Indiana. Whether
or not he'll call it back before this year's session ends isn't clear.
"I'll have to do some real soul searching on that," Brown, a
Democrat, said. As written, the bill would ban smoking in all public
places except casinos, an exception Brown said he made to avoid becoming a
target of gaming lobbyists. However, the bill was amended three times Monday,
with Brown offering the first.
Brown's amendment would exempt new casinos from local smoking ordinances if
such a law exists in the community. The second amendment, offered by Rep.
Dennis Tyler, D-Muncie, would exempt bars, taverns, private clubs and fraternal
organizations. That, Brown said, defeated the point of his bill. "I
can't for the life of me figure out some of the members of my own caucus,"
Brown said. The third amendment, offered by Rep. Edward Clere, R-New
Albany, exempted tobacco businesses from the smoking ban. After it passed,
Brown saw more amendments coming and pulled his bill. Click above to access the full report.
Vermont unveils new smoke-free housing
web site
1/20: On January 19th, the American Lung
Association in Vermont is launching Smokefree Housing Vermont at
www.smokefreehousingvt.org The website will be the first of its kind in Vermont
and will serve as a resource for the state's tenants, landlords and property
managers. The site includes information on the benefits of smokefree housing
for landlords, steps to implement a policy including lease language and tenant
correspondence, and tips for ensuring awareness and compliance. Renters can
find tips on communicating with landlords, information on tenants' rights and
facts about secondhand smoke. To access the site, click above.
1/12: The Utah Tobacco Prevention and Control
Program is holding its annual statewide conference in Salt Lake City on January
12th. The keynote will be given by Greg Connelly of Massachusetts who
will discuss Federal, State & Local Tobacco Control in the 21st Century. Jim Bergman of SFELP will do two presentations
on Smoke-Free Multi-Unit Housing: Blazing Trails _ Rapidly. One session will be for housing authority
directors and staff, and the second will be for health and tobacco control
professionals. To access the 57-slide PowerPoint that Bergman will use,
click above. To access a pdf copy of the ppt presentation, click here.
1/11: According to a January 5, 2010 press
release: Comprehensive Health Education Foundation (C.H.E.F.), long known
for its mission to promote health and quality of life through education,
announced that it has received a grant from the Washington State Department of
Health for creation of the Washington Public Housing Tobacco Prevention
Network. Under terms of the agreement, C.H.E.F.'s program will be implemented
over a two-year period. Awarded to C.H.E.F. in collaboration with its
partners, the Association of Washington Housing Authorities (AWHA) and Pacific
Northwest Regional Council of National Association of Housing and Redevelopment
Officials (PNRC-NAHRO), the work under the grant will establish a network whose
goal is to develop a tobacco-free environment for public housing, promote
resistance to tobacco industry marketing, identify and offer smoking cessation
support and resources for public housing residents, and bring partners together
to effect systems change. Since the project will assist housing
authorities in their efforts to adopt and implement smoke-free policies, change
norms, and assist residents with connecting to cessation services, several
housing authorities throughout Washington State have been recruited to
participate in the two-year pilot project. The participating housing
authorities include those in Bellingham / Whatcom County, Bremerton, Vancouver,
Everett, Grant County, Renton, Seattle, Spokane, Tacoma, and Walla Walla.
Click above to access the full press release.
Asheville's
Hookah Bar will defy North Carolina state law banning smoking
1/11: The following is from a North Carolina
news report: Little has changed at the Juggling Gypsy Cafe and Hookah bar in
Wilmington since the start of the smoking ban in North Carolina Saturday.
Patrons continue to smoke. However, this is not an act of civil disobedience.
Bar manager Denny Best says bar management has found what it believes to be a
loophole in the new ban, allowing customers to continue to smoke tobacco
through the water pipes.... However, buried at the very end of the smoking ban
legislation is an exemption for actors on a live production set. So, thanks to
a web cam and a streaming web site, the Juggling Gypsy is now a stage, and all
the patrons its players. Click above to access the news story.
To Vape or Not
to Vape: Controversy Swirls Around E-Cigarettes
1/7: Kerry Cork of the Tobacco Control Legal
Consortium has written an article of the above title for the National Association
of Local Boards of Health's NewsBrief.
The article discusses the various issues surrounding e-cigarettes, including
the vapors given off by them To access the article, in pdf, click above.
1/6: According to a news report: Smoking
at all inpatient psychiatric facilities will be banned beginning Monday by the
Alabama Department of Mental Health. The new tobacco-free initiative will
affect Tuscaloosa's state mental health facilities, including Bryce Hospital, which
now bans smoking inside its buildings but allows smoking on the grounds. The
new policy prohibits tobacco products anywhere on campus by patients, visitors,
staff or any other individuals.
People with mental illnesses are two to three times more likely than the
general population to be dependent on nicotine, research has shown.
"People with a mental illness tend to live 25 years less than the average
citizen," said John Ziegler, mental health department spokesman. "The
main reason for that is not the mental illness, it's the unhealthy lifestyle
choices." Click above for the full article.
Denver
theater company to try to take smoking ban case to Supreme Court
1/6: According to a Denver Post report:
Denver's Curious Theatre will petition the U.S. Supreme Court for the
right to smoke non-tobacco products in its theatrical productions, artistic
director Chip Walton announced Wednesday [Dec. 30th]. For three years,
Curious has unsuccessfully argued in various courts that it should be exempt
from the state's indoor smoking ban, contending that smoking is a form of
creative expression that should be protected under free-speech rights. But
in a 6-1 vote Dec. 14, the Colorado Supreme Court refused to grant live
theaters an exemption, saying the promotion of public health supersedes the
right to free speech. Curious says it
has never argued for the right to smoke actual tobacco products. The company,
along with co-plaintiffs Paragon Theatre and the now defunct Theatre 13, asked
instead to be allowed to smoke noncarcinogenic herbs when smoking is called for
in plays. But the Colorado statute specifically prohibits smoking any material
that is packaged, including herbs or teas. ... There is no guarantee the
Supreme Court will hear Curious' petition, which Walton expects to be filed in
March. Walton admits it's a longshot. Click above for the full article.
Little Rock
Housing Authority begins smoking ban at 1 of 3 city-run apartment complexes
1/4/10: According to a Jan. 2nd news report from
Channel 5 in Arkansas: The Little Rock Housing Authority has banned
smoking at one of three city-run apartment complexes as part of a plan to make
all of its properties smoke-free by 2012. The ban on smoking at
Cumberland Towers in downtown Little Rock began Friday [January 1, 2010], and
similar bans at Parris Towers and Powell Towers will go into effect in 2011 and
2012, respectively. Housing Authority Director Shelly Ehenger says the
regulatory agency has been working on its smoke-free plan since 2008. The
apartment complexes are for low-income families, senior citizens and those with
disabilities. To live at Cumberland Towers or Parris Towers, a resident must be
at least 50. A lighted gazebo will be built on the wooded lawn for use by
those who can't or won't quit smoking. Click above to access the story.
For a related story on this, click here.
1/4/10: The following is from a Jan. 2nd news
report: A local [Portsmouth, N.H.] man police say was smoking in public housing
has been arrested on two misdemeanor charges alleging his cigarette caused a
Dec. 8 fire that required the partial evacuation of Margeson Apartments on
Middle Street. Thomas Perkins, 62, of 245 Middle Street, Apt. 209 was
arrested on a Class B misdemeanor charges of reckless conduct and criminal
mischief, according to Portsmouth Detectives Capt. Corey MacDonald. Police
say the arrest stems from an investigation of a Dec. 8 fire at the Margeson
Apartments complex that serves as public housing for the elderly and disabled.
The fire required the evacuation of many of the building's residents and
a full response by the Portsmouth Fire Department that caused the shutting down
of a portion of Middle Street. The blaze was contained to a single
apartment, but resulted in a smoke condition in the apartment building. MacDonald
said Perkins is alleged to have placed the residents of Margeson Apartments in
dangerous of serious bodily injury in that he smoked cigarettes in the
apartment contrary to public housing rules. Police said Perkins cigarette caused the fire to start allege
the man failed to extinguish the fire or raise an alarm upon discovering the
fire. Perkins was taken into custody without incident and his misdemeanor
charges are punishable by up to a $1,200 fine, but do not carry the possibility
of any jail time. Perkins was released on $2,000 personal recognizance bail,
with the conditions of no smoking on Portsmouth Housing Property and no alcohol
use. Click above to access the news report.
North
Carolina's smoke-free law goes into effect January 2nd
12/30/09: The following is from a Channel 14
news report: Most bars and restaurants in North Carolina will be
smoke-free by the end of the week, as the state's smoking ban goes into effect
Jan. 2. This week, many establishments are making some last-minute preparations
to get ready for the new requirements. "We expect business owners to have
posted No Smoking Signs and also have removed all ash trays from their
establishments," said Lovemore Masakadza, who is with the Mecklenburg
County Health Department. The only places exempt are private, nonprofit clubs,
so bars and nightclubs must comply even if they have membership lists.
Corydon Himelberger, general manager of Howl at the Moon, isn't upset
about the changes. "It is an employee health right to go to work and not
have smoke blown on you," he said. Click above for full story.
12/30: The following is from a Dec. 29th Science
Daily news report about a new
research study of the above title: Children regularly exposed to tobacco smoke
at home were more likely to develop early emphysema in adulthood. This finding
by researchers at Columbia University's Mailman School of Public Health
suggests that the lungs may not recover completely from the effects of
early-life exposures to tobacco smoke (ETS). The study is published in
the December 2009 American Journal of Epidemiology. This
population-based research is the first to examine the association of childhood
ETS with early emphysema by CT scan in nonsmokers. Approximately half of the participants in this large
multiethnic cohort had at least one regular cigarette smoker in their childhood
home. Participants with more childhood ETS exposure had more emphysema-like
lung pixels; an average of 20% of scan pixels were emphysema-like for those who
lived with two or more smokers as a child, compared with 18% for those who
lived with one regular smoker, or 17% for those who said that they did not live
with a regular inside smoker as a child. [This study highlights the
value of smoke-free policies in homes and multi-unit dwellings.] To access the news story, click above. For a
copy of the abstract of this research, click here.
Smoke-Free Multi-Unit
Housing in Michigan & the Nation: A Decade of Enormous Growth
12/29: The following is from an end-of-the-year
SFELP press release: "As the first decade of the 21st century ends, we
find that the growth in Michigan and nationally in smoke-free multi-unit
housing has been enormous -- going from virtually no smoke-free housing in 2000
to many hundreds of thousands of units today," according to Jim Bergman,
Co-Director of The Center for Social Gerontology, Inc. in Ann Arbor, Michigan,
which operates the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project (SFELP). "In
2000, it was virtually impossible to find apartment or condominium buildings
that were smoke-free in all the living units, as well as the common areas. This was true in Michigan and in almost every
state in the nation. By 2005, a number of states, including Michigan,
Maine, Minnesota, and California had begun to develop a growing supply of
smoke-free apartments. By the end of the decade, virtually every state
has smoke-free multi-unit housing available, and many states have thousands, if
not hundreds of thousands, of smoke-free units," said Bergman. ... In public housing, funded by the
federal Department of Housing & Urban Development (HUD) and other federal
and state entities, the growth in smoke-free housing has been equally as great,
if not greater. In 2000, there were only two public housing
authorities in the nation that had smoke-free policies for some or all their
buildings (Kearney, NE and Fort Pierce,
FL). By the end of 2003, just eleven housing authorities had smoke-free
policies. By January, 2005, that number had only risen to fifteen.
But, then the growth sky-rocketed. As of December, 2009, at
least 136 public housing authorities in 19 states had adopted smoke-free
policies for some or all their buildings. The growth in the entire decade
was 6700%; since December, 2003, the growth was 1136%; and the growth in the
past 5 years has been over 800%.
In Michigan, the Cadillac Housing Commission was the first public housing
authority to adopt a smoke-free policy, doing so in July, 2005. Today,
thirty-two local Michigan housing commissions have adopted smoke-free policies,
covering about 56 apartment buildings/developments and over 60 townhouses/scattered
site units, with about 4,158 apartment units. That is a 3100% increase in the
48 months since January, 2006. To access the full press release, click
above.
Woman,
62, dies in Quincy fire; Blaze sparked by cigarette; oxygen devices fuel flames
12/28: The following is from a Dec. 27th Boston
Globe report: A woman died yesterday
morning in a two-alarm fire sparked by a cigarette, according to fire
officials. Residents of the city-owned high-rise at 95 Martensen St.,
which houses elderly, low-income, and disabled residents, said they had warned
62-year-old Donna Marani not to smoke in her apartment - especially because she
regularly used home oxygen devices. "She was a smoker," said
Jenn Fell, 31, who lives in the building with her two young sons. "Several
people in the building have warned her about smoking while on oxygen. Smoking
can be very dangerous, and unfortunately everybody lost a really good friend
out of this tragedy." State, local, and Norfolk County officials
determined yesterday afternoon that a cigarette ignited the fire.
"The investigation revealed the cause to be consistent with a
smoking-related fire," State Fire Marshal Stephen D. Coan told the Globe
yesterday. "And there was home oxygen in the apartment." ... While
firefighters managed to contain the fire to Marani's apartment, significant
water and smoke damage could be seen throughout the building yesterday. Cleanup
crews were on hand all afternoon. Most residents were allowed to return
home, but more than a dozen from units near Marani's apartment were being
sheltered at a Salvation Army facility,
fire officials said. ... Since 1997, 18 people have died and more than 30
others have been severely burned or suffered serious smoke inhalation in fires
across the state involving people who smoked while using a home oxygen system,
Coan said. Air is about 21
percent oxygen, but medical tanks are filled with 100 percent oxygen, which can
fuel intense flames. "Fires related to smoking and use of home
oxygen have been a great concern of mine for a long time," Coan said.
"We have a group made up of fire service personnel, members of the medical
community, oxygen manufacturers, the Red Cross, and others focused on a public
education campaign to highlight the dangers." [It should be noted
that a no-smoking policy could have prevented this tragedy.] Click above
to access the full report.
12/28: The following is from a Dec. 13th Holland
Sentinel article: A new state law
intended to reduce the fire hazard posed by smoldering cigarettes has
frustrated some Michigan smokers, who complain that the safer cigarettes taste
foul. The law, which takes effect Jan. 1, requires all cigarettes sold
in Michigan to be engineered to automatically extinguish when left unattended. To comply, cigarette companies usually add two or
three special bands to the cigarettes' paper that, when lit, reduce the flow of
oxygen to the tobacco, thereby slowing the stick's rate of burn. If a
smoker does not draw on the lit cigarette, the bands effectively smother it.
... Gov. Jennifer Granholm approved the law in June, making Michigan the 49th
state to pass fire-safe cigarette legislation. The new cigarettes won't
end all fires started by smoking materials, but they will help lower the
numbers of deaths and injuries caused by them, said Ronald Farr, Michigan's
Fire Marshal. "It's a life-safety issue," he said. "That's
the single biggest point for them." Fires caused by smoking-related
materials in Michigan killed four people last year and injured 33 others,
including seven firefighters, according to the state's Bureau of Fire Services.
Nationwide, fires ignited by
cigarettes claimed 780 lives in the United States in 2006, according to the
Massachussetts-based National Fire Protection Association. Click above to
access the full article.
Smoking
ban in Duluth low-income housing promotes health
12/22: The following is from a Dec. 20th Fox
21 News report: Residents of Duluth
high rise buildings will be living in smoke_free facilities by spring of next
year. Last month, the Duluth Housing and Rehabilitation Authority passed
a smoking ban, effective May of 2010. American Lung Association
representatives say the ban is an attempt to prevent the dangerous effects of
second_hand smoke. Currently, residents at any of the six Duluth high rise,
low-income housing buildings can smoke in their private apartments. Soon,
they will have to leave the building before lighting up. And many
non_smoking residents are pleased. "I think it's a good idea, because
second hand smoke and everything... It's not good for our health," said King
Manor resident, Ann Abrahm. "They have shared ventilation. They have
shared systems. And we know from the Surgeon General's report in 2006 that
there is no safe level exposure to second_hand smoke," said Pat McKone.
McKone is the director for mission programs for the American Lung
Association in Minnesota. Click above to access the full report.
12/18: Michigan Governor Jennifer Granholm will
sign into law Friday, Dec. 18th, a ban on indoor smoking in public places.
The Legislature passed the bill Dec. 10 after years of stalemates over
exceptions in the law. The measure allows smoking in three Detroit casinos,
cigar bars, specialty tobacco shops, home offices and motor vehicles, including
commercial trucks. The smoking ban, which takes effect May 1, 2010, makes
Michigan the 38th state with a ban. To access a copy of the new law click
above.
12/18: The World Lung Foundation and the
American Cancer Society's third edition of The Tobacco Atlas is now online. The Atlas provides current world data on topics such as tobacco
use, secondhand smoke, smoke-free areas, and tobacco litigation. It also
has predictions on the future tobacco epidemic. To access a copy of the Atlas, click above.
12/17: University of Michigan School of Public
Health Dean Kenneth Warner discusses the benefits of the new smoking ban passed
by the Michigan Senate and House. You can hear this five-minute Podcast by
clicking above.
New
issue of Legal Update is now online
12/17: The latest issue of the Legal Update, the newsletter of the Tobacco Control Legal Consortium,
is now available. This issue features the Legal Consortium's most recent
publication, "Infiltration of Secondhand Smoke into Condominiums,
Apartments and Other Multi-Unit Dwellings: 2009" written by SFELP's
consulting attorney Susan Schoenmarklin. This expanded update of the 2004
law synopsis covers recent smoke-free housing laws and policies of interest to
landlords, condominium associations and tenants. The Legal Update also includes overviews of recent important tobacco
cases, including a landmark Massachusetts tobacco ruling that allows
"healthy" smokers to sue to force tobacco companies to pay for
medical monitoring to scan for diseases that may develop in the future; a $300
million ruling in the latest individual "Engle progeny" lawsuit against a major tobacco
company; and legal actions related to the new federal tobacco product
legislation. The issue also highlights U.S. and Canadian bans on the
sale, distribution and manufacture of flavored cigarettes, and the World Health
Organization's tobacco control campaign in Africa. Also featured is
Eric Lindblom in the Profiles in Public Health Law section and the"Ask a
Lawyer" column addresses tobacco-free policies on college campuses.
Finally, links are provided to useful tobacco law-related resources and
information on upcoming tobacco law events. To access the Legal Update, click above.
Editorial:
Lawmakers are standing up
12/16: According to a Dec. 15th Traverse City
Record-Eagle editorial: It's
not easy changing public policy that's as old as dirt, no matter how much good
a change will create. And you're guaranteed to make some unfriends along the
way. But two local lawmakers, four members of the Northwestern Michigan
College board of trustees, a Traverse City Commission majority, Munson Medical
Center, the Benzie and Leelanau county boards of commissioners and hundreds of
other public officials have all chose to ban smoking in virtually all
workplaces plus some parks, beaches and campuses. And now, after years
of wrangling the Michigan Legislature has finally approved a ban on smoking in
virtually all workplaces, including bars and restaurants. State Sen. Michelle McManus, a Lake Leelanau
Republican, and freshman Rep. Dan Scripps, a Leland Democrat, both voted for a
bill that would make virtually all Michigan workplaces smoke-free as of May.
The senate voted 24-13 last week to approve the bill. The House, which
had passed similar bills in recent years, approved it again, 75-30, also last
week. Gov. Jennifer Granholm has said she'll sign it. ... At last, it seems the
will of the people -- more than 70 percent of state residents have consistently
supported a ban -- is being heeded. Despite all that Big Tobacco money to the
contrary. To access the full editorial, click above.
Colorado
Supreme Court upholds ban of smoking on stage
12/16: The following is from a Dec. 15th Denver
Post article: In the first decision of its kind, the Colorado Supreme
Court on Monday [Dec. 14th] extinguished hopes that theater actors would be
exempted from a statewide smoking ban after all but one justice voted to uphold
lower-court decisions barring cigarette use in performances. The move
ends a three-year state fight in which a coalition of state and national
theater groups argued in multiple courts that the ban infringed on free-speech
rights and interfered with their abilities to accurately produce plays. Six justices found that regardless of whether
onstage smoking is a form of expression, the ban on smoking in public places is
constitutional because it aims to promote public health rather than stifle free
speech. No other state supreme court has decided a case involving a
free-speech opposition to a state smoking ban, according to attorney A. Bruce
Jones, who said his theater-company clients have not ruled out seeking a U.S.
Supreme Court decision on the topic. Click above for full article.
12/11: The following is from a Dec. 10th Detroit
Free Press report: The House
has sent to Gov. Jennifer Granholm for signing a bill to ban smoking in bars,
restaurants and all other workplaces, but allow smoking on the gaming floors of
Detroit's three casinos. However, the casino bars and restaurants would
be no-smoking zones. The landmark vote followed approval in the Senate on
a landmark bill that anti-smoking advocates have sought for more than a decade,
but which was opposed strenuously by bar and restaurant owners across the
state. The smoking ban would take effect May 1, making Michigan the
38th state with some form of state ban on smoking in public areas. "We have heard the message from the people
of Michigan," said Rep. Joan Bauer, D-Lansing, who cited numerous polls
showing the Michigan public supporting a public smoking ban. The Senate
voted 24-13 on a compromise that was led by Sen. Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks.
The House soon afterward voted 75-30 to concur with the Senate version,
with some House members applauding as the tally was announced. Jubilant
anti-smoking advocates celebrated with hugs outside of the House chamber after
the vote. "This is huge. We couldn't be more pleased," said Judy
Stewart, spokesperson for the campaign for Smokefree Air. "Michigan
is finally going to join the ranks of smokefree states. It's a historic
day." Click above to access the Free Press article. According to a Detroit News report: The House voted 75-30 for the long-awaited
measure, which makes exceptions for the three Detroit casinos, cigar bars,
specialty tobacco shops, home offices and motor vehicles, including commercial
trucks. The Senate voted 24-13 for
the bill earlier today. To access the Detroit News article, click here.
To access a copy of the bill as passed, click here.
States Spending Less
to Fight Smoking
12/11: The following is from a Dec. 10th New
York Times article: State governments are collecting record revenues from
tobacco companies but spending less and less of it on antismoking programs,
especially in New York, a group of health and advocacy organizations said in a
report released Wednesday. In the report, titled "A Broken
Promise to Our Children," the organizations said state governments had
reduced spending by 15 percent, to $567 million, for smoking prevention and
cessation programs in the fiscal year that ended in September. State
spending on antismoking programs accounted for only 2.3 percent of the more
than $25 billion that states are expected to collect from tobacco taxes and
payouts from the $246 billion settlement that states reached with tobacco
companies in 1998, the groups said in their 11th annual report since the
settlement. "It's a travesty
that only a small fraction of tobacco settlement funds is actually being used
to support tobacco prevention programs in states," Nancy Brown, chief
executive of the American Heart Association -- one of the groups behind the
report -- said in a statement. States are not required to spend the money
on antismoking programs. The National Conference of State Legislatures reported
Wednesday that states had to fill a cumulative budget gap of $145 billion this
year because of unprecedented revenue declines. States' tobacco-related
revenue has grown because 14 states have raised taxes on tobacco in the
recession and the payouts from the 1998 tobacco settlement increased in 2008.
Click above for the full article. To access the full report, click here.
Two Arkansas housing
authorities adopt smoke-free policies
12/10: In Arkansas, the Little Rock Housing
Authority and the Polk County Housing Authority have each adopted smoke-free policies
for some or all of their buildings. These are the first two HAs in
Arkansas to adopt smoke-free policies. The Little Rock HA has adopted a
smoke-free policy for all three of its high-rise buildings, with a total of 596
units in three buildings (428 units in two buildings for persons aged 50 and
over, and 168 units of family housing in one building). The Polk County
HA adopted a smoke-free policy for all 182 units of its housing in 6 buildings.
Both HA smoke-free policies go into effect on January 1, 2010.
There are now at least 136 housing authorities in the U.S. with
smoke-free policies for some or all their buildings. to access a list of all
these HAs, click above.
EDITORIAL:
End Michigan's shame, pass smoking ban
12/10: The following is from a dec. 8th Detroit
Free Press editorial: The
Legislature has choked before, leaving residents and visitors to this fair
state still gasping as they encounter smoke-filled air in public places like
restaurants and bars. So let's review the arguments as lawmakers
contemplate one more attempt to limit smoking in Michigan. ... In a perfect
world, lawmakers would not exempt casino floors -- their workers deserve clean
lungs, too -- but after years of stalemate any significant smoke-free progress
would be welcome. Which leaves the hope that this time, finally,
lawmakers won't keep blowing smoke. Click above for the full editorial.
A Broken Promise to
Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 11 Years Later
12/9: The following is from a report released
today: Since the November 1998 multi-state tobacco settlement, we have
issued annual reports assessing whether the states are keeping their promise to
use a significant portion of their settlement funds -- estimated at $246
billion over the first 25 years -- to attack the enormous public health
problems posed by tobacco use in the United States. In addition to the
billions they receive every year from the tobacco settlement, the states
collect billions more in tobacco taxes. This latest report, issued December
9, 2009, finds that the states are collecting record amounts of tobacco revenue
-- $25.1 billion this year alone -- but are spending less of it on programs to
prevent kids from smoking and help smokers quit. In fact, states have cut
funding for tobacco prevention programs by more than 15 percent in the past
year. Only one state -- North
Dakota -- currently funds a tobacco prevention program at the level recommended
by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Only nine other
states fund tobacco prevention at even half the CDC-recommended level, while 31
states and DC provide less than a quarter of the recommended funding. [Michigan
ranks 48th out the 50 states and D.C.]
This report is issued by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American
Heart Association, American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, American Lung
Association and Robert Wood Johnson Foundation. Click above for a fulll copy of the report.
For a copy of the chart ranking the states, click here.
12/8: The following is from a Dec. 7th Detroit
Free Press report: It could be
light up or lights out for a statewide smoking ban this week in the
Legislature. Senate Republicans will take another stab at prohibiting
smoking in all workplaces, including restaurants and bars. But whether to exempt
Detroit's casinos remains a key question. "It's time to get it
moving," said Sen. Ron Jelinek, R-Three Oaks, who is prodding fellow
Senate Republicans with a compromise. That plan would ban smoking in all
public places, but possibly allow it to some extent at the Detroit casino on
gaming floors, as well as in cigar bars. Smoking would be banned at the Detroit
casino restaurants and hotels, possibly answering concerns of bar owners about
giving a competitive advantage to the casinos. Jelinek and others said
with only a couple of weeks before a long holiday break, the Legislature is
under pressure to act on an issue that's been in stalemate for more than a
decade. ... The issue resurfaced last
week, as Senate Republicans discussed cracking a long-standing impasse: whether
to exempt Detroit's three casinos and cigar bars from a smoking ban that
restaurant and bar owners generally oppose. Click above for the full
article.
Radio
interview in Sault Ste. Marie about smoke-free apartments
12/4: On Dec. 1st, Julie Trotter of the Chippewa
County Health Department and Jim Bergman of TCSG's Smoke-Free Environments Law
Project were interviewed on Talk Radio 1400 in Sault Ste. Marie, Michigan
concerning the MISmokeFreeApartment Initiative. This was part of a 3-day
series of events in the eastern Upper Peninsula to promote smoke-free apartment
policies being adopted for market-rate and affordable housing. The prior
day Julie, Jim and Donna Norkoli of the Sault Tribe Community Health Services
were interviewed on WSOO 1230. On Dec. 1st and 2nd, Jim did presentations
on smoke-free housing in Sault Ste. Marie and Manistique. On Nov. 30th,
Jim, Donna and Julie met with the Sault Tribe Housing Authority board to
discuss the possibility of their adopting a smoke-free policy for some or all
their approximately 500 units of housing across the Upper Peninsula. To access
a podcast of the Talk Radio 1400 interview, click above.
Cigarettes
in Michigan to be 'fire-safe'
12/4: According to a Nov. 29th Muskegon
Chronicle article: Local fire
officials are hailing a new law that will require manufacturers sell only
self-extinguishing cigarettes in Michigan as of Jan. 1. The measure is
expected to save lives and property lost to fires started by unattended smoking
materials. The move is a big step forward for fire safety, local fire
authorities agree. "It is a pretty significant issue in this area; It
rates right behind cooking-type fires as far as the frequency of causing
fires," said Fruitport Township Fire Chief Ken Doctor, a smoker himself.
"We can't dictate how people live. This is just one more step in the
overall fire safety process. Because smoking equipment is such a
significant portion of our business, it is definitely going to have an
impact." Last year, 319 fires across the state were reported to
have started by cigarettes. Four people were killed and 33 people injured in
those fires, which claimed a total property loss of nearly $8.5 million, said
Terry Fobbs, assistant to the state fire marshal. Michigan will become the 49th state to adopt laws
requiring cigarettes sold here after Jan. 1 to self-extinguish if left
unattended. The measure is part of the Fire Safety Standard and Firefighter
Protection Act, passed by the Michigan Legislature this summer. According to
the United States Fire Administration, states such as New York that have passed
fire-safe cigarette legislation have seen a 33 percent reduction in the number
of fire-related deaths and injuries caused by discarded smoking materials.
Click above for the full article.
For Some
Smokers, Even Home Is Off Limits
11/19: According to a Nov. 15th New York
Times article: The movement to ban
smoking in New York City has grown so quickly that no place seems immune --
certainly not restaurants or bars, and public beaches and parks may not be far
behind. Now the efforts are rapidly expanding into the living room. More
landlords are moving to prohibit smoking in their apartment buildings, telling
prospective tenants they can be evicted if they light up in them. This month, the Related Companies will ban
smoking at some of its downtown apartment buildings because of health concerns
about secondhand smoke, according to company officials. Smokers who
already live in any of these buildings will not be affected, according to Jeff
Brodsky, a president of Related, which is a national developer with 17
buildings in Manhattan. But any new renters must promise not to smoke at
home, even if they continue to elsewhere. Kenbar Management, a local
developer, is going a step further. When its new project, 1510 Lexington
Avenue, opens in December, smoking will be banned in all 298 units, in addition
to private and shared terraces. And the typical smoker's refuge -- directly outside
the building -- is also off limits; tenants must agree not to smoke on any of
the sidewalks that wrap around the building, which takes up most of a block in
East Harlem, according to Kinne Yon, a Kenbar principal. The trend has
predictably divided smokers and nonsmokers in New York. To access the
full article, click above.
Santa
Monica tenants demand tougher anti-smoking laws
11/12: According to a Nov. 11th Santa Monica
Daily Press article: There are many
days warm or cool when the windows to Mike Horelick's Santa Monica apartment
remain shut, keeping out ocean breezes, the fragrance of a neighbor's dinner
and cigarette smoke. It's the latter that forces the local screenwriter to
often seal his home, protecting his asthmatic 3-year-old daughter and
9-month-old son from the cigarette smoke that wafts from a neighbor's patio a
floor below. "We shut the doors, we shut the windows, which is
pretty inconvenient and not guaranteed to stop all the smoke anyway," he
said. Horelick is part of a group of residents who are calling on the
City Council to expand an ordinance that bans smoking in all common areas of
apartments and condominiums to also apply to balconies and patios, arguing the
current regulations, while a step in the right direction, don't go far enough.
Click above to access the full article.
Oregon
housing authorities ban indoor smoking
11/6: According to a Nov. 4th news report: Alan
Pape doesn't like going into smokers' apartments. But as the maintenance
mechanic for the North Bend City/Coos-Curry Housing Authorities, it's part of
the job. ... By March, Pape won't have to worry about nicotine-stained walls or
smelling like an ash tray at the end of the day. The two boards of
commissioners for the housing authorities adopted a no-indoor-smoking policy
for the apartments and buildings they own. The Woodland Apartments Preservation
Inc. and Powers Housing Development Inc. -- apartments managed by the housing
authorities -- also passed the same policy. The agencies provide section 8 and
low-income housing in North Bend, Coos Bay, Myrtle Point, Coquille and Port
Orford. Woodland and Powers have units in Empire and Powers. Ned Beman, the
executive director of the Housing Authorities, said the policy will likely
impact 475 residents. He estimated that about 21 percent smoke. The policy
bans smokers from lighting up inside units or other buildings owned by the
agencies. Those who smoke will be allowed to -- but outside at least 10
feet from a neighbor's door. It goes into effect on March 1. ... The housing
authority boards have been mulling the possibility for a few years, but began
seriously discussing it in September, after receiving a notice from the U.S.
Department of Housing and Urban Development that urged housing authorities to
adopt such policies. Beman said the
boards unanimously passed the policy because they felt doing so would protect
employees' health, reduce costs of preparing vacant units for rent and even the
playing field for Section 8 residents who already abide by similar policies.
The boards took public comment for 30 days. Those who wrote in convinced the
boards to drop a proposed 25-foot smoking distance to 10 feet, but otherwise
there were few complaints and some positive comments, the director said.
Cleaning up a smoker's apartment -- depending on the extent of the smoke
damage -- can cost up to an extra $1,000 in primer coating, paint and man hour,
Beman said. And often, those units still don't smell good. Click above
for the full article.
Ontario
apartment building going smoke-free
11/6: Russell Chandler has smoked for more than 50
years, but he is willing to curb his habit to be more neighbourly. He is
one of approximately 90 tenants of the South Chatham Village Apartments who
will have to adapt to a smoking ban coming effect at the apartment complex, Jan
1, 2010. "There's no hard feelings that they're doing that,"
Chandler said. Martin Vanderzwan, chairman of the apartment's board of
directors, said the smoking ban has been motivated by reducing the risk of fire
and reducing the known health effects of secondhand smoke. He said most
of the residents responded to a survey on implementing the ban. "It
was almost unanimous that we should have a nonsmoking policy," Vanderzwan
said. There are 67 units in the building, including seven or eight units
occupied by smokers, he said.
Vanderzwan said a meeting was held with tenants where there was good dialogue
and "we came to the conclusion that they're ready for something like
this." He added the tenants who smoke agreed with the ban if the
secondhand smoke bothers people. Vanderzwan said the ban will only apply
to tenants moving into the building in the New Year who sign a new lease with
the smoking ban clause included. The ban prohibits tenants, guests and service
people from smoking in any area of the property, including both private and
common areas, whether enclosed or outdoors. Smokers currently living in the
building will be allowed to smoke inside their apartments only with windows and
patio doors closed. Nick Davidovich, Chatham- Kent's tobacco enforcement
officer, said he's heard of a few other apartment buildings implementing a
no-smoking policy. He added the City of Waterloo recently passed a bylaw making
their public housing smoke-free. "It's kind of a movement happening in
Ontario towards this," Davidovich said. Click above for the full
article.
Cigarette
smoke wafting onto neighbor's patio brings lawsuit
11/6: The following is from a Nov. 5th news
article: This is the story of two neighbors and a dispute over secondhand smoke
in the Sacramento suburb of El Dorado Hills. ... A California couple has filed
a lawsuit seeking relief from their next-door neighbor's second-hand cigarette
smoke. Richard and Donna Ganguet were the first to move into a gated
community for people age 55 and older. That was 2006. Today, they claim the
cigar and cigarette smoke wafts into their yard from the property of neighbor
has caused an intolerable situation. They've tried dispersing the smoke,
first with a small fan (which didn't work) and then by renting an industrial
fan (which was noisy, and they didn't want to disturb other neighbors). They
say they no longer sit on their patio and try to sandwich in swims in the
side-yard lap pool between their neighbors' smoking sessions. The neighbor
is Florence Solone. Her son, his sister and brother-in-law all live with Mrs.
Solone and they smoke outdoors because, "My mother doesn't allow smoking
in the house." He also says he didn't know the smoke was a problem
until his mother learned of the lawsuit, which was filed last month.
Click above for the full article.
10/30: The following is from an Oct. 26th Los
Angeles Times editorial:
Introduced in the United States two years ago, electronic cigarettes are
no longer a novelty item but a popular option for many smokers -- especially
those who want to quit. Inhaling on the cigarette-shaped device activates a
built-in battery, which heats up a mixture of water, nicotine and propylene
glycol to give the "smoker" a vapor hit of the addictive substance
found in cigarettes -- but without the smoke. It even lights up at the other
end, mimicking the tip of a cigarette. E-cigarettes are the latest of
a wave of nicotine-packing products -- including bottled water and lollipops --
to face the wrath of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The agency believes
it has the authority to regulate them.
But marketers of the electronic devices, most of which are made in China, are
putting up a big fight. They have sued, arguing that the FDA has no
jurisdiction over their merchandise because, unlike nicotine patches or gum,
which the agency does regulate, it is not a smoking-cessation product. They
also deny the FDA's contention that e-cigarettes are a drug-delivery device,
which the agency also regulates. In their zeal to avoid regulation,
though, spokesmen for this fast-growing business have been engaging in
doublespeak. They argue that e-cigarettes are just a "smoking
alternative," and in the same breath tout their superiority over gum or
patches as a way to divert smokers from tobacco products. ... The agency
wants sales of the devices halted until, as with other drug products, animal
studies and clinical trials determine whether they are indeed safe. We agree. A check of Internet chat sites shows that the devices
are regularly used by smokers trying to quit tobacco. Should the courts rule
against the FDA, Congress will have to step in. With the ever-expanding
peddling of nicotine in the United States, the public needs federal oversight
of attempts to advance an addictive drug. Click above to access the full
editorial.
Canadian National Conference on Tobacco
or Health runs Nov. 1-4, 2009
10/30: The Program Committee of the Canadian
National Conference on Tobacco or Health is developing a dynamic program to
present the latest evidence, research findings, programs, and activities in
Canadian tobacco control and around the world. More information will be posted
as plans progress. The plenary and symposia sessions will explore the
critical elements of tobacco control's future, while the concurrent sessions
will probe key issues including plain packaging, retail reform, Bill C-32, new
products, new frontiers in second-hand smoke, industry litigation, contraband
and the implication of new nicotine addiction research and the use of NRT's in
cessation. There will be two sessions on smoke-free multi-unit housing
(SF MUDS), and this topic will be touched on in a couple of other sessions. To see the draft program, click above.
Rep. Lori works on Michigan smoking ban
10/29: According to an Oct. 27th WLKM report:
State Rep. Matt Lori is working with a bipartisan group of House
lawmakers to figure out a new strategy for getting a smoking ban signed into
law. Earlier this year, the House approved legislation to ban smoking in
most public places, including bars and restaurants, but that plan has since
stalled in the Senate because it exempts casino gambling floors, cigar bars and
tobacco shops from the proposed ban. Senate leaders have repeatedly said
they will only support a total ban, so as not to create an unfair competitive
advantage for some businesses over others. Last year, the Senate approved a
total smoking ban, but that plan fell six votes short in the House. "It
seems pretty clear the Senate is only willing to support a total ban, no
exemptions, and I think we have enough support for a total ban in the House, so
that's the direction I think we are going to go," said Lori, of
Constantine. The first-term
lawmaker said he is hopeful a vote will happened before the end of the year.
Click above for the full report.
10/28: A review in the Canadian Medical Association
Journal (CMAJ) reveals that Imperial Tobacco Canada attempted to destroy
documents that contained high-quality scientific evidence that cigarette smoke
was carcinogenic and addictive. These studies had significant implications for
government tobacco-control programs. This is the opening analysis of the
60 scientific reports dating from 1967 to 1984. They were destroyed in Canada
in 1992 but stored at British American Tobacco headquarters in the United
Kingdom. "The research standards of the studies reported in the destroyed
documents was equal to and, in many cases, exceeded the standards of
peer-reviewed scientific research published during the same period,"
explains Dr. David Hammond, University of Waterloo, and coauthors. "The
destroyed documents reveal a vast body of scientific evidence on the health
effects of smoking." On September 28, 2009, the province of
Ontario launched a $50 billion lawsuit against Imperial Tobacco. In addition,
British Columbia and New Brunswick have also filed lawsuits against the
company. Several of the
destroyed documents report the carcinogenic components of tobacco smoke and
describe testing for differences between tobacco brands (which differed little
in their carcinogenic activity). Other studies considered the effect of
filters. ... A total of eleven of the destroyed documents focused on original
research about the effects of second-hand smoke. Most of the experiments were
performed on rats. These studies indicated cellular changes from second-hand
smoke. The authors write: "The scientists concluded that second-hand smoke
was in fact more toxic than mainstream smoke "especially for low delivery
cigarettes."" Click above for full news report.
Wynn
Las Vegas sued by workers for second hand smoke risk
10/27: The following is from an Oct. 22nd Las
Vegas Examiner article: Lawyers for
casino employees of Wynn Las Vegas have filed a class action suit citing the
negative health effects of second hand smoke exposure. This is the second high
profile casino employee group to file suit against employers and follows a
similar action by workers at Caesar's Palace (a Harrah's property) which filed
litigation proceedings this past July. The Kamber Edelson law firm from Chicago
is involved in the litigation of both groups and suits. The suit alleges
that chronic employee exposure to second hand smoke leads to an array of
ill-health symptoms including eye irritation, coughing, sore throat, wheezing,
asthma, headaches, and ingestion of carcinogenic toxins and chemicals. Further,
the legalese in the suit includes evidence of measures taken by some Vegas
casinos (eg Bellagio and Palazzo) to reduce exposure to smoke by employees.
As pointed out in a previous Las Vegas Examiner article , casinos
everywhere have always resisted smoking bans in their establishments because of
the high correlation of gambling, gamblers, and smoking. They've resisted it
because they expected such bans to negatively effect revenues and their bottom
lines. The fact that there are numerous smoking bans in other public gathering
venues and not in casinos is a direct testament to casino ownership and
management's power and political influence, particularly in Las Vegas.
Click above for the full article.
10/23: On October 20th, the Charlevoix Housing
Commission adopted a smoke-free policy for its 62-unit Pine River Place
apartments for the elderly and disabled. The policy went into effect
immediately for all new residents and current residents who are not smokers, as
well as guests and staff. Current residents who are smokers are exempted
from the policy for as long as they live in their current unit. Under
this new policy, secondhand smoke and other damage caused by smoking or tobacco
products will not be considered ordinary wear and tear, and some or all of the
resident's security deposit may be retained by the housing commission to cover
costs of damage caused by smoking or tobacco products; damage above and beyond
the amount of the security deposit may be billed to the resident.
Further, it is the resident's responsibility to take steps to keep
smoking residue from building up in units, including more frequent cleaning and
wall washing, etc. Annual inspections of units will be utilized to ensure
that apartment residents are following this part of the policy. Charlevoix
becomes the 32nd public housing commission in Michigan to adopt a smoke-free
policy. It has been our
pleasure working with Rob Harrison, the Executive Director of the Charlevoix
Housing Commission on this policy. Charlevoix is a located in northern
Michigan on Lake Michigan, and is known as "Charlevoix the
beautiful". The 32 Michigan housing commissions with smoke-free
policies have about 56 apartment buildings/developments and over 60
townhouses/scattered site units. A total of at least 4,158 apartment
units are covered by the local Michigan housing authority smoke-free policies.
More are in the pipeline. There are now at least 129 housing authorities
in the U.S. with smoke-free policies for some or all their buildings. To
access a copy of the list of 129 housing authorities in the U.S. that have
adopted smoke-free policies for some or all their buildings, click above.
Institute
of Medicine report concludes smoke-free laws prevent heart attacks
10/23: The Institute of Medicineon October 15th
released its long-awaited report concluding that secondhand smoke causes heart
attacks, while smoke-free laws prevent heart attacks and save lives. The report
also finds compelling evidence that even relatively brief exposure to
secondhand smoke can cause heart attacks. This report makes the case for
smoke-free laws to the media, policy makers and other audiences. It
demonstrates why states and localities that have yet to enact comprehensive
laws should do so quickly; why those that still have loopholes in their laws
should close them; why those currently implementing laws should make sure they
are effectively implemented and strongly enforced; and why states and
localities that have passed and effectively implemented comprehensive laws have
done the right thing to protect health and save lives. The IOM's
materials can be found by clicking above.
More Apartment Owners Using
No-Smoking Strategies
10/23: Warren Nisley liked the "green"
features of the new Morgan at Loyola Station in Rogers Park when he was
apartment hunting. The mixed-use building near Loyola University Chicago
has 152 apartments, is near public transportation and boasts eco-friendly features
such as water-saving fixtures and efforts to improve internal air quality with
low-gas-emitting paints and a no-smoking policy for all residents and guests.
The smoke-free environment wasn't the only criterion for deciding to live
in the building, but it was part of a package that Nisley, 52, found appealing.
"I'm more sensitive to second-hand smoke than I used to be," said the
system architect for Orbitz, the travel Web site. "I don't
disapprove of smoking, but I like the fact that there will be none."
"We decided to design the building according to LEED (Leadership in
Energy and Environmental Design) standards to promote a healthy environment and
lifestyle," said Pamela Austin, project manager of development for
McCaffery Interests, owner of the Morgan. "No smoking seemed like a
logical extension of that." Opened in May, the Morgan, 1209 W.
Arthur Ave., is not the only new apartment building hanging out a no-smoking
sign. AMLI 900, a 24-story rental building at 900 S. Clark St. in the South
Loop, also bans smoking by residents and guests. ... The number of leases
with no-smoking clauses has been growing in recent years, said Maurice Ortiz,
marketing director for Apartment People, a finding service that operates from
the Loop to Evanston. Still, no-smoking
listings are no more than 10 to 15 percent of his firm's total.
"More owners would like to establish smoke-free policies," he
said, but "the market is just too competitive. The current supply of
apartments in Chicago far exceeds the demand and, therefore, forces owners to
be more flexible with their policies and restrictions." McCaffery
and AMLI executives disagree. They contend going smoke-free is a
quality-of-life amenity, a competitive advantage in some cases, thanks to
changing attitudes about health and the environment. Click above for the full article.
10/19: On October 13th, the Monroe Housing
Commission voted unanimously (5 to 0) to formally adopt a smoke-free policy for
all their buildings; earlier, on September 8th, the board had voted to go
smoke-free, but did not have the formal language of the policy before them. The
policy is to go into effect November 1, 2009 for all residents, including
current residents who are smokers. The housing commission has a 7-story, 148 unit, high-rise for elderly
and disabled (River Park Plaza), and a 115-unit family housing building (Greenwood),
plus 30 single family houses; a total of 293 units. The policy will allow
smoking outdoors, but only in designated areas, if any. It was a great
pleasure working with Nancy Wain, the Executive Director of the Monroe Housing
Authority on this. Adoption of this policy makes Monroe the 31st housing
commission in Michigan to adopt a smoke-free policy and the 125th in the
nation. To access a copy of the list of 125 housing authorities in the
U.S. that have adopted smoke-free policies for some or all their buildings,
click above.
Tobacco
products to be tamped out by 2011 on University of Montana campus
10/19: According to an Oct. 13th article in the Montana
Kaimin newspaper: The University of
Montana is on its way to becoming a tobacco-free campus by fall 2011. The UM
president's office endorsed a timeline for phasing in policy starting this
semester, according to UM Executive Vice President Jim Foley. The first phase
includes sending questionnaires to faculty and staff, because students were
already surveyed. The ASUM Senate passed a resolution supporting the plan last
Wednesday. However, it's not a "take it or leave it" plan,
Foley said. The steps leading to completion in 2011 will give everyone the
opportunity to talk about an issue that should be discussed, he said. Julee
Stearns, UM health promotion specialist and chair of the UM Tobacco Task Force
that drafted the plan, said that as of Oct. 2, there are at least 322
smoke-free campuses and 172 tobacco-free campuses nationwide. Montana Tech will also be completely tobacco-free in
July 2010. The tobacco-free plan, drafted at the request of UM President George
Dennison, aims to ensure the campus environment is healthy and accessible for
everyone, Stearns said. Stearns said 76 percent of UM students surveyed
reported that they encountered more second-hand smoke on campus than in any
other location. Another 71 percent support restricting tobacco use on campus
and over 90 percent think it is important to address tobacco use on campus, she
said. Click above for full article.
Waterloo
Region, Ontario adopts smoke-free policy for affordable housing
10/9: Historic news from the Waterloo Region of
Ontario. On October 6th, the Community Services Committee of the Regional
Municipality of Waterloo (which includes the cities/townships of Waterloo,
Kitchener, Cambridge, Wellesley, North Dumfries, Wilmot, and Woolwich) voted to
approve a smoke-free policy for all buildings and property of "regionally
owned community housing" in the Waterloo Region. The policy covers
about 2,700 units of "social housing", also known as "affordable
or low and moderate income housing". The Waterloo Region Housing
manages 2,591 community housing units owned by the Region of Waterloo, many of
which are elderly and disabled housing. These units are located in
Kitchener, Cambridge, Waterloo, Woolwich and Wellesley. The new policy
will receive final approval at the October 14th Regional Council meeting, and
the approval is certain since the Community Services Committee that voted on
October 6th is a committee of the whole of the Regional Council. The
new policy is historic because it is the first such public housing policy in
Ontario and only the second in all of Canada. With over 2,700 units, it
is also constitutes one of the largest impact policies in the country. The policy says that all new leases signed by
residents after April 1, 2010 will include a provision saying that no smoking
will be allowed inside their units or in common areas, and outdoor smoking by
the resident will be restricted to at least 5 meters away from any windows,
entrances or exits to the building. Ontario provincial laws prevent
the smoke-free policy from applying to current residents. Therefore, the
buildings covered will have to transition to being fully smoke-free over time,
as current smokers move out. Notwithstanding the
"grandfathering" of current smokers, this is a very important victory
and will, undoubtedly, serve as a catalyst for other governmental units across
Canada to also adopt smoke-free policies. The push for this policy began
with resident complaints of secondhand smoke intrusions into apartment units.
In the spring of this year,
representatives of the Waterloo Region Housing Division and the Tobacco Program
of the Region of Waterloo Public Health, together with tenants and the legal
department, conducted a detailed study of the matter, met with residents,
conducted resident surveys, and produced a report which was presented to the
Community Services Committee. Among the key players in this process were:
Mary Sehl, Manager of Tobacco Programs for the Region of Waterloo Public
Health; Irwin Peters, Manager of Waterloo Region Housing; and Laurie Nagge,
Public Health Nurse in the Tobacco Program. Many others were also deeply
involved in this victory, including Pippa Beck of the Non-Smokers Rights
Association, and other tobacco control leaders across Ontario and Canada.
Jim Bergman of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project of The Center for
Social Gerontology, Inc. had the pleasure to have also worked with the Waterloo
Region folks, and he was invited to speak at the October 6th hearing, together
with Brian King of the Roswell Park Cancer Institute in Buffalo, NY. The
agenda for the meeting, with a link to the smoke-free housing report, can be
accessed by clicking above.
HUD's
ECO-WISE, September, 2009 newsletter focuses on smoke-free housing
10/9: The HUD Eco-Wise newsletter for September
has its lead story "HUD Encourages PHAs to Become Smoke-Free".
The article describes the HUD Notice issued on July 17th which strongly
encourages public housing authorities (PHAs) to adopt smoke-free policies for
their buildings. This very important Notice was a very strong statement
from HUD to PHAs that HUD affirms that such smoke-free policies are legal and
that it make great sense from a health perspective and as a way of reducing
maintenance costs to PHAs. To access the article, in pdf format, click above.
Nevada
Supreme Court: Smoking ban constitutional, minus criminal sanctions
10/1: According to a Sept. 24th Las Vegas Sun report: The Nevada Supreme Court has ruled that
a voter-approved ban on smoking in such places as schools and indoor places of
employment was constitutional. But the court held that the criminal
sanctions could not be imposed because the language was vague. Voters in
2006 approved a change in the law to ban smoking in such places as schools and
indoor places of employment. But the law exempted gaming areas in casinos,
stand-alone bars, strip clubs and brothels. The passage was immediately
challenged by businesses including Flamingo Paradise Gaming, Terrible's Hotel
and Casino, the Nevada Tavern Owners Association and Cardivan Corporation.
Clark County District Judge Douglas Herndon ruled the law was
unconstitutionally vague for criminal enforcement. But it survived the test for
civil enforcement. Chief Justice James Hardesty, who wrote the majority
Supreme Court opinion, said the criminal portion of the law failed to provide
sufficient notice of what conduct is prohibited and it allows for arbitrary
enforcement. Click above for the full article.
HUD's Non-Smoking Policy
Notice for Public Housing Could Stamp Out Tobacco for Good
9/30: The following is from a news note on the
web site of the American Association of Homes & Services for the Aging (AAHSA): Public and Indian housing authorities
are permitted and "strongly" encouraged to implement non-smoking
policies -- including smoking cessation at lease renewal -- the U.S. Department
of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) announced July 17, 2009, signaling that
an agencywide shift toward smoke-free federally assisted housing may be in the
offing. AAHSA views this as an encouraging development given that, as
HUD noted, elderly populations -- which make up 15 percent of the residents
living in public housing -- are especially vulnerable to the adverse effects of
smoking. Even though HUD's notice
only applies to public and Indian housing, it's possible that HUD's multifamily
office could follow suit with similar guidance. Until that time, the PIH
notice provides guidance that can be helpful for providers interested in having
smoke free environments in senior housing. Environmental Tobacco Smoke,
officials said, can migrate between multifamily housing units, causing respiratory
illness, heart disease, cancer and other ill effects. Fire is another concern.
Federal data show that in multifamily buildings, 26 percent of fire deaths in
2005 were smoking-related -- the leading cause of fire deaths. "By
reducing the public health risks associated with tobacco use, this notice will
enhance the effectiveness of the Department's efforts to provide increased
public health protection for residents of public housing," HUD said.
PHAs have wide latitude to stamp out smoking, as long as they stay within
state and local laws, HUD said. More than 114 PHAs and housing commissions
around the country have gone non-smoking in one or more apartment buildings so
far, according to the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project at The Center for
Social Gerontology, a Michigan-based organization that keeps a running tally of
smoke-free policies in public housing. With this new notice, there
could be a broad proliferation of non-smoking public housing policies around
the country. Click above to
access the AAHSA note.
Waterloo, Ontario region
considers smoking ban in public housing after residents' complaints
9/29: The following is from a September 26th The
Record article: Complaints from
tenants about second-hand smoke have prompted Waterloo Region to consider
banning smoking in their multi-unit dwellings. "In general, I would
support some kind of restrictions with respect to second-hand smoke" said
Coun. Sean Strickland, chair of regional council's community services
committee, which oversees regional housing. A report on the issue is
slated to be before regional council next month. ... While provincial laws ban
smoking in common areas of apartment and condominium buildings, they do not
prohibit smoking in private units. Canadian courts have recognized the
need to protect non-smokers from the harmful effects of second-hand smoke, the
regional report said. Recently, some residential tribunals have ruled that
second-hand smoke seeping into a tenant's home constitutes an unreasonable
disturbance and ordered remedies ranging from repairs to buildings to
permission to break leases. And many landlords in Ontario have included
no-smoking clauses in new tenancy agreements, the report said. About 80
American public housing organizations have adopted smoke-free policies; and
more Canadian municipalities, like the City of Hamilton, are getting on board.
Click above to access the full article.
Smoking bans 'cut heart
attacks'
9/23: According to a Sept. 21st BBC article:
Bans on smoking in public places have had a bigger impact on preventing
heart attacks than ever expected, data shows. Smoking bans cut the number
of heart attacks in Europe and North America by up to a third, two studies
report. This "heart gain" is far greater than both originally
anticipated and the 10% figure recently quoted by England's Department of
Health. The studies appear in two leading journals - Circulation and the Journal of the American College of
Cardiology. Heart attacks in
the UK alone affect an estimated 275,000 people and kill 146,000 each year.
Earlier this month it was announced that heart attack rates fell by about
10% in England in the year after the ban on smoking in public places was
introduced in July 2007 - which is more than originally anticipated. But
the latest work, based on the results of numerous different studies
collectively involving millions of people, indicated that smoking bans have
reduced heart attack rates by as much as 26% per year. Dr James Lightwood, of the University of California
at San Francisco, led the Circulation study that pooled together 13 separate
analyses. His team found that heart attack rates across Europe and North
America started to drop immediately following implementation of anti-smoking
laws, reaching 17% after one year, then continuing to decline over time, with a
36% drop three years after enacting the restrictions. Dr Lightwood said:
"While we obviously won't bring heart attack rates to zero, these findings
give us evidence that in the short-to-medium-term, smoking bans will prevent a
lot of heart attacks. "This study adds to the already strong
evidence that second-hand smoke causes heart attacks, and that passing 100%
smoke-free laws in all workplaces and public places is something we can do to
protect the public." To access the full article, click above.
Distance
Rule Set for Smoking at Rockville, Maryland Playgrounds
9/16: The following is from a Sept. 15th Washington
Post article: Rockville officials are
planning friendly little signs. Maybe something like: "Children at
Play -- Please Smoke 40 Feet Away From the Playground." That's no
nanny-state overreach, they insist. It's about as slight an inconvenience as
the city can muster. "We're really not asking them to go too far out of
their way," said Burt Hall, Rockville's director of recreation and parks.
The city council voted Monday night to ban lighting up near
playgrounds in city parks.
Rockville's park advisory board had unanimously endorsed the plan, which sprang
from a few complaints. Even tighter rules may be on the way. Some residents had pushed for a total ban on smoking
in parks, a concept also floated Monday by a top health official in New York
City. That idea was not voted on Monday, but most on the council said they
would be open to considering a broader ban later. "We're supposed to
be outdoors being healthy, not smoking or spreading secondhand smoke to
others," Mayor Susan R. Hoffmann said. The playground proposal
emerged from fertile territory for smoking bans. Montgomery County's restaurant
smoking ban, which took effect in 2003, was touted as a trendsetter, and
Montgomery College bans the use of all tobacco products on campus, even in
private cars. In Rockville, smoking is banned at a dog park. "It
wasn't a huge groundswell. We didn't hear from hundreds of people. We heard
from three. It was a good idea. It's actually a no-brainer," Hall said.
"Secondhand smoke is proven dangerous. It's also obnoxious."
Click above for full article.
Boise
City/Ada County Housing Authority becomes 3rd Idaho housing authority to go
smoke-free
9/15: The Boise City/Ada County Housing
Authority (BCACHA) has adopted a smoke-free policy for all of its 3 buildings,
with 214 units of elderly, disabled and family housing. The policy will
be effective on November 1, 2009. Idaho is taking a real lead on smoke-free
multi-unit housing for low-income people. Together with the Nampa Housing
Authority and the Caldwell Housing Authority, I believe they now have their
three biggest housing authorities in Idaho all with smoke-free policies for all
their housing. Nampa was first in the fall of 2007, and Caldwell followed
on January 1, 2009. Congratulations to all the Idaho folks who worked on this.
We're pleased to have been able to play a small part in this. To
access the BCACHA web site click above. To access our listing of
smoke-free housing authorities, click here.
New
York City Seeks Ban on Smoking in Parks and Beaches
9/15: The following is from a Sept. 14th New
York Times report: When New
York City's smoking ban took effect in 2003, cigarette and cigar puffers were
driven outdoors. But soon the outdoors -- or at least much of it -- may
no longer be an option. The city's health commissioner, Dr. Thomas A.
Farley, announced on Monday that the Bloomberg administration would seek to ban
smoking in city parks and beaches.
Such bans are rare but not unprecedented. A number of municipalities have
banned smoking in outdoor parks, playgrounds and beaches. In 2007, Los Angeles
prohibited smoking in its city parks in 2007, and Chicago banned smoking along
its beachfront and in parks with playgrounds and play lots. This year,
California lawmakers took up a measure to prohibit smoking in state parks and
beaches. The proposed ban on smoking was contained on Page 10 of a
41-page document [pdf], "Take Care New York 2012," that put forth
health policy goals for the next three years, but it quickly became the focus
of attention on Monday. Dr. Farley said the proposal -- which may require
the approval of the City Council -- was part of a broader strategy to further
curb smoking rates, which have plummeted in much of the city in recent years. The
strategy would, among other things, include increasing local, state and federal
taxes on tobacco and urging organizations and businesses in the city to reject
financing and sponsorship from the tobacco industry. The smoking rate in New York City fell to 16.9
percent in 2007 from 21.5 percent in 2002, the year the city enacted a ban on
workplace smoking. The proposal to ban smoking in parks and beaches drew
praise from public health advocates and criticism from one of the nation's
biggest tobacco manufacturers. Click above for the full article.
COMMENTARY:
Say yes to more tobacco taxes
9/14: The following is from an Op-Ed piece in
the Sept. 11th Detroit Free Press
by Univ. of Michigan professor Ken Warner: Gov. Jennifer Granholm's budget plan
includes a tax increase on cigarettes and other tobacco products. These tax
changes are reasonable and strongly supported by voters. ... Raising tobacco
taxes will generate needed revenue for Michigan, and a portion of that revenue
should be used to fund tobacco prevention and to help people quit. Studies in
other states show that investing in tobacco prevention simultaneously improves
health and saves money. For example, between 1989 _ when the state-funded
California tobacco prevention program began _ and 2004, the tobacco program
saved $86 billion in health care costs while the state spent $1.8 billion on
the program, for a nearly 50-1 return on investment. Gov. Granholm
proposed a 25-cent increase in the cigarette tax and a doubling of the tax on
other tobacco products. While these increases would reap health and economic
benefits, a more significant increase would have a larger impact on both the
public's health and the health of the budget. A 50-cent cigarette tax increase
would raise $108 million in new annual revenue, while equalizing the tax on
other tobacco products would raise another $59 million. In addition, a 50-cent
increase in the price of cigarettes would prevent 48,600 of Michigan's children
from becoming smokers. Equalizing other tobacco taxes with a $2.50 cigarette
tax would reduce youth tobacco use by almost half. Click above for the
full Op-Ed piece.
9/11: On September 8th, the Monroe Housing
Commission voted unanimously (5 to 0) to adopt a smoke-free policy for all
their buildings. The policy is to go into effect November 1, 2009 for all
residents, including current residents who are smokers. The housing commission
has a 7-story, 148 unit, high-rise for elderly and disabled (River Park Plaza),
and a 115-unit family housing building (Greenwood), plus 30 single family
houses; a total of 293 units. The policy will allow smoking outdoors, but
only in designated areas, if any. It was a great pleasure working with
Nancy Wain, the Executive Director of the Monroe Housing Authority on this.
Adoption of this policy makes Monroe the 31st housing commission in
Michigan to adopt a smoke-free policy and the 125th in the nation. To
access a copy of the list of 125 housing authorities in the U.S. that have
adopted smoke-free policies for some or all their buildings, click above.
Leelanau,
Benzie workplaces to go smoke-free
9/8: According to a Sept. 4th Traverse City
Record-Eagle article: Leaders
in Leelanau and Benzie counties made their communities' indoor workplaces
smoke-free. The law is a welcome change that will prevent public exposure
to dangerous second-hand smoke, some believe, while others suggest the new law
infringes on free enterprise and individual choice. The new regulation does
not impact bars, restaurants, tobacco shops and tribal casinos and will become
effective Nov. 16. "I
think it's a great idea," said Ed Beuerle, owner of Northern Lumber
Company in Suttons Bay. Smoking already is forbidden at his business,
primarily because there is "a lot of lumber laying around," he said,
but it's good policy for all businesses. "It's more healthy for
employees working in the stores and for customers. If people want to smoke,
they can walk outside and smoke," Beuerle said. The Leelanau County Board
of Commissioners approved the measure last month and Benzie County leaders did
the same in July. Click above to acess the full article.
Kansas
Governor Parkinson to push for statewide smoking ban and may seek increase in
cigarette tax
9/4: According to a Sept. 1st Lawrence
Journal-World article: Gov.
Mark Parkinson on Tuesday said he would push for a statewide ban on smoking in
public places when the Legislature convenes in January, and he may propose
increasing the cigarette tax. "We are going to put our full effort
behind it," Parkinson said of the smoking ban. His comment, made during a
speech to the Governor's Council on Fitness, drew applause. Andrew
Allison, acting director of the Kansas Health Policy Authority, said he was pleased
to hear of Parkinson's support of a clean indoor air law. Click above for
the full article.
9/2: The latest issue of the Legal Update, the newsletter of the Tobacco Control Legal
Consortium, is now available. This issue features three new publications
from the Consortium, two of which address questions you may have about the
landmark Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which President
Obama signed into law June 22, 2009. The first publication describes key
provisions of the new legislation; the second describes how the new law is
likely to impact tobacco control measures state and local governments can take
now that the FDA will regulate tobacco products and tobacco product marketing.
Our third new publication is an expansion and update of Legal Authority to
Regulate Smoking and Common Threats and Challenges: 2009, written by Cheryl Sbarra, J.D., author of our 2004
synopsis. The Legal Update also features items on a few significant tobacco lawsuits, including
the latest in e-cigarette litigation, a federal class action lawsuit against
Caesar's Palace casino over worker exposure to secondhand smoke, and an
employment case involving a worker who was fired for smoking off the job.
We include an Ask A Lawyer piece by SFELP's Jim Bergman on smoking in
public housing, and items on recent smoke-free laws in Brazil and Taiwan.
We also introduce a new Profiles in Public Health Law feature, which
showcases individuals with distinguished careers and records of accomplishments
in public health law; SFELP's Cliff Douglas is featured. Finally, we
provide links to useful tobacco law-related resources and information on
upcoming tobacco law events. To access the Legal Update, click above.
SMOKE-FREE PUBLIC
HOUSING: IT'S LEGAL, PROFITABLE & HUD SUPPORTS IT
8/28: On August 26, 2009 at the Texas Housing
Association Annual Conference in Fort Worth, SFELP Director Jim Bergman gave a
presentation of the above title. The presentation focused on smoke-free
policies in public housing, with special attention to the HUD notice issued on
July 17, 2009 in which HUD strongly encouraged public housing authorities
(PHAs) to adopt smoke-free policies for some or all their buildings. Included
in the 56-slide PowerPoint presentation was additional information on ways in
which HUD was now encouraging PHAs to adopt smoke-free policies, including in
their 2009 Healthy Homes Strategic Plan and in their scoring for the award of
HUD stimulus funds to PHAs. Also included in the presentation was
information on the cost savings and fire prevention reasons for adopting
smoke-free policies, as well as demographic and marketing reasons for doing so.
Examples were provided of public housing and other affordable housing
entities that have adopted smoke-free policies, as well as housing industry
trends. To access the 56-slide PowerPoint presentation, click
above. To access a pdf copy of the presentation, with 6-slides per page,
click on here. To
access a copy of the HUD July 17, 2009 Notice click here.
Neighbor
sues over secondhand smoke; Woman with sick child says cigarette smoke comes
through vents
8/6: According to an August 5th story in the New
york City Metro: Christie Ewen's
neighbor is a smoker whose secondhand smoke come through the vents and she's
suing him to make him stop. "We have to keep the windows open,"
Ewen said. "In the winter it's impossible. In the summer we get
mosquitoes." Ewen, 38, says her 3-year-old daughter has respiratory
problems and cigarette smoke keeps the family up at night in their $2 million
Tribeca condo. "It's a common complaint, but not a common
lawsuit," said David Kaminsky, a Manhattan real estate lawyer not involved
with the case. The neighbor could not be reached for comment yesterday.
Ewen failed to rally the two-thirds of the 250 apartments she needed to make
200 Chambers Street a smoke-free building. While apartment life spawns
complaints, it has also bred respect for people's right to behave as they want
within the law. "It's my domain, my castle," said smoker Hector
Fonseca, 50, of Staten Island. "I should be able to do what I want
in private." "People can't play music after 10. You can't cure
fish in your home," Ewen said. "There are rules." To
access the story, click above.
HUD issues notice strongly
encouraging public housing agencies to adopt smoke-free policies
8/6: On July 17th, the federal Department of
Housing and Urban Development (HUD) issued a Notice (PIH-2009-21 (HA)) titled
"Non-Smoking Policies in Public Housing". The notice stated
that HUD "strongly encourages Public housing Authorities (PHAs) to implement
non-smoking policies in some or all of their public housing units."
The notice goes on to encourage PHAs to adopt smoke-free policies in
their buildings, including in common areas and in individual units. The
HUD notice describes the health problems associated with secondhand smoke and
also points out the additional costs to PHAs of rehabbing units in which
smokers have lived. This is an extremely important statement by HUD and
is likely to encourage many more PHAs to adopt smoke-free policies. Already
about 120 PHAs have adopted smoke-free policies for some or all their
buildings. To access the HUD notice on the SFELP site, click above.
7/13: The Smoke-Free Environments Law Project
maintains this up-dated listing of all the public housing
authorities/commissions in the U.S. that we know of which have adopted
smoke-free policies for one or more of their apartment buildings. The
listing is done largely in the order in which the policies have been adopted.
As of May, 2009, at least 114 local housing authorities had adopted
smoke-free policies for some or all of their apartment buildings, with about 96
being adopted since the beginning of January, 2005; an average of over 1.8 per
month. That constitutes an increase in the number of housing authorities with
smoke-free policies of about 660% in 53 months. The 17 states with such
policies include Michigan (29), Minnesota (19), Maine (18), Colorado (11),
California (7), Nebraska (6), Washington (5), New Hampshire (3), Oregon (3),
Alaska (3) New Jersey (2), Wisconsin (2), Idaho (2), Florida, Montana, Indiana,
and Kentucky. To access the listing, in pdf format, click above.
7/2: The Malibu City Council on Monday June 22nd
voted to adopt an ordinance that would prohibit smoking in public open spaces
beginning July 31. The ordinance, as proposed, would ban smoking within
20 feet of a public event, such as a farmers' market. It would also ban smoking
within 20 feet of outdoor dining areas on public or private property, such as
hotels and supermarkets. Businesses with outdoor dining areas would be
also required to conspicuously post and maintain "no smoking" signs
within the area. The cost to implement such an ordinance has not yet been
determined, but will be based on the amount of public outreach and level of
enforcement, a city report states. All council members except John Sibert,
who did not attend the Monday meeting, supported the ordinance. Click
above for full article.
7/1: The following is from a June 27th Columbian article: In 1988, they banned it in airplanes. In
1994, in offices. In 2006, the bars. And this month, they finally banned
smoking in Teri Richard's apartment building. "When I grew up, there
was a big ashtray on everybody's table," said Richard, 53, sitting under a
small corner of awning that stretches 25 feet from the nearest door.
Though Richard and a handful of her neighbors are only the latest of
millions of tenants across the country to choose such indignities for the sake
of an addiction, these tenants have an unusual landlord: the Vancouver Housing
Authority. The new decision by Clark County's subsidized housing agency
to ban smoking in some of its properties reflects Washington's successful
crusade to drive down cigarette use. ... After years of debate, the VHA
banned smoking indoors and on the balconies of Richard's building at the start
of June. The company that manages the
property has left notes on apartments but is still working out how the new
rules would be enforced. On Wednesday, Columbia House in the Hough
neighborhood will become the VHA's second smoke-free property. The agency might
roll the ban out to others of its dozens of buildings across the county , VHA
deputy director LaVon Holden said in May. Most public housing agencies
are doing the same, she said. "It
is just a standard of the business," said Holden, a former smoker.
"We are becoming a culture that is less tolerant of secondhand smoke,
because we now know the downside." The decision will save the agency
about $1,900 for every two-bedroom apartment that doesn't have to be scrubbed
and repainted every time a smoker moves out, Holden said. Smokers' habits
had been making life less nice for some of the Esther Short building's
nonsmokers, who are a majority of the tenants. Click above for full article.
Acting
Surgeon General Issues 'Call to Action to Promote Healthy Homes'
6/12: According to a June 9th press release from
the Office of the U.S. Surgeon General: Acting Surgeon General Steven K.
Galson, M.D., M.P.H., today issued The Surgeon General's Call to Action to
Promote Healthy Homes at a press conference from the National Building Museum
in Washington D.C. The Call to Action looks at the ways housing can affect
health; its release will initiate a national dialogue about the importance of
healthy homes. "The home is the centerpiece of American life,"
Galson, a Rear Admiral in the U.S. Public Health Service, said during today's
press conference. "We can prevent many diseases and injuries that
result from health hazards in the home by following the simple steps outlined
in this Call to Action." Some examples outlined in the Call to
Action include preventing falls by taking measures such as installing grab bars
in showers and preparing a fire escape plan. Falls are the leading cause of
injury deaths among older adults. Other steps outlined in the Call to
Action include: 1) Check gas appliances, fireplaces, chimneys, and
furnaces yearly and change furnace and air conditioning filters regularly. 2)
Keep children safe from drowning, lead poisoning, suffocation and strangulation,
and other hazards. 3) Improve air quality in their homes by installing
radon and carbon monoxide detectors, eliminating smoking and exposure to
secondhand smoke, and controlling allergens that contribute to asthma and mold
growth. 4) Improve water quality by learning to protect and maintain
private water wells. Galson urged everyone from parents and homebuilders to
community leaders and policy makers to embrace the holistic approach to
creating healthy homes outlined in the Call to Action. During the event,
Ron Sims, Deputy Secretary, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development
(HUD) also announced the release of HUD's Healthy Homes Strategic Plan.
HUD's plan demonstrates why healthy homes is a national priority, describes
what steps should be taken to achieve healthier housing, and highlights the key
public and private partners for implementation.... The release of this document
is part of a larger Healthy Homes Initiative led by the U.S. Department of
Health and Human Services' Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and HUD
with support from such organizations as the National Center for Healthy
Housing, the Alliance for Healthy Homes, and the Coalition to End Childhood
Lead Poisoning. To access the full press release, with links to related materials,
click above. To access the HUD Healthy Homes report and info, click
here. To access more Healthy Homes info, click here.
E-Cigarettes:
Cigarettes Without Smoke, or Regulation
6/2: The following is from a June 2nd NY
Times article: During 34 years of smoking, Carolyn Smeaton has tried countless
ways to reduce her three-pack-a-day habit, including a nicotine patch, nicotine
gum and a prescription drug. But stop-smoking aids always failed her. Then,
having watched a TV infomercial at her home here, Ms. Smeaton tried an
electronic cigarette, which claimed to be a less dangerous way to feed her
addiction. The battery-powered device she bought online delivered an odorless
dose of nicotine and flavoring without cigarette tar or additives, and produced
a vapor mist nearly identical in appearance to tobacco smoke. "I
feel like this could save my life," said Ms. Smeaton, 47, who has cut her
tobacco smoking to a pack and a half daily, supplemented by her e-cigarette.
That electronic cigarettes are unapproved by the government and virtually
unstudied has not deterred thousands of smokers from flocking to mall kiosks
and the Internet to buy them. And because they produce no smoke, they can be
used in workplaces, restaurants and airports. One distributor is aptly named
Smoking Everywhere. The reaction of medical authorities and antismoking
groups has ranged from calls for testing to skepticism to outright hostility.
Opponents say the safety claims are more rumor than anything else, since the
components of e-cigarettes have never been tested for safety. In fact, the Food
and Drug Administration has already refused entry to dozens of shipments of e-cigarettes
coming into the country, mostly from China, the chief maker of them, where
manufacture began about five years ago. The F.D.A. took similar action in 1989,
refusing shipments of an earlier, less appealing version, Favor Smoke-Free
Cigarettes. "These appear to be unapproved drug device
products," said Karen Riley, a spokeswoman for the agency, "and as
unapproved products they can't enter the United States." But enough
of the e-cigarettes have made their way into the country that they continue to
proliferate online and in the malls. Click above for full article.
Editorial:
Muskegon Community College should implement total smoking ban
6/2: The following is from an editorial in the
June 2nd Muskegon Chronicle: Muskegon Community College is on the
right track as it moves toward a campus-wide smoking ban. The board
recently voted to begin drafting a proposal that could prohibit smoking anywhere
on campus. Other options include creating smoking areas or allowing smoking in
parked cars. The board wants the plan in place by January and wants time
to launch an awareness campaign to educate students, faculty and staff about
the ban and to point smokers toward resources that can help them quit. They can
easily make that goal if they keep moving forward. It's important to allow time
for students and faculty to quit smoking in advance of the ban. The MCC
Student Government Association also is pushing for the ban -- something that
several other community colleges, including Grand Rapids Community College,
already have implemented. A total ban is the simplest and most prudent action
the board could take and it may come just in advance of a statewide indoor
workplace smoking ban passed last week by the Michigan House and under review
in the Senate -- although bills to prohibit smoking in the workplace have been
languishing in the Legislature since 2000. To access the full editorial,
click above.
6/1: The Smoke-Free Environments Law Project
maintains this up-dated listing of all the public housing
authorities/commissions in the U.S. that we know of which have adopted
smoke-free policies for one or more of their apartment buildings. The
listing is done largely in the order in which the policies have been
adopted. As of May, 2009, at least 112 local housing authorities had
adopted smoke-free policies for some or all of their apartment buildings, with
about 94 being adopted since the beginning of January, 2005; an average of
about 1.8 per month. That constitutes an increase in the number of housing
authorities with smoke-free policies of about 660% in 53 months. The 17
states with such policies include Michigan (28), Minnesota (19), Maine (18),
Colorado (11), California (7), Nebraska (6), Washington (4), New Hampshire (3),
Oregon (3), Alaska (3) New Jersey (2), Wisconsin (2), Idaho (2), Florida,
Montana, Indiana, and Kentucky. To access the listing, in pdf format,
click above.
6/1: According to a May 29th Traverse City
Record Eagle story: Traverse City leaders hope a new push will help
them extinguish smoking in bars and restaurants. State Rep. Gary
McDowell, D-Rudyard, agreed to sponsor a bill in the Michigan Legislature to
allow local control of smoking in bars and restaurants. It would give local
officials the authority to ban smoking in such places and could spur
legislators in Lansing to enact a statewide ban, McDowell said.
"This would allow local units of government to go ahead and make this
decision themselves, rather than waiting on Lansing. It's a long process and
I'm not sure we can get it done on a state level," he said. Traverse
City officials sought McDowell's help because the local state representative,
Wayne Schmidt, R-Traverse City, opposes the idea and said smoking rules should
be set by business and property owners. McDowell intends to introduce the bill
next week and seek co-sponsors. The bill could get a leg up in Lansing over a
statewide ban because many legislators support local control on certain topics,
he said. "I feel we need a statewide ban and I think this would snowball
across the state," McDowell said. The idea is to increase awareness
of the dangers of second-hand smoke and to protect workers at their jobs, he
said. The new bill is the brainchild of Traverse City Mayor Michael Estes
and the Traverse City Commission, McDowell said. "I think it's a
positive step for communities," Estes said. "Forget about Lansing
making this decision for us. Give us the local control and let them deal with
bigger issues." Click above for the full article.
5/27: According to a May 26th news story: A
House-authored indoor smoking ban like the one approved last year now heads to
the Senate, still absent an agreement between the two chambers that doomed the
effort in 2008. The proposed ban that would apply to nearly all indoor workplaces
in Michigan, including bars and restaurants, easily passed Tuesday, 73-31,
after attempts to weaken or strengthen it were defeated. Cigar bars,
tobacco specialty shops and the gaming floors of Detroit's three commercial
casinos would be the lone exceptions in a bill that would make Michigan the
37th state to enact broad prohibitions on workplace smoking. ... Last year,
however, the Senate stripped out those exemptions. The bill died months later
when House Speaker Andy Dillon, D-Redford, declined to schedule a post-election
vote that smoking opponents were confident they would have won. Ball and
other smoking foes in the Legislature voted for Tuesday's ban on the
understanding that if the Senate nixes carve-outs for casinos and cigar bars,
there would be a House vote to send an exception-free measure to Gov. Jennifer
Granholm for her expected signature. "If it comes back a clean bill,
we can get the votes to pass it," Ball said. Rep. Timothy Bledsoe,
D-Grosse Pointe, wasn't buying it, saying the bill caves to "powerful
special interests" and "takes us down the same failed path."
Senate Majority Leader Michael Bishop, R-Rochester, says business owners should
make the decision to ban smoking, but says any ban should be a total one.
Whether a majority of his Senate colleagues still feel that way is unclear
given what advocates say is a growing public expectation in Michigan that the
Legislature act. Smoking bans in the states of Wisconsin and North Carolina,
home of the tobacco industry, were signed into law last week. Click above
for the full article.
Smoke-free
regulation approved by Benzie-Leelanau Board of Health; Now goes to county
commissioners
5/27: According to a May 27th Leelanau
Enterprise report: A proposal to ban smoking in public workplaces was
unanimously supported last week by the Benzie-Leelanau Board of Health.
The board voted 6-0 to recommend approval of the proposed ordinance, which was
the subject of a public hearing May 14. Six people attended the public hearing
at the Binsfeld Center in Lake Leelanau and expressed support for the measure,
department director Bill Crawford said. Based on similar legislation in place
in Marquette County and the City of Traverse City, the proposed ordinance
prohibits smoking in all enclosed private and public worksites and public
places. It would also include restrooms, lobbies, reception areas, hallways and
any other common use area. The only sites where smoking would not be
regulated under the measure would be food service establishments, private
residences except when used for child care, health care or adult day care
facilities, tobacco specialty stores, and casinos owned and operated by Native
American tribes. Enforcement would be by the health department officer or a
designee. Upon the first complaint, a subject would receive a warning. A second
complaint (within one year), is punishable by a fine of not more than $100;
second offense, $300; third offense, $500. The ordinance, if adopted by both
the boards of commissioners in both Benzie and Leelanau counties, would become
effective 90 days after final approval, Crawford said. Click above to
access the article.
Smoke-Free Multi-Unit
Housing in Michigan: 0 to 100,000s in 5 Years
5/5: On April 30th at a smoke-free housing meeting in
Quebec City, Quebec, SFELP Director Jim Bergman presented an overview of the
smoke-free multi-unit housing initiative in Michigan and other parts of the
United States. The presentation was a part of an all-day meeting sponsored by
the Non-Smokers' Rights Association of Canada (NSRA). Other speakers included
Francois Damphousse and Pippa Beck of NSRA, Karine Fournier, Esq., and Jack
Boomer of the Clean Air Coalition of British Columbia. Bergman's presentation
described the successes Michigan health partners have had in the past 5 years
in assisting apartment owners to adopt smoke-free policies for well over
100,000 rental units statewide. He also discussed how this was achieved and the
barriers that had to be overcome. To access the 45-slide PowerPoint he used,
click above.