Bid to Ban Smoking in Cars with Kids Fails

 The Illinois Senate snuffed out a proposal Wednesday to ban smoking in cars with kids.

The measure, designed to limit exposure to second-hand smoke, received just eight "yes" votes out of a possible 59 in the Legislature's upper chamber.

Opponents said it was ironic the proposed law was being discussed at the same time the state is moving to decriminalize marijuana.

The sponsor of the measure, state Sen. Ira Silverstein, D-Chicago, said he was merely trying to protect children.

"When you're in a car you're in a confined area," Silverstein said.

Under the proposal, police could not stop a vehicle solely because the driver is seen smoking with kids in the car. The stop would have to involve some other traffic violation.

The law also wouldn't have applied to people driving convertibles.

The legislation is Senate Bill 729.

New Orleans Bans Smoking in Bars and Casinos

The Big Easy becomes one of the last major American cities to pass a sweeping smoking ban

The New Orleans City Council unanimously passed a ban on smoking in bars and gambling halls on Thursday. The law is applied to cigarettes, cigars, little cigars, pipes.

The law will take effect in about three months, the Associated Press reports. While owners of bars and casinos expressed concerns that the ban would hurt business, city officials decided the health of musicians and others exposed to secondhand smoke while working in those establishments is paramount.

New Orleans, a major tourism hub known for its nightlife, is one of the last major American cities to allow people to smoke in bars. Logan Gaskill, a lawyer for a large casino next to the French Quarter, estimated at the meeting that revenues would decline 20% as a result from the ban, the AP reports.

But lawmakers were convinced by a teary speech from Councilman James Gray II, who read off the names of people he knew who died from lung-cancer. Another member, Jason Williams, said they had an obligation to protect “the heart and soul” of New Orleans, the musicians and barroom workers.

As Georgia colleges ban tobacco, some schools still considering options

As 31 Georgia universities adopt a ban on all tobacco products, colleges in and near Augusta support the measure but students remain unsure the bans will stop smoking on campus. All colleges that are part of the University System of Georgia went smoke-free on Wednesday, banning all tobacco-related products from their campuses. The ban, which includes e-cigarettes, hookahs and “all forms of smokeless tobacco,” will prevent anyone from using tobacco products while on campus property, according to the university system’s tobacco policy page. However, smokers may continue to buy cigarettes online.

Visitors who violate the policy could be asked to leave campus, and students that continue to use products despite the ban could be sanctioned under the school’s Student Code of Conduct. Many colleges are readying “smoke cessation” programs designed to help students, staff and faculty members quit smoking. About 1,500 colleges nationwide have adopted smoke-free policies, according to the Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights organization.

Campuses in the Augusta area that already have similar programs in place said the bans are a step in the right direction. Georgia Regents University’s medical college and Summerville campus have adhered to smoking and tobacco product bans for several years. The medical college banned smoking in 2007, and when GRU consolidated in 2013, all campuses agreed to adopt an updated tobacco product policy, which included a ban on e-cigarettes.

Director of Cancer Information and Awareness Christine O’Meara, who worked on a committee to help create the system’s new tobacco product policy, said the college’s ban protected students, faculty and staff from health problems later in life.

“It’s important for everyone here to have a healthy environment to work and study in. Our North Star is promoting health and preventing disability and death, which tobacco products cause,” O’Meara said. “Working to promote these bans helps establish a good example for future public health officials to follow, which is something we definitely want our students to see.”

O’Meara said the next step for the campus’s tobacco product ban is complete compliance. While “a large part of the student population” supports the ban, according to school surveys, there are small percentages of students who still use tobacco on the school campus.

“It’s a cultural change for the Summerville campus. And change of that nature can come very slowly,” O’Meara said. “But we are working to educate our students and faculty about the policy. We will be showing videos to our population here on how to approach people kindly and inform them about the campus’s policies.”

GRU campuses do not use a fine levying system. Instead, they use students and faculty members to voluntarily approach those violating the ban and inform them of the school’s tobacco policy. If an individual refuses, students can call public safety or the college’s “compliance hotline” to report them.

For the University of South Carolina Aiken campus, which does not have a tobacco ban in place yet, the bans are an example to follow.
USC Aiken Chancellor Sandra Jordan said the campus currently restricts where students can smoke, and is exploring a complete tobacco ban as part of a healthy lifestyle initiative, planned to go into effect in the fall of 2015. Jordan said the “vast majority” of students want tobacco bans in place at the school.

“We’ve sent out surveys to our student population, and around 75 to 78 percent of survey takers think a ban would help improve their lives on campus, so we know our population wants it to happen here. We’ve also found that those who smoke on campus started their habit during their freshman or sophomore year. That’s not a culture we want,” Jordan said. “In order to foster healthy lifestyles among our students, a tobacco product ban is very important to have.”

Jordan said she “applauded” Georgia colleges for adopting tobacco bans, saying it placed them “in the vanguard” of colleges hoping to improve their students’ lives. “It’s a forward looking approach,” Jordan said. “Most universities are on track for putting bans like this in place over the next five years, according to what I’ve heard. This means that Georgia is really making gains ahead of other colleges.”

While many students at USC Aiken feel the ban could be beneficial to the campus, some are skeptical of how well the ban will be enforced. “It’s definitely good overall for students’ health, especially considering secondhand smoke,” 18-year-old Rina Lowder said. “But I’m not sure the ban could be really enforced or be fair to those that do smoke. I don’t know if it will really encourage anyone to quit.”

Park commission wants to ban smoking at 77 Ann Arbor parks

Want to light up at an Ann Arbor park or playground? Think again. The Parks Advisory Commission is trying to turn 77 parks into smoke-free zones.

The PAC looked at other cities with similar bans and consulted with a public health expert before sending their recommendation to Ann Arbor's city administrator, Steve Powers. He is the one who has the power to approve it.

Some didn't like the idea.

“I come here and smoke at Liberty Plaza every morning," said Ann Arbor resident Vittorio Riley. “This is how I start my day before I go to work. It’s a public place, open air and not close to businesses. How can it be banned?”

Others were in support.

“I have a child and I think it’s great idea for parks with playgrounds,” said Nicole Minney. “No one wants to breathe in that secondhand smoke and I wouldn’t have to tell my child, 'OK, let’s move over here.'"

The Ann Arbor City Council already approved an ordinance this year that bans smoking near bus stops and store fronts.

Local 4 reached out to Powers, who is out of town, and he responded with this statement: “I will be receiving the Parks Advisory Committee's recommendations in the next few days. I will then review the recommendations and decide on implementation using city council's policy direction and PAC's work.”

There are 158 parks total in Ann Arbor. The ban would apply to 73 parks with playgrounds and four others. The PAC would monitor the effectiveness before recommending the ban at all parks.

This is the list from PAC for the potentially smoke-free parks:

City of Ann Arbor parks with playgrounds

1. Allmendinger Park
2. Arbor Oaks Park
3. Bader Park
4. Baxter Park
5. Beckley Park
6. Belize Park
7. Bromley Park
8. Brookside Park
9. Bryant Community Center
10. Buhr Park
11. Burns Park
12. Burr Oak Park
13. Churchill Downs Park
14. Clinton Park
15. Cloverdale Park
16. Cranbrook Park
17. Creal Park
18. Ellsworth Park
19. Esch Park
20. Evergreen Park
21. Foxfire North Park
22. Frisinger Park
23. Fritz Park
24. Fuller Park
25. Gallup Park
26. Garden Homes Park
27. Glacier Highlands Park
28. Greenbrier Park
29. Hansen Nature Area
30. Hunt Park
31. Huron Highlands Park
32. Island Park
33. Kelly Park
34. Kilburn Park
35. Landsdowne Park
36. Las Vegas Park
37. Leslie Park
38. Longshore Park
39. Mary Beth Doyle Park
40. Maryfield Wildwood Park
41. Meadowbrook Park
42. Mixtwood Pomona Park
43. Mushroom Park
44. North Main Park
45. Northside Park
46. Olson Park
47. Pilgrim Park
48. Placid Way Park
49. Plymouth Parkway Park
50. Riverside Park
51. Rose Park
52. Rose White Park
53. Scheffler Park
54. South Maple Park
55. SouthEast Area Park
56. Sugarbush Park
57. Sylvan Park
58. The Ponds
59. Turnberry Park
60. Veterans Memorial Park
61. Virginia Park
62. Ward Park
63. Waterworks Park
64. Waymarket Park
65. Wellington Park
66. West Park
67. Wheeler Park
68. White Oak Park
69. Winchell Park
70. Windemere Park
71. Winewood Thaler Park
72. Woodbury Park
73. Wurster Park

City of Ann Arbor parks within DDA District:

1. Farmers Market
2. Kempf House
3. Liberty Plaza
4. Sculpture Plaza

Smoking Ban Faces Opposition

The smoke will soon be clearing from the corners of campus due to the recent progression of UVM’s smoke-free initiative. “I’m indifferent on the matter, but I can imagine that there’s going to be quite a few disgruntled smokers when that ban comes into play next year,” sophomore Abigail Earle said.

The University’s current goal is for campus to be fully tobacco-free by Jan. 1, 2015, according to their website. The University is going tobacco-free in an attempt to create a “healthier” environment for students, according to their website.

The goal is also to “protect” both smokers and non-smokers from the various health risks that both first and second hand smoking can experience, according to an email to students from Tom Gustafson and Jan Carney April 14. Gustafson is vice president of University Relations and Carney is associate dean of public health.

Despite this concern, many smokers remain “irked” by the prospect of not being able to “light up” whenever they wish.“I think it’s kind of futile, I mean I am a smoker, so I am not too happy about it obviously,” senior Jesse Arnaud said. “In New York they have a smoking ban there in beaches and parks and it doesn’t really work too well.”

Pharmacology professor Karen Lounsbury said she is “hesitant” to promote the ban be- cause she feels that “people should have the right to do what is legal.” She went on to say she believes that imposing the smoke-free ban on the whole campus “seems a bit impractical.” Lounsbury has been teaching cigarette toxicology at UVM since 1998.

“I think that the money going into the ban would be better spent on a health awareness campaign which informs students on the potential side effects of smoking rather than an outright ban,” she said.

The health concern comes from reports that 26 percent of UVM students who currently smoke started the habit after living on-campus, according to the University Benefit Advisory Council. Cigarette tar can cause immediate effects such as bronchitis and chronic heart disease, as well as long term effects caused by the mutations of cells which leads to lung cancer,” Lounsbury said.

Second hand smoke can also be “hazardous” to health, she said. Several students have com- plained about being subjected to this second hand smoke while walking across campus.“I’m very much against second hand smoke, and hate being caught behind a smoker on my way to class,” first-year Leah Ricitelli said.

While a smoke-free campus may benefit stu- dent health,it is also attractive to environmentalists.“It would be great to be able to walk through a rainstorm and not see a river of cigarette butts wash by and go right into the storm drain,” senior Matt Gargiulo said.

Source: http://www.vermontcynic.com