New law aims to keep contraband out of state mental hospitals - latimes.com

New law aims to keep contraband out of state mental hospitals - latimes.com:

Gov. Jerry Brown on Wednesday signed into law a bill that makes it a misdemeanor to deliver contraband such as tobacco products or wireless devices to state mental hospital patients.

The bill, sponsored by state Sen. Sam Blakeslee (R-San Luis Obispo) and coauthored by Assemblyman Michael Allen (D-Santa Rosa), is among several introduced this year to address high levels of violence in the psychiatric facilities.

Oh sure take away the tobacco,that should lower the level of violence since so many patients self medicate with tobacco anyway.
Silly fucking me thinking that maybe the people with the problems that tobacco helps should be allowed to obtain and use it.

I never thought this would be a worldwide issue and yet it is.
As illustrated here and here .

The real bloggers tell a better story then I ever could so just click the links and read.

Assessing Cigarettes' Right to Free Speech - Miller-McCune

Assessing Cigarettes' Right to Free Speech - Miller-McCune:

The government will also undoubtedly argue that it has a substantial interest in protecting public health (and paying for the health care costs of people who wind up with lung cancer). But the last two questions are trickier. Will these images actually discourage smoking and enhance public health, as the government hopes they will? Research on this question is mixed. And even if the images were effective, couldn’t the government warn people about cigarettes with a less drastic tool — like, say, the messages already in use?

Intelligent article,interesting reading.
No snark or sarcasm,I just stuck it here because I thought it deserved a read.

Cigarette Wars

Cigarette Wars:

The replay from MSNBC's show about tobacco.

Interesting to watch.

Show has a major anti bias,no shock there.

Beer Burkas: Utah Legislators Require Restaurants To Install “Zion Curtains” To Prevent Customers From Seeing Beers Being Opened or Poured

Beer Burkas: Utah Legislators Require Restaurants To Install “Zion Curtains” To Prevent Customers From Seeing Beers Being Opened or Poured « JONATHAN TURLEY:

There is no rational basis for this limitation as a matter of public health. These reports indicate that some businesses are considering leaving the state or at least not expanding in the state, which appears the objective of some who support the arbitrary limitations. This law is ripe for a constitutional challenge.

Never having been to a bar in Utah I have nothing really to say about the issue.
But it seems odd to know there is a place where you can't even see your own bartender.

Smokers move to the edge

Smokers move to the edge - News - Montana Kaimin - University of Montana:

Clemmensen said he is more concerned about the cigarette butts in his yard than students standing around smoking.

"When it fills up with butts, we take care of it," he said. "I have a feeling the littering is going to be more of an issue."

Vice President Bob Duringer, who will chair the Tobacco Task Force this year, said he had not heard any complaints from neighborhood residents on Monday. He also said that each complaint will be handled "on a case-by-case basis."

Taylor said he didn't anticipate any big problems with smokers, but acknowledged that the smoking ban is "a policy, not a law, so it's hard for us to enforce it."

Sounds like this is working great.No unintended consequences there.
I love how these places start a policy with no clear way to enforce it or implement it.
Or how they're going to handle complaints.
I doubt this feels like much of an improvement to the people who live near the campus.

A year on, smoking ban still flouted

ekathimerini.com | A year on, smoking ban still flouted:

Of the 27,260 complaints reporting offenses in bars and restaurants, nearly half (12,502) were prompted by patrons smoking on the premises. Another 8,692 complaints were about the existence of ashtrays on the tables while 5,414 callers called to report bar or restaurant owners for allowing smoking in their establishments.
Complaints were also made about the illegal segregation of cafes and restaurants into smoking and non-smoking areas.
KEEL reported receiving 366 calls regarding smoking in state hospitals and another 288 about teachers smoking at school.

How's that working out for you Greece?

Frederick resident: Let’s just ban everything in parks

Frederick resident: Let’s just ban everything in parks - Rosenwald, Md. - The Washington Post:

And: “I and many other people have seasonal allergies. Let’s ban flowers and grass from city parks. I also have asthma. Please, please ban perfume from city parks.”

She concludes: “Ban everything from city parks. We can all just drive by and admire the dirt.”

Do you agree with her?

Sadly I can see the appeal of banning everything we don't like seeing or looking at.
I work with the general public so I get the idea.
There are tons of things I'd love to ban,people who don't bathe and use deodorant are high on my personal list.
However I believe that if I don't like seeing or hearing or smelling something I have the ability to leave the area.
Maybe some people lack that ability?

This letter made me laugh pretty hard.

Statistics from 'anti-smokers'; should be challenged

Statistics from 'anti-smokers'; should be challenged; Public servants should submit to random drug tests, too (letters) | al.com:

Can anyone look at a person and factually declare that he/she died from secondhand smoke? Many base such claims on data from organizations such as the WHO, EPA, CDC and others. Investigating these studies objectively reveals numbers are often skewed to favor smoking bans.

Another claim is the quantity of toxins or chemicals in secondhand smoke. Currently, 4,000 is the magic number, although the Mobile County Health Department claims over 7,000 on its website. At one time this oft-quoted number was 3,000, then 4,000, then inflated to 5,000 and then to 7,000. Which is it? Nobody knows.

Put here because of common sense.
No rants,no sarcasm.

Council touts work at home smoking ban

Council touts work at home smoking ban - The Local:

The ban under consideration by Landskrona will mean that staff are not allowed to go outside onto the street during, for example, the group coffee breaks in the morning and afternoon which are common practice in many Swedish workplaces.

Causing further controversy is that the ban is set to cover those working in open spaces and even staff working from home.

Oh I imagine the work from home smoking ban is going to work amazingly well.
I shouldn't be amazed and yet somehow I always am.

S. 1403 "The Tobacco Prohibition Act of 2011"

S. 1403 "The Tobacco Prohibition Act of 2011":

 The bill also leaves a clause to go after any unnamed nicotine products that smokers may try to switch to, and tax that item to match the cost of cigarettes, eg. nicotine gum and other quit smoking aids. People who make a couple of hundreds a week will be extorted for hundreds of dollars a day as an increasing number of couples have one low wage income between the two of them. 

Go to popvox and tell the people you elected how you feel about this.

Because I Can,Because You Should

Good bloggers talk about why you need to sign the petition to review smoking ban in the U.K.

http://cfrankdavis.wordpress.com/2011/08/24/more-bits-and-pieces/

http://dickpuddlecote.blogspot.com/2011/08/speck-in-one-eye-plank-in-another.html

http://underdogsbiteupwards.blogspot.com/2011/08/reason-to-sign.html

http://velvetgloveironfist.blogspot.com/2011/08/shisha-defiance-and-petitions.html

http://pro-choicesmokingdoctor.blogspot.com/2011/08/e-petitions.html

http://nothing-2-declare.blogspot.com/2011/08/sign-this-petition-to-amend-smoking-ban.html

http://patnurseblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/support-fairness-and-choice.html

http://angryexile.blogspot.com/2011/08/your-chance-to-have-your-say.html

I read all of these.
(To clarify I read all of these blogs on a daily basis)
Sign the petition,even if nothing comes from it you can't say you saw an opportunity to try and affect some sort of change and let it pass you by.
There's a link to the petition in my sidebar.

Victims of Smoking Ban Cut Off Politicians

Victims of Smoking Ban Cut Off Politicians [Michigan Capitol Confidential]:

"“We'll let the top officials in to symbolize how the ban hurts the little guys but not big guys,” Mace explained. “That would be consistent with smoking ban"


I am really proud of these guys,they are really trying to take a stand on this.
Everyone who cares about something should do the same before they mistake our quiet acceptance as agreement.

DeRidder Council reaches anti-smoking compromise

DeRidder Council reaches anti-smoking compromise - KPLC 7 News, Lake Charles, Louisiana

City Council Member Elizabeth Granger is herself a young mother. She proposed the ban on smoking in city parks--- in order to help reduce tobacco exposure to children. "You just can't argue anymore with the statistics and second hand smoke." But she ran into opposition from smokers and even non smokers who felt local government was going too far telling people what they can and cannot do. Then they reached a sort of compromise.

Tobacco users can puff and chew as long as they do it in the parking lot and not the park. Said Granger, "It accomplished exactly my original goal which was to protect our children, in the playground area from the effects of second hand smoke."

This is a compromise?

Street smoke ban unlikely in Blackpool

Street smoke ban unlikely in Blackpool - Local - Blackpool Gazette

But Fylde Euro MP Paul Nuttall has criticised the move.

He said: “We have already seen the dreadful impact the smoking ban has had on the pub trade resulting in hundreds of pubs across the country shutting down.

“If this idea becomes reality it will mean no more going out for a walk and having a smoke.

“I do not believe there is any evidence to show anyone, young or old, has been adversely affected by second hand smoke in the open air.

“Education is needed to deter people from smoking – not heavy handed rules from bureaucrats who want to dictate every aspect of our lives.

Bravo Blackpool.

I really liked this article,but reading it some silly thoughts occurred to me.

Who will be doing the educating?
The state,ASH,NHS,other assorted government funded charities?

Some naive part of me hopes someday we will look back on all the damage done by the banning of smoking indoors,outdoors and in cars, your own private balconies ect and be appalled by it.

A part of me looks at history and believes that someday,somehow all this nonsense will be overturned and people will go back to living lives again in society,not a society made up of smokers and non smokers.

I hope it happens before I am so old it no longer matters.

Lawmakers banned from Michigan bars

Lawmakers banned from Michigan bars - WNEM TV 5 - Saginaw, Flint, Michigan News and Weather

Bars will be posting signs on their entrances, and providing workers photographs of lawmakers to identify them should they, the lawmakers, choose to ignore the ban. Owners have indicated they will have lawmakers charged with trespassing on private property under MCL Sec. 750.552. One Alpena bar owners said, "politicians will learn pretty quick that our bars are private property [if they choose to ignore the ban and enter]."

Over the past month, PPPRM said it has received over 1,000 individual letters from Michigan bar workers and hospitality support industry workers opposed to the law. Those letters will be delivered to lawmakers when they return to work, the group said. 

I have a stupid grin from ear to ear.
For some reason this just makes my day.

Tobacco wars: Government has bigger problems

Tobacco wars: Government has bigger problems | New Hampshire OPINION01

New Hampshire, by the way, has one of the lowest percentage of smokers, according to the Bureau of the Census, yet the American Lung Association says it’s among the states that spend the least on tobacco control and prevention. How about that.

I spend alot of time on forums or at least  I used to.
One of the things we did was quote stuff we were sure would be deleted by the original poster and we would repost their post with a simple QFT  in the comment window.
For me this blog is alot like those forums.
This is a place where I stick interesting stories and bits and pieces of truth so that in the end I will have some sort of record of the absolute insanity that we all live through.
I don't make too much of this opinion piece except the very last bit,which I stuck here as a testament to the idea of non interference into the lives of others.

Smoking TV ads insulting

Smoking TV ads insulting | INFORUM | Fargo, ND


Quit wasting the taxpayers’ money (the tobacco settlement money belongs to the residentss of North Dakota) on the current plethora of radio, television, billboards and print copy that insult our intelligence. The only people benefiting from these commercials are the advertising agencies that make them and the media that runs/prints them.
 Begin to reduce the “anti-smoking staff” in the county and state buildings around North Dakota. It appears that they almost are beginning to outnumber beleaguered smokers.


Sadly if it makes sense it will get ignored.
I did like this post although I didn't agree with everything in it.

Living in smugglers' paradise

Living in smugglers' paradise

Three hours from Parliament Hill via the Akwesasne Mohawk reserve, this pastoral corner of Quebec is descending into a version of northwest Pakistan, with tribal outlaws and mobsters controlling much of this remote borderland in defiance of the central authority.
If you think that is melodramatic, consider this:
On a recent visit by federal Public Safety Minister Vic Toews to listen to the fears of property owners about tobacco and drug smugglers hijacking the St. Lawrence River farming and cottage communities of southwest Quebec, the talk turned to shotguns, self-defence and possibly closing the international border crossing upriver at Cornwall altogether.

Higher taxes won't lead to contraband though,I distinctly remember politicians saying it.
If they said it it must be true.
These people must all be hallucinating.

Ban kids in smoking areas - local dad

PIA daily news in English, Tagalog, Cebuano, Hiligaynon, Ilocano, Waray, Pangalatok from around the Philippines

BAGUIO CITY,Aug. 20 (PIA) -- Children below 18 years old must not be allowed in areas designated for smokers.

Councilor Edison Bilog broached this in a proposed ordinance which declares it “unlawful for any person, owner, operator, administrator, manager or person-in-charge of operation of restaurants, eateries and other similar establishments to allow children below 18 years of age to loiter, stay or be seated at designated smoking areas within subject establishments.”

Bilog said this is one way of safeguarding the health of the youth and at the same time inculcate in them the hazards of smoking.

Interesting.
Not much else to say about that.

City Council Doesn't See the Light; Smoking Also Targeted

City Council Doesn't See the Light; Smoking Also Targeted - Laguna Beach, CA Patch

Clearly in a banning mood, the council also voted to support a resolution that would make it illegal to smoke in a 100-foot passageway downtown off Coast Highway between Toes on the Nose and theRocky Mountain Chocolate Factory. The ordinance has to come back to the council for a second reading before it can become law, which seems inevitable.

And when it does … well, good luck trying to enforce it.

The city has already abolished cancer-stick sucking on beaches, parks and sports fields (next: your own living room?), but this is a weirdly specific area. What could possibly be the problem with smoking in just that one spot?

Well the problem is apparently the homeless people who smoke there.
There are homeless people who can afford to smoke in California ?
According to the only online source I could fine which makes me sick (tobacco free kids,not linking it here they get enough press without me inadvertently adding to it) the average price in California is $5.25 per pack.
Somehow I'm sure it costs more than that.

More smokers decide to quit... but fewer succeed

More smokers decide to quit... but fewer succeed - mirror.co.uk

Figures yesterday also showed the NHS is forking out £84.3million on smoking services – £60m more than 10 years ago.

In 2010 to 2011, 788,000 people – around one in 10 users in England – were given quit dates with almost 384,000 stopping.

This compares to 227,000 getting help in 2001 to 2002 when 120,000 triumphed.

It means the success rate has dropped from 53% to 49%.

That seems like an awful large amount of money to spend on an outcome like that.
But hey why concern ourselves with that,after all we're trying to drive smoking out of existence.

Smoking quit rates have not budged, but cost of service has risen

Smoking quit rates have not budged, but cost of service has risen - News - OnMedica

The number of attempts to give up smoking using NHS services 2010/11 is more than three times as high as it was 10 years ago, show the latest set of figures from The NHS Information Centre show.

But the overall success rate has not budged in the past two years, and is lower than it was in 2001/2, while the Government is having to stump up £60 million more for the service.

The figures include information on the number of quit dates set and the number of successful quit attempts at the four week follow up for the period April 2010 to March 2011.

Mostly just stuck in here for truth.
I have nothing funny or sarcastic to say about it.

The Friday Podcast: Death Saves You Money

The Friday Podcast: Death Saves You Money : Planet Money : NPR

Activists used the study's findings against the industry — and, paradoxically, sought to undermine the study's conclusions.

On today's Planet Money, we tell the story of the study. And we look more broadly at the economics of this stuff.

Linked because even when you consider it's a year old it's still relevant. 

Proposed Smoking Ban Includes Restrictions On Sitting, Standing While Smoking Outdoors

Proposed Smoking Ban Includes Restrictions On Sitting, Standing While Smoking Outdoors | WSPA

Under the town's proposed ordinance, if you're within ten feet of a restaurant or ten feet of a public event at a stadium, ampitheater or ball park, you have to keep walking and smoking, and you cannot not stop, stand, sit or linger.

Shock and awe again.
I keep finding this shit for lack of a better term that makes the Libertarian in me want to scream.
When is enough enough?
Too upset to write anything you'll comprehend if you're unlucky enough to read this.

Lighting up outdoors

Lighting up outdoors


But Canadians should be wary of new anti-smoking regulations nonetheless. It's dangerous to let governments pass laws that are far more restrictive than is justified by their stated purpose. If Ottawa's council extends its smoking ban outdoors on the premise that it's protecting people from secondhand smoke, it had better be sure of its science and be careful not to go too far.

Not completely thrilled with this op but it is fair.
A rarity in all honesty.

Nicotine gum ‘puts unborn babies at risk’

Nicotine gum ‘puts unborn babies at risk’ - IOL Lifestyle | IOL.co.za

Professor Jeremy Pearson, of the British Heart Foundation, said: “There is lots of help out there for smokers wanting to quit that doesn’t involve nicotine, so there really is no excuse for expectant moms not to kick the habit.”

Just stop,for God's sake.
It isn't enough that smokers were ostracized,lost jobs,custody of their children,the right to smoke indoors,the right to smoke outdoors,lost jobs and on and on.
You've been successful enough at moving them onto NRT that now it seems NRT's are also a problem.
When does this ever end?

Surrey couple claims human rights violated by smoking neighbour

Surrey couple claims human rights violated by smoking neighbour

The couple says, under the human rights code, they were discriminated against “regarding an accommodation, service or facility customarily available to the public because of their physical disabilities,” according to a decision by the B.C. Human Rights Tribunal.
From July 2009 until July 2010 the Arndts made several complaints to the strata council claiming that Puffer and her guests smoked on a patio, in a parking area and in other places near their apartment, On one occasion, Kathryn alleges the smoke triggered an asthma attack so severe that she had to go to the hospital for treatment, according to the decision.

Shock and awe again.
I should be used to the feeling by now and yet I am still shocked,still amazed.

Smoking, fast food put drivers at risk

WesternPeople: Smoking, fast food put drivers at risk:

As part of the Fleet Drive to Fit-ness campaign, Ford has partnered with nutritional therapist, Elsa Jones, to produce a handy information leaflet that gives helpful nutrition tips for drivers.

The leaflet also includes information on exercises that can help to keep drivers alert and fit for the road. 

http://www.drivetofitness.ie./

Wow.
Sadly I'm being all sedentary and eating cheese puffs right now.
I'm sure a pamphlet for my lazy ass won't be too far behind.

£50 a month for smokers who quit

£50 a month for smokers who quit - Scotsman.com News

Under the scheme, smokers who successfully kick their nicotine addiction receive vouchers for £12.50 a week for a maximum of three months.

But they also have to pass weekly carbon monoxide breath tests at their local pharmacy to prove they are still smoke-free. 

Mostly posted because of the comments.

City smoking ordinance under a cloud - Galesburg, IL

City smoking ordinance under a cloud - Galesburg, IL - The Register-Mail

The City Council introduced a city smoking ordinance in 2010. O’Day had attempted to argue that the ordinance was unconstitutional because it treated bars unfairly compared to other businesses. But the motion to challenge the constitutionality of the ordinance was denied by Judge James Stewart. During West’s jury trial, O’Day successfully argued that the city could not prove that West knew people were smoking inside Harley’s Pub, given that the bar was busy at the time.

O’Day has been on something of a crusade against the smoking ban. He took cases against the state smoking ban pro-bono and has now taken on the city’s smoking ordinance, although he is now charging those he defends. O’Day does not smoke himself but said he believes bar owners have the right to allowing smoking on their premises.

For every ten lawyers I despise there is one I respect.

Letters: Stubbing out cigarettes can breathe new life into you

Letters: Stubbing out cigarettes can breathe new life into you - Scotsman.com News

The message from the study is not that if you want to live to be over 100 you should smoke, drink and not exercise (or that it makes little difference), it is that there are rare people who will live to be over 100 almost regardless of what they do.

Putting the findings in context, the larger body of research of which the new study is just one part indicates that, for most people, lifestyle factors do make a very large difference to life expectancy. Sir Richard Doll in his landmark Doctors Study observed an average ten-year difference in life expectancy attributable to smoking.

Oh good,tobacco control giving more great advise on how to live.

Sometimes it is more about quality of life than anything else.I know of  a great many people who have had their happy social lives destroyed by the type of thinking tc dispenses regularly.

It makes me too mad to finish whatever I was going to say.

Does Smoke-Free Living Hurt Civility? - Edward Tenner - Life - The Atlantic

Does Smoke-Free Living Hurt Civility? - Edward Tenner - Life - The Atlantic

I don't smoke, hate second-hand smoke, was tormented while living in Washington by smoke from an adjacent apartment, and accept the overwhelming medical case against even casual water-pipe smoking. Still, I'm just short of a third cheer for the anti-smoking movement I support. I wonder whether there is a hidden cost to our healthier lifestyles, especially in giving up tobacco's role as a political and social lubricant

Not a totally positive story,but worth reading anyway.
It's a sort of surprise to see someone who hates smoking thinking that it may not be all negative.

Smoking Bans Do Not Reduce Heart Attacks - Forbes

Smoking Bans Do Not Reduce Heart Attacks - Forbes

That chart comes from the blog of a young English researcher, Chris Snowdon. As you can see, following smoking bans in some cities the number of heart attacks went up. In others, little or no change. In some, a few, it dropped considerably: and those are the only ones that get reported.

Cherry picking your data this way is, as I’ve said, given the technical term “lying through your teeth”.

It’s worth having a look around Snowdon’s blog, you’ll be surprised at quite what you’ll find there.

Brian Monteith: I long to outlive health fascism

Brian Monteith: I long to outlive health fascism - Edinburgh Evening News

The research raises serious questions about public health policy - for if there is little that can be done to keep people alive, why does the bully state go to such lengths to control our behaviour? Are politicians not more dangerous to our health than our own sinful desires?

It is of course perverse that the public health police ignore the logic of their own argument - for if smoking, drinking and eating beyond moderation were that bad then letting people do so would save billions for the public purse.

Light up in Glens Falls parks and face jail time

Light up in Glens Falls parks and face jail time

* Lighting up a cigarette at city park or playground could soon land a smoker in jail for up to 15 days. The Common Council adopted a local law to prohibit smoking of cigarettes, cigars, pipes or any other form of tobacco products at city-owned parks, pools, beaches, playgrounds and other outdoor recreation areas. The city already had a smoking ban put in place several years ago by a Common Council resolution, but there were no penalties for violation.

Fifteen days.
No sarcasm left,just shock and awe.

Mental Health, Smoking and Greed (A Real Blogger Writes)

http://elizabethspeacepointblog.blogspot.com/2011/08/mental-health-smoking-and-greed.html?spref=tw

Elizabeth has written a fine blog post and I am proud to have read it.
I love it,go to her blog,read it now.
I'm not even going to quote her here,her blog deserves every visit it gets from my link(most likely one.)

UP IN ASH: Where Taunton stands as the state stamps out anti-tobacco funding

UP IN ASH: Where Taunton stands as the state stamps out anti-tobacco funding - Taunton, MA - The Taunton Gazette

The legislation has not advanced since a committee hearing in May.

Keithly hopes to see at least some funding restored as Massachusetts recovers from the recession.

“I think we’re a very good investment,” she said. “I’m optimistic that when the commonwealth is not under such financial stress that funds will be available again for efforts that promote tobacco cessation and that are geared from stopping young people from starting (to smoke).”

Ahh well austerity is hard on everyone.
I imagine the funding will shift to obesity programs if it isn't cut entirely.

Freedom vs. public health

Freedom VS. Public Health

As tragic as the 50,000 number seems, in comparison to overall deaths, it is a drop in the bucket. The 600,000 secondhand smoke-related deaths worldwide feels large - until you realize it accounts for only 1 percent of all annual deaths.

The results of the Smoke Free Horry crusade will help us determine if a majority of the public and elected officials in a conservative district in a conservative state believe that protecting a certain, personal harmful freedom - in the name of protecting freedom in general - is more important than a collective good.

Shoved up here because I loved reading it.

Anti-tobacco law kicks in but enforcement uncertain

Anti-tobacco law kicks in but enforcement uncertain Nepal

Ironically however, there are as yet no such officials for the committee to oversee. Health Secretary Dr Sudha Sharma, who is ex officio coordinator of the committee, said. “Some specific person, organization or ministry alone cannot implement this Act. It is our collective responsibility.”

According to Dr Sharma, the district administration offices (DAOs) are primarily responsible for enforcing the Act. “We have already written to them to take on responsibility for the monitoring,” Dr Sharma said. “The DAOs cannot shrug off their responsibility on the pretext of not having receive the letters as the Act has appeared in the gazette.”

However, Kathmandu Chief District Officer (CDO) Laxmi Dhakal says, “We are not clear about our role. The letter we received is not clear.” CDO Dhakal says he will be able to play his part in implementing the Act only after being properly informed.

I have nothing clever to say .
It's hard to imagine that an act would be passed with no clear lines or concrete  enforcement.


No wait....................................

Navajo Nation president vetoes smoking regulation

Navajo Nation president vetoes smoking regulation

In a statement, Shelly said he overturned the council's decision because "the passage of this legislation does not adequately address any given employees who are subjected to a smoking workplace environment."
Shelly added that he was re-pledging his commitment to protect tribal members "from cancer or diseases caused by exposure to secondhand smoke or tobacco use."
There was no immediate reaction Friday from Navajo Nation Council members on Shelly's veto.

Does anyone else remember when partial bans would pass because it meant a foot was in the door for further restrictions later on?
Maybe it is just different on the Navajo reservation.
I don't honestly know.

One in Four Americans Have Less Respect for Smokers

One in Four Americans Have Less Respect for Smokers

 Both smokers and overweight people face a certain amount of societal disapproval in the United States, but the situation is worse for smokers. One in four Americans report having less respect for someone who smokes, twice the level who say they have less respect for a person who is overweight (12%).

No shock there.
Denormalization has done it's intended job.

100-Year-Olds Just as Unhealthy as the Rest of Us LiveScience

100-Year-Olds Just as Unhealthy as the Rest of Us |

Researchers at the Albert Einstein College of Medicine of Yeshiva University have found that many very old people — age 95 and older — could be poster children for bad health behavior with their smoking, drinking, poor diet, obesity and lack of exercise.

The very old are, in fact, no more virtuous than the general population when it comes to shunning bad health habits, leaving researchers to conclude that their genes are mostly responsible for their remarkable longevity.

So if it is mostly in the genes what the hell is all the bullying and nannying all about then?
I still don't understand the driving need to tell people how to live.
I think in many ways this sense of false charity and fake caring has somehow made people convince themselves they are doing something good.
It doesn't feel that way though.

San Marcos council snuffs out public smoking ban - San Marcos Local News

San Marcos council snuffs out public smoking ban - San Marcos Local News

Councilmembers who opposed putting the question to November voters expressed concerns about adequate voter turnout in an off-year election; the inability of non-resident business owners to vote on an issue that might affect their livelihoods; and the indefinite wording of the proposed non-binding ballot proposition, which would have stated simply: “Shall the San Marcos City Council be authorized to adopt an ordinance further restricting smoking in public places?”

But concerns about the government over-reach clearly fueled some detractors’ opposition.

“To be honest with you, I’m tired of the nanny state micromanaging people’s lives, telling them what they can smoke and where they can smoke it,” said councilmember Jude Prather said.

Just posted for the wow factor I think.

Elderly housing in Providence going smoke-free | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Elderly housing in Providence going smoke-free | Rhode Island news | projo.com | The Providence Journal

Smokers living in the Providence Housing Authority’s five high-rises for the elderly and disabled can’t light up in their apartments anymore. Effective April 30, but still being implemented, the policy forces them to designated areas outside.

City officials will announce the regulation Thursday, saying it promotes a healthy living environment and reduces the risk of fires.

“They have no right to tell us what we can or can’t do in our apartments,” 65-year-old Perry says with assistance from a voice box device in her neck. “I pay rent. And what are they going to do next, tell us when to go to the bathroom, shower and have sex?”

Posted because I remember growing up in that state.
I don't remember some of the people acting disgusted by smokers when I lived there.They probably were even though they never said anything then.
Times change and everyone has a license to hate smokers now.
Thanks to denormalization smokers seem to be treated like demons now.

Dining permits cheaper if smoking banned - Business (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Dining permits cheaper if smoking banned - Business (Australian Broadcasting Corporation)

Councillor Houssam Abiad runs a cafe in Rundle Street in the city and pays about $500 per year for his outdoor dining permit.

While he supports the council's trial, he say he is unsure banning outdoor smoking will make sense for his business.

Nice,when a member of your counsil doesn't want to implement the program it might be a clue that the program is a piss poor idea .

Weight of public opinion - Boston.com

Weight of public opinion - Boston.com

Taxed up the wazoo, forced to pay hundreds of extra dollars for health insurance, tossed out in the rain and snow to sneak a few puffs of the dreaded cancer sticks - smokers are the deadbeat dads of the public health landscape. Here in Boston, there is a move afoot to ban smokers from public housing. In New York, Mayor Michael Bloomberg is ticketing cigarette smokers in public parks.

“The effort of smokers to invoke their civil rights gained no traction,’’ Callahan writes, “and the public health community made no moves to come to their aid.’’

Sounds like the world just isn't ready to treat the overweight people like smokers,yet.
I am sure that their time will come soon enough though. :(

Metro rejects anti-tobacco ads over policyNWCN.com Washington - Oregon - Idaho

NWCN.com Washington - Oregon - Idaho

An ad campaign to promote healthy lifestyles has been rejected by King County Metro Transit.

Anti-tobacco ads, which depict a girl asking stores to sell fruit instead of tobacco, were rejected by Metro because they do not comply with its advertising policy.

You have to read to the end.
The staggering amount of grant money thrown at anti-smoking and healthy living messages boggles my mind.
Again nothing snarky to say,I think reading 50 or 60 of these stories a day and trying to decide what to put here is eroding my sense of humor.

Is smoking ban in cars taking the wrong turn? - The Irish Times - Tue, Aug 02, 2011

Is smoking ban in cars taking the wrong turn? - The Irish Times - Tue, Aug 02, 2011

Smoking in cars has a safety dimension, which is an additional reason for a ban, but how would it be policed? Fiscal incentives may be more effective, for example fitting all cars with a smoke detection device and non-smoking cars could be given a higher trade-in value subsidised by government.

We need to do our research before introducing more tobacco regulation as we have a lot already and people are obeying the law. Any additional legislation might be seen as provocative and could undo the good work already in relation to smoking.

Has Nudge,lie & legislate been effective?

http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/kfeyqlojidoj/rss2/

I hate linking to this kind of crap.
Every charity has a different smoking rate listed,it's almost comical how some claim rates have gone up while the WHO claims rates have gone down.

I really hope they don't use tax stamps to try and measure the data.