Smoking Shelters Get Council Approval - Creve Coeur, MO Patch

Smoking Shelters Get Council Approval - Creve Coeur, MO Patch:

Almost nine months after the city of Creve Coeur's new smoking ordinance went into effect, City Council members passed an amendment to the law Monday which allows employers to build smoking shelters.

The debate has been ongoing for much of the summer, with arguments ranging from whether the idea of allowing the shelters inherently weakened the original ordinance, or if the city was infringing on individual freedoms if the shelters were not allowed.

Nice,I like seeing smokers given reasonable accommodation.
BTW that bill passed the city council vote 7-1.

New Data Suggests Cigarette Taxes a Risky Revenue Source

» New Data Suggests Cigarette Taxes a Risky Revenue Source - Big Government:

Back in 2009, the Reason Foundation identified that since 2003, cigarette taxes had been increased 57 times around the U.S., but that 68 percent of those hikes failed to result in projected revenue increases.

With more people giving up, however, experts say enhancing revenues via raising cigarette taxes could get tougher.

In addition, states that do hike taxes could see an increase in cigarette smuggling, which deprives the state in question of revenue it had anticipated.  This is a problem experienced by New Jersey, which a 2009 report obtained this week by Newark’s Star-Ledger shows is experiencing significant challenges in collecting in the revenue it needs to bank in order to get the full benefit of its $2.70 per pack cigarette tax.

But the health fascists must be jumping for joy,after all this is sort of what they were hoping would happen.
Of course the increase in smuggling is an unintended consequence but the government often acts without thinking about what it will do to them,which is no real surprise.

Queensland universities look to ban smoking amid complaints of secondhand smoke

Queensland universities look to ban smoking amid complaints of secondhand smoke | Courier Mail:

"We've been contacted by a couple of universities across Queensland - certainly they're looking at how they can protect their students, staff and visitors," Ms Hull said

"We've just had some feedback from students - Griffith University being one of those with concerns about having to walk through groups of people smoking."

"They might consider phasing a complete ban over time so people can get the help they need to quit, most research shows smokers do want to quit but for many it's very tough to do so we want to encourage and support them."

Right.
The comments are the best part of this article so far.

Closing time for Perth’s pub culture?

Closing time for Perth’s pub culture? - Perthshire Advertiser:

Closure of the 1807 established Scone Arms is the latest Fair City casualty succumbing to tougher trading conditions created by the credit crunch, higher taxes, smoking ban and discounted off-trade alcohol sales.

They can point to anything they'd like but I am pretty sure the smoking ban is what started the massive decline.
I can even see this where I live,the only people who went out for an evening of fun were the smokers and now that those days are over, restaurants and bars are folding all over the place.
Some might say it's the recession and it might be that too,but banning smoking and smokers from going out and being accepted hasn't lead to too many good things for the hospitality industry.