Davenport city leaders have tabled a controversial plan that would ban smoking in city parks. Some say the state ruling four years ago banning smoking in bars and taverns is vague when it comes to public places. And Wednesday night they fought to change that. “The vast majority of taxpayers and kids are non-smokers,” says Alderman Jason Gordon. He says, “The issue becomes, where does the smoker’s right to smoke butt up against my right to be in a public space with clean air and not have to be subject to second-hand smoke?”

Gordon spear-headed the effort to ban smoking and tobacco in the city’s public parks. He says that will cut down on litter, and on the unhealthy behaviors our kids see.

But others say city leaders shouldn’t legislate the out-of-doors. Mayor Bill Gluba says, “I’m against a smoking situation where people would be prohibited fro smoking on the riverfront, Credit Island park or golf courses. I think this is a lot of work. It goes too far.” “What’s next? Are we going to tell people they can’t smoke on a deck in their backyard?” asks Alderman Bill Edmond. “Are we gonna tell a 75 or 80 year old man there at dusk on the river, with an unlit cigar in his mouth, that according to this ordinance that would be illegal. Are we gonna tell him sorry?”

Many say a ban would be too much to enforce, basically an unfunded mandate that would stretch an already thin police force even thinner. So the majority came down against the ban. Aldermen tabled it until and undetermined date.

This week we celebrate the second anniversary of UK’s tobacco-free campus initiative prohibiting the use of all tobacco products — cigarettes, chew, pipes, cigars, snuff, hookah — anyplace on campus. I love being able to walk around campus in the brisk fall air. But the thing I love the most about our tobacco-free campus is how it is helping students quit smoking and using other tobacco products.

Without the exposure between classes to the trigger of tobacco smoke, students who have struggled to quit are more successful.
Two out of three smokers want to quit and there are resources available on campus to help.
Our culture is changing and more undergraduates are coming to University Health Service for tobacco treatment. Even social or occasional smokers are impacted.
Every cigarette matters.
The U.S. surgeon general’s 2010 report on “How Tobacco Smoke Causes Disease” has some important findings for college students.
Even if you don’t smoke every day, smoking damages your DNA. The report describes in detail how tobacco smoke damages the human body through specific pathways.
The take home points are:
1. There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke. Any exposure — even an occasional cigarette or exposure to secondhand smoke — is harmful.
2. Damage from tobacco smoke is immediate.
3. Smoking longer means more damage.
4. Cigarettes are designed for addiction.
5. There is no safe cigarette or tobacco product.
6. The only proven strategy for reducing the risk of tobacco-related disease and death is to never smoke, and if you do smoke to quit.

The Palomar College governing board banned tobacco from its properties Tuesday, after years of student efforts to make the campus a smoke-free environment. The ban takes effect immediately and will be in full force for the fall semester, when the college will post notices warning students and employees not to smoke, said Mark Vernoy, interim vice president for student services. Palomar joins MiraCosta College, which recently agreed to prohibit smoking at its three campuses starting Aug. 22, along with other San Diego-area colleges that have banned tobacco, Vernoy said.

“That’s certainly the wave that many community colleges and universities are taking,” said governing board President Mark Evilsizer. “It’s time we get real with the hazards of smoking, particularly second-hand smoke.”
The smoking ban was part of a phased process of limiting, then eliminating tobacco on campus. Several years ago, the college posted benches and signs at several designated smoking areas, but found that approach ineffective.
Jennifer Knapic, a student of graphic design and radio and television, urged the board to adopt the tobacco ban, and said she was elated at its passing.
Knapic said she suffers heart problems and asthma that are exacerbated by second-hand smoke, and complained that smokers ignored restrictions and often lit up in common areas.
“Students were smoking in doorways, and not going where they were supposed to,” she said. “I asked, ‘Could you please go to the designated areas?’ They refused.”
Jayne Conway, director of health services, said her office saw a 23 percent increase in students reporting breathing problems last year, and that she expects that forbidding smoking will reduce those respiratory issues.
“I think it’s going to be much safer breathing for students who have asthma and heart problems,” Conway said.
Rocky Brady, a senator with the Associated Student Government, said the organization fought for the ban after hearing students voice frequent concerns about exposure to second-hand smoke.
“For a student representative this is an amazing thing to push through,” he said.
Although he said they met some opposition from smokers, including some college employees who considered the right to smoke a working condition, he said, the majority of students supported a smoke-free campus.
A 2006 survey of nearly 700 students indicated that 60 percent of Palomar students supported restricting or banning smoking. Conway said a recent national survey by the American College Health Association found that 80 percent of students oppose smoking on campus.
Vernoy said the college would not issue citations for smoking, but would try to educate students about the ban through its website, signs and literature. Conway said the health services department works with Vista Community Clinic and other community groups to help students and employees quit smoking.
Knapic said she hopes the college will adopt stricter disciplinary measures against smoking, and said it should consider recruiting student volunteers to work with campus police on enforcement.
At MiraCosta College, the associated student government and several faculty committees also agreed to put a full smoking ban in place on Aug. 22, the first day of the fall semester.
A survey last spring found that 67.6 percent of responding students favored a smoke-free campus, said Adam Frye, a MiraCosta student who was student government president when the survey was conducted. Only 2,649 out of 17,33 full- and part-time students surveyed responded.
He said college leadership decided it would proceed with requesting a ban if a super majority — 66.66 percent of students — supported a ban. Otherwise, he said, the plan was to improve existing smoking locations on campus.
He said MiraCosta will post no-smoking signs throughout its campuses, but will not ask campus police to start writing tickets. Students and faculty seen smoking will be offered cessation classes instead of tickets.
“I think we’ll see, over the next couple of years, how effective it is,” Frye said.

Smoking has now been outlawed in pubs and restaurants for several years. Already the health benefits can be seen with fewer deaths from smoking-related illnesses such as heart disease. With such a positive health response is it now time to consider extending the ban further? Perhaps the UK could follow the example of New York where city chiefs have outlawed smoking in all public places – such as streets and parks?

Or do you think that is a step too far?

Maybe you think smoking should not be banned anywhere – and that stopping smoking is a massive infringement of civil liberties.

Whatever your view, we want to hear from you – tell us your opinion using the comment section below

China is set to introduce a smoking ban in most public places. According to the Health Ministry, the new regulation will come into effect on 1 May in public places including buses, restaurants and bars. But an allowance has been made – smoking will still be permitted in workplaces. Almost a quarter of China’s population smoke and more than one million people die every year from smoking-related illnesses.

That accounts for one fifth of people world-wide who die from smoking, according to the World Health Organisation.

With more than 300m smokers, China has long been a place where it is easy to light up.

The new regulations have been welcomed by health activists.

Some believe that the government here has not moved quickly enough to reduce smoking in the country.

Previously, the Ministry of Health had only banned it in hospitals.

The new regulations also include a ban on cigarette vending machines in public areas and a call for programmes to warn about the dangers of smoking.

But the authorities have yet to announce how they will enforce the measures and whether there will be penalties for businesses or individuals breaking the rules.

China’s Ministry of Health (MOH) recently announced that China will impose a Bloomberg-style ban on smoking in indoor public areas starting May 1, this year (just over a month from now). According to an article published in People’s Daily by Yang Gonghuan, deputy head of China’s Center for Disease Control and Prevention, the ban will apply to all restaurants, bars, Internet cafes, and public forms of transportation.

I’ve seen conflicting information on whether it will apply to factories, offices, elevators, hotel lobbies, and hospital waiting rooms (where smoking, believe it or not, is quite common). Obviously, the ban would take some time to phase in, but the goal is to have no smoke and no smoking-related advertising in any public area in China by 2020.

So does this signal a dramatic new reality for smokers in China? Count me as a skeptic. In the lead-up to the Olympics in 2008, Beijing announced a similar smoking ban—and everyone completely ignored it. Authorities, unable—and unwilling—to enforce the ban, fell back to requiring all restaurants to create non-smoking sections. Now if you visit an upscale Beijing restaurant and ask for a non-smoking table, they’ll give you one—although it may be just a few feet from someone puffing away in the “smoking section.” But if you go to a neighborhood restaurant and make the same request, they’ll look at you like you’re nuts. Smoking is supposedly prohibited in Beijing taxis but most of them reek of cigarettes anyway, since no taxi driver is going to pick a fight with a customer who lights up. Chinese authorities may be willing to crack heads when it comes to petitioners and dissidents, but they seem to regard smoking as one of life’s little pleasures that it’s best not to mess with.

China’s government also has a direct interest in the cigarette business. The China National Tobacco Corp. (CNTC) is a state monopoly, and the largest tobacco company in the world, producing 2.3 trillion cigarettes in 2009—about 1/3 of the world total. According to China Daily, China’s tobacco industry generated RMB 513 billion (US$ 77 billion) in taxes and profits in 2009, more than 7.5% of the central government’s total revenue, and employed 520,000 workers in 183 factories.

Health officials like Yang argue that the government’s revenues from tobacco—as high as they are—are outweighed by its outlays in medical costs for health problems due to smoking, by as much as 20%. Yang estimates that tobacco kills 1.2 million Chinese a year, a number he says will double by 2025 and triple by 2050. Cases of lung cancer in China have soared more than fivefold since 1980, and now account for 1/4 of all cancer deaths. Advisers to MOH argue that the most economical approach would be to raise cigarette taxes from 40% to 50% or more, which they say would boost revenue while reducing smoking. (For the record, a modest tax hike two years ago, in 2009, did bring increased revenues, but had no apparent impact on consumption).

I’m not a big fan of higher taxes or nanny-state regulations—I’d settle for a little bit of courtesy. Smoking is so ingrained in China’s masculine culture that some middle-aged Chinese businessmen seem to think they’re doing you a positive favor by billowing smoke at you and your obviously pregnant wife. Younger people and women, in contrast, tend to show a lot more sensitivity to non-smokers. Nevertheless, I doubt that even China’s most inveterate smokers have much to fear from the latest initiative.

State lawmakers on Tuesday went through the first round of eliminating bills in the 2011 session.
The day was the deadline for House and Senate committees to decide the fate of general bills and constitutional amendments originating in their chamber. Several bills advanced while others died. Bill status can be viewed online at the Mississippi bill status system.

Here is a glance at selected bills:
Smoking ban – Senate Bill 2726 would prohibit smoking in all government buildings. The bill was originally proposed as a smoking ban for restaurants, casinos and most other types of businesses, as well as government sites but it was significantly limited in committee.

Charter schools- Senate Bill 2774 would authorize open-enrollment and conversion charter schools. A weaker charter school law that would allow for their creation only in limited circumstances went into effect in July.

Texting while driving Senate Bill 2793 would create a $500 fine for drivers guilty of sending text messages and a $1,000 fine for those involved in car crashes while texting.

Abortions – Senate Bill 2617 would require all doctors who perform abortions to have admitting privileges at a local hospital and be board-certified in obstetrics and gynecology.

10th Amendment Committee – Senate Bill 2224 would recreate a committee to examine unconstitutional activities in the state and unfunded mandates created by the federal government. Under the current proposal, the bill would include three members of the Senate and three members of the House.

Bath salts ban -Senate 2226 would ban fake bath salts that contain chemicals some people use to get high.

Animal cruelty – Two bills would stiffen penalties for those who kill or abuse domestic pets. Senate Bill 2127 would make it a first-offense felony and Senate Bill 2821 would make it a felony if a person is convicted of three offenses in a 45 day period.

A CONSULTATION on a ban on smoking in cars and incentives for shops not to sell cigarettes are among the measures recommended to tackle tobacco use in Scotland in future. The report includes 33 recommendations to cut smoking rates and protect people from second-hand smoke. Other measures suggested include plain packaging for tobacco, a 5 per cent increase in tax on products each year and using tobacco industry profits to pay for efforts to cut smoking.

The report was put together by ASH Scotland and Cancer Research UK, with input from a range of experts.

ASH Scotland said it favoured educating people about the effects of smoking in cars and the home, rather than a ban.

Chief executive Sheila Duffy said that 27.4 per cent of Scottish children are exposed to second-hand smoke in their homes, with 54 per cent of babies and young children from the poorest backgrounds regularly exposed.

“ASH Scotland firmly believes action is needed. We need awareness campaigns about the impacts of smoking on children’s health,” she said. “We need to ensure health professionals can help parents find ways of reducing these impacts, and we need to engage the public in debating how best we can protect our children.”

Simon Clark, of the smokers’ lobby group Forest, said: “Smoking bans, display bans and other initiatives are designed not to educate but to denormalise smokers and make them feel embarrassed, guilty or worse. This is probably counter-productive … smokers are reaching for their fags in defiance, and who can blame them?

“The tobacco control lobby needs to have a reality check because the way they are behaving is incompatible with a tolerant, liberal society.”

A spokeswoman for the Scottish Government said: “We’re doing all we can to reduce the number of smokers in Scotland.”

Cancer campaigners have renewed calls for smoking to be banned in all public places in the lead-up to World No Tobacco Day next Monday. Queensland’s Cancer Council CEO Jeff Dunn said they had written to Queensland mayors and called for a smoking ban in all public spaces, including malls, bus stops, ferry terminals, and taxi ranks.

“Banning smoking in public places will not only help to improve community health and general productivity, it will also improve the appeal of our regions and promote increased use of public space for recreational and tourism purposes,” he said.

“Furthermore, a total ban will help reduce the costs of environmental damage from cigarette litter, raising Queensland’s reputation as a great location in which to live and holiday.”

But the proposal has had a mixed response from south-east Queensland mayors. Gold Coast Mayor Ron Clarke said he would like to see smoking bans in all public places, but councils were limited in what they could legally do.

“This council is supportive of these sorts of bans,” he said. “I agree that people have a democratic right to smoke, but they also need to not to gather and cause a problem for other people that don’t smoke. It’s a matter of balancing those issues.”

Cr Clarke said the tide of public opinion had shifted considerably in recent decades and that would likely continue.

“When smoking was banned in some offices in the 1970s, it was considered controversial but now it’s legislated,” he said. “At that stage, they were still smoking in theatres, smoking in planes it’s a different world now.”

Ipswich Mayor Paul Pisasale said his council had already taken steps, including banning smoking in the mall. But he thought a blanket ban could be counter-productive.

“If you start using the big hammer approach, the moment you try to force young kids to give up smoking, they just react the other way,” he said. “It is human nature – it almost becomes cooler to smoke because it’s not allowed.”

However, Professor Dunn said local regulations would help stop or discourage young people smoking.

“Evidence shows that the regulation of smoking in public places can help to reduce the prevalence of smoking and prevent tobacco related deaths in the future,” he said.

Professor Dunn said about 32,000 school children, aged between 12 and 17, smoked in Queensland every week.

“Recent Federal and Queensland Government progress on tobacco control has been significant, but we need to take tougher action on tobacco control to save lives,” he said. “With the cooperation of councils, we can create a smoke free Queensland and end the tragic toll of nearly 3,500 tobacco related deaths each year.”

Comment was also sought from Brisbane Lord Mayor Campbell Newman and Moreton Bay Mayor Allan Sutherland.