Syria’s long-held image as a smokers’ paradise may be consigned to the pages of history.
How long it will last, or how strictly it will be enforced remains unclear, but as of Wednesday the tobacco-loving Arab nation is a lot less smoke-filled thanks to a presidential decree banning people from lighting up in public places.

The decree also outlaws smoking in cafes, restaurants, educational institutions, health centers, sports halls, cinemas and theaters, and places of worship.

Only cafes with designated outdoor spaces or specified levels of indoor ventilation can allow smoking.

The idea was to align Syria’s tobacco use legislation with that of many other Arab and European countries. The Syrian government has already passed several laws regulating the tobacco industry and smoking. A 1996 decree banned tobacco advertising and in 2006 Syria banned smoking in government offices and public transport.

Above: Syrians smoke narghiles, or hookah pipes, outside a cafe after a law banning smoking in most public places went into effect, in Damascus, Syria, April 21, 2010.

The rules were often flouted, prompting the government to consider stricter legislation.

This time, restaurants and hotel owners breaking the ban will be fined up to 40,000 Syrian pounds (about $900) for every violation, while the law also imposes a fine of 2,000 Syrian pounds ($46) on the actual offending smoker.

It all amounts to a profound culture shock for at least five million Syrians used to lighting up about 10 million cigarettes each day, wherever they may be.

And for a country as hooked on tobacco as this one, it’s hard to fathom this ban working.

In Syrian soap operas — the most popular in the Arab world — a police officer always lights up before solving a crime, and officials can’t make decisions without burning a chain of cigarettes.

Many from the gigantic army of smokers say the new regulations are against the law and that the love affair with smoking will continue.

“We come here to drink tea, talk and smoke,” said Mohammed, a 38-year-od client at Aroma Cafe in the upscale Abu Rumaneh street. Ashtrays have disappeared from the place.

“This is not acceptable. They are interfering in our private lives. The law will not work, anyway. It is typical wishful thinking,” he said.

Health Minister Rida Said has hailed the measure as an important step forward in the battle against addiction in the country, noting the decree gave parties concerned a period of six months to carry out the necessary procedures.

“This shows Syria’s commitment to the framework agreement on combating smoking signed with the U.N. The decree will protect non-smokers, particularly children, women of childbearing age and teenagers from smoking damages,” he said.

Some 60 percent of adult men and 23 percent of women smoke, according to the Syrian Society for Countering Cancer, with 20 percent of men and 6 percent of women regular smokers of narghiles, or hookah pipes, which are favored among teens, local adults and tourists, partly because of the flawed assessment they are safer ways of consuming tobacco.

Syria’s Minister of Tourism, Saadalla Agha al-Qalaa, said hotels will have specific rooms for smokers. Thirty percent of rooms will be allocated for smokers.

This story was filed by CBS News’ George Baghdadi in Damascus.

The Calabasas City Council turned up the heat on smokers by passing an ordinance last week barring the sale of tobacco products within 500 feet of schools.
The council passed an ordinance last year which requires tobacco retailers to register with the city. The businesses are monitored to ensure compliance with state and federal laws. The 2009 ordinance came about after a sting revealed that five of the 14 tobacco retailers in Calabasas sold tobacco to minors.

The new ordinance restricts the city from issuing registration to stores selling tobacco-related products within 500 feet of a school.

The banned stores include any retail establishment selling tobacco products such as cigarettes, cigars, hookah tobacco, dipping tobacco and paraphernalia, including pipes and rolling papers, said associate planner Michael Klein.

“It’s a big step toward protecting our children further, not only from the sale of cigarettes but also drug-related paraphernalia,” said Councilmember Mary Sue Maurer. “They won’t be near our schools. That’s very reassuring.”

The ordinance “will create even greater safeguards around our schools, but our children are vulnerable in many locations,” Community Development Director Maureen Tamuri said.

She said neither of the two retailers caught selling to minors during a more recent undercover sting were within 500 feet of schools.

One of the two was Ralphs in The Commons, which had to pay a $1,000 fine and post a notice of its violation.

The store also had to remove all of its tobacco products for three months.

“That is an example of effective use of the regulatory authority of the city, and it shows the deterrent value,” Groveman said. “That should send a very strong message. We are not just doing this for sake of being cute about it. We’re serious. And (Ralphs) paid a pretty good price for it.

“Personally I don’t think anything can be considered more morally bankrupt than selling cigarettes to kids.”

The ordinance will go into effect in July.

“We are putting another major book in a very extensive library to stop exposure to secondhand smoke,” Groveman said. “There are people who disagree, but in time this will be a very united effort because it’s catching on everywhere.”

No members of the public spoke in favor of or against the ordinance.

“In my opinion, this is not a debatable subject,” Groveman said. “There isn’t another side to this. This is a major threat to kids and a major expense to the healthcare system. I’m happy the city is at the forefront of the efforts to solve it and stop it.”

By Joann Groff

Major League Baseball and the players’ union should “take action to end the use of smokeless tobacco by big-league players,” Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., chairman of the House Committee on Energy and Commerce, said Wednesday.

Executives from Major League Baseball and the players’ association joined U.S. public-health officials to testify before the panel on the prevalence of smokeless tobacco and whether its use by professional athletes influences children.

“Like many generations of Major League Baseball players, I started using spit tobacco because I saw other players doing it, and I thought it was part of being a major-league player,” said Joe Garagiola, a television announcer and former player. “This is a dangerous, deadly habit.”

Tobacco of all kinds is banned in minor-league baseball, a policy Garagiola urged major-league players to adopt. While major-league players aren’t allowed to smoke cigarettes in uniform in view of spectators, chewing tobacco is different, said David Prouty, chief labor counsel for the Major League Baseball Players Association.

“Cigarettes impact the ability to play the game, are banned from public use under a variety of state and municipal laws, and may endanger the health of those in the immediate area,” Prouty said. “Baseball players should not be prohibited from using substances that are perfectly legal and available to the general public.”

Tobacco companies led by Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds argue they should be allowed to market smokeless products as a safer alternative to cigarettes.

“Some adults who would otherwise continue smoking may be willing to move to a smokeless-tobacco alternative to cigarettes,” said James Dillard, a senior vice president at Altria Group, which owns Philip Morris. “Smokeless-tobacco products are substantially lower on the risk continuum than cigarettes.”

Health officials say they worry chewing tobacco will have the opposite effect: that it may act as a gateway to cigarettes, and that children could become addicted to tobacco by emulating its use by baseball players.

“We don’t let baseball players go stand out in the field and drink beer,” Waxman said during the hearing. “The MLB Association won’t let them stand out there and smoke cigarettes,” and chewing tobacco also should disappear from games, he said.

Waxman last year supported a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) authority to regulate tobacco products. The law bans tobacco-brand sponsorships of sports and entertainment events among measures aimed at reducing underage smoking.

Nine of every 10 people who die from mouth and throat cancers used tobacco, according to the American Dental Association (ADA).

Tobacco products also are linked to higher rates of gum disease, one of the leading causes of adult tooth loss, the ADA said in an October letter to the FDA.

Terry Pechacek of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, and Deborah Winn of the National Cancer Institute testified about the links between smokeless tobacco and cancer, and the addictiveness of smokeless tobacco.

Pechacek said smokeless tobacco can cause oral cancer and pancreatic cancer, and has been linked to fatal heart attacks.

Banning use would require negotiations with the players union, said Robert Manfred, an executive vice president for Major League Baseball.

“Like drug testing, the regulation of player use of tobacco products is a mandatory subject of collective bargaining with the players association,” he said. “But unlike performance-enhancing substances, smokeless-tobacco products are legal in all 50 states for sale to, and consumption by, adults.”

By Meg Tirrell, Seattletimes

Both Thurston County hospitals will ban smoking and chewing tobacco starting in August, which will mean that employees, patients and visitors can no longer light up anywhere on the grounds of Capital Medical Center, Providence St. Peter Hospital, or any of the hospitals’ clinics.

The no-tobacco policy, which is still being refined by staff, will begin Aug. 2, and Providence St. Peter and Capital Medical Center will start to inform employees and post signs informing the public of the change, officials of both hospitals said Monday. The change also will apply to Providence Centralia hospital and Providence’s clinics in its Southwest Washington region.

“It’s an investment in our community’s health,” said Medrice Coluccio, chief executive of Providence Health and Services in Southwest Washington.

Capital Medical Center Chief Executive Officer Joe Sharp said that making the announcement five months in advance allows time for employees to prepare for the change, including smoking cessation resources and training on informing patients and visitors of the new policies.

“It will take some time to make it happen,” he said.

The no-tobacco policy will apply to the parking lots and outside areas, which also means that after Aug. 2 patients will no longer be allowed to go outdoors to smoke or use tobacco products, according to the hospitals’ officials. Nicotine replacement options, such as medicated patches or nicotine gum, are not banned under the proposal.

Other hospitals in the region have adopted similar policies, according to hospital officials. Examples include Mason General Hospital, Morton General Hospital, and Providence hospitals in Everett and Missoula, Mont.

Rex Bolin, a pulmonologist with Providence St. Peter who supports the change, said an attempt to ban smoking from Providence about 15 years ago did not succeed, but attitudes and knowledge about smoking have since changed.

“When I came here in 1987, people could smoke in their rooms,” he said.

Sharp also remarked on the changes in attitudes. Sharp said he was a respiratory therapist in an era when “almost everybody smoked.” A pulmonologist in his department smoked, and there were ashtrays in the nurse’s station.

“Think of the evolution. We used to sell cigarettes in the gift shops in the hospitals, and we’ve come all the way to here we are today saying we’re not going to have any tobacco products on campus,” he said. “We’ve come a long way, and, as an employee said at Capital today, ‘It’s about time.’”

By VENICE BUHAIN, Theolympian

Global tobacco giant Philip Morris said Tuesday it planned to take the Norwegian state to court in an attempt to overturn a law in the Scandinavian country banning the display of cigarettes in stores.

“Philip Morris Norway (PMN) will today start legal proceedings to overturn the ban on displaying tobacco products in retail stores,” the company said in a statement.

Following in the footsteps of several other Western countries like Ireland and Iceland, Norway on January 1 this year banned the display of cigarettes in stores in an attempt to cut impulse buys of tobacco products.

In Norway, cigarettes have been banished to closed cases, while cigarette dispensers may no longer display brand labels.

“Display bans have had no impact on reducing smoking in the countries that have implemented them, a fact acknowledged by the Norwegian Ministry of Health and Care Services,” PMN spokeswoman Anne Edwards said in the statement.

“These regulations prevent adult consumers from seeing the available product range and overly restrict competition,” she said, adding that “we have raised these issues with the government to no avail, which has regrettably left us with no choice but to litigate.”

Norwegian health officials did not appear troubled by the pending litigation.

“This shows that we are on the right track. If Philip Morris really felt the ban would not reduce the consumption of tobacco they would not worry about this law,” Bjoern-Inge Larsen, who heads up the Norwegian Directorate of Health, told public television NRK.

“On the contrary, I think this legal action is an indication that the ban will contribute to reducing tobacco consumption in the long term,” he said.

In June 2004, Norway became the second country in the world after Ireland to ban smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants and night clubs.

Some 21 percent of Norwegians aged 16 to 74 smoked on a daily basis in 2009, while an additional nine percent smoked occasionally, according to Statistics Norway.

The Roanoke City Council addressed many issues at the Monday night meeting but the dominant ones were a discussion of smoking on city property and what can be done about a collapsed downtown business.

The council discussed banning tobacco products on city-owned property at the last meeting and discussed it again without resolution.

Mayor Mike Fisher said he had taken pro and con calls from citizens, talked with City Schools Superintendent Chuck Marcum, talked with city attorney Clay Tinney and met with Hutch Hammond.

The city already has an ordinance against smoking in enclosed places, and the football field is an enclosed place, Fisher said. The attorney told him if someone leases the ballfield, the armory etc. they can make their own rules as long as they do not conflict with state of Alabama rules. The state board of education has its own rules, he said.

Fisher said the city owns the football field. There is a $25 to $100 fine for each offense under the Feb. 28, 2005 ordinance, he said. The state board of education ban extends to all of the state for athletic events, he said.

He has talked with other cities that own ballfields and they do not have designated smoking areas, he said.

Hutch Hammond, who has allegedly smoked in the stands at games, asked to speak and the mayor said he had to get on the agenda and that he was out of order. Hammond said he wanted to be on the next agenda and the mayor said he needed to contact the office during regular hours.

Councilman Joseph Roberson said he would like to study it before the next meeting. Outside smoking does not bother him, he said. Councilman Russ Cummings said the policy seems far reaching.

The mayor said at playoff games smokers cannot get passes to go outside the fence and return.

Speed breaker

Various representatives gave their point of view on the proposed speed breaker at Douglas Drive and Bartlett Avenue, off of Highway 22.

Bill Nobley, who supports the speed breaker, apologized for a name incorrectly being placed on the petition but said they are still having problems on the stree. He frequently spends hours on his front porch and has seen three kids nearly get run over by drivers. Many drivers go right through the stop sign placed there to slow them down. Kids walking and driving bicycles need protection, he said.

Jimmy Dunn said he does not live on the street but goes through there several times a day and sees no need for a speed breaker.

Sara Traylor-Drummond, who opposes the speed breaker, said from the four-way stop to 22 is less than one-tenth of a mile and that is not a lot of room to pick up speed between there and Douglas Drive. It had been mentioned many drivers cut through there to avoid the school traffic coming down Gilham Road.

Dunn said he has seen the police monitoring traffic. Nobley said others there on this issue say there is a need for the speed breaker. He said there is no posted speed limit and that might help.

Police Chief Adam Melton said he had been on the road most of the day watching traffic and recommended the speed limit be lowered from 30 to 25 miles per hour. He did see one person cut through to 22. Cummings made the motion to accept the chief’s recommendation and post 25 mph on Bartlett and Douglas and it was unanimously approved.

The mayor said if this does not work to contact him and they “will have a block party and talk about it.”

Collapsed building

Cummings asked the status of the old World Bazaar building. It collapsed in April of last year.

Councilwoman Tammi T. Holley said the downtown merchants need to join together and sue to make the owner clean it up.

Melton suggested they leave up the barricades until they obtain a letter from a licensed structural engineer. Pieces are falling, he said.

Holley said the same thing is going to happen to the building next door. The mayor said churches were going to open a soup kitchen in the old Commercial Bank property but “it’s evident Larry Cohen is not going to fix anything, and put that in capital letters. He’s had ample time. We’re not in the building business. We’ve had people come in here and say this building is hurting our business.”

Fisher said the city cannot afford to go in and clean it up. Of the numerous deteriorated downtown buildings, he said, “They’re ugly–they’re awful–but what do you do?”

Randolph County Chamber of Commerce executive director Dorothy Tidwell mentioned some upcoming events and asked if anything could be done to clean up downtown for these.

She asked if students might be involved in putting up plywood to cover the ugly buildings and do a facelift but the mayor said the city cannot legally go on private property. He suggested she get with the owners.

He said he would get with the city attorney again and talk about what could be done. Holley said everybody from the Environmental Protection Agency on down needs to be involved because this is a health hazard.

Freeze damage

On another subject, streets department supervisor Donnie Cash said Fincher Road had sustained a pretty good bit of freeze damage and the Emergency Management Agency, as well as county and state personnel, had looked at various spots around town. Randolph County is one of 13 counties that had recent freeze damage.

EMA director Donnie Knight told him the county had enough damage to qualify and he is waiting for information about how much money there might be for road and utilities damage, included due to the number of burst pipes. The numbers are being tallied and he is hopeful, he said.

The mayor read his proclamation on Dating Violence Awareness and Prevention Month and Alabama Marriage Month.

Fisher also read a letter from Southern Union State Community College President Amelia Pearson extending a special invitation to the towns in the county to a basketball game during February.

Thursday, Feb. 11, is Roanoke Night. Residents with valid identification as a Roanoke resident will be admitted free that night. The Roanoke Academy of Ballet will provide special entertainment that night.

High school seniors can enter their names into a special drawing taking place Feb. 25 for a chance to win a semester of free tuition at Southern Union. Tuition and fees for up to 12 hours of course work the summer semester will be given to a graduating senior from the county meeting college admission and scholarship requirements.

by Penny L. Pool, Therandolphleader

The Roanoke City Council will consider a no smoking, dipping or chewing ordinance on all city owned property at the Feb. 8 council meeting.

Mayor Mike Fisher said he had received a letter from the State Department of Public Health applauding the city for steps it had taken and mentioned some cities are making everything 100 percent tobacco free.

The mayor said he called people around town asking their thoughts about this. He said he would like to make all city property smoke free without smoking designated areas.

There had been an incident or two at high school games where there was smoking but the State Board of Education prohibits smoking where any students are, he said.

Councilman Mack Arthur Bell said his understanding is that second-hand smoke is about as dangerous as the person smoking. He added to each his own but said a ban would solve that problem.

Councilwoman Tammi T. Holley asked if smokeless tobacco would be included in any ban–that she had seen people spitting in bottles. Fisher said one can’t be banned without doing the other.

Councilman Russ Cummings said he did understand the health hazards and has been approached recently about making restaurants smoke free. This is a polarizing issue, he said, and he is with Councilman Joseph Roberson on thinking about this before acting.

Bell said that, regarding restaurants, it should be up to them.

Fisher said he would have city attorney Clay Tinney draw up an ordinance. Holley said to also include the other forms of tobacco.

Fisher also asked them to consider prohibiting texting while driving. Chief Adam Melton said nothing in Alabama prohibits it right now. Roberson said messaging on military bases is prohibited–phones have to be hands free.

Melton said under current Alabama traffic accident reports it just says “driver not in control”–not if he was texting, so it is difficult to determine how many accidents result from texting. The mayor said he would bring this up in a couple of weeks. Melton said a recent study it was stated texting caused more traffic accidents than driving under the influence.

Harlin honored

The mayor recognized Randolph Medical Center administrator Tim Harlin for all he has meant to the hospital during his time here. Harlin will be leaving in March for a new position in Minnesota.

The document states that on behalf of the city council and the citizens of Roanoke “I would like to extend my deepest appreciation for your service rendered at Randolph Medical Center. Randolph Medical Center has been faced with many challenges during your administration and those challenges were always met with dedication and determination.

“You strived to improve patient care, offer new services, implement new technology, and worked diligently to restore the reputation of quality care that this community had always depended on. Without your leadership and dedicated management team, these accomplishments would not have been possible.”

Harlin thanked them for the resolution and said it had been his privilege to serve as administrator.

He said everything is going smoothly and new physicians have been hired in the psychiatric area. He is spending a lot of time working on recruiting physicians and believes he has snagged an opthamologist and is talking to primary care physicians.

In other business the council passed ordinance #954 authorizing the mayor to apply for a $2,500 grant for electronic equipment in police cars. No match is required. The grant would take care of all the police cars. The resolution will be provided to the Alabama Department of Economic and Community Affairs through which the money will be funneled.

Bell said he would like all bids related to the city to come directly to the city clerk’s office for all departments and opened in the council meeting. When asked, he said he was not referring to any particular situation.

Holley said the recent striping in her district makes a world of difference for drivers. The mayor said he had also received comments about it.

Streets Department Supervisor Donnie Cash said Emergency Management director Donnie Knight called and said the state was trying to gather information about damage resulting from the winter freeze.

“We got it up, along with the utilities department, in hope of getting some money out of it. Streets were damaged by the freeze and we hope to get some money from that,” Cash said.

He told the council he appreciated them allowing him to replace a Bush Hog for $10,862 he had budgeted. He asked for the old one to be declared surplus property so it can be sold, which the council did.

Cash said they are running out of room at the landfill for C&D; pulpwood is up in value and he asked if the land can be clear cut so the new cells can go there. He told the council as long as it is authorized by the council and bids taken it is legal. To Holley’s question about potential erosion he said that is something to look at. Bell said he would have to get with the Alabama Department of Environmental Management to make sure that doesn’t happen. The council approved Cash’s request.

Wendell Williams has asked the city to sell dirt from where the city digs dirt. The city sold dirt to the county health department during construction there for 50 cents per cubic yard. Since it is not prime dirt Williams asked it be sold for less and he would pick it up with his own equipment. Cash is checking with the Alabama League of Municipalities to make sure they can sell it to a private individual and he will bring it back to the council.

Keith Richardson, who oversees vehicle maintenance, made a proposal to cut maintenance costs by buying filters, fluids etc. in bulk. He estimated a cost savings of almost half on items such as $1,600 on filters and $1,358 on fluids. Some machines still under warranty require a certain brand or the warranty is null and void, he said.

If the city buys the items now they will save over the year. The council was concerned about the items being under lock and key and he said due to not having enough storage some would have to be placed under lock and key in Purchasing Agent Tim Jacob’s office.

Melton said only Richardson performs maintenance on his cars.

The council voted to buy the materials in bulk at an amount of $8,264 for all vehicles down to lawn mowers and motor graders at an annual savings of almost $3,000. The money will come from the general fund account and be purchased locally at the best price. Then, Revenue Officer Pat Truitt will take the purchases from the various department’s budgets.

by Penny L. Pool, Therandolphleader

The NPHS Health Improvement and Health Inequalities Teams have produced a response to the Department of Transport proposal to ban smoking on ships.

The NPHS fully supports the position that people working and travelling on ships should be protected from other peoples’ second-hand tobacco smoke.

At present, the bans on smoking in public places in Great Britain and Northern Ireland do not cover ships. This is because ships fall under the regulation of the Merchant Shipping Act 1995. The Department of Transport are proposing some new legislation “Merchant Shipping (Prohibition of Smoking on Ships) Regulations” which aims to ban smoking in all areas on-board ships operating in the UK.

People will only be allowed to smoke in specific zones approved by the ship’s Captain.

Smoking is the most common preventable cause of ill health and premature death in Wales. A quarter of Welsh adults currently smoke, and two-thirds of non-smokers in Wales are exposed to other people’s tobacco smoke. Environmental tobacco smoke (also known as second hand smoke or passive smoking) can cause heart disease, lung cancer, asthma and stroke in adult non-smokers. It can also be responsible for sudden infant death syndrome, middle ear infections and asthma attacks in children.

Smoking bans encourage people to reduce their smoking and quit altogether, decreasing the amount of tobacco smoke in the environment, therefore helping to improve the health of current smokers and non-smokers.

In general tobacco use was banned in many prisons. For example, in 1995, was banned the use inside buildings and that led to a plenty by state prisoners in Lee County.

The state prison method is following the lead of facilities like the Dougherty County Jail that has been tobacco free for 15 years and Lee County Jail that went tobacco free nine months ago. Prison leaders said that it’s counter productive for inhabitants to give up smoking in jail only to start lighting up again in a state opportunity.

Such legislation will be introduced in Georgia too. Scientists reported that by the end of 2010 Georgia’s state prisons will be tobacco free. The Georgia Department of Corrections explained that this is a move that will ameliorate the health of inmates and save tax money by cutting health care costs.

Michael Nail, Deputy Director of the Corrections Division, said: “With tobacco use contributing greatly to health issues and health problems, that’s something that we are always aware of when it come to the budget, is making sure we hold our health costs this is one of the ways to help do that as well.”

For example the Dougherty County Jail banned all smoking products in 1995 when the new jail opened. But unfortunately was created a new problem, because it has become the largest items of contraband in the jail.

The Department of Corrections declared also that while tobacco may be the new contraband it may cut back on other dangerous substances.

Col. Doug McGinley, the Dougherty County Jail Administrator, reported: “What is increased in contraband is tobacco, ironically the possession of drugs as contraband actually goes down, so in one sense of it while you still have some contraband by way of tobacco you’re minimizing the drug contraband.”

Dougherty Jail Officials said that it’s been a while since they’ve had dissatisfaction.

The state’s ban of the substance will also mean a loss in the revenue, right now they can sell cigarettes in the commissary, but that will end when the ban takes affect.

The Department of Corrections explained that the ban will start January first when tobacco use will be prohibited at two diagnostic facilities where inmates are evaluated before being conveyed into the state system.

The next prison which will introduced smoking ban will be the Augusta State Medical Prison.

DECATUR Ala. – In an unexpected turn, the Decatur City Council discussed Monday lifting portions of the city’s controversial ban on smoking in public places.

Council President Greg Reeves says the governing body will consider the change during its next meeting at 10 a.m. Monday.

Proposed by District 3 Councilman Gary Hammon, the amendments would lift the ban on smoking for bars and restaurants and remove a rule that hotels cannot designate more than 25 percent of their rooms as smoking rooms.

It would require businesses that allow smoking to post signs saying so that are visible from the road.

Hammon says the changes, if approved, will bring Decatur’s smoking ordinance in line with those of Huntsville, Madison and Florence, which allow smoking in some circumstances. “I am content with it like it is, but when I saw Florence just passed one and they did not even look at Decatur’s — they went straight to the Huntsville-Madison law — I thought, well, everybody around us has the same ordinance except us, and it has hurt businesses in Decatur,” he said.

He added that he expects most Decatur businesses that do not allow smoking under the current ordinance will maintain the status quo. But he said the amendments would allow business owners to choose.

“Anybody who goes smoking, they’re going to lose business from their non-smoking customers,” he said. “Let the people vote with their wallets.”

Council reaction to the proposal was mixed.

Reeves said he was content to leave the ordinance the way it is, but he added, “I think philosophically I would support the business owner’s right to choose.”

District 2 Councilman Roger Anders said he, too, has no problem with the current ordinance, but he said he is willing to consider anything that will help small-business owners in Decatur. District 4 Councilman Ronny Russell, who proposed the city’s current smoking ban last term, opposed the changes, saying it would erase the “incredibly progressive” move the city made last term.

“There’s no reason to do this. What we have is working, and it’s worked well,” he said. “There is no reason to go backward, and I truly don’t understand why Mr. Hammon is making this proposal.”

District 1 Councilman Billy Jackson declined to comment. Decatur’s current smoking ordinance has been in effect since October 2007. It bans smoking in all public places.

The previous council approved the current ordinance in a 3-2 vote. Hammon was among the dissenting votes in that decision. Hammon’s proposed amendments were not part of the council’s regular agenda since he did not request their inclusion until after the deadline Friday.

Because of that, City Attorney Herman Marks said the amendments will require the council to vote unanimously for immediate consideration if they hope to vote on them Monday.

© The Decatur Daily, Ala.; distributed by McClatchy-Tribune Information Services, 2009

RICHMOND, Va. – The new federal ban on flavored cigarettes took effect last week, marking one of the first visible signs of the Food and Drug Administration’s new authority to regulate tobacco.

The ban on manufacturing, importing, marketing and distribution includes candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes, which health and federal authorities say are more appealing to youths. It does not include a ban on menthol or other flavored tobacco products such as cigars – which the FDA is studying.

“Candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes are a gateway for many children and young adults to become regular tobacco users,” said Dr. Law-rence R. Deyton, director of the FDA’s Center for Tobacco Products.

Citing research studies, Dey-ton said 17-year-old smokers are three times as likely to use flavored cigarettes as smokers older than 25. FDA officials also said almost 90 percent of adult smokers start smoking as teenagers and the ban will help stop more than 3,600 young people who start smoking daily.

The FDA sent a letter to the industry last week discussing the ban and its plans for enforcement, including the definition of a cigarette under the ban. Officials are encouraging consumers to notify authorities of any potential violations of the ban.

Executives from leading health groups urged the FDA last month to take a closer look at attempts to sidestep the ban by making superficial changes that turn a cigarette into a small cigar in order to keep selling flavored products.

The move came after word that the nation’s top distributor of clove cigarettes – California-based Kretek International Inc. – began offering small, filtered, spice-flavored cigars that are close to the size of a cigarette but are wrapped in tobacco rather than paper.

Officials did not address any specific products in a conference call with reporters.

In June, President Barack Obama signed the law that allows the FDA to regulate the industry. Its authority includes the ability to ban certain products, reduce nicotine in tobacco products and block labels such as “low tar” and “light.” Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large, graphic warnings.

The law won’t let the FDA ban nicotine or tobacco outright, but the agency will be able to regulate what goes into tobacco products, make public the ingredients and prohibit marketing campaigns, especially those geared toward children.

The Food and Drug Administration banned the sale of cigarettes with candy, fruit or clove flavors this week in an effort to stop the industry’s long-running tactic of using flavors to attract youngsters and addict them as lifelong customers. The ban, required under a law enacted in June that gave the F.D.A. the power to regulate tobacco products, is a welcome first step to rein in this rogue industry.

Disturbingly, there are signs that some manufacturers, distributors and retailers may try to circumvent the ban by shifting young smokers to other flavored tobacco products, such as small cigars that may not quite fit legal definitions of a cigarette but can be made every bit as attractive to young smokers with a dash of chocolate, vanilla or fruit flavoring. In anticipation of the ban, domestic manufacturers had already largely stopped production of flavored cigarettes.

The problem with the law is that it did not clearly define what a cigarette is. Traditional definitions revolve around the wrapping. Cigarettes are wrapped in paper; cigars are wrapped in tobacco leaves or paper constituted from tobacco. That seems like a trivial basis for deciding which products may be flavored and which may not.

So far, F.D.A. officials have been deliberately vague in stating whether the ban applies to flavored small cigars that seem comparable to cigarettes and to so-called cigarillos, which are slightly larger but still smaller than traditional cigars.

The agency wisely warned manufacturers that it was examining options to regulate both menthol cigarettes and flavored tobacco products other than cigarettes. It makes no sense to ban flavors in cigarettes and then allow the industry to addict young people to flavored cigars.

© September 23, 2009 Nytimes