CRA NEWS
You will find news on legislative issues and anti-smoking movements affecting your personal freedom and rights to enjoy cigars. Get involved, Learn about the Issues, and Take Action!
SANTA MONICA DELAYS VOTE ON SMOKING BANS IN HOUSING
SANTA MONICA, CA. October 29 – The Santa Monica City Council, already behind almost every type of smoking ban imaginable, delayed a vote on banning smoking "in the common areas of multi-unit residential buildings."
According to online reports, "The decision came more than six months after the council directed staff to draft the ordinance, which would prohibit smoking in all indoor and outdoor common areas at multi-unit residential properties, including condominiums.
"But council members worried that the law could lead to the eviction of rent-control tenants by landlords who want to raise rents to market rates when a unit is vacated, a concern that led the Rent Control Board to pass a resolution opposing the proposed measure."
The obvious conflicts that would spring from such a law were voiced at the meeting. "I'm very concerned because the stakes are so high. . . life affecting," said Council member Ken Genser. "I think we have to reduce or eliminate the chances that someone could be evicted for this."
"I'm concerned about protecting the tenants so they don't get evicted,' said Mayor Herb Katz. "At the same time, I don't want to make landlords responsible for enforcement."
City staff member Adam Radinsky noted in his report to the Council that "In the private residential setting, this raises the question of how enforcement would operate. Unlike all of the current areas of regulation, which are essentially public places, there is no obvious or easy way for officers to enforce the regulation in private residential properties, or for other City staff to enforce."
"I still have concerns moving in this direction," said Council member Pam O'Connor. "We really would be arming and pitting neighbor against neighbor. I'm just not convinced this is the mechanism or the route to go," she said.
PATERSON, N.H. HOUSING AUTHORITY PROPOSES BAN
PATERSON, N.J., October 29 – Under a new proposal by the Paterson Housing Authority, smoking would be prohibited in the more than 1,000 apartments (including common areas and outdoor grounds) under its control. A report in Newsday said the agency "cited secondhand health risks, fire hazards and maintenance costs as the reasons." Under the ban, tenants would be fined and could be evicted.
There is a comment period for tenants until December 3.
PALO ALTO NIXES SMOKING BAN IN PARKS
PALO ALTO, CA, October 29 – According to Palo Alto Online, "After several months of speculation, a divided Parks and Recreation Commission decided Tuesday night to scrap its plans to broaden Palo Alto's anti-smoking ordinance. The commissioners agreed not to recommend any changes to the City Council due to ambivalence from several commissioners.
"Though all seven reached the obvious conclusion that smoking is unhealthy and should be discouraged, the majority ultimately decided that the issue isn't hot enough to warrant official action.
"The commission has considered banning smoking at city parks since last November, when it made the issue one of its priorities for the year. Commissioners cited letters and comments from citizens concerned about fire safety, litter and the environment.
"But by Tuesday the public's sentiments have apparently cooled, prompting the commission to take an ‘if it ain't broke, don't fix it' attitude toward the proposed changes."
The Commission split 4-3 against making any changes. "‘I go to the park with my kids all the time and I don't see that many smokers,' Chair Pat Markevitch said. ‘The fact is we already have laws in place that make sure that in congregated areas people aren't allowed to smoke.'"
The story noted that "Commissioner Paul Losch spoke for the majority when he argued that while smoking is a terrible habit new laws aren't necessarily the best way to break the habit.
"‘I'm as anti-smoking as anyone can be, but I don't like proscriptive stuff that's hard to enforce,' Losch said. ‘The state in general and the city in particular have already taken a great deal toward taking a positive approach. I'd like to have us stay on the positive side.'"
ATLANTIC CITY SMOKING BAN DELAYED BY A YEAR
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., October 27 – As expected, Atlantic City casinos received a one-year delay in the imposition of a total smoking ban in a 5-4 vote of the City Council.
According to the Associated Press, "On Nov. 16, Atlantic City's 11 casinos will revert to a previous arrangement under which smoking is permitted on no more than 25 percent of a casino floor. The ban on smoking will be on hold for at least a year under the council's 5-4 vote.
"‘We had to reconcile two very compelling sides: No one wants to lose their job and certainly no one wants to lose their life,' Councilman Bruce Ward said. ‘But the background of the financial crisis is connected to where we are tonight.'"
The news service also noted that in the seven-day period from October 18-25, "at a time when the stock market was already seeing historic losses, the amount casinos won from gamblers fell 19.5 percent . . . ‘In the current economic environment, I don't think anyone with any intelligence would say it's a good idea to give people another reason not to come to Atlantic City,' said Unite Here Local 54, which represents local casino workers.
PASADENA SMOKING BAN ADOPT, BUT MAY NOT BE ENFORCED
PASADENA, CA, October 27 – The City of Pasadena, California extended its smoking ban by amending its existing ordinance, but the city's police chief said not to expect much help from his department in terms of enforcement.
Chief David Melekian told the Pasadena Star-News that complainers shouldn't expect a cop to show up in response to complaints about illegal smoking. "The truth of the matter is that our resources are way too limited to make that a priority," he said. He noted that his department has not received very many calls about the prior law.
The new ordinance, set to go into effect in late November, bans smoking in outdoor areas of bars and restaurants, at special events like the Rose Parade and, specifically, bans smoking in areas outside of tobacco shops, including cigar shops.
The Star-News story also noted that "Pasadena's ordinance will make smoking an infraction, like a parking ticket, although the City Council at Monday's meeting did discuss the possibility of raising the violation to a misdemeanor level." Neighboring Burbank has written about 400 citations since its ban took effect in 2007, but nearby South Pasadena has written none.
Dr. Takashi Wada, head of the Health Department, told the newspaper it will probably take officials several months to educate the public about the law before the city begins enforcing it.
CITY EXTENDS BAN ON NEW TOBACCO SHOPS
IMPERIAL BEACH, CA., October 23 – The City of Imperial Beach extended its "emergency ordinance" against the licensing of any new tobacco shops while it tries to figure out the language for a permanent ban.
According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, "Meanwhile, the city continues its legal fight with a tobacco shop owner on Seacoast Drive over what he sells. The city alleges in a lawsuit filed in May that the store's merchandise did not match owner Christopher Nasser's business license application, a violation of Imperial Beach zoning codes.
"The case may go to trial early next year.
"Nasser responded to the complaint in June, saying he complied with all local and state laws. He said in court filings that the city's lawsuit is more about giving preference to certain retail stores than zoning laws. He asked the court to dismiss the lawsuit.
"Nasser opened the Up in Smoke shop last October on Seacoast Drive at Dahlia Avenue, about five blocks north of the city pier. Its shelves are filled with small pipes, elaborate water pipes, cigarette papers and synthetic urine, commonly used to pass drug tests.
"The store has a small display area containing dozens of cans of flavored loose tobacco, but doesn't sell cigarettes."
Residents complained about the selling of "drug paraphernalia" in the store, but the local zoning laws do not regulate the sale of tobacco or the opening of tobacco shops. So the case continues in court.
INDIA'S SMOKING BAN ALREADY A FAILURE?
NEW DELHI, India, October 23 – "The anti-smoking law is actually already dead. Forget about the long run, it won't even be effective in the short run. Everyone is smoking everywhere," said Sai Ram, 58, a businessman, in an interview with Emily Wax of the Washington Post . Her story added that Ram referred to the recent increase in bombings across the country and added, "The police are not able to stop the terrorists, so will they really be able to control smokers?"
Wax wrote that "Enforcement appears to be highly uneven throughout the country.
"In New Delhi, some live-music clubs, hotels and shopping malls appear to be enforcing the rule. At the same time, many Indians have complained that smokers are still lighting up at shops and in bars in poorer neighborhoods, and in public places where police don't often patrol.
"‘While traveling by bus, I told some youths to stop smoking as a ban was in place,' said Kesummal Israni, a gray-haired toyshop owner. ‘They told me to keep quiet and mind my own business. In the first few days, there is a great deal of fear, but slowly people become lazy and forget. They continue puffing away.'"
India has an estimated 120 million smokers.
STATE SMOKING BANS UNENFORCED IN ILLINOIS AND NEBRASKA
SPRINGFIELD, IL., October 19 – News reports from Sangamon County in Illinois and Lincoln, Nebraska note that while statewide smoking bans are in effect, there's little or no enforcement in those two locations and not much can be done about it.
According to a story in The State Journal-Register in Illinois, "Jim Stone, health department director, said his agency hasn't been getting complaints under the county or city smoking bans, and complaints filed by citizens and forwarded by the state health department aren't being followed up on because the state law isn't enforceable.
"Stone allowed that his agency, which has jurisdiction under city and county laws, could enforce local bans. He declined to say what his department would do if someone called the health department to report someone smoking in a bar in the middle of the day, saying that's a hypothetical situation that hasn't happened."
In Lincoln, the same issue over enforcement rules has kept the smoking ban from being enforced and inter-jurisdictional issues have further created a lax enforcement situation.
Stone was asked whether there is smoking going on that's against the law and noted that "There are speed limits out there, and I'm sure people are speeding. I'm confident there are a lot of laws we have on the books that are not being followed."
ATLANTIC CITY CASINOS SMOKE-FREE . . . FOR NOW
ATLANTIC CITY, N.J., October 15 – Atlantic City's casinos, already reeling from the national financial turmoil and seeing a steep decline in September business, ended smoking on their gaming floors today in accordance with the new smoking ban.
However, the ban could end as soon as October 27 as the casinos have asked for a one-year delay of implementation. Mayor Scott Evans has not said whether he will sign the legislation needed to create the delay or not.
IOWA MAY ALLOW SECRET COMPLAINTS ABOUT SMOKERS
DES MOINES, IA., October 15 – The Iowa Department of Public Health is considering amending its smoking ban law to allow complaints to be filed without giving their name and address.
Bar owners complain that allowing anonymous complaints makes it impossible for establishment to face their accusers, since their identities would be unavailable.
U.S. POSTAL SERVICE CHANGES HISTORY
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 11 – Iconic movie critic Roger Ebert of the Chicago Sun-Times ripped the U.S. Postal Service for its new commemorative stamp picturing the movie star Bette Davis . . . but without her cigarette.
The U.S.P.S. used a portrait of Davis taken for publicity use for the 1950 classic "All About Eve" which pictured Davis with a cigarette in her hand. But the stamp shows her fingers clutching nothing. Ebert wrote on his Sun-Times blog, "Depriving Bette Davis of her cigarette reminds me of Soviet revisionism, when disgraced party officials disappeared from official photographs."
It isn't the first time the Postal Service has revised history to erase a cigarette. They did the same thing to blues artist Robert Johnson in 1994, eliminating his cigarette from the stamp while it appeared in the original base photograph.
PRICE GOES UP, SO DOES CRIME
LONDON, England, October 11 – A study published in the British Medical Journal claims that 21% of all tobacco being smoked in Great Britain is being smuggled into the country and not being taxed.
The study claims that this smuggling effort reduces tobacco prices to the extent that it "kills" 4,000 people a year, but fails to mention that if tobacco taxes were reduced, Britishers wouldn't be so interested in tax-free goods!
CIGAR PROTESTS HAVING AN EFFECT IN BOSTON
BOSTON, MASSACHUSETTS., October 10 – Although the Boston Public Health Commission's recommendations to further local smoking bans are getting a good reception at City Hall, cigar smokers strongly protested the closure of cigar bars.
According to the Boston Globe, there are only cigar bars that would be affected, but Cigar Masters co-owner Brett Greenfield pointed out that "there aren't people who are in there who are expecting not to be around second-hand smoke."
The city's director of public health, Dr. Barbara Ferrer, says she wants to "de-normalize" smoking and "Ideally, I'd like to say by 2025 that we don't have anybody smoking."
However, the argument made by the cigar bars is receiving some interest. Mayor Tom Menino told the Globe, "I understand they've been there for a while and I want to work with the cigar bars. I cannot, during these tough economic times, prevent them from doing business."
DUTCH BAR OWNERS BANDING TOGETHER AGAINST SMOKING BAN
THE HAGUE, the Netherlands, October 9 – "Neighbours complained about the smokers on the pavement and I saw my profits dwindling," said Jeff Broeren, owner of the Café De Kauw in Tilberg, of the results of the smoking ban imposed in the country in June.
He and other café operators have gathered together to form a "coordinated resistance" including allowing smoking and daring enforcement, and pooling monies to collectively pay any fines.
The Dutch health inspector's agency said about 25% of pubs were not following the law, some out of ignorance and some deliberately flouting the law and it has issued numerous warnings and about 50 fines. According to Broeren, some 1,500 establishments have paid 50 Euro to join the petition against the ban.
According to a Wiel Maessen, spokesman for an association of small café and pub owners, at least 5,000 pubs countrywide still allowed their clients to smoke. "The idea is to get all 15,000 small pubs in the country to join our movement. Such a number would be impossible to police without this becoming a police state."
Pub owner groups are also appealing to the courts, noting that in small facilities which do not have the space to erect a separate space for smokers, profits have dropped by 30-50% in many instances.
ATLANTIC CITY MAY DELAY SMOKING BAN BY A YEAR
ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, October 9 – The City Council will vote on a requested one-year delay of the smoking ban in casinos because of fears of a drop in revenues that would require layoffs.
The Council voted, 5-4, to delay the ban for a year, based on a glum revenue projection because of the elimination of smoking. The ban is scheduled to take effect on October 15, but could be rescinded as early as October 22, when the Council must vote again.
SAN FRANCISCO PHARMACY SALES BAN DECISION COMING
SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA, October 9 – A decision on an injunction against the ban against the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies in San Francisco will be made late this month. Philip Morris sued the County of San Francisco over its ban and was refused a temporary restraining order.
According to the San Francisco Chronicle, "U.S. District Judge Claudia Wilken of Oakland denied Philip Morris' request for a restraining order Sept. 26 that would have blocked enforcement of the law before it took effect Oct. 1. She has scheduled a hearing for Oct. 30 to decide whether to issue an injunction that would halt enforcement until the suit went to trial."
Philip Morris is claiming that the ban eliminates its ability to communicate with its customers, in violation of freedom of speech guarantees in the U.S. Constitution.
FDA OVERSIGHT LEGISLATION EXPECTED TO PASS IN 2009
WASHINGTON, D.C., October 9 – Proponents of a bill to give the U.S. Food & Drug Administration oversight of tobacco say the bill won't likely become law this year, but are fairly certain of its passage into law in 2009.
Although the measure was blocked in the Senate this year, proponents like the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids expect that a Senate with more Democrats in it will be more amenable to the bill. In addition, both Presidential candidates – Barack Obama and John McCain – have indicated support for more controls over tobacco and would be unlikely to veto it as current President George W. Bush indicated he would.
GREAT BRITAIN MAKES $12.4 BILLION ON TOBACCO
LONDON, ENGLAND, October 6 – A new study of the cost of "tobacco-related illnesses" in Great Britain showed that such costs total about $4.6 billion per year (converted from Pounds sterling) while the government collects about $17 billion in taxes!
That's a profit of $12.4 billion! The new estimate of costs came from a National Health Service study.
The anti-smoking group ASH points out that the costs (which notably are about "tobacco-related" illnesses, even though smokers are not responsible for all instances of such illnesses) have risen by $1.7 billion in ten years, but naturally never mentions the tax revenues.
ANTI-SMOKING GROUP ASKING FOR MORE TAXES ON TOBACCO
DUBLIN, Ireland, October 6 – An anti-tobacco group in Ireland is asking the government to increase taxes for continuous increases on tobacco, starting with a two-Euro (about $4) increase next year.
"The Government has set its goal as a Tobacco Free Society and if this is to be achieved, regular and substantial increases on all tobacco products must be part and parcel of Government policy," said Dr. Angie Brown of ASH Ireland.
ATLANTIC CITY CASINOS TRYING TO DELAY SMOKING BAN
ATLANTIC CITY, NEW JERSEY, October 6 – Already hit by a lagging economy, casinos in Atlantic City are asking for a delay in the implementation of a full smoking ban, set to debut on October 15.
A partial ban on smoking was extended last April, but the area's 11 casinos are trying to get implementation postponed because of its impact on revenues. Casinos are already facing a difficult economic situation and are worried that the smoking ban will drive people away.
MALAYSIAN COUPLE DIES IN STOP-SMOKING RITUAL
KUALA LUMPUR, MALAYSIA, October 2 – Police reported that a husband and wife were killed by relatives in a strange ritual apparently designed to get the man to stop smoking.
Both were beaten with brooksticks and a motorcycle helmet. Four other members of the family suffered injuries and four relatives were arrested and remain in custody pending a hearing.
INDIA TRIES SMOKING BAN AGAIN
NEW DELHI, INDIA, October 2 – India has imposed a widespread smoking ban that took effect on October 2, eliminating smoking in bars, restaurants and almost all public places. A challenge to the law was rejected by the Indian Supreme Court, although there are multiple additional cases being brought against the statute.
India has an estimated 250 million tobacco smokers and through the first couple of days of the ban, a total of 141 tickets had been issued. A unique feature of the law – a follow-up to a widespread failure that was tried four years ago – is that almost anyone can issue a warning or a ticket that carries a fine for smoking, including employers and almost any government worker. The fine is 200 Indian rupees (about $5 U.S.), a lot in a country where the average annual income is about $1,000 U.S.
The Indian health minister says his goal is to make India a "tobacco-free" country as prescribed by the Framework Convention on Tobacco Treaty, of which India is a signatory.
GENEVA SMOKING BAN MAY BE DELAYED UNTIL 2011
GENEVA, SWITZERLAND, October 1 – The ruling by the Swiss Federal Tribunal that squashed the province's smoking ban may delay implementation of the voter-approved legislation until 2011.
The ban came into effect in July, but the court ruled that it had no legal basis since the procedure for adopting it was faulty. Legislators expected the correct procedure to take about two years to complete.
In the meantime, smokers were again able to light up in bars and restaurants in the Geneva area. "‘There's no hiding from the fact that people are happy,' said Remy, a worker in Les Brasseurs restaurant-bar," in an interview with Agence France Presse. |
