Smoking may be to blame for Bennett Valley house fire

Smoking could be the cause of a blaze that destroyed much of a Bennett Valley house over the weekend. Fire officials called the fire accidental. Smoking remained a possibility, but investigators still were attempting to rule out other options, said Gold Ridge Battalion Chief Darrin DeCarli. Sunday’s fire caused about $350,000 in damage to the Ponderosa Drive house in east Santa Rosa.

It burned much of the home and fire officials said what was left probably couldn’t be saved. No one was home at the rental when firefighters arrived. The fire was reported at 4:34 p.m. and the first engine arrived at 4:37 p.m. from Bennett Valley’s nearby fire station, said fire officials. Fire officials were concerned embers could ignite dry grasses and threaten nearby Annadel State Park. Several fire departments were called to the fire.

Ponderosa Drive is off of Bennett Valley Road, east of Sonoma Mountain Road. It backs up to open space that leads to the state park. The fire was held to the single-story home and was controlled in about 45 minutes. The investigation showed the fire started outside, possibly on a deck, said DeCarli. An indoor marijuana growing operation tenants had been setting up in the garage did not appear to be related, said fire officials.

Why is smoking allowed in Malacca Hospital?

When I was visiting my uncle at the Malacca Hospital on Sunday, I realised there was cigarette smoke moving across the ward he was in. That smell was in the ward for a good 30 minutes or more. And that basically meant, the patients in the ward and their visitors were subjected to this extremely obnoxious and offensive odour for that duration. Naturally I was appalled. To the best of my knowledge of the law in Malaysia smoking is banned in all hospitals/clinics, airports, public lifts and toilets, air-conditioned restaurants, public transport, government premises, educational institutions, petrol stations, Internet cafes, shopping complexes and private office spaces with central air-conditioning.

 Smokers flouting the ban may be fined up to RM10,000, or two years of imprisonment. That is how severe the law is for the people who blatantly and openly disregard this law. Which was why I was completely flabbergasted by the attitude and apathy shown in this regard by your nurses and trainee doctors. I proceeded to ask the nurses on duty (at about 2.15pm) why there was cigarette smoke in the ward (Block C, Third Floor), but they looked at me as if I had said something wrong or asked something stupid. None of the nurses bothered to investigate and reprimand the culprit. They just sat there. I suspected the culprit could be a hospital employee (a public servant!). When the nurses didn't do anything, I then asked a trainee doctor, who also looked indifferently at me as if asking "which planet did you come from?"

 Another more senior doctor, when I approached him, then said, "Please lodge a formal/official complaint to the hospital director and the Health Ministry. You are not the first one complaining about this cigarette smoke. Many before you have complained. But, to date, nothing has been done about it." That is what I am doing in this letter to you which is also copied to the Health Ministry. The doctor's remark also basically told me that the problem has existed for a while and nothing was done about it under your watch. The classic Malaysian apathy has just allowed the problem to continue! Is Malaysia good only at setting policies but constantly fails to implement them?

So, my question to you as the hospital director and the good helath minister is this: What is the point of setting rules if no one is going to monitor them as see that they are truly implemented? The prime minister talks about transformation, but the way I see it, no transformation will happen if we cannot first transform our mindset and attitudes. Many civil servants today continue to display that "tidak apa" attitude without realising that it is the taxpayers who are paying their salaries! As a taxpaying citizen of this country I am seeking an answer for what happened. I am further saddened by the fact that the Malacca General Hospital is a tertiary (teaching) and specialist hospital. What are we teaching our nurses and trainee doctors?

That people can smoke in the hospital and go unpunished? That the hospital can be filthy (the toilets, floors, lifts and corridors were filthy) and the patients and their visitors should just live with it? That nurses and doctors are not answerable to their patients? The uncle whom I visited yesterday had lung cancer (and he was not even a smoker). And the level of care provided by the hospital staff to my uncle is, at best, ridiculous. There was no care whatsoever. There were ants and cockroaches by his bedside. Do ants and cockroaches belong in the hospital? For a teacher who has faithfully served the nation for more than 30 years, I am sure you would agree with me that he deserves better than that.

In reversal, Los Angeles City Council votes to ban marijuana shops

The Los Angeles City Council on Tuesday voted to ban marijuana shops outright until it has clearer guidance from the state's highest court, after being unable to rein in the hundreds of medical marijuana dispensaries that have cropped up across the nation's second largest city. The 13-1 vote drew an angry, profanity-laced response from some medical marijuana advocates who attended the council meeting. If approved by Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa, the storefront ban would go into effect after 30 days.

The mayor's office did not immediately respond to an email seeking comment on the council vote. In the interim, letters will be sent to as many as 900 dispensaries advising them of the ban. The city has fumbled with its medical marijuana laws for years, trying to provide safe and affordable access to the drug for legitimate patients while addressing worries by neighborhood groups that streets were being overrun by dispensaries and marijuana users.

 "Relief is on the way," said Councilman Jose Huizar, who introduced the so-called "gentle ban." Many cities have struggled with medical marijuana ordinances, but none has had a bigger problem than Los Angeles, where pot shops have proliferated. At one point, the city ordered closure of the shops - a process that failed amid lawsuits and conflicting rulings by appellate courts. This time around the city has a stronger case if faced with lawsuits by pot shop owners, city officials said. A recent appellate court ruling seems to support the new ordinance that refers to a marijuana collective as three or fewer people. The ban also allows hospices and home health agencies to provide medical marijuana.

 The ban comes during a confusing time for Californians - despite voter approval in 1996 for medicinal use of marijuana with a doctor's recommendation. The state Supreme Court has decided to clarify marijuana's hazy legal status by addressing whether local governments can ban medical marijuana clinics. But a hearing has yet to be set by the high court. Meanwhile, U.S. authorities have cracked down on pot clinics around the state, saying such operations remain illegal under federal law. Los Angeles passed an ordinance two years ago that was supposed to shutter hundreds of pot dispensaries while capping the number in operation at 70. But a set of legal challenges against the city by collectives and last month's expiration of the ordinance thanks to a sundowner clause led to another surge of pot shops.

City officials said 762 collectives have registered with the city and as many as 200 more could exist. "We need to start with a clean slate," Councilman Mitchell Englander said before the vote. "Los Angeles has experimented with marijuana and has failed." However, the ban could be temporary for some dispensaries. A motion made by Councilman Paul Koretz called for city staff to draft an ordinance that would allow for about 180 pot shops to be reopened that were in business before a moratorium was enacted several years ago. That motion isn't expected to be considered for several months. After the vote Tuesday, some medical marijuana advocates shouted expletives, while others questioned where they were could get the drug in the future. At least 178 California cities from Calistoga to Camarillo and 20 counties already have banned retail marijuana shops, according to the medical marijuana advocacy group Americans for Safe Access.

 Reflecting the murky language of the state's medical marijuana laws, a handful of dispensaries have successfully challenged such local prohibitions in court along with laws that merely sought to regulate dispensaries. Most recently, an appeals court in Southern California struck down Los Angeles County's two-year-old ban on dispensaries, ruling that state law allows cooperatives and collectives to grow, store and distribute marijuana. But in a separate case, an appeals court said federal law pre-empts local municipalities from allowing pot clinics. The hearing came a day after a priest, drug counselors and others decried crime and other social problems they say surround neighborhood marijuana dispensaries. Among those who spoke at that gathering was a woman who complained about having to push her baby's stroller through clouds of marijuana smoke near dispensaries in her East Hollywood neighborhood.

Two men accused of illegal marijuana cultivation in Yuba County

Two men identified by law enforcement authorities as members of the Sureno gang have been arrested in Yuba County on suspicion of illegal cultivation of marijuana. Deputies developed information for a warrant after receiving a citizen complaint of individuals shooting on property in the 11000 block of Hill Road in Loma Rica, according to a Yuba County Sheriff's Office news release.

They served the warrant about 6:30 this morning. During the search, deputies seized 494 marijuana plants, about 1 pound of processed marijuana and three firearms, officials reported. Two men were found at the site and arrested. The Sheriff's Office identified them as David Navarro, 18, of Loma Rica and Jacob Villa, 18, of Wheatland, both validated gang members. Neither man had recommendations for medicinal marijuana, officials said. The men were booked into the Yuba County Jail on suspicion of illegal cultivation, conspiracy and gang enhancements.

Imps' improvement is fired by cigars

A surge in sales of Cuban cigars in China and other emerging markets has helped Imperial Tobacco report a 3 per cent rise in sales for the past nine months. Imperial Tobacco yesterday highlighted the strength of its Cohiba and Montecristo distribution division, where smokes cost about £30 each. Emerging markets sales volumes of premium cigars soared 10 per cent, a stark counterpoint to global cigarette sales volumes, which were down 3 per cent.

 Even in the developed world, luxury cigars seemed to retain their allure. Volume growth came in at 1 per cent globally. But Imps is focusing on its key cigarette brands – Davidoff, Gauloises Blondes, West and JPS – for most of its growth. Those saw revenues rise 13 per cent. the group continued recovering from a weak final quarter in 2011.

DED launches campaign on passive smoking

The Department of Economic Development (DED) in partnership with the Dubai Health Authority (DHA) has launched a campaign to create awareness on the dangers of passive smoking targeting sheesha joints, restaurants and cafes with smoking areas. DED has already held meetings with the outlets targeted in the campaign and will ensure they are implementing the directive starting August 2012. Outlets failing to comply will be warned initially and later fined, and may face temporary shutdown as a next step.

Stickers with messages on the harmful effects of passive smoking on babies, pregnant women and young people below the age of 18 will be displayed in sheesha joints, restaurants and cafes as part of the campaign in order to discourage such outlets from opening their doors to these high risk groups. ‘The campaign aims to protect basic human rights, including the right to take informed decisions. A child has his right to healthy living like everyone, irrespective of whether he is in his mother’s womb or out in this world,’ said Walid Abdul Malik, Director, Commercial Control at the consumer Compliance and Consumer Protection Division of DED.

 Inhaling tobacco smoke is reported to cause respiratory problems and infections of the ear, nose and throat in newborns. Among pregnant women, passive smoking, also known as second-hand smoking, is said to add to the risk of low birth weight and premature birth of their babies. ‘Young people also need guidance till they are mature enough to make informed decisions. They should not be given a chance to be part of or involve in harmful practices like smoking,’ the official added. ‘Reports indicate nearly 600,000 people die of passive smoking around the world every year.

A study conducted by Dubai Health Authority in 2010 showed 46 people sought medical help in Dubai for complications related to passive smoking. We are thankful to the Department of Economic Development for supporting us in tackling this public health challenge,’ said Dr Ramadan Ibrahim Mohammed, Director of Health Regulation at DHA. ‘DED is keen to work in partnership with other government agencies and the private sector to ensure healthy living in Dubai. Public health is the responsibility of every resident and we expect everyone to support our joint initiative with the Dubai Health Authority,’ said Abdul Malik.

Northumberland's playgrounds move closer to becoming smoke-free

There will soon come a day when all of Northumberland's children can enjoy public playgrounds without their parents first picking out cigarette butts from the sand. Parents with young children must be applauding the new Trent Hills smoking prohibition, which beginning Sept. 1, bans smokers from lighting up within nine metres of any public skate park, playground, beach, wading pool or splash pad in the municipality.

That same ban will be extended to sports fields in May 2013, and municipal parks in May 2014, with the exception of specifically marked areas. Such a move is the right way to go for the future health and cleanliness of Northumberland. Anyone who doesn't smoke can attest to the unpleasantness of cigarette smoke wafting towards them, not to mention the many dangers of secondhand smoke. Imagine, sitting on the baseball bleachers or soccer sidelines only to be smoked out by someone nearby. Too often, playground sand areas are littered with cigarette butts. It's unfair to expect parents to pick up the dirty butts dropped by adults and teenagers in total disregard of the health and safety of toddlers and children who such parks are built for.

 There's also an influence factor. The less children are exposed to smoking and cigarettes, the less likely it is to appear normal to them and the less likely they'll pick up the habit -- at least that's the reasoning behind hiding tobacco displays in convenience stores, a move implemented more than four years ago. And Trent Hills isn't the only Northumberland municipality in this smoke-free mind set. Cobourg and Port Hope also have bylaws restricting smokers from lighting up near public playgrounds and parks. Trent Hills residents, like those throughout Northumberland County, have overwhelmingly expressed support for tobacco-free public outdoor spaces, according to a public opinion survey conducted by the Haliburton, Kawartha, Pine Ridge District Health Unit in 2009.

Ninety-six per cent of the respondents supported banning smoking near children's playgrounds; 89 per cent were in favour of no smoking near sports fields, soccer pitches and baseball diamonds used by youth. Hopefully, Brighton will get on the bandwagon too, although for now, the only smoking bylaw it has in effect, beyond those provincially mandated, prohibits smoking within nine metres of any municipal building door, such as the arena. Brighton's manager of planning, Ken Hurford, said Brighton is not currently researching anything else.

Belmont raising age to purchase tobacco to 19 come August

Belmont Health Department, in an attempt to regulate the sale of tobacco products to minors, has decided to raise the age to purchase tobacco in the town of Belmont to 19 come Aug. 1. “Each town has the ability to make local regulations,” said Stefan Russakow, Health director. As most cities and towns are, Belmont Health Department is granted the authority to make local regulations by Massachusetts General Laws Chapter 111, Section 21. Belmont Health Department started looking to raise the age to purchase tobacco last winter, when one of the board members read an article that Needham had just raised their age to purchase tobacco from 19 to 21.

During a meeting following Needham’s decision, Belmont Health Department considered the rational behind the age change. The board decided that by raising the age to purchase tobacco from 18 to 19, they could keep tobacco products, primarily cigarettes, out of Belmont High School. “By raising the age to purchase tobacco to 19,” said Russakow. “We’re preventing those students that are 18 years-old in the high school from buying the cigarettes, sharing the cigarettes, selling the cigarettes, or whatever the case, to their friends. It makes the access a little more difficult.” Russakow said he and the board did not know the rationale behind Needham’s choice to raise the age to purchase tobacco from 19 to 21.

“We felt 19 was a fair number considering the level of access we’re trying to accomplish,” said Russakow. As do most cities and towns, Belmont has had tobacco access regulations for many years. “Almost all cities and towns model their regulations around the Massachusetts community and the Massachusetts Public Health Control Program,” said Russakow. “We restrict certain businesses, such as hookah bars, cigar sales, and where and how you can buy tobacco.” The Board of Health is one of the few boards with authority to make such regulations within cities and towns. “An example of one of our regulations is the hookah bars,” said Russakow.

“When hookah bars become popular, we decided to restrict them in the town of Belmont. It’s not so much that we’re concerned about a certain ethnic population, but rather a group of kids who think it’s really neat to sit around and share one of those. The board just didn’t feel that was appropriate. Other cities and towns are even considering restricting machines that allow a person to make their own cigarettes. With these cigarette machines, a person could buy a bag of tobacco and cigarette papers, and with the press of a button, create hundreds of cigarettes for the possible consuming, sharing, or selling.

Law forcing roll-your-own cigarette shops to close

The days of discounted smokes are over for those who flocked to roll-your-own tobacco shops for cheap cigarettes. An amendment buried in the federal transportation bill signed Friday by President Barack Obama is causing roll-your-own cigarette shops to struggle and consider closing across the country, including South Florida. So those who avoided the pricey packaged cigarettes by buying at roll-your-own shops are out of luck. The law redefines tobacco manufacturers to include businesses that use machines to roll cigarettes.

This means the law will tax the tobacco products at the same rate of packaged cigarettes, treating the roll-your-own tobacco shops the same as much larger manufacturers like Marlboro and Camel silver. Roll your own cigarette shops offer just that — commercial machines that take loose tobacco and roll them into cigarettes in just a few minutes. The shops sell all the parts to make a cigarette — the loose tobacco, tubes and filters. "This new law will place roll-your-own shops on a level playing field with retailers that sell traditionally manufactured cigarettes," said Thomas Briant, executive director with the National Association of Tobacco Outlets.

"Before this change in the law was enacted Friday, roll-your-own machine operators were operating under a competitive advantage." The interest in roll-your-own smokes has grown since 2009 after a federal excise tax on tobacco rose dramatically, affecting the price of packaged cigarettes. Roll-your-own shops use loose pipe tobacco, which was less affected by the tax hike. David Fiore, owner of Double D's Tobacco, which has seven Palm Beach County locations, stopped using his rolling machines Friday. The machines roll a carton of cigarettes in less than 10 minutes, he said. "This bill is going to put a lot of people out of work," Fiore said. "And now there's going to be even more empty retail space in shopping centers."

 Fiore said he plans to shut down his East Boca store off Boca Raton Boulevard. Without the rolling services, he said, the store won't continue to be profitable. In order for roll-your-own shops to continue using the machines, owners must obtain a manufacturer's permit, file a bond, pay the applicable federal cigarette tax rate, keep records, print required markings on packages used for manufactured cigarettes, affix the U.S. Surgeon General's warning labels to packages and comply with theU.S.

Food and Drug Administration'sminimum cigarette package size, Briant said. Big tobacco companies and some convenience stores lobbied for the legislation. Several states, including Virginia, South Dakota and Wyoming, have similar bills on the state level. "We can't compete with that; our store is only 800 square feet," said Scott Archer, owner of Ciggy Mart, a roll-your-own shop in Palmetto Bay.

Tobacco marketing to be decentralised

THE government and the Tobacco Industry Marketing Board (TIMB) are exploring ways of decentralising the he marketing of the crop to the provinces to reduce transportation costs for farmers, Finance Minister Tendai Biti has said. Currently, four auction floors – Boka Tobacco Auction Floors, Tobacco Sales Floors, Zimbabwe Leaf Tobacco and Millenium Auction Floors – are licenced to auction the crop but all of them are based in Harare, meaning farmers must incur huge transportation costs.

However, presenting his mid-term fiscal review recently, Biti said the government and the industry were looking at ways of easing the transportation burden to farmers. “Government together with TIMB are exploring alternatives for decentralising the marketing of tobacco to provinces and districts following concerns related to high transportation costs and congestion at the current auction floors,” he said. Meanwhile the TIMB said the current selling season would close on Friday with the revised target of 133 million kgs having been surpassed.

 "TIMB advises that the final day of the 2012 flue cured tobacco auction sales is February 27 with final deliveries being accepted on Thursday July 26," the TIMB said in a statement Tuesday. "All growers are advised to complete their grading and baling operations well before the final sale day. Contract sales will continue until further notice. Dates of clean up sales will be announced in due course.” Initial projections had put this season’s crop at 180 million kgs but this was revised downwards due to a decline in the hectarage planted caused by funding constraints.

 However, TIMB chief executive Andrew Matibiri said they were expecting an even higher output next season. “This shows that tobacco is still coming through. We have an idea on how much we are to revise upwards as the (current) tobacco season ends,” he said. Latest figures from TIMB show that 134 million kg of tobacco valued at US$496,3 million was delivered to the country’s auction floors as of last Friday, a 45 percent increase on the US$343 million recorded during the same period last year.

Electronic Cigarette Free Trial Kits Proven Effective to Quit Smoking

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Easy Way To Quit Smoking Electronic cigarettes or e cigarettes are widely considered as the best option to quit smoking. E cigarettes have revolutionized the industry by allowing smokers to get the same taste and feeling of a real tobacco cigarette without having to bear the consequences of its numerous health issues. The greatest challenge faced by smokers when attempting to quit smoking is to find a way to curb the addiction and withdrawal syndrome – the after-effects of quitting smoking. E cigarette is the most effective smoking cessation tool to help you override the most challenging transitioning period from being a smoker to non-smoker.

According to a recent study by Dr. Siegel, professor in the Department of Community Health Sciences at the Boston University of Public Health suggests that electric cigarettes significantly cut down the user’s exposure to a wide range of chemicals in tobacco smoke. The few chemicals for which exposure remains are at levels well below that of cigarette smoking. "My sense is that in the long run, electronic cigarettes that use glycerin as an excipient may become the standard," said Siegel.

"Using glycerin would probably avoid the production of most of the volatile organic compounds detected in this study, and would also alleviate any concerns about respiratory irritation." Studies revolving around the health benefits of smokeless cigarettes over conventional cigarettes reported to have confirmed that the number of carcinogens is exponentially reduced in smokeless cigarettes. Vapor cigarettes also reduce a smoker’s exposure to dangerous chemical compounds, thereby reducing the risks of cancer associated with smoking tobacco cigarettes.

Quit smoking clinics open in Irbid and Karak

As part of the health ministry's efforts to help smokers across the Kingdom kick the habit, two new "quit smoking clinics" were opened in the northern and southern regions on Sunday. The new clinics were established in Irbid, 90 kilometres north of Amman, and in Karak, 140 kilometres south of the capital. "These two clinics will provide services for smokers who want to quit smoking," said Malek Habashneh, director of the ministry's awareness department. Habashneh added that the clinics will be open to the public every Sunday and Tuesday.

"Staff at these clinics will provide consultation for smokers on how to quit smoking and the withdrawal symptoms they should expect," he told The Jordan Times over the phone on Sunday, adding that nicotine replacement treatments will be given free of charge to those who decide to quit smoking. He noted that the clinic in Amman serves up to 40 beneficiaries each week. According to the ministry's figures, up to 26 per cent of those who visit the clinic each year succeed in kicking the habit, although the success rate dropped to 18 per cent in 2011.

 "The drop was related to a shortage of medication in the ministry's stores last year," Sadeq Ghabashah, head of the ministry's tobacco control unit, told The Jordan Times previously, noting that the ministry spends JD60,000 on nicotine replacement treatments each year. Habashneh added that the ministry issued 178 tickets and 500 warnings in the first six months of the year against individuals, restaurants, fast-food outlets, malls and hotels for violating the law that prohibits smoking in public places.

Tight tobacco laws ‘empower crime’

Over restriction of access to tobacco could have a significant impact on and could cause as yet unquantified damage to the economy, speakers at a media briefing organised by the Free Market Foundation (FMF) said yesterday. Chris Hart, the chief economist at Investment Solutions, said investments that had been made to comply with the requirements of the Tobacco Control Act to make premises suitable would be neutered. “The minister says personal choice must have certain consequences. Individual risk must sit with the individual and must not be generalised,” he said.

The discussion follows Health Minister Aaron Motsoaledi’s intention to enforce strict anti-smoking laws. Last month, the Department of Health issued proposed regulations on smoking in public and certain outdoor places, imposing serious restrictions on the rights of individuals, employers and property owners. Hart said almost R122 billion was spent on the health budget. Already the fiscus was taking about 52 percent of the retail price of cigarettes. He said agriculture and agri-processing, including tobacco, contributed 2 percent to 3 percent to the gross domestic product.

However, strict anti-smoking regulations would contribute to the cost of crime. “CEE (criminal economic empowerment) costs the fiscus about R3 billion in smuggled cigarettes. The regulations will create an incentive and illicit channels that empower criminals. If you cut down the cost of smoking, you could resolve the problem,” Hart said. “Should we shut down everything that could kill?” Leon Louw, the executive director of the FMF, said: “If you allow this to happen, you have effectively opened the sluice gates. No way will the nico-nazis be satisfied. They will keep on moving the goal posts. Is that the society you want?”

The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa submitted comments to the department, but said yesterday it had not done a survey of the financial implications on the tobacco industry if the regulations were approved. In its submission, the institute said that although the tobacco sector supported the regulation of smoking in public places, the draft regulations were excessively restrictive.

The institute said it believed the existing regulations on smoking in public places, where they were complied with and enforced, worked well and provided for both smokers and non-smokers. Eddy Khosa, the acting chief executive of the Federated Hospitality Association of Southern Africa, said the hospitality industry believed the regulations would have little impact on its revenues.

Smoking ban gets countywide look from Board of Supervisors

A proposed ban on smoking in parts of San Luis Obispo County goes before the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, and if correspondence to date is any indication, the panel will draw considerable interest and be called upon to answer many questions. The proposal would outlaw smoking at county mini-parks and neighborhood parks, in parking lots near county buildings and at other outdoor locations. The county General Services Agency has been taking the proposed ordinance on the road and has compiled opinions and questions from community meetings from Shandon to Cayucos to Avila Beach, where the harbor district hosted a meeting. Many of those who commented are seeking clarity.

Would you be able to smoke on the Promenade at Avila Beach, for example, or on boats in the harbor or on Nacimiento Lake? What about beaches? others asked. Cigarette butts are the scourge of people who walk barefoot on local beaches, one commenter said. Others called second-hand smoke — even outdoors — a health problem. Many people asked whether it would be possible to enforce the ordinance, how that would be done and how much it would cost. “Enforcement? How? Who? Penalties? Why penalty if not really enforced?” said a commenter from Santa Margarita. Some said the ordinance constitutes government intrusion on personal freedom. “Another step to the ‘nanny state,’ ” said one commenter from Shandon.

“Don’t do this. They don’t want us to make decisions on our own — this is overregulation.” Although she does not have a vote on this ordinance, Supervisor-elect Debbie Arnold has already opposed it. “I ran on a platform opposing overreaching regulation. I believe this ordinance to be just that,” she told The Tribune last month. The proposal is a public health necessity, according to those who drew it up. “There is no safe level of exposure to tobacco smoke,” according to a report to the board from Health Agency Director Jeff Hamm and General Services Director Janette Pell.

They called the proposal a “wide-reaching effort that would place San Luis Obispo County in the forefront of tobacco-control efforts.” The current proposal calls for a ban at “structures owned, leased, concessioned or otherwise operated directly or indirectly by the county (and) all land appurtenant to those structures, including but not limited to parking lots, walkways, landscapes and patios.” It would allow the county health officer to designate exemptions, and there is a specific proposal to allow smoking areas at county airports as well as at the psychiatric health facility.

Smoking ban would choke income: pub owners

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Many restaurants, pubs and bars would prefer to see draft legislation aimed at tobacco control going up in smoke. Industry roleplayers believe the proposed legislation would be bad for business. Kiril Kirilov, manager of the Ferryman’s Tavern at the V&A Waterfront, said the establishment’s smoking section made more money. He said the new legislation could affect business badly. The Department of Health’s draft regulations would ban smoking in almost all public places.

 They would criminalise smoking in any building, outdoor venue, outdoor drinking or eating area, park, walkway, parking area, or within 10 metres of any doorway or window, and on a public or private beach. Smokers say they wouldn’t be happy if the proposed law came into effect. Ludwe Mange said that if he went outside to smoke he would have to leave his food and drink inside and this would not be fair.

“There’s already smoke here, who would know the difference?” said a friend of Mange, who didn’t want to be named, referring to the smoke from the braai area at Maphindi’s Tavern in Gugulethu. However, non-smoker Siphiwe Magoda thought that smokers were inconsiderate and would light up a cigarette regardless of who was near enough to breathe in their second-hand smoke.

Quitting smoking hassaved me in many ways

The scratch of the flint would spark yellow, lighting the evaporating butane as it escaped the needle eye-sized hole on the top of the plastic lighter. The ironically clean white filter sat secure between my moistened lips, and I sucked my cheeks in as I brought the flame within 70 millimeters of my face, inhaling as the flame kissed the end of the cigarette. The smoke caressed the back of my throat as it invaded my lungs.

The nicotine breached my bloodstream and fed my brain. I was a smoker. This scenario or one similar to it played out nearly 50,000 times in my life. 50,000 times! That’s about how many cigarettes I estimate I smoked between the ages of 16 and 27. Getting them underage was a challenge, but I learned quickly where to go and when. The decision to start was one of foolishness, of youth, and of wanting to fit in. The opportunities to quit occurred more than once, but it took the impending move-in with my eventual wife to motivate me to quit for good. It took medication and a plan.

The anniversary of my quit date was a week ago today. It’s been nine years. It all adds up In that nine years I estimate I’ve saved more than $13,000. That money will come in handy, too, because I’ll likely live much longer because of my decision to quit; 14 years longer by some estimates. For nine years I’ve had better smelling clothes, car seats without burn holes in them, and my senses of taste and smell have greater clarity. It’s disappointing to me that an estimated 45.3 million Americans have not seen the light as millions of others like me have.

They continue to light up. That’s nearly one in five people in this country. By not quitting they volunteer to pay roughly $31 billion in taxes per year. Here’s how I came to that number. The average state’s cigarette tax is $1.49 per pack. (Minnesota’s is $1.60). The federal tax per pack is $1.01. (Both figures are from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ June report). The average smoker consumes 13-16 cigarettes per day, according to AOL’s Dailyfinance.com. I rounded to 15, or 0.75 packs.

Atlanta considers wide-ranging smoking ban

Atlanta's city council is set to vote as early as Monday on a wide-ranging smoking ban. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports (http://bit.ly/MfKzuD) that the ban would cover playgrounds, athletic fields, aquatic areas, tennis courts, golf courses and walking trails.

A council committee last week voted 4-1 to send the ordinance to the full City Council for consideration as soon as Monday. The ban would take effect immediately if the council approves it and Mayor Kasim Reed signs it. The city's Department of Parks, Recreation and Cultural Affairs pushed for the measure with Reed's blessing.

A bonkers tobacco ban plan

Andrew Donaldson on govt's efforts to prohibit smoking in "any public place" This may come as a shock but - brace yourselves - some of the regulars at the Mahogany Ridge smoke tobacco. Sometimes they do it outside, but normally they'll just light up right next to me here. I can't complain, of course. I enjoy it in the smoking section. It's ventilated, the fireplace works, the company is mostly pleasant, and there is a corner of the bar where the wood has been worn to a pleasing sheen by my elbows.

It's home from all the other homes and it's cosy and I try not to wonder why the ashtrays have teeth marks. I had my last cigarette six years ago. I'd be lying if I said I didn't miss it sometimes, but I don't think I'm about to start again. Thirty years was long enough, thank you, but you go on ahead. Have two if you must. The thing is, it really doesn't bother me, and I don't believe that passive smoking is as harmful as matron says it is. Certainly, it's nowhere near as dangerous as the proposed Tobacco Products Control Act laws which seek to ban smoking in "any public place" and outdoor space, including sports facilities, playgrounds, zoos, schools and child care facilities, health facilities, outdoor venues where events are taking place, covered walkways and parking areas and beaches.

Smoking would also be banned within 10 metres of windows, doorways or entrances to any public space. Understandably, the Township Liquor Traders Association is threatening legal action. The association's secretary, Patric Poggenpoel, has said the rules would be impossible to implement. Speaking at a Free Market Foundation briefing in Johannesburg, he said that requiring smokers to go 10 metres from a shebeen doorway would put them on sidewalks where they would inconvenience pedestrians. He probably has a point. In places like Cape Town's Long Street, however, if you were to move 10 metres in any direction from one dive's doorway you'd wind up in the doorway of the next one.

But the real danger in the draft regulations is that they're unconstitutional. According to the Law Review Project, they were drawn up by executive decree rather than through parliamentary legislation with transparent oversight. This, the project's Tebogo Sewapa has said, was a violation of the constitutional requirement of the separation of powers between the executive, legislative and judicial authority. "Under sound basic principles of good law in a free society consenting adults should be allowed to determine their own conditions of interaction, and property owners have the right to determine conditions for entry, so long as no one violates the legitimate rights of others," Sewapa said. As things stood, he added, current anti-smoking laws already diminished the rights and freedoms of smokers and non-smokers, employers and employees, and property owners.

That is the nature of the beast for you. Governments are compulsive botherers and must interfere. The urge to nanny the citizenry, to inconvenience, harry and badger them with legislation that treats them as if they were children is deep-seated, a habit worse than heroin -- or cigarettes, even. Strangely enough, some people do want to live forever. Last year, Britain's Daily Mail reported that the first person who will live to celebrate their 150th birthday has already been born, such are the medical advances in the "battle" against ageing. Who on earth will look after these old duffers? Certainly not our youth. If that were the case, the sooner we die, the better.

But speaking of miracle medicine, can we all get some of that whizz that the sports minister, Fikile Mbalula, was on when he penned his open letter to our Olympic team? "It's a BOOM, BOOM BANG! situation. . . Something big is coming. Something huge is happening tomorrow. In a razzmatazz fashion, the swag of sport is hitting our shores ahead of the global spectacle in London . . . "Netball is furiously invading the space. This is a growing sport that deserves greater recognition and to be profiled in the global sporting arena. . .

"Tomorrow is huge. President Jacob Zuma will give the final word as he releases his troops to victory. We are confident that after the president has spoken to these national heroes and heroines, his words will inspire them to victory. . . "We are confident that Team SA will tear down walls and shake mountains. When we present the final send-off on July 19, the president's final words will have been ringing in the team's hearts and minds, as a sign of victory ahead."

Protecting Americans from tobacco’s damage

Three years ago, President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act into law. Those of us present knew we were witnessing history. With the stroke of a pen and strong bipartisan support from Congress, the Food and Drug Administration was charged with protecting public health from tobacco use – the nation’s single most preventable cause of disease, disability and death. More than 1,200 people die each day in the United States because of cigarette use.

That is one person every 71 seconds. Today, I am pleased to report that the law is working. In passing the Tobacco Control Act, Congress recognized that the linchpin of any successful strategy to reduce adult tobacco use must be to prevent young people from ever starting. More than 80 percent of adult U.S. smokers begin smoking as teens. Each day more than 3,800 young people under age 18 smoke their first cigarette, and more than 1,000 become daily cigarette smokers. Reversing this trend requires aggressive action on two fronts: reducing the attractiveness of tobacco products to children and ending their access to them.

That’s exactly what the FDA is doing. During our first 12 months of regulating tobacco, the FDA pulled candy and certain other flavored cigarettes off the market; issued tough new regulations to halt sales of cigarettes, cigarette tobacco, and smokeless tobacco to young people; banned brand-name sponsorship of sporting events and concerts; and implemented requirements for new warning labels for smokeless tobacco products. The FDA also has begun funding state authorities to assure vigorous enforcement of these new actions to protect our children. The FDA’s efforts haven’t just focused on young people. We’re working to make sure all Americans, young and old, understand the true dangers of tobacco use.

That’s why the FDA is enforcing the prohibition on misleading labeling and advertising claims, and why, for the first time, tobacco companies are required to report the quantities of harmful or potentially harmful chemicals in the products they make. The FDA also is requiring graphic health warnings on cigarette packages and ads. Although a lawsuit by tobacco companies has halted implementation of the warning requirements, FDA will continue to fight to keep them so the United States, like dozens of other countries around the globe, can use this effective way to communicate the dangers of smoking to consumers. Turning back the tide of suffering and death caused by tobacco use won’t be easy.

Today, FDA researchers are beginning to unravel the mysteries of tobacco use and addiction, including the possibilities of reducing the dangers and addictiveness of tobacco products. FDA scientists also are exploring the full spectrum of health consequences of tobacco use and how best to communicate those dangers to the public. Working with other federal agencies, including the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the National Institutes of Health, we will meet those challenges. Much has been done since that day three years ago when the Tobacco Control Act was signed into law by the president in the White House Rose Garden. To the FDA, these achievements represent a solid foundation to build on. I have never been more confident that, together, we can make tobacco-related death and disease part of America’s past, and not America’s future.

Tobacco hazards to be discussed at Healthy Woman luncheon

Janet Hill with the Alabama Department of Public Health will be the keynote speaker for the Gadsden Regional Medical Center Healthy Woman luncheon Monday. Hill will be speaking about the hazards of tobacco and secondhand smoke. The free event is scheduled for noon at the Senior Activity Center, 623 Broad St., in downtown Gadsden.

Farmers protest tobacco bill

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Hundreds of farmers from the Indonesian Tobacco Growers Association (APTI) rallied against a draft regulation on tobacco on Tuesday, further fouling congestion in several areas in Jakarta. The protesters, who came from various cities in Central Java, rallied in front of the Health Ministry on Jl. H.R Rasuna Said in South Jakarta and in front of the Office of the Coordinating People’s Welfare Minister on Jl. Merdeka Barat, Central Jakarta.

The protesters said that if the bill was passed, it would threaten their jobs. Police officers rerouted traffic to reduce congestion attributed to the protests. Jakarta Police spokesman Sr. Comr. Rikwanto said that around 250 police officers were deployed to maintain order at the demonstrations.

US must see soda health risk like tobacco risk

The American Cancer Society (ACS) wants U.S. health officials to denounce the health risks of drinking soda the way they denounced the health risks of using tobacco in the 1960s. In a letter, the group's nonprofit arm asked for a federal study that could serve as a landmark in the debate — something comparable to the 1964 surgeon general report that helped turn the tide on American tobacco use. "An unbiased and comprehensive report on the impact of sugar-sweetened beverages could have a major impact on the public’s consciousness," wrote ACS Cancer Action Network President Christopher W. Hansen. "We know there is a direct link between excessive consumption of sugar-sweetened beverages and obesity, and the adverse health effect can be profound." Obesity is considered the United States' leading public health crisis. It is the country's No. 2 cause of preventable death, according to the Get America Fit Foundation. Writing to Health and Human Services (HHS) Secretary Kathleen Sebelius, Hansen sought to highlight a possible link between obesity and cancer. He cited his group's cancer-prevention guidelines, which state, "Consuming a healthy diet can substantially reduce one’s lifetime risk of developing or dying from cancer." A "comprehensive" surgeon general study on the issue could "perhaps begin to change the direction of public behavior in their choices of food and drinks," he wrote.

SC to examine tobacco, food law conflict

The Supreme Court is set to examine an interesting question arising from apparent conflict in provisions of two laws — one allowing and regulating sale of cigarettes and tobacco products, including gutka, pan masala and chewing tobacco, while the other bans use of tobacco and nicotine in food products. A bench of Justices G S Singhvi and S J Mukhopadhay issued notice to gutka and pan masala manufacturers on a petition filed by the Union government seeking transfer of their petitions in the Delhi High Court, where the new provisions of the Food Safety and Standards (Prohibition and Restrictions on Sales) Regulations, 2011, was challenged.

Appearing for the Centre, additional solicitor general Harin Raval said that an identical issue related to similar provisions in the eclipsed Prevention of Food Adulteration Act was being adjudicated by the apex court and requested for transfer of the pending petition in the HC. The court asked the gutka and pan masala manufacturers to file their replies in four weeks.

The food safety and standards regulation prescribed that "tobacco and nicotine shall not be used as ingredients in any food products". The manufacturers had challenged this provision in the HC on the ground that manufacture and sale of tobacco and nicotine containing products such as pan masala and gutka were permitted but regulated by the Cigarettes and other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and Regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003.

It said the food regulation hindered the trade, commerce, production, supply and distribution of the these products resulting in unwarranted harassment and hindrance to their right to carry on business. The Supreme Court, while hearing a related matter, had banned use of plastic pouches for packaging of gutka and pan masalas or any tobacco product forcing the industry to shift to paper packaging.

No public debate ‘is smoking laws by decree’

THERE will be no public debate or hearings on the proposed changes to the tobacco laws and it will now be up to the health minister to decide which regulations, if any, to put in place. Submissions on the proposed changes to tobacco legislation closed on Friday, and a few stakeholders have sounded the alarm on the possible effects of the envisaged regulations. If passed in their existing form, the regulations will tighten restrictions on smoking in all public areas, including covered walkways, service areas, inside bars, on beaches and in restaurants — leaving little more than private homes and cars where smoking will be legal. In its submission the Township Liquor Industry Association says the regulations are more stringent than laws in the past.

"It was much easier to operate in apartheid years. We invite the health minister to come and see how impossible the regulations will be and request that they consult with us or exempt us from the regulations." Head of Free Market Foundation of Southern Africa Leon Louw says the method used is not how laws should be made in a democracy. "It is now a discretionary matter; we did not fight for freedom during the struggle for law by decree. We fought to prevent exactly this, to prevent secret laws being made in Pretoria by the government." The foundation made a submission to the health ministry along with other stakeholders, including British American Tobacco (BAT). Itumeleng Langeni, head of corporate communications at BAT SA, says while interested parties have been given three months to submit comment on the draft regulations, the company suspects many stakeholders are "unaware of the regulations and their impact".

The Department of Health published the draft regulations to the Tobacco Products Control Act on March 30 and invited the public to comment until the end of last month. The department could not be reached yesterday to comment on the submissions. It is also unclear when the regulations will be passed. However, in a statement a few weeks ago, the department reiterated its stance that it would not be "soft" on tobacco-control legislation. "The department is of a firm view that the use of tobacco products is one of the leading causes of noncommunicable diseases in our country and many parts of the world." It said it had continued with its programme of tightening legislation around the use of tobacco in SA, in line with its mandate of "reducing the burden of diseases (caused by tobacco smoke, among others) and ensuring that members of the public are protected from the harmful effects of tobacco smoke".

In its submission, BAT says the new regulations should be practical and enforceable in order to effect the objective it endeavours to deliver. "The question then arises as to the need to disregard the very significant expenditure undertaken by the private sector in order to comply," it says. The act asserts that smoking is to be permitted in prescribed portions of public places. The act states that "the minister may permit smoking in the prescribed portion of a public place", a statement which clearly intends to ensure that smoking in public places would remain permissible in terms of the act, the company says.

It wants Parliament to make a decision, saying a prohibition of smoking in public places is inconsistent with the act and any change will have to be sanctioned by Parliament. The failure to provide for portions of public places in which smoking is permitted is contrary to the framework of the act, BAT says. The Free Market Foundation, in its submission, says the regulations pose constitutional issues. By restricting smoking to designated outdoor smoking areas, the government breaches the right to have one’s dignity respected, it argues.

The proposed regulations will allow smoking only in designated outdoor areas, which will be devoid of pleasant or agreeable surroundings or amenities, even if the designated smoking area is in a public place of entertainment, it says. "This will have a symbolic stigmatising effect on smokers, breaching their fundamental right to dignity. The proposed regulations will for that reason be invalid, as the Constitutional Court ruled in relation to anti-sodomy legislation." As for the effect on businesses, owners of such businesses, which have put up structures to accommodate smokers, claim much will be lost. However, anti-smoking bodies claim smoke-free work environments help to increase productivity and encourage workers who want to stop smoking to quit.

TEXT-Fitch raises Imperial Tobacco Group Plc ratings

Fitch Ratings has upgraded Imperial Tobacco Group PLC's (ITG) Long-term Issuer Default Rating (IDR) and senior unsecured ratings to 'BBB' from 'BBB-'. The Outlook is Stable. Fitch has also affirmed the Short-term IDR at 'F3'. The agency has also upgraded the senior unsecured ratings of the debt issued by ITG's subsidiaries Imperial Tobacco Finance PLC, Altadis Finance B.V. and Altadis Emisiones Financieras at 'BBB'. The upgrade reflects the leverage reduction achieved by ITG as well as its scope for some further de-leveraging.

Also, the company's profits demonstrated solid resilience, maintaining growth amidst regulatory pressure and lower disposable income in some of its key markets during 2010 and 2011, notably in Spain. With lease adjusted net debt / operating EBITDAR of 2.8x at FYE11 to September 2011 and the scope for further debt pay-down, Fitch views ITG's credit protection metrics as sufficiently comfortable in relation to its financial policies.

ITG distributes the majority of its annual pre-dividend free cash flow (FCF) to shareholders via dividends - it has a 50% pay-out dividend policy - and a share buyback programme of GBP500m per annum. ITG's focus on the European Union provides it with operations in the region of the world characterised by the highest pricing environment. Combined with the high efficiency of its operations, this gives it the highest EBITDA margin in the industry jointly with Philip Morris International Inc (PMI, 'A'/Stable) and enables it to maintain a strong annual FCF (pre-dividends and working capital changes) of GBP1.6bn.

Contrasting with these positives, Fitch notes that ITG's growth perspectives remain the weakest of the four international tobacco companies, due to its more limited exposure to large developing markets. This has contributed, together with the higher weight that Spain carries in the company's portfolio, to its deteriorating volume and weaker price/mix performance relative to peers over 2009-2011. ITG's organic profit growth was 6% and 1% in FY10 and FY11 respectively, against high single-digit to low-teens growth enjoyed by British American Tobacco ('BBB+'/Stable) and PMI in the same period.

Despite this rating action, trading difficulties causing a contraction of FCF margin below 3% or any debt-funded acquisitions or changes to shareholder distribution policies leading to an increase of net leverage above 3.0x on a permanent basis could lead to a downgrade. A further upgrade is currently constrained by the maturity of the markets in which ITG operates and by its shareholder friendly financial policies.