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July 25, 2008 8:41:50 AM CDT

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Started by H Needles; Last updated Feb 20, 08 5:08 PM CST by D Lim | View history

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Smoke-Free World

"If we are really concerned about protecting the public, then we have a responsibility to adopt a policy like this." -Bob Vollinger

The push for smoke-free cities in the US is building, with at least 22 states and the District of Columbia now mandating all workplaces, including restaurants, movie theaters, and bars, be smoke-free. Major cities around the world, including Paris, London, and Dublin have also implemented a ban on smoking in public places. How are locals adapting to the changes, and are cigarette sales being affected?

Stories

Stories 1 - 20 of 31

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  • July 2008

    • Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus

      newser  |  New York Times  |  6 hours, 13 minutes ago

      Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus

      The exemption of menthol from a bill banning flavored cigarettes is causing a rift in the Black Congressional Caucus, the New York Times reports. Some members of the caucus, which has strong financial ties to tobacco companies, argue that menthol cigarettes cause disproportionate harm to blacks and are pushing for a ban. Others say a ban on menthol would sink the bill. More »

    • Dutch Fight Smoking Ban With God

      newser  |  Radio Free Netherlands  |  Jul 22, 08 12:27 PM CDT

      Dutch Fight Smoking Ban With God

      Worshipers are flocking to the One True Universal Smokers' Church of God—whose "masses" are held in bars—since the Netherlands instituted a smoking ban July 1. Adherents claim their right to light up is protected as a religious freedom, Radio Free Netherlands reports. "I genuinely believe in the freedom God has given us. That includes the freedom to smoke," says one bar owner. "So I smoke in the name of God." More »

    • Menthol Used to 'Hook' Young Smokers: Study

      newser  |  Reuters  |  Jul 17, 08 2:41 AM CDT

      Menthol Used to 'Hook' Young Smokers: Study

      Tobacco companies use menthol to make the taste of cigarettes more acceptable to young first-time smokers until they become addicted, a new study charges. Researchers found that 44% of child smokers used menthol cigarettes, reports Reuters. "Menthol stimulates the cooling receptors in the lungs," said an expert from the Harvard School of Public Health who studied the marketing of menthol cigarettes. "Menthol helps the nicotine go down. It makes smoking easier." More »

  • June 2008

    • Dutch Smoking Ban Leaves Pot Users in a Fog

      newser  |  USA Today  |  Jun 30, 08 2:40 PM CDT

      Dutch Smoking Ban Leaves Pot Users in a Fog

      Effective tomorrow, the Netherlands bans smoking tobacco in public places, and the new law means big changes for Amsterdam's famously relaxed coffeehouses, reports USA Today. Because the law doesn't cover cannabis or hashish, users can continue to smoke them inside. But those who prefer their pot mixed with tobacco, as many do, will have to step outside. More »

    • Altria's 'Safer' Smokes Latest in Line of Flops

      newser  |  Wall Street Journal  |  Jun 23, 08 2:47 PM CDT

      Altria's 'Safer' Smokes Latest in Line of Flops

      Altria is dropping its Marlboro Ultra Smooth cigarettes, the Wall Street Journal reports—the latest in a growing list of failures to sell Americans on so-called "safer" tobacco products. The cigarettes, which used special filters to block carcinogens, failed to attract consumer interest in a 3-year test, "presumably because they didn't think the taste and flavor was acceptable," says a spokesman for the Philip Morris parent company. More »

    • Want to Skirt Smoking Laws in Germany? Join the Club

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Jun 20, 08 11:44 AM CDT

      Want to Skirt Smoking Laws in Germany? Join the Club

      Smoking in a bar is verboten in much of Germany, so many watering holes have decided they’re not “bars” anymore—they’re private clubs where members are free to light up. The dodge appalls anti-smoking groups, but one club owner says cigarettes are essential to his business. “I wanted to offer three things: smoking, drinks and good music,” he said. “Without one, it doesn't work.” More »

    • Chicago Fines Aim to Kick Smokers' Butts From Beach

      newser  |  Chicago Tribune  |  Jun 18, 08 11:43 AM CDT

      Chicago Fines Aim to Kick Smokers' Butts From Beach

      Chicago will fine smokers who toss cigarette butts on the beach—or within 15 feet of one— up to $500. The new law is aimed at cutting the cost of cleaning up after smokers, who have been forced outside by smoking bans, reports the Chicago Tribune. Millions of tons of butts are cleared from beaches every year.  More »

    • To Court Blue-Collar Vote, Light Up

      newser  |  New York Times  |  Jun 17, 08 10:00 AM CDT

      To Court Blue-Collar Vote, Light Up

      Everyone has ideas about how Barack Obama can attract the working-class white voters that eluded him in the primaries. Author Tony Horwitz goes for the throat: Start smoking again. West Virginia and Kentucky, where Hillary Clinton clobbered Obama, lead the nation in cigarette consumption among whites, and lighting up could help worse-off voters see him as one of their own. More »

    • Supreme Court to Hear $79M Cigarette Verdict for 3rd Time

      newser  |  Oregonian (Portland)  |  Jun 9, 08 1:04 PM CDT

      Supreme Court to Hear $79M Cigarette Verdict for 3rd Time

      The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a third appeal of Oregon’s $79.5-million punitive-damage award against Philip Morris. The justices have twice sent the verdict back to Oregon’s high court, part of an effort to limit punitive damages to nine times the size of compensatory damages. This time, the AP reports, they will consider only whether Oregon courts ignored their previous ruling. More »

  • May 2008

    • Peer Pressure Helps Snuff Habit

      newser  |  New York Times  |  May 22, 08 9:58 AM CDT

      Peer Pressure Helps Snuff Habit

      New research shows people quit smoking not as individuals but in complex social clusters, each strongly influencing the others. Friends, spouses, relatives, and other social contacts all exercise an overwhelming sway over individual decisions to quit. The study covered 58,000 people from 1971 to 2003, the New York Times reports, when smoking declined precipitously across the US. More »

    • Portugal PM Gets Heat for Smoking on Plane

      newser  |  Guardian (UK)  |  May 16, 08 2:41 AM CDT

      Portugal PM Gets Heat for Smoking on Plane

      Portugal banned smoking in public places five months ago but the country's prime minister appears to have forgotten the rule his own government enacted. Jose Socrates—known to be a smoker in private—stunned passengers and triggered an uproar when he blithely lit up in the first-class cabin of a TAP flight from Lisbon to Caracas. More »

    • Menthol Gets Free Pass in Cigarette Bill

      newser  |  New York Times  |  May 13, 08 1:08 PM CDT

      Menthol Gets Free Pass in Cigarette Bill

      Congress is preparing to vote on legislation that would ban almost all flavored cigarettes—except menthol, the most prevalent flavoring of all. The bill would eliminate kinds like cloves and cinnamon that appeal to kids, but make an exception for menthol—which lures new smokers by masking the harshness of tobacco—as a concession to the tobacco industry, the New York Times reports. More »

    • Quit Sooner, Live Longer

      newser  |  WebMD  |  May 7, 08 2:59 PM CDT

      Quit Sooner, Live Longer

      Smokers who kick the habit see their risk of dying drop drastically after 5 years, and their risk level nears that of nonsmokers within 20 years, new research finds. In a study that followed 100,000 women over 3 decades, researchers recorded a 13% drop in death from all causes for ex-smokers 5 years after their last puffs, WebMD reports. More »

    • Bans Keep Teens From Lighting Up

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  May 6, 08 11:27 AM CDT

      Bans Keep Teens From Lighting Up

      Restaurant smoking bans are effective at discouraging teen smoking, the AP reports. Studying Massachusetts because of its patchwork of local smoking restrictions, researchers found that teens living in places with strict bans were 40% less likely to become smokers. Local laws didn’t change how many experimented with cigarettes, but had an effect on how many moved on to habitual smoking. More »

  • April 2008

    • Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Apr 23, 08 4:42 PM CDT

      Closet Smokers Might Get Canned

      A group of factory workers who lied about their smoking habits could be fired. The Whirlpool company charges lower premiums for health insurance to nonsmoking workers—and relies on the honor code when employees sign up. Now 39 workers at an Indiana factory have been suspended and face losing their jobs after being spotted smoking or chewing, reports the AP. More »

    • New York City Woman Sued for Smoking—at Home

      newser  |  ABC News  |  Apr 6, 08 9:47 AM CDT

      New York City Woman Sued for Smoking&mdash;at Home

      Forget bans in bars and restaurants—Galila Huff’s neighbors want to stop her from smoking in her own apartment. The New York restaurateur smokes up to two packs a day, and lawyers who live 50 feet down the hall say the smoke seeps into their 10x100-foot common hallway. They sued her for endangering their heath in a case that got the attention of ABC's 20/20. More »

    • Genetics May Play Role in Smokers' Cancer Risk

      newser  |  Daily Telegraph (UK)  |  Apr 2, 08 8:50 PM CDT

      Genetics May Play Role in Smokers' Cancer Risk

      Three new studies have found a genetic variation that may increase smokers' chances of getting lung cancer. A smoker who inherits the variations from both parents has a 70% to 80% greater risk of developing the cancer. The findings could shed light on why some  smokers get cancer and some don't, and why some are more prone to getting hooked. They also could lead to better anti-smoking treatments, the Telegraph reports. More »

    • Beijing Bans Smoking in Time for Games

      newser  |  Times (UK)  |  Apr 1, 08 4:28 AM CDT

      Beijing Bans Smoking in Time for Games

      China, the world's most populous country, is also home to the planet's largest number of smokers. But in the latest effort to clear the air for the Olympics, Beijing has banned smoking in government offices and public transportation, and mandated smoke-free areas in restaurants as of May 1. The penalty:  $700 for lighting up illegally in a country where a pack of smokes goes for 20 cents. More »

  • March 2008

    • 'Actors' Beat Smoking Ban in Minn. Bars

      newser  |  Associated Press  |  Mar 6, 08 8:21 PM CST

      'Actors' Beat Smoking Ban in Minn. Bars

      Stage performers are the only exception to the new smoking ban in Minnesota bars, so patrons are turning temporarily thespian and lighting up. The only props required at some of the 30 bars working the loophole are cigarettes and ashtrays—though some get more creative. "They're playing themselves before Oct. 1," one owner said. "You know, before there was a smoking ban." More »

  • February 2008

    • Your Boyfriend Does Mind If You Smoke

      newser  |  Der Spiegel  |  Feb 19, 08 12:09 PM CST

      Your Boyfriend Does Mind If You Smoke

      A German man was so sick of his girlfriend's smoking that he turned a fire extinguisher on her, Der Spiegel reports. The 42-year-old gave a few warning shouts before spraying the apartment the two share, and he hadn't stopped yelling by the time police arrived to escort him to the station. More »

Stories 1 - 20 of 31

<< Prev 1 2 Next >>
The sultry smoke-filled atmosphere of Parisian cafes and restaurants has been changed forever by a ban on smoking.   (Magnum Photos)
Tourists enjoy a cigarette at the terrace of a cafe-restaurant on the pavement of the Champs Elysees in Paris, Tuesday Jan. 1, 2008, the only place where it is allowed to smoke, on the first day of the...   (Associated Press)
A study suggests that kids who start smoking between the ages of 9-12 cite movies as an inspiration.   (Shutterstock.com)
A smoking ban icon is seen inside Hofbraeuhauskeller traditional beer hall on January 2, 2008 in Munich, Germany. Germany expands the smoking ban on public places like restaurants in nine further German...   (Getty Images)
Former chancellor of Germany Helmut Schmidt smokes during the opening day of an SPD congress 26 October 2007 in AFP PHOTO DDP/MICHAEL URBAN   (Getty Images)
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Smokefree lists, maps and data
No-smoke.org

Smokefree lists, maps and data

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