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Norfolk pub in hot water over changes 

Action is planned to remove a smoking shelter, window and satellite dish installed without consent at a pub.

South Norfolk district council is concerned that various alterations have been made to The White Hart, Hingham, all of which required listed building approval. The work included a new window, hanging baskets and gates at the entrance to the rear courtyard.

The smoking shelter is described as a basic structure with a felt roof, and the window is a standard casement. Neither is considered to fit in with the character and appearance of the 17th century Grade 2 listed building

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Mitchell bar, restaurant decides to go smoke-free 

Instead of awaiting a decision by the state Legislature, Joel Van Dover and his partners have decided to implement their own smoking restrictions.

Beginning Monday, Blarney’s Pub and Casino will not allow smoking, except in an enclosed video lottery casino and on its outdoors patio.

It’s a topic that’s been under discussion for six months, said Van Dover, general manager of the southern Mitchell establishment. When the time came to vote last week, Van Dover and his five partners voted unanimously to make the change.

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• Germans win right to light up after court ruling on smoking 

In stark contrast to Australia — where smokers have become a much maligned social group — the German High Court has just overturned smoking bans in small bars and restaurants, making Germany one of the last havens for smokers in Europe.

The ruling came after the owners of two small bars claimed their businesses had been unfairly hit by the smoking ban. They claimed that because of their bars' small size, they were unable to provide a cordoned-off smoking area, which created a competitive disadvantage. The constitutional court agreed.

The ruling means that German states must ban smoking in all pubs or restaurants or offer exceptions for single-room establishments.

The court ruled that the previous rather modest smoking ban proposed by Chancellor Angela Merkel's coalition of conservatives and Social Democrats was unconstitutional. It found that the law went against the rights of the state governments to impose their own regulations.

This latest ruling is part of an ongoing tussle in Germany, where the forces of civil libertarianism and corporate tobacco industry interests have become unlikely bedfellows. . . .

History may play a role here too.

The Nazi Party was strongly opposed to smoking and, after 1945, smoking became a symbol of postwar freedoms and progressive values.

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Smokers, restaurants adapt to smoking ban 

Today, those with a penchant for butts haul themselves into court to contest smoking tickets. Or they brave winter winds for the toasted taste.

Casinos say they're losing money, especially near borders with neighboring states, where customers have moved across the state line to gamble because they can smoke there.

And the Legislature is still working to clear up enforcement of the ban that prohibits smoking in and within 15 feet of public places.

Yet, by most accounts, it appears the Southland has adjusted to a smoke-free lifestyle, despite a rocky start, with disgruntled smokers pushed outdoors during January cold.

"They weathered the storm," said David Seaman, a Tinley Park Village trustee who is on the American Cancer Society's national board of directors. "Not all smokers are surly people. I just don't think it was quite the issue that people feared early on."

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Smoking ban opponents mostly still opposed 

Lee Mauer read the recent news report about a possible link between a community's smoking ban and a drop in heart attacks there.

But Mauer says the new research won't change his view on local smoking bans.

"In this day and age, everyone knows smoking can kill you," the 24-year-old smoker said while flicking his cigarette in an ash tray at a Greater Lafayette bar. Still, Mauer said, he believes the choice of banning smoking should be decided by business owners and not by politicians.

Although proponents of the local smoking bans said the new research helps strengthen their case, the research had little impact on some opponents' views. . . .

Patti O'Callaghan is a former West Lafayette City Council member and author of the city's smoking regulations. O'Callaghan said the new research strengthens the argument for smoking bans.

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EDITORIAL: Smoking ban fails, but still a priority 

Issue

A statewide smoking ban fails in the Legislature's final days for this year.

Our Say

Lawmakers have a mandate to approve this ban, for the good of public health and the economy. Our elected officials should continue to press for this just as soon as they can next year.

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After smoking ban, ire smolders 

It's been nearly six months since the city put a public smoking ban into effect, and while some businesses say the change has brought in new customers, others say it has cost them some.

Ricky Miller, who owns the Anex and Bullfrogs, said the smoking ban has brought problems to both of his nighttime businesses. . . .

Oilfield worker William Butler, of Houston, smokes in the parking lot of Chili's restaurant Friday. Nacogdoches' smoking ban, which prohibits smoking inside most businesses or within 20 feet from any public entrance to a business, went into effect almost six months ago.

He said one of his biggest concerns, as a result of the smoking ban, is the increased amount of alcohol that is being consumed in the parking lot of his two night spots.

"People are drinking in their cars because they can go there to smoke," he said.

The smoking ban, which went into effect July 1, prohibits smoking in all Nacogdoches public buildings, workplaces, offices, bars and restaurants, and requires smokers to be at least 20 feet away from the building to light up. Not doing so is punishable by a fine of up to $2,000.

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• Smoke-free Hong Kong may allow hi-tech smoking rooms in bars 

Hi-tech smoking rooms may be allowed in Hong Kong bars when a total ban on cigarettes in places where food and drink are being served comes into effect in 2009, a news report said Monday.

Officials are examining a 40,000-US-dollar smoking room partly funded by British American Tobacco at a Hong Kong bar to see if exemptions should be granted to bars with hi-tech facilities.

The tobacco company claims the room removes and recycles smoke fumes safely and argues that it could save bars with high percentages of smoking customers from going bust.

However, the city's leading anti-smoking campaigner Anthony Hedley told Monday's South China Morning Post that allowing smoking rooms would be 'nothing short of a scandal.'

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Smoke 'em if you got 'em at Ore. bars - until midnight tonight  

When the clock strikes midnight this New Year's Eve, the lights on all cigarettes and cigars inside Oregon's bars are supposed to go out.

Oregon will join California, Washington and other states that ban smoking in bars. State lawmakers passed the law in 2007, and it's been an 18-month countdown to the end.

But don't expect a smoke squad to suddenly start busting lawbreakers. It's up to business owners to make sure people don't light up. And if a bar isn't smoke free, it's up to smoke-hating patrons and employees to file a complaint with the Oregon Department of Human Services, said Cathryn Cushing, a spokeswoman for the department's tobacco prevention program.

"There will be no smoking police out there running around and putting out cigarettes," Cushing said.

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Iowa bars' liquor licenses suspended for smoking ban violations 

DES MOINES - Two Iowa bars will have their liquor licenses suspended for violations of the state's public smoking ban -- the first in the state to face such sanctions.

Fro's Pub n' Grub in Wilton will lose its license for 21 days and Otis Campbell's Bar & Grill in West Burlington will have its license suspended for at least 30 days if there are no appeals of the decisions, according to separate rulings from an administrative law judge released Friday.

Both suspensions are to begin Feb. 9.

Fro's Pub n' Grub and Otis Campbell's Bar & Grill received notices of potential violation from the Iowa Department of Public Health after the law took effect in July. Law enforcement and health officials observed violations at both bars on repeated visits, according to the rulings.

Similar complaints have been filed against Manning's Whistle Stop in Clinton and Outer Limits in Des Moines.

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Smoking ban proves difficult to enforce  

"I'm the one that usually gets to deal with them," Van Winkle said.

For all her efforts, the private club in Butler County has gained a place of distinction among businesses in a four-county area of Southwest Ohio.

It ranks at the top when it comes to people complaining about smoking violations since Ohio began enforcing the ban 18 months ago.

With 208 complaints filed against it - primarily by its own members - the lodge has been ticketed twice. One of them was for a fine of $500. Both tickets are under appeal.

"We were getting a bad rap," Van Winkle said. "We have close to 10,000 members in and out of the facility in any given week. So we are going to get a lot of hits."

At a time when places like the Moose Lodge feel picked on, statistics provided by the Ohio Department of Health hint at problems with enforcing the ban.

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Fiscal courts to weigh-in on smoking ban in 2009  

Supporters of a tri-county smoking ban in public places are hoping officials can work out their differences early in 2009 - any longer and the issue could be delayed indefinitely, said Kenton County Commissioner Dan Humpert.

Humpert hopes to put a smoking ban before the fiscal courts as soon as possible before some supporters decide to table the issue. Boone County Judge-Executive Gary Moore said he would support tabling the issue if the debate goes on much longer:

"I believe it's either time to pass something or put it on the shelf for a while because it just seems to be an item that is taking staff time and concentration away from other projects," he said.

Northern Kentucky fiscal courts have been attempting to hammer together a three-county-wide smoking ban since June, but debates over allowing exemptions have dragged discussion on.

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INGRAM: County is proud to uphold smoking ban 

As health commissioner for Hamilton County, I support the smoking ban and am proud to say that our efforts to protect workers from the hazards of secondhand smoke are effective.

In December of 2008 complaints were down 40 percent compared with December of 2007. Of the nearly 2,100 restaurants, bars and other facilities licensed by Hamilton County Public Health, only 3 percent have been found in violation.

Since May 2007, when enforcement of Smoke-Free Ohio began, Hamilton County Public Health has received 746 complaints, conducted 739 investigations and issued 190 violations.

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Dickering threatens smoking ban  

FORT THOMAS -- A proposed smoking ban in three Northern Kentucky counties could go up in smoke as officials haggle over what type of establishments would be exempt from the measure.

Officials in Kenton, Boone and Campbell counties have been working together since June on the proposal. If the differences can't be ironed out soon, some leaders are suggesting the plan be tabled until a comprehensive measure can be put in place.

"I believe it's either time to pass something or put it on the shelf for a while because it just seems to be an item that is taking staff time and concentration away from other projects," said Kenton County Commissioner Dan Humpert.

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Feelings mixed on new smoke ban  

The law banning smoking in Oregon workplaces will cover more places starting Thursday. Some welcome the change, others do not.

Current law prohibits smoking in offices, manufacturing plants, restaurants, movie theaters and other locations.

The new law also covers bars and taverns, bingo halls, private and fraternal organizations and others.

The 2002 law allowed for penalizing businesses $50 a day or up to $1,000 a month for infractions. The new one calls for a $500 per day fine, capped at $2,000 in 30 days.

Several cities, including Eugene and Corvallis, already have ordinances that prohibit smoking inside bars and other businesses and require smokers to remain at least 10 feet away from the business' doors and windows.

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