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NEWMAN: No-smoking policy will deter people from seeking help 

New York became the first state in the country to require all state-run addiction treatment centers to help their patients quit smoking. . . .

As someone who dedicates my life to advocating for treatment for those struggling with addiction and as someone who is personally addicted to cigarettes, I have mixed feelings about the new rule. I applaud the effort to help people quit smoking, but am worried that the smoking ban may deter some smokers who are hoping to quit other addictions from seeking help. . . .

But let's remove the smoking ban at the treatment centers. We need open doors that encourage people to get help for their problems, and not establish inflexible rules that drive people away from life-saving programs.

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• Lung cancer top killer among women in Sweden: report 

Lung cancer has become the deadliest form of cancer among women in Sweden, overtaking breast cancer, Sweden's National Board of Health and Welfare said in a report.

"The death rate among women who died from lung cancer was 31 deaths (per 100,000 inhabitants) in 2006, compared to 17.7 in 1987," an increase of 75 percent, the report said.

Among men, deaths caused by lung cancer have decreased by 11 percent between 1987 and 2006, it said.

The figures "are not surprising, they follow the trend" of an increase in cigarette smoking among women in the past 20 years, a spokesman for Doctors against Smoking, Goeran Boethius, told AFP.

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Bar revenues in Wash. rebound despite smoking ban 

It's a great alternative for smokers, who have been banished to the outdoors since the state implemented a smoking ban in 2005.

But patio or not, the smokers have other reasons they keep coming back.

"(Bill's) got a really good cook," said Carolyn Anderson, a 48-year-old smoker from Selah. "His food is cheap. There are no troublemakers."

Revenues at bars and taverns statewide have started to bounce back to pre-ban levels. Those businesses generated 20.3 percent more income in 2007 than they did during the same period a year ago. The gain was a mere 0.3 percent in 2006, according to data from the state Department of Revenue.

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Ban stamps out smoking in city Aug. 1  

North Augusta adopted a smoking ban Monday over protests from the city's only pub, The Highlander, whose owner waited until the ordinance's fourth and final reading to speak out.

North Augusta and Aiken are now smoke-free, with Aiken County planning to amend its ban so all three mirror the one in Greenville, which has been upheld by the South Carolina Supreme Court.

Highlander owner David Drakeley accused the city council of "approaching prejudice," saying he's being singled out because his is the only bar inside city limits.

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Area Organizations Face Smoking Violations 

Several area organizations are facing smoking violations, and they made their case to health officials on Tuesday morning.

The organizations appeared at administrative smoke-free hearings at Columbus Public Health, NBC 4's Tom Brockman reported.

Inspectors said when they visited American Legion Post 144 on South High Street in January they found numerous people smoking at the bar. Having been warned for a previous violation, city inspectors fined the organization $200.

The group is now fighting the fine. In a preliminary administrative hearing before an independent decision-maker, the post's manager defended the allegations, saying he can't control what people do when he isn't around.

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Camden smoking ban approved 

Camden City Council passed on final reading Tuesday morning a toughly worded ordinance banning smoking citywide in public and private workplaces.

The ordinance, which takes effect in 60 days, details a long list of places -- from bars to shopping malls -- where smoking will be prohibited. But, smoking will still be allowed at some outdoor sporting events.

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Customers complain but no problems have been caused by smoking ban in Boone 

It has been nearly one month since the Iowa Legislature passed the smoking ban that went into effect July 1st, and many want to know if people are keeping to the law, or raising more questions about it.

"Our bar business has died down some, and there's a lot of complaining, but we haven't had any problems with it," said Nancy Schaffner, assistant manager at the Colorado Grill.

The ban prohibits smoking in all businesses with employees except for casinos, where smoking is allowed on the casino floor. People can also smoke on the patio areas of bars.

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Commission Denies Smoking Ban Request  

A few frustrated Randolph County residents voiced their opinions after the Randolph County Commission unanimously voted to deny the H.W. Daniels American Legion Post 29's request ask the Randolph County Board of Health to allow smoking in non-profit and fraternal clubs.

"That's horrible," one audience member said while the motion was on the floor.

Prior to public comments, Commissioner Mike Taylor read a letter addressed to the board of directors of the American Legion explaining their position regarding their request.

Taylor said he and commission President Julia Elbon and Commissioner Voras Haynes spoke with many members of the community and researched with diligence the effect the smoking ban has had on businesses.

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Escambia County adopts tobacco-free hiring policy  

If you smoke or use tobacco, don't bother applying for a job with Escambia County government. Starting Oct. 1, the county will have a tobacco-free hiring policy. All applicants for county jobs are currently required to take a drug test, which will be expanded to include testing for tobacco use. Any applicant testing positive for tobacco will not be eligible.

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San Francisco considering drugstore tobacco ban  

The San Francisco Board of Supervisors on Tuesday will consider a ban on the sale of tobacco in pharmacies.

The city's public health chief said the proposal is modeled after rules in eight provinces in Canada, but has not been tried anywhere in the United States.

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• ND anti-tobacco initiative petitions turned in 

North Dakota is spending only a third of the money that it should to discourage tobacco use, say advocates of a ballot initiative to hike such funding that voters are likely to decide in November.

The proposal's supporters turned in petitions to Secretary of State Al Jaeger's office on Monday that they said included the signatures of 15,667 North Dakota voters, or 22 percent more than the minimum of 12,844 needed to qualify for a vote.

They collected the names in three months.

"I think this was an easy measure

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Smoker's defeat in court marathon 

A SMOKER who claims cigarettes and tobacco he brought back from the continent for himself and his family were illegally confiscated by customs officers has lost a five-year battle to get his baccy back.

Colin Cleary had two kilos of Golden Virginia rolling tobacco, over 13,000 Lambert and Butler super kings and other cigarettes seized on September 7, 2002, by customs and excise officials, who said they suspected he was going to sell them for commercial gain.

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Uk news in brief: Smuggled tobacco seized  

Nine tons of smuggled Golden Virginia tobacco, worth £2.2m and enough to make 19m cigarettes, has been seized from a container at Southampton port. Packets will be tested to determine authenticity; the rest will be burned.

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• Tobacco bill gets Cantor's support  

WASHINGTON -- Rep. Eric I. Cantor's support for a bill to regulate tobacco products puts the Richmond-area lawmaker in line with the only cigarette maker supporting the bill, home-town giant Philip Morris USA.

Cantor, R-7th, the top House recipient of campaign contributions from the tobacco industry, is backing the bill opposed by most tobacco companies, the Bush administration and many congressional Republicans.

"I signed on to that bill because it means jobs for the greater Richmond area with Philip Morris USA being such a prominent employer and major corporate presence," Cantor said.

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上海无烟环境营造"绿色奥运" 

昨天，上海市委宣传部、市卫生局、奥足赛上海赛区办公室、市文明办等有关部门和各重点场所负责人、本市各大媒体记者共同座谈“无烟奥运”。

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