Tobacco.org

Thumbs down on lighting up: WSU announces campuswide tobacco ban starting Jan. 12 

Smokers at Winona State University, beware.

Like bars and restaurants in Minnesota, the Winona campus will become smoke-free in the 2008-09 school year. The university announced Monday it plans to ban the use of tobacco products on its campus starting Jan. 12. The ban will prohibit smoking in all WSU public places and athletic fields at both its central and west Winona campuses.

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$5,000 Up For Grabs in QUITPLAN(R) Services QuitCash Challenge 

It's time to cash in on quitting. To urge more Minnesota tobacco users to kick the habit, ClearWay Minnesota(SM) is introducing its first-ever, statewide QuitCash Challenge at the Minnesota State Fair. Minnesotans can win big with this challenge -- a grand-prize of $5,000 cash will be awarded to one Minnesotan who quits tobacco use by Oct. 1, 2008, and remains tobacco-free for the entire month of October. The winner will be announced at the Minnesota Wild hockey game on Nov. 24, 2008.

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Lit cigarette likely caused fatal fire 

Alcohol and a lit cigarette likely contributed to a late-night fire that killed a Minneapolis man Friday, police said.

Edward W. Sivigny, 54, died in the small fire in his first-floor efficiency apartment at 3517 11th Av. S., the Hennepin County medical examiner's office said Saturday night. . . .

Sgt. Sean McKenna of the Minneapolis Police Department arson squad said the man, who lived alone and was described by neighbors as a shut-in, had eight disposable cigarette lighters throughout the apartment, as well as several alcohol containers.

Though the fire remains under investigation, a lit cigarette may have ignited the man's bed, McKenna said. . . .

Other residents of the building escaped unharmed.

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New Look for quitplan.com 

Created by ClearWay Minnesota(SM), QUITPLAN Services provides free professional counseling for those looking to quit smoking and a variety of help options, including online guidance at quitplan.com. The web site now has a new look and added features for Minnesotans looking for help in breaking their nicotine addiction.

The web site, originally launched in 2003, will continue to offer free membership for Minnesotans, personalized quitting plans, expert advice from online certified tobacco-treatment specialists, and forums to discuss successes and obstacles with other smokers online. The web site will also provide a new, cleaner look to help Minnesotans in any stage of quitting, whether they are contemplating quitting, in the process of quitting or have already quit and are seeking support.

In addition, the site will now feature more information about all the QUITPLAN Services available to Minnesotans

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Woman is St. Paul's first fire victim of '08 

an 85-year-old woman died Monday from burn injuries after smoking in bed Sunday night.

The victim was Roselyn Rylicki, 1749 Montana Av. E., city Fire Marshal Steve Zaccard said. . . .

Smoking is the leading cause of fire deaths in St. Paul and in Minnesota. In the past 10 years, 27 percent of Saint Paul's fire deaths were the result of fires caused by careless smoking.

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Kristi Stokes: Don't forget: Cigarette butts are litter too 

Everybody has their pet peeves. One that I hear about frequently is cigarette-butt litter. It’s trash, it’s unsightly and it eventually gets into our storm water and heads to our greatest resource, Lake Superior.

So, how do you tackle such an issue in Duluth’s downtown? After all, with our state legislation, even bar patrons are now required to smoke outdoors.

Well, for the second time in three years, the Greater Downtown Council has been selected for a national pilot program to educate the public about cigarette-butt litter and work to curb the amount of such litter on our sidewalks. . . .

And that’s what we’re really asking: Help us make sure that everyone is showing a little pride in their community by keeping it clean.

--Kristi Stokes is the president of the Greater Downtown Council in Duluth.

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HOLMES: Nine months and smoke-free: It's already paying off 

Congratulations, Minnesota, for making it nine months smoke-free! I know that going smoke-free is old news, but I continue to hear the different sides of discussion even now.

As a physician, I have routinely been hearing cheers and jeers regarding the smoking restrictions. Most of the jeering is focused on an individual's "right to smoke." . . .

There are no studies showing ventilation reducing health-related problems from secondhand smoke. In fact, the manufacturers deny any such claim. Believe me, if a ventilation system manufacturer found a way to completely purify air, it would market these systems like crazy and get rich doing so. . . .

As a physician, I have already seen how this ban has helped people who work in bars finally quit smoking. I have patients who struggled quitting because they were around smoke at work. They have been more successful in quitting now that they are able to completely avoid secondhand smoking.

There are many other states starting to look at banning smoking in bars and restaurants. I'm proud to live in a state that chose health and I hope that our progress helps other states make that commitment as well.

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EDITORIAL: Pioneer Editorial: Invest $10 a person for better health 

Investing just $10 a person could eventually make great gains in improving the health of Americans and in cutting health care costs by more than $16 billion a year, according to a new analysis by the non-profit Trust for America’s Health and a team of public-health research groups.

The investment would be used to teach Americans better health habits, according to an Associated Press report Thursday on the analysis. Our $2 trillion a year health care bill is fueled by obesity stemming from poor nutrition and inactivity and by smoking. They contribute to chronic diseases such as heart disease, cancer, diabetes and lung diseases.

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Cigarette butts cited in fire trend  

When Mike Post showed up Monday morning at the fire scene in East St. Cloud, he saw something that he thinks is becoming way too common.

The city's fire marshal saw cigarette butts overflowing from a plastic ice cream bucket of sand and water. A discarded butt caught fire, aided by the other butts, and burned until a fire was raging on a second-story balcony at 1323 Second St. NE.

"If they would not have been home today, it would have been a major fire. The fire was well on its way to intruding into the building, and it would not have gone out," Post said.

Monday's fire was the fourth since April, and third in the past 17 days, in which careless disposal of smoking materials was cited as the cause. . . .

The issue has not gone unnoticed by the people who own and manage the apartment units in St. Cloud.

"It is a problem," said Lisa Marvin, president of the Central Minnesota Multi-Housing Association. "Particularly, we see the problem with balconies and decks."

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Cigarette butts cited in fire trend  

The city's fire marshal saw cigarette butts overflowing from a plastic ice cream bucket of sand and water. A discarded butt caught fire, aided by the other butts, and burned until a fire was raging on a second-story balcony at 1323 Second St. NE.

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After party, sleeping guest's cigarette starts fire 

Residents of a house on Fifth Avenue East woke early Friday morning to find a 22-year-old guest from a keg party had fallen asleep on a couch with a lit cigarette, causing the couch and parts of the ceiling to catch fire, according to the Duluth Fire Department.

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Duluth Hillside Fire Caused By Careless Smoking  

A cigarette is to blame for a fire at a Duluth Hillside residence early Friday morning.

Duluth fire crews were dispatched to 726 N. 5th Ave. E. on a report of a couch on fire in the building's basement. . . .

A 22 year old male guest of the renters said he fell asleep on the couch while smoking a cigarette.

The $130,000 structure suffered an estimated $5,000 dollars in damage, including melted wiring in the basement ceiling.

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Smoking Ruled As Cause Of Crystal Fire 

A Minnesota family that was trying to cool off on a hot night lost their home Monday evening.

According to the West Metro Fire-Rescue District, improper disposal of smoking material started a fire at a home on the 3400 block of Louisiana Avenue in Crystal.

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Olmsted board vows to enforce smoking ban at fair 

Olmsted County commissioners are not flinching at plans to publicize and enforce a smoking ban at the Olmsted County Fair in Rochester.

This is the first year in which the entire fairgrounds will be off-limits to smoking. The county's Smoke-free Workplace ordinance took effect on Oct. 1 last year, after last year's fair.

The local law prohibits smoking in parks and other recreation areas when they're being used by children.

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Duluth Downtown Council to get grants for cigarette butt survey 

The council recently received $3,000 in grants from the Keep America Beautiful organization. The Lincoln Park Business District also received a $1,500 grant.

The councils?TM) neon green-shirted Clean and Safe Team crews will begin surveying cigarette butts on the streets today in Canal Park, counting how many are out there as part of the grant requirements.

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