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Here’s one for the irony record books.
Workers at Ameristar Kansas City Casino and Hotel who are smokers must step outside for a puff. When their break is over many must return to duty on the gaming floor where gamblers are permitted to light up, but they can’t, of course, while they’re on the job.
“We used to have a smoking area inside for our team members, but they can’t anymore because the city ordinance prohibits that,” said Ameristar spokeswoman Roxann M. Kinkade.
Kansas City’s nearly year-old smoking ordinance exempts casino floors from its near blanket ban on smoking in public places, but otherwise requires a “smoke-free workplace for all employees.”
That rule chases employee-smokers outside where some have started to complain the casino has done nothing to ease their exposure to harsh winter weather.
The law is pretty much the same at Harrah's North Kansas City Casino and Hotel. But puffing policies there work a little differently under the casino’s interpretation of North Kansas City’s nearly identical no-smoking law.
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The Missouri Court of Appeals on Tuesday re-adopted its decision in a landmark tobacco case after the Missouri Supreme Court returned the case to the appeals court in July.
In August 2007, the appeals court found evidence of intentional wrongdoing by tobacco company Brown & Williamson but ordered the case retried on the issue of punitive damages.
The case was brought by the family of Barbara Smith, who had smoked Kool cigarettes for nearly 50 years and died of a heart attack in May 2000 at the age of 73.
In February 2005, a Jackson County jury awarded the family $2 million in compensatory damages, which was later reduced to $500,000, and $20 million in punitive damages -- the largest punitive award in a Missouri smoking case.
University of Missouri plan to ban smoking in all university-owned or -leased property, starting in January.
Officials said this is the first step toward a smoke-free campus.
MU officials will work with the Atkins Wellness Program to provide smoking cessation programs for employees, while the MU Wellness Resource Center will provide smoking cessation programs for students.
A Jackson County judge heard arguments this morning over whether Kansas City's smoking ban in bars and restaurants is unconstitutional.
Judge Richard Standridge took the arguments under advisement and said he would rule soon. Regardless of his ruling, it probably will be appealed, but a Missouri appeals court ruling in the case could determine once and for all whether Kansas City's smoking ban stands.
Attorney Jonathan Sternberg argued that the smoking ban is unconstitutional. He said state law allows establishments like bars and restaurants to permit smoking, and Kansas City cannot restrict smoking in those places. Assistant City Prosecutor Lowell Gard disagreed and said the city is permitted to regulate smoking in bars and restaurants.
A two-alarm fire at The Links apartment complex yesterday could have had tragic results had it occurred at night.
"It’s probably very fortunate that fire occurred in the middle of the afternoon, when people were awake and could see the smoke and flames," Columbia fire Battalion Chief Steve Sapp said today.
The attic fire apparently ignited after a cigarette was left unattended on a wood-trim ledge above a second-floor common porch at the 12-plex at 5034 Clark Lane.
One argument for spending the money on things other than health care and anti-tobacco programs is that the settlement represented compensation for expenses already incurred by states -- expenses that prevented state from funding other programs like highways, prisons and economic development.
How the money is spent is up to each state. There were no strings attached to spending the settlement funds. Spending less than 4 percent on health-related programs might be considered a less than ambitious effort to undo some of the health problems related to tobacco use, past and present.
A proposed smoking ban in Parkville is moving closer to a vote by the Board of Aldermen.
The ordinance that would prohibit tobacco smoking in all public places -- including restaurants, bars and stores -- could be decided at one of next month's board meetings, said Mayor Gerry Richardson.
On Tuesday, a public meeting on the proposal drew about 40 residents to City Hall. About 60 percent of those who spoke favor the ban, and about 40 percent are opposed, Richardson said.
The board is divided, too, with some saying that existing bars and venues such as the American Legion hall downtown should have exemptions.
Today is the 33rd Great American Smokeout across the nation, offering millions of people the opportunity to quit smoking, save money and protect their health.
But in Missouri and Kansas, today also brings a depressing reminder of how politicians have squandered millions of dollars originally designated to help residents break their smoking habits and to stop young people from starting. . . .
The Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids has put together an excellent summary of the first 10 years of the tobacco settlement; it can be found at www.tobaccofreekids.org.
At more than $4 for a pack of cigarettes, smoking is a costly habit. In these tight economic times, that alone provides a strong reason for many people to try to quit.
Today would be a great day to take that step.
It's a sad fact, but profits trump health concerns at Atlantic City's gaming palaces.
Citing a worsening economy and plunging casino revenues due to stiff competition from slot parlors in Pennsylvania and New York, the Atlantic City Council last week overturned a temporary smoking ban that took effect Oct. 15. Mayor Scott Evans signed the measure shortly after it was passed by a 5-4 vote.
Starting Nov. 16, smokers will again be allowed to puff away in the resort town's 11 casinos. . . .
In this situation, workers' rights to a smoke-free workplace are emphatically more important than risking health consequences such as cancer.
The dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke have been established beyond doubt. That is why smoking bans in public places have become more widespread.
It would be a good idea to ban smoking in all public gambling sites. That way, everyone will breathe a little easier.
Franklin County falls below the state average in the number of smokers according to Missouri Foundation on Health (MFH) statistics released last month.
In Franklin County, 18.8 percent of the adult population smoke, a recent study concluded. The state average of adult smokers is 23.2 percent.
Franklin County Health Department Director Conn Roden said he has noticed trends state- and countywide that indicate the number of adults who smoke cigarettes is down.
For almost a week, Missouri's TV airwaves have been smoking with a set of nasty back-and-forth ads launched by the state's two major candidates for governor, Democrat Jay Nixon and Republican Kenny Hulshof.
The first shot, fired by Hulshof, accuses Nixon -- the state's attorney general -- of running a "gravy train" to funnel $111 million to "liberal trial lawyers."
The counter volley, lobbed by Nixon, asserts that he "took on Big Tobacco and won," and then takes after Hulshof.
Both ads have flaws and at times mischaracterize their target. But the biggest problem is the TV viewer likely has no idea what either ad is talking about.
Lots of fury, but not many facts. For those interested, here they are: Both ads refer to Missouri's participation in a long-running multistate lawsuit against the tobacco companies. (Hulshof's ad doesn't even mention the word "tobacco.")
As attorney general, Nixon oversaw the state's legal case, which began in 1997. . . .
In a statement Wednesday, Nixon campaign spokesman Oren Shur said: "Attorney General Nixon took on the big tobacco companies and won billions for the state. As part of the settlement, Attorney General Nixon made the tobacco companies pay the legal fees, so the taxpayers paid nothing."
YOU CAN BUY a pack of cigarettes at any convenience store for about $4. But what does it really cost, and who ultimately pays the price?
Those questions are at the heart of a long-running lawsuit in St. Louis Circuit Court, where hospitals are suing tobacco companies for the costs of caring for uninsured smokers.
The case was filed in 1998. If all goes well, it could go to trial in 2010. . . .
WHILE THE CASE drags on, hospitals and health-care providers around the country are watching to see if it might be worthwhile for them to sue the tobacco companies, too.
For the tobacco companies, the costs of losing could be crippling.
There seems to be no question that somebody should have a pretty good legal claim on the billions of dollars of profits tobacco companies have made by peddling their deadly products.
The question is who.
Don't expect an answer any time soon.
A 10-year-old lawsuit filed by Missouri hospitals against cigarette makers seeking $1 billion for the cost of treating tobacco-related illnesses has been stalled in discovery.
The tobacco companies are sifting through tens of thousands of records for indigent patients provided by more than 30 hospitals under a court order, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports. Daphne O'Connor, vice president and associate general counsel at Altria Client Services, says the cigarette companies have spent nearly $500,000 to comb through the electronic files.
The tobacco makers contend the hospitals "produced everything"
The Barry County Health Department Board of Trustees reviewed the results of a school tobacco use survey at its regularly scheduled meeting on Sept. 18.
The survey was conducted during the 2007-08 school year to identify tobacco use behaviors among sixth through 12th grade students. The Exeter, Monett, Shell Knob and Purdy school districts participated in the survey.
According to the survey, an average of 35.7 percent of all students surveyed reported that they had experimented with cigarettes or cigars. Over 75 percent of 12th grade students reported that they had tried smoking.
The survey results also showed that over 25 percent of both 11th and 12th grade students smoked at least once a month
A coalition of St. Louis city residents, organizations and businesses released poll results Aug. 19 showing that a majority of city residents support a smoking ban in most indoor public places.
The coalition, Smoke-Free St. Louis City, is a group of citizens, organizations and a handful of businesses that aims to educate St. Louisans about the dangers of secondhand smoke. In the long term, they hope to see a smoke-free policy adopted in St. Louis city.
A survey conducted by the Mellman Group showed that 62 percent of 500 city residents polled favor a law prohibiting smoking in "most indoor public places, including all workplaces, public buildings, offices, restaurants, bars and casinos,"