Leah Jackson likes being able to pick up her daughter from day care after class at the Portland Community College Sylvania campus without walking through a cloud of smoke. Jackson, 33, and her 5-year-old took the bus to and from campus last year. Many people smoked at the bus stop, and soon enough, she saw her own daughter puffing an imaginary cigarette. “She sees everyone do it and thinks it’s accepted,” Jackson said. The problem evaporated on Sept. 9 when tobacco products were banned from all PCC property. Boasting 40,566 students, PCC has the largest enrollment of any ins ... Jump to full article >>

MONTREAL – The Correctional Service of Canada will appeal a ruling making it legal to smoke outdoors at federal penitentiaries. A group of 19 prisoners challenged a ban on smoking on the grounds of any federal penitentiary, which was put into force in May 2008. Last week, a Federal Court judge in Montreal ruled the ban violated the charter rights of the plaintiffs because smokers weren’t able to smoke either indoors or out. The ruling gave the government 90 days to revise its rules on smoking, but the appeal means the ban can stay in place for now. source: montrealgazette.com ... Jump to full article >>

Attorney’s accomplishments have not been without controversy Arms crossed and feet spread wide, John O’Quinn bestows a commanding gaze from the wall in the building that bears his name. Painted life-size – all 6-4 of him – O’Quinn offers a look that is neither stern nor unpleasant, but, like the man himself, enigmatic. His dark eyes, darker in oil than life, suggest an unstated challenge. His barely upturned lips hint at a friendly smile, or is it a condescending smirk? He could be about to tell you a joke. Or extend a last request. No plaque or nameplate accompan ... Jump to full article >>

North Carolina Governor Bev Perduce announced the launch of a new website devoted to help implement North Carolina’s new law that requires restaurants, bars and lodging establishments that serve food and drink to go smoke-free as of January 2, 2010. The website, http://www.SmokeFree.NC.gov, offers business owners and customers information on the new law, hazards of secondhand smoke, and resources to help those smokers who may want to quit smoking. It has downloadable fact sheets, no-smoking signs and other tools dedicated to make the transition to smoke-free air an easy one. “This change i ... Jump to full article >>

When American investors think of tobacco greatness, Altria (NYSE: MO) and Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) are the first companies to come to mind. But based on recent performance, British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) should definitely be moving into the mix, following the interim management report the company released on Wednesday. With British American reporting results on a nine-month basis, we’re somewhat comparing apples and oranges, especially since the company didn’t report profit or revenue numbers. But British American’s volume results were still roughly in lin ... Jump to full article >>

The nation’s two top cigarette-makers are boosting per-pack prices by 6 to 8 cents a pack. Though the companies won’t say why, analysts believe it is to cover new user fees charged by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to pay for the costs of its new assignment to regulate tobacco. The increase on what Altria’s Philip Morris USA and Reynolds American’s RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. charge wholesalers seems unlikely to have a big effect on smoking, as this spring’s 61.66 cent-a-pack hike in federal excise taxes did. Last week, Altria Group Inc. chairman and chief exec ... Jump to full article >>

Smoking-cessation programs typically target frequent smokers with fairly hefty habits. But it may be time to also put some focus on occasional and social smokers, according to a commentary released today in the Archives of Internal Medicine. This group of intermittent smokers may not be studied as much as more prolific puffers, but the fact that they do smoke should be cause for concern, the authors say. They note that while daily tobacco smoking has decreased, nondaily smoking increased between 1996 and 2001 in most states, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Younger ... Jump to full article >>

HAZELWOOD, MO (KTVI-FOX2now.com) – With an estimated 20 percent of business at stake, bowling alleys are becoming the battlegrounds for the St. Louis County smoking ban on next week’s ballot. The proposed ban has several exemptions for casinos and bars but not for bowling alleys. So owners and users are being very vocal when it comes to a smoking ban, especially since it is only a short drive to other locations where you can smoke and bowl in the same place. Bowling a couple frames is a favored past-time. For many knocking down pins goes with lighting up smokes. “A lot of th ... Jump to full article >>

BEIRUT: There are now smoking bans in place in over 70 countries across the world, but in Lebanon, where smokers seem to vastly outnumber nonsmokers, there have been no such efforts to curb tobacco use. In fact, Lebanon seems to be something of a smoker’s safe haven. Gemmayzeh, arguably Beirut’s most popular bar and restaurant district, will on Wednesday host its second smoke-free night this year in a bid to raise awareness on the dangers of tobacco. Following the success of a no-smoking night in February, volunteers from the Beirut Metropolitan and Sahel Metn Rotaract Clubs decided to or ... Jump to full article >>

The union representing prison guards says it will keep a close eye on what develops in the wake of a Quebec court ruling that lifted the total ban on smoking in federal prisons. Last week, the Federal Court lifted the 17-month-old ban outlawing smoking outside federal prison buildings after a group of 19 inmates imprisoned in Quebec challenged the ban. The prisoners stated in their claim that they had experienced assorted physical and psychological problems — including increases in stress, anxiety, aggressiveness and nervousness — as a result of the butt ban. Before the ban, three ... Jump to full article >>

The City Council is considering changes to its 16-year-old smoking ordinance that would make lighting up more difficult for residents. The council is expected to discuss restrictions on smoking in apartments and condominiums as well as tougher punishments for those who sell cigarettes to children at a study session tonight. “The question is really do we want to modify our ordinance to include greater restrictions than are provided by state law?” City Attorney William McClure said. “It could go the whole gamut.” Menlo Park’s current law, last updated in 1993, bars ... Jump to full article >>