NORMAN, Okla. — The University of Oklahoma Board of Regents has voted to restrict smoking to two designated areas on the Norman campus. The board on Tuesday approved a policy that designates parking lots near Dale Hall and Lloyd Noble Center as smoking areas and bans cigarette smoking at the Gaylord Family-Oklahoma Memorial Stadium and the Lloyd Noble Center. President David Boren told board members university officials feel morally obligated to set an example, particularly since hundreds of other colleges and universities across the country have adopted similar policies. The smoking policy ... Jump to full article >>

PLANS for a smoke-free Millennium Place could be examined in the future if it is successful during the Olympics. The site outside the Transport Museum is set to be a hub of activity during this summer’s Games with a huge TV screen attracting visitors to the city centre. But it will also become a smoke-free zone under a new council campaign to lower smoking rates in the city. Health spokesman Coun Joe Clifford – who also chairs Coventry’s Smoke free Alliance – said the scheme could be looked at being made permanent after the Olympics. “If it is successful, it might ... Jump to full article >>

BOISE – In just under a month, the Idaho Legislature begins its 2012 session, and already proposed issues are sparking discussion.   One of those is whether the state should raise its tobacco tax.  A coalition of Idaho health groups wants a pack of cigarettes taxed an extra $1.25. Will this year be different? This is one of the issues that had the democrats calling for a longer session, even stalling as the session drew to a close.  They wanted hearings on the proposed increase, but a bill never made it to the floor. “We were hoping we would gain success with the tobacco tax in ... Jump to full article >>

SALES of cigarettes have slumped yet again, with experts pointing to a rise in smuggling and smokers puffing less. Figures from Revenue showed that excise was paid on just more than 4.1 billion cigarettes in Ireland last year, down by more than 10pc from a year earlier. Sales quantities have been on a continuous downward trend for the past five years and are now down by a quarter from 2006. However, rises in duty on cigarettes have ensured that the revenue earned for the Exchequer is still on a par with five years ago at €1.1bn. The one area that has seen an increase in demand in recent year ... Jump to full article >>

Thursday, November 10th marks one year since South Dakota’s smoke-free law went into effect. The law bans smoking in bars and restaurants. While smokers and business have adapted with outdoor smoking areas, those who supported the ban are touting its’ success. Darcy Ellefson a respiratory therapist says the health benefits are already being realized. “There is just an overall sense of relief in South Dakota that workers don’t have to be exposed to second hand smoke and consumers don’t have to worry about which bar or restaurant can I go to and have safe air to bre ... Jump to full article >>

The pro-reproductive health bill lobby group obviously has a huge public relations war chest amounting to millions. The fact alone that they can afford to go into TV advertising is a clear indication of this. I have not had the time to watch television lately but in the few times that I did, I was able to see that professionally produced and slick ad featuring one of the principal reproductive health bill advocates, senatorial wannabe Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel. Now those TV ads are expensive to produce and even more costly to show. I heard that the average cost of a 30-second ad on primetime is ... Jump to full article >>

The Legislature is considering very important legislation that affects the health of all Alabamians, SB372, a bill that will make all Alabama workplaces smoke-free. My husband was an Air Force pilot who flew the KC-135 throughout his career. He would come home from flights with the stench of tobacco covering him until the U.S. Air Force said enough and made aircraft, and eventually the Air Force, smoke-free. People cannot control the atmosphere of their workplace any more than my husband could control the air in his cockpit. It takes strong leadership to protect non-smokers. Let’s unders ... Jump to full article >>

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa— Linn County will consider new restrictions on the sale of smokeless tobacco. The Gazette is reporting the county Board of Supervisors will vote next month on ordinances that would prohibit the sale of dissolvable tobacco products, such as strips and sticks in the county; ban buy one get one free sales of products; and prohibit adult-only temporary structures, such as fair tents, from giving away samples of smokeless tobacco. Supervisor Linda Langston is predicting the measures will pass. Langston and others say the ordinances are being proposed to protect children. Manag ... Jump to full article >>

Voters in the state capital will decide whether smokers should be allowed to keep lighting up in bars, or whether a ban the city approved last year should finally take effect. Bismarck city commissioners last fall approved an ordinance banning smoking in bars, truck stops and tobacco stores. The ban was to go into effect on Nov. 1, but a group of bar workers submitted enough referral petitions to bring the matter to a public vote. Voters on Tuesday also will decide whether to allow smoking huts outside bars if a ban is approved. Supporters of a ban say it is in the interest of public health, p ... Jump to full article >>

LAHORE – Experts believed the usage of tobacco has comparatively decreased but that of sheesha, a modern way of addiction, is increasing day by day in Punjab province especially in the capital city. They also suggested that also sheesha should be treated like tobacco so that the future of Pakistan and the nation could be saved. According to the statistics, sheesha houses are growing in numbers in major cities of Pakistan including Islamabad, Lahore, Rawalpindi, Multan, Karachi, Hyderabad, Quetta, Jacobabad, Peshawar, Nowshera, Muzaffarabad, Hajiabad, Holar, Gilgit, Sakardu and other cities. ... Jump to full article >>

Editors at The Australian have made clear their opposition to the Federal Government’s proposals to legislate plain cigarette packaging that incorporates graphic health warnings. The paper’s Friday 8 April editorial Smokescreen or deterrent? argues that smoking rates have been dropping for decades without this “latest proposal for even more hideous cigarette packaging”, managing to imply that tobacco control legislation enacted to date has played no part in this trend. The editorial states that cigarette manufacturers should be allowed to present their brands to consumers in much the ... Jump to full article >>