Although Miami University banned smoking on campus in August 2008, the policy still seems to have mixed results in preventing students, faculty and staff from lighting up between classes. “It is absolutely underreported,” said Susan Vaughn, director of ethics and student conflict resolution. Vaughn said the responsibility of enforcing the policy is put in the hands of Miami students and faculty. The first offense on campus is a warning. If a student smokes repeatedly on campus and is reported, they will be charged with a Code Two violation. Vaughn said her office has seen about 20 ... Jump to full article >>

The City Council is revisiting an ordinance to ban smoking on baseball fields. The ordinance would prohibit smoking within 30 feet of any bleachers and near backstops at baseball fields within public parks. Anyone violating the proposed ordinance would be found guilty of a civil infraction and fined $50 per offense. A similar ordinance failed after being proposed in July by Councilwoman Stacy Striz. Striz said she reintroduced the ordinance this time because the state approved a statewide smoking ban in many public places. Voting against the ordinance in July were Councilmen Jeffery Bolton and ... Jump to full article >>

ANTI-SMOKING groups have called on the State Government to stand up to gambling lobbyists and ban smoking in Star City casino’s seven high-roller rooms. They say the NSW Health Minister, Carmel Tebbutt, should not let Labor’s close ties with pubs and clubs – which have donated about $3.7 million to the party since the 2007 election – dictate public health policy. The NSW Health Minister has granted year-long exemptions to Star City every year since 2004. Campaigners are fed up with the excuse that Star City will lose high-stakes international gamblers to the other state ... Jump to full article >>

A ban on federal Health Department employees taking cigarette breaks has been criticised as a heavy-handed measure that may be difficult to legally enforce. From February 1, employees will be banned from smoking during work hours or ”when representing the department in any capacity”, according to a memo sent to staff at Christmas. Staff will be permitted to smoke only during meal breaks, but not within 15 metres of the workplace, in a move aimed at improving their health and the ”professional reputation of the department”, the memo said. Anti-smoking campaigners are hop ... Jump to full article >>

The Little Rock Housing Authority has banned smoking at one of three city-run apartment complexes as part of a plan to make all of its properties smoke-free by 2012. The ban on smoking at Cumberland Towers in downtown Little Rock began Friday, and similar bans at Parris Towers and Powell Towers will go into effect in 2011 and 2012, respectively. Housing Authority Director Shelly Ehenger says the regulatory agency has been working on its smoke-free plan since 2008. The apartment complexes are for low-income families, senior citizens and those with disabilities. To live at Cumberland Towers or P ... Jump to full article >>

Do Michigan lawmakers really want to take a position that it is OK to kill casino workers as long as there are some jobs saved in the process? Apparently so. Both the Senate and the House broke though a long stalemate yesterday to approve a bill that would ban smoking in bars and restaurants. The governor was expected to sign it. But there is a catch. The ban comes with exemptions for casinos. Apparently that was the only way to reach a compromise between Democrats, who generally want the ban but don’t want to hurt casino business, and Republicans, some of whom may have been playing poli ... Jump to full article >>

Cabell County bars and video lottery parlors could become smoke-free in the near future. The Cabell-Huntington Health Department is drafting a proposal that would ban smoking from bars and gambling parlors, said Dr. Harry Tweel, the health department’s executive director. It likely will conduct a public hearing on it within the next month, he said. “Our board of health has been looking at this issue for some time and monitoring what’s happening in other counties around the state,” Tweel said. “They are aware of the health risks caused by exposure to secondhand smo ... Jump to full article >>

A new residential rental building on the Upper East Side is joining a growing trend in the city by going smoke free. NY1’s Shazia Khan filed the following report. A breath of fresh air. That’s what one developer is offering New Yorkers at 1510 Lexington Avenue. The new luxury rental high-rise is the first residential building in the city to ban smoking in all its units as well as its public spaces. Tenants and their visitors are also banned from smoking within 25 feet of the building. Developers Kinnie Yon and her brother Neal Sigety are principals at Kenbar Management. They say th ... Jump to full article >>

THERE will be no sittings of the House of Representatives or the Senate this week because of the Commonwealth Heads of Government Meeting (CHOGM) and its forerunner events. The Commonwealth Youth and People’s Fora were opened over the weekend. Prime Minister Patrick Manning formally opens the Commonwealth Business Forum on the Royal Caribbean cruise ship Serenade of the Seas today at 9.55 am. However when the House next sits on December 4, the main item on the agenda for discussion will be the Tobacco Control Bill 2009. The bill was passed with amendments in the Senate on November 20. One of ... Jump to full article >>

In the firm belief that what is good for Ashland is good for all of Boyd County, the Boyd County Smoke-Free Initiative has used the occasion of the annual Great American Smokeout to launch a campaign that they hope will lead to the Boyd County Fiscal Court and the Catlettsburg City Council to follow the Ashland Board of City Commissioner’s lead by enacting ordinances to ban smoking in restaurants and most other public places. While our support for Ashland’s ordinance limiting smoking in public was somewhat less than enthusiastic, we would wholeheartedly support ordinances imposing similar ... Jump to full article >>

Four years after a city bylaw banned smoking in all public places, officials are calling on council to repeal the bylaw surrounding the prohibition. Bylaw manager John Taylor made the recommendation to council at its meeting Monday evening in light of the territory-wide 2008 Smoke Free Places Act. That legislation bans smoking in all public places throughout the territory. As Taylor explained to council, there’s confusion among residents about whether they call territorial or municipal officials when they see someone breaching the law. Repealing the city’s law would put it entirely in the ... Jump to full article >>