THE GOVERNMENT must put anti-smoking services under a central body and provide training for all healthcare professionals, anti-smoking campaigner Prof Luke Clancy said. Prof Clancy, a leading advocate of the 2004 workplace smoking ban, said Ireland had underachieved in relation to tobacco addiction since the ban. He accused the last government of a misplaced concern for exchequer revenue in not increasing the price of cigarettes. He also critici ... Jump to full article >>

A group of bar owners is asking for an exemption from the state’s three-year-old workplace smoking ban. They want state lawmakers to allow bars to pay an annual fee starting at $1,000 to allow smoking in their establishments. Only stand-alone bars — not restaurants — would be able to apply for the exemption. Proposals to create exemptions from the state’s workplace smoking ban have been introduced in each of the past thre ... Jump to full article >>

The Michigan Senate and House of Representatives approved a smoking ban on Thursday to take effect in May with the anticipated signature of Gov. Jennifer Granholm. While the measure’s intention to improve the public health is admirable, its result — the restriction of individual liberty — is the basis on which it should be judged. Smokers may no longer be lighting up in restaurants, clubs, bars and other businesses. The ban, recently appro ... Jump to full article >>

Dillon seeks to ease school aid cuts, ban workplace tobacco before session ends Lansing — Finding money to soften school aid cuts, enacting education reforms to lure federal dollars and finally passing a workplace smoking ban are the top items on House Speaker Andy Dillon’s to-do list before the end of the year. The Redford Township Democrat said in an interview Friday with The Detroit News he doesn’t want to wait until January ... Jump to full article >>

Exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS) at work, mainly in the 1970s and 1980s, was associated with a 40% increased risk of developing asthma in young adults, according to new research presented today at The British Thoracic Society Annual Winter Meeting (Friday 4th December). The major study, conducted at Imperial College, London in collaboration with other universities and occupational experts used information on the job history of over ... Jump to full article >>

Ireland’s implementation of a workplace smoking ban in 2004 appears tied to a decline in maternal smoking rates as well as lower risk for preterm births, study findings hint. Compared with the year prior to the smoking ban, 12 percent fewer women reported smoking during pregnancy in the year after the ban, Dr. Zubair Kabir, of the Tobacco Free Research Institute in Dublin, Ireland, and colleagues report. Their study, in BJOG: An Internatio ... Jump to full article >>

The first time I watched the older reruns of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, I was amazed. It wasn’t Carson’s famous turns as Carnac The Magnificent that caught my eye. Instead, it was the curling tendrils of smoke shrouding the host and his guests as they puffed away at cigarettes on live television. The reason I was so shocked is that this kind of free-wheeling tobacco use is unheard of today. From airplanes to restaurants to bars ... Jump to full article >>

A City-County Council committee tonight recommended 4-2 a proposal to ban smoking in almost all Marion County workplaces. The ordinance, which was introduced to the council earlier this month and has gotten support from leaders of the city’s hospitals, would strengthen an existing law prohibiting smoking in most restaurants and public spaces such as hotel lobbies. It would add to the prohibition currently exempted places such as bars, bowl ... Jump to full article >>

Town’s mayor urges all Lexington municipalities to OK bans to avoid confusion Springdale on Tuesday became the second town in Lexington County to snuff out smoking in restaurants, bars, stores and offices, and two neighboring communities may do likewise. The ban in Springdale mirrors limits on lighting up in workplaces in unincorporated parts of the county effective Jan. 1. It’s time for the 11 other county municipalities without ban ... Jump to full article >>