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Thursday, February 10, 2005
snoking in the papers

Bar, tavern layoffs: Is it the NHL effect? -ON

By JOHN PARTRIDGE AND KEITH MCARTHUR Saturday, February 5, 2005 - Page A2

The National Hockey League players lockout has forced Montreal sports bar owner Ziggy Eichenbaum to turn some of his employees into statistics.

Mr. Eichenbaum had to lay off two of 10 workers because business is down about 25 per cent. The rest of the staff at Ziggy's Pub on Crescent Street near the Bell Centre are working shorter days.

Game nights used to bring 20,000 people downtown. "Now you can take a bowling ball and throw it down Crescent Street on a Monday night and not hit anybody," he said yesterday as supposedly last-ditch talks in New York between National Hockey League owners and their locked-out players ended, apparently without progress.

The latest stalemate came as Statistics Canada unveiled a little more evidence that what might be called an "NHL effect" is taking at least a small toll on the economy, beyond lost salaries for the players and lost advertising revenues.

In reporting the unexpected net loss of 5,700 jobs across the country during January, Statscan suggested yesterday that the silence in NHL rinks may be behind a drop in employment in tavern and bars. When Labatt Brewing Co. Ltd. announced plans in December to cut 20 per cent of its white-collar work force -- 240 jobs -- it partly blamed slumping sales at bars and restaurants, which are also suffering the impact of smoking bans.

Worse is likely to come. Hostelries that cater to a hockey clientele say the biggest hit will be if and when the playoffs are cancelled.

Just before Christmas, Statscan estimated that the hockey freeze was costing the economy about $17-million a month, from ticket and souvenir sales and broadcast revenue. If the entire season is lost, the gross domestic product could be reduced by about $170-million.

"There definitely is an 'NHL effect' " said economist Avery Shenfield of CIBC World Markets, but "what you never know is to what extent it's offset by additional spending on other items," he said.

"What you don't see is whether the guy who would have spent Saturday night at a bar watching the hockey game is instead spending more money on a Valentine's Day present for the wife."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050205/NHLEFFECT05/TPNational/


Bylaw? What bylaw? -ON

Bars are finding creative ways to dodge the smoking ban, and the city is not amused
By LUMA MUHTADIE  Saturday, February 5, 2005 - Page M1

A subtle, street-level sign declared the party at Bird to be private. But passersby who strolled into the College Street lounge bar on Wednesday night were definitely welcome to pull up a seat, order a drink and do something that's now forbidden in most Toronto bars: light up a smoke.

Patrons of the small space above Xacutti restaurant were exempt from the city's non-smoking bylaw because the space had been rented out for what was described as a private function -- one of the strategies bar owners are adopting to enable drinkers with a penchant for nicotine to indulge their habit without having to step out into the cold.

"I didn't realize places like this existed," said Gail MacKenzie, exhaling a plume of smoke.

"But I'm happy that they do."

They may not for much longer, however. Public officials say they're concerned about bars blurring the line between commercial establishments and private clubs, and their growing frustration with loose interpretations of the city bylaw is driving them to crack down.

Evasion tactics range from the artful to the downright audacious: Some are offering membership cards, others are willing to risk their patrons' safety by locking their doors to the general public.

But Rob Colvin, manager of healthy environments and the man responsible for overseeing the enforcement of the smoking bylaw, says most of these attempts to dodge the ban won't pass enforcement officers' scrutiny.

"A private club is run by a non-profit corporation and has to demonstrate that it has a purpose," says Mr. Colvin.

"They need to show that they have regular meetings. And they can't advertise or communicate to the public."

Bird owner Brad Moore doesn't classify his venue as a private club, "because we're not. And that would get me into trouble as far as harassment with inspectors."

But he says the hosts who rent his space out for the night (at a minimum cost of $500 an hour) are free to set the parameters of privacy for their events.

"It's used for private functions on a regular basis," he says. "Sometimes they have a guest list with security at the door. Sometimes they're not so concerned about who comes in and who comes out -- there are so many different rules or considerations for each party."

As for bylaw-enforcement officers' opinion of what goes on in his bar, Mr. Moore is resolute. "These guys come in here like whipper-snappers with attitudes. I'm simply a business operator trying to make a dollar.

"If you're suffocating people, that's not good, but if I'm spending $40,000 on a ventilation system, I don't see why I can't offer a service to someone."

Mr. Colvin says the courts are taking a serious view of non-compliance and have been issuing probation orders and summonses with hefty fines. They can even go as far as ordering a venue's closure or jail time for the offender.

Still, a handful of creative club owners remain undeterred.

The Cloak and Dagger on College sells $10 annual membership cards to its so-called Society of Free Thinkers. These laminated photo IDs bear a digital headshot of the cardholder (taken on the spot) alongside a graphic of Einstein -- and they're all you need to get in on Mellow Mondays and smoke your face off.

Then there's Chalker's Pub Billiards & Bistro, on Marlee Avenue in North York, which bills itself as the headquarters for the non-profit Cosmopolitan Multicultural Society.

Members of the society pay a $5 annual fee to earn the privilege of sparking up inside.

Only the society's board of directors is obliged to sit through meetings, owner Steve Greco explains. He's the manager of the board, which has 24 other members.

"There are a lot of clubs out there that aren't legitimate private clubs, but we're following all the laws -- we have a charter and everything," Mr. Greco says.

And he's prepared to defend this stance in court: Mr. Greco's lawyer is poised to challenge two tickets his client received for smoking violations that could cost up to $5,000 for each infraction.

But counterfeit private clubs are still a rare exception, Mr. Colvin says, noting that compliance with the bylaw has hovered steadily around 97 per cent -- even during the bone-chilling month of January.

It's a sign that bars and patrons are slowly adjusting to the city's new ways, he says.

So much so, in fact, that "private clubs" have become unappealing to some smokers.

"I won't go to them," says Chris Rolfe, while savouring the last drags of his cigarette outside a downtown bar.

"I don't like sitting inside smoky bars any more."

He says he's already cut his habit down from half a pack to three cigarettes a day.

"If I was allowed to smoke indoors, I'd have one going all the time."

http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/ArticleNews/TPStory/LAC/20050205/SMOKERS05/TPEntertainment/?query=smoking


All in the Family bandits  -ON

Wednesday, February 02, 2005 -
Investigators trying to crack a rash of convenience store thefts are seeing a family resemblance among the crimes.

Crime Stoppers along with 55 and 13 Division Major Crime units need the public's help in tracking down a band of thieves that span several generations.

The group were caught on tape.

At each store, five to 10 people, some of them young children, enter the shop all at once, fanning out through the aisles and bringing items one at a time to the counter.

Several suspects distract the owner at the front counter while others make their way into the storage area at the back of the store.

While the storeowner is busy serving the suspects at the front counter, the suspects at the rear removed a quantity of cigarettes, money and jewellery, concealing it on them or in large bags.

In one of the incidents, a woman carrying an infant stood watch at the rear of the store. In another incident, two small children began playing in front of the counter, creating a commotion.

The suspects then all leave the store at once.

This group has stolen approximately $58,000 in cigarettes, cash, computer equipment and jewellery. At one location they removed the victims safe from the living quarters above the store.

If you have information about the identity of these people, call 55 Division Major Crime at 416-808-5506 or at 416-808-1306. If you want to remain anonymous and earn a cash reward, call Crime Stoppers at 416-222-TIPS (8477)

All in the Family bandits

http://www.torontopolice.on.ca/modules.php?op=modload&name=News&file=article&sid=1505&mode=thread&order=0&thold=0


Smoking injunction dismissed for club owners -NL

CBC News WebPosted Feb 5 2005 09:50 AM NST

ST. JOHN'S  —  The group representing most of the bars and taverns in the province has lost its fight to postpone public hearings on the government's proposed smoking ban.

The Beverage Industry Association applied to the Supreme Court asking for a delay so that a thorough economic analysis of the impact of the ban can be completed.

The provincial government intends to pass legislation this spring that will extend its ban on smoking in public places to include bars, clubs and bingo halls.

Public hearings started this week in Gander, and will conclude Feb. 16 in St. John's.

Marcel Etheridge, president of the Beverage Industry Association, says the government appears to have its mind made up, without assessing the full impact of a ban will bring.

"We are very disappointed, but we're not giving up," says president Marcel Etheridge.

The association may appeal judge David Russell's decision, which was handed down Friday afternoon.

"The timeframe is very, very narrow," Etheridge says.

"You cannot do a social impact study of this industry which is very, very large, which is worth millions of dollars, in a couple of months. It's unrealistic."

Describing many of his members as "ma and pa" operations in rural areas, Etheridge believes numerous clubs will close if they lose regular customers who smoke.

"They're doing it to [our industry], because I guess we're easy to pick on."

Don Burrage, the Crown attorney who fought the application on behalf of government, argued the association has many ways to voice its opposition beyond the public hearings.

Meanwhile, the Beverage Industry Association has another application before the courts, which argues the entire public hearing process is flawed.

http://stjohns.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=nf-clubs-smoking-20050205


RE: Public Health Inspectors-Working to Protect the Health of Your Community
 -SK

    WHITE ROCK, BC, Jan. 21 /CNW/ - Public Health Inspectors in Saskatchewan are an integral part of the Public Health Professional team in your 
communities. Possessing a unique skill-set, Public Health Inspectors are on the front-lines of Public Health ensuring safe drinking water, safe food and protection from exposure to communicable diseases to name a few of the program responsibilities.
    One of the threats to Public Health in Canada today is the use of tobacco products and the exposure to tobacco smoke. 45,000 Canadians die each year as a result of tobacco related illness. As part of an overall Tobacco Reduction Strategy, many communities are introducing legislation to protect the public from exposure to tobacco smoke in public places. It has also been shown that smokers are more likely to attempt to quit in communities where smoking in public places is restricted.
    Public Health Inspectors are responsible for the enforcement of such legislation. Every effort is made to educate business operators on the associated health risks of tobacco smoke exposure and the need to protect the public.
    The vast majority of the business community will understand their responsibility and operate their businesses accordingly however, there are a small percentage of business operators who refuse to acknowledge this responsibility and will challenge legislation.
    These business operators and the sensationalized headlines they provoke do capture the media and the public's attention. The sober reality of the devastation caused by tobacco use in this country seems to be lost, as does the important role of Public Health Inspectors in protecting your community's health.
    The Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors proudly supports Public Health Inspectors in Saskatchewan and urges the citizens of Saskatchewan to stand behind these Environmental Public Health Professionals and look beyond the "smoke screen" of sensationalized headlines.

For further information: Claudia Kurzac, President, Canadian Institute of Public Health Inspectors, Phone: (604) 714-5683

http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/January2005/21/c5901.html


Tougher Ontario smoking laws pledged

DEBORA VAN BRENK, Free Press Reporter 2005-02-04 02:09:07

 
Mississauga MPP Peter Fonseca gave it up for marathon running years ago. Ontario Finance Minister Greg Sorbara did it cold turkey recently.

Encouraging every other smoker to give up the habit and make healthy choices is one role the provincial government does and should take on, Fonseca insists.

Fonseca, parliamentary assistant to Health Minister George Smitherman, says Ontario intends to enact the toughest non-smoking laws this side of California because it's in everyone's best interests.

"I'd love to see the day where nobody smokes in Ontario," Fonseca said during a stop in London yesterday.

He said that doesn't extend to banning cigarettes outright. But it does mean that as of May 2006, Ontarians should have enough carrots and sticks to encourage them to stop smoking and penalize them if they do.

The tough non-smoking bill is in the legislature and is expected to pass third reading this spring.

It will replace a patchwork of local bylaws with a provincewide ban on smoking in workplaces, including bars and entertainment areas.

Some critics have said the bill is intrusive and harmful to many businesses.

But Fonseca said smoking costs the province's health system $1.7 billion a year and eats up $2.6 billion in productivity.

"The umbrella to this is a healthy Ontario and healthy Ontarians," said Fonseca, who was an Olympic marathoner in 1996.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/02/04/919840-sun.html


Butting out should be Albertans' decision -AB

Love him or hate him, our premier was absolutely bang on with his decision to allow Albertans to decide if a provincewide smoking ban in all public places was right for them.
I ventured out Monday to try to determine if prohibiting smoking would indeed be a death sentence for local watering holes. In a word, according to managers across the city: Nope.
It seems bar managers have resigned themselves to the fact a smoking ban is likely to be put into place, but they aren’t worried about how it will affect their bottom line in the long term.
Some even welcomed the idea.
Customers who smoke, of course, voiced their displeasure with the concept, but said as long as the public is left to decide the issue, they would comply.
ALREADY A HAPPY COMPROMISE
Don Cherry’s manager Brian Simms believes a happy compromise has already been achieved by not allowing smoking in establishments where minors under the age of 18 can be served.
“For a lot of businesses I think, if they were to go to full non-smoking, they would lose a nice few patrons,” Simms said. “Basically (people) want to be able to go out to their favourite place and have a few drinks – they don’t really want to be getting up and going outside every time they want to have a cigarette.”
What is in place now works well for Don Cherry’s because patrons who visit the establishment can do so with their families and not have to worry about second-hand smoke; but if they feel the urge to have a quick puff during their meal, they can simply step into the lounge.
“The setup they have now is a great setup,” said Simms, who agreed customers would eventually learn to accept to an all-encompassing smoking ban.
Red Deer resident Denis Lacroix, 42, said he simply would not frequent any drinking establishment where he was not allowed to smoke.
“They are pushing it too far, where they are trying to make (everywhere) smoke-free, but yet it is a legal substance – because there is good tax money in it,” said Lacroix. “Do you have to make laws about everything?”
While he agrees with not being allowed to smoke in places where children are allowed, prohibiting smoking in establishments that only allow adults is going overboard, he said.
His advice to non-smokers bothered by second-hand smoke was that they can always choose not to put themselves in that environment.
The same goes for those who choose to work where people can smoke, but complain about the effects it has on them physically, he said.
“Government should stay out of it. I’m sure (this place) would be out of business if you couldn’t smoke in here,” he said.
Maddhatters Liquid Lounge manager Mike Lilge would wholeheartedly welcome a full smoking ban in bars.
“I think it would be a great idea,” he said. “I wake up in the morning and it’s just gross. I don’t smoke, but I would rather be smoking than having (to deal with) the second-hand smoke.”
He estimated that about 70 per cent of the people that visit Maddhatters smoke.
“It would be bad for business initially. I think it would (make a lot of business owners angry), but it’s just a matter of adapting.”
Marcel Blais, general manager of Hammerhead Bar and Grill said he thinks it’s only a matter of time before a smoking ban for all public places is implemented.
But what he has seen – Hammerhead is part of a chain in other provinces that have all-encompassing bans – is that business drops off for about the first month.
“People will keep going out. They will modify their lifestyle. They will boycott at first but they usually will come back,” said Blais.n“The ban will come into place for all public places,” he said. “I don’t know when, but it will happen.”
Although customer Gavin Granoien said he would not have come to Hammerhead Monday if he weren’t allowed to smoke he would accept a smoking ban, as long as it wasn’t unilaterally imposed by the province.
He just wouldn’t stay in the bar as long, he said.
“It should be up to the establishment owners and the adults. Let them decide. If most of Grande Prairie wants to say no, then I will abide by that, but if it is one person is saying no to the rest, then I don’t agree with that,” said Granoien.
“It would slow me down,” he said. “Because then I could be going home (to smoke), or I would step out for one and then be going home.”
There you have it. About as clear as a smoke-filled bar, wouldn’t you say?
http://www.dailyheraldtribune.com/1bottomline.lasso


Cold turkey: a 'godawful' tactic- ON

Debora Van Brenk, Free Press Reporter 2005-02-05 03:27:43

The road to the nearest cigarette counter is paved with your best intentions. You wanted to quit by the start of the year but didn't.

Then came Stop Smoking Week and you really meant to butt out. But the furnace conked out and your boss handed you new duties. Who could quit at a time like that?

Now, with each puff, a nagging cramp in your gut says you don't want to smoke anymore. But that twitch in your fingers betrays your resolve.

You're not alone.

About 20 per cent of Southwestern Ontarians still smoke, and half of those will seriously consider quitting this year.

The incentives to butt out are growing: the price of some smokes is about $8.75 a pack; places where smokers can puff are becoming increasingly scarce; and now Ontario is eyeing one of North America's toughest anti-smoking laws.

Most ex-smokers try, and fail five times before they quit.

Starting today, a Free Press series -- consider it more a how-to than a why-to -- looks at kicking the habit.

IT DARN NEAR KILLED HER.

In 1997, after 58 years of puffing, great-grandmother Clara Brown stopped smoking.

Cold turkey.

"For three days I lived on hot water, soda biscuits and aspirin," she says.

Then, when she finally heeded husband Bill's pleas to get medical help, she spent nine days in the hospital intensive care unit in nearby Seaforth.

She was fed intravenously and needed regular gulps from an oxygen mask. She lost 15 pounds from her petite frame.

Hers is the kind of story that churns the stomachs of veteran smokers.

Given a choice, Brown says she wouldn't quit that way again. "It's godawful on your system."

Experts say the success rate for people who try to quit cold turkey -- without extra help such as the patch or medication or counselling -- is an abysmal five per cent the first time around.

But Brown beat the odds; she is still smoke-free.

And her story lends credence to those who say it's possible to quit on your own, and at any age.

She was 16 when her boyfriend Bill, now her husband, gave her her first puff on a cigarette. Bill had started a few years earlier, with dried-up chestnut leaves rolled in newspapers.

"I tried it. I liked it and I never stopped," Brown says.

Cigarettes at the time were 36 cents a pack.

The habit continued for both of them.

Their three kids grew up and had kids and grandkids of their own.

Then, about 15 years ago, Bill quit. It wasn't as tough as he thought it would be.

"I did hit the peppermints for a while. My tongue felt like a gravel road and somebody had run a truck over it,"he says.

Clara kept puffing, although rarely in front of the kids. But her young great-granddaughter's ill health made her think.

"I didn't want to take a chance on losing any of them."

So she quit -- part-way through the carton of cigarettes Bill had given her, as he did every December, as a Christmas gift.

She recalls her grandson visiting her in hospital in tears because of her concern for his daughter's health.

And, even though Clara still keeps ashtrays in the house for visitors, she's determined to stay smoke-free. For good.

"I never had that desire to go back," she says.

LEGAL FIREPOWER

New laws, higher taxes.

That's how the Ontario government wants to pull you into the non-smoking majority, with some of North America's toughest no-smoking rules.

Tobacco taxes were recently jacked up $1.25 a carton, raising the per-package price by 16 cents to about $8.75.

But the province isn't just putting the cash squeeze on smokers: It's also cutting down their dwindling elbow room

Queen's Park is promising a sweeping new law to curb smoking, severely restricting where people can smoke and how tobacco can be advertised, and hiking fines for any violations.

The provincial law, expected to take effect May 31, 2006, will override the patchwork of municipal no-smoking bylaws across the province that have crowded smokers out of most workplaces and into increasingly smaller public places.

The province says its coming crackdown will:

- Ban smoking in all workplaces and many public places, including private clubs, restaurants, bars and enclosed, outdoor patios. Many eateries, including some in London, went to great expense building outdoor smoking areas to get around the city's own no-smoking rules.

- Ban smoking at sports and entertainment venues, casinos, bingos and halls.

- Do away with designated smoking rooms, though some residential care facilities could have controlled smoking areas.

- Allow hotels to set aside some rooms for smoking customers.

- Ban smoking in home-based day cares when children are present.

- Allow home health-care workers to ask that no one smoke in their presence and to leave if smokers don't comply.

- Enforce a nine-metre smoking ban around hospital doorways, though that won't extend to other buildings.

- Ban tobacco promotion at entertainment venues.

- Ban store cigarette displays, a move the industry is fighting in the Supreme Court of Canada over a similar law in Saskatchewan.

- Hold store owners liable if an employee sells tobacco to customers under 19.

- Hike minimum fines for violating the law, with new rates of up to $1,000 -- five times the existing minimum.

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/News/2005/02/05/921244-sun.html


hypocritical view  -AB

Letter to Editor February 7/05

TO THE sanctimonious hypocrites currently attacking smokers: Most of the pollution in the air we breathe comes from carpets, furniture, plastics, industry and auto exhaust. Cruelly forcing smokers into the cold and rain and snow is the latest form of vicious social apartheid and is not fit behaviour for anyone of conscience or professing of Christian beliefs. You should be very ashamed.
R. Jarvis
(Smokers are being squeezed out.)
-----------------------------------------------
WHY IS everyone getting all worked up about the smoking ban? Don't you realize that soon you'll be able to light up anywhere? If the police try to arrest you, you can tell them it's marijuana, not tobacco. That  way, what you're doing will be legal.
G. McLean
(Zing!)

http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Letters/


Playing field uneven for tobacco farmers - ON

February 7/05

Regarding the column, Farmers should have seen it coming (Jan. 29):
Perhaps Ian Gillespie would develop some empathy if the government added $6 of tax to each issue of The London Free Press while turning a blind eye to smuggled newspapers.
What if Canadian newspapers were held to the highest standards in the world while foreign newspapers were imported into this country without inspection? Could you could compete on a playing field that has been tilted by our own government?
Health Canada and the domestic tobacco companies told farmers to "invest for the future" in 2001 by retrofitting their kilns to eliminate nitrosamines. The average tobacco farmer is $400,000 in debt, largely due to the kiln conversion project. As soon as the project was complete, cigarette taxes were raised and Imperial Tobacco Ltd. started importing large quantities of foreign tobacco of such poor quality it could not legally be offered for sale by a Canadian producer.
The tobacco statements made by Rob Cunningham are an assortment of old statistics, incompetent opinions and twisted facts. It's strange how the anti-smoking groups' estimates of the damage of smoking always rise to stay ahead of the revenues generated by cigarette taxes.

Ontario tobacco growers have three problems:
1. Imperial's imported garbage tobacco.
2. smuggled/bootleg tobacco.
3. broken government promises.
There is no grand ball, Mr. Gillespie. You are welcome to attend the foreclosure auctions.
John Stewart
Eden

http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/LondonFreePress/Letters/


Albertans want smoking ban: poll

EDMONTON - The majority of Albertans favour a workplace smoking ban, according to a survey commissioned by

an anti-smoking group.

The Ipsos-Reid poll of 800 Albertans found that overall, 68 per cent would like to see smoking banned anywhere people work, including restaurants, bars, casinos and bingo halls.

The survey, paid for by the Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta, should help Premier Ralph Klein make up his mind on the issue, the group's spokesman said.

"He stated he would like to see a full public consultation on this issue, and even suggested we may see provincial legislation this spring," Les Hagen said. "This gives him more ammunition to do that."

Health Minister Iris Evans is working on provincial smoking legislation, which should be in front of the standing policy committee by the end of February and could be ready for a vote in the legislature by April.

" From Jan. 26, 2004: Legislature COULD VOTE ON SMOKING BILL BY April

Evans had initially proposed a province-wide ban, but eased off after Klein made it clear he doesn't support the move. While the premier believes steps should be taken to discourage people from starting to smoke, he opposes forcing bars and casinos to ban the habit

He says individual municipalities should make the decision about whether to permit smoking in their communities. However, the Alberta Association of Urban Municipalities has asked the province to make a rule that everyone would have to abide by.

The poll was conducted between Jan. 20 and Jan. 25, and is considered accurate to within +/- 3.5 percentage points, 19 times out of 20.

http://edmonton.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=ed-smoking-poll20050207


Alderman wants to fast track smoking ban

POSTED AT 5:23 PM Monday, February 7

A new poll shows the majority of Albertans want a province wide ban on smoking in public places.

And support may be strongest in Calgary.

The Ipsos Reid survey says 70% of Calgarians want smokers to butt out in public places.

That compares with 67% per cent of Edmontonians polled.

Support in the rest of the province is at 65%.

Calgary isn't scheduled to start a smoking ban until January 2008.

Alderman Diane Colley-Urquhart may use the new survey to try to convince her colleagues to move that date forward.

She says other members of city council should sit up and take notice that Calgarians don't want to wait 3 years.

Colley-Urquhart admits this issue will likely have to wait until after the Ward 10 byelection on February 28th.

http://www.cfcn.ca/servlet/RTGAMArticleHTMLTemplate/B/20050207/smoking?brand=generic&hub=&tf=CFCNPlus/generic/hubs/frontpage.html&cf=CFCNPlus

/generic/hubs/frontpage.cfg&slug=smoking&date=20050207&archive=CFCNPlus&ad_page_name=&nav=home&subnav=fullstory


Tobacco growers’ plight getting worse, says Neukamm -ON

High Canadian dollar harms export opportunities

By Patrick Brennan Times-Journal Staff Wednesday February 02, 2005

AYLMER -- Tobacco growers got some mixed messages from the president of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Grower’s Association on the coming season, at their winter meeting Tuesday.
Fred Neukamm told about 50 growers that while the prospects for the 2005 crop are the same as last year, the challenges facing the industry in Ontario are getting worse, not better.
“We have delivered a top-quality crop and yet conditions on our market continue to fall far short or our expectations,” Neukamm said to growers at the Saxonia Hall.
A Canadian dollar with a higher value and the failure of Dalton McGuinty’s Liberal government to honour a promise for $50 million in funding are just some of the issues Ontario growers are facing, he said.
The latest projections for the 2005 crop are that growers will be expected to deliver approximately 50 million pounds, plus or minus, Neukamm said. Of that, 18 to 25 million pounds will go to Imperial Tobacco.
On the export scene, Neukamm said that while China is seen as a strong potential market, the strength of the Canadian dollar is a factor.
Add to that black market activity and two increases in tobacco taxes, totalling $6.25 a carton by the Ontario government since it took power.
TAKES AIM
Neukamm took aim at Ontario Agriculture Minister Steve Peters, MPP for Elgin-Middlesex-London, for delaying the $50 million promised to growers.
“Although we have been assured by both the premier’s office and that of Minister Peters that ‘they are working on a program,’ there is definitely cause for concern regarding both the delivery and structure of a program,” Neukamm said. “You’ve all heard from Minister Peters in the media -- he says the money is coming. These are the same messages we’re hearing in our discussions and we have spent countless hours at Queen’s Park and at constituency offices pushing our case to anyone who would listen.”
Neukamm summed up the frustration farmers are experiencing.
“We are tired of empty promises and lectures about tobacco use -- it’s long past time for governments to be responsible and accountable and contribute enough dollars to help relieve some of the chaos it creates,” he said.
Neukamm said Ontario growers had invested time in studying the U.S. buyout offered to certain tobacco farmers as to how it affects world markets and what a grower would receive.
“Circumstances for tobacco growers in Ontario are extremely fragile,” Neukamm said. “We are involved with discussions with customers and with governments that will set our future course as an industry.”
Neukamm said the long-term goal for the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Grower’s Marketing Board is to come up with an industry solution that stabilizes farming, and a long-term exit plan.
As long as Canadians continue to consume tobacco, it should be made from leaf grown in Southwestern Ontario, he said. Neukamm reminded growers the board needs their solidarity to avoid others exploiting any divisions.

http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=140966


Casino spokesman says employees' smoking room is being phased out -SK

Veronica Rhodes The Leader-Post Thursday, February 03, 2005 
 
Despite firm legislative action to stop smoking in all public places, a government-run casino has an indoor smoking room for its employees.

Bill Davies, spokesperson for Casino Regina, said there is currently a smoking room for employees at the gaming institution, but it is in the process of being phased out.

The casino has a policy that floor employees can't leave the building in their uniforms, even to have a cigarette. Davies said changes will be made in an "orderly fashion" -- the policy will soon be revised and then the smoking room will be shut down.

Since December, employees have known the room would be closed, which Davies said would happen "in the near future."

Establishments are not in violation of the Tobacco Control Amendment Act by having a smoking room for employees, as long as the room is in an area restricted from the public.

But government policy states that smoking is not allowed in any government building.

Health Minister John Nilson said he had no idea the casino had a smoking room until recently.

"I didn't know about this one until it was told to us in the last couple weeks. As far as I know, there aren't other ones," said Nilson.

Rumours have been flying that a smoking room exists in the Saskatchewan Legislative Building, with news of the room even being published in a weekly newspaper recently.

But Nadine Sisk, spokesperson for Saskatchewan Property Management Corp. (SPMC) said there is no smoking room in the home of the provincial government.

Nilson said the casino did not exist when the government policy was instituted in 1994. Recently, operators of the casino raised some questions about whether it was indeed a government building, despite being owned by the province.

"I guess they didn't realize the policy applied to them. So practically, they are correcting that issue that has been identified," said Nilson.

The minister did not believe the casino smoking room should cast any doubt on the province's commitment to the smoking ban.

"Our legislation around smoke-free public places is very clear and it speaks to public places and will continue to do that," he said.

Nilson said an Occupational Health and Safety committee is currently reviewing the issue of smoking in the workplace, among other policies.

http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/news/story.html?id=cbc77460-5aaf-4750-b147-4b9c76226a1e


Tobacco talks are ‘uphill climb,’ growers told -ON

Tiffany Mayer - SIMCOE REFORMER Friday February 04, 2005

Simcoe Reformer — Tobacco farmers have been given every indication so far that they can expect a repeat of last year’s crop size for 2005.
That message was delivered by Fred Neukamm, chair of the Ontario Flue-Cured Tobacco Growers Marketing Board, at the growers annual winter meeting in Delhi yesterday.
After two days of crop size negotiations, Neukamm told hundreds of growers that industry and manufacturing stakeholders have indicated their need for domestic leaf will stay at about 50 million pounds for 2005. Exporters have also expressed interest in maintaining their levels in the 35 to 40 million pound range.
Producers grew 87.9 million pounds of leaf in 2004 for domestic and foreign markets.
“Although just meeting last year’s crop size is not our objective, these indications are a far cry from some of the rumoured doomsday scenarios being thrown around on the warehouse floor this winter,” Neukamm said.
Rumours circulating within the tobacco community suggested the crop size could be as low as 60 million pounds. Crop sizes have been dramatically reduced as more Canadian smokers quit the habit and cigarette companies increasingly turn to cheaper imports to meet remaining demand. The Canadian tobacco crop has been virtually cut in half in the past seven years, dropping from 151 million pounds in 1998 to just under 88 million last year.
Neukamm said the board pushed stakeholders to provide information early about this year’s crop after negotiations in 2004 dragged on into late May when many growers had planted a crop without knowing what to expect. That was because Imperial Tobacco refused to accept a concession package from growers that would make domestic leaf more appealing for the cigarette company to purchase.
Despite the early indications, Neukamm isn’t expecting negotiations to be easy.
“These negotiations will be an uphill climb. None of what I’m reporting to you today has been finalized. However, we felt it was important to get a preliminary indication out to the farmers as soon as possible,” he said.
Negotiating price will be the next step in the process as the “nitty gritty of negotiations” begin.
Neukamm also reassured the crowd that the board is doing what it can to secure government funding for growers wishing to leave the industry while maintaining production for those who wish to continue growing leaf.
“Farmers, we are tired of empty promises and lectures about tobacco use. It’s long past time for governments to be responsible and accountable and contribute enough dollars to help relieve some of the chaos that it continues to create,” he said.
But governments aren’t the only ones stirring up potential troubles for tobacco growers. Wednesday, a group of producers refused to leave a closed-door portion of a tobacco board meeting about crop negotiations. The growers’ lack of co-operation forced the cancellation of the meeting
Tobacco board meetings were opened to producers last month, but the board stipulated at the time that there would still be issues that required closed sessions. Meetings involving appeals, human resources and negotiations are not open to the public.
Incidents, such as those Wednesday, make it difficult for the board to function, Neukamm said. They also represent a lack of respect for the electoral process and the bodies governing that process.
Joe Barzo, a tobacco grower from Tillsonburg, said farmers should be supporting the board, not working against it.
“I’m quite satisfied that they’re approaching every possible avenue. They’re fighting an uphill battle with government,” Barzo explained.
He also expressed relief at having some idea about crop sizes so early in negotiations. However, Barzo is still not happy with the prospects for this year’s growing season.
“I’d like to see (crop size) get bigger but I don’t think it will. I don’t know how long we can continue growing with the amount of tobacco we grow now,” he said. “It’s hard to stay in business.”

http://simcoereformer.ca/story.php?id=141483


The Chronicle Journal Feb. 7/05

Letters to the Editor re: bus driver charged in smoking Violation Jan31/04
A Thunder Bay bus driver was fined 60$ and lost a day's  wages for the crime of smoking a cigarette ("First smoking ticket issued." Feb 1)  He was apprehended due to an anonymous phone call made to public authorities. 
Think about it!
Frank Zaniol
Niagra Falls, Ont.

http://www.chroniclejournal.com/


The price to pay for smoking ban in pubs -UK

IAN SWANSON SCOTTISH POLITICAL EDITOR
SCOTLAND’S smoking ban is set to cost an initial 2300 jobs, force nearly 150 pubs to close and rob the Chancellor of £59 million a year in tax revenue, a new report claims.
A study commissioned by the licensed trade says the ban would also see turnover drop by £105m and annual profits slump by £86m.
The figures will fuel controversy over the impact of the Scottish Executive’s ban on smoking in enclosed public places, including pubs and restaurants, which is due to be introduced in just over a year.
The Scottish Licensed Trade Association will present its analysis of the costs involved to MSPs next week.
And the Scottish Parliament’s finance committee will also hear evidence from local authorities estimating the cost of implementing the ban at £6m a year. The assessment by the Convention of Scottish Local Authorities includes £403,000 for implementing the ban in Edinburgh and £75,000 for West Lothian.
In a written submission to the committee, the SLTA argues that pubs not serving food should be exempt from the ban, in line with proposals south of the Border. It urges a phased approach and claims the economic effects of an outright ban have not yet been fully considered.
Official research released by the Executive at the time the Bill was published claimed the effect of the smoking ban on the hospitality trade could be anything from a loss of £104m a year to a gain of £137m a year.
But the SLTA says the study was "incomplete, irrelevant and rushed". And it claims: "Independent research suggests the financial impact will be far greater than stated."
A study commissioned from the Centre for Economics and Business Research concludes that once a ban is introduced the annual turnover in the licensed trade would decline by £105m, annual profits in licensed premises may decline by £86m and employment could be expected to decline by 2300 jobs initially. About 142 average-sized licensed premises may close as a result of decreased trade and the Exchequer could lose out on a total of £59m in annual tax revenues from Scotland.
Alistair Don, president of the Scottish Licensed Trade Association, said the hospitality industry in Scotland employed around 200,000 people. "The Executive doesn’t appear to want to look at the financial implications. There are jobs at risk, not just in the licensed trade but all the ancillary trades."
He added that the eventual job loss total could be ten times the 2300 expected to go when the ban is first introduced. "Ireland has already lost 7500 jobs since their ban was introduced in March 2004 - and that’s government figures."
The Cosla submission to the committee highlights the costs councils will incur in recruiting new wardens, training staff and councillors, publicising the ban and even extra street cleaning because they expect there to be more discarded cigarette ends.
Cosla calculates the start-up costs for introducing the ban in April 2006 and the first year of implementing it will be £6m.
The Executive has said it will make some cash available to local authorities to help ease the financial burden of implementing the ban. But Cosla said: "There are concerns the Executive will fund enforcement for an initial period and funding will then decrease, with revenue consequences for councils."
An Executive spokesman said no decision had yet been made on what funding would be available. He added: "We will be discussing the financial implications with Cosla shortly."

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=138622005


There is powerful evidence that an outright ban on public smoking would save lives, doctors' leaders from across the world say.

A report by the British Medical Association's Tobacco Control Resource Centre describes the success of such anti-smoking laws in other countries.

Ireland has seen drops in cigarette sales and the US state California has reported fewer lung cancers.

But pro-smoking groups called evidence for passive smoking deaths a "myth".

Partial measures don't work Dr Vivienne Nathanson from the BMA

In the recent White Paper on Public Health for England, Health Secretary John Reid announced plans for a partial ban smoking in enclosed public places.

For example, while pubs that serve food would have to enforce a ban, other pubs would not.

The BMA says this is insufficient and doomed to fail.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, the BMA's head of science and ethics, said: "I hope John Reid listens to these doctors' testimonies.

"These doctors are telling us that partial measures don't work.

"It's time for the UK Government to play fair, and protect everyone from exposure to second-hand smoke at work."

But a Department of Health spokeswoman said: "As John Reid has made clear, we need to strike a balance between the rights of those who want to be protected against the harmful effects of other people's smoke and the rights of those who choose to smoke.

"That is why we are taking action to deliver a big increase in the number of smoke-free pubs and restaurants in places where food is served while ensuring that people who still want to smoke in the pub can still do so."

Smoke-free law

According to the Californian Medical Association, lung cancer rates have fallen six times faster in California than in US states without smoke-free laws since 1998.

In Ireland, cigarette sales fell by almost 16% in the first six months of the ban, according to the Irish Medical Organisation.

Others oppose an outright ban.

Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group FOREST, said: "The idea that people are dying in their hundreds or even thousands from passive smoking is a myth based on estimates, calculations and statistics which are in turn based on extremely dubious research.

"The evidence falls far short of justifying a total ban on smoking in every public place.

"Most people want no-smoking offices to be the norm, but in pubs, clubs and bars there is clear support for a choice of smoking and no-smoking areas and better ventilation."

BMA chairman, Mr James Johnson, said: "Powerful vested interests peddle myths that smoke-free legislation is unnecessary.

"They say that it is unworkable, unpopular, and will lead to economic ruin.

"Such predictions are little more than scaremongering. The evidence shows that smoke-free laws save lives."

He said if all UK workplaces were smoke-free, the tobacco multinationals would lose an estimated £310 million in sales every year.

Ian Willmore, from ASH, said: "A comprehensive end to smoking in work places and enclosed public places is essential to protect the health of non-smokers and encourage smokers to quit."

The evidence falls far short of justifying a total ban on smoking in every public place Simon Clark, director of the smokers' lobby group FOREST

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4244233.stm


New Legislation Being Drafted to Ban No Smoking Policy -MI

Lori Dougovito

New legislation is being drafted by State Senator Virg Bernero, legislation that would make it illegal for an employer to fire employees for engaging in legal activities, like smoking, outside of the workplace.

It stems from Okemos based Weyco Inc. banning smoking. In January Weyco began giving mandatory smoking tests, if an employee tests positive then they're fired. Four female employees say they were fired, Weyco says they signed a waiver admitting they were smokers in turn dismissing themselves from the company. Three employees admit signing the waiver, one says she did not.

Bernero hopes to have the legislation introduced in a few weeks.

http://www.wilx.com/news/headlines/1238657.html


Fired For Smoking -MI

Four women who were fired from their jobs because they wouldn't quit smoking - are fighting back tonight.

The women worked at Weyco Incorporated in Okemos, Michigan. In November of 2003, their employer told everyone they had to quit smoking -and submit to nicotine tests, or else risk losing their jobs. The policy went into effect last month and four women were fired.

They say it's not a matter of health care, or insurance costs like Weyco says.They say it's infringing on their rights. So - they've enlisted the help of a state senator, (State Senator Virg Bernero/(D) MICHIGAN) who wants to make a law to prevent this from happening again. Weyco says, on its web site, the company would not fire anyone because of their weight. Either way, Bernero says he plans to introduce his legislation in the next few weeks.

http://abclocal.go.com/wpvi/news/2705-smokingfired.html


Public-Smoking Ban Again To Be Considered For Indianapolis

Ordinance Covers 'Public Places,' Enclosed Workplaces

February 4, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS -- City-county council members will again consider a ban on smoking in public places -- including restaurants and bars -- and enclosed workplaces in Marion County.

Council President Steve Talley said the proposal will be introduced on Monday. A similar proposal was killed in a council committee in November 2003.

The new proposal, which was shown to the news media Friday, defines a pub


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Smoking in the news II

Public-Smoking Ban Again To Be Considered For Indianapolis

Ordinance Covers 'Public Places,' Enclosed Workplaces

February 4, 2005

INDIANAPOLIS -- City-county council members will again consider a ban on smoking in public places -- including restaurants and bars -- and enclosed workplaces in Marion County.

Council President Steve Talley said the proposal will be introduced on Monday. A similar proposal was killed in a council committee in November 2003.

The new proposal, which was shown to the news media Friday, defines a public place as an "enclosed area, whether owned publicly or privately, to which the public is invited or in which the public is permitted."

"This is an important health issue that must be addressed," said Angela Mansfield, one of the council members behind the proposal. "This ordinance is about protecting the workforce and the public from the dangers of secondhand smoke."

The proposal cited elevators, health care facilities, sports arenas, shopping malls, public transportation facilities and enclosed common areas of multiple-unit residential facilities as examples of places where smoking would be banned.

The ban would extend outdoors at places where people use or wait for a service, including automated teller machines, telephones, ticket lines, bus stops, and cab stands.

Private residences and hotel rooms designated as smoking rooms are among the places that would be exempted.

The plan would go to a committee in a few weeks, and public hearings will be held, RTV6's Julie Pursley said

Some city-county council members are proposing a smoking ban for public places in Marion County. Would you be in favor of such a ban? Choice Votes Percentage of 1214 Votes Yes 708 58%         No 506 42%

http://www.theindychannel.com/health/4166951/detail.html


Governor: All State Buildings To Be Smoke-Free-WI

30 Percent Of Government Buildings Still Allow Smoking February 7, 2005

MADISON, Wis. -- Gov. Jim Doyle on Monday ordered all state office buildings to be totally smoke-free.

The executive order gives state buildings 30 days to eliminate all designated smoking areas.

Doyle says he's committed to ensuring the health and well-being of state employees and all visitors to state buildings.

Doyle also called on the Legislature to ban smoking in all local government buildings. About 30 percent of municipalities in the state still allow smoking in public buildings.

Doyle's order reiterated that smoking and second-hand smoke kills 7,300 Wisconsin residents every year.

http://www.channel3000.com/news/4172807/detail.html


Law would ban smoking in restaurants -NC

By: News 14 Carolina Staff Updated: 2/4/2005 6:38 PM

Another proposed law concerning cigarettes will likely create a fierce debate this year.
A Davidson County lawmaker wants to ban smoking inside all restaurants across the state. There's little gray area on this issue most strongly agree or oppose a ban.

Several major cities and even states have already banned smoking inside places like restaurants.

Jay Casabonne supports a smoking ban.

“It didn't affect the commerce there and I don't think it'll offset the commerce here,” he said. “I think it'll just make a better environment when you get home at night your clothes aren't wreaking. It'll encourage more people to come out and there'll be plenty of access outside.”

A North Carolina lawmaker agrees and he's proposed a complete ban on smoking in restaurants.

Katherine Depraten opposes the ban and said, “I think it'll cut down on people going out as much and they'll just stay at home I mean it's a person's right.”

The proposed law would go into effect next January if you're caught lighting up it will burn a $50 hole in your wallet.

While smokers will be upset with the proposed law and many restaurants have mixed feelings, health advocates definitely know how they feel.

Sarah Cox has for years tried to convince lawmakers non-smoking sections aren't enough.

“Some research has indicated you would need hurricane force winds to eliminate exposure to all the toxins that come from cigarette smoke,” Sarah Cox of the American Lung Association explained.

Mecklenburg County has asked the state legislature to approve a ban not only in restaurants but bars too.

Depraten added, “I think it'll definitely cut down on business in Charlotte in certain places.”

Either way the legislature will likely take it's time to debate the issue and it's expected to be a fierce one to say the least.

A Durham lawmaker has also proposed a $20 increase on the cigarette tax. Currently the state only taxes five cents a pack. That's the second lowest in the nation.

http://rdu.news14.com/content/headlines/?ArID=63357&SecID=2


Bar smoking fines -NY

By: Nick Cowdrey, News 10 Now Web Staff 2/4/2005 8:06 PM

Fran Buske has owned Fran's Riverfront Inn for 10 years. She says when the Clean Indoor Air Act went into effect she suffered.

"It cut my business almost right in half of what it was," Buske said.
In Oswego County, the health department decided it would only be fair to give warnings to first-time offenders.

"We took those first offenses as an opportunity to educate them on the law and gave them practical advice on how to comply with the law," said Kathleen Smith, Oswego Co. Health Commissioner.
But 18 months later the county says first time offenders will now be fined.

"We we're seeing repeat offenders and felt these folks knew about the law and had ample opportunity to learn about the law and what they needed to do to comply with the law," Smith said.
In 2003, the health department in Oswego County got 72 complaints of businesses breaking the smoking law. 2004 saw that number increase to 93 complaints. Since the law went into effect 37 warnings have been given and 24 tickets were issued totaling $11,000 in fines.
Fran's Riverfront Tavern was one of the last places to get a warning.

"I do have all my signs up, my bartenders try to push the issue, but when you are really busy and someone sneaks over and has a cigarette there isn't much I can do about it," Buske said.

In Oswego County 18 businesses have applied for smoking waivers. Nine have been denied, six granted, two granted pending the construction of a smoking room and one under review. But the owner of Fran's says she doesn't have room to build a smoking room, nor does she think it would help.

"I have a deck but they tell me I can't build out there because the windows are still attached or something and I don't have a lot of property besides to stretch out the building more," she said.
Buske says she will do everything to comply with the law because she can't afford to pay the fine.
The Health Department says first time offenders of the Clean Indoor Act will be fined $1,000 but that fine can be reduced to $500 with a stipulation agreement. Every offense after that will be $1,000.

Bar smoking fines
Since the Clean Indoor Air Act went into affect in 2003, many bar owners have complained about how it's hurt their business. In Oswego County the health department wanted to give them every opportunity to comply with the law so it's just given first time offenders warnings. But now the health department says no more. News 10 Now's Nick Cowdrey explains.

http://news10now.com/content/all_news/oswego_county/?ArID=36231&SecID=155


Bundaberg council refuses to police smoking laws -AU

Bundaberg City Council has told Queensland Health it is not enforcing new smoking regulations that came into force at the start of the year.

It is now illegal to smoke close to playgrounds, entrances to buildings, on patrolled beaches and in sections of some pubs.

Mayor Kay McDuff says the cost of enforcing the new smoking bans would be significant.

She says the State Government is cost-shifting.

"Well, we believe that we have not got the resources and if you can understand, most of the people who are possibly smoking would be smoking at late hours of the night," she said.

"We would have to have officers available all hours of the day, almost 24-hours-a-day, seven-days-a-week."

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200502/s1297556.htm


Smoking ban expansion would include beaches -HI

Ron Mizutani

 No ifs, ands or butts about it -- cigarette butts on our beaches can be a pain in the you know what. But it's not just our beaches. The smoking issue affects many public areas. Lawmakers are addressing the issue with a new bill that would prohibit smoking at public beaches and parks and in all areas of airports and hospitals.

The bill also would prohibit disposing cigarette butts in these areas.

"To me I think it's really a pain in the butt," said Katsumi Scull a nonsmoker.

Not just a pain, it's also a potential health issue.

"It's kind of disgusting and then I see the kids playing right next to the cigarette butts," said Scull.

"You go on the beach you see the butts in the water, you're walking you see it there, the kids playing, I just don't think it's healthy in anyway," said Nina Stone another non-smoker who supports tough smoking laws.

"I honestly don't think when I'm sitting in an open area I should inhale anybody's smoke," said Stone.

Kenneth Scull is a smoker, and surprisingly he, too, supports the effort.

"I am a smoker but I think on the beach it should be no smoking," he said. "I used to clean the beach in front of the Royal Hawaiian, and the cigarette butts -- that's the problem."

"Smoking on the beaches, at least malama the aina, yeah. Just pick up your butts. Don't throw them all over the place," said Jesse Caetano, who also smokes.

But it doesn't happen. John Cotton can tell you that. He gets up and close with the sand six days a week and certainly sees his share of cigarette butts.

But he said, "It's not only a wasted effort it's a waste of money. I think the state could put their money to filling potholes. I ride a motorcycle; potholes can kill me. A cigarette butt on the beach isn't going to kill me."

The tone at the airport was similar, where under the proposal; smoking would be prohibited from curbside to cabin.

"I don't think the government should regulate our life like that; I really don't," said a smoker from Maui.

"I think that's just getting a little overboard because you are outside, you should be able to smoke you know what I mean," said smoker Rebecca Barrera.

"For us smokers it's kind of hard because it's giving up so much spaces for us -- open areas for us to smoke," said James Somera.

Under the proposal, anyone caught smoking in a public area or disposing a butt in these areas could face a fine of up to $250.

http://khon.com/khon/displayStory.cfm?storyID=3465


Artificial Light May Trigger Breast Cancer

AP Monday, February 07, 2005

HARTFORD, Conn. — College researchers are studying whether electric light changes hormone levels in women and makes breast cancer more prevalent in developed countries.

Richard Stevens, a cancer epidemiologist at the University of Connecticut, said there is no scientific consensus on why there is a higher rate of breast cancer in the developed world.

He said literature on breast cancer includes many discredited theories on how the environment and lifestyles may contribute to the onset of the disease.

"We knew more about the cause of breast cancer 20 years ago than we do today," Stevens said. "What we do know is that it must have something to do with industrialized society."

Researchers are looking for new explanations, and Stevens and other researchers are focusing on electric light.

Their theory is that prolonged periods of exposure to artificial light disrupt the body's circadian rhythms — the inner biological clocks honed over thousands of years of evolution to regulate behaviors such as sleep and wakefulness.

They are looking into whether that disruption affects levels of hormones such as melatonin and the workings of cellular machinery, and whether it triggers breast cancer.

"Mankind has only been exposed to these light sources for 150 years or so," Stevens said.

So far, the theory is based largely on suggestive, but inconclusive, observational studies. For instance, night-shift workers such as nurses tend to be more prone to develop breast cancer than day-shift workers, and blind women are less likely to have breast cancer than women with sight.

In a recent study, Stevens and scientists at Yale University School of Medicine identified a possible genetic mechanism that could help explain how artificial light could trigger breast cancer.

Pre-menopausal women with a variation of a "clock gene," which helps govern the regulation of the body's response to night and day, tend to have a higher risk of cancer.

"I'm not saying this is a cause, but that the evidence shows it is worth investigating," Stevens said.

Scientists believe that environmental and lifestyle factors, not inherited risks, are the cause of nine out of 10 breast cancer cases.

While smoking is linked to lung cancer and the human papillomavirus to cervical cancer, breast cancer researchers are not sure what lifestyle or environmental factors women should worry about.

Antiperspirants and wire bras are included in some widely circulated but largely rejected theories. And in 2003, the National Cancer Institute convened 100 breast cancer experts who concluded there is no evidence that miscarriages or abortions increase the risk of breast cancer.

Yet epidemiologists such as Stevens say other risk factors must exist and they urge that more studies be conducted.

"We absolutely need studies," said Deborah Winn, chief of the clinical and genetic epidemiology research branch of the National Cancer Institute. "If we have those answers, we might have the potential to improve prevention."

 http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article/article?f=/n/a/2005/02/07/national/a102631S10.DTL&type=health


Nevada lawmakers face big issues as 2005 session opens

By BRENDAN RILEY ASSOCIATED PRESS  February 07, 2005 at 17:07:07 PST

CARSON CITY, Nev. (AP) - Nevada lawmakers convened their 2005 session Monday, with leaders quickly outlining possible solutions to major issues such as spiraling property tax bills and struggling public schools.

Legislators also promised to work together and prevent a repeat of 2003 when two special sessions were needed to pass a record $833 million tax package that was held up during the regular session by Assembly Republicans who wanted a lower tax hit.

Assembly Speaker Richard Perkins, D-Henderson, opened the Assembly by calling for "a session of action" to deal with numerous issues - plus a nearly $6 billion state spending plan proposed by Gov. Kenny Guinn.

Senate Majority Leader Bill Raggio, R-Reno, promised action on legislation in the Senate, and both leaders urged cooperation rather than what Perkins termed political grandstanding.

Senate Minority Leader Dina Titus, D-Las Vegas, suggested an immediate cap on property tax rates to help Nevadans facing big tax hikes in the coming fiscal year. Perkins termed that a "fallback" solution and advanced his own suggestion of a $50,000 exemption in homeowners' taxable property values.

Titus said she wouldn't attempt a rebuttal on the Senate floor of Perkins' "gubernatorial speech." Both want to run for governor in 2006.

Assembly Majority Leader Barbara Buckley, D-Las Vegas, called for health care improvements to ease overcrowding in hospital emergency rooms and ensure that Nevadans can get low-priced prescription drugs, from Canada if necessary.

Legislators also will have to deal with voter petitions that would restrict tobacco smoking in public places and ease Nevada's marijuana possession laws - although Perkins called the marijuana proposal "the wrong thing to do, now or ever."

Cooperation will be essential if the legislators hope to accomplish their goals by June 6, the last day of a session that by law can run only 120 days.

There have been extensive preparations for the 2005 session, with some staffers working overtime since last fall to get the first of several hundred expected bills ready for prompt introduction. Several committees were scheduled to start debating big issues during the first week of the session.

The 42 Assembly members and 21 state senators already have Guinn's record budget plan for the next two fiscal years, and in the two weeks preceding the session's start the lawmakers had a head start by holding committee hearings to go over the main elements of the record spending plan.

Early bills include a $10 million appropriation to cover part of the session costs through June 6, along with plans to prohibit executions of minors convicted of capital crimes and fund full-day kindergartens.

Other start-of-session measures would allow video or "photo cop" devices to help catch red-light runners; and help prosecutors trying to enforce Nevada's open-meeting laws.

On Tuesday, a joint Assembly-Senate panel will start reviewing Nevada's property tax system - a review that many hope will end with taxpayer relief and avert the prospect of a citizens' initiative like California's Proposition 13.

http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/nevada/2005/feb/07/020710879.html


VFW TO PAY FOR VIOLATING STATE SMOKING LAWS -ME

A Veterans of Foreign Wars post in Old Orchard Beach has settled a case with the state over smoking.

AUGUSTA, Maine (AP) -- The Attorney General's Office announced Monday that the post admitted to 100 counts of allowing public smoking and agreed to pay fines and surcharges totaling 26-hundred dollars.
Tobacco control coordinator John Archard said the state had gotten complaints from public businesses that the V-F-W post was stealing customers away by allowing in the public and letting them smoke.
Smoking is allowed at private clubs, but is against the law at bars, pool halls and other businesses that are open to he public.

http://www.wlbz2.com/newscenter/article.asp?id=19972


Sharing Incentives -IA

Monday, February 07, 2005

By Dave Franzman KCRG-TV9 News

(Cedar Rapids – KCRG) -- Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack's budget plan includes more incentives to encourage smaller school districts to share.

Lawmakers began reviewing the governor's five billion dollar spending plan on Monday. Some of the big items include a proposed 80 cent increase in the cigarette tax to help cover Medicaid and other health programs.

But six million dollars would go to encourage more "sharing" between Iowa's smaller school districts. As one example, the Mt. Vernon and Lisbon school districts already share teachers, classes and sports teams. But the governor's proposal might open up even more shared services for possible incentives.

The proposal might also allow districts to claim an incentive for sharing behind the scenes staff...like bookkeepers. Mt. Vernon and Lisbon also do some cooperative things with bus maintenance and repairs. Under the latest plan, even that sort of sharing might quality for a new incentive.

Iowa currently has 367 school districts around the state...down from 390 ten years ago. Officials say sharing programs, encouraged by incentives, is the best way to get small districts to start the process that may eventually lead to consolidation.

Risk Factors Differ for Childhood Asthma and Wheeze, and Bronchial Hyperresponsiveness

Childhood asthma and current wheeze may be associated with different risk factors than bronchial hyperresponsivenes (BHR), according to a new study. Researchers at the David Hide Asthma & Allergy Research Centre, St. Mary's Hospital, Newport, Isle of Wight, UK, compared multiple environmental and genetic factors affecting children at 1, 2, 4, and 10 years of age and whether the children had asthma, wheeze, or BHR when they were 10 years old. Data collected from 1,373 of the original 1,456 children at age 10 showed that 18.9% had current wheeze and 13.0% had asthma, and BHR was found in 169 of the 784 (21,6%) tested. Analysis indicated that both wheeze and asthma share many common significant risk factors, including a genetic link to asthma, a predisposition for being atopic, early exposure to tobacco smoke, and recurrent chest infections in infancy. The only differing risk factor of significance was that males were more likely to have asthma. In sharp contrast, having a higher social class at birth and atopic sensitization at 4 years were found to be the significant risk factors for BHR. These findings suggest that BHR is influenced by mediators that differ from those of asthma and wheezing. The study appears in the February issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Cigarette Smoking and Reduced Lung Function Increases Systemic Inflammation

Low-grade systemic inflammation is associated with health complications, such as cachexia (loss of weight, muscle, and appetite associated with a chronic disease) and cardiovascular mortality and morbidity, and a new study shows that active cigarette smoking and poor lung fuction heighten systemic inflammation, both separately and when combined. Researchers at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, BC, Canada, administered pulmonary function testing to 7,685 adults ages 40 and over. By using C-reactive protein (CRP) levels as an indication of total system burden of inflammation, researchers were able to determine each individual's amount of systemic inflammation. Results showed that smoking was associated with 1.6 increased odds of elevated CRP levels, a reduction in lung function was associated with 2.3 odds of elevated CRP levels, and for individuals with both risk factors, the CRP odds of elevation of levels increased to 3.3, suggesting an additive relationship. These findings emphasize the importance of smoking cessation in patients with reduced lung function but also indicate that smoking cessation may not be able to fully reduce inflammatory markers to normal levels if lung function is already reduced. The study appears in the February issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

Benefits of Inhaled Colistin for Children with Cystic Fibrosis Outweigh Risks

Colistin sulfomethate is being more widely used to treat Pseudomonas aeruginosa infection in patients with cystic fibrosis, but its use is controversial, as some patients experience chest tightness and bronchospasm. Researchers at the Hospital for Sick Children, University of Toronto, Toronto, ON, Canada, administered colistin and placebo (during two separate laboratory visits) to 24 children between the ages of 5 and 18 to see if the subjects would experience negative side effects. Patients experienced a reduction in lung function after inhalation of colistin and placebo, but the drop was greatest for high risk patients with a family history of asthma and/or atopy, bronchospasm due to wheezing, or airway lability who only inhaled colistin. The reduction in lung function for patients without these characteristics was not significant. While researchers were unable to confirm whether the bronchoconstriction was caused by placebo or colistin, those who experienced bonchoconstriction were given salbutamol, which usually reversed their symptoms. Results indicate that bronchoconstriction following inhalation of an aerosol is common but is controllable, and should not deter use of inhaled colistin. The study appears in the February issue of CHEST, the peer-reviewed journal of the American College of Chest Physicians.

http://www.newswise.com/articles/view/509602/


Vector CEO Says Views Changed on Tobacco Effects

By Peter Kaplan Mon Feb 7, 2005

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The chief executive of tobacco holding company Vector Group Ltd. backed away from past admissions that smoking is a proven cause of disease during testimony on Monday in the government's racketeering trial against the industry.

Bennett LeBow, who controls cigarette maker Liggett Group through his stake in Vector, told a federal judge that his views had changed since 1997, when he broke ranks with the rest of the tobacco industry and conceded that smoking was a proven cause of lung cancer and other ills.

"I've changed my opinion pretty much in the last four or five years," LeBow said in the first day of testimony since an appeals court on Friday barred the government from seeking $280 billion in past industry profits in the case.

LeBow said he still believes smoking is addictive and harmful, and that studies have linked it to diseases like lung cancer. But he said he now has doubts about whether the causal connection has been proven under strict scientific standards.

"A lot of these scientific (studies), I don't think they had enough proof to prove anything," LeBow said.

LeBow bought a controlling stake in Liggett in 1986. During 1996 and 1997 the company settled with many state attorneys general. As part of the deals, Liggett conceded nicotine makes cigarettes addictive and smoking causes serious diseases.

The other major tobacco companies settled with the states in 1998, agreeing to pay billions of dollars and overhaul their marketing practices.

Targeted in the government's lawsuit, filed in 1999, are Altria Group Inc. and its Philip Morris USA unit; Loews Corp.'s Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group ; Vector's Liggett; Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd.

The tobacco companies deny they illegally conspired to promote smoking and say the government has no grounds to pursue them after the 1998 settlement.

District Judge Gladys Kessler said nothing during the day's proceedings about the ruling by the D.C. Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday that reversed her on whether the government can seek disgorgement of past profits.

Justice Department lawyers are still studying the ruling to decide whether to appeal, a department spokesman said.

At issue in Monday's cross examination was LeBow's allegation in written testimony that the industry had withheld information about the health effects of smoking.

Those charges could bolster the government's case that cigarette makers tried to confuse the public for decades by falsely denying there was any scientific proof smoking caused disease.

But LeBow did little to help the government's case on Monday. He could not recall specific documents that prompted him to settle with the states and said he had no direct knowledge about what tobacco companies had done before 1986

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7562253


Tooth-brushing 'cuts heart risk'

Brushing your teeth could reduce the risk of having a stroke or heart attack, a study has suggested.

A team from Columbia University found people with gum disease were more likely to suffer from atherosclerosis - a narrowing of blood vessels.

The condition can precede a stroke or heart attack.

The British Dental Association said the research, published in the journal Circulation underlined the importance of looking after dental health.

 The Columbia researchers looked at levels of bacteria in the mouths of 657 people who had no history of stroke or myocardial infarction (heart attack).

The researchers also measured the thickness of the subjects' carotid artery, which carries blood from the heart to the brain, and which is measured to identify atherosclerosis.

It was found that those people who had a higher level of the specific bacteria that causes gum (periodontal) disease also had an increased carotid artery thickness, even after taking other cardiovascular risk factors into account.

The team also found that the link with atherosclerosis only existed for the bacteria which was know to cause gum disease, and not other bacteria found in the mouth.

'Stronger link'

The researchers said the explanation may be that this bacteria migrates throughout the body via the bloodstream and stimulates the immune system, causing inflammation that results in the clogging of arteries.

The link between poor dental health and poor vascular health has suggested before.

But Dr Moïse Desvarieux, of Columbia University Medical Center's Mailman School of Public Health, who led the study, said: "This is the most direct evidence yet that gum disease may lead to stroke or cardiovascular disease.

"And because gum infections are preventable and treatable, taking care of your oral health could very well have a significant impact on your cardiovascular health."

He added: "We will continue to study these participants to determine if atherosclerosis continues over time and is definitely associated with periodontal disease."

Judy O'Sullivan, medical spokesperson for the British Heart Foundation said: "Inflammation may prove to be a key factor in the development of coronary heart disease.

"However, it may be too simplistic to say that periodontal infection alone is the issue of concern rather than inflammation in general, as inflammation is often associated with other risk factors for coronary heart disease, such as smoking, poor diet and low income."

She added: "We welcome studies which add evidence to this growing area of research and we would encourage people to follow a healthy lifestyle to reduce their risk of heart disease.

"This includes maintaining healthy teeth and gums as well as not smoking, taking regular physical activity and enjoying a balanced diet."

A spokesperson for the British Dental Association added: "A number of studies in the past have suggested a link between gum disease and heart disease and this research would seem to strengthen that link.

"It also underlines the importance of brushing twice a day with a fluoride toothpaste to reduce the risk of gum disease and improve overall dental health."

Taking care of your oral health could very well have a significant impact on your cardiovascular health Dr Moïse Desvarieux, Columbia University

http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/health/4243893.stm

different version http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2005-02/niod-sfd020705.php


No, Nicotine Probably Doesn't Ward Off Alzheimer's

Mon Feb 7, 2005

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - The final excuse for smoking -- that it might reduce the risk of developing Alzheimer's disease -- has just been stubbed out, findings from an animal study suggest.

Past animal and human studies have indicated that nicotine exposure inhibits the formation of amyloid plaque, a key feature of Alzheimer's disease. However, the new study shows that chronic nicotine use appears to worsen the effects of a brain protein called tau, which is responsible for the fibrous tangles that are the other hallmark of the disease.

So, at best, the effects of nicotine are probably canceled out, according to the researchers.

Dr. Frank M. LaFerla, from the University of California at Irvine, and colleagues administered nicotine to a genetically engineered strain of mice that develops Alzheimer's disease.

Nicotine treatment produced an increase in nicotine receptors in the animals' brains that correlated with a dramatic rise in the aggregation and activity of the tau protein. This indicates that the disease-causing effects of tau were worsened, the team reports in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.

Moreover, in these experiments, chronic nicotine administration had no effect on levels of soluble amyloid, the researchers point out.

The results emphasize the importance of assessing nicotine's affects on all aspects of the disease, they write. "Our findings suggest that the use of nicotine as a potential therapy for Alzheimer's disease should be reevaluated."

SOURCE: Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, early edition February 7, 2005.

http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=healthNews&storyID=7561247


Newborn's Weight May Affect Adult Cancer Risk

Heavier Babies Have Higher Risk of Some Cancers as Adults

By Miranda Hitti WebMD Medical News

Feb. 7, 2005 - An infant's birth weight may predict cancer risk later in life, a new study shows.

A study in the Feb. 7 International Cancer Journal found that heavier birth weight babies were more likely to have cancer of the stomach, pancreas and colon, and more likely to have blood cell cancers, compared to infants born at lighter weights.

Heavier newborn girls have a higher risk of developing breast cancer before age 50, says the study. The findings came from British and Swedish researchers including Valerie McCormack of the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine.

The risk of developing cancer was not the same for all types of cancers. Infants born at a higher birth weight had a lower risk of developing cancer of the lining of the uterus (endometrial) later in life.

Other cancers -- including ovarian, cervical, and prostate cancer -- weren't affected by birth weight.

Data came from more than 11,000 babies born at Sweden's Uppsala Academic Hospital from 1915 to 1929. The hospital kept detailed records on each baby, including birth weight, maternal age, birth order, length, and head circumference.

When the babies became 37-year-old adults, British and Swedish researchers began monitoring their health records for cancer, following them for about 40 years. During that time, 2,685 cancers were registered for the group.

The researchers calculated the difference each extra pound (450 grams) at birth made for adult- cancer risk. They factored in differences due to smoking and variations in the number of weeks of pregnancy at the birth of each infant.

Every extra pound at birth brought a 13% increase in digestive cancers, a 17% increase in blood cell cancers, and a 39% increase for breast cancer in women before age 50.

For men, cancer risk rose 8% for every 450-gram increase in birth weight. For women, increased cancer risk rose until age 50, mainly due to breast cancer.

However, heavier newborn girls had an advantage with cancer of the uterine lining (endometrial cancer). They were 24% less likely to have endometrial cancer, regardless of age. "Rates of this cancer in women who weighed at least 4,000 grams (8.32 pounds) were almost half that of women who weighed under 3,000 grams (6.2 pounds)," write the researchers.

McCormack and colleagues aren't sure how to explain the findings. Perhaps larger birth size means more cells at risk for cancer, as some studies have suggested.

Still, smaller babies don't have all the advantages. In addition to the increased endometrial cancer risk, the researchers say that other studies have linked smaller birth size to increased risk of heart disease and diabetes later in life.

There's no way to change your birth weight. But being active, following a nutritious diet, and getting proper medical care can help your health, whether you were a big baby or a petite newborn.

SOURCES: McCormack, V., International Cancer Journal, Feb. 7, 2005; vol 115. News release, John Wiley & Sons, Inc.

http://my.webmd.com/content/article/100/105713.htm


Stealth Smoked Detectors

 SLIPPERY ROCK, Pa. (AP) - The Slippery Rock School District is buying four Stealth Smoke Detectors, which will let them secretly track students or faculty who smoke on school premises.
 
The 325-dollar units are being funded by a grant under a Butler County health program.  The detectors are made by Voice Products, an Ohio company. The company makes the ultra-sensitive smoke detectors that look like regular smoke detectors -- but they also make four different
"covert" packages for them, so unsuspecting smokers won't know where they're at.

 The detectors don't ring or buzz -- instead, they send a pager message to a school administrator, that also tells that person where the smoking is happening.

 The detectors are easily moved and will likely be placed in hallways, bathrooms and other popular smoking areas.

http://www.wkbn.com/Global/story.asp?S=2903396&nav=81AlW4bx



Posted at 4:04 pm by looped_ca
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Saturday, February 05, 2005
This is The News as I saw it

Safer cigarettes one step closer

The federal government is one step closer to making cigarettes more fire-safe. On March 31, the government passed Bill C-260, which designates cigarettes as a dangerous product under the Hazardous Products Act. This designation is required before legislation forcing cigarette manufacturers to produce safer cigarettes can be passed.
With the bill passed, Health Canada is proposing regulations under the Tobacco Act that would require tobacco manufacturers to meet an ignition propensity standard for all cigarettes manufactured in Canada or imported for sale in Canada.
Ignition propensity is a measure of the ability of an ignition source, such as a cigarette, to ignite an object, such as a couch. Ignition propensity can be decreased by reducing the burn temperature of the cigarette or reducing the amount of fuel available to be burnt so that the cigarette extinguishes itself if left unused.
"Reduced ignition propensity does not mean fire-safe," said a statement released by Health Canada. "It is impossible to make a burning object completely fire-safe. However, Health Canada feels these regulations will save lives by significantly reducing the number of fires started by cigarettes."
Smokers' materials are the leading cause of fire-related fatalities across the country. The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs reported for the period 1995-1999 that at least 14,030 fires in Canada were started by smokers' materials, which includes cigarettes, cigars and pipes. These fires killed 356 people, injured 1,615 and cost more than $200 million in property damage. The victims of these fires are often among society's most vulnerable, such as children, the elderly and the poor.
The standard proposed by Health Canada is the same used by the State of New York. On December 31, 2003, New York became the first jurisdiction in the world to enact legislation mandating that the ignition propensity of cigarettes be reduced. By June 28, 2004 all cigarettes sold in New York had to have a standard of 25 per cent full length burns when tested on 10 layers of filter paper using ASTM method E2187-02b Standard Test Method for Measuring the Ignition Strength of Cigarettes.
In this test, a lit cigarette is placed on 10 layers of standard laboratory filter paper. The procedure is repeated 40 times and the per cent failures is calculated. Failure is defined as the cigarette burning its full length.
Under Health Canada's proposals, tobacco manufacturers would have the option to use the manufacturing process or technical design of their choosing to achieve the standard. Options available to manufacturers include:
1. Reducing tobacco density, thereby reducing the amount of available fuel.
2. Reducing paper porosity, which is related to a reduction in the availability of oxygen necessary to fuel the smoldering process.
3. Decreasing the circumference of cigarettes, which reduces the available tobacco, paper and the amount
of contact between the cigarette and the material that could light on fire.
4. Removing or reducing burn additives that enhance the burn rate of cigarette paper.
5. Putting "speed bumps" on cigarettes. Reduced ignition propensity cigarettes currently available in the U.S. and New Zealand use a patented paper, which has concentric bands of ultra-thin paper applied on top of traditional cigarette paper. The manufacturer claims that these bands or rings act as "speed bumps" to slow down the rate at which the cigarette burns as the lit end crosses over them.
If Health Canada's proposed regulations become legislation, Canada would be the first country in the world to have a national cigarette ignition propensity standard. The proposed regulations have entered the first phase of public consultation.
For more information on reduced ignition propensity cigarettes, visit www.gosmokefree.ca.
Excerpts of this article were taken from Health Canada's Web sites at http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/english/media/releases/2004/2004_19bk1.htm, and http://www.hc-sc.gc.ca/hecs-sesc/tobacco/legislation/rip/04.html.


Lit smokers' materials cause of most fire deaths

According to the OFM's statistical review of fire losses, the primary cause of fire deaths in Ontario is smokers' materials. As the graph on the right shows, between 1998 and 2002, these materials caused 38% of preventable fatal home fires and 38% of fire fatalities. Often, victims of these fires are children and adults living with people who smoke.

Between 1995-1999, the majority of fire deaths in Ontario that involved cigarettes resulted from one of two common scenarios. As described below, often, these scenarios also involved alcohol use.

Scenario #1

Property Type: Residential

Area of Fire Origin: Living area

Ignition Source: Lit smoking articles, matches or lighters

Object First Ignited: Upholstered furniture (13%), other objects (8%)

Time of Occurrence: Night

Victims: Asleep or impaired adults, children living with adults

Scenario #2

Property Type: Residential

Area of Fire Origin: Sleeping area

Ignition Source: Lit smoking articles, matches or lighters

Object First Ignited: Bedding (5%), other objects (5%)

Time of Occurrence: Night

Victims: Asleep or impaired adults, children living with adults

http://www.ofm.gov.on.ca/english/publications/messenger/2004/mayaugust2004.asp


Cigarette fires up 19% in U.S.

 The number of fires in the United States caused by lighted tobacco products – almost always cigarettes increased by a stunning 19 percent in the most recent year studied, according to research by the NFPA (National Fire Protection Association). But laws requiring that cigarettes be designed to stop burning when not actively smoked could sharply reduce this destruction.

 Cigarettes are the leading cause of fatal fires in Canada and the United States. In Ontario, smokers’ materials (including lighted tobacco products but not matches and lighters) led to one out of six fire deaths between 1998 and 2003, more than any other cause of fire. Yet, despite the American trend, the number of fires caused by cigarettes in Ontario is decreasing.

 Contrary to the popular image, NFPA’s study shows that most victims of smoking-material fires in the U.S. did not fall asleep smoking. Many are not even smokers. Rather, these fires typically started when someone abandoned or improperly disposed of smoking materials.

 Most victims were in the room where the fire started, and most had some condition that limited their ability to get out. Often they were asleep, but a significant number ere impaired by drugs or alcohol, or their mobility was reduced by

disability or old age. In the U.S., people older than 64 are more likely to die in smokers’ material fires than younger people, even though they are less likely to smoke.

 The Canadian Association of Fire Chiefs reported for the period 1995 99 that at least 14,030 fires in Canada were started by smokers’ materials. These fires killed 356 people, injured 1,615 and cost more than $200 million in pr