Here are this week's entries, in parts, from our contest, What Prompted You to Try an Electronic Cigarette.

We look forward to announcing our winner soon!

Entry 1 from Gayle

I quit smoking 5 years ago and had a great deal of stress, lost a 14 year job, had family members move in our home, instead of hospice, son-in-law killed towing a semi out of a ditch leaving my 29 year old daughter a widow with 3 children, the youngest at 2 months old. I loved smoking but hated the smell and the ashtray mess, not to mention what it was likely doing to my health. With all the stress I was tempted to pick up the habit again, but Continue Reading

In the past, we've discussed California's proactive regulations as well as a disagreement stemming from smokers residing in multifamily units including townhouses and apartments. This new law, effective January 1, 2012, should come as no surprise.

California Senate Bill 332 was signed into law on September 6, 2011 by Governor Jerry Brown. The law now requires landlords to state in lease agreements where smoking is permitted on property. Some upscale units have imposed smoking restrictions in-unit for the greater part of a decade with few legal issues arising. This bill will further allow landlords to take affirmative action in deciding if and where tenants can smoke.

With multifamily housing accounting for more than 30 percent of California's residences, Senator Alex Padilla, Democrat - Los Angeles, believes this provides landlords "on solid legal ground if they choose to have those restrictions." Padilla went on further to state, "While more than 86 percent of Californians do not Continue Reading

Japanese Smoking Pastime Combated with Bubbles

At the height of smoking in Japan, as many as 80 percent of the men smoked. That figure is double what American's saw during the height of tobacco use. For many in Japan, smoking is more than a bad habit or an addiction, it is an integral part of their way of life, especially where conversing is concerned.

Anti-smoking activist Bungaku Watanbe stated, "It's not that Japanese love smoking so much, it's that tobacco has been a pillar of Japanese national policy." The third-largest tobacco company, Japan Tobacco, is located near Government offices. The company is majority-owned by the government and lobbying has successfully warded off most legislature aimed at banning smoking.

In Japan, it is estimated that $90 billion is spent yearly on cigarette-related health costs and damages. That figure is more than three times the annual tobacco sales in the country according to the Japan Health Economics Association. To compare, in Japan, approximately 1/3 of all men smoke where the US figures state approximately 1/4 of males use cigarettes. With lung cancer rates spiking, positive anti-smoking legislature and bans are making headway.

As are bubbles. Continue Reading

As a (former) smoker, I cannot begin to count the number of years I resolved to quit smoking. Actually, I can. I made that resolution my resolution for 15 years. I wasn't successful with every one of my attempts; or the attempts I made throughout the year. In fact, I was a "confirmed smoker" for much of that decade-and-a-half I spent hating every single cigarette I smoked. I tried it all: medications, patches, gums, lozenges, weaning down, cold turkey, hypnosis, and more. No matter what I tried, I ended up smoking again sometime down the road. And I hated every single minute I spent inhaling thousands of chemicals and half-dozen carcinogens. Continue Reading

Pitt County Health Department is appealing a district judge's decision to reverse smoking fines against four local bars that allow smoking indoors.

A comprehensive smoking ban went into effect on January 2, 2010 that included banning smoking in restaurants and bars with the exception of private clubs operating as nonprofits.

The latest case is an appeal of a decision by Pitt County District Court Judge G. Galen Braddy. In November 2010, Braddy ruled in favor of four Pitt County bars, which had asked the court to review the health board’s decision to uphold the smoking fines levied by Dr. John Morrow, director of the health department. In his decision, Braddy wrote that it was unfair to allow smoking at nonprofit operations, including country clubs, while denying that right to for-profit private bars. He made clear that his decision to allow indoor smoking was limited to those four bars: Club 519, Live, 5th Street Distillery and Mac Billiards.

The Pitt County case is the second in North Carolina. In the first appeal, the Court of Appeals upheld a Guilford County court's decision. In that case, Gate City Billards owner in Greensboro challenged the equal protection clause that allowed private, non-profit clubs the right for smoking to still occur on premises. The court found Continue Reading

Parks are lively, filled with color from nature, complete with benches, sidewalks, and playgrounds where children laugh and exert excessive amounts of energy in the open, fresh air. The key of that sentence being, fresh air.

Communities around the world are recognizing the damaging effects secondhand smoke presents to others, especially to children who are growing and developing. The ability to live life without breathing in potent toxins emitting from the combustion of cigarettes and cigars is a right municipalities are beginning to grant; not through indoor smoking bans - but in ones that extend into the environment outside of businesses, restaurants, and even extending into private homes and vehicles. Continue Reading

I came across an article about electronic cigarettes being banned from workplaces in the city of Boston. The city has continued to work ahead of the curve where smoking bans are concerned, but the most recent addition to the ban could undermine the ultimate goals of Public Health. In the article released, blame is placed on the manufacturers of electronic cigarettes for not marketing their electronic cigarettes as therapeutic devices intended to assist smokers in quitting. They feel that because electronic cigarettes are marketed for smokers as an alternative to cigarettes is reason enough to include them in the ban.

The following is from the article published in the Boston Globe.

The research on the health effects of e-cigarettes is not exhaustive. The city’s Public Health Commission wisely required retailers to apply for permits to sell e-cigarettes. The commission also asked retailers to keep the product behind sales counters, and allow purchases only to people age 18 and above. But banning the use of e-cigarettes in the workplace could keep smokers ducking outside for their hourly fix instead of opting for a safer product.

Continue Reading

The Brazilian Congress has heightened a ban currently in place to include enclosed areas in airports and bars, where smoking rooms have previously been exempt from the regulations. Additionally, Brazil will increase taxes on tobacco products and implement a minimum price rate for all tobacco products sold within the country. The cost to consumers will increase by 55 percent over a four-year period.

The restriction increases to the country's smoking ban, as reported by the Associated Press (AP), is directed to eliminate cigarettes entering the country illegally through Paraguay that are sold for a fraction of the price of Brazilian-made cigarettes.

For all persons who smoke tobacco, the health risks are imminent. Continue Reading

Two proposals are under evaluation in Marion County, Indiana that will modify the smoking ban currently in place. The proposals presented by City-County Council President Ryan Vaughn and Council Members Angela Mansfield and Ben Hunter both look to reduce the number of exemptions currently included in the smoking ban, but Vaughn's proposal is much more lax than Mansfield and Hunter's.

Vaughn's proposal provides exemption to retail tobacco shops; nonprofit private or fraternal organizations, including veteran's halls; and cigar and hookah bars, newly defined as 'tobacco specialty bars'. Patrons of the tobacco specialty bars could only smoke tobacco sold in the establishment with absolutely no cigarette smoking allowed. Smoke Free Indy estimates that these restrictions would cover approximately 60 establishments in the county.

Mansfield and Hunter's proposal provides exemption to retail tobacco shops that count tobacco products as at least 85 percent of their sales. Smoke Free Indy estimates there are only 5 tobacco shops in the county. Continue Reading