Utah's Senate passed the final approval on a ban of using hookahs and e-cigarettes in indoor public places. The bill, HB245, has so far exempted hookah bars and e-cigarette shops from the ban for the next five years, though, at which point Utah's legislature will have to determine whether or not to expend this ban. HB245 passes with a 24-3 approval vote and has been sent to Gov. Gary Herbert for signing.

An act already in place in the state, Utah's Indoor Clean Air Act, previously banned only the act of igniting tobacco. The difference with hookahs and e-cigarettes is that hookahs heat tobacco in pipes that pas through water, while e-cigarettes vaporize a liquid with nicotine. No tobacco ignition is involved, which meant Utah's Legislature saw this as a big grey area.

The ban has caused quite the uproar as many prior cigarette smokers have turned to the e-cigarette as an alternative once cigarette smoking bans have gone into effect. Many politicians who have supported the ban of the e-cigarette claim that they are aiming to keep the public safe, as users of e-cigarettes simply don't know how much they're smoking and how much nicotine they are taking in. Continue Reading

Humble, Texas is on the outskirts of Houston to the north east. It's a common city to frequent for those living in Atascocita and Kingwood. A recent meeting of the Humble City Council had a smoking ban ordinance on the docket. The ordinance outlined increasing the smoking ban to include more public facilities into the current definition. The ordinance was passed with a 5-1 vote.

As outlined in the document; all restaurants, pool or billiard halls, gaming halls, bingo parlors, movie theaters, auditoriums, shopping malls, educational offices, child care facilities, some bars, and both enclosed and open-air sporting facilities are now included in with the ban. The exclusions to this list include homes, tobacco outlets, tobacco stores, and bars in operation prior to March 1, 2012.

Humble City Manager, Darrell Boeske stated, "We didn't jump in here on the first day. We are last to get on the bandwagon." Following discussing that larger cities have enacted smoking bans covering the same facilities and stressing that the concept is hardly new. Continue Reading

Indiana's House and Senate are at odds with two versions of a Smoke-Free bill. One side wants few restrictions and the other wants many - but time is quickly ticking as the adjournment of this year's legislative session is today. Both sides of Indiana's Congressional House believe that a state-wide smoking ban is in order. Representatives and Senators both feel the bill should be comprehensive. The challenge has been meeting in the middle between the two bills.

Bill sponsors are pushing to have bars included in the ban. The compromise circulating does not ban smoking in bars and is sparking some animosity. The House approved a ban on smoking in most public places with an 18-month exemption to bars. The Senate, however, eliminated the potential to ban smoking in bars entirely in the version of the bill that was passed last week. Continue Reading

In the coming year, Singapore's smoking ban will expand. The announcement was made Monday by the Senior Minister of State, Grace Fu. The decision to expand on the ban currently in place is to assist in providing a healthy air environment for all persons. The ban will cover common corridors, void decks, staircases, residential buildings, sheltered walkways, overhead walkways, and outside hospital facilities.

The measure comes following a survey completed in November which showed support to expand the ban to places where non-smokers "cannot reasonably avoid in their daily lives." The long-term goal is to eliminate smoking in all public places outside of designated smoking areas. The process to reach this goal will be made incrementally by the country in conjunction with the community and building owners. Continue Reading

Amendment to Definition of Smoking in Utah Indoor Clean Air Act

Sponsored by Bradley G. Last and Michael G. Waddoups

Amendment to include electronic cigarettes and heated tobacco products in the definition of smoking.

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When most of us think about our local bar or watering hole, a lot of our memories are wrapped up in cigarettes as much as they are alcohol. Smoking in your favorite bar on a Friday night while throwing back a few drinks has been a common practice for many people - and for many years. Even when initial smoking bans were being put into place in restaurants, many smokers rested easy in the fact that, surely, the government would not encroach upon their beloved bar.

Unfortunately for them, many bars across the nation are receiving the legal requirement to ban smoking inside their establishments. Most recently, Chatham County in Georgia has been considering passing a ban on smoking in bars and other indoor venues that are not already covered under state law. The ban has quickly gained traction and has five of the county's nine commissioners already behind it.

Georgia law already prohibits smoking indoors in establishments that allow children. Which is a good step, because children aren't afforded the choice to smoke or not, and can often be exposed to secondhand smoke regardless of whether or not their parents have chosen to sit in the non-smoking section. Various employees of previously smoke-friendly establishments have also been huge proponents of the smoking bans, stating that just because they work in a particular place does not mean they should be forced to be exposed to secondhand smoke, either. Continue Reading

Indiana’s lawmakers are catching quite a bit of heat for a smoking ban they recently passed. The bill was essentially a compromise, banning smoking in only most, but not all, public places. Those establishments exempt from the smoking ban include casinos, retail tobacco stores, hookah bars, and private clubs. Bars aren’t immediately effected by the bill, but are required to be smoke-free within 18 months.

The bill has been drawing quite a bit of praise and criticism from both ends of the spectrum, though. Supporters of the bill say that they are enacting measures to protect both the workers and the patrons of establishments from the ill effects of secondhand smoke. Workers who don’t smoke, but who work in smoke-friendly establishments, are exposed to the smoke on a daily basis due to their work environments. And even though patrons may be able to choose to sit in a non-smoking area, they are still exposed to secondhand smoke as it travels through the air. Continue Reading

Bar owners have banned together to contest a portion of the statewide smoking ban they claim could put them out of business.

Kevin Haislip's Bar and Grill in Tonganoxie received private club licensing in May 2009. In the smoking ban, licensing cut-offs for private clubs was January 1, 2009. Haislip brought forward a lawsuit stating the cut-off date was unfair given that the smoking ban did not go into effect until July 1, 2010.

Since bringing forth the initial lawsuit, Haislip stated that additional businesses have joined in. All the businesses in question received private licensing after the January 1, 2009 deadline, but prior to the July 1, 2010 enactment of the smoking ban. All they are requesting is that their businesses be grandfathered into the same clause that has allowed smoking to continue in the businesses that received private club licensing prior to January 1, 2009. Continue Reading

"The British Medical Association said that the confined environment in automobiles exposes drivers and passengers to 23 times more toxins than a smokey bar."

Many areas of the world currently have bans preventing smokers from lighting up in restaurants and bars, on public sidewalks and plazas, in some condos and multifamily housing units, and in public transportation vehicles. Some communities have banned the use of cigarettes in private vehicles where children are present. In the United States, Arkansas, California, Hawaii, Louisiana, Maine, and Oregon current prohibit smoking in vehicles with more bans proposed across the country.

The number of toxic chemicals emitted due to the combustion process that occurs when cigarettes burn cause a variety of health problems including crippling lung diseases and cancer. Eliminating some 4,000 toxic chemicals and at least 40 known carcinogens from the air and surfaces is aimed at protecting those who do not smoke, including the youngest population of the world. Continue Reading

Electronic Cigarettes have become the center of debate for many health officials, cities, workplaces and government agents, but is the fuss over electronic cigarettes legitimate or should it be vaporized?