Smoking for a good cause

The taxation of my deadly and disgusting habit of smoking cigarettes will be helping children whose parents are unwilling or unable to provide medical insurance. Cigarette smoking is expensive, almost $6 a pack. I am getting older and was seriously considering kicking the habit. If I quit, it would be a major personal tax cut and could add a few years to my life. But who, if not us smokers, will provide health insurance for the children? I care and will continue to smoke for the babies. .

The E-Cigarette, A Fake LED Cigarette That Helps You Quit Smoking

Laughing Squid Web Hosting sys admin Adam Elkins demonstrates the E-Cigarette, an artifical electronic cigarette that helps you quit smoking. It includes a red LED at the end and fake smoke to help simulate the act of smoking a real cigarette, reducing the harmful effects smoking and second-hand smoke. E-Cigarette kits are available from Smoking.

Local bar owners say smoking ban has cut into their business

One year into Illinois' statewide smoking ban, most area bars, taverns, lounges and restaurants are complying with the law by shelving the ashtrays and posting "no smoking" signs. But some say that by condemning the consumption of cigars and cigarettes inside places of business, these establishments are inflicting even more self-damage during an economic crisis. "Everything is a challenge right now," Babcock said. "Trying to get people to go outside to smoke and not lose their business is a real challenge." Babcock says she goes along with the law only because it is law. Although she is not a smoker, she believes bars should be exempt from the legislation because going to a bar is a luxury, not a necessity.

"I don't think they have the right to dictate and inflict this upon us," Babcock said. The Winnebago County Health Department, the only local agency seriously enforcing the smoking ban that went into effect Jan.

Smoking Down In Iowa, Tobacco Sales Up In Nebraska

Governor Chet Culver's resolution is to make Iowa the healthiest state in the nation, and the habit he wants Iowan's to kick is smoking. Recent studies show it may already be happening.

Governor Culver recently announced that smoking in Iowa is down 22 percent since 2006 - one of the most significant drops in any state in recent years. But some Iowa smokers are saying his anti-smoking legislation is hurting business and not convincing them to quit.

For most Iowans, getting a nicotine fix is not a part of their everyday life. But for some it's a hard habit to kick, and for one Iowa business its hard to believe that less people are smoking.

Cashier Traci Heath says tobacco sales at the Select Mart on Gordon Drive in Sioux City have been fairly steady since it opened in 2006.

Group calls for smoking ban at all racetracks

While some tracks already have banned smoking—typically to gain compliance with local laws—the National Council of Legislators from Gaming States would like to see all tracks prohibit smoking. The council adopted a smoking ban resolution on January 10 while meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.

Citing the dangers of second-hand smoke for both employees and patrons, the council called for smoking bans at all racetracks, simulcast facilities, racinos, casinos, and bingo halls. The council calls on regulatory entities, like state racing commissions, to require smoking bans before issuing or renewing licenses.

"NCLGS stands behind what it believes to be sound public policy that will promote a healthy atmosphere in the states for both consumers and businesses," said the council's president, Bill Oberle, a Delaware representative.

Smoking, Family History Increase Risk of Stroke

Now Woo has done research that looks at the relationship between hemorrhagic strokes and smoking. He says researchers have known smoking is a risk factor for aneurysm formation.

"We also know that having a family member who had a history of aneurysm rupture was also a risk factor for aneurysm formation," Woo says.

Woo looked at several hundred people who had had ruptured aneurysms and compared them to people who did not have aneurysms. He found that people who smoked had double the risk for aneurysm. His analysis also found that those with a family history of aneurysm also had twice the risk of forming one. But people who had the family history and who smoked were six times more likely to have a hemorrhagic stroke. He says that means hundreds of thousands, if not millions of people are at much greater risk of having a hemorrhagic stroke due to a combination of genes and behavior.

New Pills To Help Quit Smoking

Smokers struggling to quit smoking can pop a pill in near future to give up the habit. According to researchers, 28 molecules, which are produced in abnormal amounts in cells lining the airways of smokers have been identified. Medicine researchers have proposed that if the levels of these molecules could be restored to that of non-smokers it might allow chronic smokers who have been unable to quit to improve their health prospects. The study is a part of research work at the Boston University School of Medicine. The study was carried out by lead researcher Avrum Spira and his colleagues, who took took samples of cells from the airways of 10 smokers and 10 non-smokers and identified 28 microRNAs. These organelle are responsible for the expression of whole networks of related genes, that are characteristic of the smokers.

Casino smoking facing new fire

The Indiana Campaign for Smokefree Air released the Purdue University study to bolster its push for a smoking ban in public places.

The average level of indoor air pollution at the 11 sites was nearly five times higher than the limit considered healthy by the Environmental Protection Agency, according to Purdue professor Neil Zimmerman.

Casino air was about 14 times dirtier than outdoor air near the gambling centers, Zimmerman said.

The air on average was dirtier than EPA limits even in nonsmoking areas within casinos, Zimmerman said.

State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, has again introduced a bill that would institute a comprehensive smoking ban in all public places.

Brown said he would be hard-pressed to agree to a ban that would exempt casinos or bars from the ban.

ICC may take smoking ban further

The Illinois Central College Board is poised next month to adopt a new policy prohibiting smoking campuswide, taking Illinois law a step further.

The Board of Trustees received a copy of the proposed smoking policy change Thursday, which although vague, will go to the board next month. If approved, it would allow the college to later make changes to what is allowed and not allowed in regards to smoking and tobacco use, "not just within 15 feet of a doorway," said Bruce Budde, ICC's vice president of administration and finance.

The board and administration have discussed taking the ban campuswide since October.

Budde said it would be up to the board to decide when to put the proposed ban into effect as well as what types of signs might go up around campus.

GSA gets tougher on feds' smoking

GSA has revised workplace smoking rules and made the restrictions even tougher.

The original order signed by President Clinton in August of 1997 was called "Protecting Federal Employees and the Public From Exposure to Tobacco Smoke in the Federal Workplace."

The result of that was a GSA bulletin, issued Oct. 20, 1997. This document set restrictions on smoking in all interior spaces owned, rented or leased by the executive branch, except in specially equipped designated areas. This, of course, sent most smokers outside of federal buildings, much to the dismay of people entering the buildings. This opened a debate over how far smokers had to stand away from the entrances to comply with the rules.

Nonsmokers also had problems with the specially equipped smoking areas.

Year of smoking ban hurts some dining establishments, helps others

While bars and casinos around the state believed the statewide smoking ban hurt business during its first year, some local establishments didn't feel as much pain in the cash register. "It's not been too bad considering the way the economy is," said Cindy Sizemore, owner of Teddy's Sports and Grill in Herrin. "During the weeks it seems the smoking law hurt us more, but on the weekends we're still holding our own." A beer garden offered smoking clientele a chance to step out and still enjoy the establishment. "I think the ones who don't smoke enjoy being in a smoke-free atmosphere and it's an outlet where people can go outside and be fairly comfortable," Sizemore said. John Brown, owner of John Brown's On the Square in Marion, said the legal and economic double-whammy didn't impact his business this year.