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Rights Newsletter
May 9, 2003
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2. Smoking Ban Is An Attack On Civil Rights 3. The Man of Virtues Has a Vice 4. Smokers Of The World, Unite! 5. Lawsuit Filed On Behalf Of NY Smokers Against NYC and NYS 6. Dover Downs Layoffs Blamed On Delaware Smoking Ban, Delaware House Eases Smoking Ban 7. Obesity-and-Cancer Junk Science Proves Nothing 8. We Are Everyday People 9. From The Mailbag
Select Your State For More Information: © Copyright 2003. All rights reserved. |
Home Body: Smoking Ban Is An Attack On Civil Rights: Whatever happened to tolerance? Isn't that a human right as well? Apparently not. If we are to accept that our Health Minister is correct, smokers will no longer be tolerated. The Man of Virtues Has a Vice: By Jonathan Alter and Joshua Green. (Anti Smoker) Conservative activist Bill Bennett has wagered millions in Las Vegas and Atlantic City casinos during the past decade. Smokers Of The World, Unite!: They are vilified. They are demonized. They are shunned. And then they are called on to bail out the government in need. No, they are not captains of industry. They are smokers. Lawsuit Filed On Behalf Of NY Smokers Against NYC and NYS: It will be established that NYC C.L.A.S.H. has standing to initiate a lawsuit because it represents a group -- smokers who will be harmed directly by the imposition of fines for smoking in public places -- with a stake in the outcome.
"Smoke In" to Protest Smoking Ban Dover Downs Layoffs Blamed On Delaware Smoking Ban: By Joe Rogalsky. (Laid off 30 employees last week, its chief executive officer said, because the state's smoking ban has led to reduced revenues.) Delaware House Eases Smoking Ban. The state House of Representatives threw a bucket of cold water on Delaware's smoking ban, voting 21-19 to approve a bill that would legalize lighting up in casinos, nursing homes and bars. Obesity-and-Cancer Junk Science Proves Nothing: Irrefutable? Convincing? Unequivocal? Dying from more than a dozen cancers? Before we jump on the bandwagon, we thought actually reading the study was in order. Here's what CNN's sound bites aren't telling you. Obesity linked to birth defects. Report says risks are double that of women of normal weight. What a woman does before, during and after pregnancy can drastically affect the health of her children. Misconceptions About The Causes of Cancer. We Are Everyday People: What's in the air you're breathing?: Find out today by checking out the American Lung Association State of the Air: 2003 Report! The Stella Awards: Were inspired by Stella Liebeck. In 1992, Stella, then 79, spilled a cup of McDonald's coffee onto her lap, burning herself. A New Mexico jury awarded her $2.9 million in damages. Ever since, the name "Stella Award" has been applied to any wild, outrageous, or ridiculous lawsuits. The 2002 Award Winners PETA Pressure Works On KFC: KFC will adopt guidelines for the humane treatment of poultry by the producers they buy from. But its guidelines do not go far enough to assuage the animal rights group, PETA. 11- Idaho tribes fend off tobacco tax No free ride? Districts turning to bus fees: By Ken Maguire. While unpopular, busing fees have withstood legal challenges in California, North Dakota and Massachusetts. Anti-telemarketing script: What to say when telemarketers call and you don't want junk calls. From The Mailbag: CT: Amendments Might Stamp Out Smoking Ban. Opponents said businesses, not government, should decide whether to allow smoking. FL: Legislators nearly codify smoking ban. The bill effectively bans smoking in businesses with food sales greater than 12 percent of overall sales, a watered-down version of the bill passed April 1 by the House, which outlawed smoking in all state bars. The Senate changes also allow smoking at veterans halls and at Miami International Airport's waiting lounge for international travelers. ID: Tribal Tobacco Tax Dies in Idaho. 52-18 vote. EchoHawk said the issue of fairness runs both ways. While tribal sales account for a third of all sales in Idaho, the tribes have received virtually nothing from the state's tobacco settlement. ID: Idaho passed bill 264 raising the cigarette tax from 28 cents to 57 cents per pack as of June 1, 2003. KY: The anti-smoking movement has made its way to Georgetown, Ky. Two of that city's council members want to ban smoking in the city's 120 restaurants. A similar debate has been raging in Lexington. MA: All workplaces in Boston are now smokefree. MA: Framingham. Smokers will be able to continue to light up in restaurants and bars at least for a few more days following a Superior Court judge's approval Monday of a temporary injunction requested by the local restaurant association. MA: The lawyers who worked on Massachusetts' lawsuit against the tobacco industry are demanding an additional $1.25 billion from the state. The court has set a May 30 hearing date on the Brown Rudnick motion. MD: Court Snuffs Montgomery's Smoking Ban. Maryland's highest court has ruled that the regulation banning smoking in Montgomery County is invalid. The Court of Appeals delivered the opinion after for deliberating about two years. MD: Smoking ban nixed. The state's highest court today invalidated a county resolution banning smoking in bars and restaurants. ME: Considering outlawing smoking in bars. ME: Rep. Lois Snowe-Mello. Smoking is not illegal. MO: Lambert Airport Rotary Club's Spring Cigar Dinner Thursday, May 22, 2003 NH: the Colebrook House Restaurant, in Colebrook New Hampshire, is challenging the Coos County superior court ruling, which upheld the town's restaurant smoking ban. The Attorney filed papers with the Supreme Court on April 18th. The town has one month to respond, and then the Court will set a date to deal with the case. NY: Nassau Restaurant & Bar Owners. If you think the recently enacted smoking ban in Nassau County won't hurt your business, YOU'RE VERY MISTAKEN! NY: Groups fighting the ban. NY: There's a new twist on the eat-and-run. It's the smoke-and-scram. Bar and restaurant owners say some customers are taking advantage of the new ban on smoking in city bars, grills and pubs by ordering, drinking, excusing themselves for an outdoor cigarette - and then skipping out without paying their bill. TX: Austin. Just say No Ban! Canada: PUBCO. According to the City's own data, 64 pubs and bars were forced to close since the City's smoking by-law was passed. May Newsletter. Canada: Marathon,Ontario. Town council voted 2-1 against a plebiscite to let voters decide on a bylaw that would ban smoking in restaurants, bars and all places of work. Canada: The Prince Edward Island government says its Smoke-Free Places Act will take effect June 1. London: May 9, 2003 Meeting: Smoke without fire. USA: Southeastern Legal Foundation. Keynote Speaker Senator Saxby Chambliss (R-Ga) Master of Ceremonies The Honorable Ken Starr. Friday, June 13, 2003. Atlanta, Georgia States are facing record budget deficits -- the worst since World War II -- and in many cases, as a lot of you well know, they're balancing their budgets on the backs of smokers. Twenty states passed cigarette excise tax increases in 2002, and similar numbers of states are looking at smoker taxes to solve their budget problems in 2003. Legislators see smokers as "easy" targets -- one governor even argued that smoker taxes are voluntary taxes! So far this year, smokers have helped defeat smoker tax increases in Kentucky, Maryland, Mississippi and Virginia. The fight continues in these states, and smokers have responded in large numbers to tax increase threats in: Arkansas*, California, Delaware, Idaho, Iowa, Minnesota, Nevada, New Jersey, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota*, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania, Rhode Island, South Carolina, Texas, Washington* and Wisconsin. (*Special Session) |
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Issue # 223
