Free Republic

Long forced to steal a drag in the chill of Michigan Avenue, many of the smokers working inside Tribune Tower will face another indignity next year: a $100-per-month tobacco fee. Tribune Co. employees in Chicago and across the country who use tobacco will be subject to the fee, which a company spokesman says is a way to “promote wellness among our employees.” The charge will be levied on top of employees’ shares of health care premiums. Those who complete a program to help them quit will see their fees waived. For a company that’s watching its bottom line amid weakening...

Comedian Drew Carey, who debuted Monday as the host of “The Price Is Right,” is showing his libertarian colors by participating in a series of videos for the Reason Foundation’s new Web site Reason.tv.The short videos will focus on the libertarian think tank’s belief in what it calls “free minds and free markets.”Carey said in a statement issued by Reason: “We need Reason to help fight the stupid drug laws, the stupid immigration laws, and stupid big government in general.”In his first video, Carey examines traffic congestion in Los Angeles and the ways the private sector – rather than taxpayers...

BANGOR - The city’s ordinance against smoking in cars when a child is inside is headed for the State House. City Councilor Patricia Blanchette, who is also a Democratic state representative, confirmed Thursday that she has submitted preliminary legislation to make Maine one of the first states to make it illegal to smoke in any vehicle when minors are present. The statewide measure would mirror Bangor’s ordinance, making it a primary offense for anyone in a car to smoke when there is anyone under 18 in the car. Violators could be fined $50. Bangor’s ordinance went into effect in January,...

 WASHINGTON, Oct 3  - The head of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on Wednesday raised concerns about a bill that would empower his agency to regulate cigarettes, while he said he shares its goal of reducing tobacco use."We have concerns that the bill could undermine the public health role of the FDA," Andrew von Eschenbach said in a written statement released at a congressional hearing.He expressed concerns that the measure "may be extremely difficult for the FDA to implement" and whether the agency would have adequate resources for enforcement as well as "the expectations it might create."The health subcommittee...

AUGUSTA (Sep 20): Cigarette taxes in Maine — eyed as a source of new revenue for the state and federal government — have come in short by about $800,000 a month, on average, since January, adding to an expected budget hole legislators will have to fill when they return next year. From January through June, cigarette tax revenue was below budget by $5 million. Revenue was down another $850,000 in July — the start of the state’s fiscal year — and $600,000 in August. No one is quite sure what is happening with sales in Maine, but it appears more...

Do you want to save your business? Do you want to smoke in your favorite bar? Are you tired of your personal freedoms being stolen one by one? Then join us for a march on the Capitol. If you answered “yes” to any of these 3 questions, then you must be there. VOICE YOUR OPINION. Your RIGHTS ARE AT STAKE. Stand up for the FREE AMERICA our forefathers fought for. For more information call: Cincinnati-Hermann Tegenkamp-513-703-4737 Cleveland-Gary Nolan-216-533-8692 Columbus-Pam Parker-614-565-6560 Toledo-Bill Delaney-419-476-2883 Please join us. We need a show of support. Ohio State House - Columbus Tuesday, October 9th Noon

The excuse this time is to help pay for a huge expansion of the State Child Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Expanding the SCHIP program is unwise, not least as another step on the road to government-run health care. Raising taxes to pay for more spending generally is a case of the old adage that two wrongs don't make a right. But turning to a tobacco tax hike is discriminatory and thus especially unsavory.

SMOKERS’ RIGHTS GROUP SPONSORS LAWSUIT:SPITZER-INSPIRED TOBACCO SALES BAN AT NYS FAIRIS “PROHIBITION”    Michael Tarnowicz, proprietor of Connecticut Valley Tobacconist, LLC, and licensed exhibitor at the NYS Fair for the last decade, has today filed suit in State Supreme Court in Albany County , contending that the newly imposed policy to ban the sale of tobacco products at the fair  -- at the instigation of Governor Eliot Spitzer – and the denial of his application for a booth this year is arbitrary, discriminatory and exceeds authority.  This lawsuit is sponsored by NYC Citizens Lobbying Against Smoker Harassment (C.L.A.S.H.), the...

Ambrose: America is turning into a nanny stateJune 13, 2007Jay Ambrose It pretends to care for us, tucking us in at night, a smile on its lips, compassion in its eyes, but then, as our trust grows, it puts a pillow over our faces. Though we writhe and kick and try to shout, we find ourselves being smothered to death. I speak of the nanny state, which also happens to be the title of a book by David Harsanyi, a Denver columnist I recently met, a pleasant fellow whose unpleasant message is that the country is jam-packed with people wanting...

David W. Kuneman, Director of Research of the Smoker's Club, Inc. originally became interested in the economic effects of smoking bans 4 years ago while reading an review article titled Review of the quality of studies on the economic effects of smoke-free policies on the hospitality industry. (1) That review article claimed that the "better quality" studies of post-smoking-ban effects always found no loss in the hospitality sector, and also claimed that of the studies finding any losses, "none were funded by a source clearly independent of the tobacco industry.""Yet, when bans pass, we always hear complaints from the hospitality...

CIG BAN? WHAT CIG BAN? CITY HOT SPOTS SMOKING AGAIN May 27, 2007 -- While Mayor Bloomberg tries to make the world safe from greenhouse gases, his cigarette ban is going up in smoke.Scores of trendy clubs and neighborhood pubs across the five boroughs have become smoking speakeasies, where bartenders and bouncers regularly ignore the prohibition launched in 2003. The Post spotted scofflaw smokers openly puffing away in a dozen bars and clubs in Manhattan, Brooklyn, Queens and Staten Island during the past few weeks - including celebrity hangouts Bungalow 8, Tenjune, Butter, Marquee, Plumm and Guest House. The violations...

RIYADH, May 19   - Saudi Arabia will seek more than $2.7 billion in damages from international tobacco companies in a lawsuit due to go on trial in the capital Riyadh on Sept. 11 this year, the kingdom's health ministry said on Saturday.In November, the ministry threatened to sue international tobacco companies unless they paid the government and patients the full cost of treatment for tobacco-related illnesses.This is the first time it has put a value on the claim.The suit will require companies to pay a lump sum of 10 billion riyals ($2.67 billion) plus 500 million riyals a year for...

AUGUSTA — The state’s gas tax will likely go up July 1 as the result of a House vote Tuesday that blocked repeal of the annual indexing of the tax to inflation. The increase is less than 1 cent a gallon."A tax increase is a tax increase is a tax increase," said Rep. Douglas Thomas, R-Ripley, "and this is a tax increase." Thomas said he sought the roll call vote on the measure to give lawmakers a chance to "live up to their promises" to oppose any tax increases this session. He was joined by 27 other Republicans, with the...

RALEIGH, N.C. — An attempt to ban smoking in many public areas across North Carolina narrowly failed in the House on Wednesday, as tobacco territory Democrats sided with Republicans who called the measure an infringement on the rights of business owners.

BANS SALE OF CIGARSAND OTHER TOBACCO PRODUCTSGov. Spitzer has proclaimed that although cigars are legal he will not allow you to have them.This is PROHIBITION.  STOP IT NOW & BEFORE IT SPREADSJOIN THE FIGHTJoin NYC C.L.A.S.H. in this fight.  Volunteer your voice, your time, your body, your services, your dollar.  One, any, or all.We are presently researching legal options. We invite sympathetic lawyers to please contact us.Social pressure must be brought to bear. Plans include press releases, press conferences, protest events, and to ultimately boycott the Fair if necessary.We need you to participate.Details about all this are at http://www.nycclash.com/Prohibition.html  

Where there is cigarette smoking there is probably misuse of alcohol too, according to a study by Yale School of Medicine researchers in the Archives of Internal Medicine. "This means cigarette smoking status can be used as a clinical indicator for alcohol misuse, which presents an opportunity for intervention," said the principal investigator, Sherry McKee, assistant professor of psychiatry. She said that although brief screening and brief intervention provided in primary care settings are effective, clinicians do not frequently screen for alcohol misuse. This is a matter of concern because 26 percent of the U.S. population is drinking at hazardous...

I'M SIPPING A Blue Moon ale in a Philadelphia bar, Janis Joplin is wailing about Bobby McGee and I'm thinking a smoke would go great about now. I take out one of Baby Cakes' Parliament Lights and fire it up.I'm smoking in a bar in Philadelphia and nobody says, "Boo!"There are 20 other people, smokers and nonsmokers, hanging out, enjoying themselves, not doing any harm to anyone (except maybe themselves). The bar is spacious, the NCAA is on the TV screens, beer pennants hang from the ceiling, and through the large windows I see rain falling.The owner is sitting at...

Several Colorado Springs bar owners are rebelling against the statewide smoking ban, inviting their customers to openly defy what they call an “illegal law." Bruce Hicks, owner of Murray Street Darts, met with nearly two dozen other bar owners and managers Wednesday, encouraging them to join a “civil disobedience” protest that calls for businesses to collect $1 from each smoker for a “get out of jail fund." The businesses will go to court to fight tickets they are issued for violating the smoking ban and use the fund to pay fines, Hicks said. The fines are $200 for a first...

Severe Weather Alert for Northern Maine Smokers:Weather > Maine > CaribouWatches and WarningsCaribou Forecast /O.CON.KCAR.WC.Y.0008.070219T0800Z-070219T2000Z/NORTHWEST AROOSTOOK-NORTHEAST AROOSTOOK-NORTHERN SOMERSET-NORTHERN PISCATAQUIS-CENTRAL PISCATAQUIS-INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...ALLAGASH...CLAYTON LAKE...MADAWASKA...FORT KENT...FRENCHVILLE...PRESQUE ISLE...CARIBOU...VAN BUREN...MARS HILL...BAKER LAKE...BILLY-JACK DEPOT...BAXTER ST PARK...CHAMBERLAIN LAKE...CHURCHILL DAM...MOUNT KATAHDIN...GREENVILLE...MONSON...BLANCHARD212 AM EST MON FEB 19 2007...WIND CHILL ADVISORY REMAINS IN EFFECT UNTIL 3 PM EST THISAFTERNOON...NORTHWEST WINDS INCREASING TO 15 TO 25 MPH LATER THIS MORNING COMBINEDWITH TEMPERATURES FALLING BELOW ZERO WILL RESULT IN WIND CHILLREADINGS OF 20 TO 30 BELOW LATER THIS MORNING THROUGH MIDDAY. A WIND CHILL ADVISORY IS ISSUED WHEN A STRONG WIND WILL COMBINEWITH COLD TEMPERATURES TO CREATE DANGEROUSLY COLD...

WASHINGTON -- Bipartisan legislation to give the federal Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over tobacco products may be introduced next week.