Free Republic

PORTLAND, Maine -- The latest batch of anti-tobacco television advertisements created by Maine students features a guy with yellow teeth and a giant cigarette butt chasing children around. The Department of Human Services had so much success with the original ads three years ago that Maine youths were tapped again for public service announcements that began airing Monday.

Monday, December 29, 2003 It's nearly the last gasp for smoking bar patrons     University of Southern Maine student Ben Theriault, of Buxton, takes time out from class to enjoy a cigarette in 2002. Starting next month, smoking will be banned in bars in Maine. Smoking is already banned in restaurants and in most public buildings.  To some bar patrons, the haze padding the ceiling and hanging over pool tables is as much a part of a bar as a bank of beer taps. Those who have become accustomed to the sight, as well as those who are used to...

Univ. of Minn. Study 1st to Detect Tobacco-Specific Carcinogens in Nonsmokers in Public Setting; Environmental Tobacco Smoke Significantly Affects Nonsmokers 12/22/03 7:00:00 AM -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- To: National Desk, Medical Reporter Contact: Brenda Hudson of the University of Minnesota's Academic Health Center, 612-624-5680 MINNEAPOLIS, Dec. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- University of Minnesota researchers found that levels of a tobacco-specific lung carcinogen increased in nonsmokers when they visited a public setting where smoking is allowed. The carcinogens, metabolites of NNK, could increase their risk of lung cancer. The study is published Dec. 22 by the American Association for Cancer Research. This study...

The first scene in NBC's new fall sitcom "Whoopi" begins with the star, Whoopi Goldberg, puffing on a cigarette, ignoring a nearby "No Smoking" sign. "You know, secondhand smoke kills," says an irritated guest of the hotel Goldberg's character owns. "So do I," she shoots back, glaring at the guest. Scheduled to premiere Sept. 23, the show is designed to be a Norman Lear-like commentary on American society, in the same vein as the groundbreaking "All in the Family." That show was built around bigoted jokes that boomeranged on Archie Bunker, while "Whoopi," featuring a relationship in which her brother...

It's been in place for five years now, but many Yuba-Sutter bar owners and patrons said they have yet to become accustomed to California's ban on smoking in bars. At establishments such as Stassi's Fourth Ward Tavern in Marysville this weekend, business owners were still fuming over the ban, which took effect in January 1998. The ban - a first for the nation - was intended to protect bartenders from health risks posed by second-hand smoke. Yet Roy Newlove, the owner of Stassi's for roughly 10 years, said it does nothing more than slow business and cause headaches for his...

    It's not about smoking, it's about constitutional guarantees! 42 tyrants and a ring leader named Bloomberg It is saddening to see the people of one of our nation's 13 original states, whose founding fathers were among those who pledged their "...lives, fortunes and sacred honor..." in order to secure the blessings of liberty and establish protection of individual rights associated with property, allowing 42 tyrants and a ring leader named Bloomberg, to trample upon and disregard these fundamental protections written into our constitutions, state and federal. It is equally saddening to observe two factious groups in New...

** PROTEST ANNOUNCEMENT ** CHARGE OF THE CIGARETTE LIGHTER BRIGADE WEDNESDAY, DEC. 18TH AT 12 NOON CITY HALL (East Gate) (Time subject to change.  Please check back for confirmation ) The NYC Council will be voting on Mayor Bloomberg's sweeping smoking ban this date. Some council members can still be swayed NOT to vote for this bill (see latest news ) It's up to you to convince them once and for all that it's wrong, and not in their best political career interests, to support one man's personal war on smokers. Thousands of businesses and two million New Yorkers...