Santa Monica Shelves Smoking Ban

The City Council failed to put on the books Tuesday night new regulations that would have snuffed out smoking—medical marijuana included—in all newly-constructed apartments and condos in Santa Monica. The rules, which would have also required tenants in existing units to tell their landlords if they smoke, were approved two weeks ago on a 4-2 vote.

 But the ordinance required a second vote before becoming law, and in what Mayor Richard Bloom called a "very unusual move," the ordinance failed on its second pass. "What we’re simply doing is giving more thought to this," said City Councilwoman Gleam Davis, who was absent from the previous meeting. Bloom and City Councilman Terry O'Day supported the rules July 10, but changed course Tuesday, saying they now believe the council needs to better assess how the smoking ordinance would affect medicinal marijuana users and landlords.

"I have some concerns about this ordinance as we adopted it and include some of the issues that have been raised to me after-the-fact about medical marijuana users," said O'Day. "I think the council and the ultimate decision-making will benefit from future discussion regarding medical marijuana," said Bloom. The ordinance said landlords would be required to keep track and make public where smoking tenants lived. Units occupied by residents who failed to disclose their smoking statuses would automatically become "non-smoking."

Every unit that became vacant after the law were passed, would be designated "non-smoking," regardless of its prior designation. Those who smoke in "non-smoking" units would have faced fines upwards of $100. Councilman Bob Holbrook said he would not be deterred in his support for the regulations after receiving emails from longtime residents referring to him as a "Nazi" and "Hitler." "My motive is strictly a public health measure," he said. "It’s just time that we made homes and living spaces safe for people... we [would] certainly save them a lifetime of diseases that’s going to occur for sure."

Outdoor smoking ban proposed for Granville

The Village of Granville will have a chance to decide if it wants to jump into the forefront of a campaign to ban smoking in outdoor areas at businesses and government jurisdictions in Licking County. Mary Richardson, health educator with the Licking County Health Department, broached the idea of the village becoming the first municipality in the county to adopt a tobacco-free policy at Village Council's July 18 meeting. She said the policy was an opportunity to further extend the existing ban on smoking indoors, in order to protect people from the health hazards of second-hand smoke.

 Village Manager Steve Stilwell said he hasn't seen a written proposal from the health department for such a program and wants to study what other communities have done before reacting. "I want to present examples to the council ... and give them an opportunity to decide if those examples make sense for the village," he said. Last week, the Licking County Commissioners approved a ban on smoking and tobacco use of any kind on all county-owned or leased premises and in all county-owned vehicles and equipment.

The policy allows the commissioners to designate outside smoking areas at least 100 feet from any entrance or exit. In addition to preventing non-smokers from inhaling second-hand smoke, tobacco-free policies are designed to encourage employees and community members to quit by making it less convenient to smoke, Richardson said. She said $1,000 grants are available to jurisdictions that pass tobacco-free ordinances. The grants can be used for such costs as putting up signs and communications with residents. The 2010 Community Health Assessment conducted by the Licking County Health Department found trachea, bronchus, and lung cancers were the leading causes of cancer deaths in Licking County.

The assessment also found 27 percent of Licking County adults smoke. A handful of businesses and other agencies in the county already ban outdoor smoking on their properties, including two businesses in Granville, Owens Corning Science & Technology Center and Love Yourself and Earth salon and day spa, according to the health department.

Grant money aimed at smoke-free rentals

Public health officials in La Crosse County will use part of a $450,000 state grant to persuade more landlords to ban smoking in their apartment buildings. Apartment Association of the La Crosse Area president Pamela Strittmater says that besides the health benefits for renters, it’s a safety and cleanliness issue. She says many landlords are already on board.

 The La Crosse Tribune reports that over the next couple years, $6.6 million will be distributed statewide through the Transform Wisconsin initiative. It’s focused on promoting tobacco-free living, healthy food and active communities.

Ohio higher ed panel: Ban all tobacco on campuses

Ohio higher education officials voted unanimously Monday to urge the state’s public campuses to ban all sales and use of tobacco products, including smoking outdoors. The Ohio Board of Regents’ resolution comes after a review showed such policies bring health benefits to both smokers and nonsmokers and cut costs for education institutions, said Chairman James Tuschman. Tuschman said Ohio can set an example, since it often serves as a test market for new tobacco products aimed at young people.

The Regents’ recommendation extends to all Ohio’s campuses, including Ohio State, one of the nation’s largest universities. Currently, OSU bans only indoor smoking and some outdoor smoking around its health facilities. The university said Monday it will review the issue. At least seven public colleges or universities in Ohio currently have tobacco bans, including Miami University, Hocking College, and the health science campus of the University of Toledo. Regent Patricia Ackerman said she backed the resolution “as someone who smoked my first cigarette at age 14, as someone who went to college and viewed as a true act of liberation making that first official act of freedom purchasing a pack of cigarettes.”

 Statistics show Ackerman was not alone: 40 percent of smokers either begin or become regular smokers starting in college. The board is led by Chancellor Jim Petro, who picked up the smoking habit on campus. “I began smoking in college and continued to smoke for 40 years. It has adversely affected my health,” said Petro who was diagnosed in 2009 with laryngeal cancer that could have been caused by smoking. He is cancer-free now. “By approving this resolution and recommending that policies be implemented on our campuses, the Board of Regents can have a significant and positive effect on a student’s life.” Ohio Health Director Ted Wymyslo said reaching young people is critical. Ohio, like many states, has cut funding to his smoking prevention programs amid several years of tight budgets.

Tobacco industry mistrusted over excises

Anti-smoking groups have told MPs that the tobacco industry is likely to undermine tax increases which aim to discourage smoking. The Finance and Expenditure Select Committee is hearing submissions on a bill which implements the Government's excise increases announced in this year's budget.

Under the legislation, the excise tax will increase by 10 percent a year at the beginning of each of the next four years, in addition to the annual inflation-indexed increase. The of ASH director Ben Youden, told the committee on Wednesday morning that a factor they have to consider is the tobacco industry's ability to undermine excise increases with pricing strategies.

Reynolds American net income up on higher prices

Cigarette maker Reynolds American's net income climbed more than 35 percent in the second quarter as higher prices and cost-cutting helped it recover from year-ago results that had been dragged down by legal charges. But the nation's second-biggest tobacco company also saw a much steeper decline in the number of cigarettes it sold than the rest of the industry. The Winston-Salem, N.C., company said heavy promotional activity by its competitors drove its cigarette volumes down nearly 7 percent to 18.1 billion cigarettes, compared with an estimated total industry volume decline of 1.7 percent. Its R.J. Reynolds Tobacco subsidiary sold 4 percent less of its Camel brand and volumes of Pall Mall fell 3.6 percent. Camel's market share fell slightly to 8.3 percent of the U.S. market, while Pall Mall's market share fell 0.2 percentage points to 8.4 percent.

 The company has promoted Pall Mall as a longer-lasting and more affordable cigarette as smokers weather the weak economy and high unemployment, and has said half the people who try the brand continue using it. Still Reynolds has faced pressure from its competitors looking to attract more smokers looking to save money. "There's a lot of price competition in the marketplace, there's a lot of promotions out there," CEO Daniel M. Delen said in a conference call with investors. "Because there are so many low-priced offers, particularly from other premium brands in the marketplace, what we're actually seeing currently is the amount of new trialists out there for the (Pall Mall) brand has gone down significantly over time."

 Reynolds reported net income of $443 million, or 78 cents per share, for the three-month period ended June 30. That's up from $327 million, or 56 cents per share, a year ago when the company recorded charges related to a legal case that hurt its results. Adjusted earnings were 79 cents per share, beating analysts' expectations of 76 cents per share. Its shares fell 39 cents to close at $45.35 Tuesday. Revenue excluding excise taxes fell 4 percent to $2.18 billion from $2.27 billion a year ago. Analysts polled by FactSet expected revenue of $2.24 billion. Reynolds American and other tobacco companies are also focusing on cigarette alternatives such as snuff and chewing tobacco for future sales growth as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarette business tougher.

Volume for its smokeless tobacco brands that include Grizzly and Kodiak rose nearly 11 percent compared with a year ago. Its share of the U.S. retail market grew 1.7 percentage points to 32.4 percent. The company on Tuesday also said it will begin a test market in the Des Moines, Iowa, area of a nicotine gum under the Zonnic brand aimed at helping people stop smoking. In 2009, Reynolds bought a Swedish company Niconovum AB, which makes nicotine gum, pouches and spray products. The test market set to begin during the third quarter will be the first of its products to be sold in the U.S. Reynolds American also reaffirmed its full-year adjusted earnings forecast in the range of $2.91 and $3.01 per share. Analysts expected earnings of $2.95 per share.

Medical marijuana should be left to communities to decide, legislator says

Two dozen people gathered Tuesday night at Birmingham's Baldwin Public Library to hear a state lawmaker say a bill he sponsored could close a gap in the state law on medical marijuana and make it easier for "little old ladies" to get the drug. State Rep. Mike Callton, a Republican from Barry County, north of Kalamazoo, said his bill would let each Michigan city, township and village decide for itself whether to allow "provisioning centers" for distribution of medical marijuana. Many medical users say Michigan needs a system of public distribution centers, often called dispensaries -- although Callton said he avoids that term because it became controversial after state Attorney General Bill Schuette declared dispensaries illegal.

The meeting was held in the heart of Oakland County, scene of numerous police raids and criminal prosecutions of dispensaries in 2010 and 2011 by county authorities, who repeatedly have said they were obligated to shut down dispensaries. Other counties have taken different tacks, including Wayne and Washtenaw, where dispensaries have remained open as cases to determine their legality work their way to the Michigan Supreme Court. "How many of you have been arrested?" Callton asked the crowd. Ten people raised hands. "How many have had your property seized?" he asked next. Six hands went up. "And how many of you live in fear of being arrested?"

Nearly every hand went up. Callton is sponsoring House Bill 5580, which he said would guide municipalities on how to regulate marijuana distribution centers. Attorney Michael Komorn of Southfield said it also would reduce the ways some county prosecutors and sheriffs have curtailed legal access. The bill is in the House Judiciary Committee. Callton expects it won't come to a vote in the full House until next year. Callton said he's one of a handful of Republican lawmakers who say Michiganders should have fewer obstacles to obtaining medical marijuana.

That represents a big change of heart for the chiropractor, who said he voted against allowing medical marijuana in Michigan when the statewide vote was held in 2008, but then began seeing patients who benefited from medical marijuana. One was "a sweet 75-year-old lady, definitely not a hippie," who was able with medical-marijuana candies to control her tremors from Parkinson's disease "enough to get a good night's sleep again," he said. Members of the Birmingham Compassion Club hope the bill passes, said club director Chad Carr. "A lot of us need protection" from overzealous police, Carr said.