Clear The Air News Tobacco Blog Rotating Header Image

Outdoor smoking

Manchester: Crackdown sees smokers fined £4,000 for dropping cigarette butts

A major £15m crackdown in the city centre launched in November 2014 has seen more than 4,000 fines handed out to litterbugs, with thousands of pounds handed to the council.

Among those fined, 23 smokers have been fined a total of £4,000 for dropping cigarette butts.

They had all failed to pay a standard £80 fine within two weeks, which would have allowed them to escape prosecution.

Most were fined around £200 – and all but one had to also pay court costs of £118 and a victim surcharge of £20.

The vast majority of those found guilty faced a total bill of more than £300. The total owed to the council and the courts following the bumper magistrates session was £7,312.

Just three people appeared at Manchester magistrates’ court , with the remaining 20 failing to attend and being found guilty in their absence – or pleading guilty by post.

A major £15m crackdown in the city centre launched in November 2014 has seen more than 4,000 fines handed out to litterbugs, with thousands of pounds handed to the council.

And hundreds more have been hauled before the courts after refusing to pay on-the-spot fines.

 

A dedicated team of litter-busters work seven days a week looking out for people flouting the rules.

Most notices are issued on Market Street, High Street and Piccadilly Gardens.

As part of the crackdown, council bosses have installed nearly 700 new litter and recycling bins in the city centre.

Manchester council’s executive member for neighbourhoods, Nigel Murphy said: “These cases demonstrate that we take littering on our streets extremely seriously.

“Illegal littering will not be tolerated in Manchester and those caught should expect to be punished.

“As these successful prosecutions demonstrate, some smokers apparently don’t think that discarded cigarette butts count as litter, but in fact, they make up a huge amount of the litter we have to collect from Manchester streets.

“Changing people’s behaviour is important in tackling this issue and enforcement is only one part of our long-term campaign to reduce littering in Manchester.

“We work with a range of partners, including local businesses and community groups, to encourage city centre visitors and residents to have a more responsible attitude to litter.

“With more than 700 litter bins in the city centre – all of which have an ashtray attached – there’s no excuse for people to drop their waste in our streets.”

http://www.msn.com/en-gb/news/other/crackdown-sees-smokers-fined-%C2%A34000-for-dropping-cigarette-butts-in-manchester-city-centre/ar-AAgRuf0

Is Britain ready for outdoor smoking bans?

http://www.theguardian.com/society/2015/jul/22/outdoor-smoking-ban-britain

As Brighton considers a ban, smokers and non-smokers in Bristol give their verdict on a trial scheme already up and running

Steven Morris

The idea of not being able to light up even in the open air gives Jo, a 30-a-day smoker from Bristol, the heebie-jeebies. “I wouldn’t be able to survive,” she said. “I’d have to find somewhere. It’s an addiction for me, not fun. I’d have to bring my car into work and smoke there. I’ve tried to give up a few times but I just can’t. A total ban just wouldn’t be fair.”

A ban on smoking in public open spaces is on the agenda after Brighton city council announced that it is to consult on such a measure in its parks and beaches.

Two harbour-side squares in Bristol are ahead of the game, trialling a voluntary ban, politely asking smokers to take their habit (or addiction) elsewhere. The move seems to be having some success though Jo, huddled in a shelter on one of the squares involved, was not aware of the ban. “That’s the first I’ve heard of it. I’m glad I didn’t know.”

When the Guardian visited at lunchtime on Tuesday there were few people openly smoking in the squares or on the al-fresco bar and restaurant tables – though workers in high-vis jackets were scooping hundreds of butts off the pavements following the weekend’s Bristol Harbour Festival.

One of the few smokers spotted was Peter Skirrow, a 26-year-old office worker, who was strolling in the sunshine with a roll-up. He admitted he did know about the voluntary scheme and still exercised his right to smoke but did not get close to anyone else. “I make sure I’m not close to children or people eating and I don’t smoke in queues. But I don’t think I do any harm to others by smoking outside.”

Smokers’ group Forest is furious both at the idea of a ban in Brighton and the voluntary scheme in Bristol. “Outdoor smoking bans make no sense,” said its director, Simon Clark. “There’s no evidence of risk to non-smokers and if the idea is to stop children seeing adults light up why ban smoking in adult-friendly pubs and clubs, forcing people to smoke outside?

“Litter can be a problem but it’s not helped by councils removing cigarette bins for fear it ‘normalises’ smoking. They can’t have it both ways. Provide cigarette bins and most smokers will use them.

“Smokers don’t need self-righteous campaigners regulating their behaviour. You’ll always get a few inconsiderate smokers but that’s no reason to punish the overwhelming majority. We’re in danger of creating an incredibly censorious society in which regulations are based not on potential harm to others but on people’s personal preferences. It’s worrying and it has to stop.”

Kate Knight, the deputy director of Smokefree South West, which is behind the Bristol scheme, said early research suggested a third of smokers who were aware of the scheme did change their behaviour. The six-month pilot ends next month but Knight hopes it will continue in some form and that other places will introduce similar schemes.

The approach here is softly-softly. Eleven signs dotted around the squares ask smokers not to light up and thank people for helping “keep Bristol smoke-free, healthy and clean”. Bars have been invited to ask their customers not to smoke and at events such as the Harbour Festival teams have gone around Millennium Square and Anchor Square explaining the ban to smokers and wondering if they can stub their cigarettes out or wander off.

Friends Jenni O’Connor and Jenny Brindley were in Millennium Square watching their children clamber over the statue of one of the most famous Bristolian actors, Cary Grant, often photographed posing cigarette in hand.

“I think there has been a reduction in smoking here,” said O’Connor. But Brindley said she did not support complete bans backed by the law. “That would be too much. I don’t like to see things being banned. It becomes a civil rights issue.”

Marton Modis, manager of the Las Iguanas restaurant and bar on Millennium Square, said staff had been asked to tell customers about the ban. Most respected it – though the restaurant still provides ashtrays in one section of its outdoor seating.

“I think it has changed things a bit but you won’t change it completely unless the law is changed,” he said. “That’s what people think the next step is really. I’m for it – but then I’m a non-smoker. I know a lot of people won’t be happy if they are told they could be breaking the law if they smoke.”

Further curb smoking in public areas

We all recognise the harm of smoking. Thousands of lives are lost each year to diseases caused by cigarette smoking and second-hand smoke.

To safeguard public health, the Hong Kong government has taken a number of actions to control tobacco use.

To further protect the public, I would like to suggest that we adopt the measures taken in Shinjuku, Japan, where it is forbidden to smoke while walking on the street.

These controls will also help smokers, who would otherwise be tempted to smoke while running an errand or if they are on their way to some place, to cut down.

I would like to suggest that no smoking should be allowed on open public staircases where we often have to navigate our way around smokers. Further, we can have clearly marked “No Smoking” boundary boxes outside all outdoor MTR entrances and exits, giving enough room for people to comfortably enter or exit without being directly exposed to second-hand smoke.

The exit D of Admiralty MTR station is clearly one spot where this can be applied. In future, these measures could be extended to entrances to recreational facilities and major buildings like stadiums, sports grounds and hotels.

H. Shah, Mid-Levels

Source URL (modified on Apr 21st 2015, 5:22pm): http://www.scmp.com/comment/letters/article/1772936/letters-editor-april-22-2015

CTV: Ontario plans to ban smoking on patios, playgrounds and sports fields

from Keith Leslie of the Canadian Press:

Ontario’s Liberal government plans to amend legislation to ban smoking on all restaurant and bar patios as well as at playgrounds and sports fields, Health Minister Deb Matthews announced Wednesday.

Restaurant and bar owners know that the majority of people don’t want to be exposed to second-hand smoke on patios, Matthews said as she announced a series of measures to lower Ontario’s smoking rate.

“I think they understand that this was coming,” she said. “About 70 per cent of Ontarians actually want to ban smoking on patios because they’re people like me. I love to sit outside on a patio, but I don’t like being surrounded by smoke.”

The Ontario Restaurant, Hotel and Motel Association complained the government didn’t consult the sector before announcing the patio ban, and said there was a real “fear” among some business owners that they will lose customers, and money.

“Smokers will still go outside near the patio and they will puff cigarettes at passersby who are not expecting a puff of smoke,” said association CEO Tony Elenis. “Under the existing regulations, which we are happy with, customers and businesses make a choice.”

The New Democrats were worried the Liberals wouldn’t have the resolve to stand up to the expected opposition to the smoking ban on patios.

“You have to be ready to defend this to a lot of people who will push back, and my experience with them is when there is a push back they disappear into the woods,” said NDP health critic France Gelinas.

(more…)

ECNS: China mulls national smoking ban

from Gu Liping of China News Service:

China is planning a national regulation banning smoking in public indoor areas, and it is expected to be enacted next year, the Beijing News said Thursday, citing an official.

Yang Jie, deputy director of Tobacco Control Office for the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention, made the remarks at a news briefing on the Chinese version of the Tobacco Atlas (fourth edition), a comprehensive volume of research on tobacco and smokers.

Yang said the regulation, following the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, will ban smoking in all public places, including public vehicles, indoor workplaces, Internet bars and restaurants. Specific penalties for violations will be included in the regulation, he added.

More than 10 Chinese cities currently have smoking control rules, all of which ban smoking in public indoor areas, but implementation of the law is unsatisfactory, mostly because there is a lack of enforcement and awareness about the law.

The Tobacco Atlas, published by the American Cancer Society, says more than half of Chinese males smoke, and 12 percent of deaths in Chinese males can be attributed to tobacco. Every year, 600,000 people die from exposure to secondhand smoke in China, most of them women and children, it said.

12 Dec 2013

新京报中文报导

China Daily: Cities struggling to enforce bans on smoking in public

from Shan Juan of China Daily:

As China eyes a national ban on smoking in public indoor areas, health and law experts say regional anti-smoking regulations lack the teeth to protect nonsmokers from secondhand smoke.

More than 10 Chinese cities currently have smoking control rules, all of which ban smoking in public indoor areas, said Wang Qingbin, associate professor with the China University of Political Science and Law.

“But implementation of the law is unsatisfactory, mostly because there is a lack of enforcement and awareness of the law,” he said at a symposium held by Beijing-based tobacco control campaign ThinkTank and the Tobacco Control Office of the Chinese Center for Disease Control and Prevention.

The municipal-level rules mainly target public businesses such as restaurants, Internet bars, hotels and movie theaters, but do not focus on individual smokers, he said.

Yang Jie, deputy director of the Tobacco Control Office, explained that the city ban is similar to other bans around the world that mainly target businesses instead of smokers.

(more…)

Smoking ban begins at Sonoma County outdoor restaurant areas

By MARTIN ESPINOZA
THE PRESS DEMOCRAT

Published: Thursday, May 31, 2012 at 7:00 p.m.

Last Modified: Friday, June 1, 2012 at 7:20 a.m.

Beginning today, smoking is prohibited in outdoor restaurant and bar areas that fall within the jurisdiction of Sonoma County.

The new rule is part of a larger anti-smoking package that seeks to bring the county in line with cities such as Santa Rosa and Sebastopol that have strict smoking prohibitions.

“This is part of envisioning Sonoma County as one of the healthiest places to live, work and play,” said Lynn Silver Chalfin, the county’s new health officer.

“It means that you will be able to go out to dinner, a picnic or celebration and not be exposed to second-hand smoke.”

The areas affected are outside the boundaries of the county’s nine cities and include large swaths of Wine Country, along with smaller communities of Kenwood, Boyes Hot Springs, Bodega, Bodega Bay, Guerneville, Forestville and Graton.

The rule bans smoking in outdoor dining areas such as patios at restaurants, bars and wineries. Designated smoking areas, while permitted,cannot be less than 25 feet from an outdoor dining area, nor can they be within 25 feet of any operable window, door or vent into an enclosed area.

“They can’t set up a designated area that infringes on anybody else’s space,” said Kelly Elder, manager of the healthy communities section of the Sonoma County Department of Health Services.

Last fall, the Sonoma County Board of Supervisors strengthened its existing no-smoking ordinance by banning smoking in multi-unit housing, all county owned property and certain outdoor areas. The no-smoking rules were to take effect in stages.

Since November, smoking has been prohibited in outdoor common areas of multi-unit complexes.

In December, smoking was banned on all county-owned property, entryways and service lines such as theater lines.

Smoking inside apartments, condos and duplexes and in their attached patios will be prohibited beginning next January.

Designated smoking areas are permitted but heavily restricted.

Kerry Andrade, coordinator for the county’s tobacco education program, said that Petaluma, which bans smoking in parks, is considering banning smoking in outdoor dining areas and entryways.

Smoking ban begins at Sonoma County outdoor restaurant areasBy MARTIN ESPINOZA

http://www.pressdemocrat.com/article/20120531/articles/120539871&tc=yahoo?p=2&tc=pg

Aggressive Hermosa Beach outdoor smoking ban to begin

http://www.easyreadernews.com/47035/hermosa-smoking-ban-4/

Hermosa Beach Mayor Howard Fishman

Mayor Howard Fishman lauds the city’s outdoor smoking ban on the Pier Plaza, one of the affected areas. Photo by Robb Fulcher

Hermosa Beach City officials and public health agency representatives gathered on the Pier Plaza to promote perhaps the most aggressive outdoor smoking ban in the region, which begins Thursday, March 1 (see map below).

The ban, approved by the City Council four months ago, nixes smoking at all of Hermosa’s outdoor dining areas, the popular Pier Plaza, the city pier, the Strand, the greenbelt parkway, and all city parks and parking lots. Smoking already is outlawed on the city-owned beach.

“With our outdoor lifestyle, the small minority who smoke in public places threatens the health and safety of the majority of our residents, visitors and workers who don’t smoke,” Mayor Howard Fishman said.

The ban will provide “a breath of fresh air” to diners, residents and visitors, Fishman said.

Violators of the ban can be fined $100 to $500, and after a third police citation, a misdemeanor criminal charge can be sought. Fishman said officials hope to avoid citations, and proponents of the ban have predicted it will be self-enforcing.

“Though California has some of the strictest laws in the nation regarding tobacco control, state law falls short when it comes to protecting the public from secondhand smoke in outdoor public gathering area. It has been left to cities to address this issue and to take necessary steps to more fully protect the health, safety and welfare of its residents and visitors from the well-documented harms of second and third hand smoke,” said Councilman Jeff Duclos, the city’s mayor pro tempore.

Public health officials have identified third-hand smoke as solid residue that settles onto furniture, clothing and other surfaces.

“We also cannot ignore that fact that the overwhelming majority of Californians – nearly 87 percent according to one report – are non smokers. They are entitled by law to full and equal enjoyment of public accommodations,” Duclos said.

“Something like 70 percent of smokers would quit if they could,” said Duclos, adding that the outdoor smoking ban could provide extra “incentive” to kick the habit.

Lisa Santora, chief medical officer of the Beach Cities Health District and a Hermosa resident, said she could now bring her 1-year-old son to the pier without subjecting him to possible health problems.

Santora, who is pregnant, said she could now dine on the Plaza without increasing the risk of a lower birth weight or premature birth for her unborn child.

“I can’t tell you how happy I am,” said Craig Cadwallader of Surfrider Foundation. “This has been a long struggle.”

Councilman Jeff Duclos speaks about the ban. Photo by Robb Fulcher

The ban was also backed by the American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the Los Angeles County Department of Public Health and the National Council on Alcoholism and Drug Dependence-South Bay.

Banners announcing the ban were being hung on the Strand and throughout the city, and volunteers began carrying posters, table tents and coasters to restaurants with outdoor dining. County officials shouldered the costs of those materials.

Smoking ban for outdoor dining

http://www.whyallanewsonline.com.au/news/local/news/general/smoking-ban-for-outdoor-dining/2478670.aspx

06 Mar, 2012 12:30 AM

The hospitality industry will eventually need to accommodate a ban on smoking in outdoor dining and eating areas, if proposed government legislation is introduced.

Minister for Health and Ageing John Hill said the move comes under an action plan to reduce smoking rates.

“One of the important things is to stop the take up of tobacco by kids and that’s really what it’s about, most people who start smoking start under the age of 18,” Mr Hill said.

“The tobacco industry targets children, that’s what they do, they’re an evil industry and I will do everything I can in public life to control them, I absolutely guarantee you that.”

Mr Hill said it was a concerted effort by the government to not only educate the public on the dangers of smoking but also ensure support systems were in place for smokers to kick the habit.

“The three things that we need to do to stop smoking is to have a very good social marketing campaign which we’re doing, put the price of tobacco up which the federal government has done and the third thing is take the glamour out of tobacco,” Mr Hill said.

Read more in Thursday’s edition of the Whyalla News.

Fine particle air pollution and secondhand smoke exposures and risks inside 66 US casinos.

Source

Department of Public Health and Community Medicine, Tufts University School of Medicine, Boston, MA, USA. repace@comcast.net

Abstract

Smoking bans often exempt casinos, exposing occupants to fine particles (PM(2.5)) from secondhand smoke. We quantified the relative contributions to PM(2.5) from both secondhand smoke and infiltrating outdoor sources in US casinos. We measured real-time PM(2.5), particulate polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons (PPAH), and carbon dioxide (CO(2)) (as an index of ventilation rate) inside and outside 8 casinos in Reno, Nevada. We combined these data with data from previous studies, yielding a total of 66 US casinos with smoking in California, Delaware, Nevada, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania, developing PM(2.5) frequency distributions, with 3 nonsmoking casinos for comparison. Geometric means for PM(2.5) were 53.8 μg/m(3) (range 18.5-205 μg/m(3)) inside smoking casinos, 4.3 μg/m(3) (range 0.26-29.7 μg/m(3)) outside those casinos, and 3.1 μg/m(3) (range 0.6-9 μg/m(3)) inside 3 nonsmoking casinos. In a subset of 21 Reno and Las Vegas smoking casinos, PM(2.5) in gaming areas averaged 45.2 μg/m(3) (95% CI, 37.7-52.7 μg/m(3)); adjacent nonsmoking casino restaurants averaged 27.2 μg/m(3) (95% CI, 17.5-36.9 μg/m(3)), while PM(2.5) outside the casinos averaged 3.9 μg/m(3) (95% CI, 2.5-5.3 μg/m(3)). For a subset of 10 Nevada and Pennsylvania smoking casinos, incremental (indoor-outdoor) PM(2.5) was correlated with incremental PPAH (R(2)=0.79), with ventilation rate-adjusted smoker density (R(2)=0.73), and with smoker density (R(2)=0.60), but not with ventilation rates (R(2)=0.15). PPAH levels in 8 smoking casinos in 3 states averaged 4 times outdoors. The nonsmoking casinos’ PM(2.5) (n=3) did not differ from outdoor levels, nor did their PPAH (n=2). Incremental PM(2.5) from secondhand smoke in approximately half the smoking casinos exceeded a level known to produce cardiovascular morbidity in nonsmokers after less than 2h of exposure, posing acute health risks to patrons and workers. Casino ventilation and air cleaning practices failed to control secondhand smoke PM(2.5). Drifting PM(2.5) from secondhand smoke contaminated unseparated nonsmoking areas. Smoke-free casinos reduced PM(2.5) to the same low levels found outdoors.

Copyright © 2011 Elsevier Inc. All rights reserved.

PMID:

21440253

[PubMed – indexed for MEDLINE]