Massachusetts Bans Smoking On Beaches

If you’re planning on heading up to the Cape Cod beaches this summer, leave your cigarettes at home. Massachusetts recently passed legislation banning smoking in all lifeguard-protected areas beginning June 19.
The new smoking prohibition results from a number of complaints from visitors who have been affected by secondhand smoke in public areas, NBC News reports.
“The smoking prohibition is the result of a number of complaints from visitors who have been affected by second-hand smoke on the guarded beaches,” park superintendent George Price, said in an issued statement.
Price added that cigarettes on beaches are not only a health concern but also an environmental concern, as they prove very difficult to clean up. Cigarette butts can often become buried in sand before they can be properly disposed of, and thus cause much extra work for beach staff.
Historically, Massachusetts has been a leader among states for restrictions on smoking in public places. In 2004, Mitt Romney placed a statewide ban on covering smoking in the workplace, bars and restaurants. The ban, which aimed to promote “worker safety,” placed a harsh fine on violators. Although the first of its kind, many states have followed suit in the years since.
While governor, Romney also proposed a bill that would make it illegal to smoke in apartment buildings, as to further reduce exposure to secondhand smoke fumes. This bill did not pass.
This new smoking ban covers many of the famous Cape Cod, Massachusetts, beaches including Coast Guard Beach and Nauset Light Beach in Eastham, Marconi Beach in Wellfleet, Head of the Meadow Beach in Truro, and Race Point Beach and Herring Cove Beach in Provincetown.
Cape Cod National Seashore is not the first seashore in the United States to take this step. Fire Island National Seashore in New York has similar prohibitions.

What’s the Best Way to Sum Up the Risks From Smoking?

Maybe you can help me with a math problem. We hear about the number of smoking-related deaths annually, but we never hear them reported as a  percentage of smokers. Reports indicate that approximately 20 percent of adults in this country are  smokers, which amounts to about 50 million Americans. I’ve also heard that roughly 500,000 people die each year from smoking- related  illnesses. This translates to only 1 percent of all smokers!  Despite the hysteria, it appears that a relatively small percentage of smokers die as a direct result of smoking. Am I off-base here?

Marilyn responds:
Yes! Those deaths occur every year, not just once. The World Health Organization states that up to half of current users will eventually die of a tobacco-related disease.
Regardless, the sheer volume of news stories with incorrectly reported statistics is causing a backlash from smart people like you who know perfectly well that nonsmokers also die of cancer and heart attacks, but when smokers die of those same  diseases, they are said to be related to their smoking. So let’s sum up those statistics with one that can’t be misreported: According to a study published last year in The New England Journal of Medicine, lifelong smokers die about 10 years  earlier than  nonsmokers.

Second and final reading of an ordinance that expands the smoking ban in the city

In an unexpected twist, the City Commission at a special meeting Tuesday approved the second and final reading of an ordinance that expands the smoking ban in the city.
The commission approved the final reading as it did the first reading last week at the commission’s regular meeting – on a 3-2 vote.
Commissioners Danny Castillo, Tudor Uhlhorn, and Victor Leal approved the new smoking ordinance while commissioners Mike Mezmar and Chino Sanchez voted against the ordinance. Mezmar’s understanding is that the extended ban goes into effect July 1.
The ordinance exempts fraternal organizations, private clubs, the Valley Race Park, retail tobacco and e-cigarette stores, outdoor seating at restaurants and bars and, “between the tee of the first hole and the green for the final hole” at golf courses.
Proponents have argued that smoking should be banned because it affects innocent bystanders with second-hand smoke. Opponents argue that it is not fair to exempt some or to dictate what people can and cannot do.
Although the ordinance excludes private clubs, the ban would apply when used for a function to which the general public is invited. However, “the exception to this exemption for events held in the facility to which the general public is invited shall not become effective until Jan. 1, 2016,” the ordinance states. The exemption for Valley Race Park would expire Jan. 1, 2016, although smoking would be allowed in the park’s outdoor area after that date.
The new ordinance also notes that one can smoke 10 feet outside entrances, windows and ventilation systems of enclosed spaces and in designated smoking areas.
The ordinance was included on the agenda of Tuesday’s special meeting that the commission said last week would be held to consider adopting a resolution nominating VHS Harlingen Hospital Company, LLC as a Texas Enterprise Project. The commission approved the resolution.

Toronto's crack-smoking mayor to enter rehab

Toronto's scandal-plagued mayor Rob Ford said Wednesday he is taking a leave of absence in order to enter rehab, after a new video emerged allegedly showing him smoking crack days ago.
Ford, 44, has already admitted to binge drinking and smoking crack and is campaigning for re-election on a give-me-another-chance platform.
The Toronto Globe and Mail published a screen grab from a video it said its reporters had viewed, in which Ford is seen holding a metal pipe alleged to contain the addictive cocaine derivative.
In the full video, which the paper said was shot by a self-described drug dealer, the mayor of North America's fourth largest city is seen taking a hit from a copper colored pipe, exhaling a cloud of smoke and shaking his right hand frantically, the Globe and Mail said.
The dealer says the video was shot in the early hours of Saturday in the basement of the apartment building where Ford's sister Kathy lives.
Approached at City Hall Wednesday evening, Ford declined to respond to questions about the video, the paper said.
The newspaper said the dealer is trying to sell the video "for at least six figures." The paper said Ford's sister has also struggled with a drug problem.
Meanwhile, the Toronto Sun tabloid posted on its web site audio of the mayor, apparently intoxicated, and captured in a bar Monday night. Ford can be heard swearing and lewdly commenting about several municipal and provincial politicians.
-'Problem with alcohol'-
"I have a problem with alcohol, and the choices I have made while under the influence. I have struggled with this for some time," Ford said in a statement late Wednesday, the Star said.
"Today, after taking some time to think about my own well-being, how to best serve the people of Toronto and what is in the best interests of my family, I have decided to take a leave from campaigning and from my duties as Mayor to seek immediate help."
Dennis Morris, a lawyer for Ford -- who has been campaigning for reelection despite having had his duties reduced in the wake of the scandal -- told reporters Ford would attend a "facility that assists people with substance abuse difficulties."
The mayor, mired in scandal for months after being accused of unseemly behavior during a series of drunken rampages, has been stripped of most of his powers by Toronto city council.
The mayor burst into international headlines nearly a year ago when another alleged drug dealer tried to sell another video of the mayor allegedly smoking crack, to media outlets in Canada and the United States.
Then, Ford denied using the drug but later acknowledged he had smoked crack cocaine in a "drunken stupor" but said he was not an addict.
Since then Ford has been filmed numerous times in public appearing erratic and acting impaired. He had admitted to drinking but never to using drugs.
The anti-tax populist was first elected in a landslide in October 2010, picking up the support of 47 percent of Toronto voters, who liked his promises to cut taxes and slash wasteful spending.
His diehard backers in the suburbs of the Canadian metropolis have kept his approval ratings high despite alleged ties to gang members, admitted crack use and embarrassing YouTube videos.
The Globe and Mail said it was shown three videos of Ford shot secretly early Saturday by the alleged drug dealer.
All three clips were filmed in a cluttered, dimly lit room with a white tile ceiling, it said.
The audio on the three clips was not available because the speaker on the dealer's phone was broken when he made the recordings. The alleged dealer said he supplied the crack that was smoked that night and that he had decided to sell the footage to "make money."
Lawyer Morris said it was hard for anyone to prove what is in the pipe the mayor is allegedly seen smoking.
"So say for example it was marijuana," he said, according to the newspaper. "Would [you] pay more for a video if I told you it was marijuana or crack cocaine?"

Man fights for right to smoke medical marijuana in casino smoking area

A New Jersey man is considering suing for the right to use medical marijuana in an Atlantic City casino.
Daniel Price's lawyer, Michelle Douglass, says that Revel Casino Hotel failed to accommodate his disability when a security guard told him he could not take his marijuana into the casino last month.
The 23-year-old Atlantic City resident is a registered medical marijuana patient. He tells The Press of Atlantic City that he uses the drug to treat seizures and irritable bowel disease.
State guidelines encourage patients to smoke cannabis at home. But they are not barred by law from using it in private businesses.
Revel, like all Atlantic City casinos, has a smoking area. Lisa Johnson, a Revel spokeswoman, declined to comment to the newspaper.