smoking ban

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Beijing Bans Smoking in Time for Games

But earlier rules were no match for cigarette-addicted

(Newser) - China, the world's most populous country, is also home to the planet's largest number of smokers. But in the latest effort to clear the air for the Olympics, Beijing has banned smoking in government offices and public transportation, and mandated smoke-free areas in restaurants as of May 1. The penalty:...

'Actors' Beat Smoking Ban in Minn. Bars

Owners exploit loophole that lets thespians light up

(Newser) - Stage performers are the only exception to the new smoking ban in Minnesota bars, so patrons are turning temporarily thespian and lighting up. The only props required at some of the 30 bars working the loophole are cigarettes and ashtrays—though some get more creative. "They're playing themselves before...

Hotel Pays Staff to Sniff Out Smoking Guests

Chicago's Swissotel turns its housekeepers into detectives

(Newser) - That chocolate on your pillow may be a bit of a Judas kiss: Chicago's Swissotel isn't the first hotel to fine sneaky smokers who break its puff-free policy, but it is the nation's first to pay staff to sniff out offending guests, reports the Chicago Tribune. Spraying air freshener won't...

No Booze for You, Baby
No Booze for You, Baby
Feb 12, 2008 7:07 PM CST

No Booze for You, Baby

Bars are banning Gen-X parents who bring kids, sparking angry debate

(Newser) - A mellow Brooklyn watering hole has recently banned an unlikely irritant: babies. Gen-X parents in New York, Philly, and DC are rolling their strollers into bars, the New York Times reports, and response has been vocal, with thirsty young moms and their childless counterparts waging a spirited Web war over...

WHO Pushes Governments to Battle Smoking

Developing countries most at risk, can least afford measures

(Newser) - Aiming to slash the 5.4 million tobacco-related deaths worldwide per year, the World Health Organization today called on governments everywhere to discourage smoking, the Wall Street Journal reports. As it stands, only 5% of countries have programs working to curb the habit, such as advertising bans and warning labels....

Germans to Ex-Chancellor: Yes, We Mind

Schmidt, 89, defies new smoking ban, lights up in public

(Newser) - German anti-smoking groups are fuming over photos of ex-chancellor Helmut Schmidt lighting up in a Hamburg theater in defiance of a ban on smoking in public places. Schmidt and his wife—"aged a lung-cancer-defying 89 and 88, respectively," Der Spiegel reports— face an investigation after an anti-smoking group...

Smoke-Free Paris Clears the Air
Smoke-Free Paris Clears the Air
Jan 3, 2008 10:35 AM CST

Smoke-Free Paris Clears the Air

Smoking ban ends French tradition

(Newser) - The hazy, brooding atmosphere of Parisian cafes and bars has changed overnight with a French ban on smoking in public places. Clouds of smoke from scores of Gauloises and Gitanes cigarettes, which once hung over France's most celebrated salons and dining rooms, have wafted away. Similar bans are already in...

No Dice for Smoking Gamblers
No Dice for Smoking Gamblers
Jan 1, 2008 9:12 AM CST

No Dice for Smoking Gamblers

Ill. casino bosses worry about losing business to tobacco-friendly rivals

(Newser) - The brand-new ban on indoor smoking in Illinois is expected to hit the state's nine casinos hard, the Chicago Tribune reports. Plenty of gamblers like a smoke, and along the Mississippi River, all they'll need to do is cross into Missouri or Iowa to enjoy one. "No smoking and...

In France, 2008 Means Défense de Fumer

Nouvelle année accompanies nationwide ban on smoke-filled cafes

(Newser) - Say goodbye to the tradition of puffing on Gauloises at Paris cafes: Beginning Tuesday, France becomes the latest nation to introduce a complete smoking ban in restaurants, hotels, and nightclubs. The ban has widespread support, although diehard smokers are threatening to fight it. "I cannot stand the idea of...

Firms Help Workers Kick Butts
Firms Help Workers Kick Butts
Oct 26, 2007 10:40 AM CDT

Firms Help Workers Kick Butts

Seeking savings, employers offer programs, incentives

(Newser) - Smoking, everybody's favorite target, is now drawing fire from employers looking to cut medical costs by helping workers kick the habit, the New York Times reports. Employers gain significantly when employees quit, because a typical smoker racks up $16,000 in additional lifetime medical costs and saps productivity with smoking...

Irish Smoking Ban Good for Lungs ... of Instruments

Musicians benefit from clean pub air

(Newser) - The air isn’t the only thing that’s cleaner in Ireland’s pubs these days. Since the country stubbed out pub smoking in 2004, musicians have been getting clearer sounds out of traditional Irish instruments. It’s a lot easier to keep clean bellows-driven devices such as accordions and...

City OKs Day of Public Toking
City OKs Day of Public Toking
Sep 20, 2007 7:09 PM CDT

City OKs Day of Public Toking

Ban on smoking in Santa Cruz parks lifted for medical-marijuana fest

(Newser) - Two kinds of "green laws" collided in Santa Cruz, Calif., when a local group that distributes free medical marijuana came up against a smoking ban in the park where the group holds its annual festival. The city council reached a healthy compromise, providing attendees in need of self-medication with...

No Moss, but Rolling Stones May Gather Fine

Richards, Wood defy smoking ban at UK show, plan to continue

(Newser) - Threat of fines appear unlikely to keep the Rolling Stones from smoking onstage, the Times reports. Guitarists Keith Richards and Ronnie Wood lit up during a show yesterday in London despite frantic warnings from venue staff. "You might say that Keith and Ronnie lighting up while they swap licks...

England Douses Public Smoking
England Douses Public Smoking
Jul 1, 2007 2:55 PM CDT

England Douses Public Smoking

New law clears the air in enclosed spaces

(Newser) - The English ban on smoking in enclosed public spaces, including bars, workplaces, and public buildings, went into effect at 6am today. The effort to improve indoor air quality and inconvenience some smokers into quitting will cause grumbling, says the country's chief medical officer, but "on the whole, the majority...

UK to Patients Who Smoke: Put That Out

National Health Service imposes four-week window before surgery

(Newser) - Smokers in Britain must kick the habit for at least four weeks before undergoing routine surgery or the National Health Service will deny them the operations, the Daily Mail reports. Doctors will use blood tests to enforce the new policy, which could affect up to 500,000 smokers awaiting procedures...

MPAA Snuffs Onscreen Smoking
MPAA Snuffs Onscreen Smoking
May 11, 2007 5:37 AM CDT

MPAA Snuffs Onscreen Smoking

Flicks with cancer sticks will draw tougher rating

(Newser) - Cigarette and cigar smoking will be considered alongside violence, profanity, nudity, and drug use in assigning ratings, the MPAA announced yesterday. Any film that glamorizes the habit or features lighting up outside of "an historic  or other mitigating context "could face a box-office-busting R. 

Left Coast Democrats Lead in Nanny Laws

"Paternalistic" lawmakers are a sign that financially, society has arrived

(Newser) - Smoking, trans fat and auto emissions are only the beginning: A group of California legislators is agitating for measures regulating everything from having your pet neutered to changing your light bulbs. They're called "nanny laws," and poli-sci types say they're a product of prosperity. It's "post materialist,...

Stories 61 - 77 | << Prev