Indiana has nation's 2nd highest smoking rate

Indiana has the second highest smoking rate in the nation, with more than one in four Hoosier adults lighting up last year, according to a recent report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Indiana, which has no statewide smoking ban, was sixth-worst in the nation in 2007. Though the national rate of cigarette smokers decreased by about 1 percent between 2006 and 2007, Indiana and Illinois each saw increases last year. Indiana's rates are higher than Illinois, which has smoking bans in place and has the 13th-highest state smoking rate.
"There's less harassment of smokers in Indiana than there is in other states," said Samuel Flint, interim dean of Indiana University Northwest's School of Public and Environmental Affairs. "Indiana has more of a tradition of personal freedoms than public safety. That is what is competing."
One way to reduce smoking in Indiana could be a state law prohibiting smoking indoors.
"If smoking gets to be more expensive and there are fewer places to do it, it pushes the marginal smoker to quitting," Flint said.
State Rep. Charlie Brown, D-Gary, told The Times he plans to introduce a statewide public smoking ban proposal when the General Assembly convenes in January.
The House approved a smoking ban last session, but the measure died in the Senate. That proposal would have banned smoking in restaurants and most workplaces, but it was amended to exempt most bars, tobacco shops, private clubs and casinos.
Brown said his new proposal will exempt casinos from the beginning in hopes of getting it passed.
"They were the strongest opposers last year. They paid everyone out in the hall to track that for them to make sure nothing went in," Brown said, describing the lobbying tactics.
In the GOP-led Senate, anti-smoking proponents refused to support a smoking ban with so many exemptions, while other senators were concerned about the effects of a smoking ban on Hoosier businesses.
"Studies have shown a business going smoke-free will not lose any revenue or customers as a result of that," Brown said. "But that's the hue and cry here, that we don't want to negatively impact a business."
But for Round The Clock restaurant in Schererville, customers were not happy when management discussed making the location smoke-free, said George Guirgus. He is the manager of the Highland location that already has gone smoke-free. The Schererville location kept its smoking and nonsmoking sections.
"Fifty percent of our customers there smoke," said Giurgus, 42. "We do not like to upset our customers, so we don't want to change (that) location to smoke-free before the government changes it. If the state changed it, we agree with it."
The transition from smoking to nonsmoking went smoothly this month for Aurelio's Pizza in Schererville. Owner David Scheidt, 36, said he lost some business from smokers but also attracted more nonsmokers.
"It's pretty much evened out," Scheidt said. "I think in the long run it will serve us better."
Scheidt said if the state does not pass a smoking ban, cities and towns are going to enact their own bans such as Crown Point did last year. He said he banned smoking in the restaurant because it's a family dining spot.
"When you have a section where people are smoking 10 feet from an infant, it was pretty much a no-brainer for us," he said.
But some smokers, including 31-year-old Doug Domberg, say the government should think twice before banning smoking.
"To tell me I can't smoke in any public place is wrong," said Domberg, who manages CDO Tobacco in Highland. "(Nonsmokers) can have their section, but they can't take away all my sections."
Domberg said the store, which serves about 200 customers each day, opened a smoking lounge last year to offer smokers a place to enjoy cigars and cigarettes indoors.
"A lot of people always complain about having to go outside to smoke," Domberg said. "You already have restaurants who say you can't smoke there. (Smokers) can't smoke unless they're at their house, and even then their wives will still give them crap."
The lounge offers wireless Internet service, couches, a refrigerator and television. Domberg deemed it the "coffeehouse of cigars."
If the state were to ban smoking in public places, Domberg said he would put up a "members only" sign.
"To have that luxury -- especially with cigar smokers -- they'll have no problem paying something small so they can sit and smoke their cigar in peace and not get hassled," Domberg said, describing how many patrons bring coffee or sandwiches to the lounge.
The lounge has a filter that sucks in smoky air and releases clean air, and Domberg said it makes the store air cleaner than unfiltered air in a nonsmoking area.
With or without air filters, Domberg said he has not had any smoke-related health problems in the more than 13 years he has smoked.
"Fast food is going to kill you faster than smoking will," he said.
Scientific reports on the adverse health effects of secondhand smoke gave states the authority to ban smoking, Flint, the IUN dean said, especially when concerning people who work at smoking establishments.
"Those are the folks who are victimized by allowing smoking in enclosed places," Flint said. "Employees don't have the luxury of choice."
Staff writer Dan Carden contributed to this report.
Indiana Smoking Statistics
26.1 percent of Hoosier adults smoked last year
24.1 percent of Hoosier adults smoked in 2007
55.7 percent of Hoosier smokers had on average 15 to 25 cigarettes a day in 2000
Indiana has no statewide ban on smoking, leaving that decision to local government.

Electronic ciggies set to give agents a healthy income

A Long Crendon man is looking for local agents to sell healthier alternatives to tobacco products called 'electronic cigarettes', which he believes are set to take off in Britain.
Martin Whelan is an independent distributor for inLife, an American company now looking to expand in Europe.
He said the firm's e-cigarettes, which deliver nicotine without the harmful toxins found in tobacco smoke, present a golden business opportunity for people.
He claims part-time agents can earn up to £500- £1000 per month, while full-timers can make as much as £10, 000 in the same period.
"I am looking for people to work with me, I help train them up to promote it to wider people and establish their own business," he said. 
Electronic cigarettes are not tobacco products, although they are designed to look and feel like conventional cigarettes.
As they do not produce any smoke, they can be consumed in pubs and other places affected by the smoking ban. Health charity ASH says they 'are likely to be a safer alternative to smoking'.
It is also claimed that inLife's e-cigarettes can save a 20-a-day smoker around £700 a year. 
Mr Whelan, who is a non-smoker, said: "There's ten million smokers in the UK so there is a lot of business opportunity here. 
"With all the smoking bans and everything like that, but there is no problem with electronic cigarettes. Places like bingo halls are a massive market for the business. They will bring trade back into pubs.
"We are right at the beginning of something. It is not going to have the scale of the mobile phone, but it's that kind of thing. And we have got a few celebrities using them now which is useful, it really, really helps."
Amanda Sandford, research manager at ASH, said: "We are hesitant to recommend e-cigarettes, we are not going that far, but on the face of it they do seem a less hazourdous option than smoking. "

Smoking Cessation Classes Set To Begin

In Idaho 16.8% of people smoke. Although that is lower than the national average of 20 % It's a number that's still too high for the Southeastern District Health Department.
Rose Sterner, Smoked for 43 Years: "Sitting down having a cup of coffee and a cigarette was our way of life."
But, after 43 years of smoking Rose has now been tobacco free for 2 years.
Rose Sterner: "It was a lot of money, it was a lot of lost time and hopefully I'm not going to have to pay for the time I blew that way."
Rose and her husband quit with the help of a free tobacco cessation program put on by the Southeastern District Health Department.
Traci Lambson, Health Education Specialist: "It's a class that'll give you the tools so you can quit when you're ready."
The tools include education about tobacco and helps smokers find the best way to quit for them, be it cold turkey or with the help of medication to squash the addiction.
Traci Lambson: "Anytime you couple any class with nicotine replacement therapy your chances of remaining tobacco free are even greater."
Rose Sterner: "It's got to be between your ears, you've got to want to do this."
For Rose and her husband it's given them a new lease of life; a life that no longer revolves around cigarettes.
Rose Sterner: "I don't think I'd go back to smoking. It has no interest to me."

MSMC campus store ceases sale of cigarettes

The campus store at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh is ending the sales of cigarettes permanently. The termination coincides with the Great American Smokeout today.
College Vice President for Student Development Harry Steinway said stopping the sales makes an important statement to students.
Removing the butts from the shelves may impact the store’s bottom line, Steinway acknowledged.
“There are a fair number of students, but not only students, there are employees who purchase tobacco products, so I think it will put a little dent in daily sales, but maybe candy bar sales or granola bars will pick it up and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
The health benefits far outweigh any potential economic costs to the store, Steinway said.
The college’s health Services and community health nursing students will be providing information to help students stop smoking during the Great American Smokeout.

Fewer minors purchasing cigarettes

A sales compliance survey shows a decrease in tobacco sales to Wisconsin minors, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday.
The 2009 Synar survey shows the number of retail outlets that sell tobacco illegally to minors went down by 20 percent. In 2008, roughly 7.2 percent of stores sold tobacco to minors; in 2009, only 5.7 percent did not comply with the law.
Doyle thanked retailers for their work against minor consumption and possession of tobacco products.
"In Wisconsin, we are working hard to protect our kids from the scourge of tobacco," Doyle said. "Our state has a long history of preventing youth tobacco sales and I'm pleased our efforts are paying off."
The Synar surveys randomly selected retail outlets throughout Wisconsin to try to get an accurate snapshot of statewide compliance.
2009 is the seventh straight year that Wisconsin has been below the target rate of 20 percent noncompliance.

Tobacco Quit line Helps First Half-Million Callers

A free telephone service that helps Californians kick the smoking habit – funded by tobacco taxes approved by California voters and operated by the University of California, San Diego – reached a milestone today as the 500,000th person called for service.
1-800-NO-BUTTS, also known as the California Smokers’ Helpline, has been helping callers since 1992, when it became the nation’s first statewide “quit line.” Today, all 50 states offer similar services as part of efforts to reduce tobacco’s toll on the public health.
“The fact that half a million Californians have called for help shows how badly people want to quit,” said Christopher Anderson, program director for the Helpline. “When you see a person who’s still smoking, despite all the information about negative health effects, you might think they don’t want to quit. But, more often than not, they just don’t know how to go about it or don’t feel confident in their ability to quit. We help them come up with a good plan and stick to it.”
The Helpline provides free, confidential service to more than 30,000 callers annually, including self-help materials, referral to local programs, and one-on-one telephone counseling. Callers who choose counseling receive up to two hours of tailored assistance spread out over five calls. Services are available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese.
“Reaching the milestone of half a million callers is remarkable, but we have a long way to go,” said Shu-Hong Zhu, PhD, principal investigator for the Helpline. He added that there are still about four million smokers in California, and tobacco use remains the leading cause of premature death and disease. “Concerted efforts are needed to encourage more quitting among smokers and tobacco chewers.”
According to the 2005 California Tobacco Survey, 62 percent of smokers were advised by a doctor to quit smoking, but only 33 percent of those were referred to a quit smoking program.
The Helpline has experienced a big increase in referrals by health care providers, from six percent of callers in 1992 to nearly 44 percent today. Still, the Helpline wants to see more intervention by medical personnel.
“We are asking health care professionals to get more involved and help spread the word about available cessation services,” said Kristin Harms, communications manager for the Helpline. “We recommend the ‘Ask, Advise, Refer’ approach: ask your patients if they smoke or use chewing tobacco, advise those who do to quit, and refer them to 1-800-NO-BUTTS for effective help.”
Research has shown that patients who are advised to quit are more likely to try, and that those who receive telephone counseling are twice as likely to be successful.

Man charged with stealing computer, cigarettes

An Iowa City man has been arrested on charges for participating in several thefts and burglaries, including stealing 350 packs of cigarettes from a Tiffin store.Eli James Vargason, 18, 1112 Hotz Ave., was charged with third-degree theft, possession of marijuana and drunken driving after he was pulled over for an expired registration about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to the arrest reports, police found a computer case with a mini laptop computer inside that had been reported stolen from a Tiffin man and marijuana.
He was then considered a suspect in other ongoing burglary investigations, including an Oct. 31 break-in at the Casey's General Store in Tiffin in which Vargason allegedly smashed the front glass door and took about 350 packs of cigarettes, police said. He was charged with third-degree burglary for that break-in, police said.
Vargason remained Friday in the Johnson County Jail on a $16,000 cash bond.