No dice on smoking

Ohio is the first state that forbids smoking in casinos, Ameet Patel, general manager of Hollywood Casino, which is owned by Penn National Gaming said. This will create a cultural change, Patel said. Casinos and smoking have traditionally gone together like black and jack.

Ohio’s no-smoking law got the ball rolling on the idea — and eventual policy — not to hire smokers for Penn National’s Hollywood casinos in Columbus and Toledo.

As part of an overall wellness push, the employee cafeteria does not serve fried foods but instead will offer a wide assortment of healthful choices. There is an on-site gym for employees and several programs to encourage employees to exercise and participate in company-sponsored sporting activities.

“There’s no doubt in my mind that, down the road, this will be the law of the land and smoking will be a thing of the past,” Patel said.

The law of the land on the rights of smokers in the workplace is up to each state, informs The Columbus Dispatch.

“There was a campaign by the tobacco industry, helped by the ACLU, in the late 1980s and early 1990s to pass laws to prevent companies from doing this,” said Micah Berman, director of New England Law, Boston’s Center for Public Health and Tobacco Policy. Twenty-nine states passed smoker-protection laws. Ohio did not.

“Ohio is an at-will employment state, which means companies can hire or fire someone for any reason unless there’s a state law that specifically says you can’t ... such as discrimination, race, gender laws,” Berman said.
Smoking is not protected, he said.

Berman is in the midst of a study of how much smokers cost their employers, and his initial estimate is about $6,000 a year. “That’s for the excess health-care costs and costs related to lost time from smoking breaks and ‘presenteeism,’  ” he said. Presenteeism occurs “when people can’t focus due to nicotine addiction” and are less productive.

Other companies or institutions that refuse to employ smokers include Alaska Airlines, Union Pacific Railroad, Detroit Medical Center and Baylor (Texas) Health Care System.

“It’s a trend, but certainly not something that has exploded, and it’s still a small minority of companies,” Berman said.

Ukrainians will soon breathe free in cafes, clubs and restaurants

On Dec. 16, smoking in Ukrainian cafes, nightclubs and restaurants will be forbidden.

On results of some researches 86 percent of Ukrainians are waiting for appearance of restaurants and bars with smoking forbidden; 54 percent smokers consider that a waiter’s right to work in a smoke-free premise is more important than their own right to smoke inside.

One of the Ukrainian nongovernmental organizations popularizing smoke-free restaurants and bars in the country is “For a Ukraine Free From Tobacco Smoke’ public organization coalition.

Australian court throws out cigarette plain packaging challenge

The defeat in Australia will make it harder for companies including Japan Tobacco International (JTI), Imperial Tobacco and British American Tobacco (BAT) to prevent Britain from adopting its own tough anti-smoking measures.

Under laws that come into effect this December, Australia will become the first country to require cigarettes to be sold in drab, olive packets with graphic health warnings and no logos, The Telegraph reports.

The laws have been tipped to trigger an “olive revolution”, with similar measures being considered in Britain, Canada, New Zealand, China, France, India, South Africa, Norway and Uruguay.

Australia’s High Court yesterday dismissed a challenge by BAT, Imperial Tobacco, Philip Morris and JTI.

The companies claimed that the laws unlawfully extinguished the value of their trademarks without providing compensation.
In Australia, tobacco groups are still fighting the laws through two other separate cases. Philip Morris Asia is suing Australia for breach of an investment treaty with Hong Kong. The Ukraine, Honduras and the Dominican Republic have taken a case to the World Trade Organisation, claiming the legislation breaches Australia’s commitment under global trade rules.

Women smoke at McDonald's non-smoking area and throw cigarette butts on ground

Two women were smoking at the non-smoking section of McDonald's and throwing the cigarette butts on the ground.

It was written at the STOMP:

"These two ladies were smoking non stop and throwing the cigarette butts on the floor despite the signages of no smoking at Mcdonalds among Ang Mo Kio Ave 6.

"The poor auntie have to come in multiple times to sweep off the cigarette butts they threw on the floor, and after the auntie left, they smoked and throw on the floor again.

"The lady in grey came in with a empty mcdonalds's cup (with ice) with a friend who bought a large coke, the grey lady then took out her own red colour drink and pour into the cup.

"Subsequently after much smoking and littering the place, the lady even asked the poor auntie to bring her a cup of ice!

"Since when does McDonalds take orders from your tables?

"The lady was then told that she would have to get the ice from the counter, and the unhappy woman then threw a fit and uttered some nonsense to the poor auntie, she even stared at her as she walked away innocently.

"As it was raining outside, the woman then again called another McDonald's staff to switch off the fan as she felt very cold, and the staff told her that they can't switch off the fans, as doing so would deprive other patrons from the fan too.

"She again threw a fit and uttered some words in cantonese.

"A girl who was studying at the next table appearently got irritated, stood up and asked her to stop smoking while pointing to the non smoking signs, the woman ignored her and continued smoking.

"All in all, she smoked at least half a packet of Viceroy in an hour."