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Smoking In The Subway? Two 'Smartasses' Prime Example Of How NOT To Act On The Train (VIDEO) 

Like these two gentleman straphangers who, according to the description on YouTube, were "smoking, cursing, and spitting inside the NYC subway #7 train on 4/27/12 9:46pm."

Apparently the "two smart asses" entered the train at the Corona stop, and promptly threw trash on a smaller man, telling him to "get the f**k outta here." Then, one of the men lit up a cigarette across from a woman and her baby.

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Worcester City Council OKs hookah bar 

WORCESTER -- The owner of a restaurant/bar in Union Station has received a green light to operate a hookah bar there.

Without debate, the City Council last night approved an amendment to the city's tobacco control ordinance to allow a hookah bar in Union Station.

But the approval came by just a one-vote margin (6-5), two weeks after the council had unanimously voted to advertise the amendment.

The tobacco control ordinance prohibits any form of smoking at city-owned public buildings, including Union Station.

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Poll: Smoking on Metro North Platforms Is Banned 

• JAPAN TIMES GONE BY: Frog battles carp, indignant seamen strike, Roppongi the new night-life hub, passive-smoking case stubbed out 

25 YEARS AGO Saturday, March 28, 1987

Court stubs out train campaigners' passive-smoking case

Tokyo District Court on Friday ruled that passive smoking on Japanese National Railways trains was within tolerable limits, turning down claims by an anti-smoking group in the country's first lawsuit concerning passive smoking.

Passive smoking refers to the inhalation of smoke by those in the proximity of a smoker.

The plaintiffs, school teacher Midori Fukuda, 37, and 13 other anti-smoking advocates, filed the suit in 1980, demanding that JNR, the state, and Japan Tobacco Inc. pay ¥9.2 million damages and allocate more than half of all JNR train seats to non-smokers.

The court stated as reasons for turning down the plaintiffs' demand that major JNR services now included some non-smoking cars, and that there was no definite evidence on the effects of passive smoking on people's health.

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• Smoking Ban on Trains Now in Force 

Decades after making the move to diesel and electric locomotives, Indonesia on Thursday marked the true end of the era of puffing trains as a nationwide smoking ban on all rail services came into force.

Surono, a Purwokerto area spokesman for state railway company Kereta Api Indonesia, said the ban was off to a good start.

“Based on our monitoring, the first day of the smoking ban proceeded in an orderly fashion. There were a few passengers who got off at stations to smoke. We prepared special smoking areas for them at each station,” he said.

Surono said his office had worked hard to publicize the ban .

“It seems that most of our passengers understand the policy because we have hung banners and posters at stations, put stickers in trains and even printed it on tickets,” he said.

Despite the efforts, though, around 80 percent of the stickers had been damaged or removed, he said.

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Smoking and Non-Smoking Policies  

All Amtrak trains, Thruway buses and stations are entirely non-smoking except for the Auto Train.

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Electronic smoking devices, such as electronic cigarettes, are not allowed in any area on trains, on Thruway services, in stations or in any other location where smoking is prohibited. . . .

State or local laws may prohibit smoking on station platforms.

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MTA platform smoking ban draws praise  

Even some smokers support the Metropolitan Transportation Authority's new state ban on outdoor smoking.

"I'm in favor of it. I think nonsmokers should not be exposed to others' carcinogens," said Donald Roger Maillett, 62, still cold from his last cigarette outdoors. "You are infringing on people's rights who don't smoke."

The law prohibits smoking on Metro-North Railroad and Long Island Rail Road outdoor platforms, as well as outdoor ticketing and boarding areas of terminals and stations. Violators can be ejected from Metro-North or LIRR property and face fines up to $50 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days, or both.

Supporters argue that the law protects riders from secondhand smoke, especially in close quarters. Opponents say it's a violation of smokers' rights.

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Smoking Ban Makes Riders the Enforcers  

As a new state ban on smoking on outdoor platforms and concourses of the Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North takes effect this week, supporters expect the strongest enforcement of the law to come from an unusual source: passengers.

The Metropolitan Transportation Authority began enforcing the smoking ban on Wednesday, the end of a three-month grace period that followed Gov. Andrew Cuomo's signing of the law. Transit police, as well as local police in the towns traversed by the commuter rail lines, can now issue violations to passengers who light up on train platforms and waiting and ticketing areas.

An MTA spokesman said Wednesday that agency police had no initial reports of summonses issued under the ban. (The law doesn't affect Metro-North stations in Connecticut.)

But those who have followed the steady progress of efforts to curtail secondhand smoke throughout the New York region say the greatest deterrent effect of smoking bans comes from individuals.

It's a similar approach used by New York City in its nearly year-old smoking ban in parks and beaches. The pressure to comply with that law has come mostly from nonsmokers. . . .

This is a question that has long irked Audrey Silk, the founder of NYC C.L.A.S.H., a grass-roots group that lobbies against smoking bans. "The real criminals here are the legislators and the anti-smoking activists," Ms. Silk said. "They're rescinding civil liberties in order to socially engineer a segment of society they don't approve of."

Ms. Silk said only a minority of rail passengers would feel constrained by the expectations of their neighbors, and she cast doubt on the medical benefits--which city health officials and the cancer society, among many others, say are legion--of avoiding secondhand smoke.

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Fines begin over smoking ban on Metro-North Railroad station platforms  

Police are now out to write tickets for commuters who smoke on Metro-North Railroad station platforms, after a three-month grace period during which violators were let off easy.

That was good news for commuter Jorge Figueroa, who had continued to see people smoking on the station platforms, even after the ban took effect three months ago.

"It's a smoke-free environment, which is better for everyone," the 34-year-old construction worker said Wednesday morning. He was waiting at the New Rochelle station for a train to take him to his job in Mount Vernon.

The law banning smoking on platforms and around ticketing areas and boarding areas outdoors began in November on Metro-North stations in New York and Long Island Rail Road stations.

Metro-North stops in Connecticut were not affected because it is a New York state law.

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Train riders welcome, or adapt, to smoking ban on station platforms 

NEW ROCHELLE — Jorge Figueroa said his Metro-North commute just got a little bit better as officials today started enforcing a ban on smoking at train platforms.

“It’s a smoke-free environment, which is better for everyone,” the 34-year-old commuter said Wednesday morning as he awaited a train to Mount Vernon.

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POLL: Enforcement of Metro North Smoking Ban Starts Now 

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) the ban on outdoor smoking goes into effect Feb. 15 for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road customers.

Actually it went into effect in November—but with a grace period for educating the public. At the time, Metro-North President Howard Permut said, “The new law is a benefit to our customers, helping us in our efforts to provide a healthier and cleaner environment on our platforms and in our ticketing and boarding area. We appreciate the action taken by Governor Cuomo and the Legislature to protect New Yorkers and improve public health.”

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MTA: Get your butts off our platforms! 

MTA police will crack down on riders smoking on the commuter rail lines today, enforcing a new ban on lighting up on outdoor platforms, ticket booths, and parking lots.

Anyone caught smoking at Long Island Rail Road and Metro-North Railroad facilities will be subject to a maximum $50 fine -- and a possible 30-day jail sentence. . . .

"This is really starting to get out of control," said Bethany Dieken, 22, a student at Pace University waiting for a train yesterday in White Plains.

"I understand why people can't smoke inside restaurants or near schools or whatever," Dieken said. "But we're standing outside freezing on a platform, and usually it's not that crowded here.

"If somebody doesn't like the fact that I'm smoking, they can just move to the other side of the platform."

"This is really imposing upon my freedoms," said Diki Sadutshang, 20, a Manhattanville College student

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LIRR Smoking Ban Enforcement Begins Wednesday 

MTA Police will begin enforcing a new ban on smoking at Long Island Rail Road stations on Wednesday.

Violators face ejection from LIRR property, $50 fines, up to 30 days in jail, or both.

Metropolitan Transportation Authority police had been issuing warnings since the law went into effect in November, but the grace period ends Tuesday.

The ban includes Metro-North stations, except for those in Connecticut.

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Enforcement Of Metro-North Smoking Ban Starts Wednesday  

If you light up a cigarette on a platform, station and terminal boarding areas, or near an outdoor ticketing machine, it could cost you.

According to the Metropolitan Transportation Authority (MTA) the new state ban on outdoor smoking goes into effect on Wednesday, February 15 for Metro-North and Long Island Rail Road customers.

Violators can be ejected from Metro-North or LIRR property and face fines of up to $50 or imprisonment of not more than 30 days or both.

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• 1909 Chicago: The 'L' smoking war  

The protesters were angry and vocal in the fall of 1909. Their target was one heartless Chicago capitalist named Clarence Knight. He was trying to end smoking on the 'L' trains.

Knight was president of the Chicago & Oak Park Elevated Railroad (today's Lake Street Green Line). His trains always ran at least one smoking car. So did Chicago's other privately-owned 'L' companies. Since about 80% of adult males smoked at least one cigar a day, this was understandable.

But few women smoked in 1909. In the middle of the day, when most of the passengers were female, the smoking cars were running empty and losing money. Knight knew that other cities banned smoking on transit vehicles. He announced that all his trains would go smokeless on November 1.

There was no trouble at first. . . .

The "Smoking War" became front-page news. All through November, newspapers detailed the actions of the pro-tobacco-choice forces, and the options they were weighing. . . .

Clarence Knight would not be swayed. His "L" trains remained smokeless. Passengers eventually adjusted to the system, and the protests died out. But smoking continued on other "L" lines until the 1918 influenza epidemic.

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