Tobacco.org

• For Mpls. public housing, a smoking ban  

This week McGovern learned that after two years of discussion, the Minneapolis Public Housing Authority has decided to ban smoking in its 5,000 units.

Housing Authority officials say they are concerned about the health of residents who smoke, as well as the effects of secondhand smoke on children, the elderly and those with chronic conditions, plus the fire hazard posed by smoking. The ban would be phased in over five years, although details have yet to be worked out, said Mary Boler, the authority's managing director of low-income public housing.

By going smoke-free, the Minneapolis authority will join Duluth and more than 230 housing authorities nationwide that have banned smoking in some or all of their residential units.

But some residents are fuming.

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Electronic cigarettes store opens in Coon Rapids 

CONYERS: When smoking was ‘in’  

When I was a little girl, one of my jobs was to roll cigarettes for my brother. A copper colored item about 3 inches by 5 inches opened up where I inserted a cigarette paper, then poured the tobacco onto this, closed the lid and turned the handle to roll the cigarette.

I then opened the box, took out the rolled cigarette and moistened the edge to hold it together.

Men also smoked cigars

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Electronic cigarettes store opens in Coon Rapids  

CHRISTOPHERSON: Secondhand smoke: Girl's a drama queen, but she has a point 

Officials Link Fridley's Elevated Cancer Rates to Smoking Statistics 

Officials Blame Smoking For High Cancer Rate, Residents Aren’t Convinced  

New numbers are raising questions about cancer in one Twin Cities suburb.

Last month, state health officials said Fridley had 10 percent more cancer cases than the state average between 2000 and 2009. After a closer look, however, that statistic was lowered to 7.6 percent.

The Minnesota Department of Health says there’s a likely explanation, but some people who live in Fridley say they’re not convinced. . . .

Health investigators believe Fridley’s high cancer rate can be blamed on a large number of lung cancer cases. It’s 30 percent higher than expected and 49 percent higher for women alone.

John Soler, of the Minnesota Department of Health, said that studies have ranked Anoka County as having the highest smoking rate in the metro.

“Lung cancer and smoking usually go hand in hand,” Soler said.

After looking into claims that contamination from several superfund sites in Fridley played a part, Soler says drinking water tests are clean and, as of now, there’s no connection.

McCarty, however, isn’t willing to just take Soler’s word.

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LETTER: U must become tobacco-free 

HUNTLEY: Lawmaker's View: Smoke-free foster care will help youths grow 

Mayo: Screen bone-marrow transplant patients for tobacco use  

• Twins lift ban on chewing tobacco at Target Field  

• State's foster homes may be next to go smoke-free Duluth News Tribune | Duluth, Minnesota 

The legislation would follow the lead of St. Louis, Lake and Beltrami counties, which already require foster homes to be smoke-free, said Jill Doberstein, Duluth-based program manager for tobacco control with the American Lung Association in Minnesota.

State Rep. Tom Huntley, DFL-Duluth, a sponsor of the bill, said it was introduced too late in the current session to be passed as stand-alone legislation. There’s still a chance it could be passed this year as part of an amendment to another bill, he said. Otherwise, there will be an effort to pass it next year.

“I think the general public, when this is explained to them, would support it,” Huntley said.

If the legislation became law, it would make Minnesota the 18th state to have a ban on smoking in foster homes for children, Doberstein said. St. Louis County, like some of those states, also prohibits smoking in vehicles used to transport foster children. The Minnesota legislation doesn’t go that far but could be amended to add vehicles, Doberstein said.

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• LIEBLING: Smoke-free foster care is common sense; state should act  

Some of Minnesota’s most vulnerable children are at risk from the serious effects of secondhand smoke. It’s time for the state to act in the best interest of children in foster care and protect them from the known cancer-causing poisons and toxins in secondhand smoke. This is why I have introduced a bill in the legislature to prohibit smoking in foster care homes.

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Federal judge sets dates for first two trials against Pfizer over Chantix stop-smoking drug 

• Duluth Woman's Chantix Suit May Be Nation's First 

A federal judge in north Alabama has set the first two trials stemming from thousands of lawsuits filed nationwide against pharmaceutical manufacturer Pfizer over its stop-smoking product Chantix.

The United States Judicial Panel on Multistate Litigation consolidated the Chantix suits and assigned them to U.S. District Judge Inge Johnson.

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