“However, how many more people must get sick and die before smoking becomes a thing of the past? How many more hundreds of millions of dollars of profits will Big Tobacco reap before we put a total stop to this slaughter by slow, agonizing debilitation?”
In various forms, electronic cigarettes are taking Western North Carolina by storm, stirring up intense public debate over health benefits and risks, government regulation and whether the budding vapor industry will settle permanently in the mountains — or go up in a puff of smoke.
“Needless to say, your news about the high rate of students smoking casts a cloud over the image of Warren Wilson.”
When I was in college back in 1969, we could smoke in class, and when I later started working in a medical research lab, we could smoke there too, even while handling blood and urine samples. We smoked on airplanes and in hospital rooms, at the bank and in movie theaters and courtrooms. Today, that dumb, tobacco-friendly world is (mostly) long gone … except, that is, when I visit Warren Wilson College’s gorgeous campus.
I'm truly disgusted that you published an article, let alone a front-pager, that glorifies tobacco sales and use [“The Unusual Suspects,” July 10, Xpress]. Love, food, drink and music are gifts from our higher selves. I don't believe in whatever god you say brought tobacco. It's time we as a society begin to see and […]
My name is Tiffany Jones and I am a high school junior in the area. On March 21, I attended and helped facilitate an event at the downtown YMCA to celebrate Kick Butts Day, an event dedicated to helping community members stop smoking, and for those who do not smoke, congratulating them on living a […]
A painful memory cloaked in cigarette smoke fires Owen High School junior Savannah Henderson’s determination to help extinguish tobacco use. “My grandfather started using at a very young age, and just years later, he suffered a major stroke related to his smoking,” she reveals. Three other girls sitting with her nod knowingly: They’ve all witnessed […]
I am a sophomore at Asheville High School, an active member of the Teens Against Tobacco Use club and a recent hire at Youth Empowered Solutions. I recently read an article about the Bele Chere Camel tobacco booth, which hands out coupons and special offers that make tobacco products even more accessible to the public. […]
In its annual State of Tobacco Control report, the American Lung Association gave each state a grade based on four different categories. How did the North Carolina do? Let’s just say this report card is not worthy of hanging on the fridge anytime soon. (Photo courtesy of the American Lung Association)
At its April 27 meeting, Asheville City Council:
• delayed a decision whether to cut its event-sponsorship support;
• transferred $2.4 million from health-insurance reserves to cover operating shortfalls;
• approved a plan to improve the city bus system, launch a new Transit logo and market the bus service
• waived fees for arts events in Pritchard Park, and
• passed a city-wide smoking ban on public property.
If you are a smoker, a vandal or just a nuisance, you will be a topic of Tuesday’s Council meeting.
When they return from their summer hiatus on Aug. 4, the members of the Buncombe County Board of Commissioners will tackle a number of issues on the agenda, including a smoking ban in all county facilities and all county-owned property.
In January, something once considered unthinkable will come to pass. Across North Carolina—once the heartland of tobacco—smoking will be banned in bars and restaurants. Smoke ‘em if you got ‘em (for now): Hookah Joe’s owner Joseph McHugh and bartender Cara Diggins enjoy a puff. Hookahs fall under the new state smoking ban, which will take […]
Come Jan. 2, 2010, smoking in bars and restaurants will be illegal throughout North Carolina, due to a bill signed into law yesterday by Gov. Beverly Perdue. What do you think about the coming smoking ban?
