Bingo crowds smaller after smoking ban

The atmosphere is a little clearer, but fewer people seem to be taking in the air at the Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1298 on bingo nights.
One week after the veterans organization voted to go smoke-free for nights when it hosts charitable gaming events, attendance for those events - which are held to raise money for the local post - has fallen off noticeably.
Malcolm Cherry, past quartermaster for the VFW, said the post is now holding charitable gaming two nights a week after years of doing it weekly.
"I don't know at this point by averaging the two nights together if we're at about the same amount of income as we used to be," Cherry said.
The VFW and American Legion Post 23 were involved in a months-long legal tangle with the city over the ordinance banning smoking in public buildings.
Both veterans organizations claimed that the ordinance should not apply to their facilities, claiming in legal documents that they were private organizations that catered specifically to members and their guests.
Cherry claimed in affidavits and courtroom testimony that the ordinance had a harmful effect on both organizations, driving down attendance at charitable gaming events and reducing the revenue each organization saw from gaming.
City police issued multiple citations at the VFW and Legion posts, but a ruling last month from Warren District Court Judge Brent Potter that dismissed one of the citations issued at the American Legion post led to an agreement in which the city would stop enforcing the citation at both facilities.
After the court victory, the VFW's membership voted last week to go smoke-free, and the American Legion will entertain a similar vote Jan. 25.
Cherry said the vote to go smoke-free was taken to prevent further controversy, as well as a decision that should have been the post's to make from the beginning.
"I'm still of the opinion that the City Commission should revisit this thing," Cherry said. "After all, they did revisit the fireworks ordinance and I'd like to see if they wouldn't reconsider just doing away with that smoking ban and leaving it up to the business owners as it should have been in the first place."
If low attendance persists at the VFW, Cherry said the post will consider additional fundraisers, such as having a band fronted by one of the post's members play regular performances.
Cherry also mused about the possibility of putting the VFW post's kitchen to use for a pop-up restaurant.
"We do have a fully equipped kitchen out there," Cherry said. "We feed the National Guard and the Army Reserve all the time on their weekend drills; we can feed other people, too."

Stony Stratford Smoking Ban Back On Town Council's Agenda

Councillor Paul Bartlett's proposal to ban smoking in large areas within the Stony Stratford will be discussed again at the Town Council meeting tomorrow evening, Tuesday 17th January.

The new proposal reads as follows:

Stony Stratford Town Council seeks the implementation of a smoking ban by means of a bye-law and relevant consultation at the following locations:
All publicly owned spaces (Parks Trust, NHS, MKC, SSTC etc) that are parkland, children's play areas; public car parks (including inside vehicles); within 25 metres of school premises; 'greens' such as Horsefair Green, Fullers Slade; Galley Hill, all allotments, bus shelters and within 25 metres of public toilets and public buildings.

Two previous proposals relating to the proposed smoking ban were discussed at the Town Council meeting in July 2011. Both proposals were rejected as nobody present at the meeting was prepared to second either of them.

Gaston College bans smoking

When Gaston College students returned to classes after Christmas break, they found a slightly altered environment.

As of Jan. 1, the college became tobacco-free. The new rule applies to all three campuses - Dallas, Belmont and Lincolnton.

About six months ago, the N.C. Community College system had 30 tobacco-free campuses, but Gaston wasn't on the list.

But the campus is now smoke-free through the efforts of the Gaston Student Government Association. In 2010, the group formed a campuswide committee to survey students about the possibility of banning tobacco.

The majority favored the idea, and the Board of Trustees approved it last May.

That's good news - for smokers and nonsmokers. Students who don't use tobacco will no longer have to dodge second-hand smoke; and smokers may be inspired to give up the habit.

As a former smoker, I know quitting isn't easy. I loved every one of the million or so cigarettes I puffed: filtered, nonfiltered, menthol, regular, foreign, domestic, lights, full-strength, name brands, off brands. Cigars. Pipes. Even chewing tobacco. I tried them all.

But with the support of my wife, I walked away from tobacco. It was like stepping into a new world. I no longer smelled like an ashtray. I felt clean. And in the clarity that came my way, smokers suddenly stood out. When I saw somebody dangling a cigarette out of a car window at a traffic light, I wanted to yell: "Coffin nails will kill you."

I'm offended when I pass somebody smoking on the Gastonia greenway or a school walking track. That happened twice last weekend. The guy getting his exercise while puffing on a cigar took the cake. I wanted to warn him about the dangers of smoking but kept quiet; it was none of my business.