Tobaccobytes

Celebrate Smoke Free Grand Forks at the Fall Frolic on August 17th!

hthorson — Thu, 29 Jul 2010 20:25:22 +0000

Fall Frolic 10K/5K/Kids Run

Food, Fun, and Activity for All Ages!

Tuesday, August 17th

First Run at 6:15pm

Riverside Park, Grand Forks, ND

Celebrate Smoke Free Grand Forks and Fresh Air

Click HERE for the Fall Frolic Registration Form

Smoke Free Grand Forks on August 15th !

hthorson — Thu, 06 May 2010 15:04:26 +0000

The Smoke Free Workplace and Public Place Ordinance ( No 4290) that was passed by the Grand Forks City Council on April 5th, will take effect on August 15th as intended. In an attempt to refer this ordinance, area bar owners have been collecting signatures on petitions for the last 30 days. Although they only needed 3805, their original goal was 6000 to allow for duplicate or invalid signatures. Breaking news yesterday on the gfherald.com website indicated that the bar owners were still about 1800 short of the required number, putting them nearly 3000 short of their original goal.

This truly proves that the citizens of Grand Forks were ready for this policy. Smoke free environments are becoming the national norm and Grand Forks recognizes that. Get ready, because on August 15th, we’re clearing the air…

GF Bar Owners to Refer Smoke Free Law to Ballot

hthorson — Mon, 03 May 2010 17:06:55 +0000

After the Grand Forks City Council’s majority vote to strenghthen the local smoke-free law on April 5th, the local bar owners have decided to refer the new ordinance to a ballot by gathering signatures on petitions. By virtue of the City of Grand Fork’s Home Rule Charter, any ordinance enacted by the City Council can be referred to a vote of the people through the gathering of signatures on circulated petitions within 30 days. This gives the bar owners in GF until May 6th.

The number of signatures that the bar owners will need is determined by the number of residents of the City of Grand Forks that voted in the last gubernatorial election (November of 2008). The Home Rule Charter states that in order to refer, the Committee of Petitioners needs to collect signatures from 15% of the number of voters from the November 2008 election. By record, this equals 3,805 signatures.

The Grand Forks Tobacco Free Coalition will be monitoring the progress of the petitions, but a survey conducted by the Social Science Research Institute at the University of North Dakota indicated that the support in the community for strengthening the local ordinance is very strong.

The voice of the community has spoken, and the Grand Forks City Council decided to listen.

Grand Forks City Council Passes Stronger Smoke-Free Law

hthorson — Mon, 03 May 2010 16:53:00 +0000

The Grand Forks City Council strengthened the local smoke-free law on April 5th to include bars, truckstops, and casinos. Councilmembers Glassheim, Kruen, and Christian voted in favor of the amendments, while Councilmembers McNamara, Bakken, and Bjerke voted against the amendments. Mayor Mike Brown cast the tie breaking vote, in favor of expanding the laws protections to bars, truckstops, and casinos. The new law is slated to take effect on August 15th, 2010. The language of the new law can be found on the tobaccobytes.com website.

Strong Support For Strengthening Smokefree Workplace

hthorson — Tue, 26 Jan 2010 02:38:37 +0000

Recent survey results show strong support for strengthening Grand Forks’ Smokefree Workplace and Public Place Ordinance

Did You Know ???

hthorson — Wed, 30 Dec 2009 15:41:56 +0000

Strong smoke-free laws in local communities can reduce heart attack admissions to the emergency room by up to 41% …