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Posts tagged as “smoking”

Vaccines, Cigarettes, Freedom, and Ignorance

Oh look: South Dakota's #2... in measles! Asterisk our #2: four of the cases mapped around Mitchell are folks from other states inflating our numbers. I heard Senator Rand Paul on NPR yesterday saying he's not against vaccinations but that…

HB 1083 Allows Fire Districts to Sue Smokers for Starting Fires

The war against cigarette liberty creeps into your home and your pocketbook. House Bill 1083 would allow rural fire districts and other political subdivisions to recoup the cost of fighting fires from the negligent folks who start them. HB 1083…

States Lag in Tobacco Prevention Spending; South Dakota Better than Most

The Center for Disease Control's latest Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report (yes, such pleasurable afternoon reading) assesses states' use of their tobacco settlement money and tobacco taxes. We love that revenue so much that we have spent only a tiny…

Rapid Hookah Lounge Closes; Can’t Handle Business Fundamentals

Classified Hookah didn't last long in Rapid City... and there doesn't appear to be a single government regulation we can blame. Instead, conservatives looking for another smoky cause célèbre will have to blame the tyranny of the mob—also known as…

Hookah Hocum: Rapid City Lounge Owners Challenge Smoking Ban

Give Ifrits Hookah Lounge in Rapid City points for legal creativity. As Police chief Steve Allender prepares to enforce the state's smoking ban on the establishment, the lounge's lawyer says its hookah smokers aren't really smoking: Hookah smoking, which originated…

Casino-Owning Senator Whines About Following Laws, Paying Taxes

South Dakota voters carved out a special constitutional privilege for the city of Deadwood, allowing entrepreneurs to make money that other South Dakota communities cannot, with casino gambling. Asking for further exceptions and exemptions from state law—e.g., the exception to…

Deadwood Gambling Down: Smoking Ban, or National Trend?

As I catch up on news in my new local paper, I read that gambling revenue for July was down 4% from the amount from the same month last year. For 2011 so far, gambling revenue is down 6.7% compared…