Commissioners approve smoking ban

Even though it seemed as though the board of commissioners was going to designate specific smoking areas in the township’s larger parks, by the end of the night all Upper Moreland parks had become smoke-free.
The board unanimously approved an ordinance that prohibited smoking from all township parks and immediately following the approval of the ordinance, a 3-3 split decision voted down a resolution that would have designated specific smoking areas in the township. With the failure of the resolution no areas were specified.
The months-long discussion started after the parks and recreation advisory council recommended that the board ban smoking to reduce litter in the parks, promote a healthy lifestyle and send a message to the community’s youth.
Although happy with the outcome Commissioner James McKenna said he was upset it took so long to make the decision.
“I can’t believe we wasted so many hours discussing this asinine topic,” he said. “If we designated areas for smokers we would be facilitating smoking and using tax dollars to do so.”
The township’s contribution to the smoking areas would be approximately $5,000 to $6,000 to provide benches, places to throw out cigarette butts and trash cans.
As a former smoker, Jonathan de Jonge, an advisory planning agency member believed there wasn’t even a choice.
“If you wouldn’t go home and offer your kids a pack of cigarettes tonight your answer should be no to this vote,” he said. “Tobacco is a highly addictive substance and if it was just introduced to society today it would not be allowed.”
For Dennis Hurley, also a former smoker, the decision shouldn’t be about constitutional rights, it should be about protecting the younger generations.
“The only nice thing I have heard anyone mention tonight is the kids,” he said. “By designating certain areas we are telling our kids that it’s not OK to smoke here, but if you go over there you’re OK. That isn’t doing anything for them.”
Like half of the commissioners, Pat Stasio, the township’s director of parks and recreation, believed a total ban was the way to go.
“I think we are still inviting everyone to enjoy our parks but we’re asking them to do it in a safe manner,” he said, adding that a complete ban would make the ordinance more enforceable.
For some of the commissioners though, a total ban was too much too soon.
The discussion between the commissioners included personal choice, a person’s right to smoke and the ability to enforce the ban.
“Most areas of our lives are grey and this is one of them,” Commissioner Sam Valenza said. “I think we need to compromise.”
Commissioner Lisa Romaniello agreed.
“I think we’ve taken a big step tonight,” she said, adding that she believes smokers should have the opportunity to appreciate the parks. “We could always go back and change the resolution at a later date. The big thing tonight is that we took a step forward.”
Although the ordinance says the change will take affect five days after it’s voted on, the township will be spending the next several months informing the public about the change and, through pamphlets, work to educate park-goers on why the decision is was made. Stasio said the parks and recreation department would look at implementing the ordinance in early spring.

Confiscation of illegal cigarettes plummets

The number of illegal cigarettes confiscated in Wisconsin plummeted to 763 packs in the fiscal year that ended June 30 after soaring after a $1 per pack cigarette tax increase in January 2008. In the months surrounding the 2008 increase, the state Department of Revenue confiscated 12,040 packs of cigarettes that lacked the required Wisconsin tax stamp. 
Confiscation numbers vary from year to year based on market and enforcement activity, said Department of Revenue spokeswoman Jessica Iverson. Ahead of the tax increase in 2008, revenue agents were working to educate retailers about the increase and check existing inventories for the tax stamp, she said. 
"Because we had such a wide presence out in the field leading up to the cigarette tax increase, our agents do shift focus to other enforcement activities," Iverson said.
The number of cigarettes confiscated this fiscal year could jump again with another tax increase on the horizon. 
The state cigarette tax will increase from $1.77 a pack to $2.52 a pack on Sept. 1. The increase, part of the budget passed this summer, is expected to generate about $300 million for the state over the next two years, according to the Legislative Fiscal Bureau. 
The Revenue Department is mounting a similar field presence ahead of that tax increase, Iverson said. All retailers are required to do an inventory of their cigarettes and pay a floor tax on those packs. 
Pam Christenson, director of public affairs for the Wisconsin Petroleum Marketers and Convenience Store Association, said the group’s members typically buy cigarettes from wholesalers that already have tax stamps. 
"(Our members) are very aware of the regulations and are good about following the rules and purchasing the legal stamped cigarettes," Christenson said. 
With the Sept. 1 increase, Wisconsin’s cigarette tax will be fifth highest nationally and tops among surrounding states, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. In Minnesota, it is $1.56 a pack; in Michigan, $2; in Iowa, $1.36; and in Illinois, 98 cents. The federal cigarette tax rose by 62 cents a pack in April.