25 Ways to Waste Your Money

Has your budget sprung a leak?

Nearly everyone has spending holes. And as with other kinds of leaks, you may have hardly noticed them. But those small drips can quickly add up to big bucks. The trick is to find the holes and plug them so you can keep more money in your pocket. That extra cash could be the ticket to finally being able to save, invest, or break your cycle of living from paycheck to paycheck.

Here are 25 common ways people waste money. See if any of these sound familiar, then look for ways to plug your own leaks:

1. Carrying a balance. Debt is a shackle that holds you back. For instance, if you have a $1,000 balance on a credit card that charges an 18% rate, you blow $180 every year on interest. Get in the habit of paying off your balance in full each month.

2. Overspending on gas and oil for your car. There's no need to spring for premium fuel if the manufacturer says regular is just fine. You should also check to make sure your tires are optimally inflated to get the best gas mileage. And are you still paying for an oil change every 3,000 miles? Many models nowadays can last 5,000 to 7,000 miles between changes, and some even have built-in sensors to tell you when it's time to change the oil. Check your manual to find the best time for your car's routine maintenance.

3. Keeping unhealthy habits. Smoking costs a lot more than just what you pay for a pack of cigarettes. It significantly increases the cost of life and health insurance. And you'll pay more for homeowners and auto insurance. Add in various other expenses, and the true cost of smoking adds up dramatically over a lifetime -- $86,000 for a 24-year-old woman over a lifetime and $183,000 for a 24-year-old man over a lifetime, according to "The Price of Smoking" (The MIT Press).

Another habit to quit: indoor tanning. There is now a 10% tax on indoor tanning services. As with cigarettes, the true cost of tanning -- which the World Health Organization lists among the worst-known carcinogens -- is higher than just the price you pay each time you go to the salon.

4. Using a cell phone that doesn't fit. How many people do you know who have spent hundreds of dollars on fancy phones, and then pay hundreds of dollars every month for the privilege of using them? Your phone is not a status symbol. It is a way to communicate. Many people pay too much for cell phone contracts and don't use all their minutes. Go to BillShrink.com or Validas.com to evaluate your usage and see if you can find a plan that fits you better. Or consider a prepaid cell phone. Compare rates at MyRatePlan.com.

5. Buying brand-name instead of generic. From groceries to clothing to prescription drugs, you could save money by choosing the off-brand over the fancy label. And in many cases, you won't sacrifice much in quality. Clever advertising and fancy packaging don't make brand-name products better than lesser-known brands

See 20 more money savings tips:  http://finance.yahoo.com/banking-budgeting/article/112202/25-ways-to-waste-your-money?mod=bb-budgeting

St. Louis County wins federal anti-smoking grant

CLAYTON, Mo. (KMOX) -- The St. Louis County Health Department is getting help from Washington, via a nearly $7.6 million tobacco education and cessation grant.

Read the report at: http://www.kmox.com/pages/6615811.php?contentType=4&contentId=5780031

Smoking Ages You 10 Years

Smoking Not Only Shortens Life Expectancy, It Also Affects the Quality of Life in Old Age
By Caroline Wilbert
WebMD Health News
Reviewed by Louise Chang, MD

Not only does smoking shorten life expectancy, it also has a significant impact on the quality of life in old age, according to a new study.

The Finnish study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, evaluated data on 1,658 white men born between 1919 and 1934 of similar socioeconomic status. They were participating in the Helsinki Businessmen study. At the start of the study, in 1974, all men were healthy. Their cardiovascular risks and smoking habits were evaluated at that time. The men were re-evaluated 26 years later through surveys. At that time, there had been 372 deaths.

Participants who had never smoked lived an average of 10 years longer than heavy smokers (defined as more than 20 cigarettes per day). The quality of life of the surviving participants was measured using a survey scale that measures health-related quality of life in categories including physical functioning, role limitations caused by health problems, role limitations caused by emotional problems, social functioning, emotional well-being, fatigue/energy, and general health perception.

The greatest difference was between those who had never smoked and heavy smokers. Two categories where the differences were particularly stark: physical functioning and role limitations caused by health issues.

Nearly 70% of the heavy smokers in 1974 had quit by 2000. However, the researchers write that the effect of smoking status at the start of the study still had a strong impact on death and quality of life.

What Is Real About Smoking?

Most smokers will admit that they are addicted. But many fail to realize that most addicts have a strong bias and deny many facts in an effort to feel comfortable with their addiction. One biased belief is that second hand smoke is not a big deal. This is reinforced by non-smokers who tend to tell smokers that it doesn't bother them (so they take on the role of an enabler).

For more than five decades I tolerated second hand smoke and told smokers I didn't mind. But this misled smokers and served to encourage them to believe that second hand smoke is not a problem. Although I still don't feel free to complain, I need to change my tune.

Most of us know that scientific tests prove that second hand smoke does have a real impact on people's health. Most people know that the real problem is not the smell, but that it is toxic. As a group, smokers can shorten a non-smokers life by 6 days, 6 months, or is it 6 years? Regardless of how long, do you realize how serious this is?

THE CANADIAN PRESS reported on March 18, 2009 that in Ontario, drivers caught smoking in a vehicle with a minor presently face fines up to $255. About half of Canada's provinces have similar laws.

So I must ask the reader? Would you consider smoking indoors in the presence of others to be (a) impolite, (b) bad manors (c) obnoxious (d) potentially criminal behavior or (e) both c and d ?

In your journey through life, how do you want to travel?

From Mike Roberts

Just a reminder of the smoking sources of the bans

Just a reminder of the sources of the bans, the RWJ Foundation, owned by big pharma, and the coalitions, more concerned with "social change" than the bans themselves:

http://www.rwjf.org/pr/product.jsp?ia=143&id=14912

And what the 99 million dollars was going to. Note on page seven the "inside -out", provision going for patios later, AFTER business owners spend thousands of dollars to build them to accommodate their smoking customers, clearly showing that the tobacco control activists have ABSOLUTLY NO CONCERN about local issues or businesses.

They will only allow a ban with exemptions at first to find gullible lawmakers to get a foot in the door. The last pages instruct them to keep returning every year until ALL exemptions are gone.

You may need to CTRL and scoll to enlarge it.
http://www.no-smoke.org/pdf/CIA_Fundamentals.pdf

My asthma is a result of second hand smoke as a child

A friend of mine wrote me today to tell me about some health problems she's suddenly been faced with.

"I've had more medicine lately than an old woman. The doctors say my asthma is a result of second hand smoke as a child. I was diagnosed with that a few years ago. Both of my parents smoked like a chimney the whole time I lived at home. They have both quit now but the damage is done. Daddy has emphysema and my mom has multiple heart and pulmonary issues."

No, she does not live in St. Louis County. Never the less, St. Louis County residents pay for her family's medical expenses through our increased insurance premiums . . . and federal taxes, etc.

We have to start somewhere to stop this crazyness. What do you think?

Non-Smoking Ordinance Available On-line

Ordinance 24,105 calling and providing for the holding of an election in St. Louis County on the third day of November 2009, for the purpose of submitting to the qualified voters of the county a proposition to prohibit smoking in enclosed public places is available at:
http://www.co.st-louis.mo.us/index.cfm?ViewMe=13440

Why Ban Smoking? Heavy Smoking Ages You 10 Years

Smoking Not Only Shortens Life Expectancy, It Also Affects the Quality of Life in Old Age - But Some People Don't Want to Ban It.

Not only does smoking shorten life expectancy, it also has a significant impact on the quality of life in old age, according to a study.

The Finnish study, published in the Archives of Internal Medicine, evaluated data on 1,658 white men born between 1919 and 1934 of similar socioeconomic status. They were participating in the Helsinki Businessmen study. At the start of the study, in 1974, all men were healthy. Their cardiovascular risks and smoking habits were evaluated at that time. The men were re-evaluated 26 years later through surveys. At that time, there had been 372 deaths.

Participants who had never smoked lived an average of 10 years longer than heavy smokers (defined as more than 20 cigarettes per day). The quality of life of the surviving participants was measured using a survey scale that measures health-related quality of life in categories including physical functioning, role limitations caused by health problems, role limitations caused by emotional problems, social functioning, emotional well-being, fatigue/energy, and general health perception.

The greatest difference was between those who had never smoked and heavy smokers. Two categories where the differences were particularly stark: physical functioning and role limitations caused by health issues.

Nearly 70% of the heavy smokers in 1974 had quit by 2000. However, the researchers write that the effect of smoking status at the start of the study still had a strong impact on death and quality of life.

StL County Council Votes to Place Smoking Ban on Ballot

Last night, the St. Louis County Council approved the measure calling for the election. The vote was 4-3. Most indoor areas are included in the ban. Bars and casinos are the major exemptions.

Barbara Fraser, the measure's champion on the Council and a candidate for state Senate, said she hopes the groups realize it's just a beginning. "Indiana, Pennsylvania, Illinois, California, all of those states took small steps and then took larger steps when they had a mass of people who could support clean air," she said.

The County Council did the right thing in letting county citizens vote on the issue. Unfortunately, no one on the council has stepped forward to propose letting citizens vote on the maligned trash program. Instead they're leaving it up to the courts to make the decision for them.

County Council May Allow Exemptions For Smoking In Establishments. Why Not For Trash?

Question:
If St. Louis County voters decide on Nov. 3 to ban smoking in indoor public places, county officials would take the word of bar owners who apply for an exemption?

Next Question:
Why can't county officials (including the County Council) take the word of all residents who apply for an exemption from their maligned trash and recycle program?

Currently county officials take the word of some residents, but not all. Those who are exempted live in a subdivision and asked to be exempted from the law. Local residents have cried "Discrimination" but their complaints have fallen on deaf ears with Council members but are now being heard in the courts. What a waste of time and money.

Regarding the proposed smoking regulation . . . An election bill exempts casino floors and “drinking establishments” whose income from food is 25 percent or less of gross income. Exemption applicants would certify they meet the measure’s requirements. An earlier version of the smoking ban bill would have required them to submit receipts and data about their expenses and income relating to food and alcohol sales to support their applications.

On Tuesday night, the St. Louis County Council voted 4-3 at its regular meeting to move the bill toward final passage next week. More court battles?

Comments please.

. . . Submitted by Mike Roberts

St. L County May Put Smoking on Ballot, But Not Trash

The St. Louis County Council may vote on a proposal to place the question of smoking in public places to a vote of county residents. It could go to the voters in November.

St. Louis County Councilwoman, Barbara Fraser of University City requested that legislation for a ban be drawn up similar to the one enacted by the City of Clayton. Ms. Fraser says the ban would be great for the county and that the timing is good.

At the same time, the County Council ignores giving county residents an opportunity to vote on the County’s trash districting program that has been embroiled for more than two years now. Law suits are pending in the courts, summons being issued to county residents, rally’s being held at court hearings, local trash haulers scrambling for business and more.

If a smoking ban is placed on the ballot, why not trash which some say a two year notice is required to trash haulers.

County Executive Charles Dooley opposed the last smoking ban ordinance and he also opposes placing the trash program to a vote.

St. Louis City leaders have declared that any attempt to outlaw smoking in the city will fail unless the county also enacts such a ban. A St. Louis aldermanic committee has postponed action on the bill until the fall.

Last week, the Kirkwood City Council decided to let voters rule on a smoking ban in November.
..

County Implements Trash Program for Health Reasons, But Supports Smoking for Financial Reasons

St. Louis County ignores the health of county residents by opposing a smoking ban, but says their trash program is to protect the health of its citizens. (Does trash cause cancer?)

Backers of the plan are discouraged, after St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley came out against the ban this week. Dooley says the proposed city-county ban would hurt the economy."I'm not going to do anything I think would impede St. Louis County as we move forward," Dooley said, "I think a smoking ban really needs to be done statewide."

When asked about the moral issue of second-hand smoke, Dooley said he didn't want to address that issue, because he's "not a scientist." Few people are scientists so that’s why we rely on the scientific community to do their work. Scientists tell us smoking doesn't just cut a few months off the end of your life. It reduces the life of the average smoker by 12 years. Hello.

(Source: excerpt from Smoking It's Never Too Late to Stop - Age Page - Health Information: NIA)

Creve Coeur anti-smoking plea reaches St. Louis County Council

From the St. Louis Post-Dispatch . . . .

Creve Coeur’s request that St. Louis County ban smoking in public places today officially reached the county council.

The resolution is on the agenda for council meeting at 6 p.m. Tuesday in the County Administration Building in Clayton. The council today made public the session’s agenda and its supporting material. The Creve Coeur City Council adopted the anti-smoking resolution on March 23.

The resolution says smoking is a health hazard not only to smokers, but to people around them. It calls for a county ordinance that would ban smoking in public places including restaurants and bars. The measure should “guarantee the rights of patrons and employees to breathe in a smoke-free environment,” the resolution says.

The Creve Coeur council passed a similar resolution on Feb. 28, 2005.

Smoking Ban Debate Set for March 17; To Breath Clean Air or Not

On Tuesday (3/17) at 7pm CT, the Federalist Society will host an anticipated debate on the proposed local and statewide public smoking bans. Arguing the pro-ban side will be GASP founding member Martin Pion and making anti-ban arguments will be CATO Institute chairman and DC v. Heller co-counsel Robert Levy as well as St. Louis Federal Reserve economist and St. Louis University economics professor Michael R. Pakko.

Exploring the merits and constitutionality of recent highly controversial smoking ban proposals, the debate promises a lively discussion of the merits and constitutionality and boasts such high-profile invitees as Mayor Slay of St. Louis, Mayor Joseph L. Adams of University City and Mayor Harold Dielmann of Creve Coeur among others.

RSVP to me if you plan to attend or send someone in your stead. (Event details and speaker bios copied below.)

KERRY BROWN
CRC Public Relations
2760 Eisenhower Ave., 4th Floor
Alexandria, VA 22314
703-683-5004 x. 120
703-683-5005 kbrown@crcpublicrelations.com

You’re Invited to a Smoking Ban Debate Hosted by the Federalist Society

Who: Bob Levy (Anti-Ban) - Cato Institute chairman of the board of directors, former clerk to Judge Royce Lamberth on the US District Court and Judge Douglas Ginsburg on the US Court of Appeals, co-counsel in DC v. Heller.

Martin Pion (Pro-Ban) - degree in Physics and Math from London University, England, founding member of Missouri GASP (Group Against Smoking Pollution)

Michael R. Pakko (Anti-Ban) - Research Officer and Economist at the St. Louis Federal Reserve, Research Fellow at the Show-Me Institute in St. Louis and former Adjunct Asst. Professor of Economics at St. Louis University

What: A debate over the merits and constitutionality of smoking bans generally and whether St. Louis or the State of Missouri should ban smoking from all public places.
When: Tuesday, March 17, 2009
6:30pm CT catered dinner
7-8pm CT debate

Where: Regional Arts Commission
6128 Delmar Blvd.
St. Louis, MO 63112

To RSVP to the debate or to schedule an interview with Mr. Levy or Mr. Pakko, please contact Kerry Brown at 703-683-5004 x.120 or kbrown@crcpublicrelations.com.

Clayton Needs a Smoking Ban in Restaurants and Work Place

Clayton could become the next local community to snuff out smoking in public places. Mayor Linda Goldstein and a majority on the city's Board of Aldermen appear almost ready to enact a ban in their own restaurant-heavy city.

Their officials decided a ban was an idea worth pursuing and intend to organize public meetings and surveys to find out what residents and businesses, especially restaurants, want.

They will look at five different forms of smoking bans. The most restrictive would ban smoking entirely indoors at public places and at their outdoor entryways. The least restrictive would require indoor restaurants to be smoke-free, but not outdoor patios, hotels or tobacco stores. of Five area mayors recently asked the St. Louis County Council and County Municipal League to look into a countywide ban.

Countywide efforts to ban smoking in public places failed in 2005 and 2006. County Executive Charlie Dooley supports a statewide ban but opposes the county acting without simultaneous bans in St. Charles County and St. Louis city. St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay's views are similar to Dooley's. These two leaders are playing politics. (We will do it, if you will do it. No, you do it first. No, YOU do it first)

Goldstein said she has received e-mails from out-of-town visitors saying that after visiting Clayton they had to go home and get their clothes cleaned because of smoke at hotels and restaurants. Goldstein told the aldermen Tuesday night that she wanted to make sure that all parties, especially the city's approximately 80 restaurants, are heard.

Several aldermen — clearly a majority — expressed strong support for a smoking ban of some sort in Clayton. "It's a public health issue," said Alderman Andrea Maddox-Dallas.Alderman Steven Lichtenfeld said, "I, too, am supportive of a smoking ban." (100% of the population breath, but only 25% of the population smoke. Duh! Let's use some common sense)

Illinois banned smoking in public places in January 2008. In Missouri, Lee's Summit, Columbia, Blue Springs, Springfield, Nixa and Kirksville restrict smoking, and in the St. Louis area, Ballwin and Arnold have bans.

Ballwin Mayor Walt Young, whose city banned smoking in restaurants and bars in January 2006, told the Clayton board Tuesday night that most people who came to the restaurants appreciated the smoke-free environment.

Young said that a ban should be a regional issue but that it had to start with the municipalities because no other government had been willing.In an interview Wednesday, Young said, "I urged (Clayton officials) to pass a ban on smoking but to get their neighbors to do so also."The Ballwin Board of Aldermen unanimously adopted on Monday night a resolution supporting regional or statewide action against smoking in public places.

Bill Hannegan, with Keep St. Louis Free, said in an interview that his organization would oppose any attempt by Clayton to establish a ban. "Businesses should be free to allow smoking, especially if they clear the air with available technology," Hannegan said. He said that at least two restaurant-bars in Clayton used special air filtration systems. One customer said, The only way technology can help is to put the smoker in a bubble. Let's be real."

William Lenz, a bartender at Kilkenny's Irish Pub and Restaurant in Clayton, said that it would be nice to work in a smoke-free environment, but he is worried that a ban could drive away customers. "Customers who smoke could go to Richmond Heights or Chesterfield, and downtown and Clayton would feel it," Lenz said.

Lenz comes from smoke-free Lawrence, Kan. The ban worked well there, he said, "because everyone went nonsmoking at once."

Smokers, on the average, die 12 years earlier than non-smokers

Smoking is an individual decision with serious societal costs, and the biggest one is health. The medical costs of smoking-related illness in Missouri are about $2.13 billion each year.

We all end up paying that tab, either indirectly through higher insurance payments or directly in taxes paid for Medicare and Medicaid, the state-federal health insurance programs for poor and disabled people. State and federal taxpayers spend about $535 million a year to treat smoking-related illness in Missouri Medicaid patients.

One reason the tab is so high is that nearly a third of people on Medicaid are smokers, about 10 percentage points higher than the state average. The map on this page, based on data from the largest and most comprehensive survey on smoking habits ever conducted in Missouri, shows smoking rates in each of Missouri’s 114 counties and the city of St. Louis. The rates range from almost 35 percent in Mississippi and Washington counties to slightly more than 14 percent in Nodaway County.

Some of the highest smoking rates are found in counties in which Medicaid enrollment rates — the percentage of the population getting care through Medicaid — are the highest. That helps explain why advocates for the poor are trying to get Missouri Medicaid to add coverage for anti-smoking drugs and counseling.

About one of every five deaths in Missouri each year is tobacco-related. Nationally, for every smoker who dies, 20 more are diagnosed with serious illnesses. That would be almost 200,000 people a year in our state.

More than half of Missouri smokers say they want to quit. You might think people who can buy their own cigarettes should be able to buy drugs to help them quit. But in a perverse twist of tobacco economics, anti-smoking aids are more expensive than cigarettes — at least until you factor in smoking-related health costs that usually come decades after the fact.

Let's face facts. Smokers, on the average, die 12 years sooner than non-smokers.

Kudos to Five Mayors Willing to Stand Up to Smoking Bullies

Monday, Jan. 26 2009
From the Riverfront Times . . .

Congratulations to the mayors of Clayton, Creve Coeur, Olivette, Overland and University City. Last month they sent a letter to the St. Louis County Council and other municipal mayors asking for a county-wide ban on smoking in public places. These five mayors did so despite the loud and vitriolic protests of the smoking minority and the real threat of losing votes to business owners who say a smoking ban would cost them customers. The latter concern has some merit should the ban take place only in St. Louis County, but efforts are also afoot to prohibit smoking in public places in St. Louis City. As I wrote a few weeks back, St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay has suggested he'd pursue a regional smoking ban that included St. Louis County. Still, smoking opponents face one possible -- and very significant -- roadblock.

Dooley, I say to you: Butt out!I'm not sure if St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley is still a cigarette smoker, but he was back in 2005 when former council member Kurt Odenwald suggested a bill that would ban smoking in public places in the county. Dooley snuffed out Odenwald's proposal like a stale Pall Mall, and non-smoking bar patrons and employees in the county have been paying the price ever since.

Let's hope that this time around Dooley is more receptive to the majority of his constituents. Having to step outside to smoke a cigarette is not persecution.

FACT: Area Smokers Die Younger and the Rest of Us Pay for It

The mayors of five adjacent cities in St. Louis County have reignited the smoking ban issue, asking the County Council to ban smoking in public places.

The council rejected a ban three years ago. Whether the new effort succeeds might depend on whether the city of St. Louis, St. Louis County and St. Charles County could enact a ban simultaneously. None of their leaders wants to go it alone and put their bars and restaurants at a disadvantage against competitors in a neighboring jurisdiction.

In the meantime, smokers and second hand smokers continue to die sooner. What gives? Does this make sense.

The mayors of Clayton, Creve Coeur, Olivette, Overland and University City say they are in favor of a no-smoking ban in public places.

A letter they sent last month to the County Council and other county mayors stated: "Smoking in public places is a critical public health issue in our communities and across the entire county." Critical? Hell no. It’s a matter of life and death.

Signing the document were Mayors Joseph L. Adams of University City, Jean Antoine of Olivette, Harold Dielmann of Creve Coeur, Linda Goldstein of Clayton and Mike Schneider of Overland.

St. Louis County Executive Charlie A. Dooley, a reported smoker, opposed the last smoking ban ordinance.

St. Louis Mayor Francis Slay always has been against the city proceeding alone on a ban. In a statement Friday, he said he wished every restaurant in the city were smoke-free by its own choice. "With that said, I would support a national, statewide or city-county policy that restricted smoke in restaurants," he said.

It seems as if no politician will go it alone. They feel there is security in numbers, while St. Louis area residents continue to die sooner than expected.


St. Charles County lacks the jurisdiction-wide health powers of St. Louis and St. Louis County, Ehlmann said. A smoking ban in his county might require a voter-approved county charter amendment, he said.

Clayton Mayor Goldstein said her aldermen would discuss a city smoking ban at their work session on Feb. 10. "We are really at the beginning of our conversation on this," she said.

Managers at two popular bars in mid-St. Louis County said no-smoking ordinances that applied only in some municipalities would hurt some businesses, but will help others and help prevent citizens from DYING SOONER. HELLO!

Weber's Front Row, a bar and restaurant in Webster Groves says smoking is allowed in the bar but not the restaurant. Both sections have separate entrances, and no barrier is between them. And in the meantime, their employees continue to be exposed and are open to dying sooner. Of course none of us will be around 40-50 years from now to say, “I told you so.”

SECONDHAND HAZARD

St. Louis County Councilwoman Barbara Fraser, D-University City, said viewpoints often exclude one important group — employees.

"It's one thing for customers to choose or not to choose, but a lot of people working in smoky bars don't really have a choice," said Fraser, who supports the mayors' letter.

Black Jack Mayor Norman McCourt said a smoking ban should be at the state level. (Illinois enacted a statewide ban in January 2008.) The mayors' letter also said a smoking ban would be best at the state level. But "the political climate in our state" does not make such a ban likely, the document said.

State Rep. Joseph Fallert Jr., D-Ste. Genevieve, has introduced a constitutional amendment to prohibit smoking in public places or meetings and to authorize legislators to enact laws to implement the ban.

The smoking ban issue largely has been dormant in the St. Louis area since the County Council in 2006 rejected an attempt by former council member Kurt Odenwald, R-Shrewsbury, to prohibit smoking in public places.

Antoine, the mayor of Olivette, started the effort that led to the letter with a meeting of the five mayors in November. He believed a letter from the mayors in five adjacent communities would give it more impact.

Antoine, 64, said he smoked for 10 or 12 years before giving up the habit about 30 years ago. Secondhand smoke is a serious health hazard, he said. Recent studies by the Centers for Disease Control confirm that, he said.

Overland's Schneider said he is concerned that secondhand smoke hurts children. Duhhh.
Schneider had been a Scoutmaster and executive with the Boy Scouts for many years. "I always put anything for kids at the front of my agenda," he said.

Schneider said his support of a smoking ban is personal. He said he was 30 when his father died of lung cancer. The mayor said he does not worry that his position may be unpopular. If this is true, the mayor, like all the rest are “playing politics.”

Neither City or County's 2009 Agenda Bans Smoking

Where are our initiatives to ban public smoking?

Missouri is one of just sixteen states that doesn't have any kind of state-wide ban on public smoking. Mayor Slay may not have the pull in rural Missouri to initiate a state-wide ban, but it's high time he pushes for such an ordinance here in St. Louis.

If that means working with state legislators, so be it. An alternative would be for Slay and St. Louis County Executive Charlie Dooley to work together to push simultaneously for laws prohibiting smoking in bars and restaurants in the city and the county.

Are the contents of this bowl healthy? Just answer "Yes" or "No."

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