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Dec 5, 2007 6:52 am US/Mountain
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Greeley Council Votes To Ban Tobacco Samples
GREELEY, Colo. (CBS4) ―
The Greeley City Council voted 4 to 3 Tuesday nigh tot ban free chewing tobacco samples at the Greeley Stampede. A major sponsor of the event is the company that has handed out the samples to those 18-years of age and older in previous years.
It wasn't clear Tuesday if U.S. Smokeless Tobacco was going to pull its sponsorship. If the company did pull out, it could mean the loss of a scoreboard at the Stampede for which U.S. Smokeless Tobacco pays.
In similar situations when this has happened at other events, the company has both pulled its sponsorship and stayed.
Mayor Ed Clark and council members Don Feldhaus and Maria Secrest voted against the ban.
Opponents of the ban said government shouldn't take the choice to use tobacco out of the hands of the public.
"I believe you run the risk of being a nanny state," Clark said. "I think that when we start telling people that they're 18-years-old and they don't have the right to walk into a tent and take a sample, it's a bad choice."
Proponents insist a ban is necessary to protect the health of Greeley residents.
Boulder and Denver have similar bans on free smokeless tobacco samples.
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