Philip Morris USA raises cigarette prices

CHICAGO (Reuters) - Philip Morris USA has raised prices on its top selling Marlboro and other brands, a company spokesman said on Monday.
The unit of Altria Group Inc is raising the price it charges wholesalers for Marlboro, Basic and L&M cigarettes by 6 cents a pack and the rest of its brands by 8 cents, Altria spokesman William Phelps said.
The average price of a pack of Marlboros was $5.29 in the third quarter.
The new prices take effect on Wednesday, he said.
Phelps declined to comment on the reason for the increase, but under a law passed in June that gives the Food and Drug Administration regulatory power over tobacco companies, those companies have to pay new fees to the agency.
Altria shares were up 16 cents, or almost 0.9 percent, at $18.09 in Monday morning trading.
Shares of rival Lorillard Inc fell 5.6 percent after that company posted profit that missed analysts estimates as it spent more on promotional offers to boost cigarette sales.

Hearing focuses on cigarette sales on Indian reservations

As state lawmakers Tuesday bemoaned losses from untaxed cigarette sales on Indian reservations, an attorney for Gov. David A. Paterson raised the prospect of violence if New York enforces laws aimed at recovering the funds.
Citing State Police, Peter J. Kiernan, counsel to the governor, said it was possible the cost to police of guarding collectors on reservations could surpass the taxes collected.
Native Americans testifying at the all-day hearing at Borough of Manhattan Community College Tuesday, most notably the Seneca Nation, strongly resisted the notion of paying state taxes on the sales to nontribal members. Violent confrontations accompanied two attempts at tax collection by the state in the 1990s.
"A police problem could quickly elevate to a military one," Kiernan said, adding Paterson is still considering how to move forward. He said the state favors a policy of negotiating a peaceful settlement.
Paterson's proposed resolution would establish minimum price levels for cigarette and fuel sales, which, if broached, would shift the difference to fund borrowings for infrastructure projects equally benefiting Indian reservations and nearby nontribal lands.
But looming large at Tuesday's hearing was the state's budget deficit. Numerous senators cited the shortfall and expressed frustration that existing laws to tax the cigarettes weren't being enforced. Measures empowering the state to collect the tax, including one signed by Paterson in December, are stalled, either in courts or as a result of negotiations with tribes.
Estimates of state losses from non-native cigarette sales range from $100 million to more than $1 billion annually. Yet costs for law enforcement, should the measures be enforced, could surpass more than $2 million a day, Kiernan said.
Emotions ran high at the hearing of the State Senate committee on investigations and government operations, chaired by state Sen. Craig Johnson (D-Port Washington).
When state Sen. Michael Nozzolio (R-Fayette) told Seneca Indian Nation co-counsel JC Seneca that he would "hope that the nation would not condone violence," and that Seneca didn't strike him as someone who would, Seneca said, "You don't know me very well, do you?"
While he said he was kidding, Seneca went on to mention a mural he said he sees in a state office building when he visits the governor's office, which he says depicts the killing of an Indian, and said: "You tell me about violence."
James F. Simermeyer, an attorney for the Poospatuck tribe, based in Mastic, noted it was the "smallest and poorest in New York," yet had drawn five federal lawsuits and various government enforcement actions. He added the tribe has not been invited to talks to resolve the tax collection. He called on the state to "deal with this tribe in all fairness as it does with other tribes."

Group urges Senate to expedite action on Tobacco bill

Sequel to the July 20 and 21 senate public hearing on the National Tobacco Control Bill 2009 (NTCB 2009) organised by the Senate Committee on Health, a non-governmental organisation, Environmental Rights Action/Friend of the Earth Nigeria (ERA/FoEN), has urged the National Assembly to fast track the presentation of the bill before the Senate plenary.
Akinbode Oluwafemi, the programme manager of ERA/FoEN, made this call, yesterday, at a press briefing to update the media on the status of the NTCB 2009, in Lagos.
"The bill has passed the first and second reading, and there was a public hearing in July. Now we are expecting that the Senate Committee on Health will present the ‘new bill' with the inputs of the public hearing to the plenary for discussion," said Mr. Oluwafemi.
The National Tobacco Control Bill 2009
The bill, sponsored by Adeleke Olorunnimbe Mamora, the senator representing Lagos East Constituency, sought to regulate and control the manufacture, sales, distribution, and marketing of tobacco products in the country. While the bill had no provision for forcefully closing down tobacco factories, it attempted to control tobacco consumption so as to reduce the deaths, ill-health, social, economic, and environmental costs associated with tobacco use.
It also sought to domesticate the World Health Organisation - initiated Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) which has already been ratified by 167 countries.
The FCTC is an internationally co-ordinated response to combat the tobacco epidemic. It tackles tobacco industry marketing campaigns executed in different countries and cigarette smuggling, often co-ordinated in many countries by the tobacco industries.
Mr. Oluwafemi said tobacco companies and their agents finally debunked their initial tales of massive job losses, up to 500, 000, if the country implements effective tobacco control laws during the public hearing.
"In fact, the British American Tobacco Company of Nigeria, which controls over 82 percent of the Nigerian cigarette market, disclosed that it has only 850 staff. The Association of Tobacco Wholesalers and Association of Tobacco Retailers put their combined strength at about 4, 000," Mr. Oluwafemi said.
Great expectations
According to Mr. Oluwafemi, the NTCB 2009 will not suffer implementation problems that previous public health bills have suffered.
"We'd learnt our lessons from those bills that there wereno clear provisions about who is going to enforce what? And in cases where they overlap, who does what? When you look at this bill clearly, it has everything well defined," he said.
On October 20, the Osun State House of Assembly passed the Osun State Prohibition of Smoking in Public Places Bill, 2009, making her the first and only state to pass the bill yet.
Mr. Oluwafemi said though Osun State had made more progress than the national bill, the enthusiasm shown during the public hearing by members of the public and the parliamentarians would enhance the speedy passage of the bill.
"We don't have any doubt that the people in the senate, from their submissions during the preliminary and second hearing of this bill, will give Nigerians a strong public health bill," the environmentalist said.

French parliament committee approves cigarette hike

ARIS (Reuters) - A French parliamentary committee approved on Wednesday a measure that would add 6 percent to the price of a packet of cigarettes from next year.
The social affairs committee of the National Assembly, or lower house, adopted an amendment to the 2010 social security budget specifying a 0.6 percent hike in cigarette taxes that would lift the overall price of cigarettes by 6 percent.
The amendment was adopted ahead of a full debate on the social security budget in parliament next week.
The government has declared its intention of pushing for higher cigarette prices to discourage smokers, despite objections from bars and cafes licensed to sell tobacco, which say they have already been hard hit by indoor smoking bans.

Government rejects further tobacco ad curbs

LONDON - The Government has rejected calls by MPs for a new crackdown on marketing by tobacco companies.
Ministers blocked a proposal to force cigarette-makers to submit detailed figures to the Department of Health every three months on their marketing and research activities - including their spending on online marketing, ads in the trade press and brand development. The Government would then have published the statistics - a move that could have paved the way for intervention to further limit spending on promotion.
The plan, by Labour's former health secretary Frank Dobson, was put forward in an amendment to the Health Bill, which will outlaw point-of-sale ads and vending machines, in an extension of the 2002 law banning press and poster ads.
Dobson told the Commons that the industry had been working out how to promote cigarettes for years and had been getting "more and more creative over the decades".
He cited "massive promotional activity" in music venues attended by young people and said the Government was continually "playing catch-up with the latest scam the tobacco industry has come up with".
Gillian Merron, the health minister, said she appreciated the sentiment behind Dobson's plan but, on balance, could not accept it.
"Before the Government could implement such a measure, we would need to consider carefully the burdens placed on business and Government alike, confidentiality, proportionality and, most importantly, effectiveness," she said.

Judge tosses evidence in Kan. tobacco trafficking

WICHITA, Kan. -- A federal judge has tossed out key evidence in the case against a Kansas tobacco wholesaler and his business associates who are accused of trying to avoid paying $25 million in cigarette taxes to Oklahoma and Indian tribes.
U.S. District Judge Monti Belot ruled Thursday that a Kansas Highway Patrol officer had no reason to suspect that the driver of a U-Haul van that was found to be loaded with cigarettes was violating any laws, and the search was therefore illegal."The officer testified that he was curious, and that does not rise to the level required by the Constitution," said Jack Focht, the attorney representing the driver of the van, Danny Davis.
It is unclear what impact the barred evidence will have on the prosecution's case.
The April 2006 traffic stop outside of Coffeyville sparked a federal investigation that led to a 43-count indictment against Gary Hall, the owner of Sunflower Supply Co. in Galena, Kan., along with seven other people at the indicted companies. In addition to Sunflower, two other companies were also indicted: Discount Tobacco Warehouse Inc. of Joplin, Mo., and Rebel Industries Inc. of Galena.
Charges include conspiracy to divert cigarettes, mail and wire fraud, interstate transportation in aid of racketeering, transporting contraband cigarettes and money laundering. The government is also seeking to seize assets from the defendants.Focht had sought to suppress evidence against his client based on the Fourth Amendment protection against unreasonable searches. Sgt. Randall Trease had testified that he did not see Davis violate any law, and that he stopped him simply to see if he was hauling a commercial load.
Belot noted in his ruling that after listening to the trooper's testimony even the government conceded that the stop violated Davis' Fourth Amendment rights. The judge suppressed any statements made by Davis, along with all searches of him and the U-Haul under a warrant derived from the stop.
A spokesman for the U.S. Attorney's office, Jim Cross, downplayed the significance of the ruling by saying there are many motions pending in the case.
"With respect to that one ruling, no, it does not mean the case is going away," Cross said.
Defense attorney Lee Thompson, who represents accountant Keith Dion Noe, noted this was the U-Haul cargo seizure which the government claims started the case."Whether the ruling will affect the other defendants has not been determined," Thompson said.
Prosecutors say that from January 2005 through May 2007, the defendants defrauded Oklahoma and Indian tribes that share in the revenues from cigarette taxes.
Kansas and Oklahoma require a tax stamp on each pack of cigarettes representing the appropriate tax for the location in which the cigarettes are sold, according to the indictment. Prosecutors contend Hall's companies stamped cigarettes for sale at smoke shops in lower tax rate areas when they were actually sold at shops with higher tax rates.
In addition to the three companies, other defendants named in the indictment include Hall, of Galena; Thomas Anthony Grantham, of Joplin; Noe, of Joplin; Justin Boyes, of Galena; Davis, of Galena; Jeremy Hooker, of Salina, Okla.; James Coble, of Galena; and Justice Michael Berry, of Joplin.
All have pleaded not guilty.

Contraband cigarettes make it easier for teens to smoke: Nolan

Contraband cigarettes, which are cheap and easy to find, are a “key reason” the fight against teenage smoking has become more difficult, says Waterloo Region’s chief public health officer.
Dr. Liana Nolan said the percentage of Canadian teenagers who smoke has been declining for years. But over the last couple of years, with contraband cigarettes more available to teens, that decline has slowed down or been reversed.
Across Canada, 12.6 per cent of boys aged 12 to 19 said they smoked daily or occasionally in 2008, a slight increase from the 12.4 per cent in 2007, according to the Canadian Community Health Survey.
Only 10.1 per cent of Canadian girls in the same age group smoked daily or occasionally in 2008. That’s less than the 11.6 per cent who smoked in 2007. But the rate of decline is lower now than it was three years ago.
“We are quite concerned that contraband tobacco is a key reason for that,” Nolan said.
The contraband cigarettes, purchased on reserves such as Six Nations near Brantford, are very cheap because taxes aren’t paid on them. A bag of 200 cigarettes costs about $20. That’s a dime per cigarette.
And teenagers “are extremely price-sensitive,” Nolan said. “If it’s inexpensive and easily accessed, they will take it up.”
Contraband refers to any tobacco product that doesn’t comply with federal and provincial statues, including such things as importation, stamping, marking and paying the proper duties and taxes.
A study earlier this year of discarded cigarette butts found around high schools in Kitchener and Waterloo indicates that 23 per cent of them were contraband. That’s nearly one in four.
Local teens say they buy or are given the cigarettes by friends who buy them at the reserve.
Royal Canadian Mounted Police say 50 million cartons of cigarettes a year are manufactured in factories at the Akwesasne reserve near Cornwall, which straddles the U.S.-Canada border. Nine out of 10 of those factories are unlicensed by the U.S. federal government.
The cigarettes are taken by boat across the St. Lawrence River, where there are no federal officials to inspect them. Once in Canada, they’re taken to places such as the Six Nations reserve.
Nolan says it’s important to stop the illegal sale and distribution of these cigarettes so teenagers have less access to harmful tobacco. That’s where the energy of federal and provincial governments should be focused.
She doesn’t agree with some other anti-smoking activists, who think it should be illegal to smoke cigarettes if you’re under 19. Currently, it’s illegal to sell or give tobacco to anyone under 19, but not illegal to smoke.
“It wouldn’t be helpful to criminalize smoking,” Nolan said. “It wouldn’t be effective.”
Cigarette smoking caused 15.9 per cent of deaths in Waterloo Region between 2000 and 2004, according to a report presented to regional councillors earlier this year. Tobacco use is the most significant cause of preventable disease and death in Canada.

Tower Hamlets clamps down on shisha smoking

TWO venues for smoking water pipes have been shut down in Tower Hamlets and another six are facing prosecution.
The Town Hall said it visited venues for smoking shisha in a joint operation with the police in a bid to stamp out illegal smoking in public places.
The council's lead member for the environment Abdal Ullah said: "Wherever cigarettes can't be smoked, shisha can't be smoked. Some people fail to understand this restriction because they think shisha is a safer alternative to cigarette smoking.
"That's why we are also working with NHS Tower Hamlets to educate people on the dangers of shisha smoking.

Stop smoking service celebrates 10 year anniversary

MORE than 12,000 smokers have quit in the past decade, a Buckinghamshire organisation has said, as it celebrates its ten year anniversary.
The NHS Stop Smoking Services said it has helped 12,070 people give up cigarettes.
The service estimates that over 70,000 lives have been saved through its work in the last decade.
During this period smoking prevalence among the general population has dropped from 28 per cent to below 21 per cent.
Joanne Wilson, Public Health Practitioner, said: “In Buckinghamshire, we have achieved a major reduction in the prevalence of smoking, and the Buckinghamshire Smokefree Support Service continues to support around 2,000 smokers a year to successfully give up.
“Stopping smoking is without question the single biggest decision that anyone can make to improve their health.
“The creation of free NHS Stop Smoking Services in 1999 was a hugely significant milestone in helping people achieve this goal. She added: “It is vital that we continue to make smokers aware just how easy and convenient it is to access support in their own neighbourhood.”

Aldermanic Committee Postpones Vote on St. Louis Smoking Ban

The St. Louis Board of Aldermen's Health Committee yesterday delayed voting on a bill to ban smoking inside city bars and restaurants.
Tuesday's meeting was adjourned so aldermen could wait until next week to receive an estimated economic impact of the ban. Chief among the aldermen's concerns is a ban proposed in St. Louis County that goes before voters on November 3.
The county ban would still allow smoking in "drinking establishments" that earn three-fourths of their income through the sale of alcohol. The city ban, meanwhile, would ban smoking in all bars and restaurants without exception.
As alderman Stephen Conway told St. Louis Public Radio yesterday, the fear is that the city could lose the tax revenue of smokers if it enforces a stricter ban.
"The original presumption was that we wanted to be level," Conway told the radio station. "And today I think everybody was shocked, and obviously it was so overwhelming that none of my colleagues wanted to jeopardize the city businesses as compared to the county."
Conway says the city could lose 15 percent of its sales tax revenue without a level playing field.