Cigarette smoking news.

Bills advance on roll-your-own tobacco shops

2012-01-31T13:52:00.001+02:00

Roll-your-own cigarette stores could be headed for a Virginia endangered retailers list as bills to treat those merchants as tobacco manufacturers burn through the General Assembly.

Separate bills to reclassify shops with the automated rolling machines unanimously cleared a key House of Delegates committee and won full Senate approval on Monday.

The rolling devices stuff loose tobacco into paper tubes to produce a carton's worth of cigarettes in about 10 minutes. Several stores with the machines have sprung up in South Hampton Roads over the past year.

Patrons and other defenders of the niche industry say the machines make personalized cigarettes at a price lower than commercial brands.

Legislation targeting those businesses is backed by Altria, parent company of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette maker.

Company officials contend that roll-your-own products can be sold for less because retailers avoid paying the same taxes as traditional tobacco manufacturers and wholesalers.

Mass. man in court on RI cigarette smuggling case

2012-01-31T13:51:00.001+02:00

A Massachusetts man accused of participating in a contraband cigarette ring that cost Rhode Island an estimated $5.7 million in tax revenue is due to face a federal judge.

An arraignment is set for Tuesday afternoon in U.S. District Court in Providence for Mohamad Mohamad of Cambridge.

Court records show Mohamad signed a plea agreement last week and agreed to admit to bringing more than 10,000 contraband cigarettes into Rhode Island.

The plea agreement says when Mohamad was arrested on Nov. 8, 2011, he had nearly three million cigarettes worth more than $500,000 in Rhode Island cigarette taxes.

The agreement says prosecutors have agreed to recommend a lesser sentence for Mohamad. He faces up to five years in prison.

Mother shocked at electric cigarette ban

2012-01-31T13:50:00.001+02:00

A WOMAN said her birthday night out was spoilt after she was asked to leave a York bar for using an electronic cigarette.

Cherry Knott, 59, of Kingsway West in Acomb, York, was celebrating her birthday with her daughter, son and his partner in Yates’s in Lower Ousegate, when they were approached by a member of staff who asked them to stop using the e-cigarettes or to leave the venue.

The mock cigarettes emit an odourless water vapour and simulate smoking by producing a mist which is inhaled.

The group, who say they have used the cigarettes indoors in other venues in York without any issue, questioned the member of staff before deciding to leave.

Mrs Knott said they had been in the bar for a while and had even discussed the cigarettes with a barman, before being asked to leave by a member of staff who said they might encourage people to light up genuine cigarettes.

She said: “I never saw anybody light a cigarette. We tried to argue our point and said they were harmless. My son said there should be notices if we were not allowed to smoke them.

“We had just got a round of drinks in when the manager asked us to leave. He said we had to leave if we wanted to smoke them.

“It ruined my birthday a little bit because we were having such a good time.”

Mrs Knott said she wanted pubs and bars to have greater clarity on their rules about the electronic cigarettes, which she said had helped her and her family to reduce or quit smoking.

A manager at Yates’s, who asked not to be named, said that initially two people had been using the electronic cigarettes indoors, but then they were joined by two other people who were also using them, causing concerns other people in the bar might be encouraged to start smoking inside.

She said: “It’s something we have never experienced before.

“If people see them smoking what appear to be cigarettes, bigger groups might smoke themselves.

“They were seated in the food area and we had a few complaints.”

Sales of the electronic cigarettes have soared and are expected to top one million in the UK this year.

But it has been reported that medical experts have called for further research into their side effects, raising questions about what the devices contain and their impact on users.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said it was legal to smoke e-cigarettes indoors if they were only emitting a vapour and they are not ignited, but said it would be at the discretion of the owner of the premises.

Proposed cigarette tax costly but effective

2012-01-31T13:41:00.001+02:00

State Rep. Mary Still, D-Columbia, has proposed legislation to increase the state cigarette tax and use the revenue to help fund higher education. We support her proposal and hope the Missouri General Assembly will pass the initiative to put it on the ballot so the public can eventually vote for it.

As of Jan. 1, Missouri has the lowest cigarette tax rate in the nation at $0.17 per pack, according to the Federation of Tax Administrators. According to the FTA’s figures for 2012, even after Still's proposed quadrupling of the tax to $0.89 per pack, Missouri would have the 18th lowest state cigarette tax, and 18th out of 51, (including the District of Columbia), is not bad at all.

The increased tax will affect businesses associated with the tobacco industry, but the impact cannot be concisely figured, and we think it is the right price to pay for higher education funding. Our only concern is that the tax could affect lower income individuals, who make up the largest population of smokers, according to the World Health Organization. We hope a cigarette tax will encourage those individuals to stop purchasing cigarettes, which is a luxury good and not a necessity. According to the WHO, a tax that increases cigarette prices by 10 percent decreases consumption by 4 percent in high-income countries like the U.S., and according to the American Lung Association, a 10 percent increase in the overall price of cigarettes results in a 7 percent decrease in the amount of smoke children consume. We understand quitting is difficult, but it is not impossible.

This legislation is not an attack on tobacco users or those businesses in the tobacco industry. It is an attempt to increase higher education funding, which has received cuts. The cigarette tax, even after being quadrupled, will still be well below the national average, which, according to The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids and The Missourian, is $1.46 and below the national median, which, according to the FTA, is $1.25. This is not an unreasonable tax.

Presently, Missouri is one of four states to be given a failing grade by the ALA, which works to improve lung health and prevent lung disease in each of the four categories: program spending, smoke-free air, cigarette tax and cessation. If an increased tax on cigarettes is enough to convince even a few cigarette users to cutback on consumption, we consider the marginal health benefits a positive effect for our state.

Whichever House committee the bill is referred to must clear it, and the Senate and House must then pass it. Afterward, the vote will require voter approval. We urge that, in contrast to previous attempts to raise the cigarette tax in 2002 and 2006, the Missouri public expresses slightly more than 49 percent approval to put the approval rate over 50 percent and ensure the beneficial legislation is enacted.

If paying $0.70 more for a pack of cigarettes allows for increased funding, which Still estimates to be $4 million, for higher education, it is a very effective value. In an article in The Missourian, Still is quoted as saying, “I value funding education over having the lowest cigarette tax in the country.” We agree.

Our View: Tax cigarettes out of kids' budgets

2012-01-23T11:31:00.002+02:00

During a recent trip to New York City, a member of the Post-Bulletin's editorial board noticed that there were relatively few cigarette butts on the sidewalks and streets. The air in Manhattan was rich with the smell of roasting nuts and fresh-made gyros and bagels, but cigarette smoke seldom intruded into the mix.

There's a simple explanation for this phenomenon: Cost. If you try to buy a pack of cigarettes in New York City, a $10 bill won't do the job. State and local taxes of $5.85 per pack have pushed the price up to $14 in some areas — the highest in the nation. A string of tax increases since 2002 has pushed 450,000 New York City smokers to kick the habit, and the smoking rate among high school students has plummeted to 7 percent.

In Minnesota, by comparison, The American Lung Association says the teen smoking rate is 19 percent.

That's reason enough for us to support Sen. Carla Nelson's proposal to add another dollar to Minnesota's state cigarette tax, which currently is $1.59 per pack.

Multiple studies have found that young smokers are the most price-sensitive, which means that the best way to keep kids from smoking is to make it too expensive. And, given that 80 percent of adult smokers became addicted before age 18, the benefit of the new tax is fairly obvious: If teenagers can't afford to smoke, they'll be unlikely to pick up the expensive, deadly habit when they get "real jobs" and higher incomes.

It's somewhat surprising for a Republican to be proposing a tax increase, but Nelson could rightly argue that this is a true "user fee." If you don't smoke, it won't affect you at all.

Furthermore, Nelson has specific purposes in mind for the new revenue the tax increase would bring in. She'd start by repaying the $700 million the state "borrowed" from K-12 public schools last summer. When that debt has been repaid, she wants to dedicate future revenues to reduce property taxes on businesses. That, of course, should make Nelson's proposal more popular with her Republican colleagues — while drawing criticism from DFLers who will have other ideas on how to spend the new revenue.

But ultimately, we can only hope that the state's revenue from cigarette taxes (more than $400 million per year) will begin to decrease, to the point that even the most draconian of per-pack tax increases can't make up the shortfall.

The goal, after all, isn't to maximize the amount of money Minnesota reaps from the sales of cigarettes; rather, it's to reduce our smoking rate to the point that tobacco taxes are no longer a significant source of revenue.

How would we fill that $400 million hole in the state budget? Well, the $3 billion we wouldn't be spending on smoking-related illnesses would be a good start.

Big Tobacco led throat doctors to blow smoke

2012-01-23T11:27:00.002+02:00

Tobacco companies conducted a carefully crafted, decades-long campaign to manipulate throat doctors into helping to calm concerns among an increasingly worried public that smoking might be bad for their health, according to a new study by researchers at the School of Medicine. Beginning in the 1920s, this campaign continued for over half of a century.

“Tobacco companies sought to exploit the faith the public had in the medical profession as a means of reassuring their customers that smoking was safe,” said Robert Jackler, MD, the Edward C. and Amy H. Sewall Professor in Otolaryngology.

“Tobacco companies dreamed up slogans such as, ‘Not one single case of throat irritation with Camels;’ then, to justify their advertising claims, marketing departments sought out pliant doctors to conduct well-compensated, pseudoscientific ‘research,’ which invariably found the sponsoring company’s cigarettes to be safe,” Jackler said. “The companies successfully influenced these physicians not only to promote the notion that smoking was healthful, but actually to recommend it as a treatment for throat irritation.”

Jackler is the senior author of the study, which was published in the January issue of The Laryngoscope. Hussein Samji, MD, a recent Stanford residency graduate, was his co-author.
Using internal documents from tobacco companies from the Legacy Tobacco Document archives, the study’s authors reviewed a wealth of correspondence, contracts, marketing plans and payment receipts that shed light on the industry’s multifaceted, highly effective campaign.

Jackler’s ongoing research into the history of tobacco company advertising has resulted in several published studies on the topic, sparked in part by his collection of thousands of historical cigarette ads exhibited online at http://tobacco.stanford.edu, the originals now donated to the Smithsonian Institution. He also spearheaded a group called the Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising, which analyzes the effects of tobacco advertising, marketing and promotion.

In the new paper, the authors describe how tobacco companies regularly hosted “hospitality booths” at otolaryngology conventions from which they gave out free cigarettes, sometimes with packs embossed with the doctors’ names. In major cities all over America, throat specialists were taken out to elegant dinners at which they were implored to “prescribe” their brand of cigarettes to patients with sore throats or coughs.

When the government, through the Federal Trade Commission, tried to intervene against “hucksterish” advertising slogans promoting the healthfulness of their cigarettes, prominent otolaryngologists were recruited to defend the validity of the blatantly false claims.

“The list of recruitments who served as experts testifying on behalf of tobacco interests includes a virtual who’s who of leading otolaryngologists in the 20th century, including many leading head and neck cancer surgeons,” Jackler said.
In 1949, the average physician income was $11,058. In that era, a $5,000 payment — which was common from tobacco companies to otolaryngologists — represented a major inducement.

Even after the Surgeon General’s Report of 1964 definitively linked smoking with cancer of the voice box (larynx), the otolaryngology departmental chairs of four major universities testified before Congress in opposition to the findings.

“It was especially disappointing to discover that leading otolaryngologists took public positions exculpating tobacco even after the definitive Surgeon General’s report,” the study said.

The authors emphasized the importance of collaboration between doctors and industry for continued advances in medicine, but pointed to this study as a reminder to the medical community of the need to adhere to the “highest standards of scientific validity” and to remain vigilant in the advocacy for patients’ interests when working with industry.

“Ethically, a physician must always act on behalf of the well-being of patients,” Jackler said. “Responsible industries balance their need to maximize profits with a commitment to improve the health of their consumers.”

This research was conducted as part of the Stanford Research into the Impact of Tobacco Advertising. The school’s Department of Otolaryngology also supported the research.

Store Robber Gets Away With Cigarettes, Cash

2012-01-23T11:08:00.001+02:00

Manchester police are looking for a man who robbed a convenience store overnight.
Police said just after midnight Thursday, a man walked into the Tedeschi Food Mart on Second Street and asked for a carton of cigarettes before demanding all of the money from the cash register.
The clerk said the man threatened to harm her. The robber did not show a weapon, but he had his hands in his pockets as if he was armed, according to the clerk.
Police said the man ran away from the store with some cash and the carton of cigarettes.
The robber is described as a 5'4'' tall man in his mid 20's and is clean shaven. He was last seen wearing blue jeans, a black baseball cap and a black quilted jacket over a gray hooded sweatshirt.
Those with information are asked to contact Manchester police.

Miami-Dade PD raids 25 marijuana grow houses

2012-01-13T13:27:00.003+02:00

Miami-Dade County police say officers have raided 25 marijuana grow houses and seized more than 1,300 live pot plants.

The countywide "Operation Machete" also turned up seven guns, more than $31,000 in cash and various other drugs.

The estimated street value of the plants seized is at least $4.5 million. There were also 25 people arrested on drug and other charges in the simultaneous raids Wednesday.

The Miami area is one of the nation's leaders in indoor marijuana growing operations. Police say they involve other dangers including diversion of large amounts of stolen electricity, the increased possibility of fires and use of hazardous chemicals.
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Store Selling Cigarettes Using Tax Loophole

2012-01-13T13:24:00.003+02:00

An Upstate store owner said smokers can get cigarettes without paying state and federal taxes because of a tax loophole.
M.J. Farah, owner of Jake's One Stop in Pelzer, is offering customers the chance to roll their own cigarettes.
"The customers are taking advantage of a tax cut. They don't have to pay the taxes on the tobacco if they are making it on their own," said Farah. "I have people who drive all the way up here 45 minutes just to come get their tobacco."
Farah recently got three new machines that stuff the cigarettes for customers. He was already selling roll-your-own supplies, but the new machines are less time-consuming and still save smokers money.
"We probably do 10 times the business with it than we did a year and a half ago," said Farah. "People are counting change to come in and buy cigarettes, so this is a great way for them to come in and save money."
Farah said the brand of cigarettes he sells the most is Marlboro. A carton goes for $43.39, he said.
Smokers who buy their own tobacco, tubes and use the machine in the store will pay $15 a carton or $1.50 a pack, Farah said. Customers who buy the same supplies and stuff their own cigarettes at home will save even more. Farah said a carton with their best-selling tobacco will cost $7.03.
After 30 years of smoking a pack of cigarettes a day, Tracey Hawkins said she's using the machines to save money.
"Hopefully we're going to save right at a dollar a pack, I hope," said Hawkins. "It tastes kind of like what we were smoking, and if it saves us money, why not?"

$4,000 in cigarettes stolen from Oak Ridge North Valero station

2012-01-13T13:08:00.003+02:00

The Oak Ridge North Police Department is investigating two burglaries of the Valero gas station in which the same burglar caused $3,000 worth of damage and took nearly $4,000 in cigarettes in December.
Detective Sgt. Kent Hubbard said the first burglary occurred at 2:40 a.m. Dec. 24, when a white 1990s Ford F-150 or Ranger pulled up to the Valero gas station at 145 Robinson Road. The suspect approached the store with a stone and broke out the bottom half of one of the glass double doors, crawling underneath, heading for the counter and stuffing $2,000 worth of cigarettes into a trash bag before crawling out two minutes later.
The suspect is believed to be a white or Hispanic male about 5’9” or 5’10” in height and of a “thin build” based on surveillance footage, Hubbard said. Although he believes the man is younger, his face was wrapped in something similar to a turban and he left no finger prints at the scene, where he caused about $1,000 worth of damage.
A second incident occurred at 2:19 a.m. Dec. 28, when what may have been the same suspect pulled up, shattered both glass doors and took $1,700 worth of cigarettes in similar fashion, causing about $2,000 worth of damage.
Hubbard said he did not know of any other leads and that cigarette theft is “fairly common” because of their value and light weight.
In September 2009, a similar burglary occurred at that Valero station, but a tip from a relative helped police identify and catch the suspect. Hubbard does not believe that man to have committed these crimes as he does not match the description.
COPPER THEFT
Police are investigating another crime, where in the afternoon of Jan. 5, it was discovered that seven air conditioning units behind a business center at the 26800 block of Interstate-45 North were damaged. Hubbard said the thieves took copper and precious metals from the units, destroying them in the process and leading to nearly $26,000 worth of damage.
Another common crime, Hubbard said the value of the metals was probably nowhere near the damage caused. The actual date of the crime is still unknown as the units had not been turned on in days and the damage was not discovered until businesses atttempted to operate them Jan. 5.
While all three crimes occurred around the holidays, Hubbard said it is likely just a coincidence, as the crimes are not uncommon.
“These types of crimes occur throughout the year,” he said.

'Illegal profiteering' follows tobacco tax hike: smoker

2012-01-05T13:55:00.001+02:00

Smokers who bought cigarettes or tobacco this year have had to pay the increased price from January 1 and are victims of "illegal profiteering'', a disgruntled smoker says.

The Commerce Commission confirms the price rise must apply to new stocks and any retailer selling old stock at the new price might be in breach of the Fair Trading Act.

In another push to get Kiwis to give up smoking, the Government has raised the excise duty on tobacco.

The cost of a standard 20-pack of cigarettes rose by 10 percent on January 1, to shoot through the $15 price tag.

On New Year's Day, most dairies and service stations in Gisborne sold a packet of cigarettes at the new price.

Legally, the new price is effective on new stock purchased on or after January 1. Existing stock was to be sold at the pre-increase price.

A Gisborne smoker found retailers acknowledged they should not charge the extra, but would not adhere to it.

"After visiting five retailers, I rang around the majority of other retail outlets and none of them would honour the old price,'' he said.

While he totally supports the added tax to push people to stop smoking, he is against "blatant profiteering''.

"There is no way any retailer could have new stocks delivered on January 1 in Gisborne. I rang the local tobacco distributor and they were closed and had not sold or made any deliveries.''

Retail outlets The Gisborne Herald spoke to said they understood the price rise started from January 1 and they were unable to carry much excess stock.

"We are dictated to by the cigarette companies about what we charge and how much stock we can carry. Gisborne retailers were able to carry more because of the Rhythm and Vines festival, though.'' said one retailer.

Only one cigarette and tobacco retailer The Herald talked to did not lift prices.

"We will not put the price up until we start using new stock,'' he said.

Sara Stavropoulos, a spokeswoman for Customs New Zealand - the government body responsible for tax on tobacco and tobacco products - said any of those products removed from a licensed manufacturing area or imported (which is where excise is collected) after midnight on December 31 would be subject to the new rates.

Commerce Commission communications manager Allanah Kalafatelis said if a shop owner represented that the price rise was due to the government increase in the excise, and the shop was not at that time entitled to charge the increase as they were selling old stock, it could be construed as misleading - prompting an issue under the Fair Trading Act, which it did enforce.

Judge dismisses medical marijuana suit by Arizona

2012-01-05T13:54:00.001+02:00

A U.S. District Court judge Wednesday dismissed Arizona’s lawsuit seeking to clarify whether its voter-approved medical-marijuana law trumps federal drug laws.

In an unusual legal request, Gov. Jan Brewer had asked the court to mediate the conflict between state and federal drug laws. But Judge Susan Bolton tossed the suit, saying the state couldn’t show its workers were at risk of federal prosecution for following Proposition 203, or even if it intended to fully implement the law.

Although Bolton’s decision clears the way for state health officials to begin licensing medical-marijuana dispensaries, officials are not likely to begin the process immediately.

Brewer spokesman Matthew Benson said the governor would consult with Attorney General Tom Horne before deciding whether to appeal Bolton’s ruling.

“What this court has essentially said is that it won’t hear the state’s lawsuit unless and until a state employee faces federal prosecution for enforcing Proposition 203,” Benson said. “The federal court has essentially punted on the issue.”

Under the law, passed in 2010, state workers issue special ID cards to people with certain medical conditions, authorizing the patients to use marijuana. Prop. 203 also allows the Department of Health Services to issue permits for a limited number of marijuana dispensaries.

Brewer filed suit in May, just days before the dispensary-permit process was to begin. She asked the court to clarify whether U.S. drug laws override Prop. 203 and, if not, whether state workers are immune from federal prosecution for implementing it.

But the governor allowed the health department to continue issuing ID cards to qualified medical-marijuana users. Nearly 18,000 Arizonans have permission to use marijuana to treat a variety of debilitating conditions, including cancer and chronic pain, and about 15,000 of them have requested permission to grow the plant.

In her order, Bolton said the state could file an amended complaint, but the state would have to satisfy two key problems: Federal prosecutors have not threatened to prosecute state or municipal employees for following the law; and the state can’t show that any harm will come absent a court ruling.

“Plaintiffs do not challenge any specific action taken by any defendant,” Bolton wrote. “Plaintiffs also do not describe any actions by state employees that were in violation of (the Controlled Substances Act) or any threat of prosecution for any reason by federal officials.

“These issues, as presented, are not appropriate for judicial review.”

Brewer and Horne said the lawsuit was prompted by federal prosecutors, including former Arizona U.S. Attorney Dennis Burke, signaling a crackdown against the medical-marijuana industry. They said their chief concern was protecting state employees, though Burke and other U.S. attorneys said their focus was on large-scale trafficking, not patients or public employees who were complying with state laws.

Burke and top federal prosecutors across the country sent a series of letters to governors last year, saying they would abide by earlier policies discouraging the prosecution of medical-marijuana users but warning that using, selling or distributing marijuana still violates federal law.

The prosecutors said they would continue to focus on large-scale operations, and Burke’s letter did not mention state employees, who continue to process ID cards. He also told reporters he had no intention of prosecuting state workers.

Arizona and 15 other states have medical-marijuana laws that conflict with federal law, which outlaws the cultivation, sale or use of marijuana. Mounting federal pressure in California, Washington and other states has led to dispensary raids and crackdowns on landlords who lease property to dispensaries.

Wednesday’s ruling came in response to a motion to dismiss filed by the American Civil Liberties Union.

ACLU Attorney Ezekiel Edwards called on Brewer to implement the law that voters approved.

“The majority of voters in Arizona passed a statute to regulate marijuana as medicine,” Edwards said. “They’re just obstructing the will of the voters.”

Five other medical-marijuana lawsuits are still pending in Maricopa County Superior Court, including two filed by would-be dispensary owners against the state for failing to fully implement the law.

In arguments last month, attorney Ty Taber told Judge Richard Gama that Brewer had no right to refuse to implement a voter-approved law. Gama took the matter under advisement.

Under state rules, the Health Department was to begin accepting dispensary applications last June and issue up to 126 permits by August. The law allows patients to grow up to 12 plants per person if they live more than 25miles from a dispensary.

Medical-marijuana advocates say Brewer’s failure to fully implement the law is leading to widespread marijuana cultivation, rather than fewer, large-scale regulated sites.

“The people of Arizona should be outraged that there are continuing efforts to use their money to pursue a political agenda,” said Joe Yuhas of the Arizona Medical Marijuana Association. “Do we really want potentially 150,000 patients growing their own marijuana? Because that is the road we’re on right now.”

Meanwhile, at least four states recently asked the Obama administration to change marijuana’s classification under federal drug laws so it could be prescribed, removing the conflict between state and federal laws and avoiding the risk of federal prosecution.

Currently marijuana is listed alongside other street drugs, such as heroin and LSD, with a high potential for abuse and no acceptable medical uses. State officials in Washington, Rhode Island, Colorado and Vermont want marijuana included with drugs — such as cocaine, opium and morphine –that can lead to abuse or addiction, but can be dispensed legally for medical treatment.

Benson said the governor does not plan to join the other states in that request because she doesn’t believe reclassifying the drug would eliminate dispensaries and the potential for state employees prosecution.

Rising tobacco prices cause stir in West Bank

2012-01-05T13:53:00.002+02:00

Mustafa Jum'a, who runs a coffee shop in Ramallah in the West Bank, began to worry about his business as the prices for hookah smoke rise due to an extra tariff imposed on tobacco.

Israeli authorities suddenly raised import tariffs on tobacco, a move the Palestinians have to follow because of the Paris Economic Protocol signed with Israel in 1994, which states the two must have bond import tariffs in the light with the unified customs framework.

The rise has caused a reduction of customers, said Jum'a, adding most of his customers are public employees that used to come to the coffee shop twice or three times a day. "(They) now come here only once, if not every other day," he said.

The hookah price in Jum'a's coffee shop has risen from seven shekels (around 1.8 U.S. dollars) to 12 shekels (3.4 dollars). He made money when hookah smokers order tea, coffee or other drink, so now he makes less profit due to the reduction of customers.

Head of the tobacco customs department in the Ministry of Finance Bandi Dahdah said the new customs tariff requires the payment of 279 shekels (73 dollars) per kilogram, compared with the previous 50 shekels (13 dollars). Since the best tobaccos are imported from Egypt and Bahrain, almost all hookah smokers are affected by the new regulation.

Local tobaccos, mainly produced in the north of the West Bank, are unsuccessful in competing with these Arab blends.

However, the Ministry of Health welcomed the decision, Dahdah said, noting the health ministry hopes the move would encourage smokers to quit smoking. According to an official study, the number of smokers in the Palestinian territories are estimated at 800,000.

"My young children smoke hookah, even my 16-year-old child smokes behind my back. I hope this decision will help them get rid of it," said Nadia Karim, a 45-year-old mother in Bethlehem.

However, regular smokers are not expected to refrain from smoking after the rise. Mohammed Radi said it's unlikely for him to stop smoking. "I think we have become addicted to it now," he smiled and said.

Meanwhile, the price hike has also encouraged tobacco smuggling into the West Bank. Dahdah said "smuggling has become very profitable after the rise in tariffs, and the PNA (Palestinian National Authority) is aware of that and we had fined the smugglers," Dahdah added.

Dahdah also said "the Palestinian authority is seeking measures to change the economic protocol in general with Israel."

Cartoons, widely-circulating text messages and jokes among the Palestinians are criticizing the price rise. "From now on, we will honour our guests by slaughtering a Muassel pack for them (as opposed to slaughtering animals to feed them)," One cartoon read.

Angry hookah smokers have turned to social network sites to express displeasure, some of whom even went as far as threatening demonstrations.

Resolve to Quit Smoking Anytime

2012-01-05T13:46:00.000+02:00

Many smokers start the new year with the goal of quitting the habit, but anytime is a good time to stop smoking, said Dr. William Mercer.

Mercer, Wheeling-Ohio County health officer, said that's just the advice he gives his private practice patients in Wheeling. But the smoker has to be ready to quit, he noted.

''Every time someone tries to quit they learn something from that attempt,'' Mercer said.
The process can be made a little easier if one has a partner who also is trying to quit, such as a spouse or friend.

''There are benefits to quitting at anytime of your life - even people in their 80s,'' he said.

For those who need assistance quitting, there are some products that have been helpful to people, such as nicotine replacement patches and lozenges, Mercer said. Also, a drug called Chantix works on the brain's nicotine receptors, while others have used an anti-depressant named Zyban.

''It's the best we have so far to help people quit," Mercer said, noting there have been some reports of Chantix users having suicidal thoughts.

Others have tried electronic cigarettes as a product to help stop smoking. But Mercer said since the product is not classified as a stop-smoking aid, its makers are not required by law to prove it is safe to use.

''Since it's classified as tobacco, they don't have to show it's safe,'' Mercer said.

Marijuana found in car after woman is killed in rollover

2012-01-05T13:44:00.001+02:00

Approximately two pounds of marijuana was found inside a vehicle that overturned and killed a woman in Benson last Saturday.
Deputies with the Cochise County Sheriff’s Office obtained a search warrant for the 2000 Nissan Xterra on Wednesday and collected DNA evidence to determine the events leading up to the fatal wreck that occurred on the morning of New Year’s Eve on Johnson Road.
The details of the vehicle accident remain under investigation, said Carol Capas, spokeswoman for the sheriff’s office.
The vehicle is registered to a man in Phoenix who, according to the sheriff’s office, did not know that his vehicle had been involved in an accident when contacted by authorities.
Half a mile from the scene of the rollover, another vehicle registered to a Bianca Gonzalez was located. The 2002 Honda Civic was registered out of Phoenix.
Deputies later learned that the name was used by the deceased woman, however it is not her real name.
Investigators have determined her true identity, but are withholding it until next of kin have been notified.
According to the sheriff’s office, the woman is from Guatemala, though her legal residency status has yet to be determined.

Province may follow Hat's lead on smoking ban

2012-01-05T13:08:00.001+02:00

Once again, the provincial government appears poised to follow in the City of Medicine Hat's footsteps when it comes to anti-smoking legislation.
Recently, premier Alison Redford publicly restated her campaign pledge to look into a province-wide ban on smoking in vehicles where minors are present. Redford's announcement comes just months after the City of Medicine Hat's decision to pass its own bylaw to that effect Ñ a bylaw that makes Medicine Hat the largest of four Alberta municipalities that currently already ban smoking in cars with children.
In June of 2011, Mayor Norm Boucher wrote a letter to then-Health Minister Gene Zwozdesky, informing him of Medicine Hat's new bylaw and encouraging the province to take similar action. The letter received in response gave council the impression that the province had no intention of pursuing a provincial ban -- however, under a new premier, the mood of government has changed. Redford has indicated a new strategy aimed at combating youth tobacco use is in the works, and will contain a number of initiatives being pushed for by the anti-smoking lobby group, Action on Smoking and Health.
"We have reason to be optimistic. We certainly hope the premier will deliver on her promises," said Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health.
Hagen said he believes the City of Medicine Hat's bylaw sent a message to the provincial government Ñ and pointed to the fact that Medicine Hat and other cities enacted their own smoking bans in bars and restaurants years before the province followed suit in 2008.
"I think that would have been much longer in coming if not for the actions of local municipalities like Medicine Hat," Hagen said. "It (a municipal bylaw) definitely raises the profile of the issue and gets people thinking about what the provincial government's role is."
Ald. Les Pearson, who was council's most vocal supporter of the local bylaw banning smoking in vehicles with minors, said it is gratifying to hear Redford's intentions. However, he said it is unfortunate that municipalities so often have to take the lead on what should really be a provincial responsibility.
"It's frustrating," Pearson said. "The city pays a lawyer to develop a bylaw, it's an expense for the municipality, and we know that when enough municipalities come on board, then the province comes forward."
Since Medicine Hat's bylaw came into effect September 1, only one ticket for smoking in a vehicle with children present has been issued.
However, Michelle SauvŽ of the local Canadian Cancer Society Ñ which also lobbied hard for the bylaw Ñ said that's not the point.
"This is about education and denormalization," SauvŽ said. "Most people are law-abiding citizens. It's like when the seatbelt legislation came in many, many years ago - a lot of people weren't wearing seatbelts, and then the law came in, and people started wearing their seatbelts."

BusinessVibes Showcases the Tobacco Industry

2011-12-20T16:12:00.002+02:00

Covering the main players and regions in the industry, the portal serves as a starting point for companies wishing to expand their international business. BusinessVibes is a perfect fit for those willing to search for new business partners and opportunities to make new deals.

Tobacco and Allied Products - the new industry introduced to the website includes 118 leading companies. Those which have already joined us, represent more than 30 countries considered to be crucial players in described Industry. Members of this group on BusinessVibes can benefit also from database of multiple international events gathering experts and leading exhibitors in this industry. All the companies and events listed on the website were hand-selected and verified by the BusinessVibes research team.

Tobacco Industry gathers those companies, which are engaged in growth, preparation for sale, shipment, advertisement, and distribution of tobacco and tobacco-related products. Tobacco industry is being developed in many places worldwide as tobacco itself can grow in any environment and on every continent apart from Antarctica.

BusinessVibes provides a platform for international buyers and sellers helping them to make connections and form partnerships. New companies wishing to join the directory are verified and categorized by the BusinessVibes team to ensure that listings are trustworthy and useful to our members.

Industries already covered on BusinessVibes include Textiles, Food Processing, Plastic Products, Farm Supplies, Industrial Equipment, Industrial Chemicals, Electronics and Electricals, Renewable Energy, Hotel Supplies, Metal Mining, and more.

Insurance company's new questionnaire on tobacco use and gun storage irks Oregon state workers

2011-12-20T16:10:00.001+02:00

Tobacco users were outraged to find they would pay a $25 monthly surcharge for all of 2012, even if they quit mid-year. That policy has been modified — employees can stop paying when they quit, and the insurer will take them at their word.

"There was no incentive for them to quit mid-year," Public Employees Benefit Board Deputy Administrator Kathy Loretz said. "Now there's an incentive for people who make the good choice and stop smoking."

Directors of the state Public Employees Benefit Board voted unanimously last week to change the policy.

The questions were part of a new state program that uses financial incentives to encourage healthy behavior — and financial penalties if state workers refuse to participate in education programs designed to curb the behavior.

The second set of questions, involving firearms, riled gun owners who were asked questions about the manner in which their firearms are stored. The health assessment questionnaire asked whether respondents speed, wear seatbelts or drink and drive.

The firearms questions are part of insurer Kaiser Permanente's standard health questionnaire used across the nation, Loretz said. "It's a safety question, but some people were offended by it," Loretz said.

State Senate Republican Leader Ted Ferrioli said the questions were a "violation of the right to privacy and the Second Amendment right to bear arms" that "ironically put worker's health and wellness at risk."

"If this information was ever lost or leaked, criminals could find in one convenient database a list of which individuals own guns, and how accessible those guns are," Ferrioli said in a statement. "This question is utterly inappropriate."

The benefits board asked Kaiser to remove the firearm question.

Tobacco company steps up fight

2011-12-20T16:08:00.001+02:00

THE tobacco company Philip Morris Limited has opened a second legal fight against the Australian government over the plain packaging laws with the filing of a High Court challenge yesterday.
Philip Morris, which has already initiated a claim under trade law, joins three other tobacco companies in taking High Court action to claim that the government has taken the company's brands and intellectual property despite being unable to demonstrate that the plain pack move would reduce smoking.
''We believe plain packaging violates the Australian constitution because the government is seeking to acquire our property without paying compensation,'' the company's spokesman, Mr Chris Argent, said.

Progam links exercise to kicking cigarettes

2011-12-12T16:18:00.001+02:00

Using jumping jacks and leg kicks to help kill cigarette cravings is the basis of an Ontario Lung Association fitness program coming to Sarnia-Lambton.

Quit and Get Fit programs will be held at In Motion: Health Wellness Fitness in Sarnia, and the Mooretown Sports Complex in Mooretown in the new year.

Participants receive free personal training sessions that combine smoking cessation support with fitness and health information.

The association and its partners believe the combination will motivate and support people trying to quit, while kick-starting a healthier new year.

Research shows physical activity can help reduce cravings and manage nicotine withdrawal symptoms, the association said.

Meanwhile, Ontario's health care system spends nearly $2 billion on tobacco-related diseases each year, said Health Minister Deb Matthews, noting tobacco is the leading cause of preventable death.

"Helping more people quit smoking is critical to improving the health of Ontarians and their loved ones. Quit and Get Fit is a unique option to help people, break their addiction to nicotine in a healthy and fun environment."

Marketing through Facebook, Twitter and YouTube is being done to appeal to young adults who have higher smoking rates than older Ontarians, said Andrea Stevens Lavigne, the association's vice president of provincial programs.

"We're aiming to reach this audience online where they are already spending a great deal of time," she said.

Programs are available for members and non-members at partnering fitness centres in 12 communities across the province.

Registration is first-come, first-served until Jan. 8 or until spaces are filled. Programs continue until March 10.

USAS campaign to ban sale of some cigarettes on campus

2011-12-12T16:17:00.001+02:00

A group of about 10 students paid a visit to the basement of the University bookstore in Ferren Mall early yesterday morning. But unlike most students, they were not there to buy books.
Instead the students, part of United Students Against Sweatshops, found success in their campaign to stop the sale of R.J. Reynolds cigarettes on campus.
“We had a small victory — we had Reynolds [cigarette] products pulled from the campus stores,” said Beth Breslaw, USAS vice president. “This [victory] is only the first leg of the journey.”
After weeks of protesting against the R.J. Reynolds cigarettes, the group met with John Cusick, general manager of the Barnes and Noble bookstores on campus, and received his approval of the campaign resulting in select campus stores taking certain cigarettes off their shelves.
Four campus stores as of yesterday afternoon are removing R.J. Reynolds-brand cigarettes, including Camel and Natural American Spirit cigarettes, from their shelves. These stores include the Livingston Student Center bookstore, the Student Activities Center on the College Avenue campus, the Busch Campus Center and Ferren Mall bookstore.
Student Life runs the Cook/Douglass Barnes and Noble and the Cook Campus Center store and would need to be addressed separately, said Breslaw, a School of Arts and Sciences senior.
University students held signs yesterday displaying pictures of the harsh conditions within a R.J. Reynolds worker camp in North Carolina, with the intention of seeing Cusick to stop the sale of these cigarettes on campus.
According to an open letter R.J. Reynolds issued in October 2011, Reynolds American and R.J. Reynolds state that they support efforts to ensure workers in all parts of the industry have safe working conditions.
R.J. Reynolds has contracts with independent farms across the United States, including ones across North Carolina for tobacco-leaf products, according to the letter.
“Those contracts require the farmers to comply with all laws — including labor laws covering issues such as employment, and working and living conditions of workers,” the letter reads. “We meet with growers regularly and encourage them to follow all applicable laws and regulations.”
Breslaw said the University’s chapter of USAS delivered letters to the general managers of all seven bookstores on campus within the past two months and emailed the letter with their requests to see Cusick.
The letter, written on behalf of USAS, Rutgers University Campus Coalition Against Trafficking, Sociedad Estudiantil Dominicana, Rutgers United Students Coalition, Women’s Center Coalition, Rutgers University for the Welfare of Animals, Rutgers Undergraduate Geography Society and the Asian American Leadership Cabinet, addressed the group’s struggle to reach him and their mission.
In the meeting, Cusick said he did not receive the emails or the letters but read the letter for the first time yesterday and was taken aback by the photos of the cramped work camps.
“Jesus Christ, in my mind that is happening in Honduras or somewhere like that,” he said while looking at the photos of the living quarters of the workers on the posters.
Of the 700 Barnes and Noble bookstores on college campuses across the nation, only a handful of those stores sell cigarettes, which suggests why the issue was not addressed, Cusick said.
“We originally didn’t want to sell cigarettes when we got here,” he said.
The company that ran the Ferren Mall bookstore before Barnes and Noble sold cigarettes in the store, Cusick said.
Cusick said he would not be able to make a written statement in support of the campaign until he contacts Joel Friedman, vice president of General Merchandising and Store Construction/Design at Barnes & Noble College Booksellers.
Breslaw and others became involved in the cause after visiting work camps and tobacco fields in Dudley, N.C.
The Farm Labor Organizing Committee, a labor organization part of the American Federation of Labor-Congress of Industrial Organization, hosted the USAS trip to North Carolina over the summer to visit work camps and tobacco fields, Breslaw said.

E-Cigarette Manufacturer ECigator Smokes Out the Competition with Top-Quality, Affordable Products

2011-12-12T16:14:00.002+02:00

With more than 5,000 identified chemicals reportedly released in tobacco smoke, the trend of smokers switching to electronic cigarettes is quickly sweeping the world. The popular new smokeless cigarettes allow smokers to fulfill their nicotine craving and enjoy the habitual sensation of inhaling and exhaling, while avoiding many of the harmful toxins associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes.

Many studies have also concluded e-cigarettes can help people quit smoking all together.

With the growing demand for the electric cigarette, companies looking to sell quality e-cigarettes and accessories are choosing to purchase their products from ECigator.com, a wholesale e-cigarette manufacturer and supplier offering superior products at wholesale prices. Based in China, the company meets both Original Equipment Manufacturer (OEM) and Original Design Manufacturer (ODM) requirements, giving companies the opportunity to brand themselves on some of the most top-quality electronic cigarette products available on the market.

Smokers making the switch from tobacco cigarettes to e-cigarettes want to be assured the products they are purchasing are made from the best quality materials.

Recognized as the world’s largest retail e-cigarette website, ECigator’s specialized manufacturing processes continue to impress customers and companies alike.

Featuring the popular eGo-T cigarette, ECigator exceeds customer’s expectations by offering a more stable and higher quality product with no leaking and no burning taste. The company also offers the eGo-TC cigarette with a brand new five LED light power show and no liquid leakage guaranteed.

ECigator not only cares about manufacturing and supplying top-quality goods, but also does so at an affordable price.

ECigator.com states, “Just as we are concerned about our customers’ health, so are we when it comes to the price. Yes, we offer e-cigarettes at competitive prices when compared to other electronic companies. No other company can entertain our customers with value-added service and high-quality electronic products.”

In addition to producing a variety of e-cigarettes, including PCC e-cigarettes, disposable e-cigarettes and e-cigars, ECigator also offers a range of accessories all ready for companies to brand as their own.

Judge Blocks Tax Scheme in New Cigarette Law

2011-12-12T16:12:00.002+02:00

A provision of the new cigarette-trafficking law unfairly subjects remote sellers of tobacco products to unfair local and state taxes, a federal judge ruled.
Passed to combat illegal trafficking and cigarette sales to minors, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act prohibits the post office from delivering cigarettes sold on the Internet and forces Native American vendors to pay excise taxes to local and state governments.
Robert Gordon, a member of the Seneca Nation of Indians who sells tobacco products online through Allofourbutts.com and by mail from upstate New York, claimed that the act cost him nearly all his business. Before the law took effect on June 30, 2010, Gordon said Internet and phone sales accounted for 95 percent of his business.
Gordon's lawsuit in Washington, D.C., claimed constitutional violations and infringement on tribal sovereignty. Under the regulations, Gordon can accept only phone orders and must use a private shipping service to mail cigarettes across six states.
He said the new regulations caused a 90 percent loss of business and made him lay off 16 of 22 workers.
A federal judge had previously denied Gordon's motion for a restraining order and preliminary injunction, but the D.C. Circuit revived Gordon's suit in February.
On remand, Chief U.S. Judge Royce Lamberth upheld the ban on shipping cigarettes through the mail, saying that the ban aligns with "the legitimate government interests of reducing underage tobacco use and cigarette trafficking."
Gordon had argued that the mail ban was intended to "reward the lobbying efforts of the tobacco industry and convenience stores and amounts to simple economic protectionism," according to the Dec. 5 decision.
Lamberth did agree, however, to stay enforcement of the law's taxing mechanism, saying Gordon is likely prove that the provision violates due process because it "appears to impose a new, independent duty on the delivery seller by requiring that they ensure that the applicable state and local taxes are paid," even if the retailer doesn't have a substantial connection with those jurisdictions.
Gordon cannot advance claims that PACT violates his 10th Amendment rights by "commandeering" states to collect taxes from delivery sellers before a product can be shipped, the 28-page opinion states.

N.J. man found with 1,324 cartons of untaxed cigarettes

2011-12-12T15:47:00.001+02:00

Maryland State Police say a traffic stop on the Eastern Shore led to the discovery of more than 1,300 cartons of untaxed cigarettes in a New Jersey man's van.

When a trooper stopped a man on Saturday near Berlin for negligent driving, police say he noticed cargo in the back and smelled tobacco. WGMD-FM reports that a search of the van turned up 1,324 cartons of cigarettes without tax stamps worth more than $79,000.

Police say the driver, 49-year-old Charles Davis Jr. of Carteret, N.J., did not have any documentation for transporting the cigarettes. The tax loss to the state is estimated at more than $26,000.

Davis was charged with transporting unstamped cigarettes and released on $25,000 bond.

Roll-your-own cigarette stores, including one in Camillus

2011-12-12T14:39:00.002+02:00

A pack of name-brand cigarettes can run as high as $10 in New York state, and a carton about $80. In New York City, a pack can cost up to $14, and a carton $130.
In comparison, a pack of roll-your-own cigarettes can cost less than $4 in the state and a carton less than $30. With tightening budgets and a bad economy, more people are turning to roll-your-own machines in stores to get their cigarettes.

But $4 packs and $30 cartons might be short-lived. The fate of the roll-your-own machines in stores is up to the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals in Cincinnati, which is trying to determine whether those roll-your-own machines manufacture cigarettes. If the court determines that they do, a federal tax on each pack of roll-your-own cigarettes will be added, making those cigarettes similar in price to name-brand ones.
Jonathan Behrins, an attorney at the Behrins Law Firm in Staten Island, said he believes the decision will apply to local, state and federal laws. Behrins represents Island Smokes, a roll-your-own shop, in a New York City case. “People in the industry all over the nation are holding their breath to this decision,” Behrins said.
Roll-your-own stores sell the tobacco and empty cigarette tubes to customers, and the rolling machine is available for customer use, said a spokesperson for Tobacco Express, which has a store in Camillus. The customers roll the cigarettes themselves for their own personal use.
“When you go to the supermarket and the coffee section, you buy the beans and put it in the grinding machine, and it turns into coffee,” the spokesperson said. “It is the same thing we do.”

Roxon denies Big Tobacco the prospect of any smokescreen

2011-12-12T14:37:00.001+02:00

They argue that cigarettes are a legal product, smoking is a matter of choice, and that when it comes to telling us how we can live our lives, the nanny state can go stick it in its pipe and smoke it.

This is all fine, up to a point. And that point is when smokers get sick and automatically assume that it is the job of the health system - that is, the taxpayers - to step in and cover the cost of their collapsed lungs, clogged arteries and triple bypasses.

It is a logically inconsistent position and, frankly, quite a pathetic one. If smokers and the tobacco industry are going to be hairy-chested about the manner in which they live their life, they should also be held to account for the manner of their death.
I write that not as some clean-living puritan, but one of those poor sad dills who has become addicted to this stupid drug, but who is now happily (and hopefully) in the final stages of a victorious battle against nicotine, setting aside last week's beer-fuelled regression at the office Christmas party.

You hear smokers say all the time that the amount of tax levied on their habit is more than enough to cover the cost to the health system of smoking-related death and disease, and lost productivity through the premature departure of the nicotine-addicted from this mortal coil.

The reality is somewhat different. The cost of smoking to the health system alone is a very hefty $31.5 billion a year. Annually, some 15,000 of us go to meet our maker many years before we otherwise would. Think back to early 2010 when then prime minister Kevin Rudd jacked up the price of a packet of fags by 25 per cent a packet. Even that whopping increase only raised $5 billion, which is just one-sixth the annual illness bill from our vulgar little habit.

The tobacco industry has been having a pretty ordinary time of it of late, as all those personal choice arguments vanish in a puff of acrid smoke as even smokers like this one start to admit there is no logical defence available for smoking or the public costs associated with smoking.

As a final last-gasp action, the tobacco industry has been mounting a spurious civil libertarian argument against plain packaging, featuring a matronly nanny-state lady displayed at tobacconists and corner store cigarette counters. The campaign has failed to ignite the outrage the tobacco industry would have envisaged because even smokers know deep down that what they are doing is quite dumb.

Cigarettes worth more than £10,000 stolen from newsagent

2011-12-12T14:34:00.001+02:00

Police are investigating a break-in at the Crofters Newsagent on Greenburn Drive at around 1.30am on Friday, December 9.

Cigarettes worth a low five-figure sum were taken during the break-in.

It is thought that a vehicle may have been used to help transport the cigarettes from the shop.

Police are appealing for information from anyone who may have seen someone acting suspiciously or saw any vehicles in the area at the time.

Electronic Cigarettes Sponsors Rosie Fortescue Fashion Launch

2011-11-25T16:03:00.001+02:00

The stars of the hit E4 reality show Made In Chelsea turned up in force for a night of champers, cupcakes and canapés, as Rosie chatted about the inspiration behind her exciting new blog launch AtFashionForte.com. Everyone enjoyed smoking SKYCIG Lite, handed out on silver trays, with Francis Boulle (who Tatler recently announced as London’s most eligible chap) exclaiming the Menthol cartomizers were his favourite!
Voted ‘Best Electronic Cigarette in the UK’ in 2011, SKYCIG offers smokers the chance to light up whenever they feel like it, at a far reduced risk to their health. E-cigs are a healthier alternative to smoking as they don’t produce second-hand smoke, nor do they contain the harmful carcinogens or high levels of nicotine found in ordinary cigarettes!
How do they work? New to the UK market, SKYCIG Lite are battery powered and provide smokers with inhaled doses of nicotine by delivering a vapourised liquid nicotine solution. When the body absorbs the nicotine, users exhale a water vapour, which looks like a puff of smoke to the common eye. This vapour provides a sensation similar to that of inhaled tobacco smoke - but no tobacco, smoke or combustion is actually involved! The similarity to a genuine cigarette is uncanny, with better vapour production for a smaller cigarette than competitor brands.

Man attempts to hide marijuana in patrol car, Alameda police say

2011-11-25T16:01:00.002+02:00

A man who was detained as part of a theft investigation was arrested after he attempted to conceal marijuana in a patrol car, police said.
The arrest occurred shortly before 10 p.m. Nov. 20 at Mel's Bowl on Park Street.
The 40-year-old man, who was suspected of using fraudulent credit cards at the business on several occasions, attempted to discard the marijuana under the rear seat of the car, police said.
MARIJUANA POSSESSION -- Police are investigating a report from a teacher that a student was selling marijuana-laced baked goods to another juvenile in the 1900 block of Third Street. It was reported about 9:20 a.m. In another narcotics case, police arrested a 32-year-old man on suspicion of possessing narcotics paraphernalia about 10:30 a.m. at Alameda South Shore Center.
GRAND THEFT -- The theft of a laptop was reported in the 1200 block of Park Street about 2:25 p.m.
BURGLARY -- A burglary was reported about 6:10 p.m. in the 1800 block of Santa Clara Avenue.
PETTY THEFT -- Someone stole a catalytic converter from a vehicle parked in the 2200 block of Encinal Avenue, police said. The theft was reported just before 9 p.m.

Tobacco firm gave thousands of pounds worth of hospitality to nine MPs who opposed smoking bill

2011-11-25T15:49:00.001+02:00

MPs who received thousands of pounds worth of hospitality from one of the world’s largest tobacco companies opposed a new law banning smoking in cars.
The parliamentary register of members’ interests shows Japan Tobacco International, which produces Benson & Hedges, Silk Cut and Camel cigarettes, spent £23,000 entertaining 20 MPs in the past six months.
Almost half of them voted against a Private Member’s Bill banning smoking in cars carrying children.
The MP behind the Bill, Labour’s Alex Cunningham, has asked Parliamentary Standards Commissioner John Lyon to investigate.
In May, seven Tory MPs accepted tickets from JTI to the Chelsea Flower Show, costing at least £1,100 each for themselves plus a guest.
Less than a month later they voted against the Bill, which passed the first stage of the parliamentary process by 78 votes to 66 on June 22.
The seven were Therese Coffey, Richard Ottaway, Christopher Pincher, Alun Cairns, Stephen Metcalfe, Laurence Robertson and Michael Ellis.
In August Labour MP Simon Danczuk and Tory Andrew Rosindell watched the England versus India Test match at the Oval courtesy of JTI. They had also voted against the anti-smoking Bill.
Mr Danczuk received hospitality to the value of £1,389 and Mr Rosindell was given £1,447 worth. Both attended the game with a guest.
The MP behind the bill – Labour’s Alex Cunningham – is now demanding an investigation by John Lyon the Parliamentary Standards Commissioner.

Tobacco-free zones

2011-11-15T14:20:00.001+02:00

This Thursday is the 36th anniversary of the American Cancer Society's Great American Smokeout, an event encouraging smokers to quit, if just for a day. In commemoration of the day, the communities of Brocton and Portland have announced newly established smoke-free zones.

On Monday, the Tri-County Tobacco-Free Program supplied the signs to post to the areas. The signs were presented at the Portland Town Hall.

Roxane Sobecki, town clerk in Portland, said, "The places that are now smoke free are Portland Town Hall property, the Community Park in Portland, Arch Park for Brocton, Brocton's Little League fields, and Brocton Village Office property. We (the town) did the resolution at the October's meeting.

"It was so nice to work with them (Tri-County Tobacco Free). The library applied first, and that's how I found out about it. I wasn't sure, but found out that we qualified (for the signs) as well."

Ahira Memorial Library in Brocton, Darwin Barker Library in Fredonia and Minerva Library in Sherman also recently established their tobacco-free outdoor areas.

Laurie Adams, Tri-County Tobacco Free Program Director said, "Establishing tobacco free property and grounds is a proven way to reduce the social acceptability of tobacco use, encourage smokers to quit and make sure our youth don't start. Across the state hundreds of communities and businesses have established tobacco free outdoor policies because we know that secondhand smoke is a class A carcinogen - a substance known to cause cancer. There's no safe level of secondhand smoke exposure. If you can smell it, secondhand smoke is harming you. Cigarette butts are a danger to our children and to the environment. We applaud the actions taken by Brocton, Portland, and many other communities in our country. We ask adults to please observe the policy and help protect our children and the environment."

Brocton Village Trustee Art Donovan commented, "I am all in favor of this. I smoked for about 48 years. I used the patch and quit 13 years ago. I have had bladder cancer and one of my lungs has a problem. I know that it is my fault for smoking. I would be willing to talk to groups through a hospital and tell them my story."

Tobacco program a waste of money

2011-11-15T14:19:00.002+02:00

The Food and Drug Administration will spend $600 million in the next five years to “educate the public about the dangers of tobacco use.”

You would have to be living under a rock not to know the dangers of tobacco use. And yet our government, about to go bankrupt and floating in debt, is going to waste over half a billion dollars telling us what we already know?

If people want to use tobacco despite all the evidence of its ill effects, then they probably will anyway.

When is this government going to figure out that the good times are over and we can’t be wasting limited revenues on idiotic programs like this? If this president and Congress are serious about trimming the deficit and waste, cancel this program and use the $600 million to pay down the debt or bail out another solar company.

Stores Caught Selling Tobacco To Minors

2011-11-15T14:16:00.002+02:00

Federal officials warned 37 Colorado stores in October that undercover inspectors caught clerks selling cigarettes or smokeless tobacco to minors.
The violations were cited in enforcement warning letters sent to store operators by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The letters warned merchants to immediately correct the violations or face a "no-tobacco-sale order," product seizure and/or civil fines.
Store operators were given 15 working days to send a written response describing their intent to comply with the order and explain their plan to end violations.
Here's a sampling of violations cited in warning letters issued last month.
Florence Mini Mart in Aurora was warned that on July 16 a store employee sold someone under 18 years old a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and failed check a photo identification to confirm the buyer was over 18.
Maxx Liquors in Lakewood was warned that on July 8 a clerk sold a pack of Blue Camel cigarettes to a minor without checking an ID.
The King Soopers at 4271 S. Buckley Road in Aurora was warned that on July 20 a clerk sold a pack of Camel 99’s Filters cigarettes to a minor without checking ID.
The Greeley Fast Break store was warned that on July 26 a clerk sold a pack of Basic Gold cigarettes to a minor without checking ID.
A 1st Stop at 2900 S. Wadsworth Blvd. in Denver was warned that on July 1 a clerk sold a pack of Newport 100s cigarettes to a minor without checking ID.

Location of Stroke a Factor in Smoking Cessation

2011-11-07T14:18:00.001+02:00

Most smokers who have a stroke have not dropped the habit by one year after the event, which might be related to their intentions to quit before the stroke and the location of the stroke, researchers found.

At a single Spanish hospital, nearly 70% of smokers hospitalized for a stroke had stopped smoking by discharge, although only 40% remained abstinent at one year, according to Rosa Suñer Soler, PhD, of Girona University in Spain, and colleagues.

Those who had plans to quit smoking in the near future before the stroke were significantly more likely to have quit by one year after discharge (OR 7.29, 95% CI 1.89 to 28.07), the researchers reported online in Stroke: Journal of the American Heart Association.

Jessamine schools target underage smokers

2011-11-07T14:12:00.003+02:00

Students younger than 18 who bring tobacco to East or West Jessamine high schools in Nicholasville can find themselves paying a steep price.
Literally.
School resource officers at the two Jessamine County high schools now issue citations to underage students if they are caught with cigarettes or tobacco products on school property. The tickets are referred to Jessamine County Juvenile Court, where students can face fines of as much as $150 for violations, Jessamine Superintendent Lu Young said.
Citations are issued to enforce Kentucky state law that prohibits possession of tobacco products by anyone younger than 18. Fines are paid to the court and don't go to the school system, Young said.
Students 18 and older can't be ticketed for tobacco violations, but they can receive administrative punishment from the school system, Young said.
East Jessamine High began issuing tickets to tobacco violators at the start of the previous school year, and West Jessamine High started last month. District officials said both schools have seen a sharp drop in cases of students bringing tobacco on campus.
Before the policy went into effect, East Jessamine had 120 incidents of students smoking in 2008-09 and 148 in 2009-10, Principal Janet Granada said.
"Last year, we only had 39," Granada said. "Once the word spreads that there's a fine involved, it seems to lessen smoking greatly."
Young says the intent is to reduce student smoking, not punish students.
"We're not about fining kids or busting kids and that sort of thing," she said. "But these deterrents are there for a reason.
"And if it can become the ticket that moves a kid toward smoking cessation, then that's a win for us."
Brad Hughes, a spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association, said other Kentucky school districts might be taking such steps to combat smoking, but he hasn't heard of any. State Education Department spokeswoman Lisa Gross also said this is the first she has heard of school officers ticketing underage students for having tobacco on school property.
Federal law generally prohibits tobacco in any building used for educational purposes but doesn't cover outdoor smoking on school property.
Many of Kentucky's 174 public school districts, including Jessamine County, have adopted tobacco-free policies on their campuses. Fayette County Public Schools prohibit cigarettes and tobacco products in buildings, on grounds, in school-owned vehicles and on field trips.
Presumably, however, any public school district could adopt a court-based approach like the one at East and West Jessamine.
The Jessamine County effort is the brainchild of Billy King, a school resource officer at East Jessamine High. School resource officers in the Jessamine County system are official members of the Nicholasville police.
"We recognized we had a problem with minors using tobacco," King said. "We talked with faculty members and also with the court system, and we decided that I would make it a rule that if students were caught in possession of tobacco on campus, they would receive citations.
"I felt that it would prevent them from bringing tobacco to school if they knew they could get a fine. But I also knew that they probably didn't think it would happen. Police generally don't cite juveniles for tobacco possession, even though the law has been on the books forever."
King said he first posted signs around the school warning that citations would be issued to any minors who were caught with tobacco. After waiting a few weeks for students to get the picture, he started issuing tickets.
"The word got around pretty quickly that the court system was putting some pretty big penalties on the violators," he said.
Young said she didn't know exactly how many students have been fined, but that the number is relatively small.
"They only had to fine a couple of students at East High before the kids were saying, 'Forget it,'" she said. "Now, they're applying the same thing at West High too, and apparently it's gotten some quick reaction there as well."
Asked whether parents end up paying the fines, Young said that many students now have part-time jobs and could pay the fines themselves. Individual families would decide how they want to handle it, she said.
King said he understands that the court has required students, not parents, to pay the fines. He said, however, that fines are not imposed in every case.
Young said the school district is trying to support the effort with smoking-cessation classes for students who want help.
"The kids who don't smoke say they're really annoyed when they have to use bathrooms that smell like smoke," she said. "This is another weapon to try and cut out smoking in the high schools. I'm hoping it's going to be successful."

Council plan to shame smokers at outdoor dining areas

2011-11-07T14:12:00.001+02:00

SMOKERS would be shamed into restricting their smoking at outdoor dining areas under a novel campaign being considered by an inner-city council.

Instead of banning smoking in alfresco dining precincts, the City of Yarra is looking at a campaign calling on smokers to be more considerate of the majority.

"This will require a community regulation approach where it will become the norm for smokers to move away from non-smokers especially where eating and drinking or people are seated and/or congregating," says a proposal before a council meeting tonight.

Will smokers behave without a ban? Have your say below
Several councils have introduced bans at children's playgrounds and some other public spaces but so far only Baw Baw Shire has moved to outlaw smoking in outdoor dining areas.

The Municipal Association of Victoria wants the State Government to launch a statewide alfresco ban and to consider one at beaches too.

A six-month community consultation by Yarra Council has revealed strong support for a smoking ban at playgrounds but opinions are sharply divided over whether it should extend to outdoor dining areas.

The proposal before council says that a health promotion campaign, supported by local businesses, might work in areas where smoking is not restricted.

"(It would) call on smokers to be considerate of the majority," it said.

Smoking 'primes the brain for cocaine cravings'

2011-11-07T14:07:00.001+02:00

Smoking may increase the chances of someone abusing cocaine later in life by priming the brain to be more receptive to the Class A drug, say scientists.
The landmark study, from the National Institute on Drug Abuse in Maryland, is the first to show how nicotine can change the brain in a way that enhances the behavioural effects of cocaine.
It could help explain why so many drug-using teenagers tend to start with cigarettes and alcohol before moving on to more illegal substances.
In the current study, scientists from Columbia University in New York, found mice exposed to nicotine through their drinking water for one week showed an increased response to cocaine.
This priming effect depended on the previously unrecognised impact that nicotine made on gene expression. It was found to reprogram specific genes linked to addiction ultimately making the brain more responsive to harder drugs.
The team found that the results paralleled findings in humans after they reexamined statistics from the 2003 National Epidemiological Study of Alcohol Related Consequences.
They found that the rate of cocaine dependence was higher among cocaine users who smoked prior to starting cocaine compared to those who tried cocaine prior to smoking.
The findings, published in Science Translational Medicine, suggest smoking prevention would not only prevent the damaging effects of the habit but could also decrease the risk of progression and addiction to cocaine and other illegal drugs.
Senior author, Dr Eric Kandel, said: 'Now that we have a mouse model of the actions of nicotine as a gateway drug this will allow us to explore the molecular mechanisms by which alcohol and marijuana might act as gateway drugs.
'In particular, we would be interested in knowing if there is a single, common mechanism for all gateway drugs or if each drug utilises a distinct mechanism.'

Loleta smoke shop sued by state for 'contraband cigarettes'

2011-11-07T13:59:00.001+02:00

A tribal tobacco shop in Loleta has been ordered by the California Attorney General's Office to stop selling what it describes as illegal cigarettes and to cease distributing them beyond the boundaries of the Wiyot Table Bluff Reservation in Humboldt County.
What was originally an order in a letter dated nearly one year ago has transformed into a lawsuit against the Huber Enterprise Smoke Shop and owner Ardith Huber, alleging the shop has been selling contraband cigarettes since March 2007. The case is scheduled to be heard this week by a Humboldt County Superior Court judge.
The state said in the lawsuit that the smoke shop sells cigarette brands that aren't listed on the California Tobacco Directory and aren't certified as compliant with the California Cigarette Fire Safety and Fire Protection Act. The lawsuit said such brands include Seneca, Opal, Sky Dancer, Smokin' Joes and All Natural Native cigarettes.
Lynda Gledhill, spokeswoman for the Attorney General's Office, said one of the reasons the lawsuit was brought against the shop is that Huber has sold these cigarettes beyond the reservation's boundaries and to non-tribal members.
In addition, the lawsuit states Huber's choice not to charge taxes on the cigarettes is in violation of California's Unfair Competition Law, making the state lose an 87-cent tax on each package of 20 cigarettes and encouraging people to buy non-state-licensed cigarettes.
While tribal cigarettes aren't covered by the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement of 1998, which requires tobacco companies to pay states to help mitigate the costs of smoking-related public health expenses, Gledhill said that tribal cigarettes are still subject to state taxes. The letter sent to the smoke shop last year states, “Native American tribes and tribal retailers that sell cigarettes to non-Indians and non-members of the tribe are legally obligated to collect applicable state taxes.”
Michael Robinson, Huber's attorney, said he didn't want to discuss the specifics of the case but said the next step is for the Humboldt County Superior Court to make a ruling on Nov. 10 as to whether the case can even be heard due to jurisdictional issues.
”You've got a Native American on her own Indian reservation,” Robinson said. “Tribes are sovereign entities.”
He said the state doesn't have jurisdiction over Huber's smoke shop because it's part of a tribal reservation. He said he originally filed his response to the lawsuit in federal court, but it was remanded back to the state.
”We still believe that the issue of whether or not the state can regulate Indian reservations is a federal issue,” Robinson said.
Gledhill said Huber's smoke shop isn't the first Native American tobacco retail facility to be targeted by the Attorney General's Office for selling contraband cigarettes.
”There have been others ... BlackHawk, SevenLeaf, Roadrunner and NativeBuy,” Gledhill said, listing smoke shops that have been shut down.

Brazil's Government Delays Cigarettes Tax Hike Until May

2011-10-31T17:04:00.000+02:00

The Brazilian government on Monday said it will delay until May raising taxes on cigarettes, in order to curb inflationary pressure.

The government had planned to raise the IPI industrial products tax for cigarettes starting in December. Through incremental moves the IPI would be raised to 9% through 2015, from the current level of 6%.

Inflation in Brazil stands above 7%, well above the upper limit of the government's tolerance band of up to 6.5%.

By 2015, the government expects the increased tax to bring in an extra 7.7 billion Brazilian reais ($4.6 billion) per year, from BRL3.6 billion currently, which would help offset tax breaks for other industrial sectors.

According to a study by the World Health Organization published in 2011, 15% of Brazil's population smokes. By comparison, in Mexico the rate is 8%. Chile has the highest smoking rate in the region with 34%. Argentina has 22%.

Regarding taxes, according to the same WHO survey there were 26 countries in the world that have total taxes constituting more than 75% of the retail price of cigarettes.

Brazil's tax rate represented 60% of the retail price of cigarettes. Mexico's tax rate was 63%. Argentina and Chile both had a rate of 76%.

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Smoking, tobacco ads banned at Euro 2012 stadiums

2011-10-24T13:50:00.002+03:00

UEFA has imposed a ban on smoking and tobacco advertising at next year's European Championship.

UEFA says the ban will apply in and around all eight host stadiums in Poland and Ukraine.

UEFA President Michel Platini says the ban is about ''respecting the health of our spectators.''

Host cities will also be urged to extend the policy to ''ensure smoke-free public transport, restaurants and fan zones.''

UEFA worked with the World Health Organization and European Union to introduce the policy.

The 16-nation tournament will be played from June 8-July 1

Teenager plays active role in tobacco battle

2011-10-24T13:42:00.001+03:00

There are area youth who take a different approach in the fight against teens’ smoking: at the front lines.

Or rather, some youth stand in line and see what clerks will sell.

Local police solicit the help of teens to do periodic compliance checks on establishments with tobacco and liquor licenses, seeing if they will sell illegally to minors.

Eve, whose name was changed to provide anonymity, has been on undercover “stings” before with local and state officers. She is 15 years old.

During a compliance check, Eve goes into a bar or gas station and asks for a pack of cigarettes. Sometimes she gets nervous. She worries she will mess up the brand name of the pack. Clearly, she does something right. Once, nine establishments sold her cigarettes in one night.

Dave Wesner, Danville’s corporation counsel, said last year 12 citations were issued at establishments for violating the ordinance prohibiting the sale of tobacco products to anyone younger than 18. Wesner said typically the employee who sold tobacco to a minor is the one who is fined. However, continual violations at a certain site may result in a suspended or revoked license for the business.

Eve said she thinks it’s wrong when establishments sell to minors.

“What they’re doing is telling teenagers it’s OK, when really it’s not,” Eve said. She said it’s not good for places to break the law, especially when smoking puts one on a path that may lead to death.

Moving forward

Eve’s mom knows parents play a big role.

“I was raised in a family of smokers. Both my parents were heavy smokers,” her mom said. “I knew from an early age, it was a habit I didn’t want to develop.”

While she thinks it is good for schools to educate teens about risky behaviors, she doesn’t think it’s their responsibility.

“I absolutely think it’s the parents’ responsibility to teach their kids right from wrong.”

Her daughter said she will never smoke.

“I want to try to be like my mom,” Eve said, “because she never tried drugs when she was younger.”

Eve is comfortable talking to a parent and to her peers.

As they are being interviewed, Eve and her mom talk to each other about the situations Eve has encountered. Her mom knows Eve has been tempted by peers. Eve explains that she knows what to do when she’s pressured to start an unhealthy habit.

“I’ll just be like, ‘You know I don’t do that type of stuff,’” Eve said. “Later, they don’t even ask.”

“You’re that direct?” Eve’s mom asks her.

“Mm hm. Yeah, because if you’re not, they’re just gonna keep asking you,” Eve said.

“That’s true,” her mother replied.

Alberta sells off tobacco stock

2011-10-24T13:31:00.001+03:00

Though a Crown corporation selling off tobacco stock is being called an unprecedented move, the province’s plans to sue the tobacco industry remain unclear.

The Alberta Investment Management Corp. (AIMCo) has sold $17.5 million in directly managed tobacco stock held by public sector pension funds and the Alberta Heritage Savings Trust Fund, said AIMCo CEO Leo de Bever.

The decision to sell the stocks was initiated by the province, he said.

One year ago, when Premier Alison Redford was justice minister, she announced plans for the province to sue Big Tobacco to recover health care costs.

On Friday, Alberta Justice spokesman David Dear said while that’s still the plan, a lawsuit launch date has still not been picked.

“It’s too early to say,” said Dear.

“The next step is to proclaim Alberta’s Crown’s Right of Recovery Act — that will really set up all the steps that will follow.

“Obviously it’s an important issue and we’ll take the time we need to get it right.”

Dear said the lawsuit will seek to recoup health costs that resulted from the side-effects of the tobacco industry.

Cynthia Callard, executive director of the policy group Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada, said to the best of her knowledge, Alberta is the first province in Canada to dump these sorts of investments in the tobacco industry.

She said though Alberta’s stocks were modest compared to others — the Canada and Quebec pension plans each have more than $200 million invested and there is another $300-plus-million in B.C. — the move sets a good example.

“This step of Alberta is a major precedent,” she said.

Les Hagen, executive director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), said he’s also pleased by the province initiating the stock sell-off.

“It’s completely contradictory for the Alberta government to sue the tobacco industry on one hand and profit from it on the other,” he said.

“We think it’s a good move — it draws a clear line between government and the tobacco industry.”

Illegal cigarette trade costs kitty Rs10.5 billion

2011-10-18T13:26:00.001+03:00

Tax evasion by cigarette industry along with cigarette counterfeiting and smuggling has cost the national kitty Rs10.5 billion over the last nine months as compared to Rs9.5 billion in the corresponding period in 2010, according to tobacco industry statistics.

Of the Rs10.5 billion revenue losses, Rs7 billion is caused by tax evasion, Rs1 billion by counterfeiting and Rs2.5 billion by smuggling.

Most counterfeit cigarette manufacturing units are located in Chakwal, Sargodha and Okara in the Punjab, and parts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Azad Jammu and Kashmir. And their number is around 25.

According to the statistics, 2008 reported Rs 6 billion revenue losses from tax evasion, counterfeiting and smuggling by cigarette makers and traders. In 2011 until now, 31 billion cigarette sticks were manufactured.

During the fiscal 2010-11, the cigarette industry s contribution to national exchequer totalled Rs58.5 billion, while it was Rs55.9 billion in the previous year. The national cigarette market s size is around 72 billion sticks of which 59 billion are supplied by over 50 licensed manufacturers, while the remaining are either counterfeit, non-duty paid or smuggled ones. As claimed by the tobacco industry, unregistered cigarette manufacturing units force farmers to grow substandard tobacco, which is used to produce substandard and counterfeit cigarettes, for better profit at the expense of people s health.

Marijuana Smoking Competition At Stadium

2011-10-10T12:51:00.001+03:00

It was as if there was marijuana smoking competition at the Accra Sports Stadium from last Saturday night till the early hours of Sunday as there was unrestrained smoking of marijuana also known as ganja during the Mavado Live in Ghana concert.

The selling, possession and use of marijuana is a criminal offence in Ghana yet that law was put aside during the concert and thousands of persons turned their nostrils into a chimney, inhaling and puffing out thick smokes of marijuana as if they were on a suicide mission. The smokers were so daring that they passed on lighted joints of the illegal substance rolled perfectly and skillfully clipped between fingers. Not even the MC for the show, Bola Ray was spared as he and other non-smokers at the event had no choice but to become passive smokers as they inhaled the illicit drug.

The concert could pass for one of the biggest and most successful shows of the year, taking into account the turn up and performances. Midway into the show, News-One picked reports that the ticket had been completely sold out yet long winding queues had still been formed at the gates. The desperate fans outside the stadium, in apparent frustration, gave security officials a hard time as they became agitated and attempted entering the stadium with our without tickets .The main artiste for the night, Mavado, simply did not live up to expectation and had many people walking out of the show while he was still performing.

The question on the lips of many was who awarded Mavado the title Dancehall Messiah and named him as the biggest dancehall artiste in the world? News-One observed that Mavado might have had a problem playing with a live band as the coordination between him and the instrumentalist was jus missing. There were a few times he even went off key ad sang faster than the band.

There were also times he appeared confused and undecided on what to do and he kept stopping the performance midway and starting another song which he would also stop and start. His stage craft was equally questionably and it was clear he had a problem with audience coordination and at a point people started calling for Samini to be brought back on stage.

Samini was the most celebrated artiste of the night as he delivered a 30-minite live band performance that got everyone dancing and jumping in wild ecstasy. ‘Outstandingly thrilling’ is not good enough phrase to describe Samini’s performance as he stole the show and took shine from Mavado himself. Samini simply proved that he may not have an international image as big as Mavado’s but when it comes to music, he understands the act better. Fidie Ranks from Nigeria, Kwaw Kese and Sarkodie also put up very spectacular performance that got the crowd calling for more.

Talk of Tobacco Tax Increases in New Jersey, Maryland

2011-10-10T12:50:00.004+03:00

There is a push in at least two states to raise taxes on tobacco products, and while cigarettes are the usual target of tax talk, at least one of these states is taking a look at increasing the levy on other tobacco products as well.

In New Jersey, state Sen. Paul Sarlo (D-Bergen, Essex, Passaic) has sponsored legislation that would tax little cigars the same as cigarettes, according to the Press of Atlantic City. "The additional tax will make little cigars less appealing to current cigarette smokers seeking a cheaper alternative," the bill reads.

Currently, New Jersey's excise tax for a pack of cigarettes is $2.70. This is in addition to the $1.01 federal excise tax. According to the news report, New Jersey collected nearly $742 million in cigarette taxes last year. That was a 4-percent drop, or $33.1 million less, compared to 2008, state Treasury Department data show. However, at the same time, revenue from other tobacco products -- such as cigars, little cigars, chewing tobacco, pipe tobacco and roll-your-own -- increased 26 percent, generating $3.7 million more from lower tax rates.

The state has a wholesale tax on these products that is 30 percent of the price the wholesaler pays the manufacturer, Treasury Spokesman Bill Quinn told the news outlet.

Traveling south on Interstate 95, there is also a movement by a health advocacy group in Maryland to increase taxes across the state's tobacco landscape.

Vincent DeMarco, president of the Maryland Citizens' Health Initiative, said the group will start a campaign next week asking the General Assembly to increase the state's $2-a-pack tax on cigarettes to $3 and raise taxes on other tobacco products, including cigars and smokeless tobacco. He hopes to build on momentum from this year's assembly, in which legislators voted to increase the state's alcohol sales tax from 6 percent to 9 percent after several years of lobbying, as reported by The Washington Times.

Prior to 1999, Maryland taxed smokers 36 cents a pack of cigarettes. That year, the rate was increased by 66 cents. A second increase moved the rate to $1 in 2002, and state lawmakers again raised the tax, to $2 a pack, during their 2007 special session, according to the news outlet.

DeMarco said he would like to see a tax increase passed as early as next year's regular session, but that could prove to be a tall order, said Delegate Jolene Ivey, (D-Prince George's County).

"Once you do something like raise a particular tax, it's a long time before it's raised again," said Ivey, a member of the House Ways and Means Committee, which would have to approve the increase. "I don't see it passing next year or in the foreseeable future."

Tobacco, brewery stocks edge up on escaping tax hikes

2011-10-10T12:50:00.001+03:00

Tobacco and brewery stocks edged up in early trade on Monday, Oct 10 after the government spared them of an excise duty hike under Budget 2012 tabled last Friday.

At 9.31am, BAT gained 48 sen to RM43.98 while JT International rose 29 sen to RM6.09

Meanwhile, GAB added 10 sen to RM10 and Carlsberg rose six sen to RM6.52.

The FBM KLCI slipped 1.63 points to 1,398.42, as key blue chips stocks weighed on the index.

Marijuana-shaped candy alarms parents, officials

2011-10-10T12:40:00.001+03:00

Candy shaped like marijuana that's showing up on store shelves around the country won't get kids high, but aghast city leaders and anti-drug activists say the product and grocers carrying it represent a new low.

"We're already dealing with a high amount of drug abuse and drug activity and trying to raise children so they don't think using illegal substances is acceptable," said City Councilmember Darius Pridgen. "So to have a licensed store sell candy to kids that depicts an illegal substance is just ignorant and irresponsible."

The "Pothead Ring Pots," ''Pothead Lollipops" and bagged candy are distributed to retail stores by the novelty supply company Kalan LP of the Philadelphia suburb of Lansdowne. It also wholesales online for $1 for a lollipop and $1.50 for a package of three rings.

Company president Andrew Kalan said the candy, on the market six to nine months and in 1,000 stores around the country, promotes the legalization of marijuana.

"It does pretty well," he said.

"This is the first complaint I've heard," Kalan said, "and people are usually not shy. I'm actually surprised this is the first."

An irate parent brought the candy to Pridgen's attention, hoping the city could apply pressure and get it out of stores.

Pridgen and Councilmember Demone Smith displayed the candy, along with fake marijuana known as "K2" that's also sold in some stores at Tuesday's Common Council meeting, where Pridgen said he'd refuse to grant licenses to stores in his district that planned to sell the merchandise and would seek to embarrass stores that carry it. The synthetic marijuana is sold as incense but is smoked.

Synthetic marijuana typically involves dried plant material sprayed with one of several chemical compounds. The products contain organic leaves coated with chemicals that provide a marijuana-like high when smoked. The Drug Enforcement Administration recently used its emergency powers to outlaw five chemicals found in synthetic marijuana.

It appeared Pridgen's message had gotten out by Thursday. A check of about a half-dozen stores in Buffalo, often in impoverished neighborhoods where real drugs are a festering problem, turned up none of the controversial candy.

The bags of "Pothead Sour Gummy Candy," and lollipops shaped like marijuana leaves appear to be a recent addition to the inventory of some corner stores. The sour apple-flavored candy contains nothing illegal, but with its marijuana leaf, the word "Legalize" and a joint-smoking, peace sign-waving user on the packaging, critics say it's not only in poor taste but an invitation to try the real thing.

"It's the whole idea that it promotes drugs and the idea that, here, you'll look cool if you use this — which is what gets these kids in trouble in the very first place," said Jodie Altman, program supervisor at Renaissance House, a treatment center for drug- and alcohol-addicted youth.

Charmaine Rosendary, 36, of Buffalo shook her head when she saw a picture of the package.

"That's not right. It's just promoting marijuana," she said while buying produce Friday at a Buffalo market. She said she wouldn't allow her five teenagers, ages 15-19, to have it.

"I would not buy it or give them money to buy it," she said. "It looks like weed."

It's not the first legal product to come under fire.

In 2008, the Hershey Co. stopped making Ice Breakers Pacs in response to criticism that the mints looked too much like illegal street drugs. Police in Philadelphia complained that the packets, nickel-sized dissolvable pouches with a powdered sweetener inside, closely resembled tiny heat-sealed bags used to sell powdered street drugs.

Candy cigarettes and fruity or energy drink-infused alcoholic beverages have been criticized for targeting young people. And in 1997, the Federal Trade Commission said the iconic Joe Camel cigarette ads and packaging violated federal law because they appealed to kids under 18. The tobacco company, R.J. Reynolds, eventually shelved the caricature.

A spokesman for the Office of National Drug Control Policy said advocates for legalization who claim marijuana is benign are not supported by science.

"Trivializing drug use is a threat to public health because it erodes perceptions of harm among young people," said Rafael Lemaitre.

Kalan said his company carries several products with the marijuana leaf and "legalize" message to accommodate growing demand in the movement to legalize marijuana.

"We don't advocate for a political position. We just look at what the marketplace wants and respond to it," the wholesaler said. "It's just candy... It's sour apple flavor, it doesn't claim to be pot in disguise or anything like that."

Smoking Still High in U.S. Mining, Food Service

2011-10-05T13:37:00.001+03:00

Cigarette smoking remains stubbornly high among workers in the mining, food services and construction industries despite dramatic overall declines in the United States in recent decades, a federal study showed.
Thirty percent of workers in mining, hotel/motel and food services smoke, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, which analyzed data from 2004-2010.
The construction industry had the next highest smoking rate at 29.7 percent.
"Since the first surgeon general's report in 1964, we've almost cut the smoking prevalence in half overall," said Ann Malarcher, senior scientific adviser at the CDC. "But then there are groups that are still at very high rates and are being left behind."
The management and education sectors had among the lowest percentage of smokers. Only 9.7 percent of educators smoke, according to the study.
Low education levels are a factor in high smoking rates, along with poverty and gender, Malarcher said.
"One of the things that has been studied is that persons with lower levels of education tend to have less access to health information," she said. "They tend to be less knowledgeable about the dangers of tobacco use."
The CDC survey found the highest smoking rates among workers ages 18-24, males, those with high school or less education and those without health insurance. Midwestern workers had the overall highest rates.
The CDC recommends that employers increase their anti-smoking efforts, including imposing smoke-free workplace policies and providing health insurance coverage for smoking cessation treatments.
Adult smoking has decreased 42.4 percent since 1965, the CDC said. But the decline has slowed in the past five years, dropping to 19.3 percent of adults in 2010 from 20.9 percent in 2005.
Smoking and exposure to secondhand smoke is the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States, killing an estimated 443,000 Americans each year. Smoking costs about $193 billion annually in direct health care expenses and lost productivity.

Phillipsburg resident urges smoking ban at school bus stops

2011-10-05T13:25:00.000+03:00

Parents smoking at Phillipsburg school bus stops might soon have to put their butts out.
A Phillipsburg resident appeared before town council Tuesday venting about other parents smoking at her son’s Barber Elementary School bus stop.
“No matter where I turn someone is smoking,” said resident Prudence Burd, whose 7-month-old daughter was born premature.
Burd’s daughter, who has chronic lung disease, travels with her mother and brother to the Fourth and Broad streets bus stop because her husband leaves for work early.

Dampener on smoking in public places

2011-10-05T13:22:00.001+03:00

LOCAL government peak body the Municipal Association of Victoria is pushing a plan that would restrict smoking in outdoor public places, including bans in alfresco dining areas and children's playgrounds.

MAV president Bill McArthur said the proposal to Health Minister David Davis was to provide consistency in local laws for some common outdoor areas and improve public health.

Simon Armstrong, of the cafe Seddon Deadly Sins, said it was a vexed issue with no simple answer. The cafe has outdoor seating and he estimates about a quarter of its customers are smokers. Increasingly, non-smokers are becoming frustrated with drinking their coffee in the courtyard shared with smokers, he said.

"It's their right to smoke if they want to and that right would be taken away by [a ban]. There's an equally valid argument saying, 'Why should I have to smell that smoke while I'm having my nice coffee and breakfast'."

Mr Armstrong, a non-smoker, said a uniform law on smoking in outdoor areas could make it easier for individual traders to uphold wishes of non-smokers without losing business because it would be up to the individual to modify their lifestyle when dining out.

Almost one in four males and one in six females in Maribyrnong are regular smokers, according to the most recent Health Department survey. Cancers and cardiovascular disease are the cause of more than half the deaths - 60per cent for males, 63per cent for females - of people in Maribyrnong.

Mayor Sarah Carter said the council did not have a formal position but supported the broad intent of the plan to reduce smoking rates and health risks associated with second-hand smoke. "Council would need to determine the costs associated with this approach and community views about smoking in outdoor areas if considering the proposal."

A government spokeswoman said it was "receptive to reviewing practical ideas to reduce smoking rates" and would be examining the results of council trials.

Delaware County bar owners say business down since smoking ban

2011-10-05T13:20:00.000+03:00

Local tavern owners on Monday testified they've lost business -- and one is likely to close this week -- as a result of the enhanced smoking ordinance enacted by Delaware County officials in August.

The testimony came during a nearly three-hour hearing before Delaware Circuit Court 1 Judge Marianne Vorhees, who is considering a request for a temporary injunction against the ordinance, which prohibits smoking in bars and fraternal organizations. County commissioners said they hoped to protect employees and other patrons from the hazards of secondhand smoke.

The request for the temporary injunction stems from a lawsuit, aimed at overturning the measure, by the Delaware County Licensed Beverage Association, four local fraternal organizations and a tobacco shop. The suit was filed Aug. 31 by attorney Bruce Munson, who called several of his clients to the stand on Monday.

Lewis Coulter, county president of the DCLBA and owner of two Muncie taverns, said business, and his profits, were down significantly since the ordinance went into effect on Aug. 12.

"Some of the familiar faces you don't see nearly as often," said Coulter, who owns the Red Dog Saloon, 1600 W. 23rd St., and the End Zone Sports Bar, 2430 W. Kilgore Ave.

Coulter said the Red Dog used to sell about $300 in food to bar patrons on Monday evenings. On a recent Monday night, that total was down to $60, he said.

Danyelle Cross, co-owner of Timbers Lounge, 2770 W. Kilgore Ave., said her "lunch crowd is probably half, if that" since the smoking ban went into effect. As a result, the westside bar now has two fewer employees.

The day before the ban went into effect, "we had customers tell us, 'It was nice knowing you,'" Cross recalled.

Dan Hill, who recently bought the Triangle Saloon, 1634 Kirby Ave., said that "99 percent" of his customers were military veterans who smoke, and "since they can't smoke, they're not coming in."

As a result, his tavern sees about 15 customers per day as opposed to a previous average of 60, and "Friday will probably be my last day," Hill said.

Smoking Rihanna falls foul of farmer while filming video in Northern Ireland

2011-09-28T12:57:00.001+03:00

The 23-year-old singer was spotted having the sneaky cigarette during a break in filming the video for We Found Love, her collaboration with dance music producer Calvin Harris.
And she also raised the ire of a local farmer, who deemed her choice of attire 'inappropriate' and said he'd never even heard of her.
The clip had been filmed in a field near Bangor, County Down, ahead of Rihanna's three concerts in Belfast later this week.
And she braved the autumn weather in some revealing outfits during the shoot - including a black cropped jumper and unbuttoned jeans, as well as a red bikini and oversized cowboy shirt plus a red and white striped bikini over a denim waistcoat with a US flag design.

Divorce, smoking may trigger hair loss in women

2011-09-28T12:53:00.002+03:00

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As if the heartache of divorce wasn't hardship enough, it appears that women enduring marital break-up may also have to deal with hair loss.
New research reveals that, genetics aside, the next strongest predictor of midline (central) hair loss among women is their marital status, with the loss of a spouse (through either divorce or death) raising the risk for thinning hair above that of married or single women.
"Most likely, stress is the aspect of a troubling divorce that appears to lead to hair loss among women," noted study author Dr. Bahman Guyuron, chairman of the department of plastic surgery at Case Western Reserve School of Medicine.
Excessive drinking and/or smoking also appear to boost the risk for hair loss among women, the study found.
Smoking and heavy drinking also contributed to thinning locks among men, the study found. But in other respects the two genders were affected differently, with various patterns of male hair loss sparked by overexposure to the sun, cancer history and having a "couch potato" lifestyle, among others.
"What we can say is that we identified factors that appear to both raise risk and lower risk, for both men and women, independent of genetic disposition," Guyuron said
He is slated to present the findings from two related studies on Sunday at the American Society of Plastic Surgeons' annual meeting, in Denver.
In the first study, the authors focused exclusively on a pool of 84 female identical twins, all of whom completed lifestyle questionnaires, followed by hormone blood level testing and an extensive photo analysis of their hair. Studies of identical twins can be useful because each twin carries the same genes as the other, ruling out genetic differences as a potential cause for a trait or illness.
Across the temporal area (near temples) of the head, the team found that the more years a woman had smoked the greater the hair loss. A history of skin conditions also contributed to hair loss in that area, while having just a couple drinks per week actually seemed to reduce the risk.
Hair loss in the coronal area (nearer the top) of the head among women was linked to being diabetic, having some form of skin disease and being a current smoker, while being overweight or obese was associated with lower risk of hair loss.
Guyuron said the findings indicate that female hair loss can also be sparked by excessive sleeping patterns, as well as situations commonly associated with stress such as having multiple children and/or getting married.
Women who drank coffee, used sun protection (such as a hat) and were happily married all faced a lower overall risk for hair loss, he added.
The team's second study similarly looked at hair loss among 66 male identical twins.
The results: in addition to smoking and sun exposure, having a history of dandruff also boosted midline hair loss risk, while cumulative sun exposure and a history of cancer elevated risk for both temporal and coronal hair loss.
Men who didn't exercise regularly and had high blood pressure also had a higher risk for coronal hair loss.
Men who exercised outdoors a lot also face a higher risk for hair loss, and Guyuron believes sun exposure could play a role there.

Extending smoking bans to the outdoors is worthwhile

2011-09-28T11:41:00.002+03:00

The guest editorial overlooks the many functions of smoking bans.

First and foremost, of course, is the protection of non-smokers from noxious, toxic second-hand smoke.

But we should also remember that the fewer places people can smoke, the less they smoke, and the more people decide once and for all to quit. That improves everyone's health.

Smoking bans make it very clear to smokers that we don't want to be forced to breathe what they're inhaling because we don't want any of the more than 50 diseases caused by tobacco smoke. And we certainly don't want to die as young as most smokers die.

I, for one, have been forced out of transit shelters and queues by inconsiderate smokers. I have had to move away from smokers on beaches and in parks, only to have another smoker light up next to my new location.

Despite very clear and shocking warnings on cigarette packs, some smokers are still not getting the message.

If you've ever burned your foot on someone's discarded "cigarette" on the beach, you'd support a ban.

Millions of dollars will be saved by preventing the destruction of trees by fires caused every year by discarded cigarettes.

Smoking bans have to include outdoor public places, as well, if we are going to achieve all of the aforementioned objectives. A cigarette is no less deadly when it is being smoked outdoors.

Businesses targeted in underage tobacco sales sting

2011-09-21T13:40:00.003+03:00

FIVE shops in Bassetlaw were caught selling tobacco to underage kids during a test purchase operation across the county.

Trading Standards officers from Notts County Council worked with volunteers aged 15 to 17 on the operation at newsagents, grocers, petrol stations and small supermarkets in Ashfield, Newark and Sherwood, Broxtowe and Bassetlaw.

Of the 57 premises checked during week commencing 22nd August, sales were made to the young volunteers in nine.

Two further sales took place in Newark and Sherwood and two in Broxtowe. No sales to under-18s were made at the premises tested in Ashfield.

Owners at the nine shops will now be interviewed by officers and a decision will be taken on what, if any, action will be taken against them.

Shops can be fined up to £2,500 if found guilty of selling cigarettes to under-18s.

If a premises, person or company sells tobacco or cigarette papers to under 18s twice in two years, the county council can apply to ban sales for a period of up to a year.

Coun Mick Murphy, cabinet member for community safety, said it was ‘disappointing’ so many premises in the county have been willing to sell tobacco products to children without challenge, despite clear guidance to the contrary.

“Trading Standards work closely with local businesses who want to ensure that they do not sell tobacco to under-18s by giving advice on their legal responsibilities as well as tips on how to avoid selling all age-restricted products to young people.”

“But whilst we recognise that the majority of retailers are responsible, we will come down hard on those who flout the law,” he said.

Meanwhile, from 1st October, the law will change to make it illegal to sell tobacco products directly to the public from vending machines, regardless of age.

Under the change in law, businesses will still be allowed to have tobacco vending machines but they cannot be accessible to the public.

Imperial Tobacco Plans Sterling Benchmark 15-Year Bond

2011-09-21T13:37:00.002+03:00

Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN) plans to issue a sterling-denominated, 15-year, benchmark-sized bond, one of the banks hired to lead the deal said Wednesday.
Bank of America Merrill Lynch, Barclays Plc, BNP Paribas SA and Deutsche Bank are joint bookrunners on the bond, which is expected to price later Wednesday.
The issuer is rated Baa3 by Moody's Investors Service and BBB by Standard & Poor's Corp, both with stable outlooks.

Cigarette smuggling at Serbia-Bulgaria border

2011-09-21T13:35:00.001+03:00

Cigarette smuggling at the Serbian-Bulgarian border is frequent, and the Bulgarian customs officers at the Kalotina-Gradina crossing have in the past two days confiscated over 5,500 cigarette packs with Serbian excise stamps on them.

The Bulgarian customs officers Monday found 4,150 cigarette packs in a minibus with Bulgarian licence plates trying to enter Bulgaria.

The cigarettes produced in Serbia were hidden in the roof of the vehicle, the Bulgarian Customs Administration has stated.

The vehicle was driven by a Bulgarian citizen H.M. (32) from Sofia.

A day earlier at the same crossing, the customs officers found 1,400 cigarette packs with Serbian excise stamps on them.

The vehicle was entering Bulgaria, and it was driven by a 40-year-old Srdjan V.

Bulgaria has the highest excise duties on tobacco in the Balkans. Smuggling therefore became a lucrative business for the unemployed Bulgarians, but also for the Serbian citizens who consider it an easy profit.

Cigarettes are mainly smuggled from Macedonia, Serbia, Moldova, Greece, Turkey and Romania.

WA State Dems Endorse Marijuana Legalization

2011-09-21T13:31:00.003+03:00

The Washington state Democratic Central Committee Saturday endorsed a marijuana legalization initiative, throwing the party's weight behind the effort to put the measure on the ballot for the November 2012 election.

[image:1 align:left caption:true]The Central Committee voted 75-43 for a resolution supporting Initiative 502, which would legalize the possession of marijuana by adults and allow for its sale through pot-only stores regulated by the state liquor control authority. Initiative sponsors New Approach Washington estimate that marijuana legalization under its model would generate more than $200 a million a year in tax revenues, with more than half of that earmarked for public health programs.

The Democrats cited, among other things, law enforcement costs of marijuana prohibition and the revenues that could be gained with legalization. They noted that marijuana possession arrests, with mandatory 24-hour jail stays, accounted for half of all Washington drug arrests.

I-502 is controversial among some segments of the marijuana legalization and medical marijuana communities because it also includes a per se driving under the influence provision. The initiative sets a blood THC level of 5 nanograms per millileter above which drivers are presumed to be impaired, but some activists argue that such a provision will result in the arrest and conviction of pot-accustomed drivers who are not actually impaired.

That didn't seem to bother the Democratic Central Committee too much, though. The committee included that provision in its long list of "whereases" in support of the initiative, noting that "this per se limit will not apply to the non-psychoactive marijuana metabolite carboxy-THC that can appear in blood or urine tests for days or even weeks after last use."

I-502 is supported by the ACLU of Washington, whose Allison Holcomb has taken a leave of absence to spearhead the campaign, and has been endorsed by prominent Washington figures, including former US Attorney John McKay (the man who prosecuted Marc Emery), Seattle City Attorney Pete Holmes, and travel writer and TV show host Rick Steves.

Organizers have until next July to gather 241,000 valid signatures to qualify for the ballot. But I-502 is an initiative to the legislature, meaning that if it passes the signature-gathering hurdle, it would then go before the state legislature in the upcoming session. If the legislature refuses to act, the initiative would then go before the voters in November 2012.

Phillip Smith is a contributor to StoptheDrugWar.org. StoptheDrugWar.org articles are available for reprinting under a modified version of the Creative Commons 3.0 Attribution License. 489 views

Chief Huff gives high praise for marijuana seizure

2011-09-16T13:46:00.000+03:00

A routine inspection of a tractor trailer rig this week in Hancock County led to the seizure of 7,000 pounds of marijuana.

Tuesday morning, Mississippi Department of Transportation (MDOT) Enforcement Officers stopped a 2005 Peterbilt tractor and van trailer at the east bound I-10 Hancock County inspection facility.

While conducting a routine cargo and trailer inspection, the officers discovered 126 plastic wrapped bundles of marijuana. Each bundle weighed about 55 pounds. Investigators said if all that pot had made it to the streets, it would have been worth about $7 million.

Also on board the trailer were 55 gallon barrels of mango puree.

"This is a significant seizure. I am very proud of our officers and their diligence," said Chief Willie Huff, MDOT's Director of Enforcement. "We must continue our vigilance for all types of contraband before it reaches our streets or impacts our Homeland Security."

MDOT Enforcement, Mississippi Bureau of Narcotics, and the federal Drug Enforcement Administrations are still trying to figure out where the drugs came from, and where they were headed. Until they know that, no charges have been filed against the driver.

Customs seize €3.1m worth of cigarettes

2011-09-16T13:41:00.002+03:00

REVENUE’S CUSTOMS officers have made another multimillion-euro seizure of cigarettes after a 40ft container labelled “paper products” at Dublin Port was found to contain eight million cigarettes valued at €3.1 million.

The haul was found at the port in a container that had come from Spain on Monday. A truck and container registered in the North were also confiscated when Customs officers seized the haul.

The cigarettes were of the Regal, Richman and Hoop brands.

They were being smuggled into the State without any taxes or duties being paid and would have represented a loss to the exchequer of some €2.5 million had they been sold here at their recommended retail price.

The latest haul brings to about 87 million the number of cigarettes seized by Customs so far this year. These hauls have had a collective value of €33.2 million.

Many organised crime gangs involved in the drugs trade have moved into cigarette smuggling in recent years in a bid to replace the drug-related income they have lost since the recession began.

Garda sources believe gangs have lost money in the recession as people’s disposable incomes have fallen and demand for recreational drugs has decreased.

Smuggling cigarettes is seen as a lucrative activity because demand for contraband and counterfeit cigarettes is at an all-time high due to the recession.

Gang made a packet on duty-free cigarettes in boarding pass scam

2011-09-16T13:33:00.001+03:00

Michael Pitt, from Islington, was the ringleader of the gang, who passed through boarding gates and security at Heathrow, Gatwick, Stansted and Luton using fake boarding cards or one-way open tickets.

Once through, they stocked up on thousands of cigarettes at a time to sell on the black market in pubs and at car boot sales, often filling entire suitcases with popular brands. The total duty evaded between February 2009 and May last year was nearly £546,000.

After making their duty-free purchases, Pitt and his accomplices Kevin McGee, 28, and Mike Ewens, 38, both from Holloway, would leave through the domestic arrivals channel, or travel to another UK airport to buy more.

Boarding cards were forged to make it look as though they were going outside the EU so they had a higher duty-free allowance.

HM Revenue and Customs, which released pictures of the gang today, was alerted to their activities by the UK Border Agency.

During a three-month surveillance operation last year, two other men - John Cooper, 57, and Kenneth Chapman, 68, both from Essex - were seen leaving Pitt's house, apparently with bags full of cigarettes. Tracey Smith, a sales assistant at Manchester airport, was an "inside woman", selling Lucky Strike cigarettes to the gang, Hove Trial Centre heard.

All were charged with duty evasion. Pitt, 47, admitted the charge, and also fraud over the production and supply of the counterfeit boarding cards. He was jailed for five years.

McGee, who pleaded guilty, and Cooper, who denied the charge, each got 12 months. Ewens and Chapman pleaded guilty and each got a 12-month jail sentence, suspended for two years. Smith, who denied the charge, got 12 months.

After the case, Martin Brown, assistant director of criminal investigation for HMRC, said: "The effect of this type of criminal activity on legitimate retailers can be devastating and billions of pounds are lost in duty each year, money which should be available for public services."

Cops swoop on cigarette smugglers

2011-09-12T13:33:00.001+03:00

The police dealt another major blow to crime syndicates smuggling contraband cigarettes into South Africa, when they swooped on three vehicles laden with more than R1m worth of counterfeit products.

Last month, 13 vehicles carrying contraband cigarettes were seized at the border between South Africa and Zimbabwe, while five have been seized so far this month.

The latest incident happened when a special police unit swooped as the vehicles, which were jam-packed with fake cigarettes, crossed into SA from Zimbabwe in the early hours of Saturday morning.

The unit was following up on intelligence about suspicious movement on the Beitbridge border crossing near Musina, when they came across two Toyota Quantum minibuses and a Toyota Hilux bakkie crossing to SA.

But as they moved in, some of the occupants fled and managed to escape back across the border into Zimbabwe.

Three Zimbabwean nationals were arrested and the three vehicles, as well as 229 boxes of counterfeit cigarettes, were seized. The street value of 57250 packets of cigarettes is estimated at R1.4m.

The men are expected to appear in the Musina Magistrate’s Court today.

Francois van der Merwe, CEO of The Tobacco Institute of Southern Africa, told The New Age that around 400 million contraband cigarettes were smuggled into SA each month.

“Tobacco smuggling causes tax losses of R3bn per year in unpaid taxes, excise duty and VAT,” he said.

Last month more than 10 million contraband cigarettes were destroyed in Mpumalanga, after being confiscated at the Lebombo border post between South Africa and Mozambique.

In August, custom officials from the South African Revenue Services seized six million cigarettes during raids on several distributors in the Musina area, said Van der Merwe. Eleven suspects were arrested.

In a similar operation the next day, custom officials recovered a further 750 000 illegal cigarettes from a retailer in Ventersdorp, in the North West Province.

Cigarette labels' effectiveness seriously in doubt

2011-09-12T13:29:00.002+03:00

It is endlessly surprising that a newspaper whose very existence is protected by the First Amendment would so quickly brush off those same rights for an unpopular industry such as tobacco without even examining the facts. At the very least we would hope that our local paper would acknowledge that the company is entitled to a fair review of these facts in the court system, even if the News & Record is unwilling to do the same (Sept. 1 editorial, “A warning worth hearing”).

Many who support the emotionally charged new labels for cigarettes that were mandated by the Food and Drug Administration ignore one essential fact. Studies continue to show that graphic warning labels are ineffective. Even the FDA’s own regulatory impact analysis fails to show that the proposed warnings will have any impact on the rates of smoking behavior.

The FDA estimated that the labels would reduce U.S. smoking rates by 0.212 percent. This one-fifth of 1 percent reduction, the FDA concluded, was “not statistically distinguishable from zero.”

Michael Siegel, a prominent tobacco control professor at the Boston University School of Public Health, examined the issue by looking at the FDA’s analysis of the impact of graphic warnings in Canada, which the FDA relied on to justify its new labels. He concluded graphic warnings had no statistically significant impact on smoking rates in Canada. Furthermore, after conducting a series of analyses, Siegel estimated that labels in Canada could have actually increased smoking prevalence. On his blog, tobaccoanalysis.blogspot.com, he called the FDA’s analysis “flimsy” and its conclusions “scientifically shaky” that graphic warning labels will reduce smoking prevalence in the United States.

For more than 45 years, cigarettes have been accompanied by Surgeon General’s warnings, and over those years Lorillard never brought a legal challenge to those warnings. But in its announcement, the FDA vastly exceeded the bounds of previous warnings by mandating labels that are not only ineffective but also unconstitutional.

Lorillard as a result filed a lawsuit along with other tobacco manufacturers. Our lawsuit marshals strong legal arguments that the requirement is damaging because it violates the First Amendment. The lawsuit sums it up best: “Never before in the United States have producers of a lawful product been required to use their own packaging and advertising to convey an emotionally charged government message urging adult consumers to shun their products.”

It appears the requirement is the latest step in the government’s plan of “rebranding of ... cigarette packs,” as Kathleen Sebelius, secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services, said at a news conference. The message was clear. Once the regulation is in effect, much of the current tobacco advertising and product displays will be replaced by the government’s graphic anti-smoking advocacy.

Certainly the government can require warnings. But in our view it is a clear violation of the First Amendment to require a package for a legal product to serve as a minibillboard to carry the government messages and the government pictures in order to advocate that consumers not buy the product.

It is doubly striking that the FDA wants to go down this unconstitutional road in light of its own studies demonstrating the ineffectiveness of the graphic warning labels.

Orangutan addicted to smoking cigarettes thrown to her by tourists is removed from 'appalling' zoo

2011-09-12T13:27:00.000+03:00

A captive orangutan who would smoke cigarettes thrown to her by zoo visitors is being forced to kick the habit.
Malaysian authorities have seized adult orangutan Shirley from a state-run zoo in the southern Jahor state last week after she was deemed to be living in poor conditions.
The 25-year-old animal is now being quarantined at another zoo in a neighbouring state and is expected to be sent to a wildlife centre on Borneo within weeks.
Melaka Zoo director Ahmad Azhar Mohammed said that Shirley is not being provided with any more cigarettes because 'smoking is not normal behaviour for orangutans'.
The zoo where Shirley lived in Jahor hit the headlines earlier this year because of the appalling conditions animals were kept in.
The female orangutan competed with cage-mate Abu for cigarette butts thrown by tourists to satisfy her smoking habit.
A 'no smoking' sign was put up outside her cage, but authorities did nothing to stop people throwing the cigarettes inside.

Judge awards state $8M from tobacco company

2011-08-29T14:47:00.001+03:00

Attorney General Jim Hood’s lawsuit against Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. received an $8 million victory in court today.

Judge Jaye A. Bradley, in the Chancery Court of Jackson County, issued a ruling today on the Attorney General’s Motion to Enforce Settlement against B&W.

The original tobacco settlement requires the company to pay Mississippi for every cigarette it makes and ships. The Attorney General argued that B&W made cigarettes but shipped them to a third-party manufacturer, STAR. STAR tobacco then sold those cigarettes to consumers in Mississippi.
“The Court agreed with our position that B&W could not use such trickery to avoid paying Mississippi for those cigarettes,” Hood said.

Judge Bradley’s ruling stated: “There is no dispute that during the time period of 1999 through 2002, B&W manufactured and shipped to STAR more than 7.5 billion cigarettes. Further, there is no dispute that during the relevant time period at least 600 million STAR cigarettes were sold in Mississippi. However, B&W did not include these STAR cigarettes within their calculations for payments made to Mississippi pursuant to the Settlement Agreement.”

The Judge ordered B&W to pay approximately $8.1 million to the state. It also ordered the company to pay all the state’s attorneys fees and costs.

The court also stated that it would hold in abeyance awarding any punitive damages until it determines how much B&W owes on other matters that were raised in the litigation.

White Cloud Electronic Cigarette Unveils the Cirrus 3 Kit

2011-08-29T14:45:00.001+03:00

The White Cloud undoubtedly falls under the best electronic cigarette category. This is owing to the very simple reason that the White Cloud Electronic Cigarette has managed to introduce products of the highest quality at all times. Their latest invention is the Cirrus 3 kit, which is undoubtedly the best deal for the serious smoker. Those smokers who would like to make a permanent switch from smoking tobacco to electronic cigarettes are undoubtedly in for a pleasant surprise when they get their hands onto the Cirrus 3 kit.

In this kit, you would be getting five smooth draw cartridges, three electronic batteries, one AC adapter, one USB charger and all these would be backed by the the six month warranty. The charging time that is required for making a single battery fully operational is approximately sixty minutes. Besides, this brand ensures that their consumers are provided more puffs with each cartridge.

With the aid of three batteries, you can actually puff 600 times more than what you usually puff in an normal e cigarette. This kit also provides the smallest e cigarette to have ever been made in this industry. This is all owing to the advancement in technology because of which the size of the cigarette has been reduced while its functionality drastically improved.

Using Moore’s integrated law, the size of the cigarette has been made shorter than the size of a filtered cigarette. At the same time, it has also been noticed that the size of the battery as well as the chargers have also been reduced here to make it easier for the consumers to carry it around. Besides, there have been several modifications with regards to the body of the cirrus 3 electric cigarettes.

The body of the new cirrus 3 white cloud electronic cigarettes has been made stronger after noticing that consumers drop it quite often. The new White Cloud cigs would witness an unprecedented shock absorption technology that is being used in its manufacturing procedure to ensure that the chances of breakages and pilferage are minimized and that the cigarettes last for a lifetime.

The cirrus 3 package has been designed to comply with all smooth draw cartridges and its battery can also be charged with the help of a normal charger. Besides receiving the best electronic cigarettes reviews from critics, the launch of the White Cloud cirrus 3 smoker kit has ensured that this brand takes over as the number one best selling brand of electric cigarettes in the coming years.

The truth behind cigarette health warnings

2011-08-29T14:42:00.001+03:00

This edition of U-talk looks at the health warnings that appear on the sides of cigarette packets.

Our question about that comes from Lewis in the British capital London:

“I’ve got a question I’d like to ask the EU institutions: I’d like to know why they’re spending so much money putting pictures on packets of cigarettes to make people not want to smoke? Because I just think it’s ridiculous, if people want to smoke they’ll smoke.”

The reply from Frédéric Vincent, EU spokesperson for Health and Consumers:

“Firstly it costs European taxpayers nothing to put pictures on President cigarette packets. A European directive states that on each cigarette packet sold in the EU 40 percent must be devoted to health warnings for the consumer.

“The individual member state then decides how to deliver the warning, via picture or text. Currently in the EU there are seven states that use a picture, it is not mandatory, but possible to do under EU law.

“Does it discourage smoking? I hope so! Each year there are 650,000 tobacco related deaths in the EU, the leading cause of preventable death in the union. Recently the US introduced pictures on their packets, so it is beginning to spread and we think it is helpful.”

Armed robbers take car and cigarettes in Coleraine

2011-08-29T14:41:00.000+03:00

There has been an armed robbery at a shop in the Knocklyn Road area of Coleraine.

Two men, one armed with a knife, went into the shop and threatened a member of staff shortly before 14:00 BST on Sunday.

A car belonging to one staff member was stolen along with a quantity of cigarettes.

A red van stolen in Belfast last week was recovered near the scene.

BAT Korea eyes premium cigarette market in Korea

2011-08-29T14:33:00.003+03:00

British American Tobacco Korea is striving to shore up its presence in the Korean market with premium cigarette products.

The Korean unit of the global manufacturer has been diversifying its portfolio of pricey Sobranie cigarettes with Dunhill and Kent cigarettes brands in a bid to boost profits amid stagnant population growth and rising health concerns.

Although surging prices of tobacco leaves and labor costs led BAT to hike prices of some products by 200 won (19 cents) in April, Korea’s cigarettes largely remain below 3,000 won a pack, one of the lowest among OECD nations.

“BAT is thought to have suffered profitability deterioration, as ex-factory prices have frozen for nine years. The country’s cigarette prices are relatively low in light of its income level,” Baek Woon-mok, an analyst at Daewoo Securities, said in a report.

But the segment of multinational premium cigarettes ― including Dunhill, Kent and Philip Morris International Inc.’s Marlboro and Parliament ― has gradually expanded over the past several years, threatening the dominance of KT&G Corp., according to Euromonitor International.

“Korean consumers became increasingly partial to multinational brands, due to the quality of the tobacco used, as well as their premium packaging,” the London-based research firm said in a report.

“Furthermore, the resistance to imported products, which was previously commonplace in Korea, continued to diminish particularly amongst younger consumers.”

Since its inroads in 1990, BAT has emerged as the No. 2 seller in the world’s eighth-largest tobacco market. It set up a factory in 2002 in Sacheon, South Gyeongsang Province, by injecting around $100 million.

To jack up its 16 percent stake, the company unveiled its capsule filter technology and new packaging last year.

Kent Convertible and Kent Boost give customers an extra burst of menthol when they pop a small ball in the filter.

Kent Convertible, the first of its kind here, took up more than 1 percent within three months after its launch in July 2010, industry figures showed.

“Kent is the second-largest premium brand globally ― outside of the U.S. and China ― sold in over 80 countries,” Guy Meldrum, marketing executive director of BAT Korea, said early this year. “Kent stands for innovation and technology.”

For its Dunhill lineup, BAT churned out a series of new products such as Switch, Nanocut and Fine Cut, and renewed packaging for traditional Dunhill with “Reloc” technology.

The patented inner wrapping method entails a re-sealable double cover to ensure extra freshness for the tobacco.

“Dunhill has been an icon of premium brand in the market,” said chief executive Stephan Liechti. “Dunhill will continue to be a premium leader, keeping the same taste and quality with the premium seal Reloc.”

According to BAT, the premium tobacco sector logged double-digit growth last year and the trend is expected to continue in the coming years.

Another target segment is ultraslim cigarettes.

Dunhill Nanocut and Fine Cut are aimed at biting into the booming market enjoyed by KT&G’s Esse.

“Superslims are a global trend and have been the key design innovation of the last five years, with particular appeal to female smokers but also ‘cross-over’ appeal in a number of markets such as Korea where men have been receptive to the style,” Euromonitor said.

Bar, restaurant owners angry over smoking ban plan to exclude lawmakers

2011-08-24T10:54:00.000+03:00

Bar and restaurant owners upset about Michigan's workplace smoking ban have a ban of their own in the works.

Protect Private Property Rights in Michigan said Tuesday that about 500 bars statewide plan to ban state lawmakers from their premises. It would start Sept. 1.

Excluding the lawmakers is a way for critics to draw attention to what they say are the harmful effects of the smoking ban.

Some bar owners say they have lost business because of the ban. Others say decisions about whether to allow smoking should be left to property owners. Read Smoking statistics 2011 from USA and england, a lot of information.

The Legislature-approved smoking ban took effect in May 2010.

"This subject needs to be opened up in Lansing again, it needs to be discussed again," said Steve Mace, executive director of the property rights group.

To highlight what they consider the hypocrisy of Michigan's smoking ban -- which exempts gambling floors of Detroit casinos -- business owners said the lawmaker ban also would have exemptions. It would not cover the Republican or Democratic leaders in the House or Senate.

Ari Adler, a spokesman for House Republican Speaker Jase Bolger, said the lawmaker ban is an interesting tactic but not likely to spark legal change.

The 5 Companies in the Tobacco Industry With the Lowest Earnings Yield

2011-08-22T13:04:00.003+03:00

Below are the five companies in the Tobacco industry with the lowest Earnings Yields. Earnings yield is useful to compare the relative benefit of owning a stock vs. owning other yield assets such as bonds. If the earnings yield is higher, stocks may be considered undervalued.

Vector Group (VGR) has the lowest with an Earnings Yield of 3.61%; Philip Morris (Marlboro) is next with an Earnings Yield of 6.36%; and Lorillard (LO) has the next lowest with an Earnings Yield of 6.73%.

Altria Group (MO) follows with an Earnings Yield of 7.59% and Reynolds American (RAI) rounds out the group with an Earnings Yield of 8.99%.

SmarTrend currently has shares of Altria Group in an Downtrend and issued the Downtrend alert on June 28, 2011 at $26.22. The stock has fallen 2% since the Downtrend alert was issued.

Dissolvable Tobacco Moves to Center Stage

2011-08-22T13:03:00.001+03:00

Tobacco mints, strips and toothpicks that melt in your mouth are considered the new frontier for tobacco companies, but some state and federal regulatory agencies are not sure how to classify the products, Time reports.

Last week, the Colorado Department of Public Health held a hearing on dissolvable tobacco products to talk about how the products could appeal to teenagers and children. Stephanie Walton, with the state’s health department, said that youth could be attracted to the price points and packaging of Camel Orbs, Sticks and Strips, which are being tested in Colorado and North Carolina by R.J. Reynolds. Dissolvable tobacco is not subject to regular tobacco taxes.

Marlboro and Skoal have been piloting dissolvable tobacco sticks in Kansas. Star Scientific has had dissolvable products Ariva and Stonewall on the market for 10 years, but the company has kept a lower profile in marketing the products.

Camel’s dissolvables are minty, small and easy to hide, detractors point out. R.J. Reynolds countered by saying the products are sold in convenience stores and other places next to tobacco products with the same health warnings and age restrictions.

Opponents also object to the appearance of dissolvables, saying they look like treats. “Those who keep referring to these tobacco products as 'candy' or 'mints' are irresponsibly perpetuating false and misleading information,” said Richard Smith, spokesman for R.J. Reynolds.

R.J. Reynolds developed its line of dissolvables to help smokers in an era of increased smoking bans. “They meet societal expectations,” said Smith. “There's no second-hand smoke, there's no spitting, and with dissovables, there's no cigarette-butt litter.”

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration is currently looking into marketing and health effects of dissolvable tobacco products for a report due March 2012.

Big Tobacco Is Smoking Hot at the FDA

2011-08-22T13:01:00.002+03:00

The nation's biggest tobacco companies are smoking hot at a new FDA rule that will force them to put graphic images - such as a dead body on an autopsy table and diseased body parts - on cigarette boxes and ads. Big Tobacco says such forced speech is unconstitutional.
"Such 'warnings' are unprecedented," the companies say in their federal complaint. "Never before in the United States have producers of a lawful product been required to use their own packaging and advertising to convey an emotionally charged government message urging adult consumers to shun their products."
The five plaintiffs include R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard, and the Liggett Group. They sued the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and the Secretary of Health and Human Services.
The rule, which falls under the Tobacco Control Act, will take effect Oct. 22, 2012. It will require all cigarette packages made, starting a month before the deadline, to display the new text and graphic warnings, which must take up 50 percent of the front and back panels of a cigarette box and the top 20 percent of cigarette ads, according to the complaint.
The warnings must contain messages, such as "cigarettes cause cancer" and "smoking can kill you," as well as "color graphics depicting the negative health consequences of smoking."
The tobacco companies say the proposed images are not based upon facts.
"They were to appear in color and they included cartoon images, as well as disturbing, technologically enhanced photographs that used actors to maximize an emotional response from viewers," the complaint states.
The cigarette makers say the FDA acknowledges that the warnings were selected "not to inform consumers of facts that they do not know, but rather to make consumers 'depressed, discouraged, and afraid' to buy tobacco products."
They claim that FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg acknowledged that the warnings are meant to turn every pack of cigarettes into a mini-billboard for the government's anti-smoking campaign.
"This is precisely the type of compelled speech that the First Amendment prohibits," the companies say. "While the government may require plaintiffs to provide purely factual and uncontroversial information to inform consumers about the risks of tobacco products, it may not require plaintiffs to advocate against the purchase of their own lawful products."
They cite a 1977 Supreme Court ruling that prohibits the government from compelling companies to use their private property as mobile billboards.
Commonwealth Brands and Santa Fe Natural Tobacco are the other two plaintiffs.
The companies say the new rule violates their First Amendment rights and the Administrative Procedure Act. They want the government enjoined from enforcing the rules.
Big Tobacco has challenged several aspects of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act since it became federal law in 2009. It has initiated legal battles across the country over the law, claiming that provisions that regulate how tobacco may be advertised and marketed, and the mandated warnings, restrict speech.
The tobacco companies in this case are represented by Noel Francisco with Jones Day.

Tobacco display appeal could spark fresh Supreme Court row

2011-08-15T13:09:00.001+03:00

Tobacco giant Imperial Tobacco is appealing against the legislation, which it says Scottish ministers have no right to make because it involves powers reserved to Westminster.

The group, one of the world’s largest multi-nationals, has indicated it could take the plans to Supreme Court judges if the Scottish Government does not back down.

BMC, NGO join hands for anti-tobacco campaign

2011-08-15T13:08:00.002+03:00

As part its endeavour to make the city smoke-free, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) tied up with Voice Against Tobacco, an NGO, to launch a signature campaign on Friday. Inaugurated by BMC chief Subodh Kumar, Mayor Shraddha Jadav and Commissioner of Health Manisha Mhaiskar, the campaign aims at spreading awareness about the ill effects of tobacco.

“This initiative is part of our multi-pronged approach towards the anti-tobacco movement. It started with the hookah bars, then Ganesh mandals and bus stands and now this campaign,” said Mhaiskar.

The signature campaign aims at getting as many people as possible to sign a pledge saying they will stay away from cigarettes and other tobacco products. The campaign was launched in all the 24 wards of the city.

While the BMC seems to be taking steps to curb tobacco usage, there are some who feel these efforts are only on paper.

Tobacco ruling has a financial side

2011-08-15T13:06:00.001+03:00

Basic compulsory insurance, which currently does not reimburse any anti-tobacco medication, will have to pay up. The health office made its decision on August 9. Criteria have yet to be fixed.

“This ruling is historical because it gives prevention the right place,” Jean-Charles Rielle, a doctor at the Information Centre for Tobacco Addiction Prevention in Geneva (CIPRET), told public radio on August 9.

Rielle, also a parliamentarian, welcomed the “financial boost” for smokers who want to give up.

On August 4 the Federal Court underlined that alcohol and heroin addiction could be considered an illness and that “under certain conditions” so could dependence on nicotine. In this case, insurance companies would have to reimburse medicines to treat smoking addiction.

The court partially agreed with drug maker Pfizer which wanted its Champix (or Chantrix) medication included in the list of medicines reimbursed by basic insurance.

Pfizer’s demand had previously been dismissed by the health office in 2008 and then in 2010 by the Federal Administrative Court. The federal court ruling meant the health office had to reconsider its position, which it has since August 9, confirmed the health office’s spokesman Daniel Dauwalder.

“Negative message”
For their part, health insurance companies have denounced the “negative message.”

“We only cover risk of illness and not prevention, which is not a risk. Prevention is down to individual responsibility and can’t be carried by everyone. This would be putting all types of behaviour under state control,” explained Yves Seydoux, spokesman for Groupe Mutuel.

But if alcohol addiction is considered an illness, why not tobacco dependency? Seydoux argues that tobacco addiction’s effects are not as great as those for alcohol.

Addiction to the bottle can “affect behaviour and create sometimes grave side effects, whereas it’s the consequences of tobacco addiction that are harmful to health”, he said. “It’s a question of free choice.”

Jacques de Haller, president of the Swiss Medical Association, does not quite agree. “From a medical point of view the two pathologies are different, but both are a dependency.”

“A smoker is addicted to tobacco which makes him lose his free will and can considerably shorten his life,” he said. In addition, there is “the real problem of passive tobacco addiction”.

Economic side
The health office must now decide when smoking addiction can be considered an illness through the treatment needed. Then it must pronounce on the second fundamental factor: the economic side of the treatment.

For de Haller this latter point makes the federal court’s ruling a positive one.

“The issue of non-recognised treatments by insurance companies affects those who need it the most – the lower economic classes – who are already penalised on a social level,” he said.

CIPRET says Champix can double the chances of heavy smokers giving up in three months. But Gianfranco Domenighetti, professor of health economics at Lugano University, warns that the controversial medication needs to be well tolerated.

“According to a Canadian study, this medicine increases cardiovascular risk by 73 per cent,” he said.

Tolerance and effectiveness issues have also been raised for other treatments such as nicotine substitutes or Zyban, an antidepressant used against addiction. But most of all, according to de Haller, “their effectiveness is not 100 per cent guaranteed”.

Other measures?
Seydoux hopes that the federal court’s ruling will be applied “rigorously”.

“The health office has enough room for manoeuvre to ensure that a free market does not develop and that the notion of individual responsibility over tobacco’s consequences remains in people’s minds,” he said.

Some voices, notably in parliament, have suggested that anti-smoking drugs should only be reimbursed if the treatment is successful. De Haller is sceptical about “making people pay in relation to the therapy’s success, when the effectiveness is not 100 per cent guaranteed”.

Do insurance companies intend to penalise smokers by raising premiums? “No, it’s impossible to ‘police’ people. Society has to accept deviances [from the norm] and that it can only curb the consequences of the deviances,” Seydoux said.

De Haller concludes that the solution is in any case “more political than health-based”.

“The most efficient measure is increasing the price of a packet of cigarettes. Each time, the number of smokers drops,” he said.

Why I love cigarettes: every puff is like a little hug

2011-08-15T12:56:00.001+03:00

The other day I was sitting outside a cafe in Muswell Hill enjoying a coffee before a business meeting. Ashtrays were provided on the tables and I asked the waitress if I was allowed to smoke. She gave me the go-ahead and so I lit up. Within 30 seconds a lady at a nearby table asked me if I would stub it out as it “smells really bad and contains all sorts of awful chemicals”. I asked her if she’d ever tried one and, when she told me that she hadn’t, I offered her one. “They’re really quite yummy,” I added as she tutted and scowled and studiously turned to ignore me.

Smoking is banned almost everywhere now, with talk of banning it in cars and parks as well. The Government, whilst making billions in taxes from the sale of tobacco, continues to bleat about the dangers of smoking, and when I can actually hear them from all the way up there on the moral high ground, the anti-smoking brigade, whilst reeking of smugness, dare to criticise the informed choice of adults who want to enjoy one of life’s last great pleasures. Do they think we smokers aren’t aware of how damaging smoking is? I know exactly how bad cigarettes are for me. And yet I also know the wonderful benefits of it. It dampens my appetite (no bad thing given that I live off takeaway food), dampens my feelings (which keeps me out of prison given my dangerous levels of barely contained anger when not treated with nicotine), provides welcome relief from the mind-numbing hours of piano practice I do every day, gives me something to look forward to every morning, allows me to remove myself from dull conversations at parties and dinners and miraculously helps me both relax and concentrate all at once. Every one is like a little hug.

Alexander Graham Bell, Einstein, Orwell, Freud, Roosevelt, Kennedy, Wilde, Camus, Twain, Frank Zappa, Miles Davis and Stravinsky were all smokers, as is the universally delightful Avril Lavigne, and in an age where everything from driving to TV to eating red meat is apparently bad for me, if I choose to commit suicide slowly, over many years, then why can’t I be left alone while I’m doing it?
I had my first cigarette aged four when my grandmother gave me one and showed me how to smoke it. During a somewhat tumultuous childhood, cigarettes and music were my two constant companions that never let me down. I’m not going to go on Grumpy Old Men, I don’t want to encourage children to smoke, nor do I want to foist it on anyone else. I support the ban in general, especially in enclosed spaces, but cigarettes are as much a part of my life as food, coffee, friends and fresh air, and I want to be able to smoke in peace and without criticism. iPhones and BlackBerrys are just as addictive as smoking (take a look around you at any cafe, airport, foyer) and perhaps even more offensive – at least while I’m smoking I am present, focused and responsive to my environment. As I shall point out to the next jaywalking, tweeting/texting idiot who ambles into the road narrowly avoiding one of those stealthy, self-satisfied, vomit-inducing Priuses.

So if you’re sat in an increasingly hard-to-find smoking section of a restaurant with plenty of fresh air and empty chairs and someone lights up, suck it up or go sit inside. And do let me reassure you that should I get cancer, my health insurance will keep me comfortably in morphine for my remaining months and it won’t cost our glorious NHS a penny.

Prescription-only cigarettes 'not the way'

2011-08-05T13:12:00.002+03:00

A proposal to make tobacco a prescription-only drug is causing fierce debate.

Its backer, Auckland councillor Arthur Anae, says the idea can work, given the Government's goal to make New Zealand smokefree by 2025.

Anae, also chair of Counties Manukau DHB's Pacific Advisory Committee, says New Zealand needs to start thinking outside the box.

"We have to come up with ideas to try to reach that target," he said. "The only way is if we are serious and if we want to stop it, make smokers get a prescription, as they do for a drug."

The former National MP said with a prescription, tobacco becomes needs-based and the doctor has the ultimate say on whether the patient really needs it or not.

But the Council for GPs and anti-smoking campaigners say shifting responsibility from the Government to the medical profession is not the way to make New Zealand smokefree.

"Asking doctors to make that decision - to give them something that they know is likely to kill the patient - I think is a very tough thing to ask them to do," said Ben Youden from Ash.

He said the health service would "grind to a very rapid halt" from having such a responsibility.

Smokers ONE News spoke to also said the idea is a step too far.

"I don't think it's anyone's right to do anything except for the smoker themselves," said Sinclair Allan.

Hidden problem: Cigarette butts clog city drains

2011-08-05T13:08:00.002+03:00

While smoking can lead to a myriad of serious health problems, few associate the bad habit with clogging up storm drains. However, that is just what is happening in the city of Bluefield.

City officials estimate that 32 percent of all litter removed or found in city drains is from cigarettes. According to the city, approximately 95 percent of cigarette filters are made of cellulose acetate, a type of plastic that takes years to degrade.

The problem of cigarette butts in storm drains is becoming a big concern for the Bluefield Sanitary Board, according to Melanie Farmer, a community relations coordinator for the city.

That’s why city officials are launching a new campaign aimed at helping to alleviate the clogged drain problem.

The city was recently awarded a grant from the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention program that will allow for the purchase of cigarette butt receptacles while also funding a public awareness campaign. The new receptacles will be placed throughout downtown Bluefield with the hope that those who smoke will place their cigarette butts in the containers, and not in city storm drains.

That’s why the public educational campaign will be necessary. If residents aren’t properly informed about the receptacles, they won’t know to dump their cigarette butts in them. And even once citizens are informed of the new receptacles being placed across the city, some smokers may still need a little bit of nudging or motivation to properly dispose of their cigarette butts.

According to Farmer, Princeton Avenue and Chicory Square are two locations where cigarette litter has been particularly problematic.

City Manager Andy Merriman said the ultimate goal of the campaign is to promote a “clean, healthy and beautiful” Bluefield.

It is our hope that area residents will help the city out by making use of the new cigarette butt receptacles. These are, after all, being provided as a convenience to those who smoke.

Cigarette butts shouldn’t be dropped in storm drains. That only causes additional problems. When storm water drains become clogged up, it will mean additional manpower, time and cost to the city to keep the storm drains cleared.

We urge all area residents who smoke to make use of the new cigarette receptacles. While the easy thing to do may be to drop your cigarette butts on the ground, it isn’t the right thing to do.

Health Ministry withdraws effort to restrict sales of cigarettes

2011-08-05T13:05:00.001+03:00

Cigarettes in Slovakia will most likely be sold as they now are in multiple kinds of stores, the SITA newswire reported, as the Health Ministry has withdrawn a proposed change in its draft law based on objections received from a number of parties.
Originally the ministry wanted to restrict sale of cigarettes to a single point of sale or to one cigarette stand based on a revision to the law on protection of non-smokers. The ministry sought to better control the age of cigarette buyers and reduce the number of children smoking.
The Slovak Association of Commerce and the Tourism and Agriculture Ministry, as well as the Finance Ministry opposed the restriction, claiming that it would slash consumption of legally-produced tobacco products and increase illegal activities and fraud.
"Such restriction would increase evasion of tobacco excise tax and reduce income of the state budget from collected excise taxes on tobacco products," argued the Finance Ministry, as quoted by the SITA newswire.
The Health Ministry also gave in to reservations about increasing fines for violation of the law on protection of non-smokers. The minimum fine was originally supposed to be increased from its current €331 to €3,319 but neither the Economy Ministry nor the Justice Ministry agreed, considering it inappropriate or even liquidating and therefore "predisposed to lead to corrupt behaviour".
The Health Ministry eventually cut the bottom limit of the fine to €500. An increase in the maximum fine from €3,319 to €15,000 remained unchanged in the proposed amendment.
The proposed draft bill has undergone a few more changes: a ban on smoking would apply to all facilities serving food, including those where meals are not prepared but delivered from other facilities and served. The ban on smoking would also apply to community centres as well as fairgrounds and all sports grounds.
The Health Ministry submitted the amendment for interdepartmental review at the end of May. If approved by parliament it will take effect in the beginning of 2012.

Heat is harsh on marijuana crops

2011-08-01T17:09:00.002+03:00

However, if the crops survive and drug investigators seize it, they can't burn the drugs due to the burn ban, said Mark Woodward, a spokesman with the Oklahoma Bureau of Narcotics and Dangerous Drugs.

"We have been flying grids around the state as part of our summer annual marijuana mission," Woodward said. "Since early June, we have been in different parts of the state, and the majority of the plants that we are finding are in bad shape. We are finding fields that have been abandoned and they just let the plants die off because it was just too hard, too manpower-intensive to keep those plants alive."

The few good patches they are finding with quality plants are well-tended and have irrigation systems, like the patch of 1,900 plants they found near Foyil on Wednesday. The agents found the patch about a quarter of a mile off the road while conducting their annual aerial patrols of the state.

"There was a campsite out there," Woodward said. "They had a very sophisticated irrigation system running from this creek and they were pumping water through there so they were able to tend this patch literally 24 hours a day."

"They had some vegetables growing right next to the marijuana. That is the only way you are going to be able to keep these plants alive."

Woodward said that patch in Rogers County was an unusual find this summer.

"This extreme heat has been here since their prime growing season, which is back in June, so this is a really unusual year," Woodward said.

The burn ban, however, is interfering with the agents' normal procedure for destroyed the plants, he said.

"We are under a burn ban so we are certainly taking every precaution," Woodward said. "We are just going to store the plants that we are finding throughout northeastern Oklahoma this week and we will find a safe location and time to burn it."

Medical marijuana push nearer to November ballot

2011-08-01T17:08:00.002+03:00

Efforts to legalize medical marijuana in Ohio are moving ahead, with a group submitting signatures to Attorney General Mike DeWine's office. And that could launch the petition collection process in time for the November 2012 ballot, the Associated Press reports.
Backers of the “Ohio Alternative Treatment Amendment” submitted 2,143 signatures summarizing the proposed amendment, which would allow those with qualifying illnesses to possess up to 3.5 ounces of marijuana, the news service reported. DeWine's office must validate at least 1,000 of those signatures and certify that the summary language is a fair representation of the amendment.
Should summary language be approved, backers must then begin collecting at least 385,245 valid signatures to make it to next year's ballot. Supporters say a win would open doors to medical treatment, while opponents worry it will create an enforcement problem.
State lawmakers in Indiana also are studying whether the state should decriminalize the use of marijuana or create a program that would allow people to use the drug to relieve pain.

Top 4 Large-Cap Stocks In The Cigarettes Industry With The Highest Revenue

2011-08-01T17:02:00.003+03:00

Below are the top large-cap cigarettes stocks on the NYSE, the NASDAQ and the AMEX in terms of revenue.
The trailing-twelve-month revenue at Philip Morris International Inc (NYSE: PM) is $28.72 billion. PM's ROE for the same period is 152.36%.
The trailing-twelve-month revenue at British American Tobacco plc (AMEX: BTI [FREE Stock Trend Analysis]) is $24.44 billion. BTI's operating margin for the same period is 33.45%.
The trailing-twelve-month revenue at Altria Group Inc (NYSE: MO) is $16.54 billion. MO's ROE for the same period is 74.44%.
The trailing-twelve-month revenue at Reynolds American Inc (NYSE: RAI) is $8.66 billion. RAI's profit margin for the same period is 15.55%.

Billboard Says Hot Dogs Are as Bad as Cigarettes

2011-08-01T16:31:00.000+03:00

Anyone who doesn't already know the ingredients of a hot dog consist mainly of the crap that falls on the floor after all the good stuff has been cut off the pig or the cow will find this new campaign informative. A billboard, located near the Indianapolis Motor Speedway, from the Cancer Project of the nonprofit Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine reads, "Warning: Hot Gogs Can Wreck Your Health." The headline is accompanied by an image of a cigarette pack filled with hot dogs.

The board was placed near the speedway because over 1.1 million hot dogs were served there during last year's races.

Of the campaign, Physicians Committee for Responsible Medicine Education Director Susan Levin said, "A hot dog a day could send you to an early grave. Processed meats like hot dogs can increase your risk for diabetes, heart disease, and various types of cancer. Like cigarettes, hot dogs should come with a warning label that helps racing fans and other consumers understand the health risk."

Think twice, people, before you devour that hot dog at your next cookout.

Cigarette Companies Encouraged to Stop Alleged False Advertising

2011-07-26T13:55:00.001+03:00

Cigarettes are neither healthy nor eco-friendly, despite what advertising campaigns may claim.

The Reynolds American tobacco company has relaunched their magazine advertisements for their acclaimed “eco-friendly” Natural American Spirit cigarettes and have targeted women, choosing to run the ads in the pages of Elle, Lucky and Marie Claire.

The ad campaign is both deceptive and dangerous, according to the Washington D.C.-based Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids (CTFK), which has called upon Reynolds American to stop what CTFK calls false advertising.

More than 400,000 U.S. deaths are attributed to smoking each year, and more than 7,000 chemicals -- several hundred of them toxic -- are emitted into the environment through cigarette smoke, according to the CTFK.

On a global scale, at least 5.6 trillion cigarettes are discarded into the environment annually, according to researchers in an issue of Tobacco Control funded by Legacy, published earlier 2011.

The Ocean Conservancy’s annual International Coastal Cleanup says it picked up more than two million discarded cigarettes in 2010.

The company that manufactures North American cigarettes, the Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, has faced numerous counts of legal action by government agencies. As of 2010, Santa Fe is required to add a disclaimer stating, “Organic tobacco does NOT mean a safer cigarette.”

Ind.'s health priorities target obesity, tobacco

2011-07-26T13:53:00.000+03:00

Indiana health officials are targeting infant mortality, obesity, tobacco use and other health priorities in a new five-year plan aimed at improving the health of Hoosiers.
The plan released Monday also focuses on assuring food safety, cutting health care-related infections, and reducing the burdens of viral hepatitis and HIV and other sexually transmitted diseases.

The best cigarettesf shop for you. Cheapest price for cigarettes.

Fort Wayne-Allen County Health Officer Dr. Deborah McMahan says that if Indiana can achieve the six priorities and make key improvements to its health systems, it will significantly impact health in Indiana. She helped lead the panel that developed the plan. The committee also included representatives from health professionals, state agencies, health care facilities, academics, not-for-profits, and community and business leaders.

Imperial Tobacco sales rise but volumes fall

2011-07-26T13:49:00.003+03:00

Emerging market demand boosts sales, but volumes fall as developed markets remain weak

--Weak Spanish trading likely to hit full-year operating profit by up to GBP70 million

--Global cigarette brand volumes rise 2%

(Rewrites. Adds detail.)

LONDON - Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN) said Tuesday emerging market demand boosted tobacco sales, but the maker of Gauloises Blondes and Davidoff cigarettes nonetheless recorded a fall in overall volumes as the slowdown in mature markets continued.

Imperial is focused on building its position in developing economies such as Eastern Europe, Africa, the Middle East and Asia to offset a weaker performance in developed markets where consumers are struggling with tough economic conditions.

Smokers in developed markets are switching to low-cost brands in the face of dented discretionary income as governments impose austerity measures such as tax hikes and public spending cuts to rein in borrowing.

The Bristol, England-based company has offset soft volumes with price rises which have helped maintain and build margins in markets like Western Europe and the U.S., where volumes are either in long-term decline or at best flat.

The world's fourth-largest global tobacco group by revenue said Tuesday it is trading in line with expectations and posted a 2% rise in tobacco sales in the nine months to June 30 on a constant currency basis. Sales were hit by falling tobacco prices in a difficult Spanish market in May and June, but total sales excluding Spain rose 4%. The company said the continued challenging economic environment in Spain is likely to hit full-year operating profit from the country by up to GBP70 million, which is better than previous forecasts of a GBP110 million hit.

Total stick volumes, or cigarette and fine cut tobacco combined, fell 2% in the nine-month period.

Still, Imperial, which sells its products in over 160 countries, said combined volumes of its global strategic cigarette brands grew 2%.

Davidoff volumes rose 6%, boosted by sales in Taiwan, Ukraine, Saudi Arabia and Russia, while Gauloises Blondes volumes were up 1%. However, demand for West cigarettes in Eastern Europe was offset by declines in Poland and Turkey.

JPS cigarette volumes rose 15% boosted by trading in Australia, Germany and U.K.

Fine cut tobacco volumes rose 4%, while Cuban cigar volumes rose 1% and snus -- a smokeless tobacco product popular in Sweden and Norway -- saw volumes increase 26%.

"We are well placed to build on our sales growth momentum in the remainder of the year," said Chief Executive Alison Cooper.

Public smoking ban among proposals for tobacco law

2011-07-19T15:39:00.000+03:00

Guyana is closer to strict laws on tobacco use, which now include proposals for a ban on public smoking and controls on advertising.

The Tobacco Control Bill, now in draft form is in line with the requirements contained in the World Health Organisation’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control

Illegal hookah bar raided

2011-07-07T10:51:00.001+03:00

A team of Zone I deputy commissioner of police striking force got a tip-off on Tuesday on a hookah bar operating without adhering to the norms laid by city police commissioner's notification. Working on that information, the officials raided Seven Days restaurant in R3 mall on Memnagar Road on Tuesday afternoon.

"We found that the owner and manager had flouted norms such as having separate areas for smoking and dining and registration of the visitors. Finding such irregularities, we have sealed the premises and have informed other agencies about the raid. We have arrested Sachin Joshi, the manager of the eatery, from the premises," said a senior Zone I police official.

Recently a 13-year-old child died after falling from the roofs of a hookah bar in Surat. City police officials have cracked whip on the illegal hookah bars and have instructed the staff members to keep an eye on bars admitting the minors. The raid came after almost a year as the last raid was conducted at Sola in 2010 where a total of seven persons were arrested for flouting norms.

Fairfield woman bit firefighter outside hookah lounge

2011-07-07T10:49:00.001+03:00

An out-of-control woman allegedly bit a firefighter as he helped police detain her following a domestic dispute at the Casablanca Hookah Lounge on Post Road Friday, police said.
Lucy J. Hazledine, 43, of Grasmere Avenue got into an argument with her boyfriend at the hookah lounge, who then left, police said. However, Hazledine followed him outside and after catching up to him, allegedly ripped his shirt, scratched him and tried to bite him on the face, police said.
When officers arrived on the scene, she kicked, screamed and refused to be handcuffed, police said. During the scuffle, Hazledine allegedly bit a firefighter while he was assisting EMS personnel.
"She was so out of control she began to sweat and breathe heavily," said Sgt. Suzanne Lussier, a Fairfield police spokeswoman. Lussier added that EMS personnel had to secure Hazledine with cloth wraps around her wrists for her own safety.
Hazledine also tried to bite a second firefighter's finger but she only managed to put a tear in his surgical glove, according to police.

Customs seize over six million smuggled cigarettes

2011-07-07T10:47:00.003+03:00

OVER SIX MILLION cigarettes, declared to customs as “packaging material”, were seized in Co Louth yesterday evening.
A Revenue Customs Service operation which spanned two days followed the movements of a container which arrived at Dublin port from Belgium yesterday. The 6.4 million cigarettes seized were marked as ‘Palace’ and ‘Capital’ brands. Customs and gardai seized them at a premises in Collon, Co Louth and it is estimated that they would have been worth €2.7m if sold. That constituted a potential loss of €2.1m in tax to the Exchequer.
Three men, one with an address in Dublin and two with addresses in Co Louth, have been arrested. They are still being held at Dundalk Garda station. Two commercial vehicles and a curtain-sided trailer were also seized.
Yesterday evening’s seizure brings the number of cigarettes seized in the State this year to 70 million – with a street value of around €24m.

Will gruesome photos on cigarette packs work?

2011-07-07T10:42:00.002+03:00

I see where they're now planning to put gruesome photos of diseased lungs, a man exhaling smoke through a hole in his throat, even a corpse on packages of cigarettes.

It should be enough to make a smoker want to quit.

However, whether or not it will work is questionable.

After all, it's hard to believe that any reasonably intelligent smoker today doesn't already know that smoking is "hazardous" to his or her life.

The labels have been proclaiming for years that cigarettes not only cause lung cancer but also increase the risk of heart disease, emphysema, bronchitis and a number of other life-threatening illnesses.

However, like the proverbial ostrich hiding its head in the sand, many smokers choose to believe that the warnings don't apply to them.

Of course, it's not easy to quit. I know from experience.

But, at least back in the late 1930s, when my childhood pal Mickey and I lit our first cigarette behind the garage of my home in Bergenfield – a Chesterfield I had swiped from dad's pack – there were no warnings on the packs.

Oh, we were told that smoking would "stunt our growth," but we didn't take that seriously.

Parents told kids stuff like that all the time.

However, I didn't really care much for that first cigarette.

It wasn't until a few years later, during World War II, that I really began to smoke. Everybody did.

Heck, you never saw a picture of anybody in the movies without a cigarette dangling from their lips; and radio commercials extolled the pleasures, and even the benefits, of smoking.

Now, I'm not usually a believer in "conspiracy theories," but I've often thought that, knowingly or not, the government cooperated with the tobacco industry during World War II in a program that was intended to hook an entire generation on cigarettes.

Oh, the publicized motive was patriotic…you know, an unselfish effort by the tobacco industry to see that cigarettes were available to the nation's servicemen and women wherever they were.

They were even included with C-rations. Or, if you were overseas, you could buy a pack for only a nickel.

More than 16 million served in the U.S armed forces during World War II and, when that war ended, it's fair to say that a majority of those returning were addicted to nicotine.

The fact that cigarette sales reached an all-time high in the years that followed supports that claim.

The first official report on the dangers of smoking was issued by the surgeon general in 1964.

Protecting local youth from flavored tobacco

2011-07-04T10:28:00.002+03:00

The Sarasota County Commission took a bold step last week by unanimously passing a resolution urging local vendors to cease the sale and marketing of all candy-flavored tobacco products.

The resolution also urges residents not to purchase or use candy-flavored tobacco products in Sarasota County. Moved by the testimony of three youths, the commissioners approved stronger enforcement against tobacco-use near playgrounds at parks, in order to reduce children's exposure to secondhand smoke.

This is a big victory for the Sarasota County youths who are part of a Florida organization, Students Working Against Tobacco.

Comprised of middle and high school students, the members of 12 SWAT Clubs in Sarasota County passionately work to enlighten their peers and the community by counteracting pro-tobacco messages glamorizing tobacco use. Affecting policy change is part of their plan to work toward a tobacco-free future.

Under the federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, the sale of cigarettes containing certain flavors — other than menthol — is illegal.

The law does not prevent the sale of menthol cigarettes or flavored tobacco products such as cigars, hookah or "snus," a type of smokeless, spitless tobacco similar to snuff.

Because not all flavored-tobacco products are illegal, support for the county resolution is imperative for protecting our youths.

Cabarrus parks outlaw tobacco

2011-07-04T10:16:00.002+03:00

Jairo Angeles loves taking his wife, Lyneth, and their nearly 1-year-old daughter, Ailine, to Frank Liske Park on Stough Road in Concord.

"We come here because of the healthy air," Angeles, 28, of Concord said.

The last thing he'd want is someone smoking near them, he said.

Angeles said he's happy that Cabarrus County has banned all tobacco products from its parks through an ordinance that took effect Friday.

Having someone smoke near his daughter wouldn't be good for her at all, Angeles said. "It wouldn't be good for me," he said.

County officials said the ban is intended to free parks of harmful second-hand smoke and exposure to discarded cigarettes and other tobacco products, which children and pets can find on the ground.

Most of the 250 cigarette butts discovered during a recent litter cleanup at Frank Liske Park were near children's playgrounds, Cabarrus County Parks Director Londa Strong said.

The ban includes cigars, smoking tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and other forms of tobacco.

Someone who refuses to extinguish a cigarette or other tobacco product when asked to by a parks worker risks a $50 citation.

Policies governing smoking in public parks vary across the region.

Mooresville banned smoking in its parks last fall, Mooresville Recreation Director Wanda McKenzie said.

Smokers can still light up in Mecklenburg County-run parks, a spokesman said. Smoking also is allowed in Huntersville parks, said Huntersville Parks and Recreation Director Michael Jaycocks.

Cindy England of Harrisburg said she, too, is glad smoking is no longer allowed in Cabarrus County parks.

"I wouldn't like people smoking around me," England, 48, said as she guided her granddaughter, Cayla England, 2, on a swing at Frank Liske Park last week. "I like to come to a clean park, a clear park.".

Cabarrus County, meanwhile, is working to develop a policy that would require half of all snacks and beverages in its parks' vending machines and concession stands to be healthy.

Healthy foods have no more than 200 calories and no more than 30 percent calories from fat, except for nuts and seeds, county officials said. Healthy foods have no trans fats and get no more than 35 percent of their total weight from sugar and caloric sweeteners. They have less than 360 milligrams of sodium per serving.

Healthy beverage options include water, nonfat or 1 percent-fat milk, diet soft drinks and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices with no added sugars, artificial flavors or colors.

The county's parks department received a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to buy two refrigerated display coolers for the concession stands at Frank Liske Park and Camp T.N. Spencer Park to provide the healthier food options.

Vending machines at those parks and at North Cabarrus Park also would have to meet the 50 percent healthy requirement.

Bulgaria's cigarette sales fell 23% in January-May

2011-06-28T15:52:00.002+03:00

Bulgaria's legal cigarette market shrank 23 per cent in the first five months of 2011, with sales totalling 3.57 billion pieces, data by local tobacco companies show.

According to preliminary estimates, Bulgaria's shadow cigarette market reached about 40 per cent in the period.

May proved to be the single month so far in 2011 to stage a rise in official sales of cigarettes to 733 million pieces from 669 million pieces reported the previous year. The increase, however, was not attributed to higher sales in the period, but came as a result of the considerable decline registered in May 2010, prompted by the spike in prices of cigarettes following the rise in excise duty.

"In the five months through May there has been stabilisation and an upward trend in sales on the legal market of slightly more than seven per cent," major tobacco producer Bulgartabac said.

Bulgaria's official sales of cigarettes plunged to 10.4 billion pieces in 2010 from 19.1 billion pieces in 2009.

Menthol Cigarettes and Fast Food Commercials Scrutinized

2011-06-28T15:51:00.002+03:00

Hearings begin in Washington today to decide if the world's most popular drug should be used to treat breast cancer.

The FDA has already found that avastin does not extend or improve life for breast cancer patients. But the drug's manufacturer is challenging the ruling and is asking the FDA for more time to study its effectiveness. Avastin is approved to treat colon, lung, kidney, and brain cancer.

The FDA is also reviewing research on the public health impact of menthol cigarettes. Mint flavored cigarettes are one of the few growth areas In an otherwise shrinking tobacco industry. An earlier report by an advisory committee said the flavoring led to an increase in smoking among teens, African-Americans, and those with low incomes. It claimed menthols are disproportionately marketed to those segments of the population.

The American Academy of Pediatrics wants the government to ban fast food commercials during children's tv programming. The influential group of physicians says it's time for the fast food industry to clean up its act, and not advertise junk food to kids. Health experts recommend limiting fast food.

Cigarette tax: Not about money?

2011-06-23T13:45:00.000+03:00

I grew up Longview, Washington. A small town on the banks of the Columbia River, on the Washington-Oregon border, Longview had a few small stores, mostly catering to the logging industry that inundates all small towns in the Pacific Northwest. For Christmas shopping, or, come to think of it, for any big-ticket purchases, my family would hit the I-5 South to Portland, Oregon.

When I turned sixteen, I got a job and a drivers licence, and it was time to do my own Christmas shopping. By this time, Longview had a mall – complete with a Bon Marché and a Nordstrom – but I still drove to Portland. Probably for the same reason my parents did. Probably for the same reason everyone did. Oregon does not impose a sales tax.

According to the Washington State Revenue Department, local governments lose an estimated $50 million in tax revenue annually to Oregon-Washington cross-border shopping.

Apparently, We Were Breaking the Law

When Washington residents make an in-state retail purchase, the sales tax is usually added on by the retailer, who in turn pays it to the Department of Revenue. (Oregonians shopping in Washington may present their Oregon ID to the seller in order to prove an exemption). When Washington’s sales tax is not paid on purchases – when purchases are made in Oregon, for instance, where Washington’s sales tax is not collected by the seller – a “use tax” is due. The buyer must report this tax to the Department of Revenue by the 15th of the month after the item is first “stored, used, or consumed” in Washington. Use tax also applies on items used in Washington that were purchased in other states that have a sales tax rate lower than Washington’s. Use tax rates are the same as sales tax rates, around 7-9%, depending on where in the State the resident lives.

You can buy cigarettes online from famous tobacco shop.

Coffee and cigarettes take edge off BP's rocky road

2011-06-23T13:43:00.001+03:00

Anxious Christchurch residents are boosting sales of cigarettes and coffee in the city's BP shops in an otherwise flat market for retail sales and declining petrol sales.

BP NZ's after tax profit jumped 41.5 per cent last year according to Companies Office filings but the company says this year has been tougher.

Profits had risen from $79.5 million in 2009 to $112.5 million in the 12 months to December 31 due to greater returns from its stake in NZ Refining, trimming costs and improving profitability across the business. It says margins remain tight on fuel.

Aside from a spike in some lines in earthquake-hit Christchurch, petrol sales throughout the country were down between 2 per cent and 4 per cent and shop sales were generally down, due largely to high petrol prices, said BP NZ's managing director Mike McGuinness.

BP shops, where margins are high compared to the lean profits on fuel, were facing increased competition from what was seen as a surprising fight back by dairies and cut-price convenience and snack food from supermarkets.

McGuinness said BP believes the number of dairies had increased by about 200.

The dairy business has been hit over the past decade by growing numbers of petrol stations offering a bigger range of convenience and food around the clock. McGuinness said diesel sales were up this year by about 5 per cent, which was a sign of an improving farming and productive economy.

He said last week's 6.3 magnitude aftershock in Christchurch had set back repairs to BP assets.

The company, which has 14 fuel sites in the city and terminal facilities at Lyttelton, had suffered damage worth about $2.5 million in the February 22 earthquake.

Last Monday's aftershock caused a further $1 million in damage.

This was covered by insurance.

McGuinness said the quakes meant fuel tankers could no longer use the road over the Port Hills but had been granted dispensation to drive through the Lyttelton tunnel.

Three charged at marijuana dispensary

2011-06-23T13:42:00.002+03:00

Staffers at a Handy Township medical marijuana dispensary distributed their product to a "patient" not assigned to them under the law, according to an affidavit released Wednesday.

As a result, the Livingston County prosecutor's office has charged Marshall Alternatives owners Alan Marshall, 39, and Christi Marshall, 37, with delivery of marijuana. Alan Marshall, who faces two counts, is charged as a habitual offender, which means he faces up to eight years in prison if convicted as charged. His wife faces up to four years.

Dispensary employee Stephanie Lynn Baxter, 30, also has been charged with two counts of delivery of marijuana.

The three, who are card-carrying caregivers, are expected to turn themselves in for arraignment, which had not occurred Wednesday.

Defense attorney Wilson Tanner, who represents the Marshalls, confirmed his clients have been charged. He said the Marshalls plan to turn themselves in today for arraignment.

"I don't have discovery yet; I don't have the police report," Tanner said. "I'm certainly not going to say anything about the prosecutor's case or defense."

The name of Baxter's attorney was not known.

The charges against Christi Marshall allege she delivered marijuana to an undercover officer May 4; that Baxter did so May 3 and May 4; while Alan Marshall allegedly did so Feb. 28 and May 9.

The Feb. 28 delivery is outlined in the affidavit, which notes the "patient" was actually a Livingston and Washtenaw Narcotics Team officer who used a fictitious driver's license and Michigan medical marijuana card to allegedly purchase marijuana from Alan Marshall, who co-operates Marshall Alternatives at 165 Fowlerville Road, north of Mason Road and about four miles south of the village of Fowlerville.

The affidavit further notes that a defense for the medical use of marijuana "exists only for a registered caregiver who is connected to the patient through the Department of Community Health's registration process." Yet, the fake marijuana card identifies the "patient" — an undercover officer — as a patient only, with no caregiver designated.

Colorado's medical marijuana law an example for Michigan, lawyers say

2011-06-23T13:40:00.002+03:00

Michigan should look to Colorado and get more involved in medical marijuana by allowing commercial growers and regulating the industry, say lawyers who met last weekend on Mackinac Island to discuss one of the state's most contentious issues.

Members of the criminal law section of the State Bar of Michigan plan to take their recommendations to the State Bar's annual meeting in September. The ultimate goal is to get the Legislature to make significant changes without stepping on the medical marijuana law approved by voters in 2008, said attorney Ken Malkin of Bay City, chairman of the criminal law section.

"You've got all these people planting little gardens all over. Who knows what people are getting?" Malkin said this week. "There is no quality control. It creates a black market."

About 50 people, including lawyers, judges and prosecutors, met last weekend and heard from Denver attorney Warren Edson, who specializes in setting up medical marijuana centers in Colorado.

Medical marijuana has been legal for more than 10 years in Colorado. On July 1, dozens of rules take effect there regulating the sale of pot at commercial businesses. They cover a lot of ground, including taxes, video surveillance, labeling, disposal and food that can contain marijuana.

"We were quite impressed," Malkin said.

In Michigan, marijuana can be used to alleviate the symptoms of certain illnesses if someone sees a doctor and gets a state-issued card. People can possess up to 2 1/2 ounces of ready-to-use marijuana and have up to 12 plants kept in a locked area. A registered caregiver also can grow the drug.

The law, however, has caused confusion and uncertainty. Some judges have decided to ignore it because federal law prohibits marijuana possession. Some prosecutors have filed charges against people who run dispensaries, claiming there's nothing in the law that allows them. The Michigan Supreme Court has not weighed in, though some cases have been appealed.

The law has been the "subject of so much interpretation by so many entities, it's creating disparities throughout the state," said Elaine Spiliopoulos, an attorney in Washtenaw County.

It's unlikely that Michigan's chief law enforcer will endorse the consensus from the weekend marijuana meeting.

"The law enforcement community is already struggling to protect public safety as a result of massive loopholes in the law, so opening the floodgates is the last thing that should be talked about right now," Attorney General Bill Schuette said in a statement. "The voters did not count on pot shops up and down Main Street, nor did they approve of a California- or Colorado-style system."

Schuette, who was elected in 2010, opposed the 2008 referendum.

Malkin said a strict regulatory structure could bring some clarity to medical marijuana in Michigan.

"You could reduce the cost of a lot of litigation. You don't always need to have a judge decide it," he said.

The lawyers also are recommending that Michigan lawmakers classify marijuana as a Schedule III drug instead of Schedule I, which would recognize its medicinal purpose and clear the way for scientific research without legal liability, said Charles Marr, a Northville attorney. It would still be illegal as a recreational drug.