Cigarette burglars busted by security video

The men who police say are responsible for a large number of business burglaries in the area are behind bars. The arrest comes after weeks of detective work, helped by some key surveillance video.
According to St. Matthews Police, the rising cost of cigarettes continues to lead to more business burglaries. Detectives say the thieves they were after were getting good at busting into stores and getting hundreds of cartons out. But thanks to a number of security camera tapes, the clues were provided to make an arrest.
"In each case, they lost six to seven thousand dollars worth of merchandise," said Det. Harvey Hunt of the St. Matthews Police.
Police say the same men hit some 14 stores and they had the same MO. It started in November at the Cox's Smoker's Outlet in St. Matthews. Hunt said Tracy Shanklin and Kenneth Foster, Sr. used a sledge hammer on the front door, pushed their black garbage cans in, loaded up cartons of cigarettes and were out in two minutes time. The store surveillance cameras helped Hunt make out a black truck.
From there, the suspects hit at least six Cox's Smoker's Outlets in the weeks ahead, along with other tobacco dealers from Shepherdsville to Bardstown to Bo's Smoke Shop in Anderson County. It seemed the duo had a fool-proof plan and were driving what first appeared to be a vehicle like hundreds of others on the street - a black truck. Police say what the two didn't count on were security cameras at nearby businesses that got a good shot of the getaway truck.
A local Target camera picked up the truck from several angles. Detectives could see the hood was actually teal and another angle showed a thick white stripe down the side. After St. Matthews Police sent out an e-mail to other police agencies, the truck was spotted on 20th Street in Louisville's Portland neighborhood, but it had been torched. That's when security cameras came in handy once again when the cameras captured the alleged thieves switching to other cars, vehicles which allegedly belonged to family and friends of the suspects.
"That's when the pieces all fell together for us," Hunt said.
Without the video, Police say they would still be looking for the two. Instead, they were able to obtain a search warrant and make arrests.
"The old saying ‘a picture's worth a thousand words," said Hunt, "Well, the video's even better than that."
Shanklin and Foster have been charged with burglary and are being held at Louisville Metro Corrections.
The owners of Cox's Smoker's Outlet did not want to go on camera, but tell us they are very happy about the arrest and consider it a great Christmas present.

NJ Senate passes bill to restrict e-cigarettes

The New Jersey Senate has approved a bill that restricts the sale and use of electronic cigarettes.
The bill expands the definition of "smoking" to include e-cigarettes and extends the ban on smoking by minors to include them.
Electronic cigarettes look like the real thing but don't contain tobacco. Instead, they employ a metal tube with a battery that heats up a liquid nicotine solution. Users inhale and exhale the resulting water vapor.
The Senate bill, approved Thursday by a 38-0 vote, prohibits their use in public places and workplaces. It was approved Monday by the state Assembly and now goes to Gov. Jon Corzine.
U.S. Sen. Frank Lautenberg has called on the federal Food and Drug Administration to remove e-cigarettes from the market.

Money, cigarettes, taken in Des Moines robbery

A man armed with a pocket knife robbed the Star (Citgo Quik Mart), 3761 E. University Ave., in Des Moines, about 7:30 p.m. Sunday.
There were no injuries.
Police said the man walked into the store with the knife in his hand and ordered a clerk to "Give me all the money."
A clerk opened the cash register and handed the man some money. Then the robber leaned over the counter and reached for the rest of the cash. He also took handfuls of cigarettes packages. A second man stood at the door during the hold-up and fled with the robber across a field to the east.
Police called in a K-9 unit to search for the suspects.
No arrests were reported. The police report lists the business as Star Gas Station. The telephone book and online references refer to it as Citgo. No one answered the phone at the business early this morning.

Cigarette Workers Denounce Unproportional Tax Rise

Thousands of cigarette factory workers in Malang took to the streets on Monday to protest the unproportional tax rise on cigarette to take effect in January next year which workers feared would kick small factories out of business.
About 3,000 workers rallied outside the Custom and Excise Office in Malang municipality to denounce the 62 percent tax rise planned for cigarettes produced by small companies and the seven percent tax rise to be charged from big cigarette companies.
Coordinator for the the protester Heri Susianto said “the rise for 3rd grade producers is 62 percent, while for higher grade (indicated with smaller number) producers only seven percent.”
Workers predicted there would be many small cigarette factories closing their business if the regulation imposed next year which in turn will create unemployment problems.
Factories, Heri said could could immediately jack up sales price to deal with the tax rise. Spokesman for the workers, Chotib Batubara said, the measure will send a shocking economic impact to the workers.

State needs to cut smoking rate

If Madmen were set in the present day, the television drama that features actors puffing away on cigarettes could easily take place in Indiana instead of New York.
That's because we Hoosiers smoke too much.
According to a Centers for Disease Control and Prevention survey published last week, more than 26 percent of Hoosiers smoked in 2008. We're No. 2 in the nation, only behind West Virginia. Indiana was ranked sixth in 2007. Nationally, 20.6 percent of Americans light up, so clearly, Indiana has much work to do to catch up with the rest of the nation.
We suppose it could be argued the recession, with its anxiety- and stress-inducing pangs of uncertainty, is driving the numbers upward, but Indiana has always had high smoking rates no matter what phase of the economy.
We need to do a better job with existing tools to snuff smoking.
One of those, a ban on workplace smoking, was enacted in Delaware County in 2006 after nearly a decade of debate.
What's needed now is a comprehensive statewide measure that prohibits smoking at the workplace and in public places such as restaurants. The patchwork quilt of anti-smoking laws that are found across the state needs to give way to a comprehensive and uniform measure. Only 7 percent of Indiana residents live in an area that has a comprehensive ban against workplace smoke.
Second, the legislature needs to take another look at raising the tax on tobacco. Indiana charges 99.5 cents a pack, which ranks 27th in the nation in 2008. If it gets more expensive to light up, smokers put the cigarettes down.
Finally, the state needs to spend more on education efforts, especially those targeted at young people.
Funds spent on a cigarette tax increase could go toward education and prevention efforts because that's where the war against tobacco can be fought and won.
And prevention needs to focus on low-income adults. The CDC study shows that nationally, 31.5 percent who are below the poverty level smoke compared to 19.6 percent above the level. There's no reason to believe the statistics for Indiana are much different.
As buying tobacco products gets more expensive, it's easier to argue that quitting makes sense economically. We've all heard about the health benefits of kicking the habit, and while they cannot be refuted, the most effective weapon to cut smoking rates lies in the wallet.
Madmen is set in the early 1960s when smoking was socially acceptable at work, in public and at home. By today's standards, it looks archaic. It's time Indiana take more action so we don't look like a throwback to another era.

Colleges Nationwide Banning Tobacco On-Campus

Across the country, many college smokers' hopes of puffing a cigarette on campus will go up in smoke. Schools are considering campus-wide bans on tobacco. Some think a simple puff can blow their cares away.
"After class, that cigarette's really nice, haha," says one TCC student.
At Florida State, they can only settle down and light up in certain parts of campus.
Throughout FSU's campus, green ash trays designate where smokers can light up. Black ash trays are placed throughout the school to prevent littering. But FSU is phasing in a plan to gradually make the campus more smoke free
FSU Health Educator Kevin Frentz says, "We've decided to take a phased-in approach to it, so it's a phased transition and knowing there's a chance we'll never got to a tobacco-free campus, but then, that's the goal."
Gradually more smoke free zones will be added to the campus.FSU Student Will Bunnell says, "It's not a big deal. Everybody doesn't want to get the second-hand smoke but it would be really difficult out in open ventilated areas like Florida State campus."
At Tallahassee Community College, they're not cloudy over their policies. There are certain areas where smokers cannot puff, but there are currently no plans to totally curb tobacco-use.
FAMU did not return our call.
FSU officials said if they create more smoke-free areas, there will really be no way to punish smokers who break the rules, they will be kindly told to move to another area.
These national efforts to stop tobacco use on campuses is part of Healthy Campus 2020, a nation-wide effort to make college students healthier.

Most firms shell out on new cig tax

A majority of the 20 companies billed for a new cigarette tax have paid.
Responding to a lawsuit, Hinds County Chancery Court Judge Patricia Wise issued a temporary restraining order in the case last month, preventing the state from collecting the tax.
The tax - which is typically 20 cents a pack - was due in mid-October. It's applied to cigarettes warehoused in Mississippi for sale in other states.
The state billed 20 manufacturers $537,499. Sixteen manufacturers paid a total of nearly $282,687, said Kathy Waterbury, spokeswoman for the state Tax Commission.
In a lawsuit, The Corr-Williams Co., a Pearl-based distributor, and Commonwealth Brands, a Bowling Green, Ky.-based cigarette manufacturer, are challenging the constitutionality of the state taxing goods for sale in other states.
This tax only applies to cigarette manufactures not included in the state's 1997 tobacco settlement.
The lawsuit does not involve cigarettes that are sold in the state.
Commonwealth paid the $56,000 tax bill in protest, said Rob Wilkey, the company's attorney. The company has said that about 80 percent of the cigarettes it sends to Mississippi are destined for sale in other states.
The temporary restraining order remains in effect until Tuesday, the day of the next hearing.
For bills due this month, manufacturers have been billed $458,701, Waterbury said.
In granting the order, Wise wrote the harm in this case would be greater for Corr-Williams than the state, "even considering the present economic condition of the State of Mississippi and the potential implications of up to $590,000 a month in reduced revenues," the order might cause to the state's budget.
The judge also said there might be a loss of jobs and tax revenue if distributors such as Corr-Williams leave or move part of their operations out of the state.
The state began assessing the 1.25-cent per cigarette tax in July. The first payments were due last month.
Commonwealth describes itself as the fourth largest cigarette manufacturer in the country. Its brands include Premier, McClintock and Rave, among several others.
In its effort to get state tax nixed, Commonwealth argues that it's being taxed twice if Mississippi is allowed to institute the tax against the non-settling manufacturers. The company voluntarily joined a settlement agreement with 46 other states, With that agreement, Commonwealth pays taxes based - in part - on its cigarette sales, including those in Mississippi.
The Corr-Williams Co. has argued that the additional tax would add to the price of its products, making it less competitive in the marketplace.

Group urges Senate to expedite action on Tobacco bill

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

Government rejects further tobacco ad curbs

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

Judge tosses evidence in Kan. tobacco trafficking

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

One smoker’s habit dies hard

My favorite cigarette of the day is right before I go to bed. Usually around 12:30 a.m. or 1 a.m. I’ll take multiple long and thoughtful drags off my Newport as I think about my day as it comes to an end. I smoke it right down to the filter because at over $5 a pack I cannot afford to be wasteful. I then flick it into the bushes and retire to my bedroom for the night.
I really enjoy smoking. The nasty habit provides me with the opportunity to step away for a few minutes and reflect, talk to a friend or just get outside, but I realize that, with every hit off my menthol cigarette, I am also making myself potentially very ill.
One study released on Aug. 25 by the American Cancer Society and the World Lung Foundation found that tobacco use kills six million people annually, worldwide; some 400,000 here in the U.S. alone. No surprise when one considers that there are 11 known human carcinogens found in cigarette smoke.
These numbers are astonishing, and yet I still continue to pull smoke from cigarettes and fill my lungs. However, change is coming.
A few weeks ago, I decided to pick a quitting date and really try to give up cigarettes. Sept. 25 is the big day for me but before I shelve my lighter and Newports for good, I wanted to discuss some things that have fascinated me as a smoker.
In a typical day, I will easily smoke 15 cigarettes. If I go out for the night with some friends, it’s no problem to burn through an entire pack plus a few extras. I spend roughly $30 a week on cigarettes. That’s $120 a month and almost $1,500 a year on a product that is known to cause cancer, heart failure and emphysema, just to name a few.
According to Americanheart.org, an estimated 26.2 million men and 20.9 million women are smokers in the U.S. This works out to be about one fifth of the adult population.
I have been smoking for nearly three years. That is over $4,000 spent on cigarettes. I could have bought a car with that money or gone on a vacation in Europe. So why do so many people continue to smoke? I believe that most people who start smoking have no idea just how addicting this habit can become.
According to the Journal of Pediatric Psychology, 86.8 percent of students who smoke nicotine at least once daily are chemically dependent under the Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorder’s health standards.
Taken from Americanheart.org, “[Nicotine] causes changes in the brain that make people want to use it more and more. In addition, addictive drugs cause unpleasant withdrawal symptoms. The good feelings that result when an addictive drug is present — and the bad feelings when it’s absent — make breaking any addiction very difficult. Nicotine addiction has historically been one of the hardest addictions to break.”
After experiencing nicotine addiction first-hand, I wonder why I ever even started. I picked up the habit my junior year of high school, which was about the same time I was heavily into classic rock music, like Eric Clapton and the Rolling Stones. As a musician I have always idealized their music and radical life styles.
Thinking back, I probably thought by adopting some of their lifestyle choices, like smoking, I too would become a rock star one day. Unfortunately, smoking cigarettes does not make someone a guitar god or musical genius. So I am left only with an empty pack of smokes and a dusty guitar.
Luckily, for those smokers who wish to quit, there is hope. There are many resources that smokers can turn to “kick the habit.” Websites like BecomeAnex.org, SmokeFree.gov and WhyQuit.com offer advice, forums and extensive information about quitting.
Obviously, I am not a doctor, but there are also patches, inhalers and nicotine gum products that may aid you in your journey to become smoke-free.
Everyone should have their own reasons when they choose to quit. For me, I am simply tired of being out of breath when I ascend a flight of stairs, smelling like smoke all the time, spending a small fortune on cigarettes and blackening my lungs beyond recognition.
I’m going to miss my after meal cigarettes, the morning smokes, my cigarette after a really boring class and of course my nighttime smoke break. However, I am sure that after a few difficult weeks of nicotine withdrawal I’ll find the increased blood flow, lung capacity and thicker wallet all worth the quitting experience.

Leicester estate targeted in smoking blitz

A Leicester estate with one of the highest smoking rates in the country is to be targeted in a major drive to help people quit the habit.The plan is to persuade more than 5,500 smokers in New Parks to stub out their cigarettes by Christmas.About 40.5% of adults on the estate smoke – nearly twice the national average of about 22%.
From tomorrow, volunteers will be knocking on doors, visiting community groups and going into offices to try to encourage smokers to quit.They have been trained in "30-second intervention" – a method of trying to persuade people to do something without lecturing them.Volunteers will also be pounding the streets armed with leaflets and details on where smokers can get help to quit. A specially decked-out bus packed with information, help and advisers will also tour the neighbourhood.Called Lose the Smoker in You, the campaign is the first of its kind in the country.New Parks was chosen for the launch after drug company Pfizer, which has developed and paid for the campaign, invited people across the country to say why their neighbourhood deserved to benefit first from the project. New Parks beat two other finalists, in Lincolnshire and Liverpool.Louise Ross, NHS Leicester City's Stop! smoking manager, put forward New Parks.
She said: "It seemed the perfect place.
"It has the one of the highest rates of smoking in the country."A recent survey showed that more than half the smokers on the estate wanted to stop."Research by anti-smoking charity Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) revealed men and women in deprived social groups were much more likely to smoke than those who were better off.
New Parks is in the west of the city – an area in which one in three children have parents who are unemployed and struggling to make ends meet, according to the charity End Child Poverty.Ms Ross said the campaign would enable stop smoking advisers to be more "creative" in their attempts to get people to give up."I, and my staff, will do all we can to make sure it works," she said."We don't have a particular number of quitters in mind to judge success of the project.
"We want to see what works well."Smokers will also be given freebies, such as pedometers and water bottles, to encourage them to live more healthily.Pfizer would not say how much it was spending on the campaign because the information was said to be "commercially sensitive".The company manufactures the stop-smoking drug Champix, but will not be promoting it during the campaign.Television's Street Doctor Dr Jonty Heaversedge will be helping kick-off the campaign at a roadshow in the Salvation Army car park, in Aikman Avenue, tomorrow.It takes place from 9am until 5pm. Dr Jonty will be there from 10am until 2pm.

Police ask for help in tracing stolen tobacco

ABOUT £40,000 worth of stolen cigarettes could be circulating in South Wales after they were stolen from a lorry.
Police have asked the public to report anyone who offers them tobacco or cigarettes in suspicious circumstances.
Detectives were alerted to the theft on Monday when a large consignment of cigarettes and tobacco failed to be delivered to shops and outlets across South Wales.
South Wales Police said: “A Palmer and Harvey Transport delivery lorry, registration GN54 EWZ, carrying the consignment, left a depot at Christchurch Road, Baglan Industrial Estate, at approximately 5.45am on Monday.
“It was later found parked up in a nearby lay-by.
“We believe the vehicle travelled from Port Talbot to the Sarn area of Bridgend between 6am and 7am on Monday morning.
“During this time, a large quantity of cigarettes and tobacco of various major brands, valued in excess of £40,000, has been removed from the lorry, which is a cream and red DAF 90 with Palmer and Harvey Transport written on the side.”
A 41-year-old man has been arrested and charged with theft and is due to appear before Neath magistrates.
The incident was reported to police by the Palmer and Harvey Transport company management.
Detective Inspector Jason Davies said: “We are appealing to anyone who knows where the stolen property is to come forward.”