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Japan remains a smoker’s paradise

Administrator — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 11:49:57 +0000

Humourist David Sedaris is no longer a smoker, and, oddly, he has Japan to thank for it.

The American author, most recently of When You Are Engulfed in Flames, kicked his 30-year cigarette habit in Tokyo. Quitting smoking is probably a feat for anyone, yet one needs extra willpower to do it in a true puffer’s paradise.

Travelling to this land of dirt-cheap cigarettes and omnipresent ashtrays to beat your addiction is like going to Madrid to give up pork, Prague to escape beer cravings or Beijing to get away from crowds. That didn’t keep Sedaris from spending three months in Japan last year, and succeeding.

"I read in a book that the best way to quit smoking was to move, and in Tokyo it’s against the law to smoke on the street," Sedaris joked recently to Jon Stewart on Comedy Central’s The Daily Show. "It’s not second-hand-smoke-related, it’s you put a hole in my Comme des Garcons jacket-related."

For most of the nation’s 127 million people, Japan’s views on smoking are anything but a laughing matter. Japan Tobacco Inc., the world’s third-largest publicly traded cigarette maker, is 50 per cent government-owned. When you consider the tax revenue from its $31.4 billion in domestic tobacco sales, it’s no wonder Japan Tobacco has friends in high places.

Some gutsy lawmakers want to more than triple cigarette prices to about $10 a pack. That would put Asia’s biggest economy in closer alignment with the anti-smoking movements in other industrialized nations. It also might increase government revenue amid modest economic growth. Japan Tobacco, which markets about 30 cigarette brands in Japan, isn’t happy.

"It would be disastrous harm for consumers first and the industry as well," president Hiroshi Kimura said last month.

This is really a story about Japan — how the government’s tentacles travel around the business world, and vice versa. The finance ministry is Japan Tobacco’s largest shareholder, leaving little doubt anti-smoking efforts will lack teeth. The arrangement has Japan implicitly encouraging smoking.

The tobacco debate is a reminder that as much as we talk about the "New Japan" of high technology, anime and hybrid cars, much of the old remains. Politicians are protecting vested interests without considering the bigger picture.

Kimura complains that most smokers would quit if the price of cigarettes were tripled. Some economists say so many people would stop smoking that tax revenue may actually decline.

Yet the end — a more productive workforce that takes fewer smoking breaks and has lower health-care burdens — would justify the means. This isn’t just a fiscal issue. This isn’t about shares in Japan Tobacco falling. It’s a public-health issue.

Ideas such as banning tobacco advertising, sponsoring tobacco-control programs and public-service announcements haven’t caught on in Japan. All this says much about the government’s economic policies.

Japan has the world’s largest public debt, and the demographics make pledges to reduce it unrealistic. With the population both aging and shrinking, Japan must find new revenue, while funding the skyrocketing health-care costs.

Menthol the bait to trap smokers, researchers say

Administrator — Fri, 18 Jul 2008 11:13:20 +0000

Hoping to lure a new generation of smokers, tobacco companies routinely manipulate levels of menthol so that their cigarettes prove more appealing and less harsh to novice users, Boston researchers reported yesterday.

Scientists from the Harvard School of Public Health scoured thousands of pages of industry documents from the 1980s through 2006 and commissioned laboratory tests of cigarettes to confirm a long-suspected link between menthol levels and marketing strategies.

The researchers found that tobacco companies embrace a Goldilocks approach when launching brands: Add too little menthol, a chemical that has an effect akin to anesthesia, and tobacco retains its intense bite. Add too much, and first-time smokers are overwhelmed. Add just the right amount, and cigarettes become powerfully seductive.

A 1987 internal memo from R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., maker of the Salem brand, which uses menthol, summarized the benefits of low-level menthol cigarettes: "Smoother, more refreshing tobacco taste." Such a product, the memo said, would be a "proven winner" among 18- to 24-year-olds.

Once hooked, the documents show, smokers require increasing levels of menthol to maintain the same cooling effect. Cigarette makers, in turn, respond with brands that contain more of the additive, the Harvard scientists said.

Representatives of large tobacco companies decried the study, with Lorillard Tobacco Co., maker of Newport and other menthol products, saying in a statement that the firm "does not control levels of menthol to promote smoking among adolescents and young adults."

A spokesman with the nation’s largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, said the company doesn’t "believe the study’s hypothesis or conclusions are supported by the facts cited in the study."

The findings, published online by the American Journal of Public Health, arrive at a critical moment, as Congress is close to giving the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco. Those rules would not explicitly ban menthol, something that has deeply divided public health advocates.

Stanton Glantz, a professor at the University of California at San Francisco, said the Harvard study shows a willful pattern of action by tobacco companies that can only be remedied by a federal ban.

"As you always find when you go digging into the industry documents, the companies are very smart and very thorough and don’t do anything by accident," Glantz said. "This is a very important element of cigarette marketing and design."

Smoking - which is linked to cancer, heart disease, and other ailments - kills more than 400,000 Americans a year and is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States.

Scientists not involved with the Harvard study hailed it as a landmark piece of research, sketching the richest portrait ever of the industry’s use of menthol to attract consumers. Dr. Michael Siegel, a tobacco-control researcher at Boston University School of Public Health, said it "really demonstrates that menthol is playing a major role in maintaining cigarette consumption and especially in recruiting and supporting addiction among youth and young adults."

Tobacco probe

Administrator — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:50:24 +0000

Six retailers and tobacco firms have agreed to pay a maximum of £173.3m in combined fines after admitting unlawful tobacco pricing practices.

The news comes after the Office of Fair Trading (OFT) in April accused a number of retailers and tobacco companies of anti-competitive retail pricing.

Asda, Somerfield, First Quench, TM Retail, One Stop Stores and tobacco firm Gallaher have agreed to the fines.

The OFT is continuing its investigation into a further six firms.

They are Imperial Tobacco, Tesco, Shell, the Co-operative Group, Morrisons and Safeway.

Leniency

The OFT said that some of the fined companies had applied for leniency and if discounts for leniency and quick resolution were given, the total penalty amount would be £132.3m.

It said Sainsbury’s was the first to apply for leniency and would thus escape any fine if the supermarket continued to co-operate.

"The early co-operation of these parties has enabled the swift resolution of some of this case," said John Fingleton, OFT chief executive.

"The OFT’s objective is to make markets work for consumers and the economy alike," he added.

The OFT alleged that the retailers and tobacco groups arranged to swap information on future pricing.

A separate allegation is that there was an understanding that the price of some brands would be linked to rival brands.

Imperial Tobacco owns brands such as Embassy, John Player Special and Lambert & Butler while Gallaher’s best-selling products include Benson & Hedges and Silk Cut.

The OFT said in April understandings between cigarette companies and retailers between 2000 and 2003 limited the retailers’ ability "to determine its selling price independently"

OFT’s hefty fines for tobacco price fixing

Administrator — Mon, 14 Jul 2008 13:47:47 +0000

Cigarette maker Gallaher and retailers including Asda and Somerfield have been fined over £173m following a price-fixing investigation by the Office of Fair Trading.

A large proportion - £93m - will be paid by Gallaher, whose brands include Benson & Hedge and Silk Cut.

The fines follow a five-year investigation into price setting and the passing of sensitive information in the UK tobacco industry between 2000 and 2003.

The OFT said the size of the fines would be reduced to £132.3m if the companies, which had applied to the watchdog for leniency, continued to support the investigation.

The size of Gallaher’s fine, disclosed by its owner, Japan Tobacco, is based on the company benefiting from the leniency reduction.

The other retailers fined were First Quench, One Stop Stores and TM Retail. Sainsbury’s, the first company to apply for leniency, has escaped without a fine.

The OFT - which expects to close its case early next year - said the investigation into Co-Op, Imperial Tobacco, Morrisons, Safeway, Shell and Tesco was continuing.

Asda said: "Everyone at Asda is very sorry about what happened… though we can’t turn back the clock there are lessons to be learned and we will learn them."

New cigarette tax good for everyone

Administrator — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:59:45 +0000

It wasn’t very long ago at all - just a few short years, in fact when it was perfectly legal to light up a cigarette in just about any restaurant in Massachusetts. Not perfectly sensible, of course, but legal. While that might seem not a little odd when looked at from today’s smoke-free environment, rewinding the tape just a bit more reveals pictures that can only be called astonishing:

People smoking in their offices. People smoking on busses and even on airplanes. People smoking in elevators. People smoking everywhere and at every turn.

Back to the present.

Massachusetts just increased the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1, to $2.51. The reasons for this are twofold:

First, the state is looking to raise money to help cover the costs of its universal health insurance program. And second, the state wants to encourage more smokers to quit and to dissuade young non-smokers from ever starting.

Both of these are sensible.

In general, we are not wild about tax increases. And we have had increasing concerns about the costs associated with the state’s health insurance program. That said, it makes sense to tap smokers for funds for health insurance. After all, there isn’t a legal activity that’s more unhealthy. As they bring ruin to themselves, they’ll be helping out the health care plan with each pack of cigarettes they buy.

And, one can only hope, they’ll tire of spending so much for so little and they’ll quit.

The state House and Senate hurriedly passed the tax hike on Monday, and Gov. Deval L. Patrick signed the increase into law on Tuesday. It took effect immediately.

What a difference a few decades makes. We remember well when it seemed that everyone was smoking. And when cigarettes cost much less than a dollar. Now there are fewer smokers all the time and the tax alone is $2.51.

Kenya: Beer, Cigarettes Prop Up Economy

Administrator — Fri, 04 Jul 2008 12:55:39 +0000

Consumption of beer and cigarettes kept the economy going in the first quarter of 2008 as post-poll violence took its toll on the country’s wellbeing. Food, beverages, and the tobacco sub-sectors increased by 3.1 per cent in the January to March.
"The key contributions to this increase were the production of beer, cigarettes and maize meal," an analysis by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicated. Overall, the country’s economic growth, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed in the first quarter to record the lowest growth rate in the last six years at negative 1.3 per cent.
Robust growth
Government projections put full year economic growth at 4.5 per cent down from 7.1 per cent recorded in 2007, mostly driven by a robust growth in second half of 2008.
All other manufacturing sectors whose key indicators include cement production (normally relied on as an indicator of the level of activities in the construction industry), manufacture of textiles, clothing and footwear, throughput of crude petroleum among others, declined by 0.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2008.
"The economic implication of the post-election violence and the loss incurred was the main cause of the decline in some key sectors of the economy," the bureau said in its quarterly economic review.
Worst hit were the hotel and restaurant industries estimated to have declined by 60.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to a growth of 10.1 per cent in the same period of 2007.

Electronic smoking in India

Administrator — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:22:08 +0000

Chennai: A company in Chennai has introduced the concept of ‘e-smoking’ with electronic cigarettes based on the principal of ‘nicotine replacement therapy’.

The concept has been introduced for the first time in India.

The electronic white stick hit the Chennai market on May 31 that is observed as the ‘World No Tobacco Day’.

The e-cigarette looks like a normal cigarette and the white part of the cigarette is the battery. The filter part is the cartridge, which can be replaced. Diluted nicotine is kept in the gadget.

The good news is that puffing these cigarettes does not compromise on the stimulation aspect of smoking, as it lends the same stimulation sans carcinogenic elements.

Scottish city to offer smokers food vouchers in return for quitting cigarettes

Administrator — Mon, 30 Jun 2008 09:21:14 +0000

LONDON — Authorities in a Scottish city are offering smokers food vouchers if they quit.

Health officials in Dundee say ex-smokers will be given $25 a week on an electronic card. The credits can be redeemed in stores for fresh food and groceries, but not alcohol or cigarettes.

Participants in the pilot program will get help giving up cigarettes and will have to undergo weekly carbon monoxide breath tests to prove they have not started again.

Authorities said Saturday that the project will start in the fall. They hope it can help 900 people quit smoking over the next two years.

Dundee is Scotland’s fourth-largest city and has one of Britain’s highest smoking rates.

Councillors call for cigarette licensing

Administrator — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:44:55 +0000

Cigarette sales will be licensed in the same way as alcohol is, if an influential group of Cumbria county councillors get their way.

A new council report puts the case for stricter controls on tobacco sales and tougher sanctions on shopkeepers that flout the rules.

It is likely to form the basis of a county council response to a Government consultation on smoking, which could in turn lead to a change in the law.

Cleator Moor South and Egremont county councillor Simon Leyton chaired a group of councillors that drew up the report, The Last Gasp.

He said: “Licensing tobacco products would act as a powerful deterrent against the sale of cigarettes to children.

“Alcohol is licensed and there is no reason why the sale of tobacco should not be subject to similar regulation.”

The Last Gasp argues that, if retailers were licensed, those who sold cigarettes to children or traded in bootleg tobacco products could have their licences revoked.

It also calls for shops to be allowed to sell nicotine replacement products more widely alongside cigarettes.

Both measures would require changes in the law.

The report was approved by the council’s health and wellbeing scrutiny committee this week and goes before the full council next Thursday.

Councillors took evidence from a range of experts.

They also commissioned the Cumbria Youth Alliance to survey attitudes to smoking among 2,000 young people.

Electronic Cigarette Lights Up In A Healthier Way

Administrator — Fri, 20 Jun 2008 14:42:21 +0000

They just won’t stop nagging. No matter how many excuses you come up with, some individuals will still go on and on about how smoking is dangerous for your health. But people know the risks that come with cigarettes. Some choose to ignore them while some try to create a healthy lifestyle for themselves by cutting back or quitting altogether. One new invention has created the opportunity to making those cutbacks easier.

The SuperSmoker is an electronic cigarette that contains no tobacco whatsoever. It doesn’t need to be lit, there’s no combustion, no tar or real smoke. As an alternative cigarette, the SuperSmoker uses a vaporization chamber and a disposable cartridge that contains a small amount of nicotine. To operate it, all a person has to do is simply inhale as there is no on or off switch.

Since it is an electronic device, it runs on batteries and cartridges. Available in various concentrations of nicotine, each cartridge is equal to 15-20 cigarettes. The product also comes with a battery charger as it has to be charged after one day of regular use.

The electronic cigarette is a great alternative because it’s free of certain health hazards. When you exhale, condensation is released instead of smoke. The cigarette also prevents nicotine poisoning as it has a security system that stops automatically for 30 seconds after 15 inhalations.

Legally used in public areas in the UK, the SuperSmoker is a great alternative to ordinary cigarettes. The device contains no tobacco, helps make sure that you’re not overusing and causes no hazards to the people around you.

Look-alike cigarettes

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:17:54 +0000

Mayor Sheila Dixon’s proposal to ban the sale of individual "little cigars" would probably discourage some Baltimore youngsters from buying them, but it’s only the tiniest step in the right direction. The problem is more fundamental: They aren’t really cigars at all, but an increasingly popular way to skirt cigarette taxes and distribute flavored tobacco cheaply, especially to young African-Americans.

Unlike genuine cigars that are rolled tobacco leaf, little cigars are more like oversized cigarettes in dark brown paper. They are usually inhaled rather than puffed and come in flavors such as chocolate, raspberry and cinnamon.

Because they are classified as cigars, they aren’t as heavily taxed as cigarettes, don’t carry as many health warnings and can be sold individually. As a result, they can be purchased for as little as 69 cents compared with a $5 pack of cigarettes.

The General Assembly last year raised the tax on cigarettes to $2 per pack (and part of the justification was to make them less attractive to children by increasing their price) but failed to address little cigars, which are taxed at about one-sixth the rate of cigarettes. .

The U.S. Treasury was petitioned two years ago by 40 state attorneys general to redefine little cigars as cigarettes, but so far no action has been taken.

Shame on all of them.

Baltimore can ban the sale of individual little cigars, but it’s foolish to assume that will solve the problem. Their too-low price is the real culprit, and a product that may look a bit like a cigar but is actually made (and is smoked) like a cigarette ought to be treated by government as the same.

That would not only discourage underage smoking but essentially close a tax and regulatory loophole that harms people of all ages.

Cigarette Tax Hike

Administrator — Wed, 04 Jun 2008 12:15:19 +0000

New York now has the highest tax on cigarettes in the nation.

Tuesday it went up by $1.25.

That pushes the tax to $2.75 per pack.

As Action News Reporter Caitlin Nuclo tells us, the move is getting mixed reactions today from smokers, and non-smokers alike.

Smokers can now expect to pay as much as 6 or 7 dollars for a pack of cigarettes.

The increase has some smokers angry, but many people are happy with the change.
"Having the highest tax in the country we have the lowest number of smokers, said "Dr. Richard Terry from United Health Services.

Anti-smoking groups say every state that has increased their cigarette tax has seen a drop in both teens starting to smoke and in daily smokers.

They say about 140,000 people will stop smoking because of the added cost.

"We don’t want our kids to start smoking and even smokers who have been smoking for all of their lives agree that they don’t want their children to start smoking, said Christie Finch with the Tobacco Free Broome Coalition.

"Health officials hope that the tax hike will help smokers kick the habit"

And it has for some.

Gregory Winnick says he couldn’t afford to buy cigarettes anymore.

He was smoking 6 to 7 packs a week, spending about 35 dollars.

He says he feels ten times healthier since he quit, and offers some advice to smokers.

"Just find that one emotional push to get you over the edge to quit. Everybody has one," said Winnick.

For Winnick, the extra $1.25 was enough for him to kick his habit.

But Steven Gradijan says he’s been smoking for 30 years, and the tax increase isn’t going to make him stop anytime soon.

"I don’t think that raising the price is going to make anyone quit just because of the price. You want to quit you are going to quit on your own and cost is not a factor," he said.

Gradijan says until he’s ready to quit, he’ll look for ways to save, like buying his cigarettes online.

Electronic Cigarette Beats Smoking Ban

Administrator — Mon, 26 May 2008 09:09:29 +0000

A handful of companies are beating the smoking ban by offering smokers an electronic way to legally get their nicotine fix while indoors. is a smokeless, sleek black tube with a rechargeable battery and a nicotine cartridge.
And unlike a normal Davidoff cigarettes, the tube releases a cloud of water vapor in the atmosphere, making it legal to smoke indoors.
"I buy cigarettesusually, so this is right up my alley," said smoker Monique Ownes, who said she now prefers smoking electronically.
However, smoker Jacob Asbill said he wasn’t too impressed by the new device. "Looks like a pen actually," Asbill said. "If it looks more like a cigarette and if it tasted more like a cigarette."
The American Lung Association says that even without the smoke, nicotine has its own dangers, and is linked to cardiac disease and high blood pressure. Even though the state says the E-Cigarette is exempt from the smoking ban, it’s still up to individual businesses to decide whether smokers can use it indoors.
Each nicotine cartridge is equal to a couple packs of cigarettes. The device runs around $100, excluding the price of the cartridges. A cigar sells for about $50. Ruyan America is the manufacturer of the E-cigarettes and cigars.

Czech Philip Morris sees no reason for further tax rises on cigarettes

Administrator — Tue, 20 May 2008 10:02:23 +0000

PRAGUE - Czech tobacco group Philip Morris CR sees no reason for further tax hikes on cigarettes in the next several years after the last rise at the start of the year, weekly Euro reported, citing the group’s new CEO.
‘After a rise in the consumer tax in January 2008, the Czech Republic fulfilled and passed the minimum tax, and therefore we do not see a reason for raising the rate for several years,’ Euro quoted Alvise Giustiniani as saying in an interview.
The tobacco group’s Czech market share has eroded in recent years amid fiercer competition and tax hikes on cigarettes, and analysts expect the company to face challenges in 2008 due to strong stockpiling from competitors.

Cigarette Bill Gives Menthols a Pass

Administrator — Fri, 16 May 2008 08:49:18 +0000

New legislation in Congress would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to oversee tobacco products. It would also ban most flavored Marlboro cigarettes, but menthol Marlboro cigarettes would stay on the market.
Some health experts say that plan could leave black Americans at risk.
For more, Farai Chideya speaks with Bill Robinson, Executive Director of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network, and John McWhorter, Senior Fellow in Public Policy at the Manhattan Institute.

‘Joint effort needed’ to strengthen tobacco law

Administrator — Mon, 12 May 2008 10:15:02 +0000

A TOTAL of 52 participants including mall managers, restaurant and hotel managers, health professionals, legal experts, law enforcement agents and government officials recently attended a National Health Authority’s (NHA) workshop on Tobacco Law number 20 of 2002. Penalties for violating the law include fines of up to QR5,000, closure of establishment which violates the law and jail of up to six months. The aim of the workshop, which is one of the activities lined up for the commemoration of the ‘World No Tobacco Day’ was to discuss how to improve the implementation of the law among other things.
The theme for the year is ‘Tobacco-Free Youth’. The director of the Public health at the NHA, Dr Gail Fraser Chanpong, who declared open the workshop, said that tobacco is a major public health problem in the community and that urgent Marlboro cigarettes control efforts are needed.
Prof Ravinder Mamtani of the Weill Cornell Medical College in Qatar discussed the effects of tobacco and highlighted its effects, including cancer and heart diseases.
“Globally, tobacco kills approximately 5.4mn people annually, that is, one person every six seconds,” he said. Legal expert at the NHA Asmaa Abdel Halim highlighted parts of the law and also discussed how it organises and controls tobacco sale and smoking in public places.
She stressed the importance of collaboration between all governmental agencies, families, educational institutions and others to reach the goals set by the country.
Head of the Non-communicable Diseases section Adenike Ajani said legislation is one of many strategies that can be used for tobacco control, especially because of its special consideration for the youths. She added that the law prohibits the sale of tobacco to minors and advertisement that may encourage its use among youths. Ajani noted that tobacco in the law refers to all kinds of products including water-pipe (sheesha) and chewing tobacco (suwaikah), while adding that there is no safe form of tobacco.
Major Hamad al-Ansari of the Ministry of Interior said that law enforcement officials will continue to support the Marlboro cigarettes control efforts of the NHA, adding that official channels of collaboration need to be established to strengthen the role of the police officers in the tobacco control.

Tobacco dollars still in politics

Administrator — Tue, 06 May 2008 14:33:03 +0000

The truth is, The Times’ indomitable campaign finance expert Dan Morain finds, where once tobacco interests and money carried a lot of influence, this time there’s not much tobacco money flying around this cycle. The candidates who took the most cigarettes money have dropped out of the White House race. So much for big business picking winners. One-time Republican front-runner and cancer survivor Rudy Giuliani took $114,000 during his unsuccessful run. Democratic Sen. Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, whose home state is home to UST Inc., formerly known as U.S. Tobacco Inc., accepted $55,000.
Among candidates still standing or running… … Sen. Hillary Clinton has taken the most — $46,300 from executives and employees of tobacco companies. Sen. John McCain, himself a cancer survivor, has taken $27,400. Sen. Barack Obama, who famously has tried to quit smoking with off-and-on success, has taken $22,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. These remaining candidates have not been particularly kind to the cigarettes industry, according to Stanton Glantz, an anti-tobacco advocate, researcher and medical school professor at University of California, San Francisco.
McCain actually advocated a tobacco tax hike in the 1990s, and carried legislation to implement the 1998 national tobacco settlement, in which the tobacco companies agreed to pay the states more than $200 billion. Clinton pushed for a smoking ban in the White House when she was first lady, and President Clinton’s Food and Drug Administration sought to regulate tobacco. Obama has cast anti-tobacco votes, Glantz noted.
“Tobacco companies know they’re a liability,” Glantz said. “The money is there but it’s hard to see.” Indeed, the tobacco industry is not without its resources. In 2007, tobacco companies donated more than $525,000 to various campaign organizations known as 527s, a Times review shows. So far in the 2007-08 election cycle, tobacco companies and their employees have given $2.1 million to federal candidates and parties.
That’s down some 80% from 1995-1996 when it gave $10.6 million in campaign donations to federal candidates. Three of the 14 most costly California initiatives sought to hike tobacco taxes, according to data compiled by the Center for Governmental Studies in Los Angeles for its latest report, “Democracy by Initiative.” The tobacco industry spent $66 million to kill the latest measure in 2006.

Bill passes requiring safer-burning cigarettes

Administrator — Tue, 29 Apr 2008 07:58:51 +0000

TALLAHASSEE — Legislation that would mandate safer-burning cigarettes designed to reduce home fires will soon land on Gov. Charlie Crist’s desk.

On Monday, the Senate unanimously approved new cigarette standards for tobacco companies, following the House’s lead Friday.

Nearly two dozen other states and Canada have adopted similar standards, which by 2010 would require the so-called fire-safe cigarettes.

They contain "speed bumps" - two or three rings of less porous paper - that cause the cigarettes to extinguish themselves if they are left unattended.

"The fact of the matter is it (smoking) is a leading cause of house fires in the United States, and it’s a preventable tragedy," said Sen. Lee Constantine, R-Altamonte Springs, who sponsored the bill. "Now, it’s not going to stop all cigarette fires, but it will stop a significant number. I would say 75 percent."

All tobacco wholesalers and retailers must sell only those cigarettes or risk monthly fines that could total no more than $100,000 and $250,000, respectively.

The tobacco industry, which supported the legislation (HB 1167), insists the costs of the special wrapping paper or bands to reduce cigarette ignition is negligible.

But tobacco representatives would not detail to what extent the new cigarettes along with state inspection and certification costs would cost Florida smokers.

"If you look historically at the states that have enacted this legislation, the list price for cigarettes we have offered has not changed as a result of these laws being enacted," said Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Altria, the parent company of Philip Morris USA.

Constantine said the savings of safer burning cigarettes would outweigh any increase in a pack of cigarettes.

Florida Fire Marshal Les Hallman said smoking-related fires in the state in 2006 and 2007 caused more than $6.3 million in property losses.

Many times, home fires result when smokers fall asleep with or don’t properly extinguish a lit cigarette.

The human toll in that period was nine deaths and 64 injuries, including seven firefighters, Hallman added.

One pro-smokers group says self-extinguishing cigarettes’ effectiveness can’t be measured.

"You can’t say the fire-safe cigarette is the reason for a reduction in fires," Maryetta Ables, a representative with FORCES Inc., an advocacy group against smoking restrictions.

"There’s no difference in the number of smoking-related deaths or fires" before or after the cigarette ignition standards.

JAPANESE CIGARETTE SALES FALL

Administrator — Fri, 25 Apr 2008 07:54:25 +0000

TOKYO, — Domestic cigarette sales fell by 4.3% to 258.5 billion cigarettes in the year ended March 31, marking a ninth straight year of decline, the Tobacco Institute of Japan said Thursday.
The decrease is attributed to the growing trend to quit smoking, as well as tighter smoking-related regulations. Last fiscal year’s sales figure is down 26% from the fiscal 1996 peak.
In fiscal 2007, sales of domestically produced cigarettes slid 4.1% to 167.8 billion, while imports sank 4.6% to 90.7 billion.
Japan Tobacco Inc. (TSE:2914) saw its market share edge up 0.1 percentage point to 64.9%, its first such gain since the company’s 1985 privatization.
As for the outlook, JT expects the market to "keep declining about 4-5% every year," according to Executive Vice President Mitsuomi Koizumi.
Asked about the impact, if any, of the age-verifying cigarette vending machines that have debuted in two Kyushu prefectures, Koizumi says: "More people are buying cigarettes at convenience stores for now, but there has been no impact on overall sales."

Smokers Aren’t Deterred By Tax Increases

Administrator — Tue, 22 Apr 2008 11:46:55 +0000

In the near future it will become harder for UB smokers to light up and enjoy their cigarettes in NY and on campus. From smoking bans in bars and restaurants to increasing prices, the habit of smoking is becoming more inconvenient and expensive.
Over the past weeks, the recently-passed state budget includes a plan to increase the tax on cigarettes, which could mean an additional $1.50 per pack on top of the current prices.
According to Sherri Darrow, director of Wellness Education Services (WES), UB will soon be adding their own obstacles for UB smokers.
"We are currently working to change policies around campus regarding tobacco," Darrow said. "We are trying to stop the sales of tobacco on campus and we are trying to make UB a smoke-free campus."
In the near future, Darrow said that WES is attempting to establish distinguished smoking areas, which are farther away from building entrances. Their reasons for the new programs are to promote a healthier lifestyle on campus. Even with the continual obstacles approaching in NY, many UB student smokers have no intentions of quitting, and feel that these new policies are insulting.
Tim Wagner, a freshman media study major, said that he picked up the habit because he played a character in a musical that smoked. He now averages about four or five cigarettes a day, and on a stressful day, he’ll smoke up to two packs.
Many college smokers said that smoking has helped them deal with the stress of school. Some also claim that the college social atmosphere school has encouraged them to start smoking.
Alexander Karsten, a UB law student, said that he would not have made it through law school if it weren’t for cigarettes. He also said that if there was a smoking ban on campus, he would not have attended UB. "If this university wants to deprive us of our ability to make choices and even wrong choices, in their opinion, what are they saying about the trust they are putting in the future members of society?," Karsten said.
Karsten also said that because UB is a state university, they should not have the right to ban smoking on campus. Sarah Chojnacki, a sophomore psychology major, took up the habit when a coworker offered her a cigarette during a break. She said that the college social life has not helped her kick the habit, and finds that she smokes a lot at parties. "I never thought I would become a smoker," Chojnacki said.
Molly Brennan, a senior media study major, started her smoking habits from college socializing. "I tend to surround myself with fellow smokers and I will smoke more frequently when around them," Brennan said. "I was one of the many who considered themselves ’social smokers.’ I would merely bum cigarettes from other smokers. At the age of 21, I began buying my own packs of cigarettes."
With the NY tax increase on cigarettes, and UB’s potential ban of selling cigarettes, many UB smokers may find themselves turning to more affordable alternatives for cigarette purchases.
Danielle Smith, a sophomore psychology major, purchases her cigarettes from an Indian Reservation to dodge tax increases. "I do buy a lot of my cigarettes by the carton on the Reservation, so I’ll probably just buy two at a time when I make trips out there to avoid these tax increases," Smith said.
Karsten said that if UB wants to encourage the students to become healthier, they should consider alternative programs, such as focusing on healthier foods such as organic foods and purified water. More people will quit smoking when it is no longer the norm, Darrow said. The new programs at UB will continue to promote a healthy lifestyle that excludes smoking.
According to Darrow, if students are looking to quit there are options available like the quitting hotline, making an appointment with a health professional or stopping by the Health and Wellness Center.
Alan Vlakancic, a sophomore environmental design major, does not think that the NY tax increase will deter people from smoking.
"It makes cigarettes into a forbidden fruit, and probably makes rebellious kids want to smoke more," Vlakancic said. "If people are going to smoke, they’re going to smoke. A price increase just makes it more of a hassle."

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Administrator — Fri, 18 Apr 2008 11:50:24 +0000

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Alcohol, cigarettes and drugs cost Australia $56b a year

Administrator — Wed, 16 Apr 2008 13:25:49 +0000

TOBACCO, alcohol and illicit drugs cost Australia $56 billion a year.
A study has revealed the social and economic toll of drug-linked illness, premature deaths, lost productivity, crime and accidents. It found drug-related burden has jumped more that $20 billion since 1998-99, when a similar study put the figure at $34.5 billion. The latest findings, to be released today by Health Minister Nicola Roxon, put the lost productivity associated with tobacco at $16 billion.
Ms Roxon said the huge costs involved reinforced the need for drastic preventative measures. "What sets this Government apart from our predecessors is recognition that the rise of preventable chronic disease also poses a frontline economic challenge," she said. "Poor health adversely affects workforce participation and productivity - something we can’t afford at a time of a skills shortage."
The Government-commissioned research, by professors David Collins and Helen Lapsley, showed the social and economic cost of alcohol was $15.3 billion in 2004-05. cigarettes cost $31.5 billion, or 56 per cent of all drug-related costs.
The social and financial costs associated with illicit drugs were estimated more than $8 billion. The Productivity Commission recently called for 20 per cent of the health budget to be spent on preventative health measures.
But just 2-5 per cent of health spending goes towards prevention. VicHealth director Todd Harper said there was a great opportunity now to boost preventative health programs. "We need an approach that recognises good health care and prevention have benefits way beyond the savings in the healthcare system," Mr Harper said.
"We know that one of the most effective investments in tobacco (control) alone has been national social marketing campaign, which has been shown not only to be effective, but also to save money. "We would be spending less than $10 million a year on those ads and yet they are one of the most effective strategies we have available."
cigarettes, alcohol abuse and obesity will be the top three priorities in the Rudd Government’s preventative health strategy. The Government has also promised to commission a special economic report by the Treasury, outlining the benefits of preventative health measures.

Up in smoke: New York cigarettes hit $9 a pack

Administrator — Fri, 11 Apr 2008 09:41:51 +0000

A few weeks ago, I wrote a post in which I mentioned New York’s plans to raise taxes on cigarettes. Well, the bill passed, and cigarettes are now $9 a pack in New York City. While this is sure to increase tax revenue in the short run, it’s not hard to see how it will backfire.
The first negative side effect is the fact that it will encourage criminal behavior on the part of ordinarily law-abiding citizens. According to a report by the Independent Budget Office, earlier tax increases led to massive growth in the purchases of illegal cigarettes. In fact, in 2006, 27% of NYC smokers and 34% of upstate smokers purchased "under-taxed" cigarettes. Now that the taxes on a pack of cigarettes have more than doubled, those figures are expected to skyrocket.
One of the easiest ways to get "under-taxed" cigarettes is through Indian reservations. For example, the Poospatuck Indian Reservation, located just 60 miles outside of New York City, is a major source for tax-free smokes, and its website, "The Original Poospatuck Smoke Shop and Trading Post," is primarily a portal for ordering tobacco products (although it also offers moccasins and coffee). The Poospatucks take their tax free smokes pretty seriously, stating that "[We were] a leader in the fight to protect the sovereignty of Unkechaug Nation lands. We are proud of our contribution to the struggle and will continue to resist any attempt to charge, collect or impose any duty on our territory. This is not just about cigarettes or gas, this is the lawful exercise of Sovereignty […] The consumer who purchases from our site not only buys at a great discount, but also makes a statement about protecting the rights and obligations of our people."
Cheap smokes and a political statement? Hell, sign me up!
For the less politically motivated addicts, there are also internet sites that will sell cigarettes at a considerable discount and ship them to New York addresses. Although these sites are of questionable legality, enforcement is very difficult.
Governor Spitzer worked with credit card companies and postal regulators to reduce the impact of online retailers, but it’s not too hard to circumvent the law on this one. Similarly, it’s pretty easy to buy a trunkload of cigarettes while on vacation in Virginia or South Carolina. With the rising taxes, this sort of low-level smuggling will probably skyrocket, given the fact that it is a quick and relatively safe way to make a lot of money. It’s not hard to imagine cash-strapped yuppies trying out bootlegging, particularly when a couple of runs could cover a semester’s college tuition, a set of braces, or half a tank of gas.
Of course, the biggest source of cheap cigarettes will be hijackers, and therein lies another major downside to the tax hike. Historically, Prohibition was the greatest gift that the United States ever gave to organized crime. Prior to that, the mafia was largely composed of low-scale thugs involved in numbers running and prostitution, but the influx of cash from smuggled liquor gave them a big boost of adrenalin and laid the groundwork for their later expansion into unions and narcotics. Even now, it’s not hard to find cigarettes that "fell off the truck." In fact, "fell off the truck" is the major cigarette retailer in my neighborhood, where I’m constantly bugged by guys selling loose packs of Newports.
By the way, can anyone tell me why Newports are the official cigarettes of the inner city?
While they may bring in a little cash flow, New York’s recent tax decisions are going to put a lot of wear and tear on law enforcement in the city. Furthermore, as anti-smoking lobbyists are pushing these sorts of laws across the country, it’s not hard to imagine a whole new era of bootlegging and smuggling.
Welcome to 1920!

Suit on Light Cigarettes Is Thrown Out

Administrator — Tue, 08 Apr 2008 09:39:12 +0000

In a legal victory for the tobacco industry, a federal appeals court on Thursday threw out an $800 billion class-action lawsuit on behalf of smokers who said they were misled that light cigarettes were safer than regular ones.
Plaintiffs’ lawyers had wanted to represent potentially millions of people across the country who had smoked light cigarettes, but the court found that it was impossible to tell why smokers chose light cigarettes, so the group could not be treated as a class. Instead, smokers will have to sue individually.
“Individualized proof is needed to overcome the possibility that a member of the purported class purchased lights for some other reason than the belief that lights were a healthier alternative,” the ruling said.
The unanimous ruling by a three-judge panel of the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit means that individuals can still pursue lawsuits against cigarette makers, but they cannot be grouped together as a class.
Stocks of big tobacco companies were little changed by news of the ruling, which was not entirely unexpected. Shares of the Altria Group, which owns Philip Morris USA, maker of Marlboro cigarettes, were up 2 cents, to $22.06, in mid-afternoon trading Thursday in New York. Stock in Reynolds American, whose R. J. Reynolds Tobacco unit markets the Camel brand, were up 14 cents, to $59.85.

FDA regulation of tobacco a step closer

Administrator — Fri, 04 Apr 2008 08:07:02 +0000

WASHINGTON — U.S. Congress on Wednesday moved a step closer to handing the Food and Drug Administration broad new authority to regulate tobacco and cigarettes products, despite concerns voiced by many lawmakers that the agency cannot handle its current workload.
The House Energy and Commerce Committee voted 38-12 for legislation that would allow the FDA to reduce nicotine levels and require larger and more informative health warnings on cigarette packs. A Senate committee has already approved similar legislation.
Energy and Commerce Committee Republicans were divided on the legislation, with 11 voting for it. Those who opposed it said the agency has had enough trouble ensuring the safety of the nation’s food supply and medicine. "This legislation, if it becomes law, would require the FDA to take on a task that is enormous, complex and completely outside its regulatory experience," said Rep. Joe Barton, R-Texas, the ranking Republican on the committee. "It will almost necessitate a diversion from its core functions."
Barton said the Federal Trade Commission was better suited for the job. But Rep. Henry Waxman, D-Calif., said the "unfortunate state of affairs" at the FDA did not mean the agency should ignore the harms of tobacco.
"It simply means that when we give the agency this additional responsibility, we also must give it the resources necessary to handle the job and to handle it well," Waxman said. To address concerns about resources, the legislation calls for the assessment of user fees on tobacco companies. The assessments could initially generate $90 million this year. By 2018, that amount would increase to $755 million. Aides said the fees would be assessed based on market share.
Health groups have been highly supportive of the legislation. "This bill will put a stop to decades of Big Tobacco marketing, aimed at addicting each new generation of young people to their deadly products," said Daniel Smith, president of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network.
More than 400,000 people die from smoking-related illnesses each year. Rep. Jane Harman, D-Calif., noted that both of her parents died from lung cancer, and she asked lawmakers to consider the financial toll that additional smokers generate when they come down with smoking-related illnesses. Proponents say various aspects of the legislation would deter people from taking up cigarettes or from using cigarettes that they may view as less dangerous because of their labeling.
The legislation would ban candy-flavored cigarettes, which attract younger smokers. It would also prohibit terms such as "light" or "mild" which many consumers mistakenly believe means the products are safer. The Bush administration has voiced qualms about giving the agency responsibility for tobacco regulation because some people could get a false sense of security about the safety of tobacco products.
For decades, the FDA said it lacked authority to regulate tobacco so long as cigarette makers did not claim that smoking provided health benefits. In 1996, it reversed course and cited new evidence that the industry intended its products to feed the nicotine habits of the roughly 45 million Americans who smoke. Tobacco companies sued, and the case eventually landed in the Supreme Court. In 2000, the court ruled 5-4 that Congress did not authorize the FDA to regulate tobacco.
Some smaller tobacco manufacturers endorsed the legislation after it was amended so that they would have more time to meet new testing and reporting requirements. The National Association of Convenience Stores also said it would no longer oppose the bill, though the trade group stopped short of endorsing it. Lawmakers amended the legislation so that retailers getting orders to stop selling tobacco because they illegally sold tobacco to minors could have the orders modified or terminated if it’s determined they took effective steps to prevent such sales.
Also, some lawmakers representing districts with a strong tobacco farming presence voted for the bill after it was amended so that products containing foreign-grown tobacco would have to meet the same standards applied to domestically grown tobacco.

Raising Florida’s cigarette tax would have dual benefits

Administrator — Mon, 31 Mar 2008 10:10:14 +0000

The budget cuts lawmakers are considering to health programs for the poor are unconscionable — especially when a reasonable increase of the tax on cigarettes could raise badly needed money.
Florida’s 34-cents-a-pack tax is the fifth lowest in the country and hasn’t changed in 20 years. The average cigarettes tax nationally is $1.12 a pack. By adding $1 to a pack of cigarettes, Florida could move its tax in line with most other states and raise $1 billion.
That’s about the same amount the Legislature is looking to cut from the state’s human-services budget. The $1 billion in cuts would decimate optional programs under Medicaid, which pays for the health care of poor Floridians. That includes children and the disabled and programs such as hospice care for the dying and hospitalization for transplant patients.
Cutting Medicaid programs also means losing matching federal tax dollars, which is shortsighted. While increasing a tax isn’t always smart public policy, in this case it is. Studies show that when states increase the cigarettes tax, more people quit smoking. Teens, who can’t afford the higher costs, are the most likely to quit or not to start in the first place. In the long run, that will mean the state will save billions of dollars in years to come, because there will be fewer people suffering from cigarette-related diseases. As fewer smoke, revenues will drop, but, over time, so will the need.
It doesn’t make sense that Florida’s cigarette tax is so low. Lawmakers should be discouraging people from getting sick, not making it easier.

Liggett plans cigarette fire safety compliance

Administrator — Fri, 28 Mar 2008 14:39:43 +0000

Liggett Group will convert all of its domestic cigarettes production standards to meet all state fire safety standards by January of next year, the company has announced.
The Mebane-based cigarette maker said in an announcement that the move is "consistent with cigarettes fire safety standards enacted by a growing number of states." The company will continue to meet all deadlines for fire safety standards in individual states that become effective before January, the company added.
CEO Ronald Bernstein said the company will make changes both to its cigarette paper and to its production methods to meet all the guidelines required in different states, while continuing to produce what he called "best-in-class" cigarettes.
"Converting our production to make all of our cigarette brands fire-standards-compliant nationwide consistent with that commitment," Bernstein said.

Oregon’s cigarette tax

Administrator — Tue, 25 Mar 2008 14:54:28 +0000

Gov. Ted Kulongoski plans to announce a renewed push to increase Oregon’s cigarettes tax to pay for expanded children’s health care when he delivers his state-of-the-state address today in Portland.
Details are being worked out, but the Democratic governor is expected to announce he is resurrecting an idea that was left for dead after Oregon voters trounced Measure 50, which would have increased the state tax on a pack of cigarettes by 84.5 cents.
"The failure of Measure 50 last November was a setback, but I refuse to treat it as a defeat. Kids can’t wait," Kulongoski said Thursday.
The cigarette-tax increase is one of the key elements of Kulongoski’s annual address in which he also will outline plans to seek more revenue to upgrade Oregon’s transportation system, possibly with gas- tax increases or higher state vehicle- registration fees.
Additionally, Kulongoski said he will push to increase the corporate minimum tax — set at $10 in 1931 and unchanged since — and dedicate the money to Oregon’s rainy-day fund to shield schools, health-care providers and other services from getting hammered in the next economic downturn.
Kulongoski’s chief of staff, Chip Terhune, acknowledged that the shaky economy could make those revenue increases a tough sell with lawmakers.
"This is ambitious," Terhune said. "He is reaching hard for this one. But frankly, the governor continues to believe that making sure that children have health insurance is critical and that transportation infrastructure is in dire need of reinvestment." Kulongoski also will outline further plans to combat global warming, which could include offering new incentives to encourage use of all-electric cars. He also will push for reallocating existing state revenue to provide increases in funding for K-12 and for higher education, as well as for Head Start preschool programs.
Terhune said Kulongoski’s proposals amount to a "road map" for the coming election year in which he will try to drum up support for those ideas before forwarding them to the 2009 Legislature for consideration. The cigarette-tax increase will reprise a long political battle in 2007, which ended with voters soundly defeating the proposal after a record-shattering $12 million TV blitz financed by the tobacco industry.
Terhune said Kulongoski’s new cigarettes tax proposal will be less than the 84.5-cent-per-pack proposal that was rejected by voters. And he said it will be written in more specific terms to make it clear that all of the money goes to children’s health programs.

Cigarettes to be sold under shop counters

Administrator — Mon, 24 Mar 2008 13:14:13 +0000

Cigarettes are to be forced beneath shop counters with supermarkets and cornershops banned from displaying tobacco products, The Times has learnt .

The latest assault on smokers will also see the disappearance of vending machines from pubs and restaurants in an attempt to further limit children’s access to tobacco.

Both measures are to be included in a consultation to be launched later this spring. Legislation, if needed, could be introduced this autumn.

Dawn Primarolo, the Minister for Public Health, last night signalled she was ready to take on retailers to implement changes that she claimed would save hundreds of lives. “It’s vital we get across the message to children that smoking is bad. If that means stripping out vending machines or removing cigarettes from behind the counter, I’m willing to do that,” she said.

“Children who smoke are putting their lives at risk and are more likely to die of cancer than people who start smoking later.”

When the ban on displaying tobacco products is implemented England will join just a handful of others to have taken the step. Ontario, Canada, has passed legislation forcing cigarettes under the counter which comes into effect this May. Two administrations in Australia - Tasmania and the Australian Capital Territory - are also taking steps to keep tobacco out of sight.

The consultation process, due to begin in late May, will set out the range of options under consideration. Ministers are obliged to detail how much the measures are likely to cost businesses and will be expected to show what benefits banning cigarette displays and vending machines will bring. Interest groups will have one to three months to register objections.

The consultation is also expected to include measures that make it easier to sell nicotine replacement gums and patches.

The most recently available statistics show that 22 per cent of adults smoke, a 2 per cent drop since before the smoking ban was introduced last July. The Government has set a target of reducing the figure to 21 per cent by 2010.

Retailers made clear last night that removing cigarettes from sight could carry heavy costs, forcing many convenience stores to carry out refits costing thousands of pounds.

The Association of Convenience Stores said it would challenge the Government to prove that removing cigarettes from display would have any effect. The body’s chief executive, James Lowman, said that the change would carry “major operational and equipment costs”. “We would expect the Government to present a clear case that these measures were necessary before placing yet another significant burden on thousands of retailers across the country,” he said.

A spokesman for the British Retail Consortium said that, while tobacco represented a “very small” part of overall sales in a typical supermarket, banning all tobacco products from sight could be impractical. “Any further regulations should be balanced against the practical implications for serving customers who want to buy these products.”

Action on the display of tobacco products at the point of sale was first raised in a draft copy of the Cancer Reform Strategy last December.

Ministers have grown increasingly bullish over antismoking measures since tobacco advertising was banned in the press and on billboards in February 2003. The successful introduction of the smoking ban last July was followed by the increase of the minimum age of sale from 16 to 18 which came into force last October. From this autumn new explicit picture warnings on tobacco products will be required in addition to written cautions.