Tobacco can save lives, scientists at St. George’s Hospital in London have found.

Researchers have created a strain of tobacco that sucks up deadly pond scum that poisons water used for drinking, swimming and bathing.

The pollutants in the pond scum, known as microcystins, “are quite a big problem, an increasing problem, as people are starting to realize” across the globe, Dr. Pascal Drake, a plant biotechnologist at the University of London hospital medical school, told the Star on Thursday.

In China, for example, the scum is linked to high rates in cancer, he said.

In much of the developing world, killing microcystins in water requires

“fairly expensive and difficult to use” systems, said Drake. His team’s discovery could provide a simpler, cheaper method.

Microcystin, called “toxic pond scum” in lay terms, can fight off conventional water treatment such as chlorination and sand filtration.

The discovery has several implications, he said. If the work could transfer to other plants, “you could use whole plants to remove all sorts of pollutants.” Or agriculture could create antibodies that attach themselves just to the roots of plants so that crops grown with polluted water would still be safe to eat.

Tobacco, said Drake, is easy to work with and easy to genetically modify. The scientists created a strain that produced antibodies that in turn attached themselves to microcystin and destroyed it.

“Plants tend to be quite cheap to work with. They feed off sun and water.” The next stage would be to translate what they created in tobacco to aquatic plants or trees, since tobacco requires humans to cultivate it.

Drake understands the alarm genetically modified plants can trigger. “It’s far worse to have microcystin in the environment,” he said. “We hope that our study will ultimately lead to a reduction in the exposure of humans, livestock, and wildlife to environmental pollutants.”

The world’s largest cigarette-makers introduced exquisite Marlboro Gold a super slim extension to its leading tobacco brand Marlboro cigarettes, the most popular tobacco product in the world. Now, the company announced the launch of the additional varieties of key global brands – Virginia Slims and Bond.

After some modifications in pack design, Philip Morris has re-launched Virginia Slims UNO White and Virginia Slims UNO Black. Both extensions are a little bit more expensive than other varieties of Virginia tobacco family, but are oriented for active smoking who are interested in having a more chic smoking product than other female smokers consume.

Philip Morris Sales &Marketing senior director, Frederick Stahl, admitted that Virginia Super Slims have gained huge popularity among women-smokers across this region and that they received a great feedback from female smokers regarding new styles of Virginia, especially about delicate smell of vanilla, innovating pack design and superb quality.

Philip Morris as well introduced a new style of Bond Street Selection smoking brand, which was named Bond Street One. The new addition to Bond portfolio provides the lowest level of nicotine, with just 0.1mg of nicotine a cigarette.
The company opted for introducing Bond Street One, after a market research has concluded that although Bond has been very successful across Europe, increasing its presence in the region’s tobacco market by 1% last year, the brand still has a room for improvement, but needed a low-tar extension to offer for those adult cigarette-lovers who prefer a lighter smoking experience.
Up to the present moment, Bond brand has been the third-best selling cigarette brand in generic category, behind fellow PMI brand Red & White and Japan Tobacco’s Monte Carlo.

Mr. Stahl said the Philip Morris International’s latest product line extensions depict the company’s intention to consolidate its leading place in every category of world-wide tobacco market.

Philip Morris International, which gained its universal popularity among the adult smokers around the world with such notable products as Marlboro, Parliament, Virginia, L&M, Chesterfield and Bond Street, accounts for a 38.4% market share in European tobacco market. The modifications in the design of Bond Street One and Virginia UNO packs were elaborated by eminent graphic designers Stuart Eadie and Tong McKnew from Switzerland.

Philip Morris International marketing director stated that two years ago the company started changing designs and creating new varieties for almost all cigarette brands in its portfolio. This move is reasoned by a number of factors, among which are the evolving demands of adult cigarette-lovers, the willingness to comply with smokers’ expectations and the ever-high competition.

Rob Dellenback has crafted a life-sized camel — made out of thousands of smoked Camel cigarette filters and butts. Dellenback guesses he smoked about 30 percent of the cigarettes that make up the tan and white beast.

Nothing like sacrificing the body for art.

“We’d walk around downtown on the weekend too, with bags and gloves, collecting butts,” he said. “The tobacco smell has faded over time. When we first made it, the smell would fill a room up.”

Dellenback’s camel, Peter Loose’s dulcimer duck and Beverly Babb’s rebar re-created clothesline are just a few of the more quirky works of art displayed at the Lyndon House’s 35th Juried Exhibition.

There are hundreds of more traditional photographs, paintings and sculptures that make up the show, which has no established categories.

Ron Platt, the curator of modern and contemporary art at the Birmingham Museum of Art, selected the 142 pieces that made the cut from 740 entries.

Platt leaned toward works that showed creativity and diversity, he said in his notes.

“Originality is what’s most important to me, and assessing that is hard to describe because it’s so intangible,” Platt said. “I pick what I think are the best works in all mediums and categories for the exhibition.

“Choosing the award recipients is the hardest part — (it’s) also the most fun.”

The four Merit Award winners each represent a different medium. DeWitt Smith’s “Yellow Naked Raku” is a clay pot. Barbara Mann’s “Single Cell Brooch” is jewelry made of silver, gold and emerald. Jennifer Desormeaux’s large photograph, “Guest Room,” is a picture of a bed with uneven pillows and no headboard backed up against a wall where the painter missed more than a few spots.

Then there’s Mare Rugg and her hand-woven fabric. “Variation on a Twill 2,” she calls it, has all kinds of weaves and undulations that really caught Platt’s eye.

“I like patterns that undulate, so this was my take on undulating twill,” Rugg said.

The resulting award completely surprised Rugg, who has been weaving for 30 years.

“It’s an honor just to be in the Lyndon House show,” she said. “To win an award, I’m just thrilled.”

There’s plenty more to see, like Charby Patterson’s painting, “The Horses.” Patterson used little dots of every color of paint imaginable to make up two horses running in a field under a fading sky, as the title suggests.

Nico Ambush’s “Clay Bowl” is brown and so thin in some areas that it looks like rusted metal.

Joseph Berry captured the aftermath of tailgating on the University of Georgia’s north campus in “UGA Post Pregame Party.” Busted Styrofoam coolers, red Solo cups and empty beer cases fill up the photograph.

But there’s nothing quite like Dellenback’s “Camel.” Dellenback

figures he has about $10,000 worth of steel and burlap that made up the camel, and that doesn’t even count the cigarettes.

It’s a piece that Dellenback won’t easily part with, but it is for sale.

The first $110,000 takes it home.

Kevin Rudd has foreshadowed an imminent major announcement about prevention. The “P” word has featured in almost every speech on health since Labor took office and the three-volume Preventive Health Task Force report provides a wish list of policies that are causing high anxiety in the junk food, alcohol and tobacco industries. In other words, policies that move beyond “prevention” being a motherhood confection to be liberally sprinkled over political health-speak, and into the realm of making a difference.

A key, cost-free recommendation in the tobacco sub-committee’s report is that Australia should become the first country to require “plain”, unappealing cigarette packs. Packs would all look the same, except for the garish health warnings, being distinguished only by their brand names.

Cigarettes, which kill half of long-term users, would thus look like prescription drug packs (that save lives), which have historically come in plain dull boxes, with brand name, lots of words about dosage and contraindications, and stored out-of-sight in the dispensary. If ever there was a symbol of a government’s serious intent about prevention, a move to stop cigarette packs looking like fashion accessories would take some beating and would quickly spread globally, as has every piece of tobacco control legislation.

The global tobacco industry is packing death over the proposal and local industry leaders will be humiliated if it gets up. Philip Morris has launched a dedicated website attacking the proposal. It is a site of such abject amateurishness as to make anyone wonder about the calibre of today’s crop of tobacco industry issues management staff. Their strategists have concentrated their attack around four arguments, which range from the very silly, to the very, very silly.

First, vox pop videos of retailers (including a bouncy one who breezes “I’m for everybody being healthier”) argue that plain packs will cost the government and retailers money. That can only mean that they fear sales will go down as a result — precisely the whole idea, fellas! As the cover story on the tobacco industry trade magazine Tobacco Journal International put it very nicely in 2008: “Plain packaging can kill your business.”

Next, because all the brands will look the same, it’s argued that this will confuse customers and retailers. Come again? The packs will still have brand names such as Marlboro or Alpine on them, smokers will still be able to ask for their brands, and unless some shopkeepers have IQs lower than it takes to grunt, they will be able to read the brand name on the pack like they do now.

Next, they argue that there’s no evidence from anywhere that plain packs will lower sales. No country has introduced it, so there’s no evidence it works. Aside from me thinking they do protest rather too much about a plan they say will not affect sales, the intellectual force of this argument would kill all innovation. By this argument, no country would have ever introduced health warnings, random breath testing, seat belts, or indeed anything for the first time.

Despite knowing that no company has ever received a cent in compensation for the massive appropriation of the pack for health warnings (Uruguay leads with 80% front and back), the big stick the industry keeps warning governments that they hold behind their backs is the threat of legal action and massive compensation for trademark violation.

This is desperate bluff. International public health groups have marshalled extensive legal expertise to examine such industry claims. In Australia for example, High Court rulings have established that the sort of “acquisition” where the government merely prevented the use of trademarks in packaging, would not constitute an “acquisition” of property as described in s.51(xxxi) of the Constitution as it would not provide any benefit to the government that ordered the “acquisition” other than reduced sales.

Similarly, the industry blusters that plain packaging would violate terms of the World Trade Agreement. But it has made the same forlorn arguments for years that bans on words such as light and mild contravene WTO law even though such bans now operate in dozens of nations, again with no compensation paid.

It also says that the packs would violate international Trade Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) law. Again, this is nonsense as there is nothing in TRIPS that requires WTO Members to permit trademark owner s to use their trademarks. Instead, TRIPs prevents third parties from using others’ trademarks — not at issue here.

Simon Chapman is professor of public health at the University of Sydney

Los Angeles-Attorney General Edmund G. Brown Jr. today announced that his office has secured an agreement with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc., the manufacturer of American Spirit tobacco products, that requires the company to clearly disclose that its organic tobacco is “no safer or healthier” than other tobacco products.

Attorneys general from 32 other states and the District of Columbia signed onto today’s agreement.

“Stamping an organic label on tobacco products is ultimately a distinction without a difference-organic or not, cigarettes are bad for your health,” Brown said. “Today’s settlement with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company ensures that all future advertisements make it clear that organic tobacco is no safer or healthier.”

Today’s agreement follows Brown’s contention that Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company may have misled consumers in advertising its “organic” or “100% organic” Natural American Spirit cigarettes and roll-your-own tobacco and pouches, leading consumers to believe these products were less harmful than other tobacco products. There is currently no competent or reliable scientific evidence to support this conclusion.

Under the terms of the agreement, all advertisements will clearly and prominently feature the following warnings:

- For Natural American Spirit organic cigarettes: “Organic tobacco does NOT mean safer cigarettes.”
- For Natural American Spirit organic roll-your-own or pouch tobacco: “Organic tobacco does NOT mean safer tobacco.”

Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company has 30 days to meet these requirements, and all tobacco retailers selling these products must be contacted and instructed to dispose of old advertisements that do not feature these disclosures.

Organic tobacco is certified under the U.S. Department of Agriculture’s National Organic Program. To receive organic certification, tobacco farmers have to follow a strict, labor-intensive growing regimen. Certified organic tobacco is grown without the use of pesticides and fertilizers prohibited under the program.

Thirty-two other attorneys general signed onto Brown’s agreement today from the following states: Arizona, Arkansas, Colorado, Connecticut, Delaware, Georgia, Hawaii, Idaho, Illinois, Iowa, Kansas, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Maryland, Massachusetts, Montana, Nebraska, Nevada, New Jersey, New Mexico, New York, North Carolina, Ohio, Oregon, Pennsylvania, Tennessee, South Dakota, Vermont, Washington, West Virginia and Wisconsin. Additionally, the attorney general of the District of Columbia signed onto the agreement.

Brown’s agreement with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. is attached.

Only West Virginia has more smokers than Indiana, says Forbes.com.

With 26 percent of Hoosier adults reported as smokers, Indiana has the second-highest smoking rate in the nation, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

The American Lung Association gave Indiana a failing grade for tobacco prevention control and spending as well as for statewide smoke-free air laws.

However, Indiana received a D for the current cigarette tax rate of 99.5 cents and a C for cessation coverage, with the state Medicaid program and state employee health programs covering the seven recommended cessation medications.

Until Indiana implements a statewide smoke-free air law, it will be hard to address the problem, said Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and Cessation.

The 10 states with the lowest smoking rates all have statewide smoke-free air laws and tax more than $2.00 per pack for cigarettes, Sneegas said. The 10 states with the highest smoking rates do not have smoke-free air laws or tax more than $2.00 for cigarettes.

“That’s a pretty clear indication of what a state needs to do to tackle the problem,” Sneegas said.

Although Indiana is not failing all of the ALA’s graded categories, the high rates are still a great concern, said Jessica Kelly, manager of the Advocacy Network for the American Lung Association of Indiana.

This year, a smoking ban bill that would ban smoking in public areas was introduced in the Indiana General Assembly.

According to Kelly, much of the opposition to the bill came from alcohol, gaming and tobacco businesses.

“There is a fear that during an economic recession, a state-wide smoking ban would hurt these businesses,” Kelly said. “But that really is not the case.”

A better-developed public health infrastructure would be needed as well to tackle issues such as high smoking rates, said John Graham, dean of IU School of Public and Environmental Affairs.

“To reduce smoking, you need a multi-faceted effort that captures family, the community, schools, businesses and advertising,” Graham said. “You just can’t pass one bill like it’s a magic wand and then smoking goes away.”
By BROOKE LILLARD
Feb. 23, 2010

Does the Toyota acceleration matter have its first smoking-gun document?

The U.S. House Oversight and Government Reform Committee, which is investigating the Toyota recalls and plans to hold a hearing Wednesday, has obtained a document from a Toyota executive, which may have some plaintiffs’ lawyers licking their chops.

The document, from an internal presentation in July 2009 by Yoshimi Inaba, chief of the Japanese auto maker’s North America operations, notes that Toytoa saved money by lobbying federal officials to limit recalls tied to sudden-acceleration complaints, characterizing the lobbying effort as a key company achievement in 2009. Here’s a WSJ article about the document.

Inaba said that Toyota saved more than $100 million by negotiating an agreement with U.S. safety regulators that led to a limited “equipment” recall of Camry and Lexus ES350 vehicles. “Saved 100M+, w/no defect found,” the document states under a section labeled “Wins For Toyota—Safety Group.”

The company blamed incidents on floor mats, instead of a potentially more costly defect with the car itself. The power point also lists among “wins” the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration’s decision to close safety investigations of the Toyota Tacoma truck without ordering recalls, and delays to new safety rules that saved the company hundreds of millions of dollars.

Toyota has since recalled about 6 million U.S. vehicles for sudden-acceleration and gas-pedal problems.

Inaba is scheduled to testify before the House Oversight committee, along with Toyota President Akio Toyoda.

Plaintiffs’ lawyers have already made noise about how they will try to portray Toyota as putting profits over safety, possibly in support of a claim for punitivce damages. It’s too early, of course, to say whether this document would bolster such a claim or whether it would ever even be admissible in a case.

A spokesman for California Rep. Darrell Issa, the senior Republican on the House Oversight committee, said the document raises questions about how Toyota responded to years of concerns of sudden acceleration of vehicles.

There are questions “whether Toyota was lobbying for less rigid actions from regulators to protect their bottom-line,” said spokesman, Kurt Bardella. “If anything but the safety of America’s drivers influenced the decision-making process, the entire purpose of NHTSA will be undermined.”

Olivia Alair, a Transportation Department spokeswoman, all called the document “very telling.”
“It’s the responsibility of auto makers to come forward when there is a problem,” she said.

But Toyota said in a statement: “Our first priority is the safety of our customers and to conclude otherwise on the basis of one internal presentation is wrong.”

The Council today adopted a directive1 updating EU rules on the structure and rates of excise duties on cigarettes and other tobacco products (17778/09 + 5807/10).

The directive is intended to ensure a higher level of public health protection by raising minimum excise duties on cigarettes, whilst bringing the minimum rates for fine-cut tobacco gradually into line with those for cigarettes. The outcome of a fourth four-yearly review of tobacco taxation under directives 92/79, 92/80 and 95/59, it is aimed at modernising and simplifying the rules and making them more transparent.

The new directive includes the following provisions:

– Cigarettes: the Council decided to increase, by 1 January 2014, the monetary minimum excise rate to 90 EUR per 1000 cigarettes and the proportional minimum to 60% of the weighted average sales price, from 64 EUR per 1000 and 57% at present;

– Transitional period for cigarettes: the new rules allow for transitional arrangements until 1 January 2018 for member states that have not yet achieved, or only recently achieved, the current minimum rates, namely Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania;

– Quantitative restrictions for cigarettes: the directive allows member states not benefiting from the transition to impose a quantitative limit of at least 300 cigarettes on the number of cigarettes that may be brought into their territory from member states applying transitional arrangements. It also allows member states applying those arrangements, once their rates have reached 77 EUR per 1000 cigarettes, to apply quantitative limits with regard to member states whose rates have not yet reached an equal monetary level;

– Fine-cut tobacco: the Council decided to increase the minimum excise duty requirements for fine-cut tobacco as follows: member states will comply with either a proportional minimum or a monetary minimum, amounting to 40% of the weighted average sales price and 40 EUR per kg on 1 January 2011, 43% and 47 EUR/kg on 1 January 2013, 46% and 54 EUR/kg on 1 January 2015, 48% and 60 EUR/kg on 1 January 2018 and 50% and 60 EUR/kg on 1 January 2020.

St. Louis, Missouri. February 15, 2010 – St. Louis, Missouri will be a center of the pipe smoking world at noon this Saturday, February 20.

That’s when International Pipe Smoking Day will be celebrated at the 22nd Annual Gateway Area Pipe Show at the Heart of St. Charles Banquet Center. Local briar lovers will be raising their pipes in a salute to their pipe smoking brothers and sisters around the world as a show of friendship and unity that reaches across all borders, according to the Bob Callaway, spokesperson for the St. Louis Pipe Club, sponsor of the show.

International Pipe Smoking Day was designated by a group on Smokers Forums three years ago as a day on which pipe smokers everywhere could tell their story and educate others about the rich history and traditions of the noble art of pipe smoking. The group dedicated it to the worldwide community of pipe smokers that is bound together by a shared love of pipes, pipe collecting and the social aspect of pipe smoking. They respect informed choice and the responsible adult use of smoking tobacco and envision a world where governments act in good faith and integrity.

“International Pipe Smoking Day provides an opportunity for briar lovers everywhere to stand up and demonstrate with pride that we are still enjoying our pipes despite all the restrictions and increased tobacco taxes that the anti-tobacco forces have imposed on us. They just don’t understand the significant benefits that pipe smoking offers,” Callaway said.

International Pipe Smoking Day is supported by the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association of some 2,000 retailers of premium tobacco products; the International Committee of Pipe Clubs, which has members in more than 25 countries; and by the United Pipe Clubs of America, with its more than 20 member clubs in the United States. Many other pipe clubs in this country and abroad also will hold special events on or around February 20 to mark the day.

“Our motto is ‘Relax with Your Pipe’ and that’s the idea we want to get across,” says Vernon Vig, President of UPCA which, according to the organization’s website was founded in 2002 to promote and protect the interests of the American pipe smoking community.

“Pipe smokers are mature, considerate adults. We don’t want to bother anyone, and all we ask in return is a little common sense and consideration on the part of others,” said Vig.

###

Contact:

Bob Callaway, 636-946-8555

Vernon Vig. 646-823-4543
vervig37@gmail.com

Tony Tortorici, 678/493-0313
tony@tortoricipr.com

Tobacco producers’ don’t forget the Barren County Tobacco Production Meeting is scheduled for Feb. 16 beginning at 7 p.m.

The meeting will be at the Barren County Extension Office auditorium. Dr. Bob Pearce, UK Extension Tobacco Specialist and Dr. John Wilhoit, UK Ag Engineering Specialist will be our guests.

Managing tobacco transplant diseases

The float-bed system is a convenient and efficient way to produce tobacco transplants. One drawback to this method is the potential for significant disease development. Large numbers of plants packed into a small, water-filled area create conditions in which many diseases thrive.

Once established, problems in float-bed systems can be difficult to eradicate or bring under control. So, it is best to keep them from gaining a foothold in your transplant bed. Prevention is the best solution for keeping float-bed diseases in check. Here are some tips to help you stay ahead of tobacco-transplant diseases:

1. Produce your own plants or buy from a Kentucky source if possible. Growers who use the plug-and-transfer system should consider buying plugs grown in or north of Kentucky to avoid infections of blue mold, which is more prevalent in the South.

2. Take care not to introduce pathogens into the float system. Keep out field soil, which can harbor pathogens that cause root and stem rots. For the same reason, you shouldn’t use water from ponds or creeks to fill float beds. Always use city or well water.

3. Use clean, sanitized trays for seed. Reused trays pose a risk of contamination. Dip or spray them with a solution of one part bleach to 9 parts water. Cover and allow them to stand overnight. Follow up with a good rinse to remove the bleach residue. You should replace or heat treat with steam trays older than three or four years.

4. Once your plants are up and growing, keep them as stress-free as possible. Avoid temperature extremes and keep fertilizer levels within recommended ranges. Too much fertilizer is equally as harmful as too little and can increase susceptibility to diseases in general.

5. Use side vents and fans to maintain good air movement and keep the area surrounding the float bed weed-free. Good air flow promotes rapid drying of foliage which helps to eliminate favorable conditions for disease.

6. Consider a regular fungicide program to control root and leaf diseases. Fungicides are inexpensive insurance considering the value of your transplants.

Disease free transplants pay dividends down the road because they are vigorous and less prone to attack by pathogens in the field. Proper management of diseases in the float system insures that your tobacco crop gets off to a good start.

Winter Coveralls Dairy Meeting Feb. 19

Last year, French people puffed their way through a staggering 55bn cigarettes – 3pc more than in 2008. In the UK, we smoked only 45.5bn, but this was a 1pc year-on-year rise. When things turn grim economically, people tend to reach for the fags and booze. That’s why they are defensive shares to own.

While not an investment for the more ethically-minded, tobacco is a fantastic business to be in. Even a recession cannot dampen smokers’ desire to inhale – because they are addicted.

There are also new markets globally to move into, all of which means Imperial Tobacco will be generating a steady stream of cash for many years to come. An investment in this company is essentially buying that cashflow.

On Tuesday, the company said that it performed in line with expectations in the first quarter of its financial year. It is also making solid progress on its debt.

Emerging markets – the key to future profit growth – performed very well. Volumes were strong in Africa and the Middle East, where the group grew cigarette share in almost all of its markets.

Imperial’s Gauloises Blondes brand performed particularly well in Morocco. In Eastern Europe, the group improved its cigarette share in most markets, with Davidoff sales strong and Maxim continuing its positive momentum in Russia.

In the UK, Imperial’s average market share for the year to December was 45.2pc, down from 45.3pc in the previous year. In Germany, volumes fell 2pc to 85.5bn and Spanish volumes dropped 10pc.

This week, the British Government also proposed plain packaging for cigarettes to discourage smoking as part of its Tobacco Control Strategy. Imperial said it remained strongly opposed to the plain packaging of tobacco products, arguing that there was no credible evidence that young people start smoking or adult smokers continue to smoke because of the wrappers.

Imperial said that making all tobacco products available in the same generic plain packaging would further fuel the growth in illicit trade and undermine the Government’s plans to increase investment in tackling smuggling and counterfeiting. This is a good argument.

Questor also believes that the amount of revenue generated for the Exchequer means that any real crackdown will be half-hearted.

The group continues to focus on working capital and cash generation to strengthen its balance sheet. The company took on substantial debt in its £11bn purchase of Spanish group Altadis in 2008, with total debt now at about £10.8bn.

This level of debt is obviously high, but the cash-generative nature of the business and the defensive nature of cigarettes means that Questor is not concerned.

Recently Moody’s raised its outlook on the company to stable from negative after successful bond sales last year. There had been fears that the large debt pile could have meant the company’s bonds being relegated to junk status, but this threat has now eased. The group managed to cut its borrowing by an impressive £2bn last year.

The shares are trading on a September 2010 earnings multiple of 11.6 times, falling to 10.6 next year, which does not look expensive. The current year prospective yield is 4pc rising to 4.6pc in 2011 – well worth having.

The shares were first recommended on November 30, 2008, at £16.18 a share. They are now up 27pc compared with a market up 22pc.

However, the shares are a yield play rather than a capital appreciation play, although as debt is reduced the share price should improve. On this basis the stance remains buy.
By Garry White
04 Feb 2010

Sacramento – When Republican state legislators decided last month that they needed to escape Sacramento and kick back in a more relaxed environment to hash out issues, they headed for a luxury beach resort in Santa Barbara.

Such sojourns don’t come cheap, so oil and tobacco firms and other companies that are pressing an agenda in the Capitol funneled $120,000 to a group that picked up much of the tab. About 25 Republican senators and Assembly members and a dozen aides attended the retreat at Fess Parker’s Doubletree Resort.

The three-day event featured a budget briefing and included a tour of the nearby Ronald Reagan ranch, gift bags worth up to $299 each, gourmet meals and a cocktail reception where lawmakers mingled with a dozen lobbyists.

Senate Republican leader Dennis Hollingsworth of Murrieta solicited the $120,000 from 11 trade groups and businesses including Anthem Blue Cross, tobacco company Altria and oil firms Chevron and Plains Exploration & Production. Another contributor was the Pechanga Band of Luiseño Indians, which operates a casino in Temecula under a compact with the state.

The donations were made through a nonprofit called the Council for Legislative Excellence, which is headed by the wife of a legislative aide, according to the organization’s most recent tax filing.

Legislators said the financial arrangement allowed the retreat to be held without cost to the state. But it drew objections from Kathay Feng, executive director of California Common Cause, who likened it to “money laundering.” The contributions amounted to “buying access by interested parties through a third-party conduit,” Feng said.

Hollingsworth did not return calls from The Times, and his representatives declined to say what the retreat cost. But his spokesman Hector Barajas said he believes some money was left over and would be applied toward future events. Barajas also noted that leaders from both parties, including the governor, do similar fundraising.

“There is a firewall between legislation and money raised for various events,” he said.

Democratic lawmakers solicited $14,000 in 2008 to cover gourmet meals, rooms and cocktails for a retreat at a wine country hotel that 24 of them attended. The event included a reception that also drew eight Senate Republicans. The money came from the California Professional Firefighters, the Consumer Attorneys of California and the Northern California Carpenters Regional Council.

Barajas said most of the Republican lawmakers paid for their own hotel rooms in Santa Barbara, many from accounts made up of political contributions. The Council for Legislative Excellence helped rent meeting rooms and pay for meals and receptions, he said.

The council also gave those who attended the retreat a gift bag that included a $150 briefcase, cuff links for the men and charm bracelets for the women, one lawmaker said.

Some legislators said they did not know who footed the bill for the retreat and did not feel pressured by lobbyists who attended.

“I didn’t know who paid for it,” said state Sen. Tony Strickland (R-Thousand Oaks). The important thing, he said, is that all financial details be disclosed publicly, “and let the people decide what they think about it.”

Lawmakers said they expect a written account of the gifts so they can properly report the information.

Lobbyists who attended the reception included a representative of Chevron, according to company spokesman Sean Comey. Chevron and Altria were the biggest donors, giving $25,000 each to the council. Both actively lobby lawmakers on bills before the Legislature.

Altria has for years fought proposals to raise the state’s tobacco tax. The latest such proposal died last year in a legislative committee after Republicans voted against it.

Chevron and other oil companies have long battled a proposed oil-extraction tax. One such proposal was vetoed last year by Republican Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger.

Asked why Chevron donated the money for the retreat, Comey said, “We wanted to attend the event and we made the contribution.” He added that the firm supports such conferences for legislators of both parties “to facilitate their ability to reinvigorate the economy.”

Plains Exploration would have been the major benefactor of a bill last year to open the door to more oil drilling in the Tranquillon Ridge field off the coast of Santa Barbara County. Fourteen of the 15 Republicans in the state Senate voted for the legislation. The bill failed, but the proposal is back in Schwarzenegger’s proposed budget for the next fiscal year.

The company sent a representative to the retreat “to get the message out on the Tranquillon Ridge project,” Plains Exploration spokesman Steve Rusch said.

Copyright © 2010, The Los Angeles Times
By Patrick McGreevy
January 24, 2010

The “Tobacco buy-out,” helps tobacco quota holders and producers transition to the free market.

Washington, D.C. – infoZine – USDA announced that it will issuing more than $950 million in Tobacco Transition Payment Program (TTPP) payments to quota holders and producers in 2010. Quota holders and producers can enter into successor-in-interest contracts beginning Jan. 19, 2010, which will enable them to receive lump-sum payments by selling their remaining four TTPP payments.

Approximately $5.3 billion has been paid to tobacco quota holders and producers with this sixth round of payments. Since 2005, third parties bought more than 170,000 TTPP contracts worth approximately $2.9 billion.

TTPP, also called the “tobacco buy-out,” helps tobacco quota holders and producers transition to the free market. The Fair and Equitable Tobacco Reform Act of 2004 ended the Depression-era tobacco quota program and established the TTPP. The program provides annual transitional payments for 10 years to eligible tobacco quota holders and producers. Payments began in 2005 and continue through 2014.

Payments are funded through assessments of approximately $10 billion on tobacco product manufacturers and importers.

For more information on TTPP and other FSA programs, visit your local FSA county office or http://www.fsa.usda.gov .

DUBAI – The country is likely to revise the minimum age limit set in the federal law for sale of tobacco products from the current 18 to 20, according to health officials.

While announcing details of the National Anti-Tobacco Law that has already come into force, a senior health official said that though the law has set the minimum age limit for sale of tobacco products at 18, it was likely that the limit will be changed in future to 20 as is being followed by Dubai.

“Though the age has been set at 18, we prefer 20 and we may push for a change in the future,” said Dr Wedad Al Maidoor, Head of the National Tobacco Control Committee at the health ministry.

Officials also said that as per the law, cafes or restaurants offering shisha had been given two years from now to shift from residential areas.

“The law has been announced but we are still detailing the by-laws and will announce health policies in this regard soon,” said Salem Al Darmaki, Acting Director General of the Ministry of Health.

Al Darmaki also said that all private companies will also be required to provide smoking rooms to their employees. “Different authorities will be mobilised soon to enforce the law,” he said.

Nearly all countries in the GCC, including Kuwait, Oman, Qatar and Yemen have similar laws except Saudi Arabia that has a tobacco control programme.

Egypt, Jordan and Syria are expected to come up with similar laws soon.

The ministry is also planning intensive educational campaigns regarding the implementation of the law. “The ministry will continue carrying out activities and awareness programmes to publicise the harm of tobacco, while explaining the law and its regulations,” said Dr Mahmoud Fikri, Executive Director of Health Policies at the ministry.

Quoting statistics from a health survey held in 2003, Dr Fikri said that

24 per cent people in the country die to cardiovascular disease caused by tobacco.

Al Darmaki said that currently, 10,330 people were registered in the six smoking cessation clinics affiliated to the ministry while several had already quit the habit after registering.

AT A GLANCE

Penalties

· Those smoking in public places, public transport or in a car with children under 12 will be slapped with an on spot fine of Dh500

· If the fine is not settled on the spot, the case will be referred to the criminal court and the violator will be liable to pay a fine of not less than Dh3,000 and not more than Dh10,000

· Individuals/companies that import tobacco products without graphic warnings, will be served a jail term of up to a year and fined up to Dh100,000 and not more than Dh1,000,000. In case of repetition, the jail term will be two years and a fine of Dh1,000,000 will be imposed

· If imported or locally manufactured tobacco products are not in compliance with the UAE set standards, they will be destroyed immediately while a fine of not less than Dh50,000 and up to Dh200,000 will be levied. If the offence is repeated, a jail term of one year and a fine of Dh200,000 will be levied

· Sale of tobacco to less than 18-year-olds, tobacco cultivation for commercial purposes, import of candy, and games that are similar to tobacco/tobacco products will also entail a jail term of up to a year and a fine of up to Dh1,000,000. Repeat offence will double the jail term and fine

· In case of advertisement of tobacco products, the company/individual will be convicted, publicity materials seized and the facility will be closed

FARMINGTON – Davis County health officials are elated about the recent tobacco prevention and control program report, but are concerned about the newest tobacco products that are packaged to look like candy.

“There is no such thing as a safe tobacco product,” said Isa Kaluhikaua, community health educator with Davis County Health Department Health Promotions Bureau.

Kaluhikaua presented a report and slideshow to the Davis County Health Board on Tuesday and showed several new products that come in shapes that look like mints, candy and dissolvable strips. The products are about the size of a cell phone or pack of gum, she said.

The tobacco industry created the products because the number of cigarette users is decreasing, she said.

Tobacco companies are marketing them as a “safer alternative with fewer toxins,” Kaluhikaua said.

She said those addicted to nicotine are now carrying their cigarettes as well as the alternative products.

“Now they have a dual addiction,” she said.

Lewis Garrett, the director of the Davis County Health Department, said the products have not been regulated by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, yet.

The tobacco items cannot be sold to anyone under the age of 19, but what concerns Garrett and other health officials is how the items look like candy and other sweets.

“If a child swallowed one or more they could easily get poisoned,” Garrett said.

Nicotine poisoning symptoms include tremors, nausea, vomiting, agitation, and, in more extreme cases, seizures, coma and death, according to the county’s newsletter.

Meanwhile, adult smoking in Davis County is at 6 percent, while across the state, 9.1 percent of adults smoke.

On Aug. 1, 2009, Davis Community Housing Authority passed a smoke-free policy for its 191 units in five complexes, Kaluhikaua said.

Davis County also placed 780 smoke-free outdoor public place signs.

The health department also recognized 79 retailers that have not sold tobacco to underage customers.

Albertson’s in Centerville and Sinclair Main Street Services in Layton received recognition for not selling tobacco to underage customers for the past 15 years.

Stores recognized for not selling tobacco to underage customers for the past 10 years are 7-Eleven on Main Street in Kaysville, Albertson’s in Kaysville, Hill Stop of Layton and Saigon Market in Sunset.

As of Friday, all cigarettes sold in Texas must be certified Fire Standard Compliant, according to the Texas Department of Insurance, but the New Year’s Day deadline shouldn’t be a surprise for customers or vendors.

The law mandating the new smokes, designed to reduce the amount of time a cigarette continues to burn when it is not being smoked, was signed into law by Gov. Rick Perry in June 2007.

The law required all cigarettes sold in Texas to be compliant with the new standards by Jan. 1, 2009, but enforcement wasn’t scheduled until Jan. 1, 2010.

The yearlong period was to allow retailers to dispose of or sell existing inventory of noncompliant cigarettes.

Any manufacturer, wholesaler/distributor or retailer who knowingly sells or offers for sale noncompliant cigarettes may be subject to a fine of up to $100 per pack.

Gerald Middleton, owner of Jerry’s Smoke Shop in Abilene, said he still sees people looking for pre-FSC cigarettes from time to time, but stocks vanished long ago.

Middleton said numerous customers have complained about the difference between the old smokes and the new.

“They taste awful — that’s the biggest complaint I get,” he said, adding that the fire safety properties of the new cigarettes formed another common complaint.

“If you want to have a cigarette, the last thing you want it to do is go out four times when you’re smoking it,” he said.

By contrast, Duane Hufstedler, an employee at The Leaf, an Abilene tobacconist, said it is rare for people to complain about the changes made to their favorite brands.

“It’s only been a couple of people who have commented in general about government intrusion or something like that,” he said. “Maybe one has mentioned that they don’t taste as good. But most people have gone on and haven’t really noticed.”

The predominant method of making cigarettes fire safe is to wrap them in two or three thin bands of paper that are less porous than the outer paper tube, according to the Texas Department of Insurance Web site.

The bands act as “speed bumps,” slowing down the burning of a cigarette and causing it to self-extinguish.

Gary Hamner of the Abilene Fire Department said it is difficult to know how much of a difference the new cigarettes have made locally.

“I have no statistics whatsoever to lay claim to the fact that we have had less fires,” he said. “We have had one fatality this year due to smoking, and then we had a pretty bad apartment fire just last week that was attributed to improperly discarded cigarettes.”

But in theory, at least, the changes should help, he said, when it comes to preventing cigarette fires.

Suzanne Starr, education services manager with Hendrick Cancer Center’s learning center, said that if the difference in taste is sufficient, it might serve as an encouragement to some to quit.

“Anything to help people quit,” she said.

Texas is among 49 states where FSC legislation is either in effect or has passed, according to the TDI.

Wyoming filed FSC legislation in 2009, but it has not been passed.

The State Fire Marshal’s Office, which is a part of the Texas Department of Insurance, is responsible for all FSC cigarettes certifications, inspections and enforcement in Texas.

TRENTON — 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.

VANCOUVER, B.C. — Ottawa has been drawn back into a massive health-care recovery lawsuit after the B.C. Court of Appeal ruled it may share blame with tobacco companies for smoking-related health costs.

The decision handed down Tuesday only gives the tobacco companies a very narrow opening to have the federal government share financial responsibility.

But it sets a precedent for similar cases proceeding in provincial lawsuits underway in Newfoundland, Quebec and New Brunswick, where big tobacco is also seeking to involve the government.

In March 2008, the companies petitioned the British Columbia Supreme Court to add Ottawa as a third party defendant.

They argued that Ottawa should be liable right along with them if they are legally compelled to repay health-care costs to the province for smoking-related illness.

The B.C. Supreme Court ruled against them, but on Tuesday three of five appeal court justices allowed the appeal “in part.”

The court ruled that Ottawa may now be held liable when the case goes to trial in September 2011.

At issue will be the federal government’s role in designing some tobacco strains, as well as its conduct around warning consumers of tobacco risks.

A spokesman for Imperial Tobacco Canada, one of the companies named in the suit, said on Tuesday the company is pleased with the ruling. Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald are among other groups named.

Donald McCarty said the ruling will open the door for the record to be set straight about Ottawa’s role as a “senior partner” in the tobacco industry.

“The B.C. decision will demonstrate that the Government of Canada has known about the risks associated with smoking for decades and that it instigated and promoted the development and sale of lower-tar tobacco products,” he said in a statement.

“It is only right that the Government of Canada stand next to the tobacco industry in these cases and be accountable for its role in the history of tobacco control strategy.”

A spokesman for the federal government could not be reached for comment Tuesday. Questions to the federal Department of Justice were referred to the agriculture and health departments. The B.C. government also declined to comment while the case continues before the courts.

Health advocates took a different view of the ruling

A preferable outcome would have been having Ottawa removed from the case altogether, said Rob Cunningham, a senior policy analyst with the Canadian Cancer Society.

“But the most important thing, in our view, is we get this case to trial,” he said from Ottawa. “We need this trial to happen.”

B.C. was the first province to launch legal action against tobacco companies, filing suit in 2001 to recover billions of dollars spent through the health-care system on treating smoking-related disease.

Other provinces watched closely and six – Ontario, Newfoundland and Labrador, Nova Scotia, Manitoba, New Brunswick, Saskatchewan – have now passed or are in the process of passing legislation that will pave the way for suits meant to recoup costs.

The B.C. Court of Appeal also ruled Tuesday that Ottawa similarly may share blame as a third party in a separate but related class-action suit against tobacco companies seeking to recover money spent by smokers on cigarettes deemed “light” and “mild.”

The city is banning smoking in Topeka bars, but area bars aren’t about to ban their smokers.

No, they can’t smoke inside come 12:01 a.m. Friday, but some bars are making adjustments to make outside smoke breaks a little more comfortable. Several bars that already have outdoor seating are improving it, and those that don’t are looking at adding it.

At the Dutch Goose last month, work continued on a partially covered outdoor seating area outside the bar’s back door that will be heated and have music piped to it from outdoor speakers. Sidelines Bar & Grill is adding heaters, and McB’s Sports Grill is capitalizing on its existing patio space with outdoor speakers by partially enclosing the area with canvass and adding heaters and comfortable seating.

“We’re trying to do what we can,” McB’s owner Jerry Berger said. “We’re even thinking about putting a TV out there — a big-screen TV out there — so they can watch games.”

Varsity Blues owner Kim Galey has outdoor seating, but she isn’t ready to spend money on updates just yet.

“Not until they actually get it figured out what the rules are,” she said. “I’m going to sit back and see how it is going to go and how it’s going to play out.”

Galey said she feels lucky to have the option of offering an outdoor smoking area, but like many other owners of bars that have allowed smoking, she bristles at being told how to run her business.

“It’s a bar,” she said. “A bar. You walk into it knowing it’s a bar, but we’ll have to see how it rolls, and then I’ll make decisions about what I’m going to do with the patio.”

At other places, finances prevent investing money in outdoor amenities. The Brass Rail in the Oakland area has prepared with a small sign of protest. The words “The end to our freedom of choice” are written on the chalkboard.

“It’s a bad deal,” said bartender Lesley Hayward.

Some bars are unsure how the ban will play out. Already, some new bars had opened this year as nonsmoking establishments, including the Rooster Tail and the Seabrook when it relocated downtown. But bars like the Dutch Goose know that most of their customers are puffing away on cigarettes at night. Other customers could do without the smoke.

“Secondhand smoke isn’t doing me a damn bit of good,” an older man bristled at the Dutch Goose on a recent afternoon.

Behind the bar at the Dutch Goose, manager Caitlin Wheeler expects business to drop off in the short term, even with the improved patio.

“I am so against this,” she said. “I am so against the ban.”

A petition seeking to force a public vote that might overturn the ban is still in the works. Petitioners will need valid signatures from at least 5,744 registered Topeka voters. They are working to collect 10,000 signatures before turning in the petition for review and have collected about 3,300 signatures that appear to be valid, organizers said.

Gail Trembley, a lead organizer, said more signing events are planned and petitioners will soon start going door-to-door. Currently, petitions are available at bars and other establishments in Topeka.

For now, Trembley said bars are getting ready to comply with the new rules.

“A couple of them I’ve been to are preparing for it,” she said. “They are dreading it, of course.”

Topeka police Capt. Jerry Stanley said he was getting “a lot of 11th-hour phone calls about smoking issues.” He said business owners should ask anyone violating the ordinance on their property to stop smoking and to call police if they don’t.

By Barbara Hollingsworth
December 2, 2009 Cjonline

Almost all public places that permit indoor smoking in Topeka will be required to kick that habit beginning at 12:01 a.m. Friday morning.

That is when City Ordinance No. 19315 takes effect banning smoking in public places and places of employment, with limited exceptions, as well as within 10 feet of the main entrances and air handling units of those buildings.

Buildings in which smoking is banned will be required to display a “no smoking” sign at each entrance.

To help building owners meet that requirement, the city this past week on its Web page at http://www.topeka.org/caoi.shtml placed versions of such signs that may be downloaded, printed out and put up in places covered by the ordinance.

The new rules were sparked by the Topeka City Council’s passage Sept. 29 of a clean air ordinance sponsored by Councilwoman Deborah Swank.

“We have probably done the most important thing we could do to improve the health of this community,” Swank said after the vote.

The ordinance takes effect Friday after notice of its adoption was published in the official city newspaper, the Topeka Metro News, which was followed by the passage of a 60-day period targeted at giving people time for the ordinance to take effect.

Opponents in mid-October began acquiring signatures on a petition seeking to force a public vote on the matter. County officials say opponents of the ban to force such a vote must acquire 5,744 valid signatures of registered Topeka voters within 180 days of the date of the first signature on the petition. Petition drive organizers indicated last week that their most recent tally, conducted Nov. 16, showed they had collected 3,409 signatures.

Meanwhile, the clean air ordinance takes effect Friday regardless of the status of efforts to overturn it.

The measure amends city rules by banning public smoking indoors and at places of employment, except in:

– Private residences, except when used as a child care, adult day care or health care facility.

– Private places, which are locations such as personal homes and motor vehicles where the public isn’t invited or permitted. A privately owned business that is open to the public is not defined as a “private place” under the ordinance.

– Retail tobacco stores that receive at least 65 percent of their revenue from the sale of tobacco products.

– Outdoor places of employment, including bar and restaurant patios, courtyards and outdoor dining areas.

– No more more than 20 percent of rooms in hotels and motels.

The ordinance authorizes the owner, manager or other person having control of a place where smoking is banned to take all necessary steps to prevent it and to put up a “no smoking” sign at every entrance. The ordinance calls for such signs to contain bold lettering of at least one inch in height, with owners also being given the option of putting up signs showing the international “no smoking” symbol.

The ordinance authorizes the police chief or his designee to adopt administrative rules and regulations for administering the ordinance and to accept complaints, issue notices of violations and collect fines from violators.

The ordinance calls for people who smoke in an area where smoking is prohibited to be fined $50 for the first violation, $100 for the second within 12 months of the first and $200 per violation for a third or subsequent violation within 12 months of the first two.

It also sets a fine schedule for violations committed by the owner, manager or operator of public places or places of employment who fail to enforce the ordinance. Those fines are $100 for the first violation, $250 for the second within 12 months of the first and $500 per violation for a third or subsequent violation within 12 months of the first two.

Additionally, a business license or permit issued by the city may be suspended for a third or subsequent violation within a 12-month period.

The city on its Web site this past week encouraged business patrons to report violators of the smoking ordinance to management of the business where those violations occur. The city urged managers who need help handling violators to call police at (785) 368-9551.

But Police Chief Ron Miller said his department will be involved in the enforcement of the ordinance only at the point that businesses need help with those who refuse to comply.

Miller said he doesn’t expect his department to face any insurmountable problems, as its research indicates no significant enforcement difficulties exist in other cities that have approved similar ordinances.

The Philippines and Thailand were given a final opportunity until December 7 to comment and respond to questions before the WTO Dispute Settlement Panel is set to issue a ruling early next year over the countries cigarette tax dispute.

Philippine Ambassador to Geneva/WTO Ambassador Manuel AJ Teehankee relayed this in an email after the panel conducted the second substantive meeting last Nov. 4 to 6 in Geneva.

The panel hearing the (DS 371 Philippines versus Thailand on cigarette customs valuation), is chaired by H.E. Ambassador Roberto Acevedo, Permanent Representative of Brazil to the WTO, and its two additional members are Alvaro Hansen of Uruguay and Richard Gottlieb of Canada.

The panel heard rebuttal arguments and fielded searching questions on the facts, claims, and defenses presented by both parties since the first substantive meeting last June.

During the meeting, Teehankee highlighted issues of transparency, discrimination, and domestic protection in Thailand’s regulatory regime, which affects the entry of Philippine-made cigarettes in the country. The Philippine tobacco industry is a major employer and contributor to the Philippine economy.

The Philippine Delegation included Department of Trade and Industry (DTI) Assistant Secretary Jose Antonio Buencamino, officials from the Permanent Mission of the Philippines to the WTO, DTI-Bureau of International Trade Relations, and the International Economic Relations office of the Department of Foreign Affairs.

The Thai delegation was headed by Chawewan Kongcharoenkitkul, Senior Official from the Ministry of Finance, and is comprised of officials from the Thai Ministries of Commerce, Finance, and Foreign Affairs.

“The Philippines remains confident that the WTO legal panel will review all facts and hopefully requests Thailand to correct its tax measure,” Teehankee said.

EU finance ministers will next week try to agree an increase in the minimum rates of excise duty on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The proposal under discussion would raise the minimum excise rate to €90 per 1,000 cigarettes, compared to €64 today. The legislation would also close loopholes that have allowed companies to market cigarettes as cigars and cigarillos, and some fine-cut tobacco as pipe tobacco. Tobacco companies have exploited these loopholes to benefit from lower tax rates applied to those products.

The European Commission proposed the changes in July 2008 to reduce the variations in the price of tobacco in different national markets.

It said that these variations were a stimulus to illegal cross-border trade, as it was often cheaper for people to buy cigarettes that had been smuggled in from other EU countries than to buy those legally for sale. The Commission said that this trade undermined government attempts to wean people off smoking and helped to fund organised crime.

According to Commission figures, the amount of excise duty in 2008 per 1,000 cigarettes varied from €37.36 in Latvia to €249.99 in the UK. Excise as a percentage of total cost varied from 51.6% in Latvia to 77.6% in Slovakia.

Revenue losses

The UK government is believed to lose around £3 billion (€3.35bn) a year in tax revenue from tobacco smuggling. The Commission has estimated that 13% of all tobacco sold in the EU is sold outside the market where it is taxed.

The finance ministers failed in May to reach an agreement to raise minimum rates. Member states on the EU’s eastern border were concerned that the move could encourage cross-border smuggling of cigarettes from Russia, Belarus, and Ukraine, where prices are much lower.

But diplomats said that these concerns had largely been addressed by a proposal from the Swedish presidency that Poland, Hungary, Slovakia, Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Greece would be given until 1 January 2018 to apply the new rates, instead of the 1 January 2014 deadline for the rest of the EU.

This is more generous than the extension proposed by the Commission, which had suggested that Poland, Hungary and Slovakia should apply the new rates from the start of 2015, while Romania, Bulgaria, Lithuania, Estonia and Latvia should be given until January 2016.

Diplomats said that discussions between governments were now focused on temporary restrictions that should be placed on cigarette sales to foreigners in the countries that would benefit from the 1 January 2018 deadline.

Caps on sales

Some governments believe that caps on sales should be used to minimise the competitive advantage that countries with an extended deadline will enjoy.

A compromise text, drawn up by the Swedish presidency and discussed by national ambassadors yesterday (4 November), would allow member states to charge people extra excise duty at the border if they try to bring back more than 300 cigarettes from a country benefiting from the extended deadline.

The draft legislation needs unanimous agreement before it can be adopted.

By Jim Brunsden
05 November 2009,

PALESTINE — Smoking in public places, places of employment and some outdoor areas will be prohibited here under an ordinance adopted Monday by Palestine City Council. Bars, nightclubs and some other places are exempted from the smoking ban.

The ordinance further makes it unlawful to smoke within 20 feet of outside entrances, operable windows and ventilation systems of enclosed areas where smoking is prohibited.

In an unrelated action, the council extended hours for the sale of mixed beverages to 2 a.m.

The nonsmoking order, passed by a majority of councilmembers with two nay votes, makes employers responsible for providing a smoke-free workplace for employees.

It charges the owner, manager or other persons in control of a public place or a place of employment to post “No Smoking” signs conspicuously at the entrance.

Besides prohibiting smoking in all places of employment and enclosed public places, the ordinance forbids smoking in these outdoor areas: boarding and waiting areas of public transportation facilities, zoos, city parks, playgrounds and recreation areas.

But the ordinance permits smoking in designated smoking areas of city parks.

Other places also exempted from the ban on smoking are: a private residence unless it is used as a child care, adult daycare or health care facility, a retail tobacco store, a private club, a facility owned or under control of another governmental or educational institution, a hotel or motel room rented to a guest, a bar, a bingo hall and an outdoor area including a patio adjacent to a bar or restaurant served by employees of the bar or restaurant and at least 20 feet from an enclosed area where smoking is prohibited.

The ordinance classifies a violation of the smoking ban as a misdemeanor and sets penalties. The first offense can result in a fine of not more than $300. The punishment can be as much as $500 for subsequent violations of the smoking restriction.

Council’s action on the smoking issue came in response to concerns expressed by many health-care professionals in Palestine for stronger smoking regulations and a need to eliminate exposure to secondhand smoke in public places, according to the ordinance.

Cody Harris of the Palestine Young Professionals Network requested in September an ordinance prohibiting secondhand smoke in public places and places of employment. About a month later, the council conducted a public hearing to allow proponents and opponents to speak.

The ordinance adopted by council notes that the U.S. Surgeon General released a report in 2006 stating there is no risk-free level of exposure to secondhand smoke and that breathing even a small amount can be harmful to health.

The U.S. Surgeon General concluded that secondhand smoke causes lung cancer, heart disease and acute respiratory effects and can cause sudden infant death syndrome and other health problems in infants and children.

“Simple separation of smokers from nonsmokers within the same airspace does not eliminate the exposure of nonsmokers to secondhand smoke,” the ordinance states.

In other action, the council approved extended hours for the sale of mixed beverages between midnight and 2 a.m. at locations where sale of alcoholic beverages for on-site consumption is permitted. The extension was requested by owners of Whistle Stop Saloon.

The council also authorized lease/purchase of a fire engine for $247.505. Payments will be $50,000 a year for five years.

By BETTY WATERS

The People’s Majlis has yesterday voted to proceed with the Bill on controlling tobacco and has been sent to Social Affairs Committee of the Majlis.

Interestingly the debate on this Bill was not divided on party lines; rather there was much appreciation from MDP members to the former government’s strong campaign against smoking and tobacco control.

This was the second reading of the Bill and almost all members who spoke at the debate stage supported the legislation but some members expressed concern that this Bill was too harsh and that it should not be implemented hastily. Some members also pointed out that it looks as if this Bill intends to control smoking rather than controlling tobacco.

Some members criticized the article of the Bill which bans smoking in all public places such as parks, cinemas and conference halls, public transport, teashops, restaurants, cafes, education institutes and hospitals. Kendhikulhudhoo member Ahmed Eesa said that instead of completely banning smoking in all restaurants, tea shops and cafés, an area should be allocated for smoking. This sentiment was expressed by a lot other members and they also pointed out that if smoking is banned in such places business restaurants, cafes and teashops would go down.

Members said that to control tobacco, steps should be taken gradually rather than hastily instead of resorting to harsh punishments. Speaking in this regard Galolhu South constituency member Mahloof requested to not upset the smokers by doing this.

Villimaafannu member Ahmed Nihan said that instead of harsh punishments, alternative ways like rehabilitation for smokers, therapy and nicotine free cigarette should be made available.

Some members also said import duty should be increased and a percentage of it should go to welfare of smokers.

Speaking in more or less the same lines, Nolhivaram constituency member Mohamed Nasheed said that while this Bill gives due importance has been given to passive smokers, smokers rights should also be considered.

Mulaku constituency member Yaameen Abdul Gayyoom said that the Bill was made in a hurry and without proper research. He asked whether the best solution was to increase the price of smoking or to fine people who were found smoking in banned places. He also said that rights of smokers and rights of non smokers should be equal.

This Bill has been drafted to comply with WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control to which Maldives became a signatory. This convention requires certain regulations to be enforced. After this Bill is passed, one year will be given to draft regulations and enforce the laws.

The final word on the Bill was said by Minister if Health Dr Aminath Jameel. She said that there were some things in the Bill that needed to be amended as well as some editorial problems. She said these problems will be looked into at the committee level. Dr Aminath said that tobacco control was a delicate issue the world over since it was very connected to everyday life and the economy as well. She said the purpose of the Bill was to protect children, youth, old and the whole society from the painful health risks of smoking.

Tobacco users attending Colorado State University Pueblo could be hit with stricter guidelines on where they can and can’t smoke.

Currently, a committee made up of members from the student government are putting the final touches on a recommendation they plan to give to the student senate that could alter where students, faculty, and visitors to the university can light up. The recommendation follows research into how students and faculty feel about current regulations. One study conducted in March of 2009 states 70 percent of the faculty would support a smoking ban, while only about 50 percent of students would do the same.

Student-body President Steve Titus says, the situation is contentious but not unsalvageable. “We have to find some kind of common ground. I think a complete smoking ban is altogether out of the question, but leaving the current policy in place is also out of the question,” says Titus.

The current policy prohibits smoking within 20 feet of doorways, but some smoking stations have been placed inside that no-smoking zone. “I know in front of the psychology building it’s just horrible; when you walk up there is just smoke everywhere,” says Britni Huebschman, a senior majoring in Psychology. Even some smokers agree that no one should be smoking within 20 feet of the doors, but they say to do away with it altogether would be a bad idea. “It’s very stressful out here,” says Joe Bleichrodt a graduate student working towards his MBA.

The committee will finalize their recommendation on Wednesday and present it to the student senate on Monday. “The committee is looking more towards extending the distance away from buildings, correcting the current smoke outlets that are within the 20 feet distance,” says Titus. This has both non-smokers and smokers alike breathing easy. “I wouldn’t have a problem with that,” says Huebschman. “That wouldn’t be a problem with me, as long as there’s designated smoking areas in certain places,” says Bleichrodt

If the senate votes for the recommendation and it is not vetoed by the Student-body President, it will then go to the University President. If he approves it, the new policies could go into effect starting next semester.

By Jason Aubry, Oct 19, 2009 Kktv

Cigarette canisters have appeared on campus in a hope to reduce the amount of cigarette butts on the ground.

The new slim yellow canisters are all around the Campus Center, and Bakersfield College students have mixed feelings about them.

“I really haven’t noticed them much. I smoke a lot, but I usually chuck my butts in the big trash can after stepping on them,” said Antonio Salver, a BC student.

Sarah Philipp, another BC student, said, “I actually like them a lot. It makes it easy to just chuck them without having to look around for a place.”

The bins were put in by BC Maintenance and Operations in hopes of eventually making BC a cigarette-free campus.

“The new bins were put in place to eliminate odor and to clean up the Campus Center,” said Jimmy “Smitty” Smith from Maintenance and Operations. “Soon we will have a smoke free campus, but this is the first step toward change.”

“I find it completely gross especially when you’re sitting outside trying to eat,” BC student Elizabeth Sanders said of cigarette butts.

But Nathan McVeigh, another BC student, said, “I personally don’t care about the butts. I’m a smoker myself. I never throw them on the ground, though.”

Other groups in Kern County are working on cleaning up cigarette butts, too.

In an effort to raise community awareness about cigarette butt littering, the Kern County Department of Public Health Tobacco Education Program, and the Tobacco Free Coalition of Kern County teamed up with a group of high school students to pick up discarded cigarette butts around town.

The volunteers went to selected Kern County buildings and local parks with playgrounds. The results showed 3,703 cigarette butts were collected in a two-day period.

“Cigarette butts are hazardous. Young children can pick up the cigarette butts and put them in their mouths,” said Claudia Jonah, Kern County public health officer.

Cigarette butts are one of the 10 most littered items around the world. They don’t break down easily and cause pollution in the earth and water for many years.

“I frankly find it disgusting whenever I take my child to a park. I’m always picking up the butts so my little boy doesn’t find them,” said Rhonda Phillips, local resident.

State law prohibits smoking 25 feet from any playground or toddler areas. Also there is no smoking 20 feet from any main building entrances and exits, and all cigarettes must be disposed properly. There is a fine if caught throwing cigarettes from your car, ranging up to $200.

By Matt Humble
10/7/09

Two thirds of pub landlords in Northern Ireland would rather ditch their cigarette machines than enforce tough proposed laws on preventing children using them, new research found today.

Requirements for bar staff to ID check every young person wanting to access them would be impossible during busy times, according to a survey of licensees in the region.

The study by the British Heart Foundation NI comes ahead of next week’s Westminster debate on the measures, which are contained in the UK Health Bill.

Stormont Health Minister Michael McGimpsey is expected to introduce the provisions of the bill in Northern Ireland if it is passed.

However, the BHF want him to go further and ban the machines altogether.

The charity says the results of its surveys show that the health conscious move would not have an adverse impact on the pub trade, with four out of five landlords claiming the revenue from the automated devices doesn’t amount to much.

Jayne Murray, Public Affairs & Communications Manager at BHF NI said: “The UK Government’s proposals outlined in the Bill are unworkable and unrealistic.

“The message from the pub industry is loud and clear, they can’t make these proposals work and the loose change they make from these machines isn’t worth the hassle of keeping them.

“The only people with a real interest in vending machines are the tobacco industry. Every year young people start a lifetime’s addiction to cigarettes by buying them from a vending machine. Both the UK Government and the Northern Ireland Assembly needs to be braver and put the interests of children ahead of a commercial lobby.”

BHF estimates that around 850 regular smokers aged between 11 and 15 access cigarettes from vending machines in Northern Ireland.

Ms Murray added: “We don’t allow other age restricted products like alcohol, fireworks or knives to be sold from vending machines. These are only sold where there is a face to face transaction over the counter.

“Smoking is one of the biggest avoidable causes of death and disease in the country. Yet we continue to allow vending machines which undermine the restrictions already in place, and allow children to pick up an addiction they take into adulthood.”

LANSING — A House committee took the first tangible action on taxes late today by approving bills that would raise certain tobacco, personal income and business taxes and impose a 4% levy on doctors’ fees.

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The bills are ostensibly part of a package supported by House Speaker Andy Dillon that would raise about $400 million and restore some of the programs facing cutbacks that Gov. Jennifer Granholm and many Democratic lawmakers regard as critical to the quality of life in Michigan.

They were approved in committee with virtually no discussion or debate.

By late afternoon, it remained unclear whether the full House would take up the legislation (or other tax bills) today.

This morning, Granholm met with House Democrats as they devised plans for new taxes to restore some of the budget cuts the Legislature approved last week.

House Democratic leaders hope today to begin writing bills that could reduce the Earned Income Tax Credit for low income taxpayers, increase tobacco taxes and eliminate or reduce some tax exemptions.

Granholm said she’s urging them to adopt narrowly targeted taxes, rather than raising general taxes such as the income and sales taxes. She has called for more revenue to pay for the Michigan Promise college grant program, revenue sharing for local communities, Medicaid and aid to public schools – all items cut significantly in the 2009-10 budget lawmakers approved, but which still hasn’t reached Granholm’s desk for signing.

The new budget must erase a $2.8-billion deficit. After her meeting with the Democratic caucus, Granholm responded to critics of her plan who say it’s a bad time to raise taxes, with Michigan’s economy trailing the nation.

“Right now is the time to stand up for public education, right now is the time to make sure these kids can go to college, to make sure we’re not pushing senior citizens out of nursing homes, because we have unfunded the state’s safety net,” Granholm said.

“Because people are hurting, and because we have to reshape Michigan’s economy, now is the time to stand up for these priorities. There will be a lot of cuts. But we have to have limited revenue so that we can fund the priorities.”

She added, “This is all about finding the least painful types of revenues to fund the priorities for Michigan.”

Ontario is taking a stand against big tobacco companies, but both the Saskatchewan and Alberta governments are taking a wait-and-see approach.

In late September, the Ontario government launched a $50 billion lawsuit against big tobacco companies to recover past and ongoing health care costs linked with tobacco-related illness, but governments on both sides of the border say they aren’t going to make any decisions just yet.

The Saskatchewan government has had legislation in place since 2006 to pursue litigation, but has not taken steps because of the costs associated with pursuing a lawsuit.

“Now that Ontario is pursuing action, we’ve seen B.C. step forward, we’ll be reviewing our options to determine if we are going to head in that same direction,” said

Karen Hill, communications co-ordinator with Saskatchewan Health.

While Saskatchewan spends roughly $145 million per year on health care costs associated with tobacco, Hill said the government hasn’t yet determined the amount of the lawsuit, if it did progress.

On the other side of the border, the Alberta government is watching the events unfold in Ontario and B.C., while passing Bill 48 to enable the province to take similar action.

“Bill 48 received first reading in the spring legislature session and we anticipate it is going to go forward in the fall session eventual passing and proclamation,” said John Tuckwell, spokesperson for Alberta Health and Wellness.

While Ontario has launched a $50 billion lawsuit, Les Hagen, director of Action on Smoking and Health in Alberta, said the government should sue for at least $12 billion.

“It would certainly defray the costs of tobacco industry deception on the health care system to date, and our health care system is under a lot of cost pressures,” he said, adding Ontario’s calculation of the lawsuit is based on the amount of health care resulting from tobacco industry negligence and deceptive marketing practices, such as the creation and promotion of light cigarettes.

“(It’s) probably the biggest consumer fraud ever devised, and I think at last count, over one-half of Canadians were smoking light cigarettes, so another words, millions of Canadians were being deceived into thinking the product they were using was less harmful than a so-called regular cigarette,” said Hagen. “The provincial government, through medicare, had to pay for the clean-up costs resulting from those in fraudulent activities. They absolutely should be pursuing damages from this industry.”

But Imperial Tobacco Canada said Ontario’s lawsuit is hypocritical and sees the cash grab as a political stunt.

“We find it unbelievable that the Government of Ontario – a senior partner in the tobacco industry for more than 50 years – would use the taxpayers’ dollars to sue legal tobacco companies rather than invest in eliminating the contraband market which, today, accounts for almost 50 per cent of the cigarettes purchased in Ontario,” said Donald McCarty, Imperial Tobacco Canada’s vice president of law, adding the province also received more than $1 billion in taxes from the sale of tobacco products.

“It will continue to profit from tobacco sales even as it pursues an additional cash grab through the courts,” said McCarty. “The action is even more hypocritical when one considers the major role played by the Government of Ontario and the governments of other provinces in the sale of other products for which the risks are well known, including alcohol and gambling.

By Allison Wall, Meridianbooster

LOS ANGELES, – Los Angeles DUI attorney Lawrence Taylor, author of the legal textbook Drunk Driving Defense, claims that smokers arrested for DUI may have false high results from breathalyzer tests.

Breath machines don’t actually measure alcohol, Taylor says. They are actually designed to detect any compound containing the methyl group in its molecular structure and to assume that it is alcohol. They cannot distinguish the difference between alcohol and, among many other compounds, acetaldehyde.

Acetaldehyde is produced in the liver in small amounts as a by-product in the metabolism of alcohol. Unfortunately, the DUI lawyer says, alcohol moving from the blood into the lungs has been found to metabolize there as well. And scientists have found that acetaldehyde concentrations in the lungs of smokers are greater than for non-smokers – far greater. Translated: smokers arrested for DUI are more likely to have falsely high readings on a breathalyzer. “Origin of Breath Acetaldehyde During Ethanol Oxidation: Effect of Long-Term Cigarette Smoking”, 100 Journal of Laboratory Clinical Medicine 908.

The Los Angeles DUI lawyer points to another scientific study that found cigarette smoking can influence absorption by the body of alcohol — and thus attempts to estimate earlier blood alcohol levels when driving based upon levels when tested. Johnson et al., “Cigarette Smoking and Rate of Gastric Emptying: Effect on Alcohol Absorption”, 302 British Medical Journal 20.

The researchers reported testing blood samples of a group of smokers both after smoking and after prolonged abstinence. The result was that “areas under the venous blood alcohol concentration-time curves between zero and 30 minutes and 60 minutes and the peak blood alcohol concentrations were significantly less during the smoking period compared with the non-smoking period.”

The scientists concluded that the effect of smoking on alcohol absorption has “considerable social and medicolegal relevance”, and that the ingestion of nicotine should be taken into account when dealing with legal issues involving alcohol metabolism. In other words, Taylor says, attempts to estimate blood-alcohol levels of a DUI defendant when driving are highly unreliable.

For more information, visit the law firm’s website at http://losangeles.duicentral.com/ . Inquiries may be directed to the firm’s main Los Angeles office: 562.989.4774.

About THE LAW OFFICES OF LAWRENCE TAYLOR

With a national reputation and the highest professional ratings, The Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor has specialized in DUI defense exclusively for 29 years. The firm’s California DUI defense attorneys serve clients statewide from offices in Los Angeles, San Diego, Orange County, Riverside and San Francisco.

SOURCE The Law Offices of Lawrence Taylor