Meena Carr figured out years ago why her young grandson, Malik, was chronically coughing and wheezing: Her home made him sick. Carr, 69, didn’t smoke cigarettes, but some of her neighbors in the Washington-Beech housing development did, often in the hallway. The smell permeated Carr’s apartment.

Last month, Washington-Beech in Roslindale became the city’s first smoke-free public housing development. Today, Carr plans to join other community leaders, public officials, and housing advocates to discuss the Boston Housing Authority’s more ambitious long-term objective — clearing the air by 2013 at all 64 public housing developments.

That positions Boston to become the first city in Massachusetts, and perhaps the largest housing authority nationwide, to impose such a ban. Under the proposal, still in its initial stages, about 27,000 residents in 12,000 units would be prohibited from smoking in common areas and their own apartments.

“This new initiative will go a long way to encourage more healthy living styles for our residents,’’ said Mayor Thomas M. Menino, who earlier this year unveiled the plan to make housing developments smoke free. “You don’t live in a single-family home, you are in multiunit housing,’’ Menino said. “What you do there has an effect on all other folks living in that building.’’

Today’s meeting at Suffolk University is being billed by officials as a “summit’’ to launch the campaign. Details, including how a ban would be phased in and how violators would be punished, are still unclear. Housing officials say the process will include community debate and a public comment period. By January, they hope to submit a proposal to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Nationwide, about 170 public housing authorities — roughly 5 percent — have instituted some kind of no-smoking policy in the past few years, according to the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project in Michigan, a nonprofit that tracks the issue. But so far none as large as Boston’s has implemented the ban, making the city a leader if it moves more quickly than other authorities of similar size.

Jonathan Winickoff, a pediatrician at MassGeneral Hospital for Children, said a ban on smoking in public housing developments would be a natural expansion of a six-year-old state rule that forbids smoking in workplaces, including restaurants and bars.

“People know that smoke doesn’t stop at the doorway. It travels through the air ducts, the hallways, along the electrical routes to contaminate every unit in a building,’’ Winickoff said. “This is bringing the multiunit housing world online with common sense health and safety standards.’’

The housing authority says a poll it conducted this spring found a smoking ban has widespread support among public housing development residents with families. Of 1,300 people surveyed, 92 percent said they favor smoke-free housing, while only 8 percent objected, according to the housing authority.

But that level of support was not necessarily reflected in comments made by residents last week at Washington-Beech, which is halfway through a $100 million project to transform a sea of aging red-brick apartment buildings into a neighborhood of pastel-colored townhouses.

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“You should be able to smoke where you live,’’ said Andrea Venable, 29, through the screen door of a townhouse she shares with her 12-year-old daughter and mother. Venable said that to move into the unit, she had to sign an agreement not to smoke anywhere on the grounds.

Another resident, Julie Silva, 40, said there already was too much regulation of residents’ lives before the smoking ban. Silva, who has emphysema, said she would like to smoke on her front steps, although she wants to eventually quit.

Boston’s plan had its beginnings 10 years ago, when housing officials tried to figure out what was causing high incidences of asthma and other respiratory diseases among public housing residents. Eventually, they focused on second-hand smoking as a cause.

Last October, the housing authority debuted 14 smoke-free units at the Franklin Hill public housing development in Dorchester as a pilot project. Washington-Beech followed in June. Residents there had to agree to refrain from smoking in their homes and common areas. Violators can face “immediate termination’’ of their lease, according to the regulations.

While the city has not yet determined a specific policy for dealing with violations, housing officials said the process likely would be similar to an eviction process and include a lengthy appeals period.

Officials said they realize it will be difficult for some residents to give up smoking and will, in some cases, take into consideration extenuating circumstances. For example, elderly or disabled residents unable to leave their homes might be granted waivers from the rule.

The city will also launch outreach and education efforts, including smoking cessation programs.

“We want to give some comfort to people who are nervous about this policy that we are going to be working on all sides of this issue,’’ said Kate Bennett, the BHA’s special assistant to the administrator for planning. “A lot of people think we are trying to evict smokers. We are trying to create healthy housing.’’

Officials also said they do not expect any legal roadblocks to a smoking ban.

The federal Department of Housing and Urban Development last summer stated that it “strongly encourages’’ public housing authorities to create no-smoking policies in at least some of their housing units. The message dispelled concerns among owners of multiunit buildings that they would be charged with discrimination if they prohibited smoking, said Jim Bergman, director of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project. The project is part of the Center for Social Gerontology in Michigan, a nonprofit research and advocacy group.

“There’s never been a legal challenge to a smoke-free policy in a housing situation,’’ said Bergman. “There is not a right to smoke.’’

And the smoke-free movement is not limited to public housing. A growing number of privately developed apartment and condominium complexes already have smoking bans in place, including the luxury 241-unit Archstone Avenir in Boston, which opened in March.

Sally Matheu, Archstone group vice president, said the company wanted to promote healthy living and avoid complaints about second-hand smoke. It is the first smoke-free building in the company’s national portfolio of 81,354 units.

“We decided we would take a chance,’’ Matheu said. “It’s been a huge success.’’

At Washington-Beech, Carr also is seeing the benefits of the smoking ban — since it took effect in June, her grandson’s health has already improved.

“We have to educate people on the effects of smoking on nonsmokers,’’ said Carr, who pushed to get cigarettes snuffed out at the complex. “We have to give them a way to help themselves.’’

By Jenifer B. McKim

LONDON -The U.K. government’s decision to freeze alcohol and tobacco duty was welcomed by the tobacco and pub sectors Tuesday, while a rise in sales tax to 20% was described as “understandable” given the nation’s finances.

“We welcome the coalition government’s decision not to increase tobacco duties at this time,” The Tobacco Manufacturers Association said.

These comments were echoed by brewer and pub lobby group The British Beer & Pub Association. “This is a welcome relief for struggling pubs during difficult times,” it said.

The decision to freeze the beer and alcohol duty came in Chancellor of the Exchequer George Osborne’s first Budget speech Tuesday.

Both sectors had feared a further rise in duty as Osborne attempts to cut a budget deficit which is estimated at about 11% of gross domestic product, or about GBP155 billion for the fiscal year ending 2011.

As expected however, Osborne did announce a rise in U.K. sales tax to 20% from 17.5%, though not until January 2011.

The British Beer & Pub Association estimates that a 20% sales tax would result in a 6 pence rise in the price of a pint of beer.

“This tax increase is not welcome, but is understandable and applies to everybody,” said the BBPA. “We hope this will be short-term pain for long-term gain.”

Pub groups have already faced a rise in sales tax in January to 17.5% from 15%, but Osborne’s duty freeze effectively scraps the previous government’s alcohol tax escalator–which pledged to raise alcohol duty 2% above the rate of inflation each year until 2015.

Osborne also confirmed the government would reverse the previous administration’s decision to raise duty on cider by 10%.

Lower taxes on cider have historically been in place to protect apple growers and artisan cider makers. The cider category is now dominated by drinks giants like Heineken NV (HEIA.AE) and C&C Group (CCR.DUB).

Osborne also pledged to report back later in the year with proposals to overhaul the alcohol duty regime in order to combat binge drinking.
By Michael Carolan
Dow Jones Newswires

ROANOKE — The Virginia Tobacco Commission approved up to $200,000 for a socioeconomic study of uranium mining and milling during its meeting Thursday at the Hotel Roanoke.

The commission followed that up with a vote to require Danville and Pittsylvania County to pay back $13.1 million in commission funding for the Berry Hill Road mega park — if uranium is ever mined there.

The first vote passed by an 18-8 margin, while the second motion — proposed by commission member Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville — got by on a narrow 14-12 vote. Commission member Buddy Mayhew, an investor in Virginia Uranium Inc., abstained from both votes.

Mayhew declined to comment on why he recused himself from the vote.

VUI seeks to mine and mill a 119 million pound uranium ore deposit at Coles Hill, about six miles northeast of Chatham. Virginia has had a moratorium on uranium mining and milling since 1982. VUI is indirectly paying for a statewide scientific study performed by the National Academy of Sciences/National Research Council focusing on the safety and technical aspects of uranium mining and milling.

During the meeting, Tobacco Commission Vice Chairman and state Sen. Frank Ruff, R-15th District, opposed granting money for a socioeconomic study, saying it would be “unwise” to provide the funds before Virginia Beach finishes its study to determine how uranium mining and milling would impact the Lake Gaston water supply in the event of a major rainstorm.

Marshall also reminded the commission that the Danville Regional Foundation is funding a regional socioeconomic study of its own focusing on a 50-mile radius around Coles Hill. Marshall voted against spending the money for the state’s socioeconomic study.

“I think it’s premature right now,” Marshall said during an interview after the meeting. “We need to look at the other two studies and see where they are.”

Marshall said he would, if necessary, ask the Coal and Energy Commission’s Uranium Mining Subcommittee to postpone its socioeconomic study until everyone knows what questions the other two studies will ask. Duplication must be avoided, he said.

“Why do we need to ask the same questions three different times?” Marshall said.

After the commission’s vote on the study, Marshall proposed making Pittsylvania County and Danville repay $13.1 million to the Tobacco Commission if uranium is mined at the Berry Hill Road mega park. Tobacco Commission Chairman Terry Kilgore expressed surprise at Marshall’s motion.

“I didn’t realize there was any uranium there,” Kilgore said.

“We want to make sure we invested money in the mega site to create manufacturing jobs, not mining jobs,” Marshall told the commission. Marshall told the Register & Bee he proposed the idea because of concerns expressed by some residents. Mining opponents’ attempts to get uranium mining banned at the mega park site and the area around it failed.

The mega park site in southwestern Pittsylvania County is located on suspected uranium deposits. Marline Corp. had plans to mine and mill uranium in Pittsylvania County in the early 1980s, and the Danville-Pittsylvania Regional Industrial Facility Authority owns some of that old Marline land.

Phillip Lovelace, a uranium-mining opponent who lives in Gretna, called the vote for the $200,000 “an insult,” and said the vote regarding Berry Hill makes no difference. If uranium is mined at the mega park, the damage would already be done regardless of whether the city and county pay the commission back.

By John Crane
Godanriver, April 29, 2010

The Senate passed a bill raising the state’s lowest-in-the-nation 7-cent cigarette tax by 50 cents late Wednesday, but only after nearly eight hours of contentious debate that challenged Senate decorum and left lawmakers questioning each other’s motives.

But few lawmakers expect Gov. Mark Sanford to approve the increase this year, and many said the Senate does not have the 31 votes necessary to override a governor’s veto.

If the measure became law, it could raise $129 million in additional revenue, which would be targeted for a DHEC smoking cessation program and a Medicaid trust fund to offset the effects of disease caused by smoking.

At times it was unclear whether the proposal, which is in stark contrast to a 30-cent cigarette tax hike passed by the House earlier this month, was a bill about generating revenue for health care, or for improving airports and providing infrastructure for counties along the poverty-plagued I-95 corridor.

As the debate played out over hours, Supreme Court Chief Justice Jean Toal sat just outside the Senate chamber, joined by Supreme Court Justice Costa Pleicones.

Toal has told lawmakers S.C. courts are in deep trouble because of severe budget shortfalls, and that courts could be closed and personnel let go unless the Legislature finds money to keep them running.

Sen. Larry Grooms, R-Berkeley, and Sen. Shane Massey, R-Edgefield, tried to insert provisions in the bill to use portions of the cigarette tax to aid the courts.

The Senate refused.

But Grooms pushed and wound up the day offering a series of motions that would have stalled or prevented a vote on the tax hike.

“I think it’s going to come to pass that we missed an opportunity,” said Sen. Mike Rose, R-Berkeley, lamenting the politicking that went on. “Some people wanted to put things on this bill to it – to sabotage it,” he said.

“I don’t feel the people of South Carolina were served well.”

The Senate started out by gutting the House bill that called for the 30-cent cigarette tax raise and substituting the 50-cent raise. That amendment earmarked its revenue for health-related purposes, which historically has been one of the main sticking points in passing a higher tax.

South Carolina, a tobacco-raising state, has not raised its cigarette tax since 1977, and is one of only four states that have not raised the tax since 1999, joining California, Missouri and North Dakota.

The average cigarette tax rate in the nation, however, is $1.34 per pack, and the average cigarette tax in the nation’s six tobacco-producing states is 40.2 cents per pack.

The Legislature approved a 30-cent cigarette tax increase two years ago, but Sanford vetoed the bill and the House sustained the veto.

Things deteriorated rapidly after Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon, got the Senate to approve using $3.5 million from the proposed new cigarette tax revenue to fund infrastructure along I-95.

“If the rest of the state doesn’t help I-95,” Land said, “we will be your wards way into the future.”

Using the funds will require the 17 counties along the interstate to put up a two-to-one match.

Sen. Jake Knotts, R-Lexington, warned lawmakers he could only vote for the tax increase if proceeds went to cover pure health care problems caused by smoking, such as those treated by the Hollings Cancer Center at MUSC.

When Land’s proposal got what even Democrats said was a surprising nod of approval, Knotts asked for money to complete a road linking the Columbia Metropolitan Airport to I-26.

Grooms, clearly irritated by support for that measure, wanted funding for a grants program designed to lure low-cost air carriers into the state.

That proposal already is represented in a Senate bill on the calendar, but Columbia-area lawmakers currently are opposed to that measure because they are investigating whether a secret deal has been struck with an airline that would bring the low-cost carrier to an airport in Greenville, not Columbia or Charleston.

The House sent the Senate a provision in the 2010-2011 state budget raising the cigarette tax by 30 cents this year, and Republican lawmakers have generally opposed using the taxes in any way that would raise Medicaid costs.

Read more: http://www.thestate.com/2010/04/01/1224671/prolonged-debate-ends-with-passage.html#ixzz0jpDeS6V1

WASHINGTON, – U.S. advisers heard evidence on the effects of menthol cigarettes on Tuesday as they began a year-long review

of the popular but controversial flavoring under the government’s new tobacco powers.

Smoked by about 19 million Americans, minty menthol cigarettes are under attack from health advocates who say the taste can be more enticing and possibly addicting than regular cigarettes.

At the start of a two-day public meeting, a committee of outside experts that advises the Food and Drug Administration began hearing data on menthol’s impact on smokers’ use and health. The panel is due to issue a report by March 2011.

Menthols account for more than a quarter of cigarette sales and are a top choice among black smokers. A U.S. government survey showed 83 percent of adult black smokers chose menthol, compared with 23 percent of whites.

FDA scientists presented findings to the panel from data stretching back decades in some cases on the health effects, marketing and use of menthol cigarettes.

A key question for the panel is whether menthol lures children or others to pick up a smoking habit more than regular cigarettes. Anti-smoking activists say menthol’s mild anesthetic property masks the harshness of tobacco, making it easier to start smoking and harder to quit.

Dr. Joshua Rising, an FDA scientist, said research showed menthol was a more likely choice for younger people just starting to smoke compared with others who had been smoking for at least a year. But limited data “do not suggest that menthol cigarettes are associated with an earlier age of initiation,” he said.

The FDA could eventually ban or phase out menthol cigarettes, although some anti-smoking advocates and industry analysts are skeptical that will happen. Stronger warnings also are a possibility.

“Clearly the issues won’t all be easy,” FDA Commissioner Margaret Hamburg told the panel, which also will tackle the use of dissolvable tobacco products and other matters at future meetings. Tuesday’s meeting was the panel’s first.

Any government action against menthol could be a blow to Lorillard (LO.N), the nation’s third-largest cigarette company and maker of top-selling menthol brand Newport.

The 2009 law that gave the FDA oversight of tobacco products banned other cigarette flavors such as chocolate, clove and fruit that could lure children. But Congress exempted menthol, the most popular flavoring with about 27 percent of the cigarette market, and instead called for an FDA review.

Dr. Jonathan Samet, the chairman of the FDA panel, said the advisers “got a first glimpse” of the available research and face the challenge of determining “which of these studies are relevant to the current questions.”

Officials from the manufacturers were expected to speak to the panel on Wednesday. Altria Group Inc’s (MO.N) Philip Morris unit sells menthol versions of its Marlboro brand, while Reynolds American (RAI.N) markets menthol-flavored Camels.

Lorillard said in a statement there was no evidence menthol cigarettes were more addictive or harmful than others.

“The science is clear and compelling that there is no differing health risk between menthol and non-menthol products,” Lorillard Senior Vice President Bill True said.

Altria had no comment ahead of the company’s presentation to the committee, spokesman William Phelps said.

Reynolds spokesman David Howard said the company would participate in the menthol review and “believed that collaboration and open dialogue is the best approach.”

The FDA advisory committee is a 12-member panel that includes three nonvoting industry representatives. A second panel meeting is set for summer and will include an analysis of industry documents.
By Lisa Richwine, Reuters
March 30, 2010

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.

Gov. David Paterson is again positioning New York state to begin collecting taxes on cigarettes sold on Indian reservations, revisiting a budget issue perennially overshadowed by emotion.

The governor said Tuesday he would order his tax department to draft regulations to enforce a 2008 law intended to stop wholesalers from selling untaxed cigarettes to tribes.

That would force Indian retailers who currently don’t charge the state’s $2.75-per-pack excise tax and 4 percent sales tax to pay more to suppliers up front and ultimately raise their prices.

Paterson said it is a matter of fairness to non-Indian stores who do charge the taxes, especially now that he has proposed raising the excise tax to $3.75 per pack in the fiscal year beginning April 1.

A pack of Marlboros was selling at a Buffalo gas station for $7.91 Wednesday, compared with $5.09 at a Western New York smoke shop.

“This is no disrespect to the Indian nations,” Paterson said in his budget address to lawmakers in Albany. Non-Indian stores, he said, “need an opportunity to survive.”

Paterson’s budget proposal does not yet anticipate any revenue from reservation sales to non-Indians because the regulations are not in place, but supporters of the tax collection plan, including the New York Association of Convenience Stores, estimate the state would raise hundreds of millions of dollars a year.

NYACS President James Calvin said research shows that about half of all cigarettes smoked in New York are bought tax-free.

“There’s been this enormous drain of business and customers away from our stores,” Calvin said Wednesday.

Paterson’s plan to set regulations for enforcing the 2008 law, to be followed by a six-month public comment period, would allow New York to ask a state Supreme Court judge to lift a 2009 order blocking enforcement of the law. The order was granted after an Indian retailer and northern New York distributor argued the state had not established a system to tax non-Indians while exempting Indian customers.

In the meantime, Paterson said he would continue to negotiate with the state’s tribal leaders toward a peaceful tax-collection plan.

Two previous efforts to tax reservation sales, in 1992 and 1997, resulted in members of the Seneca tribe of Western New York blockading state highways, setting fires and clashing with troopers.

Seneca President Barry Snyder Sr. has said future violence would not be condoned.

The increase in spending is despite what appears to be a move away from expensive cigars and cigarillos during the financial crisis.

Tobacco products worth €22.8 billion retail were sold in Germany in 2009, a total sum of 1.4 percent more than in the previous year, the new Destatis figures showed.

Yet the number of taxed cigarettes dropped by 1.6 percent to €1.4 billion. The financial crisis seems to have hit the luxury tobacco market in Germany particularly hard, with the taxed sales of cigars and cigarillos down by 24.6 percent.

Meanwhile the sale of fine-cut tobacco suitable for making roll-up cigarettes rose by 11.7 percent, the figures showed.

Sales of pipe tobacco were down by 57.2 percent, but this initially startling figure seems to have been largely generated by a change in the tax rules which put so-called pseudo pipe tobacco into the same category as fine-cut, as it is not suitable for pipe use.

Backers of a proposed ballot measure to raise cigarette taxes by $1 per pack for smoking-related cancer research and prevention, which critics said would sap funding from early-childhood education, have reversed course and agreed to rewrite the measure.

The Californians for a Cure committee issued a news release Monday announcing it will rework its “California Cancer Research Act” measure to “backfill” tobacco-tax revenue for the state’s First 5 system. The rewrite means the measure must be re-reviewed by state officials before backers can start gathering petition signatures to put it on November’s ballot.

First 5 Alameda County CEO Mark Friedman said he’s “extremely gratified.”

“No one wanted to have to choose between supporting cancer research and supporting young children,” he said, “and now they won’t have to make that choice.”

The state’s last cigarette tax increase was 50 cents per pack in 1998 under Proposition 10 to fund early-childhood education via a new “First 5″ bureaucracy.

That measure, piloted by movie mogul Rob Reiner, included a backfill provision requiring the state to compute how much the new tax would reduce cigarette sales, and to transfer a cut of the new Prop. 10 revenue to offset the decrease in earlier revenue from taxes that was going to tobacco-related health education and disease research, hospital care for the indigent, park and wildlife restoration and other causes.

The proposed measure would have backfilled all those older tobacco tax beneficiaries, but not First 5 revenue from Prop. 10.

Former state Senate President Pro Tem and 2010 Oakland mayoral candidate Don Perata helped conceive of the latest measure and introduced it last month. At that time, a longtime Perata campaign consultant representing Californians for a Cure said the First 5 backfill’s omission was no accident, but rather a deliberate calculation on where the money could be better spent.

The Legislative Analyst’s Office last week reported the measure would cost the state’s First 5 programs about $45 million; campaign consultant Paul Hefner said Friday no decision had been made on whether to refile or to change the measure.

But Hefner’s news release Monday said initiative sponsors including the American Cancer Society, American Lung Association and American Heart Association have agreed to amend the measure “after an analysis found it would provide more than $800 million a year in new funding for cancer research and anti-smoking programs” even after a First 5 backfill. He also noted the measure would help kids by reducing their exposure to secondhand smoke and by keeping thousands of teenagers from becoming smokers.

By Josh Richman
Oakland Tribune
07 December, 2009

Bulgaria’s Members of the Parliament voted Thursday to increase the cigarettes tax.

The MPs decided on second reading to establish a BGN 101 excise for 1 000 cigarettes instead of the current BGN 41, while the proportional tax will be 23% of the sales price instead of the current 40,5%. The later will affect mostly expensive cigarette brands.

The first proposal was for a tax of BGN 74 for 1 000 cigarettes and 36% of the sales price.

The tax for tobacco for pipes and cigarettes is set at BGN 100 per kg.

The opposition left-wing declared they oppose the tax hike. Kornelia Ninova, MP and spokesperson of the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), defined the move as a mistake, pointing out the negotiated agreement with the EU is for lower tax and the increase would contribute to wide-spread contraband instead of curbing smoking. According to Ninova, the tax increase will hit hard the Bulgarian cigarette maker “Bulgartabac” which employees 2 000 workers.

She was backed by Aliosman Imamov, from the ethnic Turksih Movement for Rights and Freedoms (DPS) party, who also said the changes will hurt “Bulgartabac.”

The new duties will increase the price of a pack of cigarettes anywhere between BGN 1,10 and 1,40 making the price of the best-selling cigarettes “Victory” brand BGN 5 instead of the current BGN 3,40.

BRUSSELS -European Union countries Tuesday agreed to raise taxes on tobacco products sold in the bloc, in a bid to protect public health and boost government revenue.

Under the deal, starting in 2014, the minimum tax will be raised to 90 euros ($134.8) per 1,000 cigarettes, and no lower than 60% of their sales price. The current minimum rate is 64 euros per 1,000 cigarettes and no lower than 57% of the sales price.

EU countries have different tax rates on cigarettes and other tobacco products since many countries impose taxes higher than the bloc’s minimum rate. Eastern European countries that joined the bloc in 2004 generally have lower rates than older EU members.

EU countries that don’t yet tax tobacco at the minimum rate, or have only recently raised rates to this level, will have until 2018 to comply with the new tax level.

The EU has been trying to raise tobacco taxes in these countries, both for health reasons and to prevent smuggling and black-market tobacco sales that rob states of tax revenue.

Swedish finance minister Anders Borg, who chaired the regular monthly meeting of EU finance ministers, said this agreement was important for health reasons and for EU states’ tax revenue.

Pressure from Brussels and a desire to plug budget holes has already prompted some east European states to commit to increasing tobacco taxes on cigarettes. Poland is set to lift its excise tax on cigarettes by 2.6% to 228.80 zlotys ($81) per 1,000 units as of January. That compares with a planned 43% increase in Bulgaria’s excise tax on cigarettes to 76 leva ($58) per 1,000 units as of 2010.

Bulgarian Finance Minister Simeon Djankov defended the proposed steep increase in cigarette taxes on public-health grounds, and dismissed claims that the government is only interested in boosting tax revenue.

Critics of the increase argue that it will lead to growth in the smuggling that has plagued Bulgaria for years.

By Adam Cohen and Joe Parkinson, Dow Jones Newswires; +322 741 1486; adam.cohen@dowjones.com

The price of an electronic cigarette, a battery-powered nicotine inhaler used to reduce nicotine dependency, will go up next year as it will be subject to taxation.

The Ministry for Health, Welfare and Family Affairs and the Ministry of Strategy and Finance said that the “e-cigarette,” which contains nicotine, should be regarded as a mild form of a cigarette, which is subject to local, health and garbage taxes.

Since it contains inhalable doses of nicotine, it should also warn of its negative effects on the cover.

The government had been discussing whether the device was a simple cigarette-cessation-aid or a cigarette for the past couple of years.

“We have concluded that the e-cigarettes are also addictive and harm the body,” a health official said.

NEWS that the state may be losing out on more than $1 million per month in tobacco tax revenue is distressing, although it’s not terribly surprising. Perhaps we ought to be thankful the amount isn’t greater.
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The Oklahoman’s Randy Ellis wrote Sunday about the concerns of tobacco wholesaler Alan Beck, who contends the state Tax Commission could bring in another $1 million or so each month if it would get serious about cracking down on unscrupulous wholesalers. These are outfits Beck says are selling tobacco without a tax stamp. He says the commission had lightly punished some of the businesses, but done little else.

A Tax Commission attorney says the agency investigates all complaints, has confiscated products and has revoked licenses, but isn’t convinced the wrongdoing is as extensive as Beck says it is.

And really, what’s $1 million a month, anyway? After all, the state has been losing much more than that in tobacco tax revenue since voters approved a tax increase in November 2004, although it hasn’t necessarily been the Tax Commission’s fault.

Some tribal retailers flooded parts of northeastern Oklahoma with cigarettes taxed at just 6 cents per pack. That tax rate was allowed by compact in border areas of the state, but the cigarettes were distributed well outside those areas. As a result, tribal tax revenue came in many millions of dollars below projections month after month. In 2005 alone, for example, revenue came in $85 million below the estimate.

The governor and his top aide in these matters, Treasurer Scott Meacham, have reworked compacts with some tribes in an effort to stop the bleeding. One of the most significant involved a deal with the Cherokee Nation, reached late last year, that placed a new, lower tax on all cigarettes sold by the tribe while eliminating the 6-cent tax provision. Reworked compacts are having some effect: The Tax Commission said sales tribal cigarette tax collections were up by about $18 million last year, to $46.3 million.

The Legislature has done what it can, too. A law that takes effect Jan. 1 makes it clear that the state has the right to require tribes without a compact to buy tax stamps. Those tribes (about a half-dozen) now must pay 77 cents per pack on cigarettes sold in their stores. Under the new law, they will be allotted a number of packs they can sell without having to buy a state tax stamp, then pay the full tax rate of $1.03 per pack on all packs over that amount.

Tax Commission Administrator Tony Mastin said the new law “will help us with our enforcement activities.” Time will tell to what degree.

Reworked compacts are having some effect: The Tax Commission said sales tribal cigarette tax collections were up by about $18 million last year, to $46.3 million.

October 20, 2009 Newsok

An international company will bring more tobacco jobs back to Danville.

Japan Tobacco International developed a partnership with Hail & Cotton and J.E.B. International to form JTI Leaf Services, which will process domestic tobacco in Danville, president Steven Daniels of the new company announced Thursday morning.

JTI Leaf Services’ offices, tobacco receiving, processing and finished product storage will be located in the Riverview Industrial Park at 202 Stinson Drive in the former Dan River Distribution Center.

Japan Tobacco’s $19.5 million investment will bring 39 full-time jobs and 150 seasonal jobs by the time the facility is up and running in August 2010.

“We’re excited to be a part of the community and we look forward to a long and successful partnership,” Daniels said.

Daniels, a Danville native, said the company plans to start meeting with local farmers and possibly con-tracting later this fall. The 256,000-square-foot facility should be officially open later this year.

City and state leaders and local tobacco farmers agree that the new company will re-energize Danville’s longstanding tobacco industry.

Because tobacco was once the anchor of the local economy, the new company should have access to a knowledgeable and immediately available work force, Danville Mayor Sherman Saunders said.

“The project will show the agricultural strength of our community and of our region,” Saunders said.

Tobacco is still a key component of the agricultural economy in the area and the state, said Commissioner Todd Haymore of the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Haymore, also a Danville native, said the development provides more opportunities for local farmers.

“They’re here. They never left,” Haymore said. “They have the land and the infrastructure. They have the knowledge and the know-how.”

He wants local farmers to persevere in a tough economy as agriculture — the No. 1 industry in the state — is poised to rebound quicker.

“It’d be good to shake things up with another company coming to town,” tobacco farmer Garland Comer of Vernon Hill said.

At age 24, the young Comer would like to continue tobacco farming for a long time and the news provides a “good outlook” for his dream.

“Any time we can get more companies buying our tobacco, that’s good news for us,” tobacco farmer Clarence Emerson of Dry Fork said. “It’s more competition. It gives you options.”

Emerson farms slightly more than 100 acres and agreed the past several years haven’t been so exciting for tobacco producers. He likes the opportunity to sell to an international company, as he sees exports driving the future of the tobacco industry as domestic consumption falls.

“I’m glad to see this industry is continuing to invest and I wish them all the best,” tobacco farmer Johnny Angell of Penhook said. “Maybe I’ll be delivering tobacco to that facility.”

Angell likes how the company offers local farmers more options and an avenue to tap into the export market. For the past several years, he said only one company bought local tobacco in Danville.

The city of Danville worked with the Virginia Economic Development Partnership to secure the project for Virginia, according to a city news release. The state is committing a $100,000 grant from the Governor’s Opportunity Fund and the Virginia Tobacco Commission approved up to $250,000 in funding. Tobacco Commission member and Delegate Danny Marshall, R-Danville, presented the funds during Thursday’s briefing.

The company is also eligible to receive state benefits from the Virginia Enterprise Zone Program.

Japan Tobacco International facts:
• JTI, headquartered in Geneva, Switzerland, is the international tobacco division of Japan Tobacco Inc, which is the world’s third largest global manufacturer of tobacco products, producing brands such as Winston, Mild Seven, Camel and Silk Cut. For more information, visit http://www.jti.com.
• JTI is the majority shareholder with 60 percent in the JTI Leaf Services joint venture. Hail & Cotton, a tobacco buyer and processor headquartered in Springfield, Tenn., holds 20 percent. J.E.B. International Tobacco Company, a leaf supplier based in Danville that operates tobacco dry storage, holds 20 percent. All U.S. leaf tobacco contracted through
• JTI Leaf Services will be supplied exclusively for JTI.

By Tara Bozick
October 8, 2009

TORONTO — Ontario’s Liberals poured cold water Thursday on a bid by Progressive Conservative Toby Barrett to lower tobacco taxes in an effort to stem a flood of illegal cigarettes, using their majority to defeat his private member’s bill.

Barrett’s bill would have cut Ontario tobacco taxes by one-third, from 12.35 cents per cigarette to 8.23 cents, and called for a similar cut in federal tobacco taxes.

“Tax hikes are no longer forcing people to quit smoking,” Barrett told the legislature.

“It forces them to find a cheaper alternative, whether it’s from the trunk of a car or at a smoke shack at Six Nations or elsewhere. The law of diminishing returns was reached a long time ago.”

Even before second reading of Barrett’s bill began Thursday, Liberal cabinet ministers were shutting down the idea of cutting tobacco taxes to try and make legal cigarettes competitive with the much cheaper, illegal smokes.

“We are with those who believe that we need to get our smoking rates down (and) that taxation is an effective deterrent,” said Revenue Minister John Wilkinson.

“I think it’s important that people understand when they buy illegal cigarettes, they are stealing from their neighbours.”

Even Health Promotion Minister Margarett Best, the person in charge of Ontario’s anti-tobacco strategy, said Thursday that cutting taxes won’t solve the problem of contraband cigarettes.

“I do not necessarily think that cutting taxes is going to be of significance,” said Best.

When both the Ontario and federal governments slashed tobacco taxes in 1994, illegal smoke shacks shut down almost overnight, said Barrett, but many are back in operation and now sell more than 50 per cent of all tobacco in Ontario.

Experts predict that figure could grow to 80 per cent by next year, said Barrett.

“Losing control of the tobacco trade has had devastating effects, not only on health but also economically and socially,” he said.

“Government inaction justifies participation in the illegal trade, and it does suggest to some that tax evasion is tolerated.”

It was “silly” for Barrett to accuse the government of tolerating the illegal trade and tax evasion, Liberal Dave Levac fired back in the legislature.

Barrett also said cutting the tobacco taxes would be a nice break for residents of Caledonia, near the Six Nations reserve where many illegal cigarettes are sold.

Native protesters have been occupying a former housing development in Caledonia for more than three years in what Barrett said is a dispute that’s as much about tobacco as it is about land.

Despite the Liberal objections, Barrett said he remained convinced that tax cuts, along with education and enforcement, are the way to “break the back of the illegal trade” in tobacco.


Copyright © Sep. 24 2009 Toronto.ctv

British artist David Hockney is backing calls for a review of the smoking ban which he says is destroying “bohemia”.

The 72-year-old lifelong smoker is supporting moves by a cross-party group of MPs to amend the UK smoking laws.

They want people to be able to light up in designated smoking rooms to prevent pubs that are losing trade closing.

Mr Hockney told the BBC’s Politics Show he missed being able to smoke in his favourite cafe in East Yorkshire while admiring the view.

He accused former Prime Minister Tony Blair and his successor Gordon Brown of interfering in his life and said: “I loathe them for it.”

“I am not that interested in politics. I didn’t care about any until recently,” he added.

HAVE YOUR SAY

Smoking rooms with good ventilation systems would be an excellent idea

KA Owen, Bristol

East Yorkshire Conservative MP Greg Knight, who also supports the campaign, says that without a relaxation of smoking laws hundreds more pubs and clubs may be forced to close as they lose trade from smokers.

Smoking was banned in England in all public indoor spaces, including places of work, pubs, restaurants and nightclubs in 2007. The ban also applies in Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.

BRUSSELS – Euro zone retail sales defied expectations of a rebound and fell in July, pulled down mainly by lower sales of food, drinks and tobacco in a sign consumer demand is yet to benefit from any nascent economic recovery.

Retail sales in the 16-country euro area fell 0.2 percent against June and dropped 1.8 percent year-on-year, the European Union’s statistical body, Eurostat, said.

Economists polled by Reuters had expected a 0.1 percent rise versus the previous month and a 2.2 percent fall year-on-year.

Sales of food, drinks and tobacco fell 0.5 percent against June and were 1.8 percent lower than a year earlier.

The euro zone’s biggest economy, Germany, which returned to growth in the second quarter, posted a 0.7 percent monthly rise in retail sales.

The data comes just before the European Central Bank is expected to keep its main interest rate at 1.0 percent and present new growth and inflation forecasts amid signs the worst European recession since World War Two may be ending.

Data on second-quarter euro zone gross domestic product showed household demand contributed 0.1 percentage point to the GDP outcome in April-June, which economists attributed to government cash incentives for changing old cars for new ones.

Some said such schemes may have diverted household funds from smaller-ticket items, negatively affecting retail sales, which do not include car purchases.

Economists have raised doubts about the speed and sustainability of any recovery because of high and rising unemployment, which reached 9.5 percent of the workforce in July — the highest in more than 10 years.

Cape Town – Two pieces of legislation that dramatically increase smoking fines and crack down on tobacco companies have been signed into law, the National Council Against Smoking said on Monday.

The acts also make it illegal for adults to smoke in a car where there is a child under 12, and pave the way for picture warnings such as diseased lungs on cigarette packs.

“The new laws will have dramatic, important and far-ranging effects on public health and the tobacco industry’s marketing activities,” said council director Yussuf Saloojee.

The acts were passed by Parliament in 2007 and 2008.

Saloojee said fines for smoking or allowing smoking in a non-smoking area increased with immediate effect.

Illegal in public places

The fine for the owner of a restaurant, pub, bar or workplace that breached the smoking laws was now a maximum of R50 000, and for the individual smoker R500.

Smoking was now illegal in “partially enclosed” public places such as covered patios, verandas, balconies, walkways and parking areas.

Nor was it allowed on premises, including private homes that are used for commercial childcare activities, or for schooling or tutoring.

The tobacco industry was no longer permitted to hold “parties” or use “viral” marketing to target young people.

The sale of tobacco products to and by people under 18 years was prohibited, as was the sale of confectionery or toys resembling tobacco products.

22% of South Africans smoke

The use of picture-based health warnings on tobacco packaging would come into effect only later this year, because the health ministry was still finalising regulations.

Also in the pipeline were rules to keep smoking away from entrances to buildings, and restrict it in sports stadiums, railway platforms, bus stops and outdoor dining areas.

Saloojee said tobacco killed 44 000 South Africans every year, three times more than vehicle accidents.

“Our efforts to reduce the death toll will be helped by the new legislation,” he said.

Prevalence of adult smoking in South Africa had fallen by a third in the past decade, from 32% in 1995 to 22% in 2006.

Copyright © News24

WASHINGTON, Pa. – Tobacco might be dangerous to your health, but officials in one southwestern Pennsylvania county have decided their pension fund cannot live without it.

As a result, the Washington County Retirement Board voted 2-1 to do away with a ban imposed in 1997 that prevented its pension fund from investing in tobacco-related stocks.

Commissioner Bracken Burns angrily opposed lifting the ban, reading an eight-minute statement on the health ills of tobacco.

But Commissioner Larry Maggi and Controller Michael Namie, the other board members, voted to reverse the ban Thursday.

They say the tobacco ban was largely responsible for the fund underperforming by 30 percent. Taxpayers contributed a record $2.4 million to shore up the fund this year.

Source from: Observer-Reporter

SACRAMENTO, Calif. -Democrats in control of California’s Legislature are pushing to raise the state cigarette tax by $1.50 to help raise revenue amid a historically severe cash crunch.

But critics say the plan to raise the state’s tobacco excise tax could collapse if Democrats are unable to muster at least some Republican support since the state constitution requires a two-thirds vote for tax increases.

Grant Gillham, a veteran political consultant based in California who’s worked tax issues in nationally for the last two decades, told Legal Newsline he predicts that the plan will fail to garner much support outside the Democratic caucuses in Sacramento.

“The Republicans have made it pretty clear that they, and the public at large, are not really interested in new taxes,” Gillham said Sunday.

He added that the proposed sin tax — pushed by the American Cancer Society and the state’s trial lawyer lobby, among other groups — would come at a bad time for many California businesses and consumers, who are already feeling the pinch of the nation’s economic downturn.

“This would be another brutal financial hit,” he said. “We’re talking about a $1.2 billion tax increase foisted on them at the worst possible time.”

Under the tax plan, 85 percent of the revenue would be deposited into the state General Fund and 15 percent into the proposed Tobacco Tax and Health Protection Fund for tobacco control, tobacco disease research and lung cancer research.

Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg, D-Sacramento, and state Sen. Alex Padilla, D-Pacoima, are co-sponsoring the legislation to raise the cigarette tax.

Proponents of their plan, outlined in Senate Bill 600, say the Golden State has one of the lowest tobacco taxes in the nation. The Washington-based Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids says California’s tobacco tax ranks No. 32 in the nation.

“Raising the tobacco tax could help mitigate program cuts to some of the most vulnerable Californians, but the tobacco industry is fighting our efforts to save these and other essential programs,” Padilla said in a statement.

Meanwhile, critics are pointing to a study by the nonpartisan think tank Mackinac Center for Public Policy in Michigan, which found that more than a third of the cigarettes consumed in California come from the black market.

Gillham — a consultant for the nation’s oldest tobacco company, Greensboro, N.C.-based Lorillard Tobacco Company — said making a pack of smokes $1.50 more expensive would “absolutely” increase illicit cigarette trafficking into the state.

“Federal authorities have arrested foreign operatives smuggling cigarettes in the U.S. in order to fund Middle Eastern terrorist operations,” he noted.

The Mackinac report estimates that already more than 36 percent of California’s cigarettes are smuggled into the state. California has not raised its tobacco tax for 11 years.


Copyright © 2009 Newsline

New York construction sites are smokin’ hot — and that’s bad.

A nearly yearlong crackdown on smoking at construction sites around the city by the Buildings Department has resulted in almost 1,000 violations being issued and $1.8 million in fines, The Post has learned.

The butt blitz — the first time the department has cited contractors for smoking violations — began last Sept. 6. It was spurred by the 2007 deaths of two firefighters in a cigarette-sparked blaze at the troubled Deutsche Bank demolition site near Ground Zero.

“It’s a disgrace that people continue to smoke on construction sites,” said Buildings Commissioner Robert LiMandri. “Smoking is prohibited on construction sites for a reason — because it puts lives at serious risk.”

“Our inspectors will continue to enforce the smoking ban because the industry has got to change.”

As of last Wednesday, LiMandri’s inspectors had issued 932 violations — with initial fines ranging from $1,200 to $2,400 per violation — for smoking observed at a building site, the presence of cigarette or cigar butts, or failure to post required no-smoking signs.

The most-cited site — with nine smoking-related violations — was the ongoing construction of the 57-story W hotel/condo building at 123 Washington St. That’s right across the street from the Deutsche Bank site, where firefighters Joseph Graffagnino and Robert Beddia were killed on April 18, 2007.

The Post recently was told that FDNY officials suspect that a cigar butt found at the Deutsche Bank site at 130 Liberty St. on June 10 — which led to a violation being issued to the contractor, Bovis — actually fell or was tossed from the W site.

The W is being built by Tishman Construction, which has been cited for three other smoking violations at other sites in New York, making it the top offender.

Company spokesman John Gallagher said, “Tishman strictly enforces smoking regulations on all job sites. Anyone caught violating these regulations will be terminated.”

THE country’s fastest growing indigenous cigarette manufacturing and tobacco processing company, Savanna Tobacco has embarked on an intensive recapitalisation programme that is set to double the production output of the company by year end.

The tobacco company is carrying out the recapitalisation programme by increasing its distribution fleet throughout the country as well as expanding operations to meet market demands.

Savanna Tobacco executive chairman, Adam Molai said two new brands of cigarettes had been introduced into the market and there was need to reach out to the market while encouraging diversity.

“From a sales service and distribution point of view we have added capacity by increasing the number of our sales representatives and we have also increased our distribution fleet by 40 percent,” said Mr Molai.

He added that the recent acquisition of Burley Marketing Zimbabwe needed to be complimented with the growth of human capital and distribution networks.

“This new acquisition will avail more space for production, ” Mr Molai said.

To coincide with their move to BMZ, the company has also purchased cigarette making and packing machines to double production output.

“The machines were acquired from the world’s renowned manufacturers of cigarette making machines.”

“These are designed to ensure that, other than their high speed production capacity, the quality declaration on Savanna Tobacco’s cigarette packs are achieved without deviation,” Mr Molai said.

He said that despite losing US$6 million to unscrupulous business people, the company was going to engage strategic partners like the Standards Association of Zimbabwe for the surety of quality products in the market.

He urged the consumers to guard against anti-competitive behaviour, while advocating for ethical and fair business practice.

“Such behaviour is not in line with the Spirit of Competition Act which outlaws any unfair trade practices with monopolistic tendencies,” he said.

“As a recovering industry manufacturers should think business and forge ahead towards the development and revival of industry while welcoming competition as a stepping stone towards new innovations,” Mr Molai said.

Fewer drugs have been flowing into Europe from West Africa in recent months but organized crime is plundering the sub-region through illicit trafficking in arms, women, cigarettes and toxic waste, according to a UN report released Tuesday.
“Less drugs are flowing through West Africa. We must ensure that this downward trend continues,” said Antonio Maria Costa, executive director of the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC).

Since 2004, Colombian drug traffickers have increasingly made use of West African countries (Ghana, Senegal, Sierra Leone, Guinea Bissau, Togo, …) as a transit area for their cocaine shipments to Europe, according to UNODC.

But while the amount of cocaine passing through West Africa has dropped from a high in 2006 of 40 tons, one-quarter of all cocaine entering Europe, other illicit items such as cigarettes, arms, toxic waste, counterfeit medicines as well as oil and other natural resources like hardwood and diamonds are being trafficked through the region, according to the UNODC Threat Assessment.

In Nigeria, 55 million barrels of oil a year — one 10th of national output — are lost through theft and smuggling known as “bunkering,” the report said.

Oil bunkering, particularly in the Niger Delta, is a source of pollution, corruption, and revenue for insurgents and criminal groups.

As much as 80 percent of the cigarette market in some west and north African countries is illicit, meaning that most of the smoking going on in these countries is profiting criminals.

And some 50-60 percent of all medications used in West Africa may be sub-standard or counterfeit, the study noted.

This increases health risks in a region where there is high demand for anti-infective and anti-malarial drugs, and promotes development of drug resistant strains which are a hazard to the entire world, it added.

West Africa has also become a major destination for electronic waste, or e-waste, from discarded devices such as old computers and mobile phones that contain heavy metals and other toxins.

The European Union alone produces 8.7 million tons of e-waste a year.

“Organized crime is plundering West Africa, destroying governments, the environment, human rights and health,” said the UNODC chief.

“This makes West Africa more prone to political instability and less able to achieve poverty-reduction Millennium Development Goals (MDGs).”

In some cases, the value of trafficked goods exceeds the gross domestic product (GDP) of West African nations, which are among the world’s poorest, the UNODC report said.

“A powerful minority, all the way to the top, is profiting from crime in West Africa, at the expense of many,” Costa said, warning that if the phenomenon was left unchecked, “democracy and development will falter, while crime and corruption flourish.”

Revenue from 45 million counterfeit anti-malarial pills, worth nearly 450 million dollars, is higher than Guinea-Bissau’s GDP, while profits from cigarette smuggling, valued at 775 million dollars, surpasses the Gambia’s entire GDP, the report said.

It added that income from illegal oil sales or cocaine trafficking, worth one billion dollars annually each, rivals the GDPs of Cape Verde and Sierra Leone.

“West Africa has everything that criminals need: resources, a strategic location, weak governance and an endless source of foot soldiers who see few viable alternatives to a life of crime,” Costa lamented.

Meanwhile UN chief Ban Ki-moon’s latest report on the activities of the UN Office for West Africa noted that drug trafficking and cross-border organized crime were still undermining security in the region.

But it also noted that growing international involvement along with bold national and sub-regional initiatives were beginning to yield results.

While portraying drug trafficking as one of the more pervasive and dangerous forms of cross-border organized crime in West Africa, Ban said other illegal activities were also cause for concern.

He said these included human smuggling, piracy and the proliferation of small arms and light weapons, as well as the activities of criminal and other armed groups.

Federal drug regulators warned Wednesday that patients taking two popular drugs to stop smoking should be watched closely for signs of serious mental illness, as reports mount of suicides among the drugs’ users.

But officials emphasized that fear should not stop patients from taking the smoking-cessation medicines, Chantix, made by Pfizer, and Zyban, made by GlaxoSmithKline, which also sells it under the brand name Wellbutrin, for depression.

“Stopping smoking is a goal we should all be working towards,” said Dr. Curtis J. Rosebraugh, director of a drug evaluation office at the Food and Drug Administration. “We don’t want to scare people off from trying a medication that could help them achieve this goal. You should just be careful.”

Pfizer will add a so-called black box warning — the F.D.A.’s most serious caution — to the packaging information for Chantix.

The Pfizer drug, introduced in 2006, has about 90 percent of the market for prescription smoking-cessation drugs, according to IMS Health, a health care information company. Even so, Chantix sales — $846 million in 2008 — had been less than Pfizer had hoped because of previous warnings of its side effects.

Glaxo will expand its existing black box warning on Wellbutrin, citing suicidal thoughts by patients who use it for depression, to include Zyban, which has had only modest sales in the smoking cessation market.

Both companies will also be required to conduct clinical trials to assess the mental health risks associated with the drugs’ uses. Pfizer is already enrolling schizophrenia patients in a trial.

Because smokers and people trying to quit are statistically more likely to be depressed and suicidal, officials for both companies said it was difficult to identify the specific impact of the drugs on those risks. “Nicotine withdrawal itself can be very difficult for people to endure,” Dr. Steve Romano, a Pfizer vice president, said Wednesday.

Analysts said the F.D.A. action would have little effect on sales because of previous indications of the drugs’ psychiatric risks.

“I think the market and physicians have already been sensitized to this,” said Catherine J. Arnold, an analyst for Credit Suisse.

“I’m not panicking,” said Jami Rubin, an analyst for Goldman Sachs, “Sales are already down a lot. It is and will remain a small niche product.”

Chantix had already experienced a slight sales decline last year from the $883 million achieved in 2007. And this year’s first-quarter sales of $177 million were 36 percent below the corresponding period last year.

Ms. Arnold predicted that sales would probably continue falling to around $740 million for all of 2009, but that demand for smoking-cessation treatments would enable it to grow modestly after that — to perhaps half of the $2 billion in annual sales Pfizer had originally hoped for the drug.

European officials first alerted the F.D.A. in 2007 to problems associated with Chantix. In September of that year, Jeffrey Carter Albrecht, a keyboard player from the pop-music group Edie Brickell and New Bohemians, was killed by a neighbor who had complained that Mr. Albrecht was banging on his door, ranting. Mr. Albrecht’s girlfriend blamed Chantix, which she said had made him hostile.

The widely publicized event led to a cascade of similar reports and scrutiny by F.D.A. safety officials, who have now received 98 reports of suicides and 188 reports of suicide attempts among those taking Chantix.

As officials looked more closely, they found to their surprise that Zyban has similar associated risks. The agency received 14 reports of suicides and 17 reports of suicide attempts among those taking Zyban.

No one knows why the drugs are associated with mental problems. In some cases, patients could be experiencing nicotine withdrawal, but some of the reports involved patients who had yet to stop smoking. And many of the events happened just as patients began or stopped therapy, officials said.

“If this is nicotine withdrawal, it really doesn’t matter,” said Dr. Robert Temple, an F.D.A. official. “You need to pay attention to them.”

The agency’s action requires the drugs’ makers to mention the risk of suicide in advertising, and it prevents the companies from using “reminder” ads, during which consumers are encouraged to talk to their doctors about a health issue but the product’s name is not mentioned.
Copyright © 2009 Nytimes

A growing global trade in black market cigarettes is killing tens of thousands of people a year, causing massive health problems and costing governments billions of pounds, a hard-hitting report warns today.

A staggering 657 billion cigarettes a year are sold illicitly by organised crime gangs, half of all tobacco sold in some countries is contraband, and £24.6bn in taxes are never paid, it says.

The report makes plain that, contrary to the tobacco industry’s claims, cigarette smuggling is much more common and damaging in poorer countries. Inefficient law enforcement, lax border controls and corruption among police and government officials mean smugglers find it easier to move large consignments of stolen or counterfeit cigarettes into countries in the developing world.

More than five million people a year die worldwide from tobacco use, and about 80% of all smokers live in developing countries. The World Health Organisation classifies tobacco as the leading cause of preventable death.

In countries including Bangladesh, Indonesia, Mexico and Egypt, very poor households spend up to 15% of their incomes on tobacco products, according to the WHO. That exacerbates social and health inequalities and can push families even deeper into poverty, because they are more likely to develop smoking-related illnesses and die than wealthier compatriots.

About 1.2 million of the five million tobacco-related deaths annually are in south-east Asia, where almost half the world’s poor live. Some of them spend more on tobacco than on food, shelter, healthcare and education.

The report comes as representatives of governments gather in Geneva to negotiate the first worldwide protocol on illicit trade in tobacco products. Heavily backed by many EU countries, the treaty is expected to lead to co-ordinated global action to try to tackle the problem. Some African administrations are sceptical because they believe it will cost them money to implement, but campaigners say that they will actually make money by ultimately being able to increase the tax on legally sold cigarettes once the black market has been tackled.

The study, part-funded by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, has been written by Martin Raw of the UK Centre for Tobacco Control Studies at Nottingham University, David Merriman of Illinois University in Chicago, Hana Ross of the American Cancer Society and Luk Joossens of the Brussels-based Framework Convention Alliance pro-treaty organisation. It is called “How eliminating the global illict cigarette trade would increase tax revenue and save lives”.

“The burden of illicit trade falls mainly on lower-income countries”, the study found. While the black market accounts for 11.6% of all cigarettes consumed worldwide, its market share is 9.8% in well-off countries but 16.8% on average in poorer ones. In Georgia 50% of all cigarettes sold are contraband, while 40% of those in Uzbekistan, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Albania and Bolivia share that source. The figure stands at more than 20% in 15 other, mainly poor, countries. Buyers are tempted by low prices, which prompt them to buy more and smoke more often, leading to illness, says the study.

Eradication of the illicit trade could save 132,000 lives annually in middle-income and poor families, the authors estimate.

Anna Gilmore, an expert in the tobacco industry’s global tactics at both Bath University and the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said China, India and Indonesia were the three countries cigarette firms were most keen to exploit. “They have big populations, are experiencing rapid population growth and contain a lot of women, whom tobacco transnationals see as an untapped market,” she said.
Copyright © 2009 Guardian

The Oregon House passed a bill today that would allow local governments to tax tobacco products.

House Bill 2616 kicked off a lively debate about the role of local government and the possibility of more taxes for Oregonians.

Rep. Nick Kahl, D-Portland, carried the vote, saying the bill gives communities a way to navigate through a rocky economy.

“Local government should be able to weigh in,” he said. “The reality is that local government is so starved for revenue that given this option, many of them will look at it.”

Rep. Jim Weidner, R-Yamhill, countered that the bill will only increase citizens’ taxes. “We are raising taxes on about every item there is out there,” he said, adding that soon Oregonians will ask for a bridge with “ten lanes to get out of Oregon to Washington where they can get a job.”

“Right now, we need to do everything we can do to stop smoking,” said Rep. Mitch Greenlick, D-Portland, who highlighted the health merits of the bill. He noted that “it’s not only a matter of local control.”

The bill passed with a 32-27 vote and heads to the Senate.

Copyright © 2009 Oregonlive

Background: Smoking is one of the biggest avoidable causes of morbidity and mortality in the United Kingdom (UK). This paper quantifies the current health and economic burden of smoking in the UK. It provides comparisons with previous studies of the burden of smoking in the UK and with the costs for other chronic disease risk factors.

Methods: A systematic literature review to identify previous estimates of National Health Service (NHS) costs attributable to smoking was undertaken. Information from the World Health Organization’s Global Burden of Disease Project and routinely collected mortality data were used to calculate mortality due to smoking in the UK. Population attributable fractions for smoking related diseases from the Global Burden of Disease Project were applied to NHS cost data to estimate direct financial costs.

Results: Previous studies estimated that smoking cost the NHS about £1.4 -1.7 billion in 1991 and has been responsible for about 100,000 deaths per annum over the last 10 years. We estimate that the number of deaths attributable to smoking in 2005 was 109,164 (19% of all deaths, 27% deaths in men and 11% of deaths in women). Smoking was directly responsible for 12% of disability adjusted life years lost in 2002 (15.4% in men; 8.5% in women) and the direct cost to the NHS was £5.2 billion in 2005-06.

Conclusion: Smoking is still a considerable public health burden in the UK. Accurately establishing the burden in terms of death, disability and financial costs is important for informing national public health policy.

Copyright © 2009  Tobaccocontrol

BEER and cigarettes go together like cows and hay in Wisconsin. North Carolina is the top United States tobacco-growing state.

Yet bars and restaurants in both states are poised to go smoke-free after their state legislatures passed bans on Wednesday. Both North Carolina Governor Beverly Perdue and Wisconsin Governor Jim Doyle have said they support the measures.

Twenty-two US states and the District of Columbia have prohibited smoking in bars and restaurants since New York City passed its landmark ban in 2003. Four more states – Montana, Nebraska, South Dakota and Virginia – will do so by the end of the year. Florida, Idaho and Nevada ban smoking in restaurants.

The North Carolina House’s 62-56 vote marked yet another step away from the legacy of tobacco in a state that is still the nation’s top producer by sales. Last year, North Carolina farmers produced US$686 million worth of tobacco, nearly half the value of the entire US output.

“It is definitely a historic move,” said Betsy Vetter, a spokeswoman for the American Heart Association’s North Carolina chapter. “We think this will protect a large portion of the population from secondhand smoke, and that’s quite an accomplishment for public health.”

Their law would allow fines of up to US$50 for smokers who keep puffing after being asked by an establishment’s managers to stop, but the law can only be enforced by a local health director and not police. Hospitality owners or managers could be fined up to US$200 after being warned twice to enforce the smoking rules.

In Wisconsin, lawmakers voted for a bill marking a truce between the Wisconsin Tavern League and anti-smoking and health groups.

Republican Representative Leah Vukmir branded the ban “anti-smoking zealotry.”

“The only thing that’s compromised are individual rights and individual freedoms,” she said.

Copyright © 2009 Wtop

Hartford – The legislature’s Finance Committee killed through inaction a pair of controversial bills Tuesday afternoon, including a proposal to ban smoking at the state’s two tribally owned casinos.The committee did not take up the smoking ban bill before adjourning around 1:30 p.m. Under legislative rules, bills referred to committee must be acted upon within seven calendar days or three legislative session days. That rule means the smoking ban was effectively killed by the Finance panel’s failure to take action today.

The committee’s leaders also allowed Republicans to filibuster a proposal that would have decriminalized the possession of less than 0.5 ounces of marijuana, though lawmakers said they expected that proposal to return later this session in the form of an amendment.

The smoking ban – which is vigorously supported by organized labor but opposed by Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods – is dead for this session, and unlikely to return, said Sen. Eileen Daily, D-Westbrook, the co-chairwoman of the committee and an opponent of the bill.

“Aside from any promise of a legal challenge it would be very costly… in terms of lost revenue because of lost business for the casino,” Daily said. “So our businesses, all of them, are in enough trouble without our taking action today that would be more costly.”

The recent agreement between Gov. M. Jodi Rell and the Mashantucket Pequot Tribal Nation on a plan to reduce and eventually phase out smoking at Foxwoods, similar to that already signed between Rell and the Mohegan tribe, also made legislative action on a ban unlikely and unnecessary, Daily said.

“I really think that put an end to it,” Daily said, referring to the new pact with the Mashantuckets.

That wasn’t good enough for Jack Edwards, a dealer at Foxwoods and a member of the United Auto Workers union, who has been one of the stalwart group of union activists, clad in distinctive yellow t-shirts, who have lobbied over the last two years in favor of a legislative smoking ban.

Edwards said the Foxwoods agreement had been “misunderstood by the general populace,” noting that while it would limit smoking in the vast majority of Foxwoods, the gaming area where he and others work is still open to smokers.

“Now what you’ve got is you’ve got a smaller area, you’ve got more smoke, and it’s even a worse health environment,” he said.

The lobbying effort will continue, even if the bill is dead for this year.

“We’re not done,” Edwards said. “If not this year, we’ll be back on day one next year”

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Next Safety, Inc. has developed the most effective pulmonary nicotine delivery device to help people quit smoking

Matthew P. Bars, MS, CTTS, has joined Next Safety, Inc. (NSI) as chairman. In his smoking cessation work, he has appeared on the NBC Today Show several times, as well as the CBS Evening News with Dan Rather, ABC World News Tonight, CNBC and CNN.

Mr. Bars has a B.S. in Psychology, an M.S. in Clinical Psychology and is a member of the American Academy of Addiction Psychiatry. He is a consultant and key opinion-maker for many pharmaceutical, healthcare, and medical diagnostic companies and has been engaged in the treatment, management, and administration of nicotine addiction services since 1980.

Mr. Bars is a contributing editor to the National Cancer Institute’s “Clearing the Air” stop-smoking publication. He is also the expert consultant and director for smoking cessation for the Fire Department of New York City and the co-developer of the “Tobacco Free with the New York FD” program. He is the current clinical director of the Palisades Medical Center’s IQuit Smoking Program (an affiliate of the Columbia University New York Presbyterian Healthcare System and a director of the IQuit Smoking Consultation Service).

“I have worked against nicotine addiction for almost 30 years and I am excited to be working with a company that is poised to save lives with what I have named ‘the Next Step’ in nicotine replacement therapy,” said Mr. Bars.

In human trials, utilizing the Next Safety Platform, the device was highly effective in the pulmonary delivery of nicotine and other drugs. The phase I trials included blood results that were independently measured by a leading laboratory at a major academic research institution. Participants reported significant psychoactive effects.

NSI’s proprietary platform is a powerful new method for the pulmonary delivery of drugs; the small handheld device will allow the user to inhale nicotine vapor and other drugs from an air stream with a high degree of control and safety. The company’s manufacturing partners for the production of its nicotine delivery device are large global companies with more than 150 combined international sites, including a number of FDA-approved manufacturing facilities in the US.

NSI has an agreement with a major US-based pharmaceutical company to supply pharmaceutical-grade nicotine. NSI expects the price of an equivalent amount of nicotine delivered by its device, as compared to the amount of nicotine delivered by a carton of cigarettes, to be less than 10% of the current average market price in the US.

In addition, NSI is testing other drugs that use its new pulmonary drug delivery platform for a number of leading pharmaceutical companies. These drugs include treatments for asthma, pulmonary infections, and the delivery of proteins to treat certain types of cancer as well as insulin and proteins for treating other conditions.
Source: News.prnewswire