'Insider' to give MPs lowdown on Big Tobacco

The American tobacco company whistle blower who inspired the Russell Crowe movie The Insider is coming to New Zealand next week to give MPs the inside picture on tobacco company tactics.

Dr Jeffrey Wigand was head of research at Brown & Williamson - part of the British American Tobacco group - until he was sacked in 1993.

The 1999 movie starring Crowe and Al Pacino was based on Dr Wigand's fight with the company over his allegations, publicised in explosive CBS television interviews, that the industry had lied over its knowledge that nicotine was addictive and tobacco could cause cancer and other diseases.

He had worked on developing a "safer" cigarette but said the work was halted because it would be seen as implying the company knew its other cigarettes were unsafe.

Dr Wigand, a key witness in US anti-tobacco litigation, said he was subjected to an industry smear campaign, a bullet was found in his letterbox and his family was threatened with harm "if I told the truth about the inner workings of the tobacco company I worked for".

Action on Smoking and Health (Ash) is bringing Dr Wigand to New Zealand to give lectures and to give expert evidence to Parliament's Maori Affairs committee, which is conducting an inquiry into the tobacco industry.

British American Tobacco NZ has given evidence to the committee but Maori Party MP Hone Harawira was frustrated by general manager Graeme Amey's answers on tobacco marketing and his assertion the company had no strategy on marketing tobacco to young Maori. Mr Amey agreed to return with documents to verify this at a hearing now expected to be held on June 30.

Ash spokesman Michael Colhoun said yesterday it was important for the MPs to hear from a global expert on tobacco like Dr Wigand.

"They will be better informed about what tactics the tobacco industry uses that they [tobacco companies] haven't admitted to already."

Smokefree Coalition director Prudence Stone said: "It's important the select committee learns about the deception of the tobacco industry ... just so the Government is made as aware as possible of all those tactics."

Fresno County buys building with tobacco funds

Bond money collected through tobacco sales in 2006 allowed Fresno County to purchase the Crocker Building on Fresno and L streets in Fresno, the Board of Supervisors announced last week.

As a result of a settlement with tobacco companies, the Tobacco Securitization Bond Endowment Fund provided California counties with money to be used for capital improvements such as acquisitions, construction, and land and building improvements.

Fresno County used $3.7 million from the funds to purchase the building, which will house the Department of Social Services administration staff. Child Protective Services, which was recently absorbed by the department, will remain in the building on a lease from the County.

Former plans included the possibility of a jail expansion and other judicial services, but both were currently deemed infeasible due to the shortage of funding for justice agencies.

$30,000 in Cigarettes Stolen from Area Convenience Stores

Campbell Co., VA - In this week’s Crime Stoppers report, Campbell County investigators are looking for thieves with a serious nicotine fix.

Over the past two weeks, they've stolen nearly $30,000 in cigarettes. Deputies say they knocked out cinderblocks in the back of two area convenience stores, crawled through, and carried out hundreds of cartons.

Investigators are looking for this Chevy HHR seen during one of the break-ins. They say they need a tip to solve this case.

"If anyone has seen any of their friends or buddies with large amounts of cigarettes and they know they don't normally have the money to buy them, you know we'd like them to call Crime Stoppers," Inv. Tracy Emerson with the Campbell County Sheriff's Office said.

Don’t grow tobacco, Vyas tells farmers

The state government is taking initiatives to find alternative to tobacco which is widely grown in central Gujarat, said state minister of Health and Family Welfare Jay Narayan Vyas on “World No Tobacco Day” on Monday.

Vyas also urged farmers in Gujarat not to grow tobacco as most of the tobacco consumers in the state are youths.

Inaugurating a state-level workshop, he said: “Tobacco consumption is increasing. According to the National Family Health Survey (2005-06), 57 per cent men and 11 per cent women in India consume tobacco. In Gujarat, 60 per cent men and 8.4 per cent women consume tobacco. The Global Youth tobacco survey, 2003, shows that 29.3 per cent boys and 4.3 per cent girls studying in classes VII to X consume tobacco in Gujarat. Around 20 per cent of the total population of the students consume tobacco in Gujarat.”

Vyas also released guidelines for health workers who will participate in the tobacco control programme.