Electronic cigarettes gaining on traditional products

The swelling popularity of electronic cigarettes may add to the regulatory and revenue tension between tobacco manufacturers and states.
Electronic cigarettes, or e-cigs, are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge and create a vapor that is inhaled.

Refill cartridges can be purchased in different sizes and flavors; five-packs typically cost between $9 and $18. By comparison, a carton of cigarettes can cost between $25 and $50 for most name brands.
Bonnie Herzog, a Wells Fargo Securities analyst, believes the e-cig craze has shifted from “fad” to “here to stay.”
So much so that Herzog said recently in a note to investors that e-cig sales could grow fast enough to affect the payments states receive from the landmark Master Settlement Agreement.
Tobacco companies, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., agreed in 1998 to settle lawsuits filed by 46 state attorneys general over smoking-related health-care costs by paying those states about $206 billion over more than 20 years.
Most states have redirected much, if not all, of their MSA money to general expenditures, much to the chagrin of public-health advocacy groups.
Meanwhile, sales of electronic cigarettes are about $300 million a year and the products have about 2.5 million users, according to Tobacco Vapor Electronic Cigarette Association.
There are projections of $1 billion in annual sales within a few years, Herzog said, in part because there is no federal excise tax on e-cigs. Only Minnesota has a state excise tax.
“If the prospects for e-cig category growth are as robust as we believe, this should have a meaningful positive impact on the industry's profitability long term,” Herzog said.
“Given that the industry's MSA payments are volume based, as e-cigs take share from traditional cigarettes, the decline in these payments to the states should accelerate. In other words, the dollar amount of these MSA payments should drop faster.”
As a result, Herzog said, those manufacturers that embrace e-cigs, either through internal production or acquisition, will gain – at least in the short term – better sales margins.
Anyone who has visited the check-out counter at a convenience store or tobacco outlet has seen what Herzog is describing – multiple e-cig brands on display, according to Winston-Salem Journal.

Images may harm your smoking pleasure

Alex Town's first box of plain-packaged cigarettes did not faze him.
Gone was the familiar trademark of his favourite brand, Benson & Hedges, to be replaced by an innocuous image of a cigarette being stubbed out in an ashtray. He had won his first round of health-warning roulette.
The drab olive packages which became mandatory this month feature a variety of new, graphic warning labels designed to confront consumers with the consequences of smoking-related disease.
Some of the images are more confronting than others: there is the eyeball being surgically opened ("smoking causes blindness"), the decaying lung, the cancerous tongue and the stained, rotting teeth.
But the two warning labels giving smokers the most discomfort are the gangrenous foot and the infamous "Bryan", who is pictured brutally emaciated and almost dead from lung cancer. And it is these larger, more shocking graphics - rather than the lack of branding - which are challenging users to reconsider their habits.
"The colour doesn't put me off, it actually looks quite smart to me," says Town, a 26-year old public servant who has decided to quit as his New Year's resolution, according to smh.com.au.

Cigarette prices to increase again

Cigarette prices are rising again, with the two largest tobacco manufacturers expressing confidence that another 6-cent a pack increase won’t deter smokers in a down economy.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Philip Morris USA confirmed Thursday they are raising their list price by 6 cents on all their brands. Reynolds’ price increase goes into effect today, while Philip Morris’ goes into effect Tuesday.

Lorillard Inc. is raising the list price by 6 cents a pack on its Newport, Kent, Maverick, and True brands.
Although the list price is geared toward wholesale and direct-buying customers, they tend to pass most or all of such increases on to consumers.

“I cannot speculate how this will affect the price at retail, as we don't set that price,” Reynolds spokesman Richard Smith said.

In June, Philip Morris and Reynolds raised the list price by 6 cents on most of its brands, while Lorillard increased its list price by 8 cents.

More employers demand applicants quit smoking

Until the day he was offered the job as executive sous chef of the new Hollywood Casino Columbus, Tim Dionisio smoked a pack of cigarettes a day.

And when things got hot and hectic in the kitchen, and there wasn’t time to go outside for a cigarette break, “I popped little bags of spitless chew in my mouth.”

Dionisio is now four months into a cold-turkey goodbye to tobacco products. Instead, he chain-sucks Werther’s Original candies.

“I go through a bag every two days,” he said.

Quitting wasn’t by choice, but from necessity, if he wanted to work at Hollywood Casino Columbus, which opened on Oct. 8. It does not hire smokers or allow employees to smoke on the premises or even in their homes.“Once I realized the offer was serious, I stopped smoking that day,” Dionisio said. “And I couldn’t use a patch or gum because they have nicotine in them and would have shown up on the (drug) test.”
Job-seekers must pass a drug test that includes nicotine screening, and, once hired, employees caught smoking can be fired.

“This (casino) is a brand-new project, and we wanted to set the tone from the start, that wellness is important,” said Ameet Patel, general manager of Hollywood Casino, which is owned by Penn National Gaming.

Although it is not yet a trend, a growing number of companies — especially hospitals — refuse to hire smokers, says The Columbus Dispatch. Ohio-based companies with this policy include Scotts Miracle-Gro and the Cleveland Clinic.
The goal is to improve the health of employees and reduce the company’s health-care costs.

However, this policy has raised legal and ethical issues and has some asking: Where will it stop?
“The slope is slippery,” said Lewis Maltby, president of the National Workrights Institute, a nonprofit spinoff of the American Civil Liberties Union that opposes the hiring bans.

“Smoking isn’t the only thing that affects your health; there’s drinking, eating red meat, exercise or not exercising — even your sex life affects your health,” Maltby said. “And once you say it’s all right for employers to tell someone what they can and can’t do in their private life, you don’t have a private life anymore.”

Anti-tobacco group eyes ‘smoker’s licence’

A proposed smoker’s licence could see people forced to take a test and pay a fee before they are allowed to buy cigarettes.

The licence, proposed by Sydney University professor of public health Simon Chapman, would require applicants to pass an online 'risk knowledge' test to make sure they know the dangers of what they are about to do, as well as paying an annual fee to keep the licence.

Licence holders would be given a card which they would have to show or scan whenever they wanted to purchase cigarettes or tobacco.

Action on Smoking Health director Ben Youdan says the idea is one option which could help achieve the New Zealand Government’s goal of becoming a smoke free country by 2025.

But there are a number of potential disadvantages to this idea, one being that it would take a lot of bureaucracy, money and time to get it in place.

His main concern though is that it places the burden of responsibility on the smoker, rather than the cigarette companies.

A proposed smoker’s licence could see people forced to take a test and pay a fee before they are allowed to buy cigarettes.

The licence, proposed by Sydney University professor of public health Simon Chapman, would require applicants to pass an online 'risk knowledge' test to make sure they know the dangers of what they are about to do, as well as paying an annual fee to keep the licence.

Licence holders would be given a card which they would have to show or scan whenever they wanted to purchase cigarettes or tobacco.

Action on Smoking Health director Ben Youdan says the idea is one option which could help achieve the New Zealand Government’s goal of becoming a smoke free country by 2025.

Read more: http://www.3news.co.nz/Anti-tobacco-group-eyes-smokers-licence/tabid/423/articleID/277256/Default.aspx#ixzz2CrVR0Ffu

Seven Brookline retailers fined for selling tobacco to minors

The number of retailers in town that failed the annual tobacco compliance checks shot up this year, with seven establishments getting caught selling tobacco to minors in October.

Compliance rates in the Department of Public Health program fell from 95 percent last year to 80 percent this year during a check of all 31 tobacco retailers. There were also more than twice as many businesses that failed the compliance check, despite a considerable decrease in the number of businesses permitted to sell tobacco.

The retailers who sold to a minor were issued fines at the time of the infraction in the amount of $200, and must pay an additional surcharge fee for the next two years to renew their annual tobacco sales permit.

JTI rolls out addition to Amber Leaf roll-up line-up

On November 1, Japan Tobacco International launched a new addition to its Amber Leaf rolling tobacco brand.

Amber Leaf Blonde uses a paler coloured cigarette blend, which the company believes will attract existing cigarette smokers who are trading down into roll your own (RYO) from ready-rolled cigarettes.

Blonde will be available across all channels in a 12.5g crush-proof box and 25g pouch, and exclusively to multiples in 50g, said The Grocer. It has a recommended retail price of £3.87, £7.57 and £14.99 respectively, the same as Amber Leaf.

“The launch of Amber Leaf Blonde is designed to capitalise on the growth of the RYO market, as well as Amber Leaf’s No.1 status - an achievement we’re hugely proud of,” said JTI head of communications Jeremy Blackburn.

“Unlike traditional RYO tobacco, the blend of which is typically dark in colour, Blonde uses a pale-coloured Virginia blend to provide a smooth taste. It’ll not only appeal to existing adult RYO smokers, but also the growing number of existing adult dual smokers looking for an RYO product to switch to.”

Russia Anti-Smoking Draft Law Said to Be Submitted to Parliament

Russia submitted an anti-tobacco law to Parliament today as it seeks to curb smoking amid opposition from cigarette makers, a government official said, declining to be identified because the information hasn’t been made public. The government in the world’s second-largest market for cigarette producers after China proposed measures that will outlaw all tobacco advertising and sponsorship as well as kiosk sales immediately, with bans on trade in small retail outlets and smoking in public places taking effect Jan. 1, 2015.

Russia, which has also raised alcohol taxes as part of efforts to improve its citizens’ health, wants the law passed this year as it fights lobbying efforts by tobacco companies, Deputy Prime Minister Olga Golodets said Oct. 18. Philip Morris International Inc. (PM), British American Tobacco (BATS), Japan Tobacco and Imperial Tobacco (IMT), which control 93 percent of the Russian market, hooked women and children on smoking, Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev said in a video blog Oct. 16., vowing to crack down on the habit.

Which Tobacco Stocks To Buy And Which To Avoid?

ordercigarettes.beeplog.de - order cigarettes here for cheap price

Investors have enjoyed a tremendous ride with unbelievably consistent returns in big tobacco stocks. Thirty years back, if you had invested $100 in Altria Group (MO), previously named Philip Morris Companies, you would have fetched substantial dividends over these years and the stocks would have been worth more than $5,000 today. Altria and other big tobacco companies like Reynolds American (RAI), Lorillard (LO) and Philip Morris International (PM) continue to lure investors due to their far higher dividend yield as compared to other stable blue chip stocks.

Domestic tobacco companies including Altria Group, Lorillard and Reynolds American all provide above 5% dividend yield, while Philip Morris International's dividend yield stands at 3.90% which is highly impressive in a world of low interest rates. However, these tobacco stocks seem to have lost their momentum over the last few months. The following graph summarizes the stock price movement of these companies over the last 2 months.

Given the declining tobacco consumption trends in U.S. and tightening of regulations in countries like Australia, tobacco stocks have taken a beating. Although I remain optimistic about Philip Morris due to a huge runway for growth in Asian markets, I'm a little skeptical about domestic tobacco companies as their earnings are dependent upon cost cuttings and price hikes and may not be sustainable.

Domestic tobacco companies have traditionally enjoyed good pricing power, but they do not seem to have the same pricing power now as promotions by the market leader Altria Group are driving Reynolds American and Lorillard to get defensive. Big tobacco stocks have followed more or less a similar pattern over the last few years, but I don't think they will continue to follow a similar path. Thus, I think it becomes extremely important to carefully choose your pick going forward. Let's analyze some key metrics of these companies.

Flavored Cigars, Pellets, Sticks And Strips Now Common To Lure Kids

With cigarette smoking rates on the decline in the U.S., the tobacco industry insures its livelihood by creating products that attract a new generation of lifelong nicotine addicts, says anti-smoking group Tobacco Free Florida. Tobacco products in flavors like kiwi-strawberry, chocolate and sour apple are increasingly available in communities throughout the U.S. and increasingly popular among youth.

Types of flavored tobacco products include: · Cigars, cigarillos and little cigars, which are being used at an increasing rate nationwide · Smokeless tobacco like chew, dip and snus that have serious health risks and can contain more nicotine that cigarettes · New smokeless tobacco products like orbs (dissolvable tobacco pellets), toothpick-like sticks, and dissolvable strips that resemble candy and mints in more than just flavor Nearly nine out of 10 smokers start by age 18.

Prevention is key in combating the tobacco epidemic say experts. They say parents should know about the dangers of these products so that they can educate their kids adding teens whose parents strongly disapprove of tobacco are less likely to take up tobacco.

Future of Tobacco Industry Depends on Innovation

When people consider innovation, the tobacco industry isn't likely the first thing that comes to mind. However, the market is undergoing big changes, driven largely by health concerns, higher tax rates and the availability of new options for smokers to get their nicotine fix.

While premium e-cigarettes have been around for years, more advanced smoking devices are making their way to market that address issues faced by tobacco companies and consumers alike. According to a study released by Euromonitor, the total number of tobacco users worldwide will remain at one billion by 2050, but in terms of overall equivalent tobacco volume, the worldwide tobacco products market is predicted to contract by approx. 7 percent from 2015 to 2050 due to a 9 percent decline in cigarette sales volume.

Offsetting the decline will be record volume increases in premium categories including specialty niche nicotine delivery products according to the study, in part because of the perception that they are less dangerous than cigarettes. Taxes on cigarettes will play a large role in this movement. New York, for example, has the highest cigarette tax in the U.S. at $4.35 per pack, which can bring the total cost per pack to $12. Low income smokers in New York are particularly affected, often spending 25 percent of their household income on cigarettes.

Furthermore, high taxes on cigarettes and tobacco labeled as "roll your own" are prompting a switch to loose tobacco (labeled for pipe use) products. Loose (pipe) tobacco is taxed at significantly lower rates than the other forms of tobacco due largely to a 2009 increase in the federal tobacco excise tax. Many innovative solutions are becoming available to address these changes in the tobacco market. The Pax Vaporizer (pictured above) is one such offering, being distributed with the help of Japan Tobacco International, owner of Benson & Hedges.

The device, offered by Vape World, takes a modern approach to smoking, resembling an iPod with an anodized aluminum exterior. By using actual loose-leaf tobacco heated and turned into a vapor, the harmful ingredients in smoke are removed, while the nicotine and flavor of cigarettes and other tobacco products remain. The device is part of the larger movement away from the iconography and language of cigarettes normally targeted at smokers and addresses the demand for healthier options.

MU needs your support on cigarette tax increase

Don’t let the shiny student center and awesome swag floating around campus fool you: MU suffers from a chronic lack of funding. Only four other states in the union offer less state support to their flagship institutions. Campus Facilities has a backlog of critical repairs to classrooms and dorms that would cost $177.1 million to complete. MU’s faculty is paid, on average, $17,000 less than their Association of American Universities peers.

Tuition has increased each of the last five years as Bright Flight and Access Missouri scholarships have withered. MU needs to find new revenue sources if it’s to continue to provide a quality college education. Proposition B is that solution. And a solution is needed, because the sad truth is education cuts affect more than our professors’ salaries or our decrepit classrooms.

Just in the last year, the Missouri Students Association found it necessary to open a food pantry for its student body. Although the outpouring of support it has received genuinely warms the heart, its existence should send a cold shiver down your spine. More and more students are impoverishing themselves to get an education. At a time when attention should be directed toward their studies, our peers are filing food stamp forms and applying for Medicaid eligibility. They are worrying, day-to-day, about putting food on their tables.

We should celebrate our student food pantry and bemoan its necessity. It is the inevitable result of drastic and irresponsible cuts to higher education. Students fought for, and got, a respite from harsh state cuts in last year’s budget. But the trend lines are as depressing as they are clear: If MU is to continue to grow and improve, it needs more revenue. And we’re not going to get it from existing channels. The average state cigarette tax is $1.49 a pack. In Missouri, it’s $0.17 — the lowest in the nation by a comically wide margin. A low cigarette tax doesn’t just rob Missouri of needed tax revenue — it increases the amount that we smoke.

Missouri ranks fifth in smoking prevalence, a fact that is undoubtedly related to how cheap our cigarettes are. The Centers for Disease Control estimates smoking-related health costs total $10.47 per pack. These costs, which in our state run into the hundreds of millions of dollars a year, fall disproportionately on Medicaid enrollees and those enlisted on government welfare. In short, all tax-paying Missourians pay the price for the choices that smokers make. Raising cigarette taxes makes that choice harder.

Enter Proposition B, which raises the cigarette tax by $0.73 to $0.90 a pack. Notice: The amount is still substantially below the national average. We would be ranked not 50th, but 32nd of all 50 states. What makes Proposition B interesting — and worthy of your support — is what it plans to accomplish with its revenue. Missouri budget experts expect the tax to generate $283 million to $423 million every year. This revenue would be put aside exclusively for public education in the state of Missouri. Every cent would be funneled into strengthening Missouri’s long-term competitiveness.

This campus alone could expect to receive an additional $40 million a year. This money represents MU’s only opportunity to replenish the funds pilfered from higher education by both Democrats and Republicans throughout the years. No one likes a tax increase. And it’s true that excise taxes, or “sin taxes” like this one, disproportionately harm the poor.

But our budget is about priorities. It’s about what matters most to you. Sending any tax increase to a referendum is always a risky move. Ultimately, it signifies a vote of confidence in the voters of Missouri, confidence in knowing our education and our health are worth the modest price smokers are being asked to pay. On Nov. 6, let us reward that confidence. For a healthier Missouri and a stronger Mizzou, vote yes on Proposition B.

Deputy suspected of giving inmates cigarettes and other items

Authorities report a sheriff's deputy suspected of bringing items into a jail and giving them to inmates was arrested Friday afternoon. The St. Mary Parish Sheriff's Office said Shay Cline, 20, of Centerville faces charges of entering contraband into a penal institution and malfeasance in office.

Investigators said some of the items Cline allegedly gave to inmates included tobacco and lighters. He was booked into the St. Mary Parish Law Enforcement Center, but was later transferred to another jail. His bond was set at $20,000 The investigation is ongoing.

Should we really legalize marijuana?

In just over a week’s time, thousands of people across Massachusetts will be taking time out of their day to find a nearby polling station, to cast their vote in the 2012 presidential election. There will be a few things on their minds, namely, who should be the next president of the United States. But there is another pressing issue concerning many residents of Massachusetts. Question 3 on the state ballot will determine whether marijuana ought to be legalized for medical purposes. If passed, it would be a significant step towards total legalization of marijuana for recreational use. However, before we can even talk about the legalization of marijuana, the question must be asked; is it a good idea to legalize it?

The short answer is no. The legalization of marijuana would not bring about the changes we desire. Currently, there is a war going on south of the U.S. border. It is between the Mexican government, and the powerful drug cartels that dominate almost all of Mexico. This war has been going on for several decades, but the United States has only been actively involved since the 1980s. Recently, the violence has escalated. President Felipe Calderón was elected in the year 2006. He promised a hard line against the drug cartels, who, through corruption, extortion, terrorism and murder, effectively operate within the Mexican border.

The war between the Mexican government and the cartels has led to approximately 48,000 deaths, including more than 5,000 disappearances, and thousands and thousands of children orphaned and displaced. The cartels have spawned mass graves, terrorist acts and continue to buy illegal assault weapons and ship their drugs to the United States. More than 100 schools have been closed in Mexico as a result of the violence, as well as entire police forces deserting, under threat of death by the cartels. The Chihuahua province, just south of the U.S.-Mexican border, is currently more dangerous than all of Afghanistan. The violence has spilled over the border. Cartels recruit young aged children in Mexico and in the U.S. for drug-related activity, such as the case of “El Ponchis” (The Cloak) where a 14-year-old American, from San Diego, was convicted for the beheading and torturing of four people for a cartel.

The cartels receive their money to perpetuate this war, as you probably guessed, from the sale and export of drugs to the U.S. The cartels make approximately $39 billion annually from drug sales into the U.S. Currently, 90 percent of the illicit drugs in the United States have made their way in through Mexico. In 2007, the Congressional Research Service released a report to Congress stating that more than 10,000 metric tons of marijuana were being produced in Mexico per year, with about 2,900 metric tons of it being intercepted. This means that the cartels manage to smuggle in over 7,000 metric tons of marijuana a year.

Not only this, but the cartels also manage to produce upwards of 275 metric tons of cocaine, and 19 metric tons of heroin for export into the U.S. per year. Seizures of methamphetamine has also increased five-fold from the year 2000 to 2006, prompting evidence that production has also increased drastically. So, how does this all relate? Well, here in the United States, millions of people smoke, or have smoked, marijuana. More than 42 percent of high school seniors have reported smoking marijuana. The American people provide a steady flow of income for the cartels who are terrorists and mass murderers. For example, one kilogram of cocaine costs at little as $2,000 to produce south of the U.S-Mexican border.

However, it sells for up to $120,000, depending on the location. Some may argue that, should marijuana be legalized, it would reduce the market share of the cartels, which would result in them making less money. But would this really happen? If Congress moved to legalize marijuana, then certainly they would demand that marijuana be grown in facilities either run by, or regulated by the government. Not only this, but the production distribution, packaging, and retail of marijuana would all be heavily regulated and taxed. The farmers growing the marijuana would most likely be unionized and at a minimum be paid well and have health benefits.

All of these factors would drive up the cost of legal marijuana, far past the cost of nearly free labor to grow the plant in Mexico, and whatever prices the dealers charge locally. Though the cartels would not have any standing in the legal market, they would continue to completely dominate the black market. If people already purchase marijuana illegally, why would they purchase more expensive marijuana that is legal? These cartels are pushing millions of people out of Mexico, causing them to flee the violence into the United States. These groups of murderers and terrorists need to be brought to justice first. If we can successfully crush the drug cartels, who are creating havoc in Mexico, and killing and endangering America citizens and officers near the border, then, we can talk about legalizing marijuana.

Speedboat caught conveying illegal cigarettes into S'pore

Early this morning, the Police Coast Guard (PCG) successfully confiscated 1,300 cartons of duty unpaid cigarettes and seized a 7m long speedboat. The unnumbered speedboat was spotted heading towards the mouth of Sungei Pandan at about 6am, and soon after two people on board were seen throwing boxes wrapped in black plastic bags onto the shoreline.

PCG officers quickly moved in to intercept the speedboat, but the alleged smugglers ditched their illegal activities and fled from the scene to evade arrest. Efforts to locate the two suspects are currently in progress, PCG said. The total Excise Duty and Goods and Services Tax (GST) of the cigarettes confiscated was valued to be about $107,000.

Buying, selling, conveying, delivering, storing, keeping, having in possession or dealing with duty-unpaid goods are serious offences under the Customs Act and the Goods and Services Tax Act. Offenders can be fined up to 40 times the amount of duty evaded and/or jailed for up to six years. The minimum court fines for first-time and repeat offenders of tobacco-related offences are $2,000 and $4,000 respectively.

Repeat offenders who are caught with more than two kilogrammes of tobacco products will also face mandatory imprisonment. Vehicles used in the commission of such offences may also be forfeited. Members of the public are strongly advised not to buy duty-unpaid products. For possessing a packet of duty-unpaid cigarettes, buyers may face a minimum fine of $500 or prosecution in court.

Cigarette Tax Hike In Preckwinkle's Proposed County Budget

Cook County Board President Toni Preckwinkle released the details of her 2013 budget Thursday and it aims to raise $43 million in new revenue through a series of new taxes and fees. Preckwinkle held the line on raising property taxes to generate revenue. The so-called “violence tax” Preckwinkle proposed last week is one of the new fees.

With a dual purpose of generating revenue and attempting to curb violence in Cook County, Preckwinkle’s proposal would impose a tax of $25 for each firearm sold in Cook County and five cents for each bullet. Opponents of the tax argue that it would only drive potential gun owners to the collar counties to purchase guns. The biggest moneymaker in the budget is a proposed $1-per-pack hike in the county cigarette tax, which is already at $2 a pack.

If approved, it’s expected to generate $25 million in revenue. It will also be more sticker shock to Chicago and County smokers. Cigarettes already cost $4.67 a pack in Chicago and $3.99 in the suburbs. Other new fees include an $800 charge to every new video gambling machine in Cook County and a $5 fee for every “confirmation of death” letter from the County morgue. We’ve included a residents guide to the county budget below.

BAT raises cigarette prices by 20 sen

British American Tobacco (Malaysia) Bhd (BAT Malaysia) is increasing the price of its cigarette packs by 20 sen from today, as a result of last Friday's increase in the ex-factory pricing of its cigarettes of between 26% and 58% by the Royal Malaysian Customs. In a statement yesterday, BAT Malaysia said the price increase is for all its cigarette brands.

For example, the price of a 20-stick packet of Dunhill cigarettes is now RM10.20 from RM10, while that of Pall Mall is RM8.70 from RM8.50. The new prices, meanwhile, for a packet of Kent is RM10.20, Peter Stuyvesant RM8.70, Pall Mall Plain RM10.60, Benson & Hedges RM10.20, Lucky Strike Plain RM10.60 and Rothmans RM10.60.

"We were officially informed by the Customs on Thursday of a mandated uplift in the ex-factory pricing of our cigarettes of between 26% to 58% effective Friday," said its managing director William Toh. "The consequence is that excise and sales tax payable has increased." When contacted by SunBiz yesterday, JT International Trading Sdn Bhd corporate affairs and communications director Azrani Rustam said the company has no comments at this stage on the move by BAT Malaysia.

Georgia State bans smoking, tobacco use on campus

Georgia State University has banned smoking and tobacco use on most of its campus. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution reports that the University Senate took the action last week for the Atlanta campus. Tobacco use will be prohibited on all university owned or leased locations, indoors and outdoors, in garages and parking lots and in all college owned or leased vehicles.

Officials say university housing will allow limited smoking and tobacco use in some designated outside areas. About a dozen colleges in Georgia and more than 600 colleges nationwide have campus smoking bans.

Confidential information stolen from anti-tobacco NGOs in Brussels

Belgian police are investigating break-ins at the offices of three anti-smoking lobby groups in a central Brussels building, in which thieves stole material related to their campaigns against the tobacco industry. The case occurred in the early hours of Thursday, less than two days after the abrupt resignation of John Dalli, the European Union’s health commissioner, in the wake of a corruption investigation.

Two laptops, some cash and personal items from the office of the European Public Health Alliance (EPHA) were reported missing, while there is evidence that the intruders searched electronic and paper files, including personal data. Meanwhile, the European Respiratory Society (ERS) said that five laptops and paper documents from another office shared by the Smoke Free Partnership (SFP) were missing. According to the ERS, the files contain “confidential” information on its work on a new EU tobacco law. However, none of the groups have blamed tobacco firms for the crime.

A spokesman for the ERS said: “We do not subscribe to conspiracy theories. However, in light of the evidence we feel we have legitimate reason to suspect the intrusion was well-planned, researched and targeted.” “For me, it’s 100% industry-commissioned,” Luk Joossens, a Belgian expert at a cancer-prevention organisation, told EUobserver in reaction to the break-ins.

He said the planned Europe-wide directive would have been aimed at making tobacco products less attractive by introducing bigger health warnings on cigarette packets and removing flavouring from some lines that are popular with young women smokers. He said there was never any question of easing the European ban on snus, which is only available in Sweden as a consequence of an EU exemption granted to the Swedes. The new tobacco directive, which was expected to be unveiled yesterday, is now on hold, pending the appointment of Tonio Borg as the new health and consumer policy commissioner.

Tobacco Board opposes move to cap farming production

The Tobacco Board, which represents the 36-million tobacco farming community in India, is protesting the current FCTC (Framework Convention on Tobacco Control) draft guidelines and recommendations. The draft guidelines and recommendations of the World Health Organisation’s FCTC will be discussed at the fifth Conference of Parties (COP 5) at Seoul in Korea from November 12-17, 2012.

“The draft guidelines aim to cap tobacco farming production, restrict the available land for tobacco farming, deny farmers their political and commercial rights to engage with their governments, ban the contractual relations between farmers and their buyers. In doing so, these policies directly threaten the jobs and livelihoods of tens and thousands of farm families,” Pammi Badri Reddy, member of the Tobacco Board, said in a statement.

Condemning the recommendation of FCTC for cutting off all government and private sector support, which according to him would be devastating for tobacco farmers in the situation where no alternative viable crop is identified in place of tobacco, Reddy said the guidelines were built on the misguided assumption that the tobacco growing countries could shift tobacco farmers to alternative crops or livelihoods.

“The reality is that no successful alternatives have been identified and there may, in fact, be no alternative for the tobacco-growing regions around the globe because tobacco is grown on soils with low fertility and arid climates, and such land is not suitable for production of other crops,” he said. The Tobacco Board is also opposing the recommendations made towards regulating the seasons when tobacco can be grown, creating a de facto ban on growing tobacco during the peak seasons.

Besides, it is protesting against the recommendation that all countries should decrease the tobacco growing in unison, which it says is an unrealistic plan that puts the most tobacco-dependent economies at risk, and the proposed increase in boarder trade. According to the original goals of FCTC, tobacco growers and workers should be involved in decision making and must be given adequate channels to voice their needs and concerns.

“But to date, tobacco farmers have been totally excluded from the debate. The FCTC consultation process has allowed a few health ministry bureaucrats to seal the fate of crores of small tobacco farmers and farm labourers without considering the realities of tobacco farming,” Reddy said. The Tobacco Board is urging the central government to request the FCTC working group to revise its draft policy recommendations and incorporate inputs from tobacco farmers’ organisations and agricultural policy specialists on specific, detailed and credible option for diversification with alternative crops.

“We will observe ‘World Tobacco Growers Day’ on October 29 this year as a day of protesting against the FCTC recommendations, intended to throw the tobacco farmers into economic crisis, by organising rallies and ceasing farm work that day,” he added.

City Council to consider tobacco-free buildings, grounds, vehicles and equipment Read more: Altus Times - City Council to consider tobacco free buildings grounds vehicles and equipment

The Altus Municipal Authority (AMA) and City Council will meet Tuesday, Oct. 16 at 6:30 p.m. in Council Chambers. During the AMA the trustees will consider, among other things, two items regarding electrical issues. One is the purchase of special meters and the other is providing electrical service to S&D Farms, Inc. for an irrigation pump house located just outside the city limits.

At the City Council meeting, Gayla Smith will present the family awarded the home being built by Habitat for Humanity. This new home is at 1129 N. Willard. Pedrick Shivers and Kathryn Miller and their five children will be the homeowners. During the council meeting members will consider eliminating smoking from the City Complex and other City buildings, grounds, vehicles and equipment.

This would require amending the City’s Personnel and Policies Procedures manual and an ordinance in Altus Code 1980. These actions are part of the process to apply to become an Oklahoma Certified Health Communities City. That step would, in turn, enable the City to apply for grants totaling $42,000 as part of the process. Other items for consideration include a resolution on the Hotel/Motel funds that are to be transferred to the Economic Development Corporation (EDC); and vehicle and liability insurance for the City.

Fight tobacco ads aimed at kids

It is the start of a new school year for thousands of Queens children. As children are walking to school this semester, I think it is important to think about what they are passing by on their way to school. Many neighborhood convenience stores place cigarette advertising at the eye level of young children. Cigarette marketing is more prevalent in stores where adolescents frequently shop, and in New York state the average consumer is exposed to more than 1,100 cigarette ads in stores every year.

Research has found that exposure to tobacco marketing in stores is a primary cause of smoking among youth. Often times, ads will be placed in store windows at a child’s height and near candy and toys, in the direct sight of youth, and will use colorful packaging in order to better market cigarettes to youth.

We have many laws protecting children’s health, such as child safety seats and bicycle helmets, but why is there no discussion of a ban on tobacco advertising that is aimed at youth? This is something that needs to be rectified, and it starts with Queens residents. Parents and teachers should be talking to youth about these advertising ploys and Queens residents should start talking to convenience store owners about the terrible effects advertising has on our children.

Bus tour wraps up for Mo. tobacco tax measure

Supporters of a ballot measure seeking to increase Missouri's tobacco taxes are wrapping up a statewide bus tour. The "Show-Me A Brighter Future" campaign concluded their tour Friday at the state Capitol after stopping in more than 20 cities in 12 days. Missouri voters will decide an initiative to increase the state cigarette tax to 90 cents per pack while also raising taxes on other tobacco products.

The state's cigarette tax currently is 17 cents per pack and is the lowest in the country. Supporters estimate the tax increase would generate between $283 million annually in additional revenue. The proposal would steer half that money to public schools, 30 percent to higher education and 20 percent to tobacco cessation and prevention programs.

Talk to kids about cigarettes

Every day in the U.S., approximately 3,600 children between the ages of 12 and 17 start smoking cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control. Here are some tips for talking to your teen about avoiding tobacco use. - Keep the lines of communication open. Talk on a regular basis. The more you talk about a wide range of issues with your child, the easier it is to talk about specific topics such as tobacco.

In general conversation, emphasize all the things your child does well rather than things they don't do well. And demonstrate respect for your child's opinions. Show you're listening and ask follow-up questions. - Talk about health consequences. They need to know what can happen to them. Tobacco smoke contains more than 4,000 chemicals. According to the National Institute on Drug Abuse, the most dangerous chemicals in cigarette smoke, besides nicotine, are tar and carbon monoxide.

NIDA also states that tar causes lung cancer, emphysema, and bronchial diseases, and that carbon monoxide causes heart problems. - According to NIDA, health risks can be immediate, affecting breathing, for example. And addiction can occur after smoking as few as 100 cigarettes, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Boulder council considers updates to medical marijuana rules

A fifth of the marijuana-growing operations in Boulder provide product to out-of-town dispensaries and don't generate sales tax revenue for the city. Whether to limit cultivation centers to those that serve Boulder dispensaries or charge additional fees are among proposed changes to the city's medical marijuana rules that the City Council will consider Tuesday. A proposed ordinance updating the current law would also raise fees for all marijuana licenses and renewals, limit advertising, impose new regulations on manufacturers of infused products and bar landlords from renting to unlicensed growers.

 Potential limitations on grow operations linked to out-of-town dispensaries are not in the existing ordinance language, which is scheduled for a first reading Tuesday. Rather, the City Attorney's Office is seeking feedback from the council before drawing up those regulations. In a memo to the City Council on the proposed changes, city officials described a winnowing process that has reduced an original applicant pool of 125 license requests to 27 dispensaries or medical marijuana centers, 34 cultivation facilities and six infused product manufacturers. However, administering the city's regulations, including assessing the impact of state and federal court cases, has cost more than the city anticipated.

Because the city refunded a portion of the license fee to businesses that were denied, it collected a net amount of $496,350 but spent an estimated $665,000 administering the program, the memo said. The ordinance proposes increasing the license application fee to $3,790 from $3,115 and the renewal to $2,750 from $2,075. The ordinance would also prohibit dispensaries within 1,000 feet of a school. The city's current ordinance establishes a 500-foot buffer, but the federal government has targeted dispensaries within a 1,000-foot radius for additional enforcement, forcing several dispensaries to close or merge. Another provision would ban most marijuana advertising, with the exception of a sign on the same lot as the business and advertising in print publications.

 City officials also want to require manufacturers of infused products to disclose their extraction methods in an operating plan. The memo said inspectors have found many manufacturers using equipment that isn't intended for food production, including washing machines. The ordinance also seeks to give police more tools to pursue unlicensed growers, who are exempt from many state regulations if they are caregivers for five patients or fewer. The memo described situations in which inspectors believed medical marijuana was being grown in a building without a license, but the landlords would not assist the police in verifying the activity.

 The ordinance proposes making it illegal for landlords to knowingly rent space to an unlicensed grow operation and requires that landlords allow police to enter a building for the limited purpose of determining if there is a marijuana business there. The City Council will consider whether to impose minimum fines to discourage the practice. The council also will take up the question of how to deal with grow operations that are linked to out-of-town dispensaries. Because many towns ban grow operations or stopped allowing new marijuana businesses before the state instituted the requirement that dispensaries grow 70 percent of their own product, Boulder has a number of grow operations that supply marijuana to dispensaries in other cities.

 "When a cultivation facility located in Boulder does not have a center in Boulder, the city does not levy or collect a sales tax on the medical marijuana sold," the memo said. "The city only collects a use tax, which is a fraction of the sales tax revenues. The sales tax from the sales of medical marijuana grown in Boulder is realized by another city." Some officials have also expressed concerns about the amount of industrial space taken up by grow operations. According the memo, a survey of industrial space in Boulder found that grows took up less space than previously believed. Nonetheless, the City Attorney's Office asked the City Council to weigh in on whether to ban out-of-town grow operations or to impose a fee or tax on cultivation centers. In a survey on the city's website about some of the new regulations, respondents were nearly evenly divided on making the city's code match the federal 1,000-feet restriction.

 Slightly more than 45 percent of respondents opposed advertising restrictions, while 40 percent supported them. Dispensary owners who were contacted for this story did not return calls Friday afternoon. Boulder attorney Jeff Gard, who has represented several medical marijuana businesses, said his biggest concern is what he perceives as a lack of due process for marijuana businesses accused of violations. "It looked to me like a wish list from the City Attorney's Office to make it easier to shut it down," Gard said. Gard said the city should hold hearings when businesses are accused of violations, as now happens with liquor license holders. He also said information the city is seeking from manufacturers of infused products would force them to reveal proprietary methods. "It's hard to disclose to the city without disclosing to a competitor," he said.

Marijuana-infused food market growing

The kitchen in the weather-beaten beachfront cabin near Olympia is cramped and freckled with mysterious brown stains. A shaggy dog named Butter is poking around, and a quarter-sized spider dangles at the window. It's not the best situation, Jim Chaney acknowledges, for a home-based business making marijuana-infused products, called "medibles." But in Washington's scantily regulated medical-marijuana industry, no one is checking how such food and drink products are made, or how safe they are. And there's a lot to check.

A dizzying array of cannabis-infused products -- from taco mix to cotton candy, from pulled pork to carbonated colas -- have begun showing up in the past two years on the shelves at storefront marijuana dispensaries. Medibles are the fastest-growing segment of Washington's fast-growing medical marijuana industry. Their wares represent perhaps a third of sales at storefront dispensaries. And business could really take off if voters in November approve Initiative 502. The measure would legalize marijuana sales for recreational use and create state-licensed marijuana stores that presumably would carry a variety of cannabis-infused food and drink.

Those products are seen as a tastier, more healthful alternative to smoking, in which dosages of THC can be more exact, and more appealing to older users. But for now, medibles producers operate even more underground than dispensaries. And even though they make food, no one is inspecting them because state officials defer to the federal ban on marijuana. That frustrates Chaney. He has bounced among four production sites, most recently losing a commercial kitchen in Seattle when his landlord in August got a cease-and-desist letter from the Drug Enforcement Administration and shut down. In legal ambiguity, some medibles entrepreneurs try to police themselves, paying for testing at special medical-marijuana labs.

 Even with such tests, Chaney and others in the industry are nervous that a patient will get sick, or overdose on a supercharged product coming from a grungy kitchen. "You have people making products that are not regulated in any way, with no instructions for how to be stored, no expiration date," said Chaney, 27, who has produced infused chai-flavored drinks and capsules under the name Dream Cream. "The state is just failing to do any kind of quality health inspection." Washington in 1998 became one of the first states to legalize medical marijuana, long before the emergence of storefront dispensaries or medibles. Since they've arrived, state law hasn't kept up. A 2011 bill, passed by the Legislature, would have regulated medibles, requiring including licenses, kitchen inspections and independent quality testing.

Gov. Chris Gregoire vetoed most of it, saying inspections opened state employees to federal jeopardy. Because federal law defines marijuana as a Schedule I drug, with no medical value, cannabis-infused foods are considered "adulterated" -- or unsafe -- products under federal food safety codes. Other medical marijuana states, including Colorado and Arizona, essentially ignore federal law and require inspections of medibles producers. But absent of a state law here requiring them, the Washington State Department of Agriculture, which oversees wholesale kitchens, follows federal guidelines. "Food products containing marijuana therefore fall outside WSDA jurisdiction because they aren't legal commercial products," said agency spokesman Jason Kelly. Public Health -- Seattle & King County, which inspects retail kitchens, also balks.

"Certainly we want to assure the food safety across the county, but the circumstances are a little unclear in this situation," said spokeswoman Hilary Karasz. State Sen. Jeanne Kohl-Welles, sponsor of the 2011 bill, may try again, depending on the election outcome in November. "That entrepreneurial spirit won't go away. There has to be some regulatory standards," she said. That spirit -- and a good idea -- hit Tim Mains and his sister last year: medicated mints. Rebecca Mains, who works in an upscale Seattle restaurant, experimented before settling on a recipe involving cannabis extract, that appeals to a more affluent niche of the medical marijuana market, her brother said. "You know exactly what you're getting when you eat one," said Tim Mains, a 29-year-old whose job history includes making T-shirts for fraternities and poker players. "So your first experience isn't overpowering and scary, it's mellow and pleasant."

 They manufacture in a friend's commercial kitchen, and debuted Mary Jane Mints at this year's Hempfest. Medibles, he said, "is going to be the next big thing." But it's not an easy business. Many commercial kitchens won't rent to medibles. And it remains risky, as evidenced by the recent DEA crackdown. "Technically what I'm doing is manufacturing a controlled substance," sighed Matt, 27, owner of soda maker Pack A Punch. For that reason, he didn't want his name used. One of the more successful medibles makers -- tattoos across his knuckles read "SELF MADE" -- Matt was among the first to list ingredients and design a flashy label. A bottle, he said, contains 21 mg of active THC and costs about $9. He and his six employees, all with food-handler permits, crank out about 15 cases of soda and 300 chocolate bars a month from the kitchen of his friend's bar, after closing time. Matt said he is a stickler for quality control and hygiene, even if no one is checking, for a good reason: "If someone gets sick from a soda, why would they want another?"

 The closest thing to quality control in the medical marijuana industry is the handful of local laboratories testing marijuana. They, too, work without state inspections, but look and feel like small biotech startups, spending $100,000 or more to launch. Their tests -- about $50 per sample, using varying methods -- provide results for six different chemical compounds -- or "cannabinoids" -- in marijuana, and can look for mold or pesticides, although those tests aren't popular. Growers, dispensaries and medibles makers are the customers, and display test results on the packaging like a seal of approval -- so long as they're positive results. Testing is particularly critical for medibles, said Klaas Hesselink, founder of CannaTest on Bainbridge.

 Otherwise, "it's throwing a handful of pills into the air, opening your mouth, and seeing what falls in," he said. The test for THC -- the magic cannabinoid -- is most popular; a finding of 21 percent can jack the per-pound price by $400. Other compounds, including those that provide pain relief without a high, are increasingly coveted among growers. Labs can also serve as marijuana's Consumer Reports. One lab, Analytical 360, based in Wallingford, published a test result in April showing an apple-flavored soda, supposedly chock-full of THC, had only trace amounts. Alex Prindle, a restaurateur who co-founded Northwest Botanical Analysis in Fremont, sees testing as a sign that the medical marijuana is maturing. "As more people test, the quality will go up." And it's overdue, especially in the unregulated medibles. "This is a product that's coming from some guy's basement, and it's being given to a cancer patient," said Prindle.

Shisha smoking rise prompts Manchester City Council and NHS to campaign in bid to 'save public's health'

The campaign will be launched across the city on Monday and will focus on raising awareness of the dangers and the health impact of shisha smoking. The drive will also involve enforcement of existing smoking legislation as youngsters continue to take up the habit. David Regan, director of public health, said: "Public health's joint work across the council and the NHS is highlighting health risks as there has been an alarming rise in the number of shisha bars and the number young people taking up smoking through this route.

“It is important that we educate young people so that it prevents the next generation from joining what seems to be a growing trend." Shisha is a water-pipe, popular in many Arab countries, in which fruit-scented tobacco is burnt using coal, passed through an ornate water vessel and inhaled through a hose. There is a common misconception that shisha is safer than cigarettes with many believing that the water filters out tobacco’s harmful substances. With the use of herbs or fruits as flavourings, the strength of the tobacco can also be masked.

Councillor Glynn Evans, Manchester City Council’s executive member for adults' health and wellbeing, said: “First and foremost we want to make people aware that smoking shisha is as dangerous as smoking cigarettes and is harmful to people's health. “Many people are still unaware that shisha pipes actually contain tobacco as the use of herbs or fruit as flavourings masks the tobacco, so we want to give them the facts.” Although research about shisha is fairly limited, early studies suggest it is associated with many of the same risks as cigarette smoking.

However research by ASH, the anti-smoking charity, into shisha smoking is complicated by the fact that many users are also cigarette smokers. Experts think regular shisha smokers can face many health problems including heart disease, respiratory disorders plus cancers of the lung, mouth and bladder. The World Health Organisation believes smoking shisha exposes the smoker to more smoke over a longer period of time than occurs when smoking a cigarette. It also believes second-hand smoke poses a serious risk for non-smokers because it contains smoke not only from tobacco but also the heat source used. The campaign also wants to advise users they may face a £50 fine for smoking shisha in a public place as it is illegal.

Michigan smoking ban didn't hurt businesses, health department study says

Michigan's law banning smokers from lighting up in bars and restaurants has had no negative impact on businesses, according to a study released Monday by the state's Department of Community Health. The Dr. Ron Davis Smoke-free Air Law went into effect in May 2010 amid complaints and dire predictions from businesses that sell alcohol. Yet the study, performed by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research, claims those concerns were unfounded. "It is important to note that while some establishments saw sales fluctuations after the passage (of the law), bars and restaurants as a whole were not adversely affected," health department Director James Haveman said in a news release.

"We commend Michigan bars and restaurants for their support in transitioning to a smoke-free environment as this law has also drastically improved the air quality in these establishments," he said. "There is no question that Michiganders have a healthier environment because of this important piece of legislation." Despite Haveman's assertions, others aren't sure the smoking ban has been so benign. For 17 years, Bo Burton has managed the Blarney Stone Pub, which sits on the west side of Woodward Avenue in Berkley.

And the 19-month period from the start of the ban until last December was one of the slowest periods he has seen. "Our overall sales dropped immediately by close to 30 percent," he said. "And this was at a time when the economy was already down. The timing couldn't have been worse." Burton said many patrons responded to the ban by spending more time at home — opening up their garages or living rooms to friends who wanted to have a few drinks and smoke in peace.

He added that he knows many bars that have gone under since the ban was enacted. In December, Burton and the owners of Blarney Stone shifted their focus from the pub emphasis of old, to a more food-oriented approach. That meant a new menu and new televisions around the service area. For their efforts, the operation has inched back up to sales numbers near the old days. "For a while there it was borderline whether we would stick it out or shut it down," he said. Researchers came to their conclusions after studying state sales tax collections from Michigan's bars, restaurants and establishments selling Club Keno tickets.

Quit Smoking With E Cigarette

Electronic cigarette user Gabor cannot help gushing about his new gadget. He said, “This is a great invention. The illusion is perfect and the nicotine craving is well handled. I can go now many hours without a real cigarette, without being bothered at all. I am a physician, a smoker. If there is a healthier alternative to cigarettes, electronic cigarette is it.” The fight against smoking has been a struggle, not only for private individuals who personally want to kick the habit, but also for governments who want to pursue a more health-conscious state.

Ever since the e cigarettes were introduced to the market, many people were intrigued by it, causing a sudden surge in demand. To cater to this demand, manufacturers and retailers started offering free starter kits of e cigarettes so that more people can try it out first to see if it would be something to their liking. Many people have already vouched for the efficiency of these e cigs, particularly because it allows them to maintain the act of smoking, without the harmful side effects. However, just as many are those people who frown upon the existence of these products, claiming that it does pose some significant amount of harm to its users.

They also claim that some of these electric cigarettes, which rely on vapor, still contain nicotine. By virtue of the presence of nicotine, the smokeless cigarettes are automatically perceived to be as harmful as any regular tobacco cigarette. However, studies – such as the one supported by the British medical society – have shown that: “Nicotine itself is not especially hazardous. If nicotine could be provided in a form that is acceptable and effective as a cigarette substitute, millions of lives could be saved.”

St. Louis couple charged in massive contraband cigarette scheme

A tobacco distributor closely watched by federal agents for a decade along with two relatives were charged in Kentucky with using phony invoices to avoid paying taxes on millions of dollars' worth of cigarettes sold in several states. A federal grand jury in Louisville on Thursday charged 42-year-old Pedro "Peter" Bello of Miami, his sister, Caridad Bello of St. Louis, and her husband, Juan Hernandez of St. Louis, with conspiracy to commit wire fraud and money laundering in an effort to avoid paying $2 million to Kentucky in taxes on cigarettes.

Pedro Bello's attorney, Kent Westberry of Louisville, said the new indictment does not change the substance of the allegations against his client. "Pete Bello still maintains his innocence on these charges," Westberry said. Caridad Bello and Hernandez did not have attorneys listed in the court record. Federal investigators have been tracking Pedro Bello since at least 2002, when prosecutors in Texas sought to secretly listen to cellphone conversations involving him. He was linked to several large-scale investigations and named in a civil lawsuit brought by the city of New York over untaxed cigarettes. A federal grand jury in Louisville initially charged him in October 2011, but re-indicted him Thursday with his sister and brother-in-law.

Authorities say he bought massive amounts of cigarettes in Kentucky but used invoices written by GT Northeast in Missouri, a company he owned in St. Louis, to avoid paying Kentucky sales taxes by making it appear that the sales originated in Missouri. He then sold the cigarettes around the country while pocketing bigger profits by avoiding the Kentucky tax. The indictment says that Bello's Louisville-based company GT Northeast avoided paying on $12 million worth of cigarettes it sold. Prosecutors want Bello to forfeit $2 million if he's convicted. The federal government has cracked down in recent years on contraband cigarettes— smokes sold by people and businesses through illegitimate channels to avoid paying taxes.

The Department of Justice estimates that federal, state and local governments lose out on $5 billion annually in tax revenue from the cigarette schemes. Pedro Bello's name has surfaced in several investigations at the heart of the ATF's crackdown. Federal court records from Kentucky, New York and Texas depict Bello as a man involved in moving millions of cigarettes around the country without paying taxes to various states. Bello was a subject of the Texas investigation in 2002 in which federal prosecutors sought to secretly listen in on the cellphones of dozens of people suspected of trafficking in contraband cigarettes.

He avoided indictment, but 15 others were charged, with 13 people pleading guilty or being convicted. Prison sentences ranged from a year to six years behind bars. The current case against Bello is also tied to an ongoing civil forfeiture case in Kentucky against Chavez Inc., which sold cigarettes online before federal investigators shut it down in 2009. Bello is mentioned frequently in a search warrant for Chavez Inc. The company is suspected of selling $132 million in cigarettes online while avoiding paying a variety of taxes to states, including $2.3 million in excise taxes to Kentucky. Chavez Inc., and its owners, Israel Chavez of Louisville and his ex-wife, Pam Chavez of Stockton, Calif., have not been charged criminally.

Feds say drop in cash spent on tobacco promotion

The nation's top tobacco companies spent less money on advertising and promotion of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products in recent years, according to the latest data from the Federal Trade Commission. Numbers released Friday show cigarette marketing decreased more than 5 percent to $8.05 billion in 2010, the latest year available, compared with a year earlier. Meanwhile, cigarette sales decreased about 3 percent to 281.6 billion cigarettes in the same period.

As in years past, much of the money spent by cigarette makers, about 81 percent or $6.49 billion, was for price discounts paid to retailers and wholesalers to reduce the price of cigarettes to consumers as the average price per pack continued to increase to $5.73 in 2010. Rising prices stemmed from a large federal tax increase on tobacco products in 2009, coupled with various state tax increases. In 2009, the Food and Drug Administration also was given authority to regulate the industry, which included further marketing restrictions, including a ban on tobacco companies sponsoring athletic, social and cultural events or offering free samples or branded merchandise.

Several other tobacco marketing changes are being challenged in federal court. According to the latest numbers, money spent on marketing smokeless tobacco products decreased nearly 10 percent to $444.2 million from 2009 to 2010 as sales increased 6.5 percent. Companies spent about 19 percent, or $95 million, on price discounts to wholesalers and retailers in order to reduce prices to consumers in 2010. Smokeless tobacco advertising and promotion had reached an all-time high of $547.9 million in 2008 as tobacco companies look for cigarette alternatives for sales growth as tax hikes, smoking bans, health concerns and social stigma make the cigarette business tougher.

The share of Americans who smoke has fallen dramatically since 1970, from nearly 40 percent to about 20 percent, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. But the decline has stalled since about 2004, with about 46 million adults in the U.S. smoking cigarettes. It's unclear why it hasn't budged, but some experts have cited tobacco company discount coupons on cigarettes and lack of funding for programs to discourage smoking or to help smokers quit. According to the most recent federal data, about 3.5 percent of American adults use smokeless tobacco.

The Federal Trade Commission has issued reports on cigarette marketing since 1967, and similar reports on smokeless tobacco since 1987. It looks at data from the top tobacco companies including: Richmond, Va.-based Altria Group Inc., parent company of Marlboro maker Philip Morris USA; Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc.; Lorillard Inc., based in Greensboro, N.C.; and Commonwealth Brands Inc., the Bowling Green, Ky.-based subsidiary of the British company Imperial Tobacco.

Warren bar owner's smoking ban suit dismissed

A Warren bar owner's lawsuit challenging the state's smoking ban was dismissed by the state Court of Appeals without the court addressing the issue of the law's constitutionality. In a three-paragraph memorandum issued Thursday, the appellate court said the lawsuit was moot because the bar, Sporty O'Toole's, had since gone out of business and owner Boyd Cottrell told the court he doesn't plan to open another. Because the bar is closed, it's no longer affected by the ban, therefore there's no reason to continue the lawsuit, the court said.

Cottrell challenged the constitutionality of the smoking ban in a lawsuit against the Macomb County Health Department after his bar was twice cited for smoking ban violations in 2010. Cottrell paid the first $100 fine, but refused to pay the second $500 fine, and instead opted to challenge the law. He bought Sporty O'Toole's two weeks before the smoking ban was approved by the Legislature in 2009. The law went into effect May 1, 2010. Cottrell's attorney, Theodore Andris, could not be reached Friday for comment.

I won’t raise amusement tax, but cigarette tax hike possible

Mayor Rahm Emanuel on Tuesday ruled out raising the city’s amusement tax, but kept alive a cigarette tax hike provided the money is spent on improving children’s health. The Chicago Sun-Times reported last week that Emanuel was considering a one percentage point increase in the amusement tax — to 10 percent — that would have left Chicago with the highest ticket tax in the nation. On Tuesday, Emanuel took the amusement tax increase off the table and added it to the list of local taxes he has promised not to raise.

It happened when the mayor was asked whether he’s concerned that yet another increase in the cigarette tax would prompt even more smokers to drive across state lines to purchase cartons of cigarettes at a cheaper price. “Well, first of all I haven’t made a decision on that, but I can say this: There’ll be no property tax increase. There’ll be no sales tax increase. There’ll be no fuel tax increase. We’re eliminating the per-employee head tax, which was a job-killer. We’re doing it ahead of schedule. And there will be no amusement tax increase,” the mayor said.

“If we do consider [raising] the cigarette tax, it has to invest in children’s health.” The mayor’s spokeswoman Sarah Hamilton later disclosed that Emanuel has also ruled out a fee for garbage collection that would have mirrored the fees imposed in many suburbs. Chicago’s per-pack cigarette tax was increased by 32 cents in 2005 and by 20 cents in 2006. That raised the city’s tax to a whopping 68 cents. At $4.67-a-pack, Chicago now has the nation’s second-highest combined state and local tax rate on cigarettes. New York City tops the list at $5.85-a-pack. Chicago’s two-tiered amusement tax was last increased in 2009 — from 4 to 5 percent for mid-sized venues and from 8 to 9 percent for large sporting events.

The lower tax rate applies to live theatrical, musical and cultural performances in venues with more than 750 seats. Smaller theaters are exempt. Until an ill-timed controversy over the conservative politics of Joe Ricketts, patriarch of the billionaire family that owns the Cubs, team owner Tom Ricketts was still hoping to use 35 years’ worth of amusement tax growth to help finance a $300 million renovation of Wrigley Field. Emanuel was prepared to sign off on that plan, a $150 million variation of a financing scheme he once called a “non-starter.”

The other $150 million would have come from relaxing Wrigley’s landmark status to allow the Cubs to wring more advertising and sponsorship revenue out of the stadium. Any increase in the amusement tax would have increased the city’s $88.2 million-a-year take and reduced the number of years the Cubs would need to siphon growth to renovate Wrigley. But it would also have encountered strong opposition from live theaters, movie theaters and from Chicago’s five professional sports franchises: the Cubs, Sox, Bears, Bulls and Black Hawks. City Hall announced last week that a 2013 budget shortfall pegged at $369 million just two months ago has been reduced to $298 million, thanks to rising revenues and greater than anticipated savings from the mayor’s “wellness” plan to curb skyrocketing health care costs.

That allowed Emanuel to move up by six months his plan to eliminate the head tax. Emanuel’s first budget was balanced with $220 million in taxes, fines and fees and 535 layoffs. It doubled water and sewer rates over the next four years, locked in annual cost-of-living increases after that and raised city sticker fees by $10 to $15, also followed by annual inflationary increases. It raised the city’s hotel tax from 3.5 to 4.5 percent, hiked a laundry list of criminal, nuisance and parking fines and imposed a $2-a-weekday hike in parking taxes billed as a “congestion fee,” even though it is confined neither to rush periods nor congested downtown and River North areas.

Aldermen also signed off on the mayor’s plan to close three district police stations and eliminate 1,252 police vacancies to save $82 million. This year, the mayor is planning “targeted layoffs” and more “managed competition” between city employees and private contractors, including vehicle booting. Police and fire cuts that could be substantial must await the outcome of contract talks with those unions. That will force Emanuel to include a placeholder pay raise for police officers, firefighters and paramedics that may or may not be big enough.

Tobacco Companies Cough Up Campaign Cash In California

Tobacco companies have spent more than $49 million in campaign contributions in California over the last 18 months. A new report from the American Lung Association lays out exactly what the companies spent their money on. The report is based on figures from the Secretary of State. It reveals tobacco companies spent more than $46 million to defeat a tobacco tax initiative on the June ballot.

They laid out an additional $1.6 million to persuade lawmakers to vote against certain bills. The American Lung Association's Lindsay Freitas said tobacco companies also gave money to candidates campaigns. "I think the legislators themselves need to be aware of what it means when they take this money. They're taking money from these industries that have a real poor track record," Freitas argued. Since the 2003-2004 election cycle, tobacco companies have spent nearly $126 million on political activities in California.

FDA taps 6 ad agencies, including Mullen, for anti-tobacco campaign

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The Food and Drug Administration has chosen six ad agencies to help it develop and implement large-scale, nationwide public health education campaigns designed to change attitudes and behaviors toward using tobacco.

 The agency confirmed today that agencies handling different tasks under the contract include Mullen Communications, WPP’s Grey Global Group, independent agency Riester, the American Legacy Foundation, True North Communications (DraftFCB), and Interpublic Group’s Campbell-Ewald. The maximum ceiling for the contract, which was devised a year ago, is $390 million over a period of five years. The agency said tobacco use causes more than 400,000 deaths each year in the United States, about one out of every five deaths.