Number of licences to grow tobacco more than doubles since quota system nixed

It was supposed to be a goner, but after shrivelling to near extinction, Ontario's tobacco crop is ready to rebound big-time this year.

And for at least one industry observer and critic, the rebound doesn't pass the smell test and is being done on the backs of taxpayers.

The number of people licensed to grow tobacco this year has more than doubled, to 264 under a new licence system from 118 under the old quota system. After years of dwindling tobacco production, the federal government scrapped the quota system two years ago. Tobacco growers, mostly centred in the Elgin-Oxford-Norfolk area, were paid a total of $286 million for their quota in return for a vow to get out of the industry permanently.

Fred Neukamm, chairpman of the Ontario Flue-Cure Tobacco Growers Marketing Board, estimates this year's tobacco crop should jump to 22.5 million kilograms, up from 10 million kilograms last year.

That's far below the peak production of 108 milloin kilograms in 1974, but it's roughly equal to Canada's annual consumption of cigarette tobacco, said Neil Collishaw of Ottawa-based Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada.

Collishaw said that because of loopholes in the exit program, many of the same tobacco growers that took the buyout are back in business by striking a deal with a licence holder who could be a friend or relative who did not take the buyout.

With the rebound of tobacco production, he said, the federal tobacco buyout program appears to have done little but enrich tobacco quota holders, while tobacco production has rebounded enough to meet domestic demand.

"Tobacco growers can thank the taxpayers," Collishaw said.

But Neukamm said the number of producers and the crop size has increased because manufacturers are putting more Ontario tobacco back in their cigarettes.

Under the new system, farmers sell their tobacco on contract directly to manufacturers. Under the old marketing board system, manufacturers paid a premium price for Ontario tobacco and gradually substituted it for cheaper imported tobacco.

'Smoking ban violated my human rights 'claims High Down prisoner

An man addicted to cigarettes is seeking compensation after a prison officer denied him tobacco for a week as punishment for bad behaviour. 

Jack Richard Foster, a prisoner at HMP High Down, in the border of Banstead and Sutton, decided to take action after a prison officer he swore at decided to discipline him by not allowing him to smoke. 

His lawyers claimed today (Tuesday, March 23) at High Court that his human rights were violated and he should have been given nicotine patches or gum to satisfy his cravings during the ban. 

The court was told Foster was denied tobacco and earnings for seven days, and had his canteen privileges removed for 14 days in February 2008 when he was 19 years old and a young offender at the jail. 

Philip Rule, representing Foster, said the punishment was in violation of his rights under the 1998 Human Rights Act. 

Foster intends to claim damages under the European Convention on Human Rights if the case succeeds, the court heard. 

A spokesman for the Ministry of Justice said: “We cannot comment on ongoing investigations.” 

The case has been adjourned and a date for a new hearing is yet to be set.

50-cent cigarette tax passes in Senate

The Senate gave final passage to a 50-cent cigarette tax increase Wednesday, closing debate, at least temporarily, on an issue lawmakers have wrestled with for years.

The vote to hike the cigarette tax, which has been stuck at 7 cents a pack since the 1970s, was 32-12, which is a slight erosion in support from the Senate's initial approval of the measure before Easter.

The increase goes to the House now, which approved a 30- cents a pack cigarette tax increase in its budget several weeks ago. 

Republican Gov. Mark Sanford is expected to veto the Senate measure, however.

If Senate support holds, however, the margin the bill passed with Wednesday is sufficient to override Sanford.

The major change made to the bill the Senate approved 10 days ago is where money will come from to fund an I-95 Authority for infrastructure development, and to promote S.C. agriculture.

That $4 million will now come from interest accrued by the tobacco settlement several years ago, which lawmakers said averages about $10 million a year.

Under the amended cigarette tax bill passed by the Senate, $3 million will go for infrastructure development in counties adjoining the high-poverty I-95 corridor, and $1 million will go for agriculture promotion.

Promoted by Sen. John Land, D-Clarendon, with the aid of Finance Committee chairman Hugh Leatherman, R-Florence, and Glenn McConnell, R-Charleston, the amendment earmarks the $4 million only when it is available and not otherwise obligated, lawmakers said.

The amendment, which was passed by the same 32-12 margin as the overall bill, was further altered by Sen. Greg Ryberg, R-Aiken, so that the I-95 provision automatically sunsets after five years, though lawmakers could vote to stop the subsidy at any time.

In order for the cash-strapped I-95 counties to receive the tobacco interest money, they must put up a $2 match for each $1 they receive.

Land said development along I-95 has not blossomed because there is no water and sewage service readily available along the interstate, which is a costly necessity for business development.

The Senate-passed cigarette tax increase also includes money for cancer treatment at MUSC in Charleston, and for smoking cessation programs, both of which also were included in the pre-Easter bill.