Smoking Warnings on Cigs Packs, Canada News

Warning labels covering 75% of cigarette packs in Canada are now the fourth largest in the world, according to an international report released Wednesday by the Canadian Cancer Society. The report, which ranked 198 countries and jurisdictions on the size of cigarette warning labels, was unveiled at a Conference of the Parties to the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control in Seoul, South Korea. "Increasing the size increases the effectiveness of the warning. That's been demonstrated by countless research studies," said policy analyst Rob Cunningham. Canada was the first country to require picture warnings on 50% cigarette packages in 2001. But in 2010, the Canadian Cancer Society ranked Canada fifteenth for its warning labels prior to new rules unveiled by the government in 2011.

Altria Waste Smokers Money

Stock buybacks are generally considered a bullish signal on Wall Street. They return capital to shareholders, while declaring management's belief that its own cheap shares are its best return on investment. As long as profits remain consistent, share repurchases can even increase earnings per share, by dividing the same amount of earnings among a smaller pool of shares outstanding. But don't forget -- a company isn't obligated to repurchase shares just because it announced its intention to do so. So don't use the announcement as a reason to buy by itself, rather use it as a launching pad for additional research. Tobacco giant Altria (NYS: MO) saw profits tumble 44% as it recorded a $0.28-per-share charge from extinguishing high-cost borrowings and substituting in lower-cost debt. Backing out those charges, however, saw earnings match expectations of $0.58 a share, but that hasn't helped its stock, which has fallen 12% from the 52-week highs it hit back in August.

Tobacco Use and Sugar

Is sugar the new tobacco? That’s a question with a growing buzz around the nation, especially after the City of New York’s bold move to ban large, sugary beverages in restaurants, cafes and movie theatres. By now it’s no secret. It’s a known medical fact that sugar is packed not only with nutritionally “empty” calories but it’s a veritable appetite stimulate. Some even argue that sugar is an addictive drug and should be regulated just like alcohol or tobacco. A study released by the American Health Trust this September found Michigan to be the fifth fattest state in the union.

Tobacco Advertising Stricter, Australian Consumers

Australian consumers are still subjected to tobacco advertising despite strict legislation, through pro-smoking smartphone apps with global reach, according to a study from the University of Sydney. Sydney University has claimed the easy availability of pro-smoking apps with global reach is in violation of Australia's ban on tobacco advertising. "The regulation of these apps is lagging behind the legislation in Australia and many other countries which ban tobacco advertising including through the internet and virtual stores," said Nasser Dhim, lead author of the study and a PhD candidate from Sydney University's School of Public Health. "This is despite the fact that the Apple and Android app stores have the technological infrastructure to block the sale of apps in accordance with local laws. As we show in our study Apple has already used this technology to ban access to certain content on its app store, in both China and Saudi Arabia."

No Secondhand Smoke in San Rafael, Tobacco-Free Policy

In San Rafael, California it now illegal to smoke cigarettes in multi family homes including duplexes and condominiums. Reuters reported that the 57,000 populated town of San Rafael in Northern California has created the ban, voting unanimously and hope to set an example. Mayor Gary Phillips said before they voted to Reuters, "We are happy to blaze a trail. We're most happy to be in the forefront of the issue because we think it will greatly benefit our residents and those visiting San Rafael, and we think it will set the tone for other cities as well." Some, such as Stanford University history of science professor, Robert Proctor believe that the ban will spread to other cities. He said to Reuters, "We're on the downslope of a big curve. Smoking peaked in 1981 with 630 billion cigarettes sold in the United States. Now it's down to 350 billion. And that number will keep on going down until smoking is a distant memory."

Cigarettes Clients Age Limit Increased

Walpole’s Board of Health may consider upping the allowable age to purchase tobacco and cigarettes from 18 to 21 years old after hearing an area doctor’s plea Tuesday night. Dr. Lester Hartman, a physician at Westwood Mansfield Pediatrics, told the board he’s asking more than a dozen area towns to raise the age to curb teen tobacco use. “If we want to prevent addiction in children, this is what we need to do,” Hartman said. In October of 2010, Walpole was one of the first towns to ban the sale of cigarettes and tobacco products in pharmacies. Selectmen, police officers and school leaders are also focusing on youth substance abuse as of late, helping the coalition on drug and alcohol abuse take more initiative in the community. “As a town and board we’ve been very active in that area,” chairman Bill Morris said. Morris already expressed support for upping the age to 21. “I absolutely agree with you, and I don’t know very many adults who just decide to take up smoking,” Morris said. “It’s an intriguing concept.”

Smoke-Free City, Himachal Chewing Tobacco Banned

Gutka, Kheni and other tobacco products vanished from the shops in Himachal Pradesh as the ban on these goods came into force in the state today. A complete ban had been imposed on sale, manufacture, storage and distribution of tobacco products like Gutka, Kheni and Pan Masala in the state from Gandhi Jayanti, an official spokesman said. “A large number of customers are asking for Gutka whose sale has been banned now,” said a shop owner on the Mall Road here. The state government had taken the decision to ban Gutka and other tobacco products on July 13 this year.

Illegal Cigarettes Found in Hull

More than 60,000 illicit cigarettes bound for the UK have been seized by border officials at Port of Hull. Officers from Border Force found the haul concealed in a specially adapted lorry that arrived on a ferry from Rotterdam. The cigarettes were discovered hidden inside hollow metal beams underneath the trailer's load of wet wipe tissues. The lorry, which was travelling to Flint, Wales, was registered in Poland and had a Polish driver. The cigarettes, which totalled 63,680, were seized and will now be destroyed. Following investigation, no further action will be taken against the driver.

Tobacco Tax Raise State Revenue, Yunnan Authorities

The application by Yunnan authorities to sell 400,000 more cartons of cigarettes in order to raise tax revenue to spend on earthquake relief makes me feel very uncomfortable. At present, it's common to see local governments short of money. In the first seven months of this year, the national fiscal revenue increased 11.6 percent year-on-year. However, the growth rate dropped by 18.9 percentage points and the fiscal situation of local governments is not optimistic, with a deficit gap of 1.5807 trillion yuan ($249.6 billion). In cases of sudden disaster, local governments are very likely to be stretched in dispatching relief and financial resources. Therefore, it is reasonable for the Yunnan government to raise relief funds by using every means available after the earthquake. Nevertheless, we can't help suspect the real motives behind applying for an increased quota to sell more cigarettes are quite different.

Cigarettes Tax Hike Passes, Iowa Tobacco Retailers

Tobacco retailers on the Iowa side of the Missouri River could see a big boost in business as Omaha leaders consider a new cigarette tax. The proposal would add 35-cents per pack to the cost of cigarettes sold in Omaha, which Omaha Tobacco Outlet owner Bob Wagner fears will send his store’s profits into the ashtray. “Any tax is horrible,” Wagner says. “My customers are so price-conscious, if they can get a carton from a competitor of mine who is three miles down the road, I’m going to be hard-pressed.” Omaha leaders are considering the cigarette tax hike as a way to help pay for the construction of a new cancer treatment and research center at the University of Nebraska Medical Center.

Maryland Proposes Tax on Tobacco Products

Tobacco, cigarettes are one of the major causes of today’s higher mortality rates, with several hundreds of youngsters falling into the habit of smoking each year. However, in order to tackle the conditions, governments have taken up several steps, be it banning smoking outdoors or in public areas or near schools or playgrounds, or the introduction of plain packaging. This new proposal suggested by Maryland government of imposing taxes on cigarettes, will surely bring about a significant change. Taxing can discourage the use of cigarettes, tobacco. The initiative will be beneficiary in three ways, health benefits, economically and also individual benefits.

Japanese Cigarette Maker Examined by EU

A Japanese cigarette manufacturer is being probed by European Union anti-fraud investigators amid accusations that it smuggled cigarettes to Syria despite sanctions upon that country, EU officials confirmed on Tuesday. "We have an investigation going on. These allegations concern a number of items, among them smuggling," Johan Wullt, a spokesman for the anti-fraud office OLAF, told dpa. He declined to give any more details, including information on how far the investigation into Japan Tobacco Inc (JTI) has progressed. A spokeswoman for the EU‘s executive, the European Commission, noted that the independent OLAF "doesn‘t investigate sanction breaches as such," but would focus on smuggling allegations, "including smuggling that would involve the breaching of sanctions."

Smoke-Free Carolina Beach

Although it's not time to put out the cigarettes just yet, Carolina Beach is one step closer to becoming the state's first smoke-free beach. The Carolina Beach Town Council voted 4-1 Tuesday evening to pass an ordinance to ban smoking on the beach with an effective date to come from the state legislature. Mayor Ray Rothrock voted against the move, saying he wanted to focus instead on beefing up a litter ordinance rather than an outright ban. Councilman Lonnie Lashley made the motion and included the provision about the effective date in response to legal advice that suggests the beach does not fall under the state's definition of public grounds. The beach is not enclosed and therefore cannot be subject to local enforcement of such a law without enabling legislation from the General Assembly.

Smokers Liquidate Smoking Habit

An initiative to stop people smoking is said to be working. Stop Smoking Wales has said 16,000 smokers were given an appointment to attend a the six- week behavioural support programme in the past year. Of those, 8,000 went on to six-week programmes in their area to help them quit. The figures are included in the free NHS service's annual report. It said a rise in calls was also seen after the installation of a telephone system in August, 2011. There were 28,000 calls, twice the number of received in 2008/09. The report also said how nearly 700 health and community workers had been trained in a short course to help smokers, and an e-learning module had been launched for this training which also helped them offer further advice in aiding smokers who wished to stop. According to the report, help has also been given in hospitals after they joined with Stop Smoking Wales. Hospitals have been advising of the risks of smoking and the effects it has post-operation. Midwives have also been continuing their work with patients who are pregnant, a program which was started in 2009/10. Dr Hugo Van Woerden, director of health and healthcare improvement for Public Health Wales, said: "This report demonstrates the progress made in specific priority areas in maternity services with pregnant women who smoke and in pre-operative patients who smoke and who are waiting for surgery.

Tax Increase Don’t Cause Contraband Cigarette

Tax rises have not led to increased smuggling of tobacco, according to Customs’ statistics. Earlier this week documents from the New Zealand Customs Service were made available, showing that increasing tobacco taxes have not led to a rise in the black market trade of cigarettes. According to the Customs Service, no significant seizures of cigarettes have been made in New Zealand in the three years ending 2010, indicating that the rising tobacco taxes have not lead to illegal imports of cigarettes. The Service claimed that the illicit trade of tobacco products in New Zealand largely revolves around individuals bringing small amounts of cigarettes into New Zealand when they arrive back into the country after traveling.

Cigarettes Taxes and Smoking Rates

In a surprise move last night, Minister of Finance Yuval Steinitz signed an amendment to the excise and purchase tax order, which immediately raises taxes on cigarettes and beer. A 10% tax is also being imposed on stocks of cigarettes already held by businesses. The new taxes will earn the government extra annual revenues of between NIS 700 million and NIS 1 billion. Under the terms of the order, tax rates on cigarettes will rise from 260.6% to 278.6%. The expected influence of the tax will be to add NIS 2.4-2.9 per pack of cigarettes.

Pennsylvania Smoke-Free Parks

Pennsylvania is considering a ban on cigarette smoking at state parks. The plan is still on the drawing board. But officials say it’s a possibility after complaints from park goers about smoking and cigarette butts littering the landscape. After weeks of warm weather, the beach at Ricketts Glen State Park in Luzerne County has been a popular place and the remains of smoking park-goers are easy to find. There are cigarette butts on the beach. There are butts in the picnic areas. There are butts in many parts of the park. “They clean it and you can still see some around and it’s just not like, it doesn’t fit the environment, you know,” said Nicholas Kinney of Forty Fort. A state spokesperson said complaints about all the butts are the main reason a smoking ban is under consideration. Second hand smoke is a concern too.

Cigarette Sales Prohibited in Schools

Retail sale of cigarettes or “yosi by tingi” should not be allowed in schools, said an official of the Catholic Church. Father Conegundo Garganta, executive secretary of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Episcopal Commission on Youth (CBCP-ECY), said the ban on cigarette sale, especially its retail sale, should have been implemented a long time ago in schools for it exposes and encourages the youth to smoke. “This should have been done long ago. This should have been included in banning around schools practices and vices that exposes the youth to vulnerability,” Garganta said. Garganta said since cigarette sticks only cost around R2.50 each, any student can very well afford to buy it.

Tobacco Companies are Ceducing Women

Women and girls are lured into the habit by ‘superslim’ branding. The Irish Cancer Society held a conference in Dublin yesterday and told how one in three Irish women are believed to be smokers. They said females are key targets in an industry that needs to recruit new smokers to replace those killed by fags. Tobacco companies have developed brands to appeal specifically to ladies. Superslim cigarettes have been a key product — and packaging using light, feminine colors and names seen to be less harmful and more attractive. Kathleen O’Meara of the ICS said: “Big tobacco firms are misleading women with products which link smoking to femininity and sophistication. “We’re warning women and young girls that the tobacco industry is manipulating them into an addiction that kills one in two smokers. “We are now facing a lung cancer crisis.” More women are now dying in Ireland from lung cancer than from breast cancer. The disease killed 702 women in 2010 compared to 634 from breast cancer.

Social Smoking Very Popular, E-Cigs

Social Smoking wants to give smokers a choice with electronic cigarettes. They offer smokers a choice from cancer causing tobacco products. They are hoping to get smokers back into their social lives while allowing them to continue enjoying their smoking choice. Social Smoking is an electronic cigarette company out of Charlotte, NC. They want to help smokers kick their tobacco habit and get back into their social lives. The owners, being social smokers themselves, were concerned with not being able to continue their smoking lifestyle and hanging out with friends so they tried electronic cigarettes and were hooked.

Cigarette Companies Appeal Smokers

Smoking is one of those bad habits that can seem impossible to break. Now, the courts are working their hardest to get compensation for smokers. A Fort Lauderdale court awarded $75 million to the family of a deceased cigarette smoker this week. Mrs. Calloway blamed cigarette companies for her husband's death in 1992 and now the cigarette companies have to pay. The Philip Morris, J. Reynolds, Lorillard and Liggett cigarette companies can appeal verdicts and they are often able to reduce damage awards from the court. Cigarette cases are tried individually, and the Calloway case is just one of thousands in the state of Florida. Back in 2006 the Supreme Court discarded a class action verdict worth $145 billion. The ruling states that smokers just need to prove that they were addicted to cigarettes and that they were the cause of death.

Women Smoke Menthol Cigarettes

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is currently considering whether to ban the use of menthol as an additive to cigarettes. Mentholated cigarettes account for roughly 30 percent of cigarettes sold in the United States, and they are favored by African-American smokers by roughly a threefold margin compared to white smokers. They are also favored by women smokers. A major aspect of the FDA charge is to determine whether use of mentholated cigarettes is more harmful than use of non-mentholated cigarettes.

Cigarettes Packages Lead to Health Risks

A recent test on gutkha packets by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) has revealed that most tobacco packets contain the banned toxic chemical magnesium carbonate, the quantity of which is as high as seven per cent. According to oncologists, magnesium carbonate can cause unusual health risks, which include stomach ulcers, irreparable damage to lining of oral cavity among others. Dr Pankaj Chaturvedi, neck, and head cancer surgeon at Tata Memorial Hospital (TMH) said, “Magnesium carbonate can cause numerous complications; these range from hypo-tension, nausea, vomiting, respiratory depression, loss of deep tendon reflex, dilated pupils, altered mental status, and coma.

Tax-Free Tobacco Limit Suspended

Due to strong lobbying by the duty free shops at Ben-Gurion Airport and the tobacco companies, the limit of one carton of tax-free cigarettes Israelis traveling abroad will be allowed to purchase – instead of the current two – will take effect only on April 24. The World Health Organization’s Framework Convention on Tobacco Control – which Israel ratified – calls for the complete barring of duty-free tobacco products at airports and seaports. The Knesset Finance Committee approved on Monday morning the Finance Ministry’s orders to halve the number of cigarette cartons allowed for sale without duty. The Health Ministry recommended that no tobacco products at all be given duty-free status, but pressure from vested interests watered down the legislative action. The duty-free chain James Richardson told the committee that without such cigarette sales, their profits would plummet and airport taxes for passengers would rise.

Tobacco Market a Hard Business

Somebody forgot to tell investors that cigarettes are a declining business.The S&P 500 tobacco index has beaten the market, jumping 13% so far this year after surging 36% in 2011. While the U.S. tobacco industry must wrestle with falling cigarette sales, rising taxes and potential litigation headaches, dividend hunters can't kick the industry's lush payouts. "The products tobacco companies make are abhorrent, . . . but they are amazing businesses," says Darren McKiernan, a portfolio manager with Invesco Canada. "The beautiful thing about it is that these companies generate so much cash," he added. "They pay out 50% to 75% of their earnings in the form of dividends, and they buy back stock."

Smoking Regulations Stricter in Santa Monica

That's the message in Hermosa Beach, where a push to comprehensively stamp out smoking is under way. And four months after approving a ban on smoking in public gathering areas - including outdoor dining areas on Pier Plaza - city leaders have embarked on an outreach program to spread the word. Based on smoking regulations in Santa Monica and Calabasas, the Hermosa Beach smoking law all but bans lighting up in places where the public congregates. Smoking will be outlawed in Pier Plaza and outdoor dining areas, public parks and parking lots, the pier and Strand, and the greenbelt, the pedestrian path between Valley Drive and Ardmore Avenue The ordinance takes effect Thursday. "While California has some of the strictest laws in the nation regarding tobacco control, it's clear state law falls short when it comes to protecting the public from second-hand smoke in outdoor gathering areas," said Councilman Jeff Duclos, who first proposed the ordinance in November 2010. "It's because of this that it has become the mantle of the city to take this on and protect the public safety and health of its residents."

Illegal Foreign Smoking Products

The supply of expensive smuggled cigarette brands is likely to dry up for upper echelons of the federal capital, including foreigners and bureaucrats, after the Federal Bureau of Revenue (FBR) moved to check the influx of non-duty paid cigarettes. The Inland Revenue’s Directorate-General of Intelligence and Investigation is learned to have formed a number of mobile teams to survey all markets of Islamabad and Rawalpindi. Sources said that Islamabad was the hub of policymakers, but the consumption of expensive cigarette brands had become a status symbol for the federal capital’s elite. After the scope of an earlier exercise to check the availability of non-duty paid cigarettes limited to local cigarette manufacturers was broadened to include smuggled foreign cigarettes, the Inland Revenue’s directorate of intelligence would be keeping a close watch over the consumption and the quantity of such cigarettes.

Smoke-Free Haddad Park

Parks and Recreation Committee advanced a measure that would ban smoking at Haddad Riverfront Park during public events. Committee members unanimously approved the resolution and forwarded it to the full City Council with a recommendation it be approved. Committee members also struck a section from the ordinance that would have allowed the host of an event to create special smoking sections within the park. The ban would prohibit smoking from the northern shore of the Kanawha River, through the seating and to the edge of the sidewalk along the southern side of Kanawha Boulevard. The non-smoking area also would include the park from Capitol Street to the Court Street overlook and pavilion. The resolution prohibits the smoking of a pipe, cigar, or cigarette "of any kind containing any tobacco product or any kind of weed or plant." Parks and Recreation Chairwoman Susie Salisbury, a Charleston councilwoman from Fort Hill, said the smoking ban also would apply to performers and stagehands. People leaving boats also would not be allowed to smoke. "Someone stepping off their boat onto the dock can't have a cigarette in their hand," she said.

Philip Morris Tobacco Business, Pakistan Cigarettes Market

Philip Morris Pakistan Limited is a public listed company on the Karachi and Lahore Stock Exchanges and is an affiliate of Philip Morris International Inc (PMI). Amongst the two multinational tobacco companies in Pakistan, Philip Morris Pakistan Limited (formerly known as Lakson Tobacco) stands at number two to Pakistan Tobacco Company. The tobacco company is involved in the manufacture and sale of cigarettes for the domestic market. It currently operates three cigarette factories with primary and secondary facilities and one tobacco leaf threshing plant, all located in various parts of the country.It also runs an extensive tobacco leaf agronomy programme in the tobacco growing areas of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

Tobacco Use on Campus Examined

St. Olaf may be a dry campus, but it is certainly not to- bacco-free. It is not uncommon to walk out of Buntrock Commons and bump into several students smoking on sur- rounding benches or just outside of the doors. This occurs outside of the entrance to dorms as well, and the phenom- enon is not limited to cigarettes. Students also use pipes, hookahs and cigars. The fact that some students on campus smoke does not mean that St. Olaf is experiencing a tobacco-addiction epi- demic. However, the amount of tobacco use on campus gave students Miriam Brown ’12 and Juliette Gibes ’14 enough cause to present a documentary entitled “Tobacco: The Un- filtered Truth” in Viking Theater on Tuesday, March 27. By doing so, they sought to educate students about the hard- ships of tobacco addiction and quitting.

Teen Smoking Truth

Millions of teens smoke cigarettes every day, some start smoking as early as 11 years old. Why has teen smoking become a huge problem, why has there become such an increase in smoking? Statistics state that over 8,000 teens started smoking or had their first cigarette by the age of 13, while 3 million teens start smoking by the age of 16. Teens that smoke are 3 times more likely to use alcohol. 8 times more likely to smoke pot, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine, while 6 million teens continue to smoke even though they know the risks. A 2001 survey showed that 69.4% of teens smokers reported never being asked proof of age to buy cigarettes and 62.4% of teens being able to buy cigarettes even though the retailer knew they were under age.

Brazil Prohibits Smoking in Public Places

Brazilian President Dilma Rousseff has signed a law banning smoking tax free Bond cigarettes in public spaces. Smoking in all enclosed public spaces is forbidden in the new law, reported Xinhua. It also prohibits tobacco advertising such as posters or banners at sale places. Previously the ban was only imposed on TV, radio and billboards advertising. In addition, the law increases the taxes and establishes minimum prices over the tobacco products to discourage buyers. Cigarettes prices are expected to increase 20 percent in 2012 and 55 percent by 2015.Health warnings are also required on both sides of cigarette packs to alert consumers about the consequences of their smoking habit.

Smoking Ban in Parks

The Board of Clark County Commissioners on Wednesday indicated they will not support a ban on smoking in county parks. The Vancouver City Council voted in December to ban all smoking and tobacco use in city parks and recreation centers. The three county commissioners, however, said during a work session that they like a 2005 policy that declared outdoor recreation sites as voluntary tobacco-free zones. Signs are posted at designated areas — such as playgrounds and restrooms — but there’s no penalty for lighting up. Pete Mayer, director of Vancouver-Clark Parks & Recreation, said the Parks and Recreation Advisory Commission recommended a smoking ban in 2010.

Outdoor Smoking and Tobacco Urge

Naomi Ohayon, a 52-year-old mother of four, smoked for over 30 years until she quit the habit — hopefully for good — a month ago. “I’d tried just about every stop-smoking discount Esse cigarettes program out there,” Ohayon said from her home in the southern city of Beersheva. “Once, I quit for three days, the other times I couldn’t stop at all.” Ohayon, who has asthma and chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), said she became increasingly motivated to kick the habit as her health deteriorated. “I couldn’t breathe. It was difficult to sleep. I desperately wanted to quit but I was addicted. But my oldest son begged me to quit, over and over, so I kept trying,” she said.

Indiana Smoking Ban Law

Some Indiana legislators are expected to push for exempting bars and certain other locations from a bill calling for a broad statewide smoking ban. Proposed amendments to the bill could face debate as soon as Thursday afternoon in the Indiana House. As the bill now stands, it would prohibit smoking in most public places and workplaces, including bars. The proposal would allow smoking only on the gambling floors of casinos, fraternal and veterans clubs, cigar and hookah bars and retail tobacco shops. Legislators have also filed amendments that would allow more smoking areas at casinos and horse tracks. The House last year approved a smoking ban bill that included an exemption for bars but it failed later after health advocates argued it would be one of the nation's weakest bans.

Miami-Dade Parks Smoke-Free

The Miami-Dade parks department wants to stop people from smoking tax free Beverly cigarettes at more than 40 county parks that attract large numbers of kids. The county has put up sign at the parks, and since Jan. 11, county workers have been told to ask smokers not to light up. But because of a 1985 state law, all the county can do is ask. The Florida Clean Indoor Air Act says that counties can’t ban smoking outdoors. Since the new rules are just a policy and not a law, county commissioners did not sign off on the action, a parks spokeswoman said. For now, the ban covers only certain parks that attract numerous kids, or about 20 percent of the county’s 195 parks. Although the policy will not be enforced, signs encouraging park-goers not to smoke were installed as early as the beginning of last summer. Universities such as Florida International University and the University of Florida recently banned outdoor smoking on campus. The state smoking law prohibits counties from regulating outdoor smoking, but it doesn’t say anything about universities. FIU issues tickets to students or visitors who are caught smoking, even in a car parked in a campus garage.

Outlaw Smoking in Parks, Putnam News

After Putnam High School students proposed the idea, the Board of Selectmen will research the possibility of imposing a smoking ban on all town-owned property. Mayor Pete Place said the idea started after singers at last year’s “al fresco” events in Rotary Park continually asked members of the audience to stop smoking because it bothered them. After a recent Board of Selectmen meeting, the board decided to look into the idea and consider if the town should ban smoking on town-owned property. Place has asked Town Administrator Doug Cutler to check to see if other communities have bans in place and how they are enforced. “The idea was planted, and now it’s our due diligence in terms of researching, looking at the pros and cons,” Cutler said.

No Smoking Ordinance in Chatham County

The county is moving ahead with a smoking ordinance….kind of. The goal was to create a no smoking ordinance similar to that of Savannah's. Just last year Savannah outlawed tax free Richmond cigarettes in just about everywhere but our own home. The county's proposal was met with some opposition however, especially by Commissioner Dean Kicklighter. A smoker himself he feels we need less government not more.
“If an adult decides to take part in an activity that is legal that should be their choice. If the federal, government or state or whatever wants to make that illegal totally so be it then lets burn all cigarettes in one big pile,” points out Kicklighter. “We believe that all workers should have the right to work in a smoke free workplace and that nobody should have to inhale second hand smoke as a condition of employment. We are willing to fight for that right for people,” adds Amy Hughes.

Smokers Rate Decreased Buy Cigarette Sales Increased

The nation’s number of smokers has declined over the past three years, but their average daily consumption of cigarettes has increased over the same period, a Department of Health report shows. The department released the report to mark the third anniversary of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act (菸害防制法), which took effect on Jan. 11, 2009. The report said the number of smokers shrank by 420,000 over the past three years, but per capita daily consumption has increased to 18.9 cigarettes. The act greatly expanded the categories of mandatory smoke-free places to include indoor public places and indoor workplaces with a staff of three or more people. Feng Chung-yi (馮宗蟻), a researcher at the Bureau of Health promotion’s Health Education Center, said the center had conducted an extensive survey to examine the impact of the Tobacco Hazards Prevention Act on smoking.

Sale of Cigarettes to Accessible to Young Smokers

The Health Ministry will continue to explore ways to make best Virginia cigarettes less easily accessible to the young. Responding to Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC MP Janil Puthucheary's question in parliament on Monday, Health Minister Gan Kim Yong said the government has already tightened the criteria for tobacco retail licences last year. Shops whose primary business are health-related or youth-centric products or services are not allowed to sell cigarettes, and these include Chinese medical halls, health supplement shops, game arcades, confectioneries, as well as candy, comic and toy stores. Mr Gan said the number of underage smokers caught has increased by 18 per cent over the past six years, from 5,884 in 2004 to 6,947 in 2010.

Raise Alabama's Cigarette Tax

Nothing good can be said about cigarettes, except perhaps that smokers pay a little more than the rest of us toward the cost of state and local government in Alabama. Now a couple of lawmakers would like them to pay more. That's an excellent idea, especially since the state General Fund is expected to come up short by at least $400 million when fiscal 2013 begins next Oct. 1. The General Fund is the budget that provides the money for state troopers, Medicaid, mental health, prisons, the courts and a number of other agencies like state parks. Rep. Patricia Todd, D-Birmingham, has filed a bill that would raise the state cigarette tax by 32.5 cents to 75 cents a pack, The Birmingham News' David White reported. That would raise an estimated $75 million a year for the General Fund. Rep. Joe Hubbard, D-Montgomery, has filed a bill to raise the tax by $1 a pack, which would be earmarked for the state's Medicaid program for poor and disabled Alabamians. According to the Legislative Fiscal Office, the $1 increase would bring in about $230 million a year. Chances for either to win approval appear slim. Todd has pushed cigarette tax increases for several years without success. But she told White she thinks the odds are better this year because the General Fund is in such poor shape. This year's $1.77 billion budget faces the loss of one dollar out of every five next year.

Tobacco Products Will No Been Seen in Finish Shops

With the start of a new year, tobacco products will no longer been seen in Finnish shops. Tougher anti-smoking legislation means tobacco products may not be displayed and must be kept out of sight. Most shops and supermarkets that sell tobacco products have already prepared for the change in regulations. Retailers have had to rearrange sales points so that, for example, discount Doina cigarette packages cannot be seen by customers. Pictures of brands on automated dispensers are being replaced by numbers. "No tobacco products are visible at the checkout, and staff has been trained. We'll see how our customers take the change. At the start, it's sure to cause lines at checkout while people ask about the numbers. This is something new for both the customers and for the cashiers," says Jyrki Kiviniemi of the Muurame S-Market.