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.