Jinan Folks Fret about Floor-price on Cigarettes

Local residents in Jinan, capital of east China's Shandong Province, are complaining about a recent floor price imposed on cigarettes sold in the city, the Legal Daily reported on Wednesday.
The local tobacco authority of Jinan issued a regulation at the end of last year setting a minimum sale price for cigarettes, effectively driving brands that sell below five yuan a pack out of the local market.
The report quoted retailers as saying the rock bottom price for cigarettes sales will not impact their businesses that much, but will surely upset the city's migrant workers who can only afford cheaper smokes.
"My monthly income is only 900 yuan. Apart from my personal expenses, I have to save money to support my family. How can I afford cigarettes that sell at least five yuan each pack?" said a migrant worker from Southwest China's Sichuan Province.
Now, he and other migrant workers have to roll tobacco and make cigarettes themselves. 
Sun, a retired Jinan citizen who kept buying cigarettes for two yuan each pack for many years, was angry about the regulation.
"How come you can still get cigarettes for two yuan in cites like Beijing and Shenzhen, while we have to buy cigarettes above five yuan in Jinan?" Sun argued.
Some local retailers disclosed that in the tobacco market, higher retail prices garner more profit for retailers and companies. 
A professor in Shandong University's law department who preferred to remain anonymous said the introduction of the minimum price was illegal. 
On one hand, the regulation deprives consumers of their right to freely choose cigarettes of different prices and brands. On the other, the price margin imposed is in fact a disguised price-hike, which only central government departments have the authority to issue, meaning the Jinan Tobacco Bureau has overstepped its authority, the law professor added.

Ask us: Is a clove cigarette addictive like a regular cigarette?

Q: I read the information on the differences between clove cigarettes and regular cigarettes, but am still wondering if clove cigarettes are addictive. I've heard they do not contain nicotine, therefore are not physically addictive. I've also heard that smoking one clove cigarette (such as the brand Black) is like smoking a pack of regular cigarettes. I've researched this online and found contradicting information. What's the truth? 

A: The truth is that most clove cigarettes (kreteks) are made with 2/3 tobacco and 1/3 minced dried clove buds. The blend is flavored with fruit and spice essences, rolled and sprayed with a sweetener. The tobacco in clove cigarettes contains at least as much tar and nicotine as regular cigarettes. Testing reveals just as much nicotine and carbon monoxide in the blood of clove cigarette smokers as in regular cigarette smokers. Djarum Black cigarettes sold in Indonesia and available online actually contain much higher levels of tar and nicotine than the same brand sold in the Americas and in Europe. So the truth is that clove cigarettes are in fact both harmful and addictive.

Cigarettes Come In Different Varieties, But Trying To Quit Is Always The Same

What kind of cigarettes do you smoke? Do you smoke the full flavor, lites, or ultra-lites? There are several kinds of cigarettes with several different kinds of favors or strengths. It does not matter what you smoke, they all will give you the same health results. The only difference between these kinds of cigarettes is the filter. If you removed the filter from each of these different styles you would end up with the same full favor cigarette. So do not be fooled into thinking that one cigarette is any better than the other.

Almost all cigarettes are made by the same two or three companies with all of them using the same tobacco leaves. The only difference is where they are grown or the type of soil they happen to be grown in. These same leaves are then cleaned and dried with some maybe being cleaned better than some others. They might even pick some of these leaves to soon which might make a stronger smoking cigarette.

Most of you do not even think about where this cigarette was made, only the name. Most of the new smokers will use the same as their parents, but most will prefer what they call reds. This brand seems to be the most smoked brand, but there are several others that are preferred because you will find all of them still on the market. Each time the prices go up they might make another brand and sell them for less. How many times have you gone to start smoking these cheaper brands only to find that they taste awful. The really funny thing is now those brands cost almost as much as the rest.

When you find yourself really ready to quit smoking, then you should find someone to help if you can. You could get help from a neighbor or your best friend that has stopped smoking or a local support group. Support groups are even available on line. No matter who you find to help, they will have to be there for you no matter what. Since this person is there for you try to follow them in whatever they tell you. It will be up to you to stay with the program and try using all of the products on the market. You can even find some on-line that could really help too. The first step is deciding to quit. The rest is up to you and it is going to be hard to be ready for the battle.

Burglar targets cigarettes

ALBANY, GA (WALB) - Thieves took thousand dollars worth of cigarettes from a Dougherty County convenience store last night. Store workers suspect the thief was a regular customer.
Police were called to the Express Lane on Newton Road just before midnight. 
Someone broke out a metal panel below a window on the side of the store, right by the cigarette display. The thief stole 66 cartons of cigarettes, worth nearly $2,700. 
Store workers say they think someone had cased out the store before the break in.

Man Stabbed Friend Over Cigarettes

A teen is accused of fatally stabbing his childhood friend during an argument over a pack of cigarettes.
According to the arrest warrant, 19-year-old Justin Savage and his two friends picked up Stephen Soboleski, 19, at his home midday Sunday. The group drove around Waterbury before ending up in a parking lot on Taft Point, police said.
When one of the friends went inside an apartment, police said an argument broke out between Savage and Soboleski. Police said Soboleski told police that he grabbed Savage's cigarettes and wouldn't give them back. He then said that Savage threatened him with a fold-out knife, according to the arrest warrant.
"At some point during this fight, I got cut by the knife and that really pissed me off. This was when I grabbed him by the throat and started choking him. I was choking him with my left hand and I was trying to take the knife from him with my right hand. I was so pissed off at the moment that I took the knife and reached over toward Justin and just stabbed him in the chest. When I did it, I knew it went deep because a second later there was blood pouring out from his chest," Soboleski told police, according to the warrant.
Police said Soboleski and one of his friends drove Savage to Waterbury Hospital, where he was pronounced dead.
Soboleski was arraigned on murder charges in Waterbury Superior Court on Monday.
Minutes after seeing his only child walk into court, Soboleski's father Russell Sullivant fought to keep back the tears.
"My kid's not a murderer," he said. "When I found out it was Justin, it's his friend, I was shocked."
Friends of both Savage and Soboleski said the two have been friends since elementary school.
Soboleski remains held on a $1 million bond.

Oregon sues electronic cigarette maker

Oregon Attorney General John Kroger on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against Smoking Everywhere, alleging that the Florida-based “electronic cigarette” company made false health claims about its nicotine delivery device and targeted children with sweet flavors such as bubblegum, chocolate and cookies ‘n’ cream.

Electronic cigarettes are not approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration and some contain known carcinogens.

Oregon’s lawsuit alleges that Smoking Everywhere has marketed e-cigarettes as safe in general and safer than conventional cigarettes, alleging the company possesses no scientific evidence to support such claims.

Oregon’s lawsuit also alleges that Smoking Everywhere’s promotional efforts target adolescents and youths who may not already be addicted to nicotine. Although Smoking Everywhere claims e-cigarettes are “intended for use by adult smokers,” the lawsuit alleges that advertisements are designed to attract young people.

Oregon is the only state that has taken legal action against e-cigarette importers and retailers. Oregon recently reached legal settlements with three retailers prohibiting them from selling e-cigarettes in the state until they meet state and federal standards. Oregon also reached an agreement with another e-cigarette company, Sottera Inc., the national distributor of NJOY, which prohibits it from doing business in Oregon until local and national standards are met.

Smoking Everywhere refused a similar settlement offer.

Smokers face $20 cigarette packs

CIGARETTES could cost more than $20 for a packet of 30 and come in plain wrapping if radical proposals now under consideration by the federal government are accepted. 
The government is considering a cigarette tax hike and a ban on all remaining tobacco advertising and sponsorship in response to its yet-to-be-released Preventative Health Taskforce report. 
The landmark report, now being examined by Health Minister Nicola Roxon, urges the government to slash smoking rates over the next decade to nine per cent, reducing the number of people aged 14 and over who smoke daily from three million to two million. 
Under the changes, some of which were canvassed in a discussion paper released late last year, cigarette packets would be generic and plain, with larger graphic health warnings taking up about 90 per cent of the front and 100 per cent of the back. 
Tobacco companies also face a blanket ban on all sponsorship, Internet sales, public relations activities and "corporate responsibility'' donations, Fairfax Newspapers say. 
The plan has been strongly backed by anti-smoking organisations such as the Public Health Association, the Cancer Council and the National Heart Foundation, but has alarmed cigarette companies, which claim it could be unlawful.