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.

A New Wave of Cigarette Smuggling

Whenever governments want to collect more revenues, their reflex action is to raise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, the so-called “sin taxes,” because both are harmful to human health. The Philippines is no exception. Two bills have been filed in both houses of Congress that will raise local cigarette taxes by 83 percent. Local cigarette manufacturers say, however, that the street price may go much higher. After cigarettes, alcohol will be next. The government expects an increase of revenue from cigarettes. But it doesn’t always end up that way, as other countries that also raised sin taxes have discovered. On the contrary, their revenue collections actually went down in spite of the higher taxes. Why? Because of smuggling. When the prices of local products go up too high, smugglers come in with their cheaper products. Do you still remember the time when smuggled blue-seal cigarettes flooded the Philippine market some years ago and smugglers became filthy rich?