RALEIGH - Now that North Carolina's no-smoking law has taken effect, most bars and restaurants across the state have thrown away their ashtrays and herded smokers to outdoor patios.
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COLUMBUS, Ohio — The statecan use about $230 million set aside for tobacco prevention for other purposes, an Ohio appeals court ruled Thursday in overturning a trial court's decision.
On Tuesday, Sen. Alex Padilla (D-Van Nuys) proposed increasing the state tobacco tax by $1.50 per pack of cigarettes to provide money for the state general fund, anti-smoking efforts and lung cancer research, the San Jose Mercury News reports.
Padilla's office estimates that the tax hike would yield about $1.4 billion annually. Eighty-five percent of the revenue would go to California's general fund (Zapler, San Jose Mercury News, 3/10).
The other 15% would go to lung cancer research, anti-smoking efforts and tobacco control programs (Bailey/McGreevy, Los Angeles Times, 3/11) (News low in story).
Padilla also introduced bills that would:
Ban tobacco sales within 1,000 feet of schools and "settings where children are commonly present without adult supervision," such as video stores and doughnut shops (San Jose Mercury News, 3/10);
Limit the number of state licenses to sell tobacco; and
Permit authorities to revoke tobacco licenses for retailers who are repeatedly cited for selling tobacco to teenagers (Shadley, "KXJZ News," Capital Public Radio, 3/10).
Key supporters of the proposals include:
Senate President Pro Tempore Darrell Steinberg (D-Sacramento);
The American Cancer Society; and
The American Lung Association.
Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger (R) has not reviewed the proposal, but a Schwarzenegger spokesperson said that in general, the governor does not think taxes should be increased further at this time (San Jose Mercury News, 3/10).
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