News 2011-11-22 18:15:00 Officials at the University of Memphis have decided to push for a tobacco-free campus by next summer.The move was spurred by a student government petition last year and similar actions by faculty and staff leaders. Maria Alam, who is chief human resources officer for the university, told The Commercial Appeal that she is "reviewing and putting together a policy" for the campus."The idea is not to go around policing," she said. "But we'd address it as complaints come in."In her position with the university, Alam oversees workplace regulations, including smoking cigarettes. She said smoking cigarettes is already banned within 20 feet of a door or window on campus, to comply with a state law.Stephen Petersen, dean of students, said those who violate the discount cigarettes ban would get a warning note for a first offense. After that, they would be called in for a discussion and as a last resort "we would invite the student to step away from the university for a while. Let's hope students, in trying to prove a point, don't take it that far."Alam said she anticipates some exceptions, such as keeping smokers' rooms at the on-campus Holiday Inn and the Fogelman conference center. She also said there could be "academic, artistic, and research" purposes to allow tobacco, such as an on-campus play where a character smokes.The effort is entwined with a campaign calling for a "Healthier New Century," which is tied in to the university's ongoing centennial celebrations.The policy will affect about 11 percent of the students who attend the university, according to a student survey in the spring that found about that many students smoke cigarettes five to seven days a week. The survey found that 15.3 percent of students smoke cigarettes less regularly, anywhere from once a year to three times a week. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/university_of_memphis_to_become_a_smoke_free_campus.html 2011-11-20 18:13:00 The role of the online cigarettes grower cooperatives that formerly administered the cigarettes store price support program has changed drastically since 2004.It had to: the price support program was ended after that season, and the cooperatives had to find new services to offer to their members.Perhaps the most drastic changes among the cooperatives has been made by the Burley Stabilization Corporation (BSC), which served Tennessee, North Carolina and Virginia. In 2010, it moved its headquarters 200 miles to get closer to its primary production area, and it has implemented an aggressive new contracting and marketing program.The geographic distribution of burley production in the three states we traditionally served changed after the buyout, Daniel Green, BSC chief executive officer said. It seemed wise to put our operational headquarters in middle Tennessee where it would be in closer proximity to the chief burley producing area.The Burley Stabilization Corporation had been located in Knoxville, Tenn., from 1953 to 2004. It was a satisfactory location for most of that time. But after deregulation, it was soon clear that plantings were going to shift, probably north and west of Knoxville.Springfield, where the cooperative already owned some storage facilities, proved to be the best choice. But the cooperative also obtained a warehouse in Greeneville in eastern Tennessee to continue to serve its members there and in neighboring North Carolina and Virginia.Because tobacco farmers in those areas typically grow on a relatively small scale, Green predicted the Greeneville facility will receive 35 percent of the pounds delivered from this crop, but will serve 60 percent of the growers. We are expecting about 600 growers to deliver tobacco to that facility.Over the past two years, BSC has also significantly increased its operations in Kentucky. Of the four states now served by BSC, Green said that Tennessee growers would account for around 50 percent of the pounds, while Kentucky would account for 35 percent and North Carolina and Virginia would account for the rest.After the buyout, BSC leaders wanted the cooperative to expand its program by marketing pounds for growers. It seemed to them, as to other farmers associated with cooperatives, that there was going to be an obvious source of supply once the system converted from quotas to contracts.The buying companies were going to want 100 percent of the amount of burley they contracted for. Additionally, some companies needed larger quantities of certain stalk positions or styles of burley, but could not justify contracting for the entire stalk to get it.Farmers, meanwhile, fearful that they might not produce average yields, were certain to plant at least a little more acreage than they expected to need.If they then in fact had a good year, they might produce a lot more than contracted and need a way to market it.We saw the opportunity to offer our growers a certain market for their tobacco, while providing U.S. burley customers with a stable supply, said Green. Our contracting program is based on fair and consistent treatment of growers and results in high quality, clean burley tobacco that is produced using good agricultural practices.The Tennessee-based cooperative contracted with more than 1,000 growers to produce 15 million pounds of burley this year.BSC held its annual meeting in September in Springfield, and members of the cooperative learned that burley yields in the region need to improve —in a hurry — if the crop is to remain a viable enterprise.When burley production was deregulated after the 2004 season, agronomists predicted that the average yield across the belt would soon improve. Why? Because a lot of marginal land seemed certain to go out of burley production, and they reasoned, therefore, that the yield per acre on the land left in production would likely increase.But it hasnt.Trends for burley have been disappointing, said Kentucky Extension Tobacco Economist Will Snell at the meeting. The loss of marginal growers hasnt lead to increased yield.It is crucial that solutions be found, because farmers who want to stay in burley over the long-term must find some way to produce more pounds per acre, said Snell. There is no profit in growing burley tobacco if your yield is below 2,000 pounds per acre.But that will mean many unprofitable burley operations in 2011, because the average yield for the season will most likely fall well below a ton per acre.I would have thought we would be up to 2,400 or 2,500 pounds per acre by now, said Snell. But we have never exceeded 2,200 pounds per acre beltwide.In September, USDA projected national burley yield at 1,890 pounds per acre. If that proves correct, production should be about 170 million pounds more or less, which would be roughly nine percent less than in 2010. Acreage was down about eight percent.On the positive side, the burley crop in the field looked quite good as harvest drew to a close in September, said Paul Denton, Kentucky/Tennessee Extension specialist, who also spoke at the BSC meeting and to Southeast Farm Press in a subsequent interview.For instance, he revisited burley fields near Greeneville, Tenn., in late September. This tobacco had not looked promising when I saw it back in mid-August, he said. But as it was being harvested, it looked like it might yield 2,400 pounds per acre. That would be very good for this season.At the nearby Limestone community of Washington County, Denton found more than the usual amount of tobacco still in the field. I would say they were a little behind on harvest, with maybe 40 percent still in the field. But they were working hard at cutting and housing on Sept. 27.The crop in east Tennessee really benefited from late rains and looked a lot better than it had the month before. Farmers were beginning to worry about frost and cool curing temperatures for the later crop after the cooler temperatures of the weekend of Oct. 1-2, Denton said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_co_ops_competing_for_place_in_current_market.html 2011-10-18 17:41:00 After a lengthy period of consideration, Minnesota State University will become a tobacco-free campus on Jan. 1.MSU, however, wont be the first institution in the Minnesota State Colleges and Universities system to enact the cheap cigarettes ban.In 2010, the MnSCU Board of Trustees passed a resolution encouraging campuses to adopt such a policy. Shortly after, South Central College became one of the first to do so and has been followed by a number of others, including Winona State and Minnesota State-Moorhead.This is a movement thats been endorsed by MnSCU, said Rick Straka, vice president of finance and administration, and author of MSUs policy. A growing number of MnSCU institutions are going in this direction.The announcement was made Tuesday in an email to students and staff from MSU President Richard Davenport.The announcement said the policy follows a yearlong discussion that included conversations with students, staff and faculty.Davenport noted that an exception will be made for students currently living in the residence halls, allowing them to use cigarettes outside of their residence halls for the remainder of the 2011-2012 academic year. That exception will expire in May of 2012.MSU spokesman Michael Cooper said the policy also represents the next step in what has been a long battle with careless smokers who litter their cigarette butts and ignore the current policy of smoking cigarettes only in the campus 28 designated areas.We said that if (those measures) didnt work, wed go to an entirely smoke-free campus, Cooper said, adding that the ban includes smokeless varieties of tobacco as well.The ban applies to students as well as staff and extends to university-owned or -leased vehicles. Signage will be displayed around campus alerting visitors.Cooper said there is no discipline procedure yet in place for offenders of the new smoking cigarettes policy and he doesnt expect anything particularly formal.Our advice is to politely point out that the campus is smoke-free, he said.An awareness campaign will begin in the near future and will be supported by grant funds from Blue Earth County Public Health in collaboration with the American Lung Association.Wendy Schuh, director of student health services, said many cessation products are already available over the counter and that campus offices will further provide stop-smoking cigarettes kits and education materials. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/msu_kicks_butts_to_the_curb.html 2011-09-10 12:53:00 In most parts of the state, Californians appear to be kicking the cigarettes habit.Last year, 11.9% of Californians said they smoked, down one percentage point from 2009. California has the second-lowest smoking cigarettes rate in the country, according to recent reports from the California Department of Public Health and CDC. Utah, where 9.1% of residents are smokers, has the lowest rate.Another recent report paints a picture of a different kind of cheap cigarettes habit in Sacramento. The report -- Tobacco Money in California Politics by the American Lung Association in California -- shows the buy cigarettes industry and businesses with related interests spent almost $100 million over the past decade to influence California politicians and policy.According to the report, cigarettes online industry and related business interests spent $9.3 million over the past two years to support candidates and fight cigarette taxes in California, compared with nearly $90 million over the eight years before that.Although the tobacco industrys spending to lobby state lawmakers slowed slightly in the last few years, it could see an uptick in 2011. This years statewide ballot will feature a measure proposing to raise the cigarette tax by $1 a pack to finance smoking cigarettes-prevention efforts, as well as research on cancer and other smoking cigarettes-linked illnesses.California currently has a cigarette tax of 87 cents per pack.Taxes Most Sensitive AreaTaxes are clearly the most sensitive area for tobacco companies, said Paul Knepprath, vice president of the American Lung Association in California. They see the tobacco tax -- like we do -- as a way to reduce smoking cigarettes and to prevent teens from starting. We feel if we can get them past their 18th birthday without starting the habit, chances are they never will.The main goal of adding a $1 to the states cigarette tax is to discourage smoking cigarettes, according to proponents of the California Cancer Research Act, which qualified for Californias next statewide ballot. The tax would generate an estimated $500 million annually and be used to find new ways to detect, treat, and prevent cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses.The coalition sponsoring the ballot initiative -- led by the American Cancer Society, the American Lung Association in California, the American Heart Association, the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, Stand Up To Cancer and Livestrong -- expects tobacco companies to campaign -- and spend -- heavily against the new tax.A spokesperson for Altria, parent company of Phillip Morris USA, said his company is opposed to additional targeted taxes on tobacco.We have established Californians Against Out-Of-Control Taxes and Spending -- a registered campaign committee -- so that we may continue to explore and evaluate our options regarding this measure, said Altrias David Sutton.Tobacco Companies Mum on Spending ReportThe report detailing tobacco spending in California politics showed that in 2009 and 2010, tobacco companies and distributors contributed more than $6.5 million to political committees and candidates for the Legislature and statewide office. Two tax-related ballot initiatives accounted for most of that spending. Another $2.7 million went for lobbying on legislation.About half of Californias legislators accepted contributions from tobacco companies or a group that represents tobacco distributors in California, according to the report. Generally, Democrats are less likely to accept tobacco money than Republicans.Most Democrats in the state Legislature -- 54 out of the 77 -- said they have never accepted money from tobacco interests. Two of the 43 Republicans said they have not accepted tobacco money.Both major party candidates for governor last year received tobacco contributions. Democrat Jerry Brown accepted $2,500, and Republican Meg Whitman accepted $25,900.Its not news to anyone that the tobacco industry has a large presence in Sacramento, said John Vigna, spokesperson for Assembly Speaker John Perez (D-Los Angeles). Even though lobbyists and tobacco companies continue to contribute money, and some legislators are choosing to accept it, the good news is that smoking cigarettes is going down in California. Thats ultimately a positive thing for the whole state. Health care costs go down and we become a healthier, more productive state, Vigna said.Two tobacco companies and two Sacramento lobbying firms representing tobacco interests were invited by California Healthline to comment on the tobacco spending report. All declined.Smoking on Gradual Decline in StateAlthough the public health departments report shows a general decline in adult smoking cigarettes in California, smoking cigarettes is more prevalent in a few specific demographic groups. Eighteen percent of African-American males are smokers, and the smoking cigarettes rate among lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender young adults is 43%.The percentage of California smokers has been gradually declining since 1988, when voters passed the first of several statewide anti-smoking cigarettes initiatives. In 1988, Proposition 99 added a 25-cent-per-pack tax on cigarettes. Part of the new tax revenue was used to fund Californias comprehensive anti-smoking cigarettes campaign.In 1998, voters approved Proposition 10 -- backed by Hollywood director Rob Reiner -- which added a tax of 50 cents per pack. Most of the revenue from the tax was earmarked for early childhood health and education programs.In a 2006 campaign featuring $66.6 million of spending by tobacco interests, voters defeated Proposition 86, which would have increased the California tobacco tax by $2.60 a pack. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/smokers__politicians_struggle_with_tobacco_habit.html 2011-09-09 12:52:00 When apartment tenants light up a cigarette, its not just their smoking cigarettes-averse neighbors who suffer. Landlords are also sucking it up — in increased cleaning costs. But by implementing complete smoke-free rules throughout their properties, owners of California multi-unit rental buildings could save up to $18 million a year statewide on the cost of cleaning apartments vacated by tenants who smoke, according to a new UCLA study. These policies can also protect their other tenants from the secondhand smoke cigarettes that seeps between units.The study was published online Aug. 18 in the American Journal of Public Health and will appear in the journals October print issue.Secondhand smoke cigarettes results in about 4,000 deaths each year from ischemic heart disease and lung cancer, and it is the cause of approximately 31,000 childhood asthma episodes and 4,700 pre-term infant deliveries annually, the UCLA researchers said.Smoke wafts between units through shared airspaces and ventilation, hallways, cracks in walls and floors, electrical outlets, and plumbing fixtures, or from outside.Secondhand smoke cigarettes is an important cause of morbidity and mortality, and many current policy efforts are focused on encouraging owners and managers of multi-unit housing to implement smoking cigarettes restrictions, said lead study author Dr. Michael Ong, an assistant professor-in-residence in the division of general internal medicine and health services research at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. California has minimized exposure to secondhand smoke cigarettes by restricting smoking cigarettes in multiple public venues, including workplaces, public entryways, public parks and beaches, and vehicles carrying youths.However, secondhand exposure in multi-unit housing is a significant contributor to overall secondhand smoke cigarettes exposure, since Californians spend an average 68 percent of their time at home and over 10 million Californians live in multi-unit housing.This is the first study to take a systematic measure of smoking cigarettes-related costs in multi-unit housing, as well as the first study of smoking cigarettes and multi-unit housing to take into account small-scale multi-unit buildings — those with 15 or fewer units, according to Ong. About 66 percent of California Apartment Association (CAA) members own or manage small-scale buildings.For the study, the researchers conducted computer-assisted telephone surveys of 343 CAA members to determine landlords smoking cigarettes-related costs, the costs they have avoided as a result of having smoke-free policies, and the economic benefits of having completely smoke-free policies.If a building did not allow smoking cigarettes anywhere on the property, including within units, it was listed as having a complete smoke-free policy; if smoking cigarettes was prohibited in only some parts of the property — in common areas, for example — it was said to have a partial smoke-free policy. Smoking-related costs for recently vacated units included cleaning, repairs and maintenance; painting and decorating; trash collection and fire damage; property and fire insurance; and legal, administrative and other operating costs.The researchers found that nearly half of the multi-unit housing properties owned or managed by CAA members had no smoke-free policies, but the smaller properties had a threefold higher rate of smoke-free policies than the larger ones.They also found that:More than 25 percent of multi-unit housing properties had smoking cigarettes-related costs in the past year.One-third of multi-unit housing properties are currently completely smoke-free.For a single multi-unit housing property, the mean smoking cigarettes-related cost was nearly $5,000 in the past year and the median cost was $2,000.The likelihood of incurring smoking cigarettes-related costs was reduced by half with the presence of a complete smoke-free policy.Implementing complete smoke-free policies in California multi-unit housing could result in an estimated property savings of $18 million overall in the short-term.The researchers caution that the survey response rate — 22.4 percent — was low, though it was similar to other CAA survey response rates. Also, the study was suspended for approximately six months due to the state budget crisis, which may have affected the response rate. In addition, responses to detailed financial questions may have been affected by recall bias, though potential respondents were notified in advance that they would be asked about these costs.Co-authors of the study included Allison Diamant, Qiong Zhou and Robert Kaplan of UCLA, and Hye-Youn Park of the California Department of Public HealthA contract with the California Department of Public Healths California Tobacco Control Program supported this study. Dr. Ong is chairman of the State of California Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee (TEROC), which oversees programs funded through the increased discount cigarette online taxes mandated by 1988s Proposition 99.General Internal Medicine and Health Services Research is a division within the department of medicine at the David Geffen School of Medicine at UCLA. It provides a unique interactive environment for collaborative efforts between health services researchers and clinical experts with experience in evidence-based work. The divisions 100-plus clinicians and researchers are engaged in a wide variety of projects that examine issues related to access to care, quality of care, health measurement, physician education, clinical ethics and doctor–patient communication. The divisions researchers have close working relationships with economists, statisticians, social scientists and other specialists throughout UCLA and frequently collaborate with their counterparts at the RAND Corp. and Charles Drew University. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/smoke_free_policies_could_save_landlords_millions.html 2011-08-29 12:46:00 Did you know that in the past year, one in five Knox County teens has smoked a cigarette?The state also earned an "F" last year in cheap cigarettes prevention and cessation coverage. But TennCare and others are working to change that.In July, the state expanded TennCare's coverage for smoking cigarettes cessation agents from just teens and pregnant women, to all people enrolled trying to quit."The governor has been very vocal about wanting to improve the health status of Tennessee. And this is one step toward that goal," said Kelly Gunderson, director of Communications with TennCare."If you think about the people that die every year from smoking cigarettes-related illnesses, even those who are non-smokers. It's just a huge huge impact on our state's health," said Sarah Harder with the Metropolitan Drug Commission.Now the Tennessean reports the TennCare Pharmacy Advisory Committee is recommending that more anti-smoking cigarettes agents be added to the preferred drug list."If you really go through and use a product to stop smoking cigarettes. That you really do work with your physician and work out a plan that's actually helpful and help you succeed in," said Gunderson.Harder says if people are looking to quit, you can do more than chewing gum or wearing a nicotine patch."Using the therapy and the agents are going to give you the best chance to succeed in quitting and to keep you off the nicotine in the long run," said Harder.Smoking not only hurts the environment, it hurts wallets."For employers, for every smoker, it's going to cost them $3,500 for their health care benefits and lost productivity and those sorts of things," said Harder.She adds that 46% of people in Knox County have tried cigarettes at least once. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/state_helping_people_quit_smoking.html 2011-08-28 12:45:00 Big Tobacco is making a big deal out of the Food and Drug Administrations new, graphic cigarette packaging. They have sued the federal government, complaining that the new labels will cost them millions of dollars to produce new packaging.Compare those millions to the $2.16 billion in smoking cigarettes-related health care costs in Tennessee in 2004 (the latest year totals are available).Lets face facts — once again — on the cigarettes store epidemic in Tennessee, where 22 percent of all adults are daily smokers and our state ranks 47th in the amount of dollars spent in discount cigarette online prevention each year.The new, larger warning labels, to be on packaging and in advertising by September 2012, feature a no holds barred approach by the FDA to the deadly toll of smoking cigarettes.While the Big Tobacco lawsuit complained about the graphic images, they cannot argue with the warning labels, which include:Cigarettes are addictive.Cigarettes cause cancer.Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease.Among the images are pictures of healthy lungs next to tobacco-damaged lungs, rotten teeth and gums caused by smoking cigarettes, a model laid out to look like a corpse and a photo of a toddler with the warning, Tobacco smoke cigarettes can harm your children.As a pediatrician, I am especially conscious of the dangers of secondhand smoke cigarettes — nearly as deadly to nonsmokers as the smoker who actually puffs away. The Environmental Protection Agency says secondhand smoking cigarettes is classified as a known human carcinogen (cancer-causing agent). According to the EPA, children exposed to secondhand smoke cigarettes face between 150,000 and 300,000 lower-respiratory-tract infections in children less than 18 months old, and result in 7,500 to 15,000 hospitalizations annually. Secondhand smoke cigarettes can also cause children to suffer bronchitis, pneumonia, ear infections and serious asthma attacks.I talk to parents every day about the importance of a smoke-free home and urge them to consider their health and their childrens health as the most important reasons to quit smoking cigarettes. Many recognize the health issues from smoking cigarettes, but struggle to end their addiction. Former smokers will say nothings harder than quitting, but there is help. There are quit classes and support groups and smoking cigarettes cessation products, both over-the-counter and by prescription, are available and help smokers end their addiction.But their children are not yet addicted, hopefully. From my viewpoint, the FDAs real target should be our nations youth. Their parents who smoke cigarettes arent likely to be affected by the dark lung or the corpse on the side of the pack. But impressionable pre-teens and teen-agers are a different story, especially considering the discouraging statistics that nearly 21 percent of Tennessee youth are daily smokers, with some 8,000 new youth smokers every year, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.My hope is that the court dismisses the Big Tobacco lawsuit; we must fight this epidemic with every weapon at our disposal — deadly pictures included. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/appropriate_way_to_stop_smoking.html 2011-07-10 10:00:00 Secondhand tobacco smoke cigarettes is a known cause of cancer, lung and heart diseases. Children are even more at risk for health problems, with immediate effects of exposure including respiratory problems, increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome and ear infections.Secondhand smoke cigarettes in both large public indoor and outdoor areas can cause these maladies and the small, enclosed space of a vehicle only increases these dangers. Children are in a precarious position if their parents smoke, especially in the family car – they cannot protest and they cannot escape.That is why Assemblymember David Weprin and I are sponsoring legislation that will outlaw smoking cigarettes in cars with passengers under the age of 14. Weprin is optimistic about the chance of passage in the Assembly.Together we held a press conference in Albany with representatives of the American Cancer Society, the American Academy of Pediatricians and the New York Public Interest Research Group (NYPIRG) to highlight the need to ban smoking cigarettes in cars when children are present.The bill would allow for a $100 penalty to drivers stopped for smoking cigarettes with underage passengers. Just as restaurant employees and patrons were forced to breathe secondhand smoke cigarettes from patrons, children are stuck breathing unhealthy air in the confines of a smokers car.The bill was originally sponsored by Assemblymember Nettie Mayersohn; upon her retirement, Weprin sponsored it. We as parents believe it is simply the right thing to do for children, and Weprin has been a vocal champion of this bill in his house of the Legislature. Four other states have similar laws, and Rockland County has banned smoking cigarettes in cars where children up to 18 years of age are present.Children cannot speak for themselves. As legislators, we are pledged to serve the people, but its also our duty to protect the unprotected, which is what this legislation will accomplish.Secondhand smoke cigarettes has been strongly linked to chronic adverse health outcomes that disproportionately affect children – asthma, bronchitis, pneumonia, among others. Research has shown that similar bans decrease the overall number of people who smoke cigarettes and in some cases, actually result in people quitting.The EPA estimates that secondhand smoke cigarettes causes up to 62,000 deaths each year among nonsmokers in the United States, including 3,000 deaths due to lung cancer alone. Children are especially susceptible, as an estimated 300,000 children nationwide develop respiratory infections each year as a result of exposure to secondhand smoke, with approximately 15,000 of these children hospitalized due to these infections. Exposure to secondhand smoke cigarettes is a primary cause of asthma. Moreover, the direct medical costs of second hand smoke cigarettes exposure among U.S. children totals approximately $4.6 billion each year.Most parents would be horrified at the thought of someone blowing smoke cigarettes in their babys face, but when a child is riding in a car with an adult who is smoking cigarettes the result is the same.In New York, we regulate conduct within a motor vehicle by providing protections for both children and drivers. We mandate the use of car seats and seat belts in private automobiles. This bill is only an extension of those protections. It will help children breathe clean air while they are riding in automobiles. There is no constitutional right to smoke. It is not a protected activity.The research has clearly demonstrated that second hand smoke cigarettes is toxic to children. More than 5,000 pediatricians across the state work hard every day to ensure healthier environments for children. Getting adults to not smoke cigarettes around children is critical. It is a public health priority.Passing this bill will help us ensure a healthier environment for all children and that makes for healthier families and communities, with lower public health costs, saving taxpayers millions of dollars. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/bill_bans_smoking_in_cars_with_kids.html 2011-07-09 09:59:00 The Rip Van Winkle Tobacco-Free Action last week held its annual recognition dinner, honoring groups and individuals for their work in discouraging smoking cigarettes and tobacco use.Your work is being effective and you should keep it up, said Assemblyman Peter Lopez, who spoke to the group. You are not telling people what to do with their lives, you are just educating them so they can make educated decisions.Director Karen dePeyster said there has been significant progress in the battle against smoking cigarettes and tobacco use. In 1964, she said, nearly 50% of adults were smokers.Yesterday, we learned from the CDC (Centers for Disease Control) the new smoking cigarettes rates, dePeyster said. The national rate is now 17.9%, and the New York State rate is down to 15.5%. So fifty years ago, 4.5 people out of ten were smokers. Now, 1.5 in ten smoke.She also pointed out that something that seems so basic now – that smoking cigarettes is not allowed in restaurants – was just a pipe dream a decade ago.Ten years ago, we were imagining what it would be like to go to a restaurant and not be assaulted by smoke, dePeyster said. In 2003, the New York State legislature passed the Clean Indoor Air Act, and now we all take it for granted.The ceremonys guest speaker was Kim Alessi, a former tobacco representative for Philip Morris, the leading tobacco manufacturer. She outlined the billions of dollars the industry spends on marketing their product each year.According to Alessi, tobacco companies spend $12.49 billion on marketing in the United States. Comparatively, junk food and soda companies spend $4.5 billion, and alcohol companies spend $3.13 billion.And, she said, the companies may deny it, but they do market to children. She said that company memos repeatedly said one of their key target markets are 14 to 24 year olds.Alessi also told the heart-wrenching story of a man she met while marketing her product at a convenience store. He was at the counter purchasing cigarettes, and she saw he had a gaping hole in his throat, and had lost his larynx to smoking cigarettes.This drug, this cigarette is so addictive, this man continued to smoke cigarettes even after losing his larynx, Alessi said.This year, Rip Van Winkle Tobacco-Free Action handed out awards to more two dozen organizations that have made policy changes in the areas of tobacco-free outdoor air, smoke-free housing and tobacco marketing.Eighteen towns and villages were honored for their work in making various outdoor spaces – like parks and playgrounds – smoke-free. They include the towns of Claverack, Ghent, Ancram, Austerlitz, Germantown, Greenville, Cairo, Copake, Chatham, Kinderhook, Livingston, Stockport and Catskill, and the villages of Coxsackie and Tannersville. Also promoting tobacco-free outdoor air were the Hudson-Athens Lighthouse, the Childcare Council of Columbia and Greene Counties, and Columbia Opportunities and Head Start.Five companies were honored for making housing smoke-free, including Belmont Management, Kaaterskill Manor, Rivertown Senior Apartments, Hudson Terrace Apartments and Mountainview Apartments.Leading the way against tobacco marketing were Hannaford Supermarkets and the Hudson and Taconic Hills SADD Chapters. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/group_honors_anti_tobacco_advocates.html 2011-07-08 09:57:00 Though cigarettes store sold by members of the Seneca Nation of Indians are again subject to a state excise tax, tribal leaders say they are not done battling such taxation.In a one-page written decision released Tuesday afternoon, a panel of five judges in the state Supreme Court Appellate Division denied the Senecas appeal against the states collection of a $4.35-per-pack state excise tax on cigarettes online sold by Native merchants. In addition, the judges lifted a temporary restraining order issued by Associate Justice Jerome C. Gorski blocking the taxs collection, thereby clearing the state to begin collecting the tax at the wholesale level.For the last 12 days, Seneca tobacco merchants have sold cheap cigarettes tax-free under protection of an injunction Judge Gorski granted the tribe while the appeal was considered.Without any further judicial intervention, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said he plans to begin collecting the tax immediately. His first executive budget projects the taxation of Native-sold discount cigarette online will put $110 million into state coffers. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/cigarette_battle_not_finished.html 2011-07-07 09:56:00 In the wake of Tuesdays court ruling that dealt the Seneca Nation a setback in its bid to block the state from taxing tobacco sales to non-Indians on its territories, Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter vowed to take the dispute to the states highest court.Porter struck a defiant tone over what he called the states predatory actions. He reiterated the Senecas stance that they manufacture their own brands of cigarettes online for sale to Indians and non-Indians in reservation stores exempt from state taxation.We will continue to block the states long-standing crusade to confiscate our national wealth, sacrifice native and non-native jobs and interfere with our way of life, Porter said.He added that the Senecas would seek a review of Tuesdays decision by the states Court of Appeals.In a one-page decision, the five-judge Appellate Division of State Supreme Court upheld a June 8 ruling from State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Siwek and vacated a June 9 temporary restraining order that Associate Justice Jerome C. Gorski later granted to the Seneca Nation.Siwek had denied the Seneca Nations bid for a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from collecting $4.35 on each pack of cheap cigarettes sold by any Indian tribes in the state to non-Indians.The administration will move expeditiously to collect the taxes, said Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo.The full intermediate appellate court reviewed motions filed by Seneca Nation attorney Carol E. Heckman and Assistant State Attorney General Andrew D. Bing. The Rochester court did not hear oral arguments in the latest stage of the tax fight, which dates from 1988.The full appellate court Tuesday ruled only on the Senecas attempt to prolong Gorskis temporary restraining order. For more than 200 years, Porter said, the Seneca Nation has thwarted New York States efforts to steal our land, destroy our sovereignty and tax commerce in our territories. In our treaties with the United States, we gave up most of our land to retain the free use and enjoyment to conduct business in our remaining territories free from the states taxes.Data provided by state officials to Siwek earlier this month said the state loses at least $110 million a year in tax revenue based on tax-free cigarette sales by Indian businesses.New York will never collect a cent of revenue from tobacco sales occurring in our territories, and revenue projections so indicating are foolish, Porter said.While the state may be able to embargo, through taxation, premium brands from entering our territory, it cannot tax the brands made in our territory or any of the Six Nations. We will never stop fighting the states predatory actions.The Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, boasts of currently operating a $1.1 billion economy with more than 6,300 employees. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/setback_spurs_senecas_to_top_n_y__appeal.html 2011-07-06 09:55:00 Eastern Long Island Hospital has announced that its campus will be off-limits to smoking cigarettes effective Tuesday, July 5. Smoking will no longer be permitted anywhere on hospital property.Eastern Long Island Hospital is committed to providing the healthiest environment possible for its patients, visitors and employees, commented Paul J. Connor III, president/CEO. This is a collaboration with the Suffolk County Department of Health to reduce tobacco use, which raises risk for multiple diseases. As a health care provider, we believe it is our responsibility to promote good health habits and discourage habits that increase health risks.It is estimated that more than 126 million nonsmoking cigarettes Americans continue to be exposed to secondhand smoke cigarettes in homes, vehicles, workplaces and public places, according to the hospital. Most exposure to tobacco smoke cigarettes occurs in homes and workplaces. The U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention say almost 60 percent of U.S. children aged 3 to 11 years — almost 22 million children — are exposed to secondhand smoke.The CDC reports that secondhand smoke cigarettes contains at least 250 known toxic chemicals, including more than 50 that can cause cancer. Secondhand smoke cigarettes causes heart disease and lung cancer in non-smoking cigarettes adults and a number of health conditions, including sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS) and respiratory infections in children.Besides the health risks, ELIH officials say smoking cigarettes on hospital grounds raises security concerns and poses a fire hazard. A smoldering cigarette is a fire hazard because it is likely to ignite a flammable material that might be nearby. In addition, cigarette butts that are discarded on the ground often find their way into waterways and are detrimental to plants and wildlife. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/elih_goes_smoke_free.html 2011-07-05 09:53:00 When students return to Corning Community Colleges campus later this summer, theyll notice at least three changes: a tobacco-free campus, slightly higher tuition and a new president at the helm.Earlier this week, the schools board of trustees passed a campus-wide tobacco ban to promote a safe, healthy environment for its students, employees and visitors, said spokeswoman Debbie Kelly. Its an expansion of a policy passed by the board in 2009.Tobacco products -- defined by the school as cigarettes, cigars, pipes or any other smoking cigarettes product and smokeless or spit tobacco such as dip, chew or snuff -- were originally limited to parking lots not directly adjacent to campus buildings, Kelly said.The new policy includes all college property, including the Business Development Center in Corning and the Academic and Workforce Development Center in Elmira.The trustees also approved a 5.4 percent tuition increase for full- and part-time students.Full-time students who live in New York will pay $1,935 a semester. Non-residents will pay $3,870.The part-time tuition rate is $161, up $11, per credit hour for New Yorkers and $322, up $16, per credit hour for non-residents.Katherine P. Douglas, the new president, starts today.Douglas, who was appointed in February, was vice president of academic affairs at Sussex County Community College in Newton, N.J. She replaces Floyd Bud Amann, who retired. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/ccc_campus_goes_smoke_free.html 2011-07-04 21:25:00 The cigarettes Quitline phone service that Washington smokers could call for help is no longer available to everyone. The state Health Department says the free service ended last month because of budget cuts. The department says Quitline calls are now answered by an American Cancer Society program that will help people covered by commercial insurance, their employer or Medicaid. The Quitline number is 1-800-QUIT-NOW - 1-800-784-8669. The state Health Department says it has helped 160,000 Washington residents since 2001. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/free_washington_tobacco_quitline_service_canceled.html 2011-07-03 01:12:00 Smokers in Devils Lake lit their last cigarette in bars across the city Thursday night. The citys new smoking cigarettes ordinance, which went into effect at midnight, prohibits smoking cigarettes in all public places such as restaurants, bars and truck stops. Smokers will have to venture outside of the bars or into smoking cigarettes shelters to take a puff. The ban wont impact Proz End of the Line and Caboose. Louise Prozinski, one of the bar and grills owners, said the establishment went smoke-free in May 2010. A lot of customers requested it, she said. For those businesses that waited until Friday, the effect of the ban will come over time. Numerous owners attended City Commission meetings to voice concerns over potential lost business as a result of the ordinance. The ban was approved in December on 3-2 vote by the City Commission. The commissions decision to go smoke-free stemmed from an advisory vote in November 2010 that showed 58 percent of residents favored smoke-free bars and workplaces. The ordinance says businesses found in violation can be fined $100 for the first offense and $200 for the second within one year. For each offense afterward, within one year of the previous violation, owners can be fined $500. In a news release, the North Dakota Center for Tobacco Prevention and Control Policy said the citys decision to go smoke cigarettes free will protect workers from the hazards created by secondhand smoke. Officials said people are 50 percent more likely than the general population to develop lung cancer if they work in an environment containing smoke. Other cities in North Dakota with smoking cigarettes ordinances include Grand Forks, Bismarck, Fargo, Napoleon, Pembina and West Fargo. The first smoking cigarettes ordinance for Grand Forks was implemented in August 2005, restricting smoking cigarettes to bars, outdoor workplaces, truck stop smoking cigarettes lounges, designated hotel and motel rooms and cigarettes stores. A second ban that included bars, truck stop smoking cigarettes lounges and bowling alleys went into effect in August 2010. Several businesses have constructed smoking cigarettes shelters to give smokers protection from harsh winter weather. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/devils_lake_joins_the_smoke_free_crowd.html 2011-07-02 01:12:00 A cigarette butt discarded in a plastic flower pot was the apparent cause of an apartment fire that started on a balcony and damaged two units this morning in south Fargo, Assistant Fire Chief Leroy Skarloken said. A separate balcony fire, reported just after midnight at 2426 20th Ave. S., also may have been sparked by smoking cigarettes materials, but the cause hadnt been determined, Skarloken said. That fire was quickly knocked down and caused minimal damage. The second fire, reported at 6:06 a.m. at 1741 39th St. S., started in the corner of a second-floor balcony where one of the residents had discarded a cigarette between 12 and 1 a.m., Skarloken said. Flames spread from the balcony to the siding and breached the joist space between the first and second floors. Firefighters pulled down the ceiling in a first-floor closet to reach the fire and stop it from spreading, Skarloken said. Residents of the two apartment units escaped safely. The rest of the building wasnt evacuated, and smoke cigarettes alarms didnt activate because the fire was trapped in the floor space, Skarloken said. He estimated damage at roughly $10,000 to $15,000. Skarloken said people who smoke cigarettes on balconies or decks should discard their smoking cigarettes materials in a metal container filled with sand or water. They shouldnt toss smoldering butts onto peat moss in a flower pot, because peat is flammable, he said. A June 7 fire at a south Fargo apartment also was caused by smoking cigarettes materials on the balcony, and the blaze that destroyed the Galleria On 42nd apartment building last October also started on a balcony near a plastic coffee can used for disposing of cigarette butts. In that case, no one would admit to smoking cigarettes there, and the cause was listed as undetermined. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/another_fargo_apartment_fire_blamed_on_cigarette_butt_discarded_in_flower_pot.html 2011-07-01 01:08:00 Jairo Angeles loves taking his wife, Lyneth, and their nearly 1-year-old daughter, Ailine, to Frank Liske Park on Stough Road in Concord. We come here because of the healthy air, Angeles, 28, of Concord said. The last thing hed want is someone smoking cigarettes near them, he said. Angeles said hes happy that Cabarrus County has banned all cigarettes products from its parks through an ordinance that took effect Friday. Having someone smoke cigarettes near his daughter wouldnt be good for her at all, Angeles said. It wouldnt be good for me, he said. County officials said the ban is intended to free parks of harmful second-hand smoke cigarettes and exposure to discarded cheap cigarettes and other tobacco products, which children and pets can find on the ground. Most of the 250 cigarette butts discovered during a recent litter cleanup at Frank Liske Park were near childrens playgrounds, Cabarrus County Parks Director Londa Strong said. The ban includes cigars, smoking cigarettes tobacco, snuff, chewing tobacco and other forms of tobacco. Someone who refuses to extinguish a cigarette or other tobacco product when asked to by a parks worker risks a $50 citation. Policies governing smoking cigarettes in public parks vary across the region. Mooresville banned smoking cigarettes in its parks last fall, Mooresville Recreation Director Wanda McKenzie said. Smokers can still light up in Mecklenburg County-run parks, a spokesman said. Smoking also is allowed in Huntersville parks, said Huntersville Parks and Recreation Director Michael Jaycocks. Cindy England of Harrisburg said she, too, is glad smoking cigarettes is no longer allowed in Cabarrus County parks. I wouldnt like people smoking cigarettes around me, England, 48, said as she guided her granddaughter, Cayla England, 2, on a swing at Frank Liske Park last week. I like to come to a clean park, a clear park.. Cabarrus County, meanwhile, is working to develop a policy that would require half of all snacks and beverages in its parks vending machines and concession stands to be healthy. Healthy foods have no more than 200 calories and no more than 30 percent calories from fat, except for nuts and seeds, county officials said. Healthy foods have no trans fats and get no more than 35 percent of their total weight from sugar and caloric sweeteners. They have less than 360 milligrams of sodium per serving. Healthy beverage options include water, nonfat or 1 percent-fat milk, diet soft drinks and 100 percent fruit or vegetable juices with no added sugars, artificial flavors or colors. The countys parks department received a grant from the Blue Cross Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation to buy two refrigerated display coolers for the concession stands at Frank Liske Park and Camp T.N. Spencer Park to provide the healthier food options. Vending machines at those parks and at North Cabarrus Park also would have to meet the 50 percent healthy requirement. The county is still working on the policy, Strong said last week. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/cabarrus_parks_outlaw_tobacco.html 2011-06-30 01:08:00 Last week 100 teens from across Montana converged on the Carroll College campus in Helena for the Sixth Annual reACT Teen Summit. There wont be another gathering of teens involved in cigarettes use prevention policy next year or the year after. The teen leadership training will be cut back along with the rest of Montanas Tobacco Use Prevention Program because the 2011 Legislature slashed its funding. ?In the year ending Thursday, the Montana Department of Public Health and Human Services had a budget of $9.2 million. With the state appropriation cut by over $3 million for next year, the budget will be $5.6 million, according to Todd Harwell, chief of the Chronic Disease Prevention and Health Promotion Bureau in Helena. If $9 million or even $5 million seems like a lot to spend on persuading youth not to use tobacco and helping users quit, consider: Montana spends more than $277 million annually on tobacco-related health care costs. Although only 17 percent of all Montana adults smoked in 2009, the number is higher for Medicaid enrollees. Thirty-eight percent of Medicaid enrollees ages 18 to 64 smoke. Even more worrisome is the 32 percent of women covered by Medicaid who smoked during pregnancy, an activity that puts their babies at higher risk for expensive, lifelong health problems. About 40 percent of all Montana births are covered by Medicaid. Thats a lot of babies born to smoking cigarettes moms. The tobacco prevention program was cut despite demonstrated success. Bad as the effects of tobacco are now, they used to be much worse for Montana. In 2001, before the comprehensive program started, 28.5 percent of Montana youth surveyed said they had smoked cigarettes in the previous month. This springs survey found only 16.5 percent reporting they had smoked within the month. An amazing 15,600 callers to the Montana Quit Line actually quit. Starting Friday, Quit Line medication benefits will be drastically reduced. The Alliance for Health Montana, which includes the Montana chapters of the American Cancer Society and American Lung Association, Montana Public Health Association and 20 other Montana organizations, had recommended that the state cut back components of its comprehensive prevention program instead of eliminating any of them. Thats what DPHHS has done. About half of the program money is put into grants to counties and tribes for community prevention programs. Those programs will see a 15 percent cut in their grants, Harwell said. Cuts will be deeper in statewide programs, including Quit Line, and funding for the Office of Public Instruction to work with schools on enforcing minor tobacco laws. Marketing the tobacco-free message will be cut back, and the program staff of 10 full-time-equivalents is being pared to six. We will have to rethink how we do things, Harwell said. Unfortunately, the trends toward fewer smokers may reverse with deep reductions in the prevention program. Other states, notably Minnesota and Indiana, saw gains quickly stall or reverse when they slashed prevention programs several years ago, according to the Alliance for Healthy Montana. The appropriation ax that fell on prevention didnt free up money to pad the general fund or finance other government spending; the unused prevention dollars will sit in the prevention account. The prevention program was mandated by voters in 2002 when they directed that 32 percent of tobacco lawsuit settlement money go into a special fund to help reduce tobacco use in Montana. Most readers will recall that the reason for Montana and other states to sue tobacco companies was to recover some of their Medicaid costs of treating smoking cigarettes-related illnesses. The legislative majority also passed House Bill 633, which would have transferred millions of dollars that voters had designated for smoking cigarettes prevention and childrens health care into the general fund. Gov. Brian Schweitzer used his veto pen to stop that raid on voter-approved funds. Voters see the wisdom of prevention to keep Montanans healthier and to save the state money. So do the teens who met in Helena last week. Its a shame that the 2011 legislative majority was so unwise about the value of prevention. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_prevention_gains_may_go_up_in_smoke.html 2011-06-29 01:10:00 Since the mid-90s New York City Mayors Giuliani and Bloomberg have put forth a concerted effort to clean up the city. Out went the graffiti, prostitution, drugs and danger, in came more money from the tourism industry. The grit and grime that had become a staple of New York was scrubbed clean. Then Brooklyn joined the party and gentrification spread faster than disease. Cigarettes are the final frontier, and city officials appear to be doing everything in their power to crack down on smokers. New York was the first state to ban cigarette smoking cigarettes in bars and restaurants. Over the past year the city has upped taxes on cigarettes making the average pack around a preposterously high $12. They have banned smoking cigarettes from the citys parks, beaches, and pedestrian plazas like Times Square. Officials are even trying to pass a law that would make it illegal to smoke cigarettes in an automobile if there are people under the age of 14 in the car. Over the course of the past 50 years New York went from a city covered in a cloud of cigarettes to the most uncouth and illegal place to light up. Bloomberg began this crusade when he took office in 2002 and found out New York City non-smokers have the highest nicotine levels in the country due to second-hand smoke. Since then he has taken swift and dramatic measures to cut off its citizens from their nicotine fix. New York has reached its watershed moment in the war on cigarettes. They have strategically eliminated all possible smoking cigarettes locations except for hot air balloons and Brooklyn rooftops between the hours of 5 and 7 a.m. All of these legislations are being passed down in an attempt to create a healthier lifestyle for New Yorkers. Forget the fact that the city is full of over-stressed insomniacs who eat and drink with reckless abandon. Apparently, the reason New Yorkers are unhealthy is because some soulless scumbags have a nicotine addiction. As the New York Times pointed out, itll be interesting to see how these laws and possible legislations will be enforced. Will it become like other rarely implemented fines for littering or jaywalking? Will Bloomberg form an elite anti-smoking cigarettes task force whose job is solely patrol the parks and issue $50 fines to violators? How long will it be before Bloomberg attempts to ban smoking cigarettes altogether? Imagine a smoking cigarettes prohibition era in Manhattan, full of secret handshakes and back alley transactions with people searching for a simple for a drag of a Newport. New Jersey would literally become New Yorkers ashtray. As ridiculous as it may sound, its the direction the city is moving. Some may consider this a victory for the health of our lungs. Others think its unnecessary and excessive. This week The Daily Show satirized the new law by sending reporter Samantha Bee to New York Citys parks to interview patrons about the new smoking cigarettes ban. Using the trademark Daily Show sarcasm and purposeful ignorance she hilariously showed that smoking cigarettes in New Yorks parks is small fries when drug addicts are stumbling around and washing their asses in water fountains. Its also ironic that New York is receiving headlines for smoking cigarettes bans while other states, like neighboring Connecticut, are making news for decriminalizing marijuana. The Constitution State even cited one of the main reasons for the decision as freeing up police from petty citations. Nothing says real police work like taking the time to write a $50 ticket for doing a completely legal activity. We are moving towards a city where smoking cigarettes a blunt in a public park is more socially acceptable than Marlboro Red. In a lot of social circles thats already the case. At the end of his tenure as mayor –- if it ever ends — Bloomberg will be remembered as the man who banned smoking cigarettes from a city that loves to smoke. Then well legally smoke cigarettes a bowl and forget this whole war on tobacco ever happened. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/new_york_city___s_new_cigarette_prohibition.html 2011-06-28 01:09:00 The Seneca Nation of IndiansbizWatch Seneca Nation of Indians Latest from The Business Journals Senecas seek relationship with biz groupsJudge rules against Senecas in tax caseSenecas get temporary order against taxes Follow this company have vowed to continue to their legal fight against New Yorks efforts to collect taxes on cigarettes sales made on sovereign territory, despite a ruling that clears the way for the controversial collections to begin. The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Tuesday afternoon, ordered the lifting of a temporary restraining order that prevented New York from collecting the taxes. The order had been issued by State Supreme Court Justice Donna Siwek. The ruling focused on the Seneca Nation of Indians and on a lesser extent to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, who filed amicus briefs in the case, but it will impact all Indian nation tribes across New York. The Appellate Court ruling now allows New York the right to collect a nearly-year-old sales taxes on all tobacco sales made on sovereign Indian territory to non-Indians. The tax, which went into effect last September across New York, amounts to $4.35 per pack of cheap cigarettes and is expected to generate more than $100 million in annual revenues for the cash-starved state. State officials said they expect to begin collecting the taxes immediately and will move aggressively to collect the taxes. Meanwhile, Robert Odawi Porter, Seneca Nation of Indians president and himself an attorney and legal expert on Native American tribal rights, said he expects to file legal documentation with the New York State Court of Appeals concerning the Appellate Court ruling. They will be seeking a new stay or temporary restraining order that bars New York from collecting the tax. We will continue to block the states long-standing crusade to confiscate our national wealth, sacrifice native and non-native jobs and interfere with our way-of-life, Porter said in a prepared statement. For more than 200 years, the Seneca Nation has thwarted New York States efforts to steal our land, destroy our sovereignty, and tax commerce in our territories. In our treaties with the United States, we gave up most of our land to retain the free use and enjoyment to conduct business in our remaining territories free from the states taxes. New York will never collect a cent of revenue from tobacco sales occurring in our territories, and revenue projections so indicating are foolishness. Porter said the Seneca Nation will embark on a new era by manufacturing and selling its own brand of cigarettes. Traditional premium brands of cheap cigarettes will not be sold from businesses operating on sovereign territory. Porter said he wants to make sure the Senecas tobacco economy is sustained and regulated. The Senecas employ more than 1,000 people who work in various tobacco and cigarette manufacturing operations. While the state may be able to embargo through taxation premium brands from entering our territory, it cannot tax the brands made in our territory or any of the Six Nations, Porter said. We will never stop fighting the states predatory actions. The Seneca Nation of IndiansbizWatch Seneca Nation of Indians Latest from The Business Journals Senecas seek relationship with biz groupsJudge rules against Senecas in tax caseSenecas get temporary order against taxes Follow this company have vowed to continue to their legal fight against New Yorks efforts to collect taxes on tobacco sales made on sovereign territory, despite a ruling that clears the way for the controversial collections to begin. The New York State Supreme Court Appellate Division, Tuesday afternoon, ordered the lifting of a temporary restraining order that prevented New York from collecting the taxes. The order had been issued by State Supreme Court Justice Donna Siwek. The ruling focused on the Seneca Nation of Indians and on a lesser extent to the St. Regis Mohawk Tribe, who filed amicus briefs in the case, but it will impact all Indian nation tribes across New York. The Appellate Court ruling now allows New York the right to collect a nearly-year-old sales taxes on all tobacco sales made on sovereign Indian territory to non-Indians. The tax, which went into effect last September across New York, amounts to $4.35 per pack of cigarettes and is expected to generate more than $100 million in annual revenues for the cash-starved state. State officials said they expect to begin collecting the taxes immediately and will move aggressively to collect the taxes. Meanwhile, Robert Odawi Porter, Seneca Nation of Indians president and himself an attorney and legal expert on Native American tribal rights, said he expects to file legal documentation with the New York State Court of Appeals concerning the Appellate Court ruling. They will be seeking a new stay or temporary restraining order that bars New York from collecting the tax. We will continue to block the states long-standing crusade to confiscate our national wealth, sacrifice native and non-native jobs and interfere with our way-of-life, Porter said in a prepared statement. For more than 200 years, the Seneca Nation has thwarted New York States efforts to steal our land, destroy our sovereignty, and tax commerce in our territories. In our treaties with the United States, we gave up most of our land to retain the free use and enjoyment to conduct business in our remaining territories free from the states taxes. New York will never collect a cent of revenue from tobacco sales occurring in our territories, and revenue projections so indicating are foolishness. Porter said the Seneca Nation will embark on a new era by manufacturing and selling its own brand of cigarettes. Traditional premium brands of cheap smokes will not be sold from businesses operating on sovereign territory. Porter said he wants to make sure the Senecas tobacco economy is sustained and regulated. The Senecas employ more than 1,000 people who work in various tobacco and cigarette manufacturing operations. While the state may be able to embargo through taxation premium brands from entering our territory, it cannot tax the brands made in our territory or any of the Six Nations, Porter said. We will never stop fighting the states predatory actions. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/senecas_determined_while_nys_wins_smoke_case.html 2011-06-27 01:03:00 In the first month of New York Citys new smoking cigarettes ban in 1,700 parks and along 14 miles of beaches, the city has issued a grand total of one ticket. That single ticket went to a newspaper photographer who had been goading officials to issue a ticket, a spokeswoman for the citys Parks and Recreation Department said. The new ban—spanning parks, beaches, marinas as well as pedestrian plazas such as in Times Square—took effect May 23. City officials say they always planned lax enforcement of the anti-smoking cigarettes ban in the early days. They say their focus now is on getting the word out, not on writing tickets. Still, the dearth of tickets, coupled with the reality that many people are flagrantly violating the law, has left some questioning whether the city is truly committed to keeping these new smoke-free zones actually smoke cigarettes free. The new smoking cigarettes law is an absolute joke, said Ida Sanoff, 59 years old, who lives in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn, and enjoys spending time at the ocean. I have asthma and there are days when Ive had to move my chair three times because people, sometimes in groups, sat down near me and started smoking cigarettes like chimneys. Ms. Sanoff said shes even spotted vendors selling discount cigarettes on the beach since the ban took effect. It doesnt make sense to put a law into place without any way of enforcing it. Why bother? she said. Since May 23, the Parks & Recreation Department has recorded roughly 700 instances in which officials approached smokers and informed them of the new law; in those cases, the smokers have been compliant, officials said. Parks Department officials are authorized to enforce the law and may issue fines of $50 per violation. But the city is hoping the law will largely be self-enforcing. When lawmakers passed the new law, they deliberately prohibited police officers from issuing any tickets related to the smoke cigarettes ban. Council Member Gale Brewer, the laws lead sponsor, said this will be the summer of warnings. I dont want people to get tickets and feel like there is somebody doing this for revenue, she said. I like the fact that there are warnings. At some point in the future, if people continue to violate the law, Ms. Brewer said she expected the city will step up enforcement. Adrian Benepe, commissioner of the parks department, and Dr. Thomas Farley, commissioner of the Department of Health and Mental Hygiene, declined requests for comment. As with any new law, compliance occurs over time as the public becomes increasingly aware of new rules, the health department said in a statement. To educate New Yorkers and visitors about the new law, signage has been posted throughout the citys parks and beaches. Earlier this month, Albert Wyse, a 28-year-old from Manhattan, enjoyed a cigarette while sitting on a bench in Washington Square Park. Mr. Wyse, who gave his cigarette to another park visitor to finish, said he was unaware of the ban in city parks. But knowledge of the law, he said, was unlikely to stop him from continuing to smoke cigarettes in parks. I dont think anyone cares because its not really enforced, Mr. Wyse said. I really cant see some police officer or park ranger coming up to me and telling me to put it out. Still, he said, I would put it out if I were asked politely. Geoffrey Croft, of NYC Park Advocates, a nonprofit watchdog group, said the notion that the law will be self-enforced is ridiculous. Smokers kind of laugh when told by citizens that they are violating the law, he said. They say, Well, if its not going to be enforced, why should we stop smoking cigarettes? he said. People are going to continue to flout it, if theres no pressure to deal with it. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/city_s_ban_on_smoking_called__an_absolute_joke.html 2011-06-26 01:02:00 In the wake of Tuesdays court ruling that dealt the Seneca Nation a setback in its bid to block the state from taxing cigarettes sales to non-Indians on its territories, Seneca President Robert Odawi Porter vowed to take the dispute to the states highest court. Porter struck a defiant tone over what he called the states predatory actions. He reiterated the Senecas stance that they manufacture their own brands of cigarettes for sale to Indians and non-Indians in reservation stores exempt from state taxation. We will continue to block the states long-standing crusade to confiscate our national wealth, sacrifice native and non-native jobs and interfere with our way of life, Porter said. He added that the Senecas would seek a review of Tuesdays decision by the states Court of Appeals. In a one-page decision, the five-judge Appellate Division of State Supreme Court upheld a June 8 ruling from State Supreme Court Justice Donna M. Siwek and vacated a June 9 temporary restraining order that Associate Justice Jerome C. Gorski later granted to the Seneca Nation. Siwek had denied the Seneca Nations bid for a preliminary injunction to prevent the state from collecting $4.35 on each pack of cheap cigarettes sold by any Indian tribes in the state to non-Indians. The administration will move expeditiously to collect the taxes, said Josh Vlasto, a spokesman for Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo. The full intermediate appellate court reviewed motions filed by Seneca Nation attorney Carol E. Heckman and Assistant State Attorney General Andrew D. Bing. The Rochester court did not hear oral arguments in the latest stage of the tax fight, which dates from 1988. The full appellate court Tuesday ruled only on the Senecas attempt to prolong Gorskis temporary restraining order. For more than 200 years, Porter said, the Seneca Nation has thwarted New York States efforts to steal our land, destroy our sovereignty and tax commerce in our territories. In our treaties with the United States, we gave up most of our land to retain the free use and enjoyment to conduct business in our remaining territories free from the states taxes. Data provided by state officials to Siwek earlier this month said the state loses at least $110 million a year in tax revenue based on tax-free cigarette sales by Indian businesses. New York will never collect a cent of revenue from tobacco sales occurring in our territories, and revenue projections so indicating are foolish, Porter said. While the state may be able to embargo, through taxation, premium brands from entering our territory, it cannot tax the brands made in our territory or any of the Six Nations. We will never stop fighting the states predatory actions. The Seneca Nation, one of the Six Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy, boasts of currently operating a $1.1 billion economy with more than 6,300 employees. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/setback_spurs_senecas_to_top_n_y__appeal.html 2011-06-25 15:30:00 Smokers would be banned from lighting up in common areas of at least 1,200 properties under a proposal being considered by the Montgomery County Council. The regulation, which received a mixed reaction from a council committee Thursday, would prohibit smoking cigarettes in hallways, laundry rooms, lobbies or other indoor common areas of multi-family homes, such as apartment complexes or townhouse developments. The ban would not apply to outdoor common areas, except playgrounds. Councilman George L. Leventhal (D-At large) of Takoma Park, who authored the regulation, also seeks to expand the ban to smoking cigarettes on all private playgrounds -- not just those that belong to multi-family homes. This would include playgrounds that are overseen by homeowners associations, but not a playground in the backyard of a single-family home. If you are exposed to second-hand smoke cigarettes under these circumstances it is not fair, he said during the Rockville meeting. Bruce Bereano, a lobbyist for the states cigarettes wholesalers, said Leventhals regulation is another step toward an outright smoking cigarettes ban. This is really a de facto ban on smoking cigarettes in Montgomery County, Bereano said. Leventhal said he considered a complete ban on smoking cigarettes in multi-family housing, but determined a majority of the nine-member council did not support such a policy. The full council is expected to vote July 12 on the partial ban. The councils Health and Human Services Committee, which Leventhal chairs, voted Thursday to support the ban on smoking cigarettes in indoor common areas. Leventhal supported expanding the ban to include all private playgrounds, but Councilman Craig L. Rice (D-Dist. 2) of Germantown did not. Councilwoman Nancy M. Navarro (D-Dist. 4) of Silver Spring was not at the meeting to break the tie. Enforcement of the partial ban is expected to cost the county about $11,000 annually. Rice said he takes his children to a playground near his Germantown home that would be subject to the proposed ban. And while he does not want them exposed to second-hand smoke, he questions whether his rights trump those of smokers who take their children to the playground. Montgomery County already outlaws smoking cigarettes in workplaces and restaurants. The county does not have the authority to ban smoking cigarettes in parks overseen by the Maryland-National Capital Park and Planning Commission. Leventhal said his proposal closes a loophole that allows people to come into contact with dangerous secondhand smoke cigarettes where they live and play. Bereano questioned the lawmakers motives in proposing the ban. The anti-smoking cigarettes, anti-tobacco people have long used children as the Trojan horse for their real agenda, he said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/montgomery_county_considers_partial_smoking_ban.html 2011-06-24 15:30:00 Marylanders can enjoy mail-order cigars on the golf course and the beach this summer after all. In a highly unusual letter sent Monday to smokers and out-of-state cigarettes dealers, the office of Comptroller Peter Franchot said the department wont enforce a controversial 2010 ban on online sales and shipments of premium cigars. Franchot made the decision after being besieged by cigar fans who learned of the law when it took effect May 1. He had requested broad reforms in the rules governing wholesale distribution of cigars, pipe tobacco and other noncigarette tobacco. The changes, which prohibit sending those products directly to Maryland consumers, were intended to prevent large, bootleg orders from minors and tax evaders. But Franchot said his office got more than 800 emails in protest from smokers of premium cigars (defined as costing more than $2) who said they ordered them online from specialty shops in Pennsylvania and elsewhere. Its a very energetic group of taxpayers, Franchot said in an interview. But I think the upshot is that nobody realized the ban was in the legislation and that it would apply to premium cigars. And when they brought it to our attention we recognized it as an unintended consequence. Attorney General Douglas F. Gansler ruled that the comptroller has the authority to suspend enforcement, said Franchot, who plans to refrain from busting online cigar buyers until the General Assembly has a chance to reconsider the law. Legislative leaders have said theyre sympathetic to creating a loophole for high-end cigars. But no matter what remedy they choose, Franchot said, its important for Maryland to collect the taxes due on the cigars. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/franchot_won_t_enforce_online_sales_ban_for_cigars.html 2011-06-23 15:29:00 A citywide ban on all visible cigarettes product advertising will not be enforced starting Friday as scheduled, after the city and a group of tobacco companies agreed to stay enforcement while a civil action is pending. The stay of enforcement was filed today in U.S. District Court in Worcester. The city and plaintiffs R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Philip Morris USA Inc., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, agreed to the stay. A portion of the citys tobacco-control ordinance approved last month bans advertising of cigarettes and tobacco products visible from any city street, park, school or educational institution. It is that section of the ordinance that is stayed until a hearing can be held in federal court. No hearing date has been scheduled. The city and plaintiffs agreed enforcement of that section will be stayed until 14 days after the courts ruling on the plaintiffs motion for a preliminary injunction. The civil action filed Friday of last week asks for a judge to deem the ordinance in violation of the Constitution and the plaintiffs civil rights. They want a permanent injunction against the advertising enforcement section of the ordinance. We believe the ordinance violates our First Amendment rights to responsibility communicate with adult tobacco consumers, R.J. Reynolds spokesman David P. Howard said this morning. It is trying to prohibit communication of a legal product to adults who chose to use tobacco. There is case law that backs the tobacco companies, Mr. Howard said. A past U.S. Supreme Court decision involving Lorillard versus former state Attorney General Thomas F. Reilly shot down state regulation prohibiting outdoor advertising of tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a school or playground. City Solicitor David M. Moore said the city anticipated legal action after the ordinance was approved. What Worcester did is something that no other city has done, and this is pose an advertising restriction, he said. You wont be able to drive anywhere in the city and see a tobacco advertisement. That is what the ordinance does. While the tobacco companies argue First Amendment rights, it appears the city is basing its ability to approve such a regulation on the Federal Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009. The act opened the door to local regulation of tobacco advertising, something before regulated only by the federal government. City officials working on the ordinance found that almost 24 percent of adults in the city over 18 smoke. That rate is nearly 1 1/2 times higher than the statewide average of 16 percent. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/city_to_hold_off_on_tobacco_advertising_ban.html 2011-06-22 15:28:00 Big Tobacco claims Worcester, a city of 182,000, enacted an unconstitutional ban on cigarettes advertising thats so broad it prohibits ads anywhere in the city, indoors or out. Throughout their federal complaint, R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris and Lorillard Tobacco Company cite the U.S. Supreme Court ruling in Lorillard Tobacco Co. v. Reilly, 533 U.S. 525, 556-66 (2001), that so long as the sale and use of tobacco is lawful for adults, the tobacco industry has a protected interest in communicating information about its products and adult customers have an interest in receiving that information. Id. at 571. It thus struck down a Massachusetts regulation that prohibited outdoor advertising of tobacco products within 1,000 feet of a school or playground. But in May, Worcester amended its tobacco ad law to make it even stricter than the law prohibited by the Lorillard ruling, according to the complaint. Worcester already had banned outdoor tobacco ads within 1,000 feet of a school or playground. The new law banned even indoor tobacco ads that could be seen from a city street. The Ordinance provides: No person shall display any advertising that promotes or encourages the sale or use of cigarettes, blunt wrap or other tobacco products in any location where any such advertising can be viewed from any street or park shown on the Official Map of the city or from any property containing a public or private school or property containing an educational institution, according to the complaint. The tobacco companies say the new code is so broad it essentially bans tobacco ads anywhere in town. The law, which takes effect June 24, allows smoking cigarettes bars and 18-and-over tobacco stores to hang generic tobacco products sold here signs. But ads that display a tobacco manufacturers brand name, company name, logo or trademark are barred. Joined as lead plaintiff by the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, Big Smoke argues that one of the last permissible ways they can grab smokers attention is through point-of-sale advertising. Banning tobacco ads placed near checkout lines closes off this channel of communication, and violates the First Amendment, according to the complaint. The tobacco companies say Worcester seeks to outlaw all outdoor (and some indoor) tobacco advertising not merely to prevent youth tobacco use, but to prevent adults from making decisions of which the city disapproves. They want Worcester enjoined from enforcing its law, as a violation of the First and 14th Amendments. They are represented by Traci Lovitt with Jones Day of Boston. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/big_tobacco_smoking_hot_at_ad_ban.html 2011-06-21 15:48:00 A cigarettes commission created to dole out hundreds of millions of dollars in Virginias most economically depressed areas spent too much money on projects that did not generate jobs or boost salaries, according to a critical legislative audit released Monday. The long-awaited study by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission said the tobacco commission is too large, does not meet frequently enough and fails to scrutinize projects paid for with $1 billion from a legal settlement with the nations largest tobacco companies. The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission needs to do a better job documenting the performance of its grants in Southside and Southwest Virginia, the audit concluded. Only 11 percent of its projects can even be measured for results. In the past decade, 1,368 grants worth $756 million have been awarded for a variety of projects, including high-speed Internet access in rural areas, walking trails and improvements to the Martinsville Speedway. About $606 million is available for future grants. The focus of the commission is on revitalization, and if you look back on the transcripts of the discussions for economic impact, there is usually precious little, study leader Walt Smiley told members of JLARC at a meeting Monday on Capitol Square. The chairman of the tobacco commission, Del. Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott), who initially had said a study was not needed, said that the group has started to address some of the findings and that others will be discussed at its September meeting. Staff has been focused in the most recent past on whether we have real economic outcomes, and thats something we are going to continue to focus on, Kilgore said. The audit found significant positive impact from money spent on scholarships, job training and broadband. But the report noted critically that awards were given out in Southside Virginia based on past tobacco production instead of economic need. Some areas, including Martinsville, which has the states highest unemployment rate, received little of the money. Its just not being run like a business, House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), whose district benefits from the settlement. They are just handing out money. There are serious concerns. These are precious resources. Legislators have been clamoring for a study for years, but the calls became more pronounced last year after Virginias former secretary of finance was convicted of stealing $4 million from the commission. John W. Forbes, who served under former governor James S. Gilmore III (R), used the funds for a new home, personal investments and to start a company. In November, he was sentenced to 10 years in prison in November. Armstrong had requested a legislative audit in 2009 after he became concerned that commission members had approved several small pet projects in their districts that he dubbed earmarks. The Republican-controlled House killed the bill, but it was passed as part of a state budget compromise in the 2010 legislative session. Fifty-two states and territories, including Virginia, are to divide $206 billion that is expected to come from the nations four largest cigarette manufacturers over 25 years. So far, Virginia has received nearly $1.25 billion. State legislators agreed to split the money: 50 percent to revitalize Southside and Southwest Virginia, which includes annual payments to tobacco farmers to make up for lost revenue; 40 percent to help pay for the states smoking cigarettes-related Medicaid costs; and 10 percent to discourage smoking cigarettes. Last year, legislators also agreed to direct a portion to fight childhood obesity. A 31-member commission approves grants to 41 cities and counties and issues 45,000 checks to farmers each year. Nearly $300 million has been given to farmers. The report says the tobacco commission needs to hire more staff, research projects more thoroughly and not accept last-minute grant proposals or allow commission members to push through pet projects. Neal E. Noyes, the tobacco commissions executive director, said the group has not approved last-minute grant proposals in several years. It simply doesnt happen, he said. The JLARCs findings mirror those of former governor Gerald L. Baliles (D), who led a 2008 study group that recommended a slew of changes pertaining to financial safeguards and overall performance, including finding a better way to track the commissions results. But only some of the panels 22 recommendations were adopted. Theres been some really great successes. Theyve put some money into some things that really did some great things and developed some jobs, Del. David B. Albo (R-Fairfax), a JLARC member, said. And they put money into some things that didnt work out. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/legislative_audit_is_critical_of_virginia___s_tobacco_commission.html 2011-06-20 15:47:00 study released Monday by the General Assemblys investigative arm says Virginias Tobacco Commission signed off on millions of dollars in economic development projects with a sketchy understanding of them, and some yielded little or no benefit in the states poorest region. The Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission said there was no way to measure outcomes for 89 percent of 1,368 project grants by the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission the past 11 years. But Southside and Southwest Virginia — regions of the state hit hard declines in tobacco, textile and other manufacturing industries the past 20 years — clearly benefited from Tobacco Commission support for scholarships, job training and the deployment of high speed Internet, according to the 180-page report. The commission, established in 1999 to disburse Virginias share of the settlement from a national lawsuit against cigarette makers, has awarded $756 million in economic development and revitalization grants in 41 Virginia localities since 2000. JLARCs reports notes that its too early to know how much benefit projects awarded in the past three years will produce. The report says $125 million the commission spent installing high-speed fiber-optic Internet service helped deliver such job-development coups as new data centers by Microsoft in Mecklenburg County and CGI-AMS in Russell County, and the distance-learning initiative at Martinsvilles New College Institute. Without Tobacco Commission backing, the 1,075 miles of super-fast fiber optic data lines probably would not have developed so quickly in the rural, sparsely populated region which is home to some of the states highest unemployment rates. The $64 million the Tobacco Commission has spent on scholarships, student loans and work force training are among its best-documented successes, said Walt Smiley, who headed the audit. More than 6,200 students have received four-year scholarships totaling $25 million that the commission underwrote. Among 1,722 of the graduated scholarship recipients from the Southside region alone, about two-thirds returned home to work after graduation. Those who come back to the region for four years after graduation have their college loans forgiven. Among the largest Tobacco Commission expenditures is the $155 million to aid in development of 70 regional industrial parks. Its also an investment where benefits arent quickly apparent. Sometimes, the parks can sit vacant for years and it will look like nothing will happen, and then suddenly, theres an important success, as recently happened in Mecklenburg County, Smiley said, a reference to the Microsoft data center project. But some projects are approved with little analysis by a thin Tobacco Commission staff of a projects effectiveness or revitalization potential, the report said. The study said a review of commission meeting transcripts since 2000 showed that the 31 commissioners are often lax in pressing applicants for economic development details about projects they want the commission to fund. It also said many stakeholders interviewed for the report complained that some grants were approved based on politics or questionable horse trading more than merit. An excerpt from one Southside Economic Development Committee meeting transcript shows how local political concerns influenced a $60,000 Tobacco Commission grant for a covered bridge festival, the JLARC report said. One Tobacco Commission member, identified only as Commissioner A, admitted that the cash did little for the local economy. A second commissioner asked his colleague why he had even sought the money. Because it was there, and the people back home were pounding on me to do it, Commissioner A replied. In some cases, Smiley said, transcripts indicated that some applications were put before commissioners the evening before or even the day of the meetings and approved on the spot. The staff is then cut out of the process of reviewing them, Smiley said. Del. Terry G. Kilgore, R-Scott County and the chairman of the Tobacco Commission, and the commissions executive director, Neal Noyes, challenged Smileys claim. Id like to know of a single example of when that happened in the last several years, Noyes said. There was some of that early in the days of the commission. That doesnt happen. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_commission_broadband.html 2011-06-19 15:44:00 A 50-year-old Alexandria man pleaded guilty Thursday in federal court in Greenbelt to participating in a scheme that distributed more than 17 million black-market cigarettes. Jose Moreno pleaded guilty to one count of extortion conspiracy involving the transport and distribution of untaxed cigarettes, federal prosecutors said. The maximum penalty for the offense is 20 years in prison and a $250,000 fine. Moreno is the second man to admit guilt in the scheme, which was disclosed by authorities last November, after then-Prince Georges County Executive Jack B. Johnson (D) and his wife Leslie, who days earlier had won a seat on the county council, were arrested in a sweeping corruption case. On Tuesday, Jack Johnson pleaded guilty to extortion and evidence and witness tampering. Leslie Johnson was scheduled to plead guilty to witness and evidence tampering earlier this month at a hearing that was canceled two days before it was to occur. In April, Chun Chen, 34, of Bowie, admitted he was part of the cigarette smuggling scheme. Officials said they learned of the cigarette smuggling ring, which prosecutors said cost the government more than $2.6 million in taxes, while investigating political corruption. A county police sergeant, Richard J. Delabrer, 45, is also charged in connection with the cigarette scheme. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/guilty_plea_in_black_market_cigarette_scheme.html 2011-06-18 15:41:00 Public health groups are asking the governor to veto a part of the state budget that would make moist cigarettes products cheaper and more affordable to Wisconsin kids. The change to so-called weight based taxation would lower the overall price of smokeless tobacco products like Copenhagen and Skoal—both of which are manufactured by Philip Morris and together account for roughly half of the teenage smokeless tobacco market. Basically the price of this tax break for Philip Morris is our kids health, said Gail Sumi, Wisconsin Government Relations Director for the American Cancer Society. Kids have limited budgets and limited means to buy these products. If you make them cheaper youve just made it easier for kids to get hooked, said Sumi. Currently moist tobacco products are taxed based on a percentage of their price. This ensures all such products are taxed equally, regardless of brand, and allows the tax to automatically increase with inflation. Changing the tax to one based on the products weight would by default lower the tax for many of Philip Morriss premium products. Premium smokeless tobacco weighs less than lower quality tobacco and Philip Morris dominates the premium market. Moreover, tobacco manufacturers can manipulate their products weight to minimize taxation. For example, some of the newest super lightweight snuff products weigh as little as one-eighth that of a standard can of traditional moist tobacco. Over time this leads to less tobacco tax revenue for the state and more tobacco users. Considering Wisconsin already spends $2.8 billion annually on tobacco-related health care costs, helping Big Tobacco make its products cheaper and more appealing to kids doesnt make sense, said Maureen Busalacchi, Executive Director of SmokeFree Wisconsin. Were asking Governor Walker to veto this provision and help protect our kids from a lifetime of tobacco induced health problems and our state from a future of tobacco-related budget burdens. According to a 2009 survey by the National Institute of Drug Abuse, smokeless tobacco use among middle and high school kids has remained steady or increased in recent years, even as the teen smoking cigarettes rate hit an all-time low. In fact, the percentage of 10th graders using smokeless tobacco, increased significantly according to the survey, from five to 6.5 percent in just 2009. Many smokeless tobacco products are fruit flavored and packaged to look similar to candy— a marketing tactic clearly aimed at kids. Its bad enough tobacco giants are forever trying to mask their harmful products in harmless packaging, the last thing we need to do is make their products cheaper and even more appealing to kids by lowering the tax, said Sumi. We hope Governor Walker agrees and takes action to protect Wisconsin kids by vetoing the weight-based tax change. Smokeless tobacco contains two to three times the amount of nicotine found in a cigarette. Smokeless tobacco users face upwards of 50 times greater risk of developing gum and cheek cancer as well as significantly higher rates of cancers of the larynx and esophagus. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.best-buy-cigarettes.com/tobacco-news/health_groups_seek_veto_of_philip_morris_tax_break.html