Community reacts to governor's cigarette tax hike proposal

STATEWIDE -- It's something smokers just don't want to hear.
"The government should be out of our business and should stop telling people what to do and what not to do."
Those who want to light up may have to pay an extra buck in taxes for a pack of cigarettes. This as part of Governor Paterson's 2010-2011 budget proposal. The governor wants to hike up the cigarette tax from $2.75 to $3.75.
"It’s ridiculous, now they're raising it up a dollar everyone is going to quit"!
That's exactly the point the American Cancer Society wants to make.
"You know it’s hard to get excited for a tax increase in this economy. This is tax increase that New Yorkers can feel very good about its actually good for public health and financial health and it will help in three ways it will save money creating new revenue and it will save lives because it will get individuals from stop smoking or even starting and all of that money will go to offsetting the cost of health care, " said American cancer society regional vice president Diana Martin.
Businesses agree, some saying after the Governor's first cigarette tax hike they've seen more people opting to buy smoking cessation products.
" I've seen less people buying less cigarettes and more people quitting and trying to quit with Chantix and some of the other things that are available to them, " said Mobile clerk Sandra Blanchard.
The governor's cigarette tax increase proposal will help close the $7.4 billion budget gap the state faces by reeling in about $200 million each year in revenue.

Fla. wants citizens to report tobacco tax cheats

Florida is trying to enlist citizens in a campaign against tobacco tax cheats.
The state made the trade in illegal cigarettes more lucrative this year by increasing the cigarette tax by $1 a pack.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco on Wednesday announced that it'll begin paying informants up to 50 percent of fines collected for illegal cigarette sales.
The agency also has set up a toll-free hot line to report sales of cigarettes without the required tax stamp.

Police believe string of Walgreens robberies are connected

A string of robberies at Colorado Springs Walgreens stores seems to be connected, Colorado Springs police said.
Sgt. Jim Meyers said loss-prevention officers have studied video and said that five robberies in recent weeks were all done by the same man.
The most recent robbery was Monday night, when a man believed to be 18 to 25 years old walked into the Walgreens store at 6011 Rangewood Drive and asked for a carton of cigarettes.
After the clerk gave him the cigarettes he demanded money, but then walked out of the store with the cigarettes before the clerk had a chance to give it to him.
Meyers said the five robberies fit a similar profile: A man in his late teens or early 20s walks into a Walgreens without a weapon, usually between 6 and 8 p.m., and demands money.
In addition to the Rangewood Walgreens, which was robbed twice, a Walgreens at 4713 Flintridge Drive has also been robbed twice. A Walgreens at 920 N. Circle Drive has also been robbed.
Meyers said police are aware of the situation and keeping an eye out, as are employees at Walgreens stores.

New law prohibits chewing tobacco at Oneida County properties

Chewing tobacco is no longer an accepted habit in or on any Oneida County owned properties.The new law will coincide with other county laws that prohibit smoking unless in a designated part of county properties.
Legislator George Joseph introduced the law, and said that when people chew tobacco and use "spit cups," it can put other people's health at risk.
"If nothing else, what it does is bring focus to the hygiene of others around us," Joseph said. "If it is just the start in doing that, then it is worth it."
Those caught breaking the law are subject to a written violation notice. Any offense thereafter could result in a fine.

NJ Senate Okays Restrictions for E-Cigarettes

Late last week, the New Jersey Senate voted unanimously to apply a portion of the New Jersey Free Air Act to regulate electronic smoking devices, NJ Today reports.
The measure would enlarge its smoking definition to encompass e-cigarettes. Under the bill, smoking would be classified as burning or inhaling tobacco or any other matter that could be inhaled or smoked, or the inhaling of smoke or vapor from an e-cigarette. Also, the smoking ban for minors would extend to use of electronic smoking devices.
“When a user puffs on an e-cigarette, which is a stainless steel tube designed to look like a real cigarette, they inhale a vaporized solution that usually contains nicotine,” said state Sen. Bob Gordon. “The liquid often contains flavoring, such as chocolate or cherry. It seems obvious the people who make these devices are trying to make them attractive to younger people.”
The act already outlaws smoking of cigars, cigarettes, pipes or other matter or substance with tobacco or any other matter that can be smoked in any indoor public place and workplace. “Our bill would update the current law to define an electronic smoking device to mean an electronic device that can be used to deliver nicotine or other substances to the person inhaling from the device, including an electronic cigarette, cigar, cigarillo, or pipe,” said Gordon.
Across the country, the battle to regulate e-cigarettes continues. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have found electronic smoking devices to have carcinogens. A recent lawsuit by electronic cigarette distributors challenges the agency’s authority to regulate the products.

Tobacco taxes vary wildly across Potomac

Virginia, despite joining its counterparts across the Potomac in banning smoking in bars and restaurants, stands apart in its refusal to levy heavy taxes on the sale of cigarettes.
The state takes 30 cents out of every pack of cigarettes, a pittance compared with Maryland and the District and a reminder that the Old Dominion is far from uprooting its tobacco history.
While lawmakers agreed this year to the unprecedented restriction on where someone can smoke -- a victory for Gov. Tim Kaine -- the General Assembly nevertheless shot down Kaine's effort to double the cigarette levy to pay for skyrocketing Medicaid costs.
Virginia until five years ago had almost no tax on cigarettes, charging only 2.5 cents per pack. The increase to 30 cents in 2004 was the first since the tax was enacted in 1960.
That levy is the third lowest cigarette tax in the nation -- higher than only Missouri and South Carolina -- and less than a tenth of Rhode Island's highest-in-the-nation $3.46 per pack charge, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Maryland doubled its tax to $2 per pack in 2007. The D.C. Council matched that tax in 2008, and this year upped the ante to $2.50 a pack.
Virginia lawmakers' reluctance to follow suit is no doubt linked to the tobacco industry's presence in the state. Altria -- the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris -- is headquartered in Richmond and is a major campaign donor. Tobacco ranked ninth last year among the state's most lucrative agricultural products, bringing in $83 million, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Tobacco retailer fined S$2,500 for selling cigarettes to underage youth

A tobacco retailer has been fined S$2,500 for indirectly selling tobacco products to a person below the age of 18.
Cheau Biau Teck has also been banned from selling tobacco products.
Cheau who owns a provision shop overheard an adult offering to buy a packet of cigarettes for an underage youth.
Despite knowing that it was illegal, he still sold the cigarettes to the adult knowing that the adult would pass it on to the youth.
This is the second time that Cheau has been caught for the same offence.
The Health Sciences Authority reminds all tobacco retailers that selling tobacco products to a person below the age of 18 is an offence and is punishable with a maximum fine of S$5,000.

Newton aldermen snuff out tobacco in pharmacies

Newton — The Board of Aldermen approved a ban forbidding pharmacies from selling tobacco products in the city by a wide margin Monday night. The measure passed without discussion.
In an 18-3 vote, members approved the ban, which supporters said was intended to prevent those in the public health business from selling cigarettes and other tobacco items.
Aldermen Bill Brandel, Amy Sangiolo and Jay Harney cast the only nay votes against the ban.
Supporters of the proposal said at a previous meeting that pharmacies should not sell cigarettes because they also sell medicine — including medication for people trying to quit smoking.
Having to walk by cigarettes while being treated for cigarette addiction was sending patients mixed messages, they said.Opponents said the measure would deprive pharmacies from a source of revenue.
Of the 60 licensed cigarette vendors in Newton, 10 are pharmacies. According to city statistics, two of those pharmacies were caught selling cigarettes to minors during the city’s enforcement sweep in June, while 16 other vendors were also caught.
Newton’s ban is similar to that in neighboring Needham, along with ones in Boston and San Francisco.

Tobacco Smoke Has Harmful Impact On Asthma, Rhinitis And Immunity

Tobacco smoke is involved in uncontrolled asthma, a diminished response to anti-asthma drugs, rhinitis, nasal obstruction, and deregulation of the immune system according to an international expert at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Miami Beach, Fla.
Tobacco smoking has been mainly associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and is attributed to being one of the main reasons that COPD disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
“Recent studies have shown that smoking can be linked with other respiratory diseases such as asthma exacerbations and rhinitis,” said Carlos Baena-Cagnani, M.D., faculty of medicine, at Catholic University of Cordoba in Argentina. “Both active and passive smoking has been shown to be involved in uncontrolled asthma and associated with asthma exacerbations in children and adolescents.”
According to Dr. Baena-Cagnani, active smoking also causes changes in inflammation in asthma patients, diminishes their response to anti-asthma drugs, and has been found to induce nasal obstruction and decreased mucociliary clearance.
“The message is that smoking is a risk factor for the inception of asthma in allergic rhinitis patients, and it should be discouraged in patients with rhinitis,” he said. “There is increasing and compelling evidence that respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD, are also related to a deregulation of the immune system, especially the innate (natural) immunity.”
According to the latest World Health Organization statistics, currently 300 million people have asthma, and 210 million people have COPD, while millions have allergic rhinitis and other often under-diagnosed chronic respiratory diseases, Dr. Baena-Cagnani said.

Teenagers could be fined if they smoke

SHOPKEEPERS want to turn children into criminals by making it illegal for minors to light up.
Under a plan proposed by the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores, which represents corner stores and petrol stations, children under 18 would be fined or given a court notice for smoking, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Association executive director Sheryle Moon said teenage smoking should be treated the same as underage drinking, adding: "Just as police officers enforce alcohol now, they would have the power to enforce underage smoking."
Frustrated that retailers carry the burden of underage smoking and face fines of $5500 if they sell to a minor, shopkeepers want parents and children to bear the responsibility.But their proposal, which will be presented to State and Federal Governments this week, has been slammed by anti-smoking groups, who said it would criminalise children.
About 10 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 smoke - that number doubles after 17.
While the rate of underage smoking is declining, about 80 per cent of smokers started while children.
Under the NSW Tobacco Act, there is nothing to prevent a child from smoking - but an adult who purchases cigarettes for a minor can face a fine of $2200. Next year, under new legislation, shops will be forced to hide tobacco products from sight.
Ms Moon said traders face up to $20,000 in shop renovations to meet the laws, adding it was a "disproportionate level of responsibility".
The NSW Cancer Council yesterday dismissed the idea, claiming that education was more effective in reducing underage smoking.
Instead of the law criminalising teenagers who smoke, it recommended corner stores and petrol stations just stop selling cigarettes.
"The problem with making smoking illegal is that it turns people into criminals for a bad habit they developed through aggressive marketing by tobacco companies," the Cancer Council's tobacco unit manager Wendy Oakes said.

It’s no smoke: IU Southeast students protest smoking ban

A small group of students at Indiana University Southeast protested the university’s tobacco-free policy by lighting cigarettes and smoking on campus Thursday afternoon.
Three students received referrals after campus police asked them to put out their cigarettes and they refused, but the protest remained peaceful. Another half dozen students joined in the protest or carried signs but chose not to smoke.
Ian Girdley, a sophomore English and journalism major, organized what he called the “act of civil disobedience.”
“We ask the IU Board of Trustees to give us a reasonable place to smoke while still protecting students from unwanted secondhand smoke,” Girdley said.The students walked from the free speech area near the clock tower about 50 yards to a nearby field to smoke. The campus policy is that students can only smoke in vehicles.
“I think most of us would just like a designated area to smoke — maybe one on each end of campus,” said Katelyn Dowell, a junior majoring in psychology.
Tristan Williamson, a junior English major, does not smoke, but marched with the demonstrators. He said it is “ridiculous” that smokers do not have a place to go.
Former IUS music professor Jamey Abersold argued with the protesters, accusing them of distorting the truth about the harmfulness of tobacco. Abersold now does anti-smoking presentations at local schools.
“I don’t think people should be allowed to smoke anywhere,” Abersold said.
University spokeswoman Jenny Johnson Wolf said the students who chose to smoke will be referred to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs, which is university policy for anyone caught smoking.
There is a judicial hearing to determine any discipline. Wolf said there is no minimum or maximum penalty for violating the smoking ban and that each offender is treated on a “case- by-case” basis.
In two years of the restrictions, less than 20 students have received referrals for smoking, Wolf said. Many of the students at the protest say they smoke in the parking lot, and no one has ever told them to stop. Girdley said he has received verbal reprimands for smoking on campus, but was never issued a referral before Thursday.
He said one reason they chose to demonstrate now — two years after the Indiana University Board of Trustees mandated the campus become completely tobacco-free — is because of concern the university was planning to start stricter enforcement of the anti-smoking policy.
Wolf said the university is discussing how to better enforce the rules, but that no formal proposal has been made and no date is set for changes to take place.
“The campus, with feedback from our Executive Council and students, is reviewing options to improve the effectiveness of the tobacco-free compliance, Wolf said. “This includes the possibility of fines and/or community service being assigned to those who break the tobacco-free policy.”
Student Government Association President James Bonsall said he will meet today with administration officials to discuss how to better enforce the tobacco-free policy. He said the university is considering issuing citations that would be similar to parking tickets, rather than having students go before a judicial board.
“Basically, nobody has ever had to enforce the smoking ban so far,” Bonsall said.
He said the problem with the current system is that some students do not have vehicles on campus and therefore cannot smoke. He supports having designated smoking areas away from building.
“I don’t believe nonsmoking students should be subjected at all to smoke,” Bonsall said.
He said it was good to see students out protesting, although he disagrees with them violating university rules to do so.

Cigarettes and Lotto tickets stolen

OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Deputies are investigating a break-in at an Ottawa County store.
They say someone forced their way into the Mobile Mart Gas Station on Ottawa Beach Road near Holland and stole cigarettes and Lotto tickets.
This happened early Monday morning.
Deputies are still looking for the suspect. If you have any information call the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.

State could raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack to pay for MAP grants

SPRINGFIELD -- The idea of raising Illinois cigarette taxes by a $1 a pack could come up again as early as next week as a way to pay for the state's biggest scholarship program.
Raising taxes by $1 was debated this spring as a way to generate more money for health care for low-income people.
Now, Gov. Pat Quinn wants to use money from a cigarette tax hike to pay for the state's Monetary Award Program. It's the biggest need-based scholarship program in Illinois, but the state's financial problems have left money for spring semester grants in limbo.
Though the Illinois Senate approved of raising cigarette taxes earlier this year, there weren't enough votes in the House to follow suit. Lawmakers returning to Springfield next week could try again.
The Senate sponsor of the tax plan said spending more on health care will draw in federal money. Then, state money could be shifted to pay for MAP grants.
"I don't think we're too far apart in our goals," said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston.
The tax hike faces opposition, though.
Republicans are pushing a plan to allow some people and businesses who are behind in paying their income and sales taxes to pay up without penalty in an effort to generate millions to pay for MAP.
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said Republicans on board the tax amnesty plan want to see it approved before cigarette taxes are even considered.
Plus, he said, the effectiveness of a tax increase on cigarettes might be overestimated.
"More people will stop smoking," Brady said.
That's good for health reasons, he said, but not if the state is banking on getting more money.
Steve Brown, spokesman for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, said the Republican plan won't work.
Giving people who are behind on their taxes a break could actually cost the state money, he said.
"This is money the state would already get, and with penalties," Brown said. "There's a reluctance to give a break for deadbeats.The annual fall session of the General Assembly starts next week.

Huge rise in admissions caused by smoking

Smoking-related hospital admissions in people over 35 have risen by more than a fifth in the past decade, show the latest figures from The Health and Social Care Information Centre.
In the year 1997/8 there were fewer than 1.2 million admissions in England for smoking-attributable diseases in this age group, but in 2007/8 there were more than 1.4 million admissions for the same diseases – a rise of 22 per cent. The figures, published in Statistics on Smoking, England, 2009, equate to more than 4000 admissions per day. They exclude private patients in private hospitals, but include both NHS and private patients in NHS hospitals.
Circulatory diseases were responsible for the greatest overall number of smoking-related admissions, at almost 687,000; cancers came second, at almost 323,000. In men, 35 per cent of admissions for kidney cancer were estimated to be caused by smoking, compared with 9 per cent in women.
Of all 8.8 million admissions in 2007/8, about 440,900 – five per cent – were for smoking-related illness. However, more than 80 per cent of all admissions for cancer of the trachea, lung, bronchus or larynx were attributable to smoking, and 86 per cent of those for chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.
About 83,900 people died as a result of smoking – 18 per cent of all deaths in England for adults aged 35 or over. Smoking was estimated to be responsible for 23 per cent of deaths in men over 35, and 14 per cent of women.
The total expenditure on NHS Stop Smoking services in England in 2008/9 excluding drug treatments was almost £74 million – £219 per quitter – an increase of 26 per cent since 2007/8. The net ingredient cost of all stop-smoking prescription items – nicotine replacement therapy, varenicline (Champix) and bupropion (Zyban) – fell slightly from £61.5 million in 2007/8 to £57.5 million in 2008/9 but was a large increase on the £15.5 million these items cost in 2000/1.

Retailers warned against selling single cigarettes

State agencies are warning tobacco retailers to stop selling individual cigarettes that can be as cheap as 25 cents a piece, but pose a health threat to young people.
The state Attorney General's Office has notified 23 retailers who are allegedly selling single cigarettes that have been removed from the packs, called "loosies."
Retailers could face penalties up to $1,000 per violation for selling single cigarettes. Because of the low price of single cigarettes, health officials are concerned it may attract young people as an easy, affordable way to start smoking.

NY Indian Smoke Shops Feel the Heat

Judge’s ruling requires Indian reservation smoke shops to begin collecting tobacco taxes on sales to non-Indians by September 24.
NEW YORK – Having sold one in every seven packs of cigarettes in New York as recently as 2007 because it wasn’t required to assess state tobacco excise taxes, the Poospatuck Indian reservation has found its tobacco operations in serious jeopardy, as New York will begin a legal battle to assess tobacco taxes on reservation sales, the Associated Press reports.
Later this month, Poospatuck stores are supposed to begin collecting taxes for the first time, because of a federal judge’s ruling that untaxed tobacco sales to non-Indians are illegal.
The Poospatuck case is being watched closely by other states that are looking for ways to collect taxes on reservation sales to non-Indians.
At issue is what federal investigators call “buttleggers” — those who operate with the assistance of storeowners to buy large quantities of reservation smokes and resell them in the New York City at a markup. The profit margin at stake is wide — in New York City, a carton of cigarettes costs roughly $95, which includes $42.50 in state and local taxes.


"There's no difference between the cigarette business and the drug business. It's the same type of individuals involved," said Kyron Hodges, a former drug dealer from Brooklyn who has been transporting tax-free cigarettes from the Poospatuck reservation to the city. "I took all of my street knowledge and applied it to cigarettes."


In recent years, police have arrested more than 200 non-Indians leaving the Poospatuck reservation with cigarettes (by law, New York allows Indian merchants to sell tax-free cigarettes only to tribe members). However, the law has never been applied against the Indian smoke shops, despite what New York officials estimate at a $700 million a year loss in state and local tax revenue.


Things are beginning to come to a head, though. In an August 25 ruling, a U.S. District Judge ordered Poospatuck stores to begin collecting taxes on sales to non-Indians within 30 days. And Philip Morris ordered its wholesalers last year to cease selling its products to shops on the Poospatuck reservation because of smuggling.


"After 20 years of ever-worsening cigarette tax evasion in New York, the pendulum finally seems to be swinging in the direction of tax fairness," said James Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. "Experience has taught us not to get overconfident that the cigarette tax evasion epidemic will be cured, but the signs are encouraging."


One store on Poospatuck has already closed, and three others face uncertain futures.

Smoking ban at beach bad for local businesses

Something I find to be several times more disgusting than cigarette butts left at the beach is Susan Kepner's efforts to try and ban smoking completely at the beach with her possible bill. I'm a non-smoker and believe a bill such as the one she is drafting would drastically kill tourism at the beach and hurt small businesses and treats people who smoke as lesser human beings.

This is the Live Free or Die state and legislators such as herself are trying to take away the citizens' personal liberties. Not every smoker is leaving their cigarette butts behind, so it would be insolent of us to punish all smokers for what a small fraction of them decide to do. Additionally, non-smokers leave plenty of trash behind at the beach and yet we don't see any lawmakers trying to place a ban on bringing plastic bottles or paper onto the beach, which take just as long as cigarette filters to decompose.

I believe this bill would ultimately discourage a large portion of tourists from coming to Hampton Beach, which would contribute to a large drop in revenue for our small businesses who create jobs and fuel our community's economy. Maybe instead of banning smoking completely, we could work on ways to make cigarettes easier to dispose of, such as positioning proper cigarette disposal units across our state parks. We can all agree that littering is a huge problem on our state beaches, but an outright ban of smoking is not the right way to go about solving such a problem.