News 2011-11-22 18:11:00 A decline in U.S. cigarette consumption will lead to job cuts in the Richmond area's cigarettes industry.Altria Group Inc., the parent company of top U.S. cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, said Thursday that it will cut 15 percent of salaried employees supporting its cigarette business, with most job reductions coming by late February.The Henrico County-based company, one of the Richmond area's largest private employers, said the cuts are part of a plan to reduce annualized costs by $400 million by 2013.The company is making the cuts, even though third-quarter profits rose nearly 4 percent, because it anticipates a long-term decline in cigarette consumption."As we've said all along, one of the things that you're going to have to do in this business is, as volume declines … you have to take out cigarette-related infrastructure costs, in order to manage the business properly," Michael E. Szymanczyk, Altria's chairman and chief executive officer, said in a conference call with industry analysts Thursday.The cuts will affect salaried workers in the cigarette operations and in the company's subsidiaries that support that business. Altria did not disclose precisely how many employees would lose their jobs, nor did it disclose how many salaried employees work in the cigarette operations.Altria has about 10,000 employees across the U.S., including about 4,600 in Virginia with most in the Richmond area. It has several other subsidiaries besides Philip Morris USA, including smokeless tobacco, cigar and wine companies.While the cuts will affect employees across the nation, a spokesman for the company said many job reductions will be in the Richmond area.The cuts announced Thursday do not affect hourly, production employees, the company said. Philip Morris USA's only cigarette factory is in Richmond."The cost structure on that side has actually kept pretty much in line with cigarette volume decline," Szymanczyk said in the conference call.Altria said it would take an estimated charge of $375 million, mostly in the fourth quarter, for the cost-cutting program. About $300 million of that is for employee separation costs.The affected employees will be notified by mid-December, and most of the jobs will be eliminated by late February.The company is planning to offer enhanced severance benefits, including continuation of salary and benefits for a minimum of 25 weeks and up to 18 months, depending on an employee's length of service, said Bill Phelps, an Altria spokesman.In addition, pension enhancements will be available for employees ages 50 to 54 who have at least five years of service with the company as of Dec. 31 but who would otherwise not qualify for retirement benefits.The announcement comes as U.S. cigarette consumption continues to decline amid the slow economic recovery and tougher public smoking cigarettes laws. The erosion has been happening for years, but Altria said a 62-cents-a-pack increase in the federal cigarette excise tax in 2009 led to a "substantial" decline in cigarette shipments.That decline has prompted the entire industry to cut back on cigarette-related infrastructure and employment while diversifying into other products such as smokeless tobacco. Altria recently completed a four-year cost-reduction program that exceeded its $1.5 billion goal. In 2009, Philip Morris USA closed its cigarette plant in Cabarrus County, N.C., and consolidated production at its Richmond plant.The company said its domestic cigarette shipment volume declined 9 percent in the third quarter, primarily because of trade inventory dynamics and retail share losses. Its leading brand, Marlboro, lost 0.9 points of market share to end up with 41.7 percent of the U.S. market.The volume decline was more than analysts had expected, said Jack Russo, a senior analyst with Edward Jones in St. Louis, who noted that the No. 2 U.S. cigarette maker, Reynolds-American Inc., also reported cigarette volume declines in the third quarter."When you are in an industry like that, you have got to find a way to cut costs," Russo said.Still, investors continue to favor Altria, in part because of its high dividend yield, Russo said.During the third quarter, the company completed a $1 billion share buyback program in which it repurchased 37.6 million shares. It plans to buy back another $1 billion worth of shares by the end of 2012.Altria's profit rose in the third quarter, though its cigarette revenue excluding excise taxes fell 6 percent to $3.64 billion despite higher prices.The company reported profit of $1.17 billion, or 57 cents per share, for the three-month period that ended Sept. 30, up from $1.13 billion, or 54 cents a share, in the same period last year. Revenue excluding excise taxes fell 3 percent to $4.33 billion. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/job_cuts_at_altria_to_affect_richmond.html 2011-11-20 18:10:00 Up in Smoke" That's what anti-smoking cigarettes advocates say has happened to a significant amount of money spent every year to spread smoking cigarettes prevention messages to your children.The money doesn't come from taxpayers. It comes from cigarettes store companies. The companies pay the state roughly $120 million every year as part of the huge settlement, known as the master discount cigarette online settlement, reached in the late 1990's. Each state then decides how to spend it. Most years roughly $12 million has gone to reach your kids with anti-smoking cigarettes, anti-drug and anti-obesity messages and education.Now a big portion of that money has been diverted. It's down to roughly $9 million a year. That's a 25% decline in funding and anti smoking cigarettes advocates want that funding brought back.The funding is used in part to bring a message to Virginia's children over the air through a series of advertisements and also in the classroom through prevention programs.At Wasena Elementary School in Roanoke a prevention specialist from Blue Ridge Prevention Council is seated on a chair surrounded by young students. "What would a consequence be if you started smoking cigarettes cigarettes," J.D. Carlin askes the students.Several answers come from the children. One child says aloud "It could make you die." The teacher responds "It could even make you die, right."In an eighth grade class at Auburn Middle School in Riner, students are also hearing an anti-tobacco message. A prevention specialist splits the class into two teams and a contest is on. Each team answers questions about the dangers of online cigarettes and the diseases linked to tobacco use.These types of programs at Wasena Elementary and Auburn Middle School are replicated at schools and community centers around the Commonwealth."The programs reach 60 thousand kids every single day with a tobacco prevention message," said Jenny Martin, with the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth."I think it's pivotal," said J.D. Carlin who teaches classes. "The reason I think it's pivotal is very simply that it's a message they need to hear."It's these types of education programs along with advertising that, according to advocates, are working to get the message across.In eight years spanning 2001 to 2009 smoking cigarettes among Virginia High school students has dropped about a third from 28.6% to 19.7%, according to a Virginia Youth Tobacco Survey. Smoking among middle school students in Virginia dropped 65 percent, from 10.6% in 2001 to 3.6% in 2009, according to the survey.We asked one child what would you do if you were offered a cigarette? "I know I will not take it and say no," said eighth grade student Cameron Bissell.Other eighth graders offered their thoughts on tobacco use. "It's disgusting and it makes me cough," said Bissell. "The gum disease, the rotting teeth, the lip infections, ugh," said classmate Andrea Tiller. "It kind of sends a chill down my spine.""I know I'm never going to smoke cigarettes just probably because of this class," said Brendan Collett. "I don't want to end up having lung surgery and lung cancer."Dr. Colleen Kraft is a pediatrician and faculty member at the Virginia Tech Carilion School of Medicine who vocally supports prevention programs and wants all the funding brought back."We have an unsustainable health care cost trajectory in this country," said Dr. Kraft. "We need to be looking at long term investments, because the return on investment in tobacco prevention and obesity prevention is over a generation."Jenny Martin with the Virginia Foundation for Healthy Youth put it simply. "We can invest now in prevention programs and in helping kids make healthy choices or we'll pay for it later."Schools and community centers apply for these educational programs through a grant process. With less money fewer grants can be awarded.So where does the rest of that $120 million in tobacco money go? It's up to lawmakers.Half has been going to help with economic development in areas that relied on the tobacco industry. Forty percent of the pie goes to help the state with Medicaid health care costs for tobacco related illnesses.While Virginia's Healthy Youth foundation used to get 10 percent, lawmakers cut that to 8 and half percent moving the extra money over to help Medicaid costs.Virginia is supposed to get that money from the tobacco companies for the next ten years or more. Tobacco companies continue to fight the settlement in court, arguing in part that their market share is down and therefore they can't afford to keep paying. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_money_to_keep_kids_healthy.html 2011-10-18 17:40:00 Minnesotas first sale of buy cigarettes bonds may escape concerns about declining industry shipments and legal disputes that have caused the securities to underperform municipal and U.S. Treasury debt this year.Democratic Governor Mark Dayton plans to use $640 million of the proceeds to help balance his two-year budget. Legislators authorized the sale in a deal to end a 20-day government shutdown, the longest in a U.S. state since at least 2002, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.Tobacco bonds are backed by payments from producers based on cigarette shipments. The companies and 46 states have been squabbling over the size of the remittances agreed to in a 1998 settlement that excluded Minnesota. Moodys Investors Service last week downgraded $3.5 billion of the debt to junk and revised its estimated annual cigarette consumption decline to 4 percent from 3 percent because fewer people are smoking cigarettes.The Minnesota deal could come to the market at yields comparable to better-rated cigarettes bonds, according to a report yesterday by municipal strategists at Citigroup Inc. in New York led by George Friedlander.Minnesota isnt part of the 1998 settlement, according to Joel Michael, a state legislative analyst. Four states including Minnesota, Florida, Mississippi and Texas entered into their own health-care related agreements with the tobacco companies.Minnesota may not have to offer the kind of premium those in the settlement pay because its bonds would be outside the legal dispute over payments with producers and because its own agreement with them has claim on their overall profitability, Richard Larkin, director of credit analysis at Herbert J. Sims & Co. in Iselin, New Jersey, said in a telephone interview.Lower PremiumIllinois in late November sold $1.5 billion of tobacco bonds including a portion due June 2028, the longest maturity, with a 6.1 percent yield, or 93 basis points above an A- index of general-obligation debt, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. A basis point is 0.01 percentage point.In contrast, Minnesota may price at about 5.25 percent to 5.5 percent for debt maturing between 10 to 15 years, if it follows a similar structure to Illinoiss tobacco deal, said Lyle Fitterer, who helps oversee $26 billion of municipal bonds for Wells Capital Management in Menomonee Falls, Wisconsin.I think itll be met with pretty good investor acceptance, Fitterer said in a telephone interview.A dispute dating to 2003 hinges on whether tobacco companies that signed the 1998 agreement -- such as Philip Morris, part of Richmond, Virginia-based Altria Group Inc. (MO) -- have lost market share to producers that didnt join the deal, such as Cheyenne International and National Tobacco Company LP.Profit ClauseWhile the payments Minnesota receives are also based on declining cigarette shipments, unlike the 1998 settlement, company profits are included in the payment calculation and will soften any reduction, Larkin said.From a tobacco-bond-investor point of view, thats another factor that helps reduce investors concerns that payments are going to drop because of shipment declines, Larkin said.Tobacco bonds have produced a total return of 4.9 percent this year, which is 355 basis points below that for top-rated tax-exempt municipal debt and 346 basis points under Treasuries, according to Bank of Americas Merrill Lynch Municipal Master Index, which includes price changes and interest income. 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.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/minnesota_tobacco_bond_may_defy_underperformers.html 2011-09-10 12:50:00 In an attempt to protect local children from secondhand smoke, Palm Springs parks have gone cold turkey.As of July, Palm Springs has been enforcing a smoking cigarettes ban at all public parks, including its skate park and sports fields where many parents have complained of smoking cigarettes near children or by children.Its a dirty habit, so I think its a great idea. Itll help keep the parks a little cleaner, said Monica Haro of Palm Springs, a former smoker and mother of three young children.It would be nice not to see butts on the ground, Haros friend, Mireya Contreras chimed in.As a mother, you try to protect your kids, but you cant do much about what other people do, like online cigarettes smoke. So I hope this law will help, Contreras said as the two enjoyed a day at Ruth Hardy Park with their families.Signs have already been installed to notify park-goers of the new law, but more are expected to be posted in the coming weeks, likely at the entrances of city parks, said City Manager David Ready.California law already prohibits smoking cigarettes within 25 feet of any playground or sandbox on public/private school grounds, city, county or state parks, but Mayor Pro Tem Lee Weigel brought the issue forward in April because he felt it needed to be strengthened locally.The new policy now adds to Palm Springs existing ordinance that was adopted in 1986 that bans smoking cigarettes in certain public areas like health care facilities, airport terminals and restaurants.But Cathedral City resident Delores House and her friends who regularly play tennis at Ruth Hardy Park are skeptical.Its definitely a good thing that Palm Springs has banned smoking cigarettes at public parks, but how are they going to enforce it? House asked. Legislation without enforcement is no legislation.City officials understand that it would be ridiculous to assign police to patrol parks just for this reason, but that doesnt make the law moot. Ready explains that the ordinance is really intended to serve as a policy tool meant to help nonsmokers.If someone is smoking cigarettes at the park and they are asked to put out their cigarettes online that normally takes care of it, Ready said. But it is one of those things where if there is a continual problem the police can be called to respond.Ready said Friday he is not aware of any citations for violating the smoking cigarettes ban being issued so far, but the law is enforceable on a complaint basis by residents or city park maintenance workers. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/smoking_ban_in_effect_at_palm_springs_parks.html 2011-09-09 12:49:00 Cigarette smoking cigarettes in California has fallen sharply in recent years, but new research finds that hookah use is on the rise, especially among young adults.Between 2005 and 2008, the number of California adults who had ever used a hookah jumped by more than 40 percent, to 11.2 percent among men and 2.8 percent among women, according to researchers at UC San Diego. Among young adults ages 18 to 24, 24.5 percent of men and 10 percent of women had used a hookah in 2008.The findings, based on data from the California Tobacco Survey, offer the first look at hookah use in the state over time. The study was published online last week in the American Journal of Public Health.We were alarmed and rather surprised, said Wael Al-Delaimy, co-author of the study and chief of the global health division at UC San Diegos Family and Preventive Medicine Department. While cigarette smoking cigarettes is declining … this is going up.In California, hookah use is most prevalent among 18- to 24-year-olds, men, whites and those with college educations. Its use among women, who are not the traditional consumers of smokeless discount cigarettes products, is rising rapidly: Among all adult women, use jumped 47.4 percent between 2005 and 2008, the study found.The data do not show whether people currently smoke cigarettes a hookah or how often, but future surveys will ask these questions, Al-Delaimy said. Still, he said, more education and policies are needed to curb hookah use.The education level about it is very low, he said.Earlier this year, Al-Delaimy published a study that found 59.5 percent of high school students believed a hookah was more socially acceptable than cigarettes, and 46.3 percent believed it was safer. About 26 percent of the students, all from San Diego County, said they had smoked a hookah before.Al-Delaimy said hookah lounges, which are especially popular with college-aged adults, encourage the water pipes use. He and his fellow researchers called on policymakers to consider bans on hookah lounges, which they said imply that hookah smoking cigarettes is safer and more socially acceptable than cigarette smoking cigarettes.Several California cities and counties have placed restrictions on hookah lounges, and the number of local laws targeting smoking cigarettes is on the rise, said Paul Knepprath, vice president of advocacy for the American Lung Association in California. Last month, for example, San Francisco public health officials threatened to shut down an estimated 17 hookah lounges that they said were violating state and local bans on indoor smoking cigarettes.Smoking hookah is not safe; its a cigarettes for sale product, its harmful to your health and to people around you, Knepprath said. It needs to be made crystal clear that hookah is buy cigarettes and carries with it the same risks for lung disease and other health problems (as) any other buy cigarette online product, like cheap cigarette online and cigars.This year, the association co-sponsored a bill that would have effectively halted hookah lounges by eliminating exemptions for tobacco retail shops and owner-operated businesses in the Californias smoke-free workplace law. But the bill, by Sen. Mark DeSaulnier, D-Walnut Creek, was quashed in July in the Assembly Governmental Organization Committee.In the hearing, the committee chairman, Assemblyman Isadore Hall, D-Los Angeles, said he would put SB 575 to a vote only if DeSaulnier accepted three amendments, including one to retain exemptions for owner-operated businesses.This bill will die if I take a vote on it, Hall said. Im not willing to take a vote and to hear the bill unless youre willing to take all three amendments.DeSaulnier argued that the owner-operated business provision was an important one because many businesses were claiming to be owner-operated when they were not, thereby allowing smoking cigarettes in their facilities. He declined the amendments and says he will work on getting the bill approved next year.SB 575 closes loopholes in the original smoke-free workplace law, he said. This will make it easier to enforce the law and clamp down on hookah lounges. 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.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/fewer_californians_smoking_cigarettes.html 2011-08-29 12:43:00 In order to promote a safe and healthy environment for students, faculty, staff and visitors, Northwest Mississippi Community College will become tobacco-free on all campuses beginning Monday, following the Board of Trustees approval at its July 14 meeting. This policy goes into effect just three months after city of Senatobia board members voted to adopt an ordinance making Senatobia smoke-free.The use of cigarettes and smoking cigarettes products will not be permitted on any college-owned property, which includes but is not limited to college-owned or leased buildings, grounds, parking areas, recreational and athletic facilities and college-owned vehicles. This policy will apply to faculty, staff, students, and visitors. Smoking is currently banned in all college facilities, but this new policy extends that ban to all outdoor areas and widens the ban to include all cheap cigarettes products."We are working to promote a healthier Northwest, and this is just the first step," said Northwest president Dr. Gary Lee Spear. "Not only will we be supporting the health and well-being of our faculty, staff and students, we will be beautifying our campus, too."While administrators are looking forward to the move toward a tobacco-free Northwest, students are also embracing the change. "I think it is really good for the campus," said sophomore journalism major Brian Lentz of Arkabutla. "It will be so nice to not walk out of buildings into cigarette or cigar smoke."Northwest joins Itawamba Community College, Mississippi Delta Community College and Northeast Community College in adopting a tobacco-free campus policy.While the policy prohibits use, it does not prohibit possession. "While we hope this initiative encourages tobacco users to kick the habit, we recognize that students and employees may possess tobacco products that they use before or after they arrive on campus," said Dan Smith, vice president of Student Affairs. "We are trying to prevent second-hand smoke cigarettes and litter that affects everyone here at Northwest."According to Smith, the enforcement of this policy will depend upon the cooperation of everyone at Northwest. Part of the new Healthy Northwest Program, the purpose of this policy is to encourage a healthy lifestyle and a healthy environment in which to work, study and live. Accordingly, tobacco users are expected to voluntarily comply with the policy. Anyone who observes a possible violation may, with respect and without confrontation, inform the individual of the college's tobacco-free policy.Beginning in August, violators will be asked to discontinue tobacco use. No sanctions or formal disciplinary action will be taken as long as the use is discontinued and no littering occurs. Proper smoking cigarettes disposal stations and urns will remain in place during the fall semester. After the fall semester concludes, individuals who knowingly violate the policy will be referred to the appropriate campus authority, if needed. Smoking disposal urns or stations will be removed beginning in December.Northwest administrators encourage students who use tobacco to consider free cessation programs available through the Mississippi Tobacco Quitline, the ACT Center or the Mississippi Department of Health's tobacco cessation tool kit, all of which have information available online. Northwest employees trying to quit tobacco use can look to the state's insurance and wellness plans to help cover the cost of cessation counseling and prescriptions when necessary. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/northwest_adopts_tobacco_free_policy.html 2011-08-28 12:42:00 A cigarettes online retailer is questioning the governments plan to shock his customers into not buying their smokes even while health care professionals say the U.S. Food and Drug Administrations plan to require more graphic health warnings and graphic images on cigarette packaging and advertisements will save lives.Its another form of Big Daddy trying to tell people what to do, said Frank Williams of Gulfport, who owns three Smokeys Discount Tobacco stores in Harrison County. Theyre just trying to tell people how to live their life.A little more than a year from now, the FDA, as directed by the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, will require larger, more prominent cigarette health warnings on all cigarette packaging and advertisements in the U.S.Its the first change in cigarette warnings in a quarter century. Its also a significant advancement in communicating the dangers of smoking cigarettes, the FDA says.Williams does not agree.While the FDA says these new warnings will decrease the number of smokers in America and save lives, increase life expectancy and lower medical costs, Williams believes its government trying to legislate morality that is focused on telling the American people how to live and raise their families.I think people should have the right to live their life the way they choose to, not to have someone tell them what to do, he said. Everyone has a little bad in their life. Its a matter of someones opinion.According to the FDA, buy cigarette online use claims almost half a million lives each year in the U.S., making it the leading cause of premature and preventable death.The U.S. Department of Health and Human Services said 30 percent of all cancer deaths are due to tobacco. Daily, 1,200 current and former smokers die prematurely from tobacco-related diseases.Every day, almost 4,000 youth try a cigarette for the first time and 1,000 youth become regular, daily smokers, said HHS Secretary Kathleen Sebelius.The nine graphic images -- which include a baby shrouded in smoke, an autopsied cadaver, a smile of discolored teeth and blackened, diseased lungs -- are part of a broader strategy to help tobacco users quit and prevent young people from starting. The intent of the FDA is to show the negative health consequences of smoking cigarettes every time someone picks up a pack of cheap cigarette online or views a cigarette advertisement. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/fda_to_require_warnings_on_cigarettes.html 2011-07-15 16:12:00 San Marcos residents and business owners are invited to speak out on a proposed citywide smoke-free initiative by participating in two open house meetings on Monday, July 18 and Thursday, July 21 at different locations.The site of the July 21 meeting has been moved from the Tap Room to the larger Texas Music Theater.The San Marcos City Council has instructed city staff to gather public input on a smoke-free initiative to assist in developing general ballot language for a non-binding referendum to be held on Nov. 8.The July 18 meeting will take place in Room 1 of the San Marcos Activity Center, 501 E. Hopkins, from 6 to 8 p.m.The July 21 gathering will take place at the Texas Music Theater, 129 E. Hopkins, Suite 120, from 6 to 7:30 p.m.Residents and business owners are invited to attend the session most convenient to them.Those unable to attend an open house and want to voice an opinion may record their comments on the Smoke-Free Message Board at the citys web site at www.sanmarcostx.gov.Following the Open House meetings, the information will be assembled into a comprehensive presentation for the city council at its Aug. 2 meeting, where it will decide on the language to be included on the November ballot. 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.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/city_prepares_to_hear_san_marcos_residents____public_puffing_preferences.html 2011-07-14 16:11:00 Opinion on whether San Marcos should snuff smoking cigarettes in public areas seemed evenly split Monday among those for and against the ban during an open house designed to gauge public support.The City Council voted to put a nonbinding referendum on the November ballot that would give the council the freedom to abandon the idea even if voters approve it. The only council member to oppose the issue, Fred Terry, said adopting a ban would strip business owners of their private property rights.Any ordinance instructing business owners how to run their establishments is bad public policy, bad economic policy and sets a bad precedent we should avoid, Terry said in a July 8 email.The event was held in a room at the San Marcos Activity Center; city officials said they didnt count attendees. The open house solicited a range of information from attendees, such as who they were and whether they thought the city was the appropriate entity to ban smoking cigarettes. Boards throughout the room asked attendees to indicate whether they agreed or disagreed with a question about smoking cigarettes in San Marcos by putting a sticker next to yes, no or no opinion.The informal poll seemed about evenly split halfway through the event.Robert Pearson Jr., who owns Outlet Self Storage in San Marcos, said secondhand smoke cigarettes is a problem. Pearson said he and his girlfriend, Cynthia Danton, hurry past people smoking cigarettes outside restaurants because the smoke cigarettes disturbs them.It sticks to your hair like a magnet, he said.The well-attended open house drew people from as far as Kyle. Christian Golden traveled from there to register his opinion against the ban. Charlie Burton, who recently earned his masters in geography from Texas State University, opposes the ban.I dont like big government telling me what to do, Burton said.Mike Orloff, who opposes a ban, signed a poster board at the entrance of the open house, identifying himself as a smoker and a homeowner. We dont need increased tyranny of the majority.Brian Bowser, an Austin-based coordinator for the American Heart Association, said 36 Texas cities bar smoking cigarettes in the workplace. Bowser said theres momentum for San Marcos to similarly prohibit smoking cigarettes.Central Texas Medical Center in San Marcos, which had a booth at the open house, has been smoke-free since 2008, and it will only hire nonsmoking cigarettes employees starting in September, said spokesman Clay DeStefano.The hospital supports the ban from a health perspective but also recognizes that smoking cigarettes is a choice, DeStefano said. A lot of people see this more as a freedom issue rather than a health issue, and thats a tougher debate.San Marcos City Manager Jim Nuse said that referendum language will be drafted in time for the councils Aug. 2 meeting. The language will be general though, he said, such as, Should the city consider measures to regulate smoking cigarettes? The council could then craft language for a law after the election.A second open house is scheduled for 6 to 7:30 p.m. Thursday at the Texas Music Theater, 120 E. San Antonio St. After considering feedback from the public forums, the council will probably call the November election at its Aug. 2 meeting. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/those_at_smoking_ban_forum_seem_split_on_proposed_november_ballot_measure.html 2011-07-13 16:10:00 A couple dozen people turned out for the City of San Marcos first open house meeting about a possible smoking cigarettes ban ordinance in bars and restaurants Monday.The open house was held at the citys activity center. Citizens were asked to visit several stations set-up at the event to give their input. The city is looking to get a few questions answered before its next council meeting, when council members will consider putting a smoking cigarettes ban ordinance on a ballot for voters to decide. The first question, is smoking cigarettes a serious problem? Is the city the right entity to address it? And lastly, is the citys approach reasonable, sensible and responsible?Even as a smoker myself, I dont want to vote for a smoking cigarettes ban, but it makes businesses better. said Matt Hageman. It really takes a lot of liability off most business owners. Most business owners dont want to have smoking cigarettes in their place. But theyre trying to accommodate their customers.Some bar owners disagreed.I would just assume, leave it in what the owner of the establishment wants to do. Ive made the decision to go non smoking cigarettes. Its worked for me, I think the business owners should have the choice, said the owner of Vodka Street Bar, Eric White.White said his bar is the first in downtown San Marcos to have a patio-only smoking cigarettes area. But White also owns another bar, which allows smoking cigarettes indoors. He said Monday, the ban would hurt that business and some others. So, hes on the fence.Once councilman spoke out at the open house meeting Tuesday and said the methodology of gathering citizen comment was biased and skewed, in favor of a smoking cigarettes ban ordinance. Councilman Fred Terry pointed out five booths that were set up at the open house. The booths were run by smoking cigarettes ban supporters like the American Heart Association, Cancer Society and more. Representatives from those groups had fliers to pass out. Smoking supporters were invited too do the same. But the assistant City Manager told me they didnt want to set-up a booth. Terry said it should have been all or nothing.Terry said another reason, city staff were given round stickers to hand out for the purposes of voting on the issue at different stations. FOX 7 News asked a city staff member who was handing out the stickers how he would know if someone voted twice. He said he didnt. He said he would just have to remember their face.I didnt do anything with this. This is staff that did this and they will hear about it, said Terry. I dont think there was an agenda. I just dont think there was enough thought put into it. I know the council is pushing staff to do these things so that we can have a result from this.There is another open house meeting this Thursday at the Texas Music Theater. It starts at 6 p.m. till 8 p.m. City council will vote on whether or not to put the smoking cigarettes ban on the ballot in August. The vote would be non-binding. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/smoking_ban_considered_in_san_marcos.html 2011-07-12 16:09:00 In less than two weeks, Texas State University becomes a tobacco-free zone. More than 30 cities in Texas already have a comprehensive smoking cigarettes ban that includes worksites, bars and restaurants. Houston is nearing the four-year anniversary of its ban, while El Paso just passed 10 years.Now, San Marcos residents are expressing their feelings about a tougher ban here. The city held its first of two public open house meeting on the issue Monday. The second is tonight.Residents are invited to the session from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at the Texas Music Theater, 120 E. San Antonio St..Mayor Daniel Guerrero said the idea is to have a communitywide discussion on an issue that has been tossed around over the past few years.He said in light of the upcoming changes at the university, now is a also a good time for the city to discuss the matter.City officials said information gathered from the two public open houses as well as on a special Smoke-Free Message Board on the city website will be presented to the San Marcos City Council at its Aug. 2 meeting. The council will then decide how to word a Nov. 8 non-binding ballot referendum for local voters.San Marcos is not alone in examining the issue this year.Rosenberg, just outside of Houston in Fort Bend County, passed a smoking cigarettes ordinance 5-1 in April that bans all indoor smoking cigarettes. In May, Rio Grande City in South Texas toughened its existing ordinance. Previously, restaurants and bars there were allowed to have smoking cigarettes and non-smoking cigarettes sections but now the new ordinance bans smoking cigarettes within 15 feet of any entrance to, exit from, open window or ventilation intake of any enclosed space, sports playing field, playground and all seating areas of all outdoor arenas.Reasons for and against the potential smoking cigarettes ban are varied. For many its a health issue.Dr. Joel Dunnington of the M.D. Anderson Cancer Center wrote last year, ...cigarettes are the most dangerous consumer product in the world. It is estimated that cheap cigarettes kill 25,000 Texans, 438,000 Americans and 5.4 million people around the world every year.... We estimate that a third of the patients who die at M.D. Anderson Cancer Center die simply because they smoke cigarettes cigarettes.Dunnington went on to say that second hand smoke cigarettes causes around 50,000 deaths in the United States every year.And what are the effects of second hand smoke?Dunnington writes Some of the worst effects are acute asthma attacks, especially in children, and abnormal platelet function in the coronary arteries that cause heart attacks. We now know that these acute effects occur with very short-term exposures to cigarette smoke.But for others, the issue isnt a health one but rather one of government regulation.Councilman Fred Terry has already taken a stand against any changes to the current city ordinance.My issue with this proposed ban is not the question of if one should smoke cigarettes or should not smoke. What I do take offense with is this idea that government should once again make rules that micromanage our daily lives, Terry said in a prepared statement July 8.The sad thing is this smoking cigarettes ban is only a continuation of an already restrictive city code, Terry said. This is just another missed opportunity and a reason many businesses would pass on San Marcos. Local resident Dean Leach said in a recent letter to the editor in this newspaper, ... I strongly believe every business has the freedom to choose if they want to allow smoking cigarettes in their facilities, customers have the choice to frequent those facilities and employees have the choice to work in those facilities. The free market will decide which businesses succeed and fail, and it is not the business of government to make those decisions for us.Do smoking cigarettes bans have a negative effect on businesses? One answer may come from El Paso where one of the toughest bans – with fines up to $500 – was passed in 2002.A study in 2004 by the Texas Department of Health and Centers for Disease Control looked at both sales tax and mixed beverage tax for the 12 years prior to El Pasos ban and up to one year following passage. Information on the tax receipts came from the Texas Comptroller of Public Accounts.The result showed no decline in business in either restaurants or bars after the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect.Similarly, the Economic Development Commission in Madison, Wisconsin undertook its own study and got similar results.Patricia Jenkins, head of the EDC and a Public Health Department employee there, told the Badger Herald newspaper, There was a lot of research done about how the ban worked in other cities. The results are overwhelmingly positive, she said.Jenkins cited the El Paso study as well as one in New York City. Ohio State University conducted its own research in the twin cities of Minneapolis and St. Paul to see if employment changed as a result of smoking cigarettes bans. Some critics had said that bars and restaurants would have to lay people off if the ban went into effect.But Ohio States research found otherwise, instead seeing an increase of at least three percent in employment at restaurants over a two and one-half year span following adoption. Employment in Minneapolis bars increased more than five percent.The study said in neighboring St. Paul the bar employment decreased one percent.We are evaluating business employment because employment is an objective measure of the overall economic health of these businesses. What we have found is that there isnt a significant economic effect for bars, and in fact for restaurants there is some positive change in employment. These findings underscore that nothing economically catastrophic happened for bars or restaurants in the Twin Cities as a result of banning smoking cigarettes in these environments, concluded the study.For San Marcos residents, the Nov. 8 referendum is non-binding and a final decision will be made by the City Council. 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.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/smoke_free.html 2011-07-11 16:08:00 Gov. Cuomo is, at long last, cracking down on rampant tax evasion by Indian cigarette dealers. New Yorks tolerance for this criminality appears over.Since June 21, when a court injunction against enforcement was lifted, state and federal agents have been staking out buttleggers, pulling over trucks and seizing contraband. But judging by the very modest results so far, its way too early to declare victory.By some credible estimates, tax-dodging Indian smoke cigarettes shops account for a quarter of all tobacco sales in New York State - which translates to more than 4 billion online cigarettes a year.Against a torrent that vast, the 19,744 cartons of untaxed buy cigarettes recovered over the past three weeks amount to the merest drop in the bucket.Its also a good sign that cigarette tax revenues ticked up by $14 million in June, signaling that some bodegas and other retailers have stopped doing business with the Indians.But that still leaves the city and state hundreds of millions short of what theyre rightfully owed.Its also troubling to hear Lt. Gov. Robert Duffy say enforcement is focused on buttlegging of brand-name smokes, when Indian-manufactured cigarettes online represent a growing share of the market.Cuomo needs to enforce tax laws on all forms of tobacco, or wholesale tax-dodging is sure to continue. Hes off to a good start. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/gov__cuomo_s_crackdown_on_crooked_indian_cigarette_dealers_off_to_good_start.html 2011-07-10 00:31:00 After a solid year of enjoying smoke-free air in Wisconsin restaurants and other establishments, it would be difficult to return to life without a statewide smoking cigarettes ban.It appears theres no immediate danger in that since Gov. Scott Walker announced Thursday he would continue the ban signed into law by his predecessor, Gov. Jim Doyle. We breathed a little easier when Walker reversed his stance and said in a statement: Although I did not support the original smoking cigarettes ban, after listening to people across the state, it is clear to me that it works. Therefore I will not support a repeal.On this first anniversary of Wisconsins smoking cigarettes ban, we think it was the right decision to enact the law, which prohibits smoking cigarettes in all bars, restaurants and work places.We understand the position of business owners who believe they have lost customers as a result of this law, but we support the ban because we think public health is of equal concern.Numerous studies have shown the serious health risks associated with tobacco products, including dangers from second-hand smoke. A study released last fall and published in the medical journal Pediatrics found that children who live in smoke-free homes inside multiunit dwellings were exposed to secondhand smoke cigarettes released through vents and air ducts. The study tested childrens blood for cotinine, a tobacco metabolite used to measure exposure to secondhand smoke, and found that levels of the chemical were higher in children who lived in apartments — even though theyre own unit was smoke-free — than those who lived in single-family homes.Studies like that underscore the potential health hazard that we all face when were exposed to tobacco smoke. According to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, tobacco smoke cigarettes contains a mixture of more than 7,000 chemicals and compounds, of which hundreds are toxic.Recently, U.S. health officials released nine graphic warning labels that will begin appearing on cigarette packs next year. One image depicts a corpse with the warning: Smoking can kill you. Its a sign of the times that America has become more determined in addressing this societal threat.We acknowledge that going smoke-free hasnt been easy for every business owner, whether theyve renovated or added space. They certainly had plenty of time to prepare, as the ban passed the state Legislature on May 13, 2009, and became effective July 5 last year.Also, there is evidence to suggest smoking cigarettes bans neednt have an adverse effect on businesses. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention have studied the impact of smoke-free laws, and the results are encouraging for business owners who previously allowed smoking cigarettes in their establishments. For example, the CDC found that restaurant and bar revenues in New York City increased nearly 9 percent from April 2003 through January 2004 after the city implemented its smoke-free law. Also, El Paso, Texas, saw no declines in total restaurant, bar or mixed-beverage revenues during the first year after that citys workplace smoking cigarettes ban was adopted.Theres no way to know if Wisconsin will follow these trends, but the fact that so many places have done well under a smoke-free ban should be encouraging for local businesses.Smoking remains a crucial public health issue. Lets hope this is the first of many anniversaries we celebrate as a smoke-free state. 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.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/transition_to_smoke_free_worth_the_effort.html 2011-07-09 00:30:00 John Belsky has been smoking cigarettes since he was 18.So the 70-year-old Janesville man wasnt happy when Wisconsins smoke-free law went into effect a year ago today and he had to start leaving his bar stool and stepping outside for a smoke.Id rather just stay inside. But rules are rules, and laws are laws, Belsky said while taking a drag from a cigarette.East Point Sportz Pub bartender Dan Schultz, on the other hand, is enjoying the smoking cigarettes ban.I think its fantastic, he said.He no longer undresses in his garage at the end of his shift to avoid taking the smell of smoke cigarettes into his home.Schultz said he feels healthier since the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect.I have a little less coughing, and my eyes arent as itchy and irritated from the residual haze while working, he said.Health impactA UW-Milwaukee study found that bartenders across Wisconsin are feeling healthier, according to the American Cancer Society.The study, which surveyed 531 urban and rural bartenders in the two months before and after the law took effect, found a 36 percent reduction in smoking cigarettes-related respiratory health symptoms including wheezing, shortness of breath, coughing and sore throats.Debbie Fischer, lead agency coordinator for the Southwest Alliance for Tobacco Prevention, headquartered in Beloit, said some of the March study results surprised her and parts didnt.I was because I didnt expect that kind of response so quickly. I wasnt because other states have found this happening throughout the nation when the smoke-free air law passed, she said.Another study released in December by the University of Wisconsin Carbone Cancer Center, Madison, reported that air quality in Wisconsin restaurants and bars improved by more than 92 percent after the smoking cigarettes ban went into affect.The study analyzed air-quality data from 214 bars and restaurants where smoking cigarettes was allowed in 41 counties throughout Wisconsin before and after the ban.After the law was enacted, more than 97 percent of the restaurants and bars tested had good or satisfactory air quality, the study reported.The results didnt surprise Fischer because she and some alliance members helped conduct some of the air quality studies.After being in the bar before and after, I could not believe the difference, she said.ViolationsSince the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect, reports of a potential violation have dropped from 205 the first month to 43 10 months later, according to the Wisconsin Department of Health Services.Fischer is notified by the state agency about violations in Rock, Green, Grant, Lafayette and Iowa counties.As of June 1, there were seven reports of noncompliance in Rock County for the year, Fischer said.I think that is amazing, she said.She knows some people arent compliant.But I still dont think theres many. The majority of the people—establishment owners and patrons—really are following the law, Fischer said.Sharen Hoskins, owner of East Point Sportz Pub, said the new law has been fairly positive for her business.Thats because I spent time and money—$24,000—to build a nice, smoking cigarettes area to accommodate smokers, who thank me daily. My patio paid for itself in the first year, so it was a good investment. But going into it, I didnt know, she said.As president of the Rock County Tavern League, Hoskins knows some businesses are not happy with the smoking cigarettes restriction.In general, the majority of the tavern league members are opposed to this. There are tavern owners still upset due to the clientele they have lost and the strictness of the law, she said. We didnt want it but are over it. It happened, and we follow the law.Business impactHoskins said her business increased over the winter even though patrons had to go outside to smoke. The bars new smoking cigarettes area is heated.We drew in extra smokers because we have such a nice patio, she said.Hoskins other taverns in the league without legal smoking cigarettes areas reported business was down 10 to 35 percent over the winter.Some have really struggled, she said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/year_old_statewide_smoking_ban_results_in_mixed_bag_of_reactions.html 2011-07-08 00:30:00 A year after a controversial statewide ban on smoking cigarettes in workplaces and in public took effect, smoke-free advocates and public health experts say its too early to know precisely what effect the law has had on smoking cigarettes behavior in Wisconsin.But they predict forthcoming data will prove the law pushed Wisconsinites to adopt healthier choices.Theres no question when the statistics come out sales of online cigarettes will be down (and) there will be fewer people smoking cigarettes, said Patrick Remington, associate dean for public health at the University of Wisconsin School of Medicine and Public Health in Madison.(Previous) research has shown that there are two things that happen when you have a comprehensive smoking cigarettes ban. First, people smoke cigarettes less. There are just fewer opportunities to smoke. (Second), it reduces the percentage of smokers.According to the most recent data available from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the Wisconsin Department of Health Services, nearly 1 million Wisconsinites smoke, a figure that has ticked down only slightly in the past five years.About 8,000 people die in Wisconsin each year due to illnesses related to smoking cigarettes, most notably lung cancer and heart disease.Remington thinks the statewide ban could be a catalyst that drives large numbers of Wisconsinites to quit smoking cigarettes.The big thing for the (law) is not so much that it went to the patrons of bars and restaurants, but that it went to workplaces, Remington explained. Thats where people spend eight or more hours a day … Many smokers would like to quit if it were easy to do so. A restaurant or workplace ban is for many of them the final push that helps them be successful in their attempt to quit.A roaring successEven as researchers await post-ban smoking cigarettes data, smoke-free advocates are already claiming victory.It has been a roaring success, said Connie Olson, executive director of Community Action for Healthy Living, a Kimberly-based nonprofit that monitors tobacco prevention efforts in northeastern Wisconsin.The group is hosting smoke-free anniversary party Thursday in Green Bay to celebrate the laws impact.The outcomes have been extremely positive, Olson said. We have seen pretty good compliance throughout the state.The state health department estimates that only 600 businesses statewide have had complaints filed against them in the last year.By far and large, this has been an overwhelming success, Olson said. It has been accepted very well by most people.Support grows for banAccording to a June poll by Public Opinion Strategies, some 75 percent of Wisconsinites support the law, up from 69 percent who supported it in 2008 while the measure was up being debating in the state Legislature.Gov. Scott Walker, who opposed the law during the 2010 elections, said last week that he would not support a repeal of it.Although I did not support the original smoking cigarettes ban, after listening to people across the state, it is clear to me that it works, Walker wrote in a statement.But Pete Madland, executive director of the Tavern League of Wisconsin, which fought passage of the ban, called its impact on Wisconsin bars lousy.Its not good, Madland said. Weve had many people close their doors, which we predicted. We knew it would cost businesses and cost jobs, and it definitely has.Madland said his association has lost 170 members in the last year, though he stopped short of attributing the decline entirely to the ban.Im not going to say that solely (caused the drop), but thats a major component, he said. We saw a huge drop off immediately after the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect. Within two months people were complaining business was down anywhere from 20 percent to 40 percent. We all know the economys not where it should be either, but that immediate of a response I think is some kind of indication that it definitely has hurt. 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 Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/one_year_after_smoking_ban.html 2011-07-07 00:28:00 An upstate mother and son are in serious trouble with the law, for different reasons. Alan Jacobs, 36, of Hogansburg, was the fifth person to plead guilty to conspiracy to engage in a Hobbs Act robbery, in connection with the killing of Daniel Simonds during a drug-related robbery. As part of the agreement, Jacobs agreed to a mandatory 20 year term of imprisonment and forfeiture in the amount of $666,466.82 in U.S. Currency. He also faces up to five years of supervised release following any period of incarceration and up to a $250,000 fine. Sentencing for him is set for September 23, 2011. Alan Jacobs committed this crime while on release pending sentencing for another case in which he pled guilty to conspiring to distribute between 700 and 1,000 kilograms of marijuana.In a separate case, Alans mother, Roaslie Jacobs, 62, Hogansburg, pled guilty in U.S. District Court in Utica to conspiracy to structure currency transactions.As part of her plea, Roaslie Jacobs admitted that she conspired with others to structure a series of cash deposits of U.S. Currency in less than $10,000 increments to avoid federal reporting requirements. During the relevant 13 month period, Roaslie Jacobs ran a business named Jacobs Tobacco on the Akwesasne Indian Reserve and received payments for tobacco products in U.S. Currency. During the relevant time period, she was aware that any cash deposit into a domestic financial institution in excess of $10,000 caused the financial institution in question to generate a report of said transaction, called a Currency Transaction Report, pursuant to Title 31, United States Code. In an effort to avoid such reporting requirements, Roaslie Jacobs caused $2,634,189.55 to be deposited in accounts held at two financial institutions: Seacomm Federal Credit Union and Community Bank, both located in Massena, New York, with each deposit being intentionally in an amount less than $10,000. For each transaction, Roaslie Jacobs or one of her employees packaged the cash in separate bags at Jacobs Tobacco and then gave it to a person, who was instructed to make the deposits in the aforementioned banks.Roaslie Jacobs is due to be sentenced on December 9, 2011, at which time she faces a sentence of five years probation, 12 months of home confinement, and the forfeiture of $2,634,189.55. 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 Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/mother__son__plead_guilty_to_separate_crimes.html 2011-07-06 00:27:00 More than 100 people turned out for a Salem City Council meeting Monday hoping to offer their opinions about a proposed ban on smoking cigarettes in city parks.Although the meeting began at 6:30 p.m., discussion about the topic didnt begin until 10:20 p.m.Many people who had come planning to testify eventually left the meeting room, and one woman nodded off in her chair while waiting out a lengthy council debate about the city budget.For three hours, council members talked about cutting franchise fees and deliberated about the allocation of hotel/motel tax dollars. About a dozen people remained in the room by the time councilors opened the public hearing about the proposed ban on smoking cigarettes in parks.Ronnie Daniels of Salem attended the meeting to speak his mind, but after several hours all he received was more frustration.Putting a ban on smoking cigarettes infringes on everybodys right to make a choice, he said. Regardless of how you feel on this issue, people shouldnt have to sit through almost four hours to get a chance to address the City Council.Speaking in favor of the proposed ban, Melinda Yost of Salem said, I shouldnt have to fight my way through a cloud of smoke cigarettes to enjoy a fair.Councilors had not made a decision as of press deadline.During the past five years, the number of communities with some form of smoking cigarettes regulations in parks has grown to 16 with Portland, Corvallis and Independence included. Dallas City Council is in the process a designating a smoking cigarettes section in its largest city park. Smoking is prohibited in 230 parks and outdoor areas throughout Oregon, totaling about 50,000 acres.Salem City Councilor Diana Dickey, Ward 5, initiated in November a motion to designate all city parks as smoke-free areas. If enacted, the ordinance would make it unlawful to smoke cigarettes or carry any burning smoking cigarettes instrument while in any park.I want to be very clear that the intent of such an ordinance is not to restrict an individuals right to smoke, but rather to protect individuals from secondhand smoke cigarettes exposure in areas where people congregate, sometimes in large groups, and where many children are often present, Dickey said previously. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/discussion_of_smoking_in_parks_delayed.html 2011-07-05 14:55:00 The popular smoking cigarettes cessation drug Chantix may dramatically increase the risk of serious heart problems, according to a medical study led by a Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine researcher.The findings of the study, released Monday in the Canadian Medical Association Journal, describe a 72 percent greater risk of serious adverse cardiovascular events, such as heart attacks, for users of Chantix (varenicline).Dr. Sonal Singh, assistant professor of general internal medicine at the Johns Hopkins University School of Medicine, led the research effort, which analyzed data from 14 previous placebo-based clinical trials involving 8,216 patients.Spokeswomen for cardiologists at Southcoast Health System and Hawthorn Medical said the specialists there were not yet familiar enough with the report to comment.However, the New York Times reported Monday that the study differed from past ones, because it excluded those with cardiovascular disease, to give a better picture of which heart problems the drug could cause in otherwise healthy people trying to quit smoking cigarettes.According to the Times, Chantix, manufactured by Pfizer, has been prescribed to 13 million people and had $755 million in sales last year.In a statement posted on its website, Pfizer expressed concerns about the reliability of the study, including the way the data was analyzed.Pfizer scientists and doctors continuously evaluate the benefits and risks of its medicines, including Chantix, Dr. Gail Cawkwell, vice president of medical affairs, said in a statement. The currently available safety data on Chantix, including a pooled analysis of clinical data in 7,375 people trying to quit smoking cigarettes, do not support an increased cardiovascular risk associated with Chantix.Chantix has been the subject of intense scrutiny of late. In May in a widely reported case, the family of Sean Wain, accused of killing his wife and then himself in Beaver County, Penn., in 2009, filed a lawsuit that said the drug caused their relatives violence.Pfizer lists hostility, agitation, depressed mood (and) suicidal thoughts or actions as potential side effects for Chantix users.In June, the Food and Drug Administration issued an additional safety warning that said Chantix may be associated with a small, increased risk of certain cardiovascular adverse events in patients who have cardiovascular disease.While authors of the new report acknowledge that Chantix increases the chances of a successful quit attempt by twofold compared with unassisted smoking cigarettes cessation, they urged medical professionals to follow up with further safety trials regarding the drug.Until such trials are conducted, clinicians should carefully balance the risk of serious cardiovascular events ... against the known benefits of the drug on smoking cigarettes cessation, they wrote.The findings resonate in New Bedford, where a large segment of the population smokes regularly. According to the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation & Prevention Program FY2009 Annual Report, 28.7 percent of the citys residents smoked cigarettes in 2008. Comparatively, 16.1 percent of all Massachusetts residents used cigarettes online at that time.Local residents who smoke cigarettes said they were not overly surprised by the report.New drugs come out but, a year later, the lawyers have a class-action suit, John Perriera of Mattapoisett said. Perriera said he finds it difficult to figure out which smoking cigarettes cessation drugs are actually safe.New Bedfords Zack Kampersall agreed, saying he had already heard about studies showing adverse side effects from Chantix before the latest findings. He said he knew somebody who complained of depression after using the drug. Kampersall said he probably will never use Chantix for fear of such side effects. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/study_finds_elevated_heart_risk_with_stop_smoking_drug.html 2011-07-04 21:24:00 Two years ago Judi Malone was a strong opponent of a proposed statewide workplace smoking cigarettes ban. As the then-owner of Tailgates tavern in Eau Claire and Happy Hollow tavern in Altoona, she had seen the bottom-line impact of the smoking cigarettes ban imposed by the city of Eau Claire in July 2008. Tailgates was struggling, and Happy Hollow was booming as smoking cigarettes patrons flocked to bars outside of Eau Claire that still allowed smoking cigarettes. Malones fear was that a statewide ban simply would snuff out revenues for all taverns. But a lot has changed since the statewide ban took effect July 5, 2010. Everything is so much better now, Malone said last week as she pondered the smoke-free laws impact after a year. While she acknowledged losing some business from smokers, Malone said Happy Hollow retained many of those customers by building a three-season smoking cigarettes porch and has seen an increase in nonsmokers bellying up to the bar. Sales have been steady, even in the tough economy, said Malone, who sold Tailgates in November and is enjoying her newly smoke-free work environment at Happy Hollow. That positive reaction, of course, isnt universal. Though some Eau Claire tavern owners had hoped a statewide ban, by leveling the playing field, would boost business by prompting customers who had opted for smoking cigarettes bars outside the city limits to return, Eau Claire City-County Tavern League President Sally Jo Birtzer said that hasnt happened. People are creatures of habit, and once they get used to going someplace, its hard to get them to change their ways, said Birtzer, who previously managed Wagners Lanes in Eau Claire. Bartender Jamie Sweeney at Big Ts Saloon at 2007 Third St. in Eau Claire reported that business dropped after the citywide ban and didnt really rebound after the statewide ban. In the wintertime, you really see a reduction in business because nobody wants to go outside, Sweeney said, noting that the bar has an outdoor area in back where customers can smoke cigarettes and drink. Mixed reaction Big Ts regular Josh Buchholz of Eau Claire, one of several patrons taking a smoking cigarettes break on the sidewalk outside the front door on a recent sunny evening, said the ban tends to make him shorten his stays because of the inconvenience of going outside to smoke. At home I can smoke cigarettes when and where I want, Buchholz said. He still opposes the ban on the grounds that business owners should be able to allow a legal product in their establishments if they choose. Chuck Jordan of Eau Claire, on the other hand, was thrilled when the smoke-free law passed. To play in the local tavern pool league, he for years had to endure breathing other peoples secondhand smoke cigarettes all evening and having his clothes reek like smoke. I would walk in the door, take off my clothes and go directly to the washing machine, said Jordan, whose wife accompanies him to Happy Hollow occasionally now after years of refusing on account of the smoke. I think the nonsmoking cigarettes law is long overdue and much appreciated. The statewide smoking cigarettes ban applied to all workplaces, but the primary resistance came from tavern owners because of the large number of people who like to light up while they drink. Health concerns Its important to remember the primary reason for passing the ban was to improve the health of Wisconsin residents by reducing their exposure to secondhand smoke, which studies have shown can increase the risk of cancer, said Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of the advocacy group SmokeFree Wisconsin. Sadly, those concerns recently hit home for Malone. She was a longtime social smoker until three months ago, when her mother was diagnosed with lung cancer. Malone kicked the habit that day. Having a smoke-free work environment has definitely made it easier for me to continue to be smoke-free, Malone said. In addition to reducing her personal temptation to light up, the smoke-free law also results in a healthier workplace, Malone said, noting that she is grateful one of her employees, who is pregnant, wont have to give up her job for the health of her baby. I am very happy that the health of my employees is not going to be put at risk just because they work at the Happy Hollow, Malone said. Public support Consumers, generally, are pleased with the law, according to a new survey commissioned by SmokeFree Wisconsin, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and the American Lung Association. The study, released Thursday, indicated that 75 percent of state residents support or strongly support the law, up from 69 percent in 2008 when the Legislature was debating the issue. Sixty-four percent of the 500 voters surveyed indicated the law made going out to bars and restaurants more enjoyable, while 91 percent said they go out to eat and drink the same or more often now that the state is smoke-free. Its clear most people wouldnt want to go back, Busalacchi said. Its a good thing for business, and its a great thing for employee health. Gov. Scott Walker is a prominent former opponent who apparently has changed his mind, making it unlikely Republicans will try to undo the law passed by legislative Democrats. Although I did not support the original smoking cigarettes ban, after listening to people across the state, it is clear to me that it works. Therefore I will not support a repeal, Walker said in a statement. John Mogensen, who owns several Eau Claire bars and restaurants, said the local ban didnt have much effect on his establishments because food is emphasized at most of them, but he has heard from owners of several taverns that rely heavily on bar business that their sales dropped precipitously. He is philosophically opposed to government telling people what to do with their businesses but acknowledged he likely wouldnt allow smoking cigarettes in any of his facilities even if the ban were overturned. Most restaurants are used to it, and people like it, Mogensen said. Adapting to new rules Brad Windeshausen, owner of Whiskeys Grill and Bar in Altoona, called the statewide smoking cigarettes ban a double-edged sword. While it caused a decline in the establishments bar business, it has prompted Windeshausen to make some positive changes, including putting more emphasis on serving food and attracting a broader spectrum of patrons. Were in the middle of a full reinvention of the business, he said. The bar business is changing, and were changing with it. Perhaps the most visible change, beyond changing the name from Whiskey Dicks, was the large outdoor area Windeshausen built at the business in anticipation of the law. The addition, where smoking cigarettes is allowed, includes a tiki bar, pool tables, volleyball courts, dart boards, TVs and even waterfalls. When people were able to smoke cigarettes here, I didnt have my kids come in, but now they come in all the time, he said. Looking back, it was one of the greatest days of my life and my employees lives when the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect. Both Windeshausen and Malone said their taverns attract more business people for lunch now that they dont have to worry about smelling like smoke cigarettes when they return to the office. With many customers happy about the clear inside air and smokers adjusting to the places they are allowed to smoke, Malone said she believes the state has found a happy medium after the contentious fight leading to the laws passage. I think weve made it through the worst of the storm with the nonsmoking cigarettes law, Malone said. I really think the bars have all adjusted, and the ones that are making it are going to make it for the long haul. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/many_have_seen_the_light_on_smoking_ban.html 2011-07-03 01:28:00 The citys public beaches are now smoke-free after the council on Tuesday unanimously agreed to prohibit the use of cigarettes, cigarettes and chewing tobacco along the oceanfront. That means the only public beachfront in the city where smoking cigarettes still is permitted is Seven Presidents Oceanfront Park, which is owned and operated by Monmouth County. Violeta Peters, a city resident who serves on the Monmouth County Board of Recreation Commissioners, said as far as she knows, the issue of smoke-free beaches at Seven Presidents has not been discussed. She is just starting her second term on the board. But now that public beaches right next door have been declared smoke-free … we would certainly be up for discussing it, said Peters. County Recreation Superintendent Andrew Spears said the issue does not appear on any upcoming board agenda, although it could be placed there rather easily – by a resident who could write a letter or come to a meeting, by a recreation commissioner or by a staff member. He said Monmouth County already prohibits smoking cigarettes in any public building and within 25 feet of such buildings and those include park facilities. But the issue of outside recreation areas has not been tackled. There are no pending proposed changes in our rules, he said. Ultimately, it is up to the board. Meanwhile, the city is considering expanding the prohibition to all public parks, said Mayor Adam Schneider. While smoking cigarettes remains a permitted use on the citys boardwalk, that also could change in the future, he said. In 2003, the city limited smoking cigarettes to designated beachfront areas. Since then, business at the citys beachfront has boomed, officials said, and as more and more people visited the beaches, it became more and more difficult to isolate smokers or to enforce the limited ordinance. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/long_branch_beaches_made_smoke_free.html 2011-07-02 01:28:00 Right before the Ohio Tobacco Quit Line was to go up in smoke cigarettes this week, lawmakers cobbled together the Ohio Tobacco Collaborative, a public-private partnership state officials hope can kick in the money to keep the Quit Line going. That might spare Ohio the embarrassment of being the only state in the union without one. The Ohio General Assembly also found $500,000 in new money to enforce the states smoking cigarettes ban in restaurants and bars. That brings the fund to $2 million. But this last-minute scramble to support anti-smoking cigarettes efforts could have been avoided altogether if the General Assembly -- and Gov. John Kasich -- had put aside their resistance to the T word (except when it comes to tax breaks for some businesses) and equalized cigarettes taxes in Ohio. Raising taxes on candy-flavored cigars, chewing tobacco and other addictive nicotine products -- taxed at just 17 percent of wholesale value, compared to 55 percent for cigarettes -- could also discourage youngsters from using tobacco and raise $50 million a year for anti-smoking cigarettes programs, says Shelly Kiser of the American Lung Association of Ohio. Ohio, which had a 22.5 percent adult smoking cigarettes rate last year -- much higher than the 17.2 percent national average -- needs to wake up to the need for tobacco-tax equity. Would-be smokers might be put off by the new, federally required, graphic warnings on cigarette boxes, slated for 2012. But bringing Ohios tobacco tax code up to snuff would help even more. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/equalize_ohio_tobacco_taxes.html 2011-07-01 01:25:00 What happens when the 1-800-QUIT-NOW cigarettes quit-line number appears on millions of packs of cigarettes in Ohio, but no one answers the phone? Last week the Food and Drug Administration revealed its choices of nine graphic warnings that will be required on every pack of discount cigarettes sold in the U.S. The rotating images include a corpse of a smoker, smoke-blackened lungs, a woman breathing through a tracheostomy and a cartoon of a child made ill by secondhand smoke. Studies in other countries where similar pictures are already required indicate that a large percentage of smokers consider quitting when repeatedly viewing these images. Something new will also appear on every pack: 1-800-QUIT-NOW, the national quit-line number that connects callers to experienced tobacco-cessation counselors. For smokers who are ready to quit, working with these counselors quadruples their chance of staying off cheap smokes for good. The shocking pictures help provide the motivation and the quit-line counselors offer the tools and support to beat the toughest and most deadly addiction in the world. That will occur in every state in the union, except Ohio. Our smokers will see the pictures, get the warnings and have the number to call, but for most callers there will be no one to help them. Unlike the other 49 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, Guam and 10 Canadian provinces, Ohio alone has said no to helping people quit. This year 19,000 Ohioans will die and another 400,000 will be made seriously ill from smoking cigarettes-related diseases. Smoking costs our state $8 billion annually in medical expenses, decreased productivity and time lost from work. Because Medicaid recipients smoke cigarettes twice as much as other Ohioans, the cost to Ohio Medicaid alone is more than $1.5billion. And, unlike the rest of the country where rates are falling, smoking cigarettes in Ohio is on the rise - up 10 percent last year. Until 2008, Ohio had one of the best tobacco prevention and cessation programs in the world. Funded entirely by the proceeds of the lawsuit against the tobacco companies, Ohio ran a model program that encouraged kids to refuse tobacco and helped addicted smokers quit. Smoking among Ohios teenagers plummeted to historic lows while adults quit in unprecedented numbers. In short, Ohio implemented an effective vaccine for kids and real treatment for addicted adults. All that ended when Gov. Ted Stricklands administration sold off $10 billion in annualized payments from the tobacco companies for $5billion in one-time money and then raided Ohios Tobacco Prevention Foundation to try to fund a one-time stimulus package. Ohio went overnight from best to worst. Gov. John Kasich and the current General Assembly seem determined we should stay there. So what happens when you kill a highly successful program that affects a deadly addiction and its attendant diseases? This month, the numbers came in. The official U.S. survey of risk behaviors showed that while smoking cigarettes in the rest of the country had dropped to 17 percent of adults, in Ohio we had actually increased our smoking cigarettes rate to over 22 percent, rivaled only by West Virginia, Arkansas, Mississippi, Kentucky and Oklahoma. Unfortunately, we cannot compare Ohio high-school smoking cigarettes with the rest of the country, as the Ohio Department of Health wasnt able to complete the federally sponsored 2010 Ohio Youth Tobacco Survey. What a shame; what a coincidence? If the adult disparity holds over the long term, each year 4,000 extra premature deaths will occur in Ohio, compared with what we would expect at a 17 percent smoking cigarettes rate. We will pay out an additional $2 billion each year in expenses we could have spared. Why? Ohio politicians seem uniquely captive to tobacco sellers. Current legislative leaders listen not to parents, doctors or taxpayers; they listen to their big-time donors: the convenience store operators, the grocers, the wholesalers and the manufacturers. Ohio takes in more than $900million annually from tobacco taxes but wont spend a dime to reduce the incredible toll on Ohios kids and nicotine-addicted adults. Instead of paying $2 million for a toll-free number, Ohioans will be paying a terrible toll in tens of thousands of lives and tens of billions of dollars. 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 Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/in_the_fight_against_tobacco_use__ohio_has_sounded_the_retreat.html 2011-06-30 01:25:00 In case you missed it, the government has announced a new tactic in the war against cigarette smoking cigarettes. By September of 2012, every cigarette package and cigarettes advertisement must carry a chilling message from the U.S. Food and Drug Administration — graphic images showing the consequences of smoking cigarettes. In one picture, there is a balding man who appears to be hanging on to life by a thread. He is breathing through an oxygen mask and we can only guess whether he is a victim of lung cancer or emphysema. The caption reads: Warning: Cigarettes cause strokes and heart disease. In another, a man smokes a cigarette through a hole in his throat. The caption reads: Warning: Cigarettes are addictive. There is also a picture of a mouth full of rotting, discolored teeth and a lip with a big sore on it. The caption reads: Warning: Cigarettes cause cancer. There are other frightening and disgusting images too: A couple of 5- or 6-year-olds lighting up like their parents; a mans dead body with a long scar extending the full length of his chest; an ashtray full of cigarettes with a pacifier sitting next to it to remind people that smoking cigarettes during pregnancy can hurt your unborn child. The government hopes all of those scary pictures will discourage people from smoking cigarettes, especially young people. The idea is that if you show the ugly side of cigarettes, teens might think twice about taking up the habit. I support the governments action. It is better than doing nothing. But, that said, I have my doubts it will change anyones mind about cigarettes, especially a teenagers. They think they are invincible and dont listen to their parents, let alone a government image on a cigarette package. I have a 16-year-old daughter who is a smoker. I do not let Jenn smoke cigarettes cigarettes, but I know she does. My husband, Dan, and I have tried everything in our power to discourage it including medical intervention with a smokeless tobacco delivery device prescribed by our doctor. But Jenn continues to smoke. I can smell it. Its very hard to understand. To me, even the smell of cheap cigarettes is disgusting. I grew up in a household that reeked of smoke. My mother was constantly lighting up. She even smoked when I was a fetus growing inside of her. My father was a smoker, too, but he ended up quitting when my youngest sister was a toddler. His quitting wasnt entirely voluntary. He had some pretty serious smoking cigarettes-related health problems, including surgery to rip out his tonsils. As a teenager I can remember being so angry because I would shower and wash my hair and it ended up stinking of cigarettes. My grandmother and aunt lived next door to us and they smoked, too. They would come over to visit my mother for a coffee klatch and cigarettes and a suffocating blue haze would soon fill our tiny ranch-style house. When my grandmother died, my brother and sister-in-law cleaned out her house and got it ready to sell. They washed the walls and used bucket after bucket of water and cleaning solution to remove caked-on tobacco residue. The brown film ran down the walls as soon as they applied the wet cleaning rag. As I watched the brown scum run down the walls, I thought of my grandmother and how that same tobacco residue must have covered the inside of her lungs. Jenn, who is adopted, also was brought up with the blue haze of tobacco smoke. Her biological parents were heavy smokers. And, like me, Jenn was exposed to tobacco smoke cigarettes in the womb. What is not clear is why I despise cheap cigarettes and always have and she loves them. That is the great mystery of our time. If we knew the answer to it, we would solve one of the most difficult and heartbreaking problems in the world — living with addiction. For some unknown reason, I hate cheap cigarettes and Jenn loves them. It does not mean Im smarter or better than she is. It could just be Im luckier. Perhaps just because of a lucky accident of biology, I am not an addict and I do not have the tendencies of an addict. Its what allows me on rare occasions to enjoy a single glass of red wine with dinner and not want a second glass at all. The point is, government can put the grossest images ever seen on cigarette packages and people will still smoke. Heck, they might even try to collect all of those images so theyll have the complete set, a collectors edition of death. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/images_on_cigarette_packs_likely_won_t_stop_addiction.html 2011-06-29 01:23:00 The Community Partnerships for a Tobacco Free New York has launched a campaign to educate New Yorkers about the benefits of tobacco-free outdoor recreational areas: Keep butts away from where we play! The campaign helps raise awareness of the environmental impact of cigarettes litter, dangers of secondhand smoke cigarettes and influence on children when tobacco use is not restricted. Tobacco litter is poisonous to children and wildlife. Discarded cigarette butts are the most common form of litter. Studies show they are toxic, slow to decompose and costly to remove. Cigarette butts have been found in the stomachs of fish, whales, birds and other marine animals and can cause digestive blockages. Children routinely pick up these toxic butts and try to put them in their mouths. The Community Partnership has designed a paid media campaign to educate communities about why we need to adopt more tobacco free outdoor policies, said Kevin Keenan, Genesee County program coordinator for Smoke Free NOW; a program of GCASA. Family recreation for children should not mean having to play among cigarette butts or being exposed to secondhand smoke. The U.S. Surgeon General has declared that there is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke. When we consider that children have smaller lungs than adults and consequently breathe in 50 percent more air pollution, its clear that we need to do everything we can to expand smoke-free outdoor areas so we can reduce exposure and prevent tobacco-caused disease, said Dr. Irwin Berlin, board chair of the American Lung Association in New York. Public support for outdoor tobacco use restrictions is growing. Currently, outdoor tobacco use policies have been enacted in more than 280 local municipalities throughout New York State. Local Community Partnerships can provide sample policies, signage and/or assistance in creating outdoor tobacco-use policies. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_free_group_launches_new_campaign.html 2011-06-28 01:22:00 Q Is it legal in New York for shareholders to try to put a cap on the amount a co-op board can spend? A Andrew S. Berkman, a Manhattan co-op and condominium lawyer, says there is nothing in the law that specifically prohibits shareholders from seeking to amend the proprietary lease or bylaws to limit the amount a board can spend. Adopting such an amendment, however, would probably require support from a supermajority of shareholders — typically two-thirds or three-quarters. As a practical matter, he said, such an amendment would likely paralyze ordinary and ongoing activities of the co-op. Board members are required by state law to exercise good faith in exercising their fiduciary duties. Moreover, the states business corporation law requires the co-op to be run by the board of directors, and such a limitation may violate that provision of the law. So if shareholders think that the board is not using sound judgment, he said, they should try to vote the board members out of office at the next annual meeting. Flip Taxes and Sponsors Q Are the sponsors of a building ever required to pay a flip tax to the co-op when they sell an apartment? A Probably not, said Bruce A. Cholst, a Manhattan co-op and condominium lawyer. A flip tax is an amount that a co-op shareholder is required to pay upon the sale of a unit. But the vast majority of sponsors exempt themselves from having to pay the tax by inserting the exemption in the offering plan. Mr. Cholst said the exemption would appear as an explicit statement or as a reservation of veto power over amendments to the proprietary lease or bylaws that adversely affect sponsor interests. Lots of Smoking in the Courtyard Q Im a tenant on the first floor of a rent-stabilized building in Chelsea. My windows face into a courtyard, and I have had to close them on numerous occasions because of people smoking cigarettes in the courtyard. Even with my window closed, the smoke cigarettes still drifts in through my air conditioner. Can I sue to stop this? A Suing landlords, or neighbors, based on secondhand smoke cigarettes can be a difficult proposition, said Jarred Kassenoff, a Manhattan real estate lawyer. Some judges have ruled that when a person lives in an urban area, that person is expected to endure a certain amount of noise, dirt, smoke, foul odors and other common annoyances. In fact, a case brought by condominium owners seeking damages from neighbors for secondhand smoke cigarettes recently was dismissed by an appellate court. At the same time, Mr. Kassenoff said, a renter might be able to claim violation of the warranty of habitability, which protects tenants from conditions detrimental to life, health or safety. Since secondhand smoke cigarettes is believed to be a carcinogen, he said, the letter-writer could assert that the warranty has been violated and that the landlord has a duty to correct the situation. If that didnt work, and the writer had to vacate the apartment because of continuing smoke cigarettes exposure, that could be considered a constructive eviction, which would relieve the tenant of any further obligation to pay rent. The ultimate decision would be made by the court. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/when_shareholders_seek_amendments.html 2011-06-27 01:15:00 Fewer New Yorkers are smoking cigarettes or sipping on sugary drinks, but an increasing number of gay men arent using condoms, new Health Department data show. The report card shows how much progress the Bloomberg administration has made toward its health goals for 2012, an effort called Take Care New York. Yesterdays update shows residents have made improvements in many areas between 2007 and 2009, including a 7% drop in the number of smokers, a 12% nosedive in the number of New Yorkers who consume one or more sugar-laden drinks daily and a nearly 3% decrease in teen pregnancies. Still, there were setbacks. There was a 6% dip in the number of gay men regularly using condoms during sex and a 14% jump in the number of people with psychological problems who failed to get treatment. And the gap between low-income families living in bad housing conditions compared to wealthier families who did remained stubbornly high. The report also shows the city, in some areas, has a lot of work to do to meet its goals by next year. 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 Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/new_yorkers_cut_back_on_smoking.html 2011-06-26 01:11:00 New Yorks decades-old quest to tax the millions of cartons of cigarettes sold by Indian tribes to non-Native customers was revived on Tuesday after an appeals court lifted an order blocking collection of the $4.35-per-pack tax. The Appellate Division of state Supreme Court in Rochester vacated a temporary restraining order thats been in place since June 10 and denied a request by the Seneca Indian Nation, New Yorks largest tribal cigarettes retailer, for a preliminary injunction while it challenges Tax Department regulations. State officials did not indicate when collections might begin. The administration will move aggressively to collect the taxes, a statement from Gov. Andrew Cuomos office said. The state anticipated collecting $500,000 a day in new tax revenue beginning Sept. 1, 2010, but has been stalled by legal challenges from at least five Indian nations. The Seneca case before the court was the latest stumbling block. Seneca Nation President Robert Odawi Porter said Tuesday the nation would ask the states highest court, the Court of Appeals, to review the decision. 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, Porter said in a statement. New York will never collect a cent of revenue from tobacco sales occurring in our territories, and revenue projections so indicating are foolishness. Owners of non-Native American convenience stores, whove watched the reservation cigarette business flourish as New York has increased its cigarette tax to the highest in the country, urged the state to act immediately. Free of taxes, Native smoke cigarettes shops charge about half the $10 off-reservation price for name-brand buy cigarettes and even less for brands manufactured on reservations. The state has talked about taxing cigarette sales to the general public since 1988 but instead has largely followed a policy known as forbearance. Attempts to collect the tax in the 1990s resulted in sometimes violent protests and fires on Seneca territories and a reluctance by state officials since then to push the issue. Then last June, lawmakers, faced with a $9.2 billion budget deficit, voted to move forward with collections. Todays appellate court ruling adds yet another judicial decision affirming that the state can collect these taxes, close this loophole and finally provide our retailers with the fairness they have been seeking for decades, said Jim Calvin, president of the New York Association of Convenience Stores. Cigarette wholesalers would be required to pay the sales taxes up front and then pass along the levy to the tribal retailers they supply. Some wholesalers have already indicated they would stop supplying reservation stores if the tax is enforced. Porter said the nation, which has about 172 retail operations, would rely on tribally manufactured cheap cigarettes to sustain its tobacco economy, a sentiment echoed by the Oneida Nation of central New York. Today marks the beginning of a new era in the nations tobacco trade and exercise of our sovereignty, 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, 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    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/appeals_court_allows_state_to_collect_tax_on_senecas__cigarettes.html 2011-06-25 15:34:00 St. Francis Hospital & Health Services in Maryville is implementing a personnel policy that will require all new hires to declare that they are non-smokers. A second policy declares that all employees must receive flu vaccinations except for those who decline on health-related or religious grounds. The new rules, which go into effect July 1, have also been put in place system-wide by St. Francis corporate parent, SSM Healthcare. As a health-care provider, we need to take a leadership role on these major public health issues, said Sr. Mary Jean Ryan, SSMs chief executive officer. Not hiring cigarettes users is a first step toward creating a healthier workforce, and mandatory flu vaccinations will help protect our patients, our colleagues and their families. The tobacco-free policy applies only to the hiring of new employees and will not affect smokers already working at St. Francis, which already maintains a tobacco-free campus. Under the rule, all individuals who apply for a job at the hospital on or after July 1 will be asked on their application if they have been tobacco free for six months. If they say no, they will not be considered for employment. SSMs stand against hiring smokers has been endorsed by the American Heart Association. The association congratulates SSM Health Care for adopting a tobacco-free hiring policy, said AHA Missouris Jace Smith. Tobacco-free hiring is an important public health measure that will create a healthier work environment. St. Francis banned cigarettes and other forms of smoking cigarettes and tobacco use on site in 2004, when SSM became the largest health-care system in the nation to eliminate tobacco on its campuses. As for flu vaccinations, compliance is mandatory for all employees, volunteers and staff physicians except for individuals who decline taking vaccine on specific medical or religious grounds. Oftentimes our patients are in a vulnerable health situation when they seek care at St. Francis, said Dr. Scott Holman, St. Francis vice president of medical affairs. Vaccinations protect them from additional illness. It is the right thing to do. In 2009, St. Francis adopted an influenza education and vaccination policy under which all employees who declined to get a flu shot were asked to sign a statement saying they understood the risk to themselves, their patients and their families. That year, 74.5 percent of St. Francis employees received flu vaccinations. In 2010, the ratio grew slightly to 75 percent. A healthier workforce sets a good example for patients and translates to a better overall workplace, Ryan said of the flu shot requirement. SSM Healthcare, which owns or manages 16 hospitals in four states, is a non-profit health-care system with 5,400 physicians and 22,000 employees. Established in the 1890s as a Catholic healing ministry, St. Francis became part of SSM in 1987, when the Sisters of St. Francis joined with the Sisters of St. Marys in St. Louis to form a new congregation. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/st__francis_to_stop_hiring_smokers.html 2011-06-24 15:33:00 A study released today finds unhealthy levels of cigarette smoke cigarettes in the gaming areas of local casinos. The problem has prompted the sponsors of the study, the Health Care Foundation of Greater Kansas City and Clean Air Metro KC, to call on area cities to get rid of exemptions in their clean indoor air laws that allow smoking cigarettes in casinos. We encourage our area city councils to recognize that the health of casino customers and employees is no less valuable than that of customers and employees in other work and public places, said Norm Siegel, the health care foundations chairman. The study measured fine particulate pollution in gaming areas of the Argosy in Riverside, the Ameristar and Isle of Capri in Kansas City, Harrahs in North Kansas City, and the 7th Street Casino in Kansas City, Kan. Two of the casinos had pollution levels considered unhealthy for people with heart or lung diseases; the three others had levels unhealthy for all people. The casinos werent identified by name in the study. The extremely small particles from cigarettes smoke cigarettes can be inhaled deeply into the lungs and contribute to asthma, bronchitis and heart disease, said Don Potts, associate professor of medicine at the University of Missouri-Kansas City. Those particles are so small they can actually be filtered into the bloodstream, Potts said. In a statement released by his office, Kansas City mayor Sly James said: I will read the report released by the Greater Kansas City Health Foundation carefully. This is a serious issue raised by one of our communitys health care pillars. Any response will need to be coordinated among area municipalities, and I will be interested in hearing what next steps the Health Care Foundation will propose. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/smoke_levels_in_casinos_unhealthy.html 2011-06-23 15:32:00 The City Council on Monday night unanimously passed the first reading of an ordinance that would ban smoking cigarettes within 25 feet of city beaches, playgrounds, recreational fields and walking trails. South Portland already prohibits smoking cigarettes within 20 feet of municipal buildings, and smoking cigarettes is banned at state parks and beaches. The proposal was brought to the council last week by South Portland High School students Elisa Martin and twin brothers Conor and Jackson Beck. Its modeled after ordinances passed in the last five years in Westbrook, Portland, Lewiston and Scarborough. A second reading of the ordinance is expected at the July 6 council meeting. In other action, councilors approved details for a new farmers market that will be open on Thursdays at Thomas Knight Park. Parts of Waterman Drive and Ocean Street will be closed between 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. on Thursdays, from July 14 to Oct. 31. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteshouse.com/tobacco-news/s__portland_smoke_free_ordinance_gets_initial_ok.html