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Got Plans?: July 4th, Outdoor Movies, Bars for First Dates, Anniversary Plans  

Columbia, Md.: Hello Gurus - I was at the Chi Cha lounge a little over a year and a half ago and people were allowed to smoke cigarettes inside, I guess cause it is a hooka bar. Is that still the case?

Fritz: I was at Chi-Cha last night for the always-amusing Notoriety DJ night run by the guys from U.S. Royalty and there were plenty of people puffing away on hookahs. Didn't see anyone smoking cigarettes, but I'm pretty sure you're allowed to smoke 'em if you got 'em.

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Chi Cha Smoking: you're not allowed to smoke cigarettes there at Chi Cha actually. I talked with one of the servers about it and it has something to do with the permit they have only allowing hookah smoke. I don't get it either -- but that's what they told me.

Fritz: Makes sense. (The reason they can allow hookah smoking is because they sell a certain amount of hookah tobacco.)

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Advocates seek licensing for tobacco retailers  

The Solano County Tobacco Prevention and Education Program and Solano Tobacco Education Coalition have joined the wave of tobacco control advocates in California who are working to pass local policies that require tobacco retailers to be licensed.

"The timing is right for Solano cities to consider tobacco retail licensing," said Felicia Flores-Workman, Solano County Tobacco Prevention and Education Program project director. "These local policies are needed because the current state tobacco licensing law is designed to collect taxes on cigarette sales, not enforce laws that prohibit sales to minors."

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Vallejo tobacco row looms 

Solano County advocates have targeted Vallejo as "ground zero" to push for tobacco licensing control.

The Solano County Tobacco Prevention and Education Program and the Solano Tobacco Education Coalition are stepping up efforts to urge Vallejo leaders to require licensing of local tobacco vendors.

The point of local ordinances aimed at tobacco sellers would be to cut down on illegal sales to minors, agency officials said.

Working locally with Fighting Back Partnership and the Vallejo Alcohol and Tobacco Policy Coalition in recent years, the education programs recommend that tobacco retailers be licensed, be subject to zoning restrictions and to fund enforcement. . . .

The city moratorium on new smoke shops came several years ago when there was a "particular sentiment that there were too many smoke shops" in Vallejo and a desire to enact an ordinance concerning the perceived nuisance, Assistant City Attorney Claudia Quintana said.

City attorneys have been working with local agencies on an ordinance proposal, though there is some disagreement on how feasible the coalition's proposals are, Quintana said.

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Smokeless tobacco on the rise  

The use of smokeless tobacco in Jackson County has steadily risen in recent years among teens and adults -- and now, officials fear the introduction earlier this year of new, candy-flavored "dissolvable tobacco" lozenges will make matters worse.

Called Orbs, the pellets, which look and taste like breath mints, contain as much nicotine as a cigarette and could cause cancer of the mouth and throat, said Jane Stevenson, tobacco program coordinator for the county.

Among eighth-grade males in Jackson County, use of smokeless tobacco jumped from 2 percent in 2001 to 7 percent in 2006, reported Stevenson. Among 11th-grade males, it rose from 10 percent in 2001 to 16 percent in 2006. Among adults here, 3 percent use smokeless tobacco. These figures are 1 to 4 percent higher than the state rates.

"The increase of smokeless tobacco use here among teens is significant and alarming -- and dissolvable tobacco is just as addictive as smoking," said Stevenson. "They are packaged to look hip and trendy and they carry the Camel logo. Usually, people are very loyal to their tobacco brand."

The introduction of dissolvable tobacco pellets is in response to new laws prohibiting smoking in bars, restaurants and the workplace, said Mike Welch, owner of Puff's Magazine & Fine Tobacco, an Ashland smoke shop.

The target market for dissolvable pellets, Welch added, is people who buy low-end generic cigarettes. His store won't be selling them, he said, because too many of his customers are concerned about throat cancer.

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Machinist turns activist over tax 

Ron Russell, a high-energy, outgoing machinist at Hav-A-Tampa cigar factory, isn't an activist, but every so often the outrage wells up. . . . Now 43, Russell is speaking out again on what he considers another outrage: the upcoming closure of the Hav-A-Tampa factory near Seffner, where he's worked for about four years.

Russell crafted a letter he plans to send to congressional supporters of an increased federal cigar tax, chastising them for "short-sightedness" in taxing a 102-year-old local factory out of existence. He got more than 90 co-workers to sign it.

Local radio talk-show hosts have seized on the issue and read Russell's letter on the air, singling out U.S. Rep. Kathy Castor for criticism.

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NEWMAN: Hav-A-Tampa closing an avoidable tragedy 

Cigar-makers supported expanding the State Children's Health Insurance Program. We believe everyone should have access to quality health care.

What we opposed was Congress' decision to fund the expansion of this government program by taxing a single industry. Health care should be a shared responsibility.

We pleaded with the leaders of Congress not to tax us out of business. We explained how a 700 percent tax increase would cost jobs and force some cigar companies to close their doors.

Sadly, our pleas fell on deaf ears and what we feared has become reality.

When will Congress understand that it cannot dramatically raise taxes on businesses without costing jobs?

How ironic it is that many former Hav-A-Tampa employees could soon need assistance from the very government program whose expansion cost them their jobs and health insurance in the first place.

-- Eric M. Newman is president of the J.C. Newman Cigar Co., which was founded by his grandfather in 1895, and president of the Cigar Manufacturers Association of Tampa

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Tobacco giant denies price cuts are to encourage smoking 

But British American Tobacco says retailers set their own prices and the new list is a guideline only.

Spokeswoman Susan Jones says the small reduction is in direct response to the number of competitor products on the market.

She says the company's actions fall squarely within the Smoke Free Environments Act.

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BAT Triggers South African Listing Review, Business Report Says 

South Africa’s National Treasury is reviewing the criteria used to classify whether companies trading on Johannesburg’s stock exchange are foreign companies, Business Report said, without saying where it got the information.

The review was triggered by British American Tobacco Plc’s listing on the exchange last year, the Johannesburg-based newspaper said.

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• Indonesian Min: To Propose Closing Cigarette Indus For New FDI 

Indonesian Industry Minister Fahmi Idris said Thursday that he will propose closing the cigarette industry for new foreign direct investment in order to protect existing producers.

"The ban will be directed toward new (foreign) investors," Idris told reporters.

Idris added that his ministry will also propose six other industries, such as sugar refinery and pulp-making, to be closed for foreign investors.

Such a proposal will be subject to approval by the president.

There are now around 8,000 local cigarette producers, Idris said, and they are mostly small companies.

Phillip Morris International and British American Tobacco Plc (BAT.LN) are the biggest foreign investors in the industry and have majority stakes in two large local producers.

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New cigar bar gives smokers another option 

When Nevada passed a law banning smoking in places that serve food, Susan and Jeff Melvin discovered it created a niche for people looking for a smoking option.

The Melvins opened Jimmy G's Cigar Bar in downtown Carson City on June 5. While they don't serve food, the option for patrons to light up is good for business.

“The nice thing is, people can choose,” Susan Melvin said. “If they want to go somewhere where there is no smoking, they can, or where people can smoke, they can.”

Melvin said customers can order lunch or dinner from nearby Garibaldi's or Kim Lee Sushi and have it delivered.

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Cheaper tobacco sparks outrage 

Outraged anti-smoking organisations are worried cigarette price cuts by tobacco companies will make smoking more affordable and lure former smokers back to the habit.

A Central Otago retailer yesterday confirmed both British American Tobacco New Zealand and Imperial Tobacco have embarked on what appears to be a price war by dropping the cost of several brands.

The retailer said a British American Tobacco representative told him prices were being cut some brands by as much as $1.10 a packet to make smoking more affordable in the current economic situation.

Attempts to obtain comment from the two tobacco giants were unsuccessful yesterday.

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New York man indicted in Blue Stilly Smoke Shop case 

A New York man appeared in federal court in that state Wednesday to answer charges that he lied about his role in the sale of untaxed cigarettes at the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop in Arlington.

Arthur "Sugar" Montour, 37, turned himself in to federal authorities in response to a Seattle grand jury indictment charging that he made multiple false statements when he denied having sold his Seneca brand cigarettes to the Blue Stilly, which operated on Stillaguamish tribal land for about five years. He was released and is scheduled to appear in a federal courtroom in Washington on July 10.

Montour did not respond to messages left for him at the offices of his company, Native Wholesale Supply, located about 30 miles south of Buffalo, N.Y., on the Cattaraugus Indian Reservation. Native Wholesale Supply sells Seneca brand cigarettes.

The indictment is the latest in a series of federal actions in connection with the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop. The shop operated without a state cigarette compact between 2003 and 2007. It was owned and operated by Eddie Goodridge Jr., who was until recently the Stillaguamish Tribe's executive director. His parents, Ed and Linda Goodridge, shared ownership of the shop. Ed Goodridge was a longtime tribal leader.

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Tobacco wholesaler indicted in untaxed cigarette probe  

A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted a New York tobacco wholesaler in a recent crackdown on a smoke shop near Arlington run by former Stillaguamish tribal leaders who were selling millions of cartons of untaxed cigarettes.

A federal grand jury in Seattle has indicted a New York State tobacco wholesaler in a recent crackdown on a smoke shop near Arlington run by former Stillaguamish tribal leaders who were selling millions of cartons of untaxed cigarettes.

The indictment against Arthur "Sugar" Montour, 37, of Perrysburg, N.Y., alleges that he lied in sworn statements about selling cigarettes to the smoke shop in proceedings seeking forfeiture of more than $50,000 paid to him by the smoke shop.

In March, three former Stillaguamish tribal council members, Edward Goodridge Sr., 60, Edward Goodridge Jr., 33, and Sara Lee Schroedl, 40, were sentenced to federal prison for making millions of dollars dealing untaxed smokes out of the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop.

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• E-cigs look, act and feel like real ones - but no tobacco smoke 

Although the battery-powered cigs don't produce tobacco smoke, should users be banned from "vaping" in restaurants and airplanes? Just where can you vape, as the lingo calls vapor inhaling?

That's a sticky point, and the etiquette is far from settled.

For anyone buying e-cigs, consider yourself a bit illicit. E-cigarettes inhabit a legal gray area. The Food and Drug Administration recently blocked some e-cig imports, and officials want to halt sales. At least three makers sell them online, and one maker sells in Tampa malls. . . .

Jason Healy, president of the e-cigarette company Blu, said he regularly uses his product on airlines, including Quantas, American Airlines and Southwest.

"I just show it to the flight attendants, explain it, and they're usually fine," Healy said.

Since launching online sales in April, Blu, based in Charlotte, N.C., has sold more than 22,000 starter kits.

That kind of success bothers anti-smoking advocates.

"They're just another way the tobacco industry has found to target addicts for a profit," said Gary Stein, tobacco programs coordinator for the Hillsborough County Health Department. . . .

Southwest Airlines officials toyed with allowing e-cigarettes on planes and listened to presentations two years ago by at least one e-cigarette maker hoping the airline would allow them.

Southwest decided on a policy against them, said spokeswoman Marlee McInnis.

"We have made it clear we do not accept them," she said. "We definitely don't want people concerned about them."

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Philip Morris International Announces Agreement to Acquire Swedish Match South Africa for $222 Million  

Philip Morris International Inc. [NYSE / Euronext Paris: PM] (PMI) announced today that the company has entered into an agreement with Swedish Match AB to purchase its South African affiliate, Swedish Match South Africa (Proprietary) Limited (SMSA) for ZAR 1.75 billion (approximately $222 million).

SMSA is the market leader in the South African pipe tobacco and snuff categories, which represent an estimated 31% of total tobacco consumption. In 2008, SMSA reported net revenues of ZAR 687 million. Its principal brands include Boxer, Best Blend and Taxi.

“This financially attractive acquisition represents an excellent strategic fit for our business in South Africa,” said Jean-Claude Kunz, President of PMI’s Eastern Europe, Middle East & Africa Region. “We firmly believe that merging the two businesses will provide us with the talent, infrastructure and expertise to further build and grow our portfolio of strong brands in this important market.”

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