Tobacco.org

Tobacco sale concerns delay Indian Affairs secretary's appointment (2:02 p.m.)  

State senators, concerned about possible illegal tobacco sales at a tribal store in which Arthur Allison has an interest, delayed a vote today on whether to confirm him as secretary of the Department of Indian Affairs.

Allison, 64, told the Senate Rules Committee that he no longer makes any day-to-day decisions about operations of the Five Star Oil & Gas store on the Navajo nation near Farmington. He said he is "a passive member" of a partnership, but his son runs the business.

At issue for the Senate is whether the store is continuing to sell cigarettes to non-tribal members without charging a state tax.

Allison said tobacco products at his store are taxed by the Navajo Nation. He said his lawyer did not believe the law required that an additional tax be collected and paid to the state government if someone outside the tribe makes a purchase.

Jump to full article »

• Indian Affairs Secretary Faces Scrutiny Over Cigarette Sales 

Gov. Susana Martinez’s nominee to lead the Indian Affairs Department is under scrutiny from lawmakers over possible illegal sales of cigarettes at a store operated by the Cabinet secretary’s family.

The Senate Rules Committee agreed Monday to postpone a vote on the confirmation of Indian Affairs Secretary Arthur Allison because of questions about the sale of untaxed cigarettes at the Star Ranch Store, near Farmington on the Navajo Nation.

At issue are sales to non-Indians of cigarettes without New Mexico’s tax and the sale of certain cigarettes that the Attorney General’s Office contends are prohibited in New Mexico.

Jump to full article »

• Judge Won't Revive Challenge To Master Tobacco Deal  

A New York federal judge on Monday refused to revive cigarette maker Grand River Enterprises Six Nations Ltd.'s antitrust suit challenging the $200 billion master settlement between state attorneys general and the nation's largest tobacco companies.

U.S. District Judge John F. Keenan shot down Grand River's bid to vacate his decision granting summary judgment to the states on the cigarette company's Sherman Act claims, despite Grand River's allegations that newly discovered evidence would have influenced his findings if he had had access to it.

The suit, filed by Grand River in 2002, stems from a 1998 deal between 46 attorneys general and 19 participating tobacco companies, including Philip Morris Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. The cigarette makers agreed to make annual payments to the states in part to help fund high health care costs associated with tobacco-related illnesses under state Medicaid programs.

The settlement contains provisions that give states incentives to enact so-called escrow statutes directed at manufacturers that did not participate in the settlement, in order to create a resource available to the states in the event they sue and obtain a judgment or settlement against a nonparticipating manufacturer.

Jump to full article »

Gambling Addicts Aren't Necessarily Smoking Addicts 

In a gambling casino, you can lose your shirt — and worse, your health. That’s why several groups are working on California’s Indian casinos to go smoke-free. Many such casinos, particularly in San Diego County, have enclosed rooms or areas that are nonsmoking.

But the reformers want 100 percent smoke-free. “In California, patrons are not allowed to smoke anywhere else indoors,” points out Narinder Dhaliwal, project director of California’s Clean Air Project. Why can’t laws that apply to other businesses also apply to Indian casinos?

The major reason is that the tribes have sovereignty, but “the reality is that only Congress has the authority to regulate the tribes and thereby the casinos,” says Nikki Symington, a public relations consultant for San Diego–area tribes. My sources don’t know of any significant push toward casino smoke regulations gaining momentum on Capitol Hill. That’s hardly surprising. Las Vegas casinos are veritable smokehouses, and Nevada’s Senator Harry Reid is senate majority leader.

Phil Toomire, who lives in the Temecula/Murrieta area, is annoyed by the smoke-filled atmosphere when he visits casinos, which isn’t often. He wrote Chuck Washington, mayor pro tem of Temecula (now mayor) about the smoke at the Pechanga Casino. “The casino operates under the jurisdiction of a private corporation on tribal lands and the City exercises no authority over any part of its operation,” Washington wrote back.

Jump to full article »

Tackling Indigenous smoking: can the promise be kept?  

David Thomas writes:

Reducing Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander smoking has been a central element in the Government’s efforts to Close the Gap. What does the new Health Minister Tanya Plibersek think of Nicola Roxon’s promise to halve the prevalence of Indigenous smoking by 2018?

Unlike us, politicians do not have an annual cycle of New Year’s resolutions that are quickly broken or forgotten by mid-January. Politicians can make rash, seemingly bold, promises to fill a sound bite on any day. These may be achievable or be proven to be embarrassingly impossible. Everyone remembers Hawke’s promise that no child will live in poverty. Most are, of course, forgotten by all but a few pedantic political tragics and political foes. And timelines (like 2018) are usually so distant that the promising politician will be long gone and not accountable.

A new report (abstract freely available**) outlines the size of the task ahead.

Jump to full article »

ClearWay Minnesota(SM) Board Approves $1.8 Million for Research Grants  

At its meeting on January 18, ClearWay Minnesota's Board of Directors approved three grants for new research. The organization will award more than $1.8 million to Minnesota researchers through these grants.

"Science is the backbone of our work at ClearWay Minnesota," said Chief Executive Officer David Willoughby. "The research funded by these grants has the potential to improve the efforts of our organization, and those of others, to reduce the devastating harm tobacco causes the people of Minnesota."

Jump to full article »

• Setting a good example? Smoking amongst key occupational groups 

A new study published by researchers from University of Otago, Wellington has found that smoking rates have declined rapidly amongst many occupational groups over the last 25 years.

However, among some key 'role model' occupations smoking rates remain high. The researchers suggest that targeted support to help them give up smoking should be considered.

The research from the ASPIRE 2025 research collaboration has been published in the journal Nicotine and Tobacco Research. It describes smoking prevalence by occupational groups, which may be role models in society, using data from the 1981 and 2006 censuses.

The five 'role model' occupational categories cover a range of 32 different jobs: teachers, uniformed services, health professionals, entertainers and sports people, and other public figures and professions.

"The aim was to look within five occupational categories which act as role models for children and others, compare smoking rates with the average for all occupations in NZ, and rates of decline across the occupational groups," says lead researcher and director of ASPIRE 2025, Professor Richard Edwards.

Jump to full article »

$130m Expected From Indian Cigarette Taxes Stubbed Out: Awkward!  

The New York legislature’s scheme to bolster the state’s coffers by forcing Indian nations to collect taxes on cigarettes sold on reservations has gone up in smoke.

The state’s tax collectors were recently calling around to convenience-store owners, wondering what happened to the tax dollars that were supposed to be rolling into the state, the New York Post reported January 12. The state had projected $130 million in extra taxes – and included that amount as revenue in the current budge – but the money didn’t show up. Post columnist John Crudele wrote that he has a memo which was sent to members of the New York Association of Convenience Stores from its President Jim Calvin that said, “I got a call from Gov. Cuomo’s budget office yesterday. In examining cigarette tax receipts so far this fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) it looks like they will fall considerably short of their projection in new revenues. …”

The state has tried unsuccessfully during decades of tobacco wars to force sovereign Indian nations to collect taxes on the cigarettes they sell to non-Native customers in Indian country, but the nations have resolutely refused to be tax collectors for the state.

Jump to full article »

2 former Creek Nation employees face conspiracy charges in tobacco-tax scheme 

A plea hearing is scheduled for later this month for two former Muscogee (Creek) Nation employees accused of bilking the government out of more than $2.5 million in cigarette taxes.

Michael Wisner II and Ed Warrington were indicted last week on conspiracy charges. Federal prosecutors accuse the two of conspiring with a tobacco wholesaler to sell cigarettes in Creek Nation smoke shops at an illegally low tax rate.

Jump to full article »

CRUDELE: Extra tax revenue all smoke and mirrors  

A memo sent to members of the New York Association of Convenience Stores from the group's president, Jim Calvin -- a copy of which I have on my desk -- said, "I got a call from Gov. Cuomo's budget office yesterday. In examining cigarette tax receipts so far this fiscal year (April 1 to March 31) it looks like they will fall considerably short of their projection in new revenues. . . ."

The state had hoped to get the extra dough by enforcing a new law that made it illegal for licensed cigarette wholesalers in the state to sell untaxed name-brand cigarettes like Newport and Marlboro to Indian reservations. . . .

That seems to mean that Albany is $130 million short on its $130 million projection.

But don't fear.

The Convenience Store Association says its members saw an improvement in taxed-cigarette sales at the end of last year, presumably because the Indians' stockpiles of brand-name smokes were running low.

*

A side issue: The fact that people aren't buying cigarettes from legitimate sellers doesn't necessarily mean they are smoking less.

So if Mayor Bloomberg and the other anti-cigarette crusaders are using this data to pat themselves on the back, they should be prepared to eventually be kicked in the rear.

Jump to full article »

Prevalence and risk indicators of smoking among on-reserve first nations youth 

Objective: To determine the current prevalence of smoking among First Nations youth living on reserve within the Saskatoon Tribal Council, and to determine the independent risk indicators associated with smoking among First Nations youth.

Methods: Students in grades 5 to 8 attending school within the Saskatoon Tribal Council were asked to complete a youth health survey.

Results: Of 271 eligible students, 204 completed the consent protocol and the school survey, yielding a response rate of 75.3%; 26.5% of youth were defined as current smokers. Regression analysis indicated that older age, not having a happy home life, suicide ideation and having three or more friends who smoke cigarettes were independent risk indicators of smoking in First Nations youth.

Discussion: Smoking prevalence among on-reserve First Nations youth is quite high. The identification of four main risk indicators should assist with the design of youth smoking prevention and cessation programs.

Jump to full article »

• Rainbow Tobacco chases pot of gold in West  

An aboriginal tobacco company that has thrived in Quebec and Ontario set out last year to begin selling and distributing its cigarettes in First Nations communities across Western Canada.

But from British Columbia to Manitoba, shipment after shipment of Rainbow Tobacco's cigarettes wound up in the hands of authorities because provincial taxes hadn't been paid on them.

The company, located on the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal, insists that as long as its products are distributed within or between aboriginal reserves only federal tax laws should apply. The company and its supporters add that provincial interference is hampering economic development in communities that need it most.

The potentially precedent setting legal showdown is expected to be closely watched this year by police, provinces and convenience store owners, who say there's no way they can compete with the cheaper smokes.

Jump to full article »

Cigarette seizures spark showdown 

An aboriginal tobacco company that has thrived in Quebec and Ontario set out last year to begin selling and distributing its cigarettes in first nations communities across Western Canada.

But from British Columbia to Manitoba, shipment after shipment of Rainbow Tobacco's cigarettes wound up in the hands of authorities because provincial taxes hadn't been paid on them.

The company, located on the Kahn-awake reserve near Montreal, insists that as long as its products are distributed within or between aboriginal reserves only federal tax laws should apply. The company and its supporters add that provincial interference is hampering economic development in communities that need it most.

A potentially precedent-setting legal showdown is expected to be closely watched this year by police, provinces and convenience store owners, who say there's no way they can compete with the cheaper smokes.

No doubt, consumers are paying attention, too, said Andrew Lokan, a constitutional and aboriginal-rights lawyer in Toronto.

"There's a segment of the public that's keenly interested whether they can buy cheap cigarettes," he said.

Jump to full article »

• Case to decide First Nations' right to move cigarettes between reserves  

An aboriginal tobacco company that has thrived in Quebec and Ontario set out last year to begin selling and distributing its cigarettes in First Nations communities across Western Canada.

But from British Columbia to Manitoba, shipment after shipment of Rainbow Tobacco's cigarettes wound up in the hands of authorities because provincial taxes hadn't been paid on them.

The company, located on the Kahnawake reserve near Montreal, insists that as long as its products are distributed within or between aboriginal reserves only federal tax laws should apply. The company and its supporters add that provincial interference is hampering economic development in communities that need it most.

The potentially precedent-setting legal showdown is expected to be closely watched this year by police, provinces and convenience store owners, who say there's no way they can compete with the cheaper smokes.

No doubt, consumers are paying attention, too, said Andrew Lokan, a constitutional and aboriginal-rights lawyer in Toronto.

Jump to full article »

LEMSTRA: Find ways to curtail smoking on First Nations 

A study was recently published in Paediatrics and Child Health on the prevalence and risk indicators of smoking among First Nations youth living on reserve in Saskatchewan.

Children in Grades 5 to 8 completed a questionnaire which included the youth smoking survey originally developed by Health Canada and implemented by Statistics Canada across Canada. The response rate for the survey was 75 per cent.

There has never been a survey completed by First Nations youth living on reserve with a validated questionnaire. Other studies, such as the original youth smoking survey, don't include First Nations youth living on reserve. Of the few studies that have collected such data, non validated questionnaires have been used.

Also, the study documents the incredibly high prevalence rate of smoking among First Nations youth. . . .

So what can be done? One idea would be to encourage First Nations price their cigarette on par or above other retailers provided. They could use the extra money for health, social or education programs. This has already happened in progressive communities such as Whitecap Dakota. Other tobacco control policies, such as refusing cigarettes to minors and not allowing children to smoke in their homes, should also be initiated.

The relationship between poor mental health and smoking will require more comprehensive initiatives to reduce poverty while providing more educational and employment opportunities in order to create hope within the communities. This will require provincial and federal government assistance.

Jump to full article »