Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: Welcome action  

A BAN ON the display of tobacco products and other in-store advertising has been imposed and will, hopefully, lead to a reduction in the incidence of smoking by children and young persons. . . .

Recent research discovered that under-aged persons were being allowed to buy cigarettes from vending machines at 40 per cent of all outlets. To counteract that, the machines will now have to be operated by tokens and will have to be placed under the control of a staff member. Fines of up to €3,000 can be imposed for breaches of this and other regulations.

Price has always been the single most important factor in determining whether - and how much - children smoke. Most users go on to develop a nicotine addiction between the ages of 14 and 18 years. Price is also a major factor in encouraging users to quit the habit. Here too, the Government has been active. The price of 20 cigarettes was pushed up by 75 cent within the past year and it may rise again in the next budget.

The cost to the health services of treating tobacco-related illnesses has been estimated at €1 billion. That is a great deal of money and it could be used productively elsewhere. More important than money, however, is the 6,000 deaths a year caused by nicotine and the tens of thousands of addicts whose lives are blighted by poor health. Young women are now more likely to smoke than young men. They find it harder to quit. If these laws protect members of a new generation from death by lung cancer they will be fully vindicated.

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• South Florida Cigarette Smuggling Funds Terrorism  

In less than five minutes, the brutal attack left Quinsey and Azimkar dead, the two pizza deliverymen and a pair of guards clinging to life, and the historic 1998 peace agreement between Irish Catholics and Protestants imperiled.

The bullets rang out thousands of miles away, but investigators now believe the assault had its origin in an anonymous cargo ship docked at a bustling South Florida port.

A gray-haired 57-year-old Cutler Bay man with no criminal history named Roman Vidal sold millions of cigarettes that had been smuggled to Dublin criminals who funded the terrorist group that killed Quinsey and Azimkar, investigators say. The charges are just the latest link between black-market U.S. smokes and violent terrorist groups around the world.

It's the first cigarette smuggling case in Florida with explicit ties to a terrorist organization, but at least four major rings around the country have been busted in the past seven years with proven connections to Hezbollah, the Iraqi Kurdistan Workers Party, and North Korean weapons runners. A four-month-long New Times review of court filings and interviews with investigators reveals exactly why smuggling smokes may be the best racket for America's enemies. . . .

For the average smoker, those under-the-table, tax-free packs might seem like a bargain. But as the recent history of cigarette smuggling vividly illustrates, when you buy black-market smokes, you never know whose paycheck you're signing. . . .

In 1999, Garcia was called to Atlantic City to help Lou Calvarese — a hefty agent with a long undercover FBI résumé. Calvarese introduced him to May and Charles Liu, a Los Angeles Chinese-American couple with an incredible operation.

Though most smuggling operations involve actual commercial cigarettes, the Lius contracted with four factories in China that produced quality knockoffs of Marlboros, Camels, and other major brands. . . .

That meeting was just the beginning of a massive six-year operation. Garcia would eventually infiltrate the highest levels of the Lius' international smuggling network, a staggering chain involving nearly 100 people in China, the United States, and Canada. Garcia eventually learned that the operation had ties to North Korean weapons smugglers.

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For the average smoker, those under-the-table, tax-free packs might seem like a bargain. But as the recent history of cigarette smuggling vividly illustrates, when you buy black-market smokes, you never know whose paycheck you're signing.
Text from yet another trenchant, well-researched and well-written article on cigarette smuggling, this time from a small South Florida paper. The big mainstream media orgs are getting drubbed on this subject.

• Ireland first to ban tobacco advertising 

Ireland will become the first country in the EU to remove all tobacco advertising from retail outlets tomorrow.

The changes mean that all tobacco products in shops are stored out of view, within a closed container or dispenser, only accessible by retail staff. A sign must be shown to advise that tobacco products are sold at the premises.

Retail staff may use a pictorial list to inform a customer aged over 18 who wishes to buy tobacco products as to the products that are available.

Self-service vending machines will be prohibited except in licensed premises and registered clubs.

All retailers of tobacco products must register with the Office of Tobacco Control.

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• Ireland leads way on tobacco ads 

A complete ban on tobacco adverts in shops comes into force on Wednesday.

Seven years after it was first mooted, Ireland will become the first country in Europe to introduce the blanket ban. The Office of Tobacco Control (OTC) said it was a pioneering move aimed at protecting children, with offenders facing fines of 3,000 euro or six months in prison.

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Hamish Champ: Wanna go tie-free? Check out the Emerald Isle 

last week I meets an investment type who knows the Irish pub market quite well. After talking about the state of the UK licensed trade we gets to chatting about pubs in the Emerald Isle.

Many, he said, were suffering. No doubt because of the smoking ban, I opined knowingly, ready to roll out facts and figures about the effects of the ban on the licensed sector versus the cost to the Irish economy of treating people whose lungs have the consistency of a loofah and who gozz up bucketloads of pale green phlegm every day.

Nope, he replied. It was largely because many licensees had signed commercial leases with their landlords at the height of the Celtic Tiger Boom Thang(TM). While these were all fine and dandy at a time of the economic surge the country was then experiencing, in the current market conditions they were proving to be unsustainable. Not smoking then, but onerous leases. Sounds familiar doesn't it?

It's my understanding that there is no pubco model in Ireland similar to the one you'd fine here. It's all free trade.

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• Office Of Tobacco Control annual report shows compliance with smoke- free workplace legislation at highest ever level  

The Office of Tobacco Control's (OTC) 2008 Annual Report shows the compliance level with the smoke-free workplace legislation is 97%. This is the highest level of annual compliance since the introduction of the measure in 2004.

Published today (Monday, June 22nd), the report shows that in relation to smoke-free workplace legislation:

- 97% of workplaces were compliant in 2008, based on the results of the National Tobacco Control Inspection Programme in co-operation with the HSE;

- 25,350 inspections were carried out by Environmental Health Officers (EHOs); . . .

- There were 23 cases taken for sales to minors offences, resulting in 19 convictions.

Speaking on the report, Éamonn Rossi, OTC Chief Executive said the 97% compliance level demonstrated the huge success of smoke-free workplaces and showed the strong public support for measures to protect the public from the serious ill effects of smoking.

"Five years after its introduction, we are delighted with how workplaces and the public continue to support this public health measure. The introduction of the legislation can without doubt be called a success and we must now carry that success forward and continue to be a world leader in tobacco control."

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• Record compliance with smoking ban 

Compliance with the workplace smoking ban reached an all-time high in 2008, according to the Office of Tobacco Control's (OTC) annual report, which was published today.

Last year, 97 per cent of workplaces were compliant with the ban, the highest level of annual compliance since the introduction of the ban in 2004.

A total of 25,350 inspections were carried out in workplaces around the country by environmental health officers in 2008.

Twenty-four cases were brought under the Public Health (Tobacco) Acts resulting in 19 convictions. In addition, 23 cases were taken for failure to comply with the sales to minors legislation, result in 19 convictions.

A total of 562 calls were made to the smoke-free compliance line, the report shows.

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• Low fines make for a 'cigarette smugglers' paradise'  

THE average fine for handling illegal cigarettes was just €423 during the first three months of the year, new figures reveal.

The paltry size of the fine last night prompted calls to end Ireland's reputation as a cigarette smugglers' paradise.

The tobacco industry is among those who want stiffer penalties imposed on smugglers and sellers of illegal cigarettes.

Figures released by the Revenue Commissioners showed that the fines handed down by the courts to those convicted in the first three months of the year.

Convictions

A breakdown of the revenue statistics reveals that Dublin, Louth and Kerry top the list for cigarette convictions. . . .

A spokesman for the Irish Tobacco Manufacturers Advisory Committee said: "This evidence highlights that, with continued insufficient penalties, Ireland will remain a smugglers' paradise".

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Kildare teen smoking poll produces some shock results 

THE results of a major new study conducted by a number of local doctors on the smoking habits and attitudes of 600 adolescents in both Kildare and neighbouring counties are likely to shock.

The research found that adolescents have no difficulty in obtaining cigarettes from shops, despite laws which outlaw selling them to minors.

And a significant minority say that they get them from their friends, siblings and most disturbingly, their parents.

Some 90% of 126 pupils from four post primary schools indicated little or no difficulty in obtaining cigarettes either from their parents, siblings or friends, with the average age at first cigarette at 12.7 years, the report which was part funded by the Naas-based Office of Tobacco Control found.

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• Not enough done to prevent smoking, RCSI report finds  

IRELAND HAS become complacent about its smoking cessation achievements, with evidence that advice on giving up smoking was offered to just half of smokers who were seen by a primary care health professional, a report to be published today has found.

The analysis of data from the recent SLÁN national survey of Lifestyle Attitudes and Nutrition by the Division of Population Health Science at the Royal College of Surgeons in Ireland (RCSI) confirms that a previous downward trend in smoking rates has stalled.

Researchers, led by Prof Ruairí Brugha of RCSI, report smoking rates higher than the national average of 29 per cent in a number of occupational health groups. They found a particularly high rate of smoking in 18-29 year old women in social class 5 and 6 which, at 56 per cent, is double the rate found among women in the same age group in social classes 1 and 2.

Commenting on the relative lack of access to smoking prevention programmes in the country, Prof Brugha said, “a high percentage of smokers, at 72 per cent, who were interviewed in 2007 had attended a GP in the previous year, while only 38 per cent of smokers reported that a doctor or health professional had discussed ways of giving up smoking with them”.

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• Graphics smoke out the habit  

According to the Department of Health commissioned Survey of Lifestyles, Attitude and Nutrition (Slán), rates of smoking among the Irish populace have declined over the period 1998-2007 from 33 per cent to 29 per cent.

However, it is estimated that close to 7,000 people die each year in Ireland from smoking-related illnesses, and tobacco has been identified by the WHO as the leading cause of death and disability in the world.

Introducing an effective tobacco control strategy, including the use of graphic pictorial images on cigarette boxes, is seen as a crucial step in reducing tobacco-related deaths.

In May 2005, the European Commission bolstered the existing EU Tobacco products Directive of 2002 by recommending that member state governments adopt 14 graphic pictorial health warnings from a library of 42 colour photographs and other illustrations for inclusion on cigarette cartons.

According to the HSE, pre-testing of the EU library has been carried out and the images for use on the Irish market have been selected. Proposals have already been submitted to Government to amend the existing tobacco legislation, and one of these amendments will allow the Minister for Health to introduce combined text and photo warnings on tobacco products. It is anticipated that this will be enacted before the Dáil summer recess.

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Feds: Miami Man Funneled Money To Irish Terrorists Behind This Weekend's Attacks 

A Cutler Bay man funneled money to the Irish terrorists who murdered two British soldiers in Belfast on Saturday, federal prosecutors say in a complaint unsealed in Miami-Dade court today and obtained by Riptide.

Courtesy Wikimedia CommonsAn IRA mural in Belfast. An IRA splinter group took credit for this weekend's attack.

For at least three years, Roman Vidal, 57, allegedly smuggled millions of dollars in black market cigarettes through the Port of Miami on behalf of European gangs --- including the Real IRA, which has claimed responsibility for an attack on a four soldiers waiting for a pizza delivery. . . .

Vidal fronted a freight company that imported millions of cigarettes from Panama, hid them under wood flooring and insulation in freighters at the Port of Miami and then sent them to gangs in Dublin, according to the complaint.

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Tobacco advertising banned in shops from July  

RETAILERS will have to ensure tobacco products are kept out of sight in shops from July 1, under strict new Department of Health guidelines.

The guidelines also warn that not even a hint of any tobacco advertising can be visible in the shops.

In addition, customers must be shown just one packet of cigarettes at a time.

In the introduction to the guidelines, the department said research showed that tobacco advertising was a key factor in a young person starting and continuing to smoke.

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Parents urged to quit smoking 

A CHILD LIVING in a household where either parent smokes is between two and two-and-a-half times more likely to smoke, according to new research.

The study, published yesterday by the HSE as part of a campaign to get people to quit, also shows that more than half of parents who smoke continue to do so at home.

Dr Fenton Howell, director of public health with the HSE, said while a smoking ban was introduced five years ago to protect people from second-hand smoke in their workplaces, parents were not recognising that they also needed to protect their children from second-hand smoke in their own homes. "Children have much less developed lungs and are more susceptible to passive smoke," he said.

There were a number of key messages from the research, he said. One was that while many factors influenced whether young people smoked, parental behaviour was quite a "significant" one. If they quit, he said, not alone would it be the single most important thing they could do to improve their health but they would also be protecting their children.

The research was carried out among 1,000 adults by Behaviour Attitudes for the HSE. It found that of the 48 per cent of current or past smokers in Ireland, 78 per cent grew up in a house where a parent smoked.

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Quarter of smokers won't quit -- even for their kids 

A quarter of smokers with children say they would not quit -- even if it encouraged their youngsters not to start.

One-in-10 smokers claim their parents approved of their habit, according to a new survey.

It also found that three-quarters of current smokers grew up in a house where at least one parent smoked.

The survey calculated that smoking 20 cigarettes a day will cost up to €3,000 a year.

The research was carried out by the Health Service Executive (HSE) to coincide with a new anti-smoking campaign in a bid to cut the 7,000 deaths from smoking-related disease here annually.

Around 44pc of current or past smokers say they go through between 11 and 20 cigarettes daily, but 15pc were having 21or more.

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