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Former Arizona official to attend tobacco bill signing 

After receiving an invitation from the White House, former Arizona Attorney General Grant Woods will attend a Rose Garden signing ceremony on Monday.

President Barack Obama is set to sign into law the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. Approved by Congress earlier this month, it increases federal regulation of tobacco products and imposes new restrictions on tobacco advertising.

"I'm honored President Obama offered me a chance to attend this important bill signing ceremony," Woods said. "For too long tobacco companies have used deceptive practices in producing and marketing cigarettes. It was a long, hard battle against Big Tobacco, but I think this is the final victory. This bill finally enacts the reforms we negotiated in 1996 and will be an important tool in the fight to regulate tobacco products and advertising." . . .

Woods plans to twitter during his visit at http://twitter.com/GrantWoods.

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Neenah legislator Dean Kaufert pushes 'true' statewide smoking ban 

State Rep. Dean Kaufert claims the statewide smoking ban that's going into effect in July 2010 is flawed because it excludes Indian casinos.

"It's a fairness issue," said Kaufert, a Neenah Republican who has been contacted by constituents regarding the reach of the ban. "A statewide ban should truly be a statewide ban. There shouldn't be pockets where people don't have to comply with the state."

Kaufert said he may introduce legislation to include casinos in the ban, which was signed into law in mid-May by Gov. Jim Doyle and goes into effect July 5, 2010.

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Convict in 'cigarette break out' 

An armed robber escaped from a secure psychiatric hospital in London during a cigarette break and robbed a shop at knife-point, a jury has heard.

John Slavin, 44, was eight months into a sentence at Springfield Hospital in Wandsworth, south-west London, for robbing a Gloucester Road bookshop.

But Southwark Crown Court heard that in March 2008 he escaped through a fence - and raided the bookshop a second time.

His mental illness meant he was not fit to make a plea, a judge said.

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WEN: Tax increase alone will not curb tobacco use 

The consumption of luxury cigarettes paid for with public funds is even more rigid. . . .

Moreover, some of the additional tax revenues from the rate increase will be turned into smoke and ashes, running counter to both aims of the rate adjustments.

Given these facts, smoking with private and public money should be dealt with differently.

Tobacco consumption with one's own money can be somewhat affected by a price increase, but not so much as the consumption of ordinary goods. . . .

A feasible choice is to strengthen the publicity of negative aspects of smoking. Typical examples are Thailand, where terrible pictures of smoke-related illness are printed on each cigarette box, and Hong Kong, which allows smokers only limited places to smoke.

Such measures, however, are not enough to counter smoking with public money. In this case, one needn't pay a penny for the cigarettes, so the positive aspect of smoking is greatly amplified, even encouraging non-smokers to start.

The best medicine to cure the chronic disease of officials overspending taxpayer money on luxurious cigarettes is rule of law and accountability.

As they are spending taxpayers' money, the officials must assure the public their money is being spent in a reasonable way.

Laws and regulations regarding official consumption should be stringently enforced, and the officials themselves should welcome supervision of their spending from the news media and the public. Anyone who ignores the laws and regulations shouldn't be allowed to escape accountability.

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Smokers hit by double tax penalty 

The government increased the tax on tobacco products on May 1, but informed the public only Saturday.

The tax on cigarettes costing 70 yuan ($10) or more per carton rose from 45 percent to 56 percent, while for products costing less than 70 yuan per carton the rate was increased from 30 percent to 36 percent.

The tax on cigars went up from 25 percent to 36 percent, and all tobacco products are now subject to a value-added tax of 5 percent, the Ministry of Finance and the State Administration of Taxation said.

"The move aims to moderately increase fiscal revenue and perfect the taxation mechanism," the document said without elaborating.

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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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• Cigarette tax increased to cut smoking 

The government has raised consumption tax on cigarettes by between 6 and 11 percent to curb smoking and add revenue to State coffers.

The tax hike took effect on May 1 but was made public over the weekend along with a levy of 5 percent imposed on cigarette wholesalers, according to a statement by the State Administration of Taxation.

The tax has not yet been passed on to smokers and it is unclear how much of the increase tobacco companies, wholesalers and retailers will absorb.

"The move will not only increase government revenue but also save the lives of millions," Li Ling,a professor at the National School of Development at Peking University, told Xinhua News Agency.

The Chinese Association of Tobacco Control said in a statement yesterday: "Efforts to increase the tobacco tax and lift tobacco prices have proven the most effective in reducing smoking among smokers of all income levels. It will prevent young people from smoking and encourage more smokers to quit the harmful habit."

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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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China raises tobacco tax to curb smoking 

China has raised tax on tobacco in an effort to bolster state coffers and curb smoking in the world's largest cigarette market, according to the government and state press.

Tobacco wholesalers were also hit with a five percent levy according to new tax rates that went into effect on May 1 but were announced over the weekend, the State Administration of Taxation said in a notice on its website.

"Efforts to increase the tobacco tax and lift tobacco prices have proven the most effective in reducing smoking among smokers of all income levels," the China Daily quoted the Chinese Association of Tobacco Control as saying Monday.

"It will prevent young people from smoking and encourage more smokers to quit the harmful habit."

Tax on more expensive brands of cigarettes went up from 45 percent to 56 percent per packet, while the tax on cheaper tobacco saw an increase from 30 to 36 percent, the administration said.

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• Intensive smoking-cessation program can double quit rate in cardiac patients 

Cardiac patients were twice as likely to successfully quit smoking if they received intensive in-hospital counseling plus follow-up support vs only minimal in-hospital counseling, in a recent study [1].

Among patients hospitalized for CABG or MI who were smokers, 54% who received the intensive counseling protocol vs only 35% of patients who received minimal support were confirmed nonsmokers one year after discharge.

Unfortunately, counseling patients about quitting smoking--which research has shown can greatly reduce the risk of a subsequent cardiovascular event--is often neglected by cardiologists, author Dr Ellen Burgess (University of Calgary, Calgary, ON) told heartwire. . . .

The study is published in the June 23, 2009 issue of the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

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LETTER: Gilding the tobacco leaf  

George Will’s penchant for elegant but deceptive prose was evident in his June 18 essay on the newly passed Federal tobacco product legislation . . .

In the following paragraph Will asserts that, “Government policy regarding tobacco ... has been, on balance, a success.” Tell that to the people you know who have lost loved ones to a smoking-related disease or who themselves suffer from tobacco-related emphysema, heart disease or cancer.

Curiously, as the text continues below the fold in the page Will starts telling the truth: “Smoking is addictive ... sickening, often fatal ... Ninety percent of all smokers start by age 18; few start after 21. But death and intelligence cost the companies 6,000 customers a day, so that many new smokers must be made daily just to keep up.”

And that’s where the Food and Drug Administration, our nation, and indeed the entire world urgently need to focus: on deterring the cigarette companies from promoting addiction to their products among today’s and tomorrow’s vulnerable teenagers.

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Altria Streamlines Sales & Distribution 

With three tobacco companies coming together, Altria Group is taking advantage of synergies and cost savings by consolidating the sales and distribution arms of Philip Morris USA, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. and John Middleton into the new Altria Sales & Distribution Services.

"With this new organization comes the same professional sales service you've always received from Philip Morris USA, now covering cigarettes, cigars and smokeless tobacco products," Altria Group chairman and CEO Michael Szymanczyk said in a speech earlier this year. "Altria Sales & Distribution is focused on helping you identify and uncover new opportunities and strengthen your business in multiple tobacco categories."

Altria Sales & Distribution Services was created by combining the sales forces from PM USA and U.S. Smokeless, according to Szymanczyk. The new entity serves all three tobacco companies with an organization the size of PM USA's sales force before the UST integration. "We expect this new organization will provide increased retail-store coverage and better execution at retail, including improved product freshness, better merchandising and more-effective management of promotions."

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President Obama Signs Anti-Smoking Law  

President Obama knows all too well how difficult it is to quit smoking, and today he addressed his struggle to kick the habit just before signing a law he hopes will help other people put out their cigarettes too.

"Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new, regular, daily smokers, and almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday," Obama said today. "I know; I was one of these teenagers. And so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time." . . .

President Obama knows all too well how difficult it is to quit smoking, and today he addressed his struggle to kick the habit just before signing a law he hopes will help other people put out their cigarettes too.

"Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new, regular, daily smokers, and almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday," Obama said today. "I know; I was one of these teenagers. And so I know how difficult it can be to break this habit when it's been with you for a long time." . . .

The tobacco industry has already been readying itself for a tougher U.S. regulatory environment by expanding its overseas marketing and developing new smokeless products.

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Pelosi Statement on President Obama Signing Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act 

"Today, President Obama has joined Congress in taking a giant step toward making America healthier. This bipartisan legislation grants the FDA the authority to regulate tobacco products and marketing, which will help to protect public health, prevent disease, and stop tobacco companies from hooking America's children on their deadly product.

"All Americans have benefited from the oversight of the FDA on foods that we eat and medicines we take. Yet, despite the fact that tobacco is one of the deadliest products in America, the FDA has had no authority to regulate it. Today, this new law corrects that wrong.

"I salute President Obama for joining Chairmen Henry Waxman and John Dingell and others in the New Direction Congress to protect Americans from addictive and dangerous tobacco products and create a healthier America."

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CARNEY: Obama vs Reality on tobacco regulation  

Today, President Obama signed the "Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act," and exclaimed that "today, despite decades of lobbying and advertising by the tobacco industry, we passed a law to help protect the next generation of Americans from growing up with a deadly habit that so many of our generation have lived with." This is supremely misleading, considering that the largest tobacco company in the country--controlling a majority of the U.S. cigarette market--has actively supported this bill for years.

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