Tobacco.org

Cigarette Smuggling Funding International Terrorism  

International cigarette smuggling is increasingly funding international terrorism, costs governments worldwide over $40 billion each year -- with losses falling disproportionately on low and middle income countries -- and the benefits of eliminating this illicit trade, including an estimated saving of over 150,000 lives a year by raising the price of cigarettes, far exceed the costs.

That's why delegates from nearly 150 countries are meeting in Geneva to craft a coordinated plan for attacking cigarette smuggling under an international antismoking treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control [FCTC], announces public interest law professor John Banzhaf, Executive Director of Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), America's first antismoking organization which is helping to coordinate these efforts.

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• Extension of smoking ban to six types of listed establishments in Hong Kong 

A spokesman for the Department of Health (DH) said today (June 29) that smoking ban at six types of listed establishments (LE) will take effect on July 1 in accordance with the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance (Cap 371).

These establishments are bars, clubs, night-clubs, bathhouses, massage establishments and mahjong-tin kau premises.

Studies have shown that second hand smoke affects the health of staff and customers at indoor public areas.

“The arrangement can further protect the public from exposure to second hand smoke,” the spokesman said.

The spokesman also called for the co-operation of venue management in providing a smoke-free environment for their staff and customers.

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Challenge To Smoking Ban  

A year after it was set, bar owners are expected to go before the court Monday to fight the state's smoking ban -- claiming the ban violates their rights. The Iowa Bar Owners Coalition filed the suit last July 1st, the day the ban went into effect.

The suit names the director of the Iowa Department of Public Health, the department itself and the state of Iowa.

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Man in court over cigarette smuggling plan  

A cigarette smuggler wanted for his part in a conspiracy in County Durham 11 years ago has appeared in court after being arrested by Revenue and Customs officers.

The 56-year-old man went on the run before he was due to appear at Teesside Crown Court for trial.

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Cigarette Smuggling Finances "Terrorist" Groups - Campaigners  

GENEVA (AFP)--Cigarette and tobacco smuggling is financing militant or extremist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and sapping about $40 billion a year from government budgets, campaigners said Monday.

The allegations were made as 160 countries resumed talks at the World Health Organization on expanding an international antismoking treaty to clamp down on the illicit trade in tobacco. . . .

An alliance of some 350 anti-tobacco campaign groups said in a statement that concerted action against the contraband and counterfeit cigarettes trade would far outweigh the $40.5 billion in lost tax revenue.

Some 11.6% of the global cigarette market was illicit, equivalent to some 657 billion cigarettes a year, the International Union against Tobacco and Lung Disease estimated in a report.

Researchers also alleged that "half a dozen terrorist" or militant groups, including the Pakistani Taliban, Al-Qaeda in the Islamic Maghreb, Hezbollah, left-wing FARC rebels in Colombia and the Real IRA in Northern Ireland, rely on black market tobacco for revenue.

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Cigarette smuggling funding Pakistan Taliban: campaigners 

Cigarette and tobacco smuggling is financing militant or extremist groups such as the Pakistani Taliban and sapping about 40 billion dollars a year from government budgets, campaigners said Monday.

The claims were made as 160 countries resumed talks at the World Health Organisation on expanding an international anti-smoking treaty to clamp down on the illicit trade in tobacco, AFP reports.

Apart from issues such as enforcement and coordination, the ten-day preparatory negotiations are also examining a possible halt to duty free sales of cigarettes or measures against Internet sales, WHO documents showed.

An alliance of some 350 anti-tobacco campaign groups said in a statement that concerted action against the contraband and counterfeit cigarettes trade would far outweigh the 40.5 billion dollars in lost tax revenue.

Some 11.6 per cent of the global cigarette market was illicit, equivalent to some 657 billion cigarettes a year, the International Union against Tobacco and Lung Disease estimated in a report.

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Smoking ban extension to launch July 1 

The smoking ban at bars, clubs, nightclubs, bathhouses, and massage and mahjong premises will take effect July 1.

The Department of Health called for venue management co-operation in providing a smoke-free environment for their staff and customers, noting they are empowered to implement the smoking ban. They are authorised to require anyone to stop smoking in no-smoking areas and can request those refusing to produce their identity and address for follow-up action, or ask them to leave.

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Most tobacco law changes start next year 

Within the next 12 months, larger warning labels will be required on all smokeless tobacco packages and advertisements, and descriptors such as "light" or "mild" will be prohibited. Tobacco manufacturers can no longer sponsor athletic or cultural events, and advertising in most magazines and at the point of sale must be printed in black and white.

But the law is giving some of the more intense efforts at anti-smoking marketing - such as larger, graphic warning labels that cover the top half of the cigarette box - up to three years to go into effect. Despite the delay, some health officials are glad action was taken.

"If everything can fall into place like it's designed to, there will definitely be some excellent results from this," said Jason Bergstrand, tobacco prevention coordinator for Richland County Health Department. "The concern is that Philip Morris planted too many loopholes, so this particular law is susceptible to challenge."

He said the other concern is the "mobsters" on board, referring to the three positions that Philip Morris representatives will hold on a non-voting scientific advisory committee.

"They've already been convicted of racketeering,"

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HEALY: FDA's tobacco road  

But on June 22, a political resurrection occurred in Washington, D.C.: Flanked by lawmakers, anti-smoking advocates and even a tobacco industry executive, President Obama (himself a smoker who's struggled to quit) signed into law a measure giving the FDA all the authority over tobacco that it has periodically sought, and more. That's a measure not only of the doggedness of some lawmakers, but how the American landscape has changed for the makers of tobacco products.

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DONLAN: Smoke but No Fire  

the U.S. is now moving slowly toward the policy that hasn't worked for marijuana, cocaine, heroin and alcohol. Armed with a new law, the FDA says it eventually will decide which chemicals in tobacco smoke should be banned.

For now, the focus is on side issues, such as flavorings, advertising aimed at children, the size of warning labels and the use of the words "light" and "low tar." This form of regulation is largely decorative. Just look at the treatment of menthol cigarettes. Other flavorings have been banned, on the grounds that they make smoking more palatable for children. Menthol, the most popular flavoring, will be assigned for study by a new Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee.

This is a perfect example of James Boren's advice to bureaucrats: "When in doubt, mumble; when in trouble, delegate; when in charge, ponder."

No doubt the FDA will get the message: Congress isn't serious; President Obama is still trying to quit; the tobacco industry will continue to pay lots of taxes and dividends.

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EDITORIAL: The smoke clears  

It will still be a long time before we can look around this country and find no smokers. And the limits the bill puts on tobacco advertising may yet face serious First Amendment challenges.

But the new law is a serious step toward admitting that we have a problem, that many of our friends and neighbors --children among them--are powerless to save themselves and that each small but deliberate step toward the freedom from addiction is well worth the effort.

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EDITORIAL: FDA oversight means public health victory on tobacco  

President Obama acknowledged the AMA's longstanding commitment to this effort to safeguard children's health in his June 15 address to delegates at the Annual Meeting. Hundreds of other organizations with a like-minded commitment to the most vulnerable patients also lent their voices in support of the legislation and helped defeat concerted attempts to derail it once more.

Doctors need to stay vigilant in the bigger battle against tobacco, but it appears that the tide is turning when it comes to the debate over whether nicotine is a harmful drug. When this legislation first emerged a decade ago, many dismissed it as a fantasy. But thanks to the persistence of the AMA and others committed to public health, it is now a reality.

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Man who drove front-end loader into Forks Township home blames smoking-cessation drug Chantix 

A Forks Township man blamed the smoking-cessation drug Chantix for leading him to smash a Bobcat front-end loader into his patio.

Charles L. Brinker, of the 1000 block of Frost Hollow Road, said he was quitting smoking and taking the drug, which has side effects ranging from nausea to suicidal thoughts and depression.

"I believe that had a lot to do with it ... I'm not a doctor or anything," Brinker said today in Northampton County Court.

Brinker threatened to tear down his home while his wife, Diane Brinker, and three others were inside, according to court papers.

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EDITORIAL: TOM-TOM  

Meet the new Tom -- same as the old Tom.

That would be Tom Farley, Mayor Mike's replacement for ex-city Health Commissioner Tom Frieden, recently departed for the Obama administration.

Frieden lived to stick his nose in other people's business -- totally for their own good, of course -- and it seems that Farley is struck from the same mold.

New Yorkers who didn't see enough of Frieden's disgusting anti-smoking evangelism on TV can now expect even more revolting agit-prop in the corner bodega -- courtesy of Farley. . . .

what's in the works now is about power, not public health.

Mayor Mike and his new health commisar mean to festoon food stores with massive, disgustingly graphic images because they can, not because they should.

Indeed, Mike's the one who needs to get the message.

Please just stop it.

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LETTER: Tobacco act 

President Obama has signed the tobacco act into law. I'm a smoker, and I fully support this law to help me reduce my smoking habits. Let's face it: Cigarettes are killing Americans day by day. And coughing, black lungs and yellow teeth aren't exactly what the ladies are looking for.

I don't know about you, but I would like to die by old age, not by 40 because of lung cancer.

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