Tobacco.org

Tobacco makes a comeback in convenience 

The squeeze on consumer spending and new anti-smoking laws could actually have helped boost tobacco sales in local shops in the past 12 months, Convenience Store's latest product survey has revealed.

Some 27% of the independent c-store retailers surveyed said that tobacco was their best performing product category of 2009 - up from 23% the previous year.

Retailers have attributed the rise to factors including the ban on smoking in public places, which has reduced sales in pubs and clubs as more people buy from stores to smoke at home.

The testing economic climate has also been mooted as a key reason for tobacco's surprisingly good performance. "Tobacco is one of the few industries that remains buoyant in a recession," said Ken Patel, retailer and national spokesman for the Tobacco Retailers Alliance. "If people lose their jobs and feel stressed they smoke more, it's simple," he added.

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• Woman Arrested for Reckless Smoking  

Manchester, N.Y. -- A woman in Ontario County was charged with reckless endangerment for careless smoking.

Police say Rosemary Brown, 48, was smoking while using an oxygen tank in her apartment and set her own clothing on fire.

Police say it's the second time this has happened to Brown.

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Country Inns & Suites By Carlson(SM) Opens in Tucson, Ariz.  

The new 79-room Country Inn & Suites By Carlson(SM) Tucson City Center today announced it is open for business. Conveniently located off of I-10, the hotel is only minutes from the University of Arizona.

The 100 percent non-smoking hotel features the brand's new interior design package along with an outdoor pool, whirlpool and fitness center and meeting space for up to 35 people

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EDITORIAL: Enforce the law 

Restaurant and coffee shop owners are asking for yet another extension of the grace period offered to them by the Ministry of Health before starting to apply the law regarding smoking in public places.

It would indeed be interesting to know how one extra month can help . . .

One thing is clear: unless the ban against smoking in public places is enforced, and soon, the country would be contravening and repudiating its treaty obligations under several international human rights conventions, over and above the WHO injunctions. And would do a disservice to its citizens.

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• Smokers face adoption and fostering ban  

SMOKERS will be banned from fostering or adopting children, under new rules introduced by Midlothian Council.

Anyone wanting to care for a child under the age of five will be required not to have smoked for at least six months.

The policy will also apply to all children with a disability or respiratory problems such as asthma. All children over five years old will also be given the choice to be placed with a non-smoking family.

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Hospital to step up smoking ban patrols  

SECURITY patrols are to be stepped up by hospital managers after an increase in the number of patients, staff and visitors spotted smoking outside buildings in areas which are supposed to be tobacco free.

Many hospitals brought in a rule to ban smokers completely from their sites to protect patients being brought in and out.

But several have been forced to relax the ban, including Sheffield's Royal Hallamshire Hospital and Northern General Hospital, after it became too difficult to police.

However, bosses at Chesterfield's Royal Hospital said they were committed

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Public hearing scheduled today for Lake St. Louis smoking ban  

Lake St. Louis could be the next city in the metro area to ban smoking in bars and restaurants.

The issue will be up for discussion at a public hearing tonight at 6 at the city hall.

City residents and business owners will be allowed to voice their opinion

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Sheffield councilman pitches possible smoking ban  

Sheffield is exploring the possibility of a smoking ban.

Councilman Steve Stanley brought it up at Monday night's council meeting. Most council members were receptive to the idea.

The council will now look at how other areas have created similar laws, as well as seeking public input.

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Call to ban smoking in streets of Torquay 

VICTORIA'S top health lobby has urged Surf Coast Shire to extend a beach smoking ban to its streets.

VicHealth yesterday acknowledged Surf Coast as a leader with its state-first beach bans and said it was ideally placed to follow Frankston Council in banning smoking in open-air shopping strips.

Frankston City Council recently unveiled plans for a six-month trial ban along three busy streets, with penalties up to $110.

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Park Cities blog: University Park City Council to vote on smoking ban tonight  

Back in December the University Park City Council sent a proposed smoking ban back to committee for fine-tuning. Now it's back.

On Tuesday, the council is scheduled to vote on it during a meeting that starts at 5:00 p.m.

The ban would prohibit smoking in public buildings, essentially defined as "any building other than a building used as a private residence." That would include restaurants and bars.

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• 'Mad Men' smoking draws fines in Turkey  

Two Turkish television stations were each fined $33,000 for airing shows such as the U.S.-produced "Mad Men" that feature smoking.

The fines levied by the Supreme Board of Radio and Television were successfully challenged by channels E2, which airs "Mad Men" and TV8, which airs the popular French cartoon, "Tin Tin," the Hurriyet newspaper reported Tuesday.

The stations argued the various programs had been produced before the on-air smoking ban was instituted, the newspaper said.

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• 'Robo calls' oppose cigarette tax 

As its done in previous years, a major tobacco company is running a phone bank to urge New Mexicans to tell legislators to vote against raising cigarette taxes.

A spokesman for Altria, parent company of Phillip Morris, said Monday that such calls are supposed to go only to smokers over the age of 21 who have requested such information. However, one person who received a call from the company did not fit that description. She is the teenage daughter of an American Cancer Society official.

Cynthia Serna, the regional grassroots development director of the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network, said her 15-year-old daughter received the automated "robo call" from Phillip Morris on Monday morning on her cell phone.

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Bulgarian alcohol and cigarette producers to come under close surveillance 

Using open, always-on network connections, Customs officers would be able to inspect the stock-administration of alcohol and cigarette producers at any time, Bulgarian-language daily Standart said.

According to the daily, amendments to Customs ordinances that were currently being discussed would allow Customs officers to verify if accounted production amounts of excise goods and taxes paid coincided with a company's stock-accounting.

The system, however, could only be implemented if producers would all be connected to the internet and open their administration to the Customs office.

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Bulgaria: Increased EU Excise Duty Will Hit Bulgarian Smokers Hard  

The excise duty on cigarettes sold in the European Union will rise significantly in 2014, when the taxation level will become EUR 90 per 1 000 cigarettes.

The rate of duty is currently set at EUR 64 per 1 000; the proportional increase in the tax rate will rise from 57% to 60% of the purchase price.

The European Council of Ministers has agreed these amendments to the Directive on excise duty on tobacco products, it has been announced on Tuesday.

The ministers have approved a transition period for Bulgaria, Greece, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Hungary, Poland and Romania. These countries will fall in line on January 1, 2018.

In Bulgaria, excise duty has been increased at the beginning of 2010 to EUR 76 per 1 000, compared with the previous level of EUR 52. . . .

Even if Bulgaria benefits from the grace period, it is estimated that, from 2018, cigarettes will double in price compared with current levels, with a likely average purchase price of BGN 4,68 for popular mid-range brands.

The state-owned cigarette monopoly Bulgartabac has already announced that the illegal trade in cigarettes will reach 40% of the total trade in 2010 over the recent increase in excise duty.

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VIDEO: Mobile Home Destroyed by Cigarette  

EUGENE, Ore. -- A woman is left homeless after her oxygen hose caught on fire, destroying her mobile home.

It happened Monday afternoon in the Mobile Towne West Mobile Home Community in Eugene.

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