Tobacco.org

Mobile health leaders back higher taxes on cigarettes by $1 a pack  

The Mobile County Board of Health is offering support for state officials who are pushing to raise arette prices in Alabama by $1 a pack.

Alabama's present tax is 42.5 cents per pack, according to Meagan Newsom, a media coordinator with Just Breathe, Smoke Free Mobile County. Only three other states have lower such levies, she said.

The highest cigarette tax is in New York state, where a single pack costs upward of $10, and more than $11 in New York City.

"They have been able to reduce the smoking population there because of that," Newsom said. "If we went up to $1.42 (in taxes) we would then be meeting the national average."

Jump to full article »

Birmingham Councilman Johnathan Austin seeks input on tough anti-smoking proposal 

More than 200 business owners this week are receiving a package from Birmingham City Hall notifying them of a proposal to make the most of the city smoke-free.

Councilman Johnathan Austin, chairman of the public safety committee, mailed notices to lounges, night clubs and other businesses where smoking is permitted, inviting them to a hearing on the proposed rules. Austin also sent copies of the draft rules that would ban smoking in nearly all public places.

The committee meets at 2 p.m. Feb. 15.

"I want to make sure the businesses know what we're considering and providing input about how they think it affects their business either positively or negatively," Austin said. "Before we pass anything I'd like for them to comment on it."

Jump to full article »

LETTER: YOUR VIEW: Secondhand smoke forces writer to live as a recluse 

I would like to commend and thank Birmingham City Councilman Johnathan Austin for his stand on smoking. He is speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves -- children, the elderly, the debilitated.

To the writer of a Jan. 27 letter ("Smoking: No need to ban on private property," Your Views), I disagree with the statement that 75 percent of people don't smoke. For five years, I have not been able to go to my grandson's athletic events because of smokers.

I have never smoked, but I have severe asthma and pulmonary disease. My dad was a chain smoker. Cigarette smoke brings on asthma attacks. . . .

The writer says there's no proof secondhand smoke is harmful. Smokers, get your heads out of the sand and quit living in denial. You are killing your children, your family members and friends.

I am forced to be a recluse because of smokers. I am angry and bitter.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: YOUR VIEW: Secondhand smoke forces writer to live as a recluse 

I would like to commend and thank Birmingham City Councilman Johnathan Austin for his stand on smoking. He is speaking for those who cannot speak for themselves -- children, the elderly, the debilitated. To the writer of a Jan. 27 letter ("Smoking: No need to ban on private property," Your Views), I disagree with the statement that 75 percent... Full story » . . .

The writer says there's no proof secondhand smoke is harmful. Smokers, get your heads out of the sand and quit living in denial. You are killing your children, ...

Jump to full article »

Efforts to curb cigarette smoking failing in Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama 

As students, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama flunked the no-smoking class.

The three states racked up a row of F's from the American Lung Association's annual report card that grades states on their efforts to curb cigarette usage. The State of Control report looks at four categories: tobacco prevention, control and spending; state smoking restrictions; cigarette tax rate; and state cessation coverage.

Out of the three states, Tennessee has the highest number of smokers -- 20 percent of adults and high school students -- and the highest number of deaths from smoking per 100,000 population.

However, Alabama and Georgia are not far behind in both percentage of smokers or deaths caused by smoking, with all three states ranking high in national percentages. . . .

In its annual report, the Lung Association found many states regressed in 2011. No state passed a strong smoke-free air law, and Nevada weakened its existing law. No state increased its tobacco tax significantly and more than a dozen states cut or eliminated funding of tobacco control and prevention programs.

Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama all spend only a fraction of the recommended funding for tobacco prevention and control spending.

In addition, three states have some of the lowest cigarette taxes in the nation, with Georgia's ranking fourth lowest, Alabama coming in at fifth and Tennessee adding a few more pennies at the 13th lowest tax in the nation.

It doesn't look as if 2012 will bring many improvements in the tri-state region

Jump to full article »

Two state lawmakers hope one bill can raise revenue, curb smoking 

With a looming budget crisis and a large population of unhealthy smokers, Alabama could find a partial solution to both problems in taxes, some advocates and politicians say.

Alabama has one of the nation’s highest rates of cigarette smoking, known to cause many health problems and raise medical costs in the process. The state is also facing a projected $400 million deficit in its next budget due to the loss of federal stimulus money.

To some medical experts and anti-smoking advocates, raising taxes on cigarettes could address both problems at once — discouraging people from buying more cigarettes in the long run while generating more revenue for state coffers in the short run.

“I’m not a big tax guy, but this is one tax I can support,”

Jump to full article »

EDITORIAL: Compromise on public smoking ban could work (editorial) 

MOBILIANS WOULD benefit from an ordinance that bans smoking in all workplaces and public spaces. But an all-out ban isn't likely to gain approval from the City Council

So council members should move ahead with a lesser ordinance that has already been proposed, which would ban smoking in most public places, including restaurants -- but not bars.

Bars that don't serve food would be able to choose for themselves whether to allow smoking.

Problem is, advocacy groups on both sides appear to be blocking the way to getting the ordinance passed -- and just when council members seemed ready to act. . . .

Let's find a way to broker a compromise so that the city can approve an ordinance and improve public health.

Jump to full article »

Alabama distributor accused of cigar tax evasion 

State officials announced the indictment Wednesday of the owner of a wholesale distribution company on charges of not paying taxes on cigar sales, and they predicted more indictments involving millions in unpaid cigar taxes.

State Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee and officials from the attorney general's office said 40-year-old Shamim Ahmed Khan of Pelham was indicted by a Shelby County grand jury as a result of the Revenue Department's increased auditing of cigar wholesalers.

"Other investigations are ongoing and will likely result in further indictments in the next 12 months," Magee said.

Khan, owner and president of Capital Wholesale and Distribution, is charged with 27 counts of willful evasion of tobacco taxes and 15 counts of second-degree possession of a forged instrument.

Jump to full article »

Pelham cigar distributor indicted for tax evasion  

The owner of a wholesale distribution company in Pelham that operates statewide has been indicted on charges accusing him of not paying state taxes on large amounts of cigars sold in Alabama.

According to the Associated Press, State Revenue Commissioner Julie Magee announced the indictment Wednesday of Shamim Ahmed Khan on 42 counts involving willful evasion of tobacco taxes and possession of a forged instrument.

Jump to full article »

YOUR VIEW: Supports Birmingham's efforts to make workplaces smoke free 

As The News reported on Jan. 19, the Birmingham City Council is weighing a new ordinance that would make Birmingham restaurants, bars and workplaces smoke free. I strongly support this law and urge every council member to be bold and lead us to a healthier future, for the good of our community.

Secondhand smoke contains thousands of harmful chemicals, many of which are known carcinogen . . .

Thanks in advance to the courageous council members who have the vision and grit to take up this tough issue. And thanks to the health advocates and community activists, like the Health Action Partnership, for supporting these leaders. Together, with a little foresight and a touch of magic, we can build Birmingham into the thriving, healthy city it should be.

I have seen firsthand the harm smoking can do. I hope this law passes.

Jump to full article »

GADDIS: Smoking ban wrong choice for Alabama 

After reading Wednesday’s doomsday letter to the editor about a campus-wide smoking ban, I almost wrote this column to say my final goodbyes.

In the letter, the author argued that the very life of every student was at risk if we allow individuals to use tobacco while on our campus.

Over the past week, several articles and columns have been published regarding a campus-wide smoking ban for the Capstone. . . .

Before we get ahead of ourselves calling for more regulations and policies, it is crucial to analyze the potential effectiveness and feasibility of our ideas. It would be near impossible to completely eliminate tobacco use on campus.

However, by strengthening and enforcing existing smoking rules, we could significantly reduce unwanted exposure to cigarette smoke.

A full tobacco ban would infringe on the student’s right to partake in a legally allowed activity. In the spirit of understanding and cooperation, we should explore other opportunities to satisfy both parties.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Smokers smoke, haters choke  

As a smoker, I think I can provide a first-hand view for the opposing stance. Now, some of us smokers want to be able to smoke anywhere that we want, and as pointed out in your article, some non-smokers don't want us to smoke anywhere that would cause you to come in contact with second-hand smoke. Bearing in mind that I can't speak for all smokers, let's see if we can hammer out a compromise about smoking/non-smoking locations on which we can both agree. . . .

Basically, we, as smokers, are going out of our way in the interest of your concerns. If you aren't happy with that, maybe we should revisit our previous agreement and make some alterations so that our concerns are appropriately addressed.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: A right to be free from smokers  

As Americans, it is an instinctive reaction to feel that limitations on personal choices violate our rights. This sort of knee-jerk response isn’t necessarily bad; it defines us as a nation of individuals who deeply believe in freedom, and who question and/or fight any entity that seeks to take that freedom away.

But we often forget that such freedom is not unlimited, . . .

Smokers have a right to smoke. But all non-smokers have just as much of a right to their health. Banning or controlling smoking in public areas would then be an act of protecting rights rather than violating them. It is time such action is taken.

Those who choose to smoke could still do so on private property and those who choose not to could walk around campus confident that their well-being is not being undermined. One person’s rights end where another person’s rights start. Or, as Oliver Wendell Holmes, Jr., former Associate Justice of the Supreme Court more colorfully put it, “The right to swing my fist ends where the other man’s nose begins.”

Jump to full article »

OUR VIEW: Legislature should pass a strong anti-smoking bill, not leave the policy up to voters to decide  

Each year, more than 800 nonsmoking Alabamians die prematurely as a result of secondhand smoke. (AP file photo)

State Sen. Vivian Davis Figures has been a wonderful advocate for a statewide smoke-free policy. She has sponsored bills in more than a dozen sessions of the Legislature to ban smoking in most public places.

Each year, her bill fails. . . .

Regulating a danger such as that caused by secondhand smoke isn't something you put up to a public vote. Alabama people might very well support a constitutional amendment; barely more than 22 percent of Alabama adults smoke.

Still, any campaign can become emotional. A smoke-free law should be approved by the Legislature -- it is supposed to represent the people, after all -- through an unemotional process that considers science, medicine and facts.

If people voted against smoking restrictions, that wouldn't make them right. They aren't. Smoking kills, and so does secondhand smoke. If somebody wants to harm his own health by smoking, that's his decision. He doesn't have the right to harm somebody else's health, though.

We hope Figures reconsiders.

We need a strong, health-protecting smoke-free policy for certain; not one that depends on the whim of voters to be enacted.

Jump to full article »

EDITORIAL: Public deserves to have a voice on smoking ban  

It remains unclear why Sen. Vivian Figures' continued push to ban smoking in most public places in Alabama is stonewalled in the Legislature.

Second-hand smoke is especially dangerous to children . . .

We don't believe private clubs should be included in this list as those clubs should deserve the right to make their own rules, but we support the public's right to vote whether to ban smoking in many other public places. Smokers are often provided designated places to puff away. Such places should continue to be respected, and possibly more should be provided if further public areas to smoke are restricted.

If Figures' attempt to pass this legislation fails this time, as it has before, we hope the senator will continue similar attempts again in the future.

Jump to full article »