Tobacco.org

Electronic Cigarettes Debated At Legislature 

A bill that would ban the sale of smokeless electronic cigarettes to minors and impose the 70% tobacco tax on the devices was briskly debated at the state Legislature today.

All of the testimony favored a ban on sale of the products to minors but more than 1,000 individuals and companies protested imposition of the tobacco tax on “e-cigarettes”.

The devices deliver vaporized nicotine mist to users but contain no tobacco and generate none of the carcinogenic smoke generated by a burning cigarette, proponents said.

State Health Department Director Loretta Fuddy told members of the Senate Ways and Means Committee, “There is very little known about the long term health effects of the use of e-cigarettes or the vapors given off. Recent studies have shown that within one liquid nicotine cartridge there is enough nicotine to cause serious illness or even death.” . . .

Cory Smith, president of local retailer Volcano Fine Electronic Cigarettes, said the product actually helps tobacco smokers quit their habits and produces none of the second-hand smoke issues associated with traditional tobacco cigarettes.

"The tohacco tax is aimed at deterring tobacco use and generating revenue to pay for health care costs associated with tobacco-related harms,” Smith said.

"Since the research thus far indicates that e-cigarettes show promise as a means to deter tobacco use and thereby reduce the cost of tobacco-related harms, it makes no sense to subject e-cigarettes to the tobacco tax,” Smith said.

Taxing e-cigarettes at the 70% tobacco rate would shut down his business and drive customers to the internet

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• E-Cigarettes Under Fire At Legislature  

But others say, e-cigarettes are just part of the smoking problem.

A bill making its way through the legislature would treat it as such. Joey Farrington, 28, has been smoking since he was 12 years old. He says e-cigarettes have changed his life.

"It's kept me off real cigarettes for about two years, and I'm so thankful for that," said Farrington.

But a bill that defines electronic cigarettes as a tobacco product and taxes them the same as regular tobacco products would raise the price of e-cigarettes about 70 percent. So a $70 e-cigarette now would cost $119. That would be too expensive for Farrington.

"It would make me go back to smoking real cigarettes," Farrington said.

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Rihanna puffs on a roll-up cigarette after working out with a personal trainer during Hawaiian break  

It's probably not the wisest thing to do after working up a sweat.

But pop star Rihanna seemed extremely relaxed after puffing on a suspicious hand-rolled cigarette following a rigorous exercise session this weekend.

The brown papered roll-up looked remarkably similar to a 'blunt', which is slang for a marijuana filled cigar. The type favoured and popularised in hip-hop music.

While some people undoubtedly just smoke the cigars, Rihanna did look rather laidback as she lolled on her sunlounger. . .

A blunt is a slang term for cannabis rolled with tobacco leaf typically in the form of a hollowed out cigar.

It is popular with marijuana users who have taken to removing the tobacco so that the smoker can refill it with the drug.

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Two Maui Groups Get $150,000 Each for Tobacco Prevention 

Two organizations in Maui County are among a list of the latest recipients to receive grant money from the Hawai'i Tobacco Prevention & Control Trust Fund.

The Lanai Community Health Center and Maui Family Support Services were awarded grants of $150,000 each over two years.

The funds are part of a larger, nearly $1 million in tobacco cessation community grants, awarded by the Hawai'i Community Foundation to a total of eight organizations throughout the state.

In Hawai'i, tobacco use claims the lives of 1,100 residents each year and costs the state $336 million annually in direct medical expenses, according to studies referenced by the Hawai'i Community Foundation.

The grants are aimed at developing and delivering cessation intervention programs specifically designed for low socioeconomic level tobacco users

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IN RE: LIGHT CIGARETTES MARKETING SALES PRACTICES LITIGATION  

The Plaintiffs brought class actions on behalf of purchasers of light cigarettes manufactured by Philip Morris USA, Inc. and Altria Group, Inc. (the Defendants). On September 10, 2009, the United States Judicial Panel on Multidistrict Litigation (JPML) transferred the actions to this Court for [*4] centralization under 28 U.S.C. § 1407. MDL Transfer Order (Docket # 1). After transfer, each side agreed to submit two test cases to determine issues involving class certification. Minute Entry (Docket # 28); Status Conference Transcript at 28-42 (Docket # 29). The Plaintiffs picked California and Washington, D.C. and the Defendants Illinois and Maine. Notice/Correspondence (Docket # 47, 108). On November 24, 2010, the Court issued an Order concluding that common issues did not predominate and it denied class certification for all four classes. Order on Pls.' Mot. for Class Certification (Docket # 255). In April 2011, the Court ordered Plaintiffs to notify the Court by May 16, 2011 as to whether they intended to proceed with the pending action and whether they objected to the extension of the Court's class certification order to their case. Order (Docket # 277). A number of Plaintiffs elected to request dismissal of their claims. Report to Ct. Requesting Dismissal of Claims Without Prejudice (Docket # 280, 283, 286); Order of Dismissal (Docket # 295); Order (Docket # 305).

Some Plaintiffs, however, preferred to continue with their civil actions, requested remand, and objected to the [*5] extension of the class certification order to their cases. . . .

III. CONCLUSION

The Court GRANTS the Plaintiffs' Notice of Intent to Proceed and Objection to Extension of Class Certification Order Dated Nov. 24, 2010 (Docket # 279); Notice [*14] of Motion for Suggestion of Remand (Docket # 282); Notice of Intent to Proceed and Objection to Extension of Class Certification Order Dated Nov. 24, 2010 (Docket # 284, 285); Plaintiff's Motion That the Court Suggest Remand (Docket # 292); Plaintiffs' Notice of Intent to Proceed and Objection to the Extension of This Court's Order on Plaintiffs' Motion for Class Certification to Their Case Together with Plaintiffs' Request for a Suggestion of Remand (Docket # 293). The Court DENIES the Defendants' Motion for Leave to File Surreply in Opposition to Plaintiffs' Motion for Suggestion of Remand and in Support of Extending the Court's Order Denying Class Certification (Docket # 312) and their request for oral argument (Docket # 299).

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• Philip Morris Can't Kill Light Cigarettes Suits At MDL Level ($$) 

A Maine federal judge on Monday ruled that multidistrict litigation accusing Philip Morris USA Inc. of deceiving customers about tar and nicotine levels in its light cigarettes should come to an end, suggesting that the remaining four suits in the MDL be remanded to Ohio and other states.

Philip Morris had fought the order. The tobacco company asked U.S. District Judge John Woodcock instead to deny the cases class certification by extending to them a November 2010 order in which he denied certification to four test cases in the MDL.

But Judge Woodcock declined to extend his class certification order to the four remaining cases. . . .

“From this court’s perspective, the light cigarettes litigation has reached the point where this court’s continued oversight of the pretrial proceedings is no longer justified," he said. "There are only four remaining cases, and in each, the plaintiffs reasonably claim that the class certification issues present case-specific questions unique to the state law of their respective jurisdictions. The court concludes that the efficiencies of consolidated handling of pretrial matters have reached the point of diminishing returns.”

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HPD Issues First Smoking Law Citations In Years 

Waikiki, Hawaii -- For the first time in more than four years, a Honolulu police officer has issued tickets to bar patrons for breaking the statewide smoking ban.

The owner and employees of Kelley O'Neil's Irish pub and grill on Lewers Street in Waikiki said a police officer ticketed three of its customers for smoking in the bar on a Sunday in October, in response to another customer who called 911 to report them.

The statewide law that's been in effect since November of 2006 prohibits people from smoking in restaurants, bars and other workplaces.

Kelly O'Neil's and a few other bars follow the letter of the law by posting no smoking signs, but still allow their customers to smoke, in violation of the law.

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CHARLEYWORLD: Consumers To Get The Picture On The Dangers of Cigarettes (And Who Knows What Else?)  

It was a drizzly morning in Honolulu’s Chinatown when I ducked into a rundown mom and pop store to pick up a pack of cancer sticks.

“Marlboros,” I said to the old man behind the counter.

“What kine?” he said. “Da one wit’ da black, seeping lungs or da buggah who stay smoking through da hole in his neck?”

“The ‘Lites’,” I said. “The pack with the dead dude on it.” . . .

I ordered a Coors – the one with the elk hunter in Colorado accidentally blowing his head off with his shotgun – and a three fingers of Maker’s Mark bourbon which came in a shot glass with a photo of a diseased liver that looked like a punctured football.

I could hear the rain start again outside as we clinked our drinks together.

“It’s a wonderful life!” he said.

“Yeah,” I said. “Even though nobody gets outta here alive.”

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Underage Tobacco Sales Below National Average  

The Hawaii State Department of Health Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division released survey results Wednesday for illegal tobacco sales to minors.

It shows this year's 6.1 percent rate in Hawaii falls below the 9.3 percent federal fiscal year 2010 national weighted average.

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Hawaii Tobacco Sales to Minors Drops  

Tobacco Stinks ad, courtesy State of Hawaii Department of Health.

Tobacco sales to minors in Hawai‘i fell below the national average according to a survey conducted by the state.

The Hawai‘i State Department of Health (DOH) Alcohol and Drug Abuse Division (ADAD) survey monitored the state compliance with regulations for the federal Substance Abuse Prevention and Treatment Block Grant.

Illegal tobacco sales to minors in Hawai‘i was 6.1%, below the 9.3% federal fiscal year 2010 national weighted average.

The state’s first survey results in 1996 showed a noncompliance rate of 44.5%. After the implementation of law enforcement operations, the rate steadily dropped. Hawaii has managed to maintain a rate of below 10% with the exception of 2008.

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VIDEO: Next Anti-Smoking Priority: Banning Smoking Inside Apartments 

Five years after a workplace smoking ban took effect in Hawaii, the next battleground in smoking regulation is being fought in the boardrooms of condominiums and apartments, a debate over whether to ban smoking inside apartment units.

The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii said 11 condos and apartments on Oahu have adopted policies banning smoking inside apartment units or on their lanais.

Other apartment owners are working to convince their condo boards to create no smoking policies.

Dr. Paul Ho owns an apartment at Hawaiki Tower on Piikoi Street, in Kakaako, across from Ala Moana Center.

Ho is a cardiologist at Kaiser Permanente and he's had open heart surgery, so he wants to ban people from smoking in their units at Hawaiki Tower.

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VIDEO: After 5 Years, Smoking Law Still Lacks Enforcement  

Nearly five years after a workplace smoking ban took effect in Hawaii, there is still no specific plan in place to enforce it. The ban had a long, slow road to reality, since it took almost four years to put together the administrative rules for the smoking law.

The workplace smoking ban took effect in mid-November 2006, prohibiting smoking in offices, restaurants and bars across the state. Smoking is also banned within 20 feet of building doorways and open windows.

"It was really meant to be a self-enforcing, self-policing kind of law," said Julian Lipsher, program manager of tobacco prevention and education for the state Department of Health.

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Tobacco Wars 

there are a few places that smokers can go to as a safe haven.

The Waikiki Sandbox localed at 2260 Kuhio Ave. and O'Toole's Irish Pub are a couple of places in the Honolulu area that allow smokers to remain within the facilities.

The venues that require smokers to remain outside no less than 20 feet from facilities are still popular with smokers, as well. Places like Ginza Nightclub have a designated smoking area outside of the club where many smokers gather to take breaks from the crowd and blaring music.

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Fire at Waikiki High-Rise Contained to Lanai  

Honolulu firefighters say a lit cigarette, thrown from a Waikiki high-rise ignited some papers on a lower lanai at the Regency Ala Wai Condominiums this morning.

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VIDEO: "Deadly in Pink" aims to educate about dangers of tobacco 

The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai'i holds its second annual "Deadly in Pink" fundraising event this Saturday from 10 a.m to 1 p.m. at the Japanese Cultural Center. It's aimed at raising awareness of the tobacco industry's marketing strategies to reach women and girls. Here with more information, Deborah Zysman, executive director for the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii. For more information visit tobaccofreehawaii.org

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