Tobacco.org

Burlington businesses scolded for selling tobacco to minors 

The Board of Health Tuesday admonished eight Burlington establishments for selling tobacco to minors, calling the sales "appalling."

According to Sharon Walker Mastenbrook, the Board's director, the eight establishments--Winn St. Superette, One Stop Mart, the CVS on Middlesex Turnpike, Mobil, Exxon/Cambridge St. Auto, Market Basket on Middlesex Turnpike, Town Grocery, and Texaco, provided tobacco to underage people during a May inspection done by the state. . . .

"There are clear rules not to do that," Mastenbook told representatives from the businesses, adding that businesses submit signed statements that employees are aware of the law.

"I'm just really disappointed that this happened," said board vice-chairman Dr. Edward Weiner. "I'm embarrassed for my own town. We've clearly got to put something better in place."

Jump to full article »

Regulations Affecting Smoking in Public Places And Youth Access to Tobacco and Nicotine Delivery Products (PDF) 

E-Cigarette: Any electronic Nicotine Delivery Product composed of a mouthpiece, heating element, battery and/or electronic circuits that provides a vapor of liquid nicotine to the user, or relies on vaporization of any liquid or solid nicotine. This term shall include such devices whether they are manufactured as e-cigarettes, e-cigars, e-pipes or under any other product name. . . .

SMOKING: Inhaling, exhaling, burning or carrying any lighted cigar, cigarette, pipe, or other tobacco product or nicotine delivery product.

TOBACCO PRODUCT: Cigarettes, cigars, blunts, chewing tobacco, snuff, pipe tobacco, bidis, or tobacco in any of its forms. . . .

a. Sales to minor

–No person shall sell tobacco products, or nicotine delivery products or lighters or matches or permit tobacco products or nicotine delivery products to be sold to a minor, or not being the minor’s parent or legal guardian, give tobacco products or nicotine delivery products to a minor.

Jump to full article »

• BHA pushes for smoke-free housing  

Meena Carr figured out years ago why her young grandson, Malik, was chronically coughing and wheezing: Her home made him sick. Carr, 69, didn't smoke cigarettes, but some of her neighbors in the Washington-Beech housing development did, often in the hallway. The smell permeated Carr's apartment.

Last month, Washington-Beech in Roslindale became the city's first smoke-free public housing development. Today, Carr plans to join other community leaders, public officials, and housing advocates to discuss the Boston Housing Authority's more ambitious long-term objective -- clearing the air by 2013 at all 64 public housing developments.

That positions Boston to become the first city in Massachusetts, and perhaps the largest housing authority nationwide, to impose such a ban. Under the proposal, still in its initial stages, about 27,000 residents in 12,000 units would be prohibited from smoking in common areas and their own apartments.

"This new initiative will go a long way to encourage more healthy living styles for our residents,'' said Mayor Thomas M. Menino . . .

Today's meeting at Suffolk University is being billed by officials as a "summit'' to launch the campaign. Details, including how a ban would be phased in and how violators would be punished, are still unclear. Housing officials say the process will include community debate and a public comment period. By January, they hope to submit a proposal to the Department of Housing and Urban Development.

Nationwide, about 170 public housing authorities -- roughly 5 percent -- have instituted some kind of no-smoking policy

Jump to full article »

Two Provincetown bars cited for outdoor smoking violations  

The board of health is considering whether to find two local bars in violation of town smoking regulations.

Health Agent Jane Evans sent violation notices to Steven Schnitzer, owner of John Dough Pizza, 253 Commercial St., and Astrid Berg, owner of Pepe's, 371 Commercial St. Both restaurants offer an outdoor smoking section next to their second floor dining areas.

Under Provincetown regulations, smoking in restaurants and bars is only allowed in outdoor eating and bar areas that are open on three sides. The fourth side must adjoin the establishment and can't be artificially heated or cooled. As a result of Evan's site visits, she determined that the John Dough smoking section is open on only two sides. The same was true for Pepe's, although one wall in the bar area has sliding windows.

Jump to full article »

Official: Stray cigarette sparked Framingham fire  

A fire that caused $75,000 worth of damage to a sober house run by South Middlesex Oppurtunity Council was caused by a stray cigarette, fire officials said Sunday.

Deputy Chief Kevin Burns said an investigation revealed the fire was started on the third floor by "improper disposal of smoking materials."

The blaze broke out at about 8:30 a.m. Sunday in the house at 70 Pearl St., home to SMOC's Seeds of Sobriety program. There were 14 men living in the house at the time.

Jump to full article »

Rules for E-cigarettes eyed  

NORTHAMPTON - A new smoking device is making its presence felt, and the Board of Health is putting out a call to the community as it tries to decide what to do about it.

E-cigarettes are tiny machines that deliver nicotine without the use of tobacco. Like the chocolate cigarettes of a generation ago, they look just like real cigarettes. Instead of eating them, however, the user breathes in vaporized nicotine.

"It's a way of using nicotine without tobacco," said Northampton Health Department director Benjamin Wood. "The device heats a nicotine product and you inhale it as vapor." . . .

The Health Department has proposed new language in its regulations to cover E-cigarettes and other nicotine-delivery devices. It will hold a public hearing at 6:30 p.m. on Thursday in City Hall to hear comments from the community.

"It's not necessarily a huge issue right now with retailers in Northampton, but we don't really know," Wood said.

Although there are no regulations about how stores can sell the product, the Health Department could restrict sales by requiring a permit.

Jump to full article »

• Suit over NYC tobacco signs creates ripples  

Graphic anti-smoking posters of diseased lungs, brains and teeth -- required where cigarettes are sold in New York City -- have triggered a legal fight. Now, Massachusetts is holding off on a similar mandate.

New York, known for a tough stance on tobacco, in December became the first U.S. city to require stores to post 4-square-foot warnings showing the physical effects of smoking near tobacco displays or smaller ones at each register. Non-compliance could result in fines up to $2,000.

Massachusetts appeared likely to be the first state with such a requirement. Members of the Public Health Council had expressed support in advance of a planned vote, but state officials are waiting to see what happens with a pending New York lawsuit.

"We are not going to take any action until after the initial hearing in New York City,"

Jump to full article »

• Mayor Menino and HHS Secretary Sebelius Highlight New Obesity and Tobacco Prevention Projects 

Mayor Thomas M. Menino showcased Boston's efforts to bolster urban gardening in underserved communities during a visit today with US Health and Human Services Secretary Kathleen Sebelius to The Food Project's Urban Farm in Roxbury. . . .

Boston was one of 44 communities that Secretary Sebelius announced in March were being awarded two-year stimulus grants for ``Communities Putting Prevention to Work,'' a national initiative to address two leading causes of premature death and disability - obesity and tobacco use. Boston was the only city in Massachusetts to receive funding and one of only seven communities nationwide to get both grants - $6.4 million for obesity prevention and $6.1 million to reduce tobacco use, including connecting residents to tobacco-cessation services and creating smoke-free environments. . . .

"The next two years will be an exciting time for Boston, as we join forces with our community partners to make real change happen in our city, both on reducing exposure to tobacco and fighting obesity,'' said Dr. Barbara Ferrer, executive director of the Boston Public Health Commission, the agency that received the federal funding. . . .

The $6.1 million tobacco reduction grant will be used to:

* Change attitudes toward smoking to reduce demand

* Enact regulatory and other policy changes that limit tobacco access, influence price, and increase the number of smoke-free environments

* Increase structural capacity to connect Boston residents to tailored tobacco-cessation services

* Create 1,000 smoke-free residences in Boston

Jump to full article »

Burlington vendors caught selling tobacco to minors 

The Burlington Board of Health (BOH) recently received the results of a tobacco regulation compliance check done in May 2010, which revealed illegal sales of cigarettes to minors by eight out of 33 local vendors.

The violators include Exxon, Market Basket, Town Grocery, One Stop Mart, Winn Street Superette, CVS Pharmacy, Mobil and Texaco Citgo.

This compliance check was conducted by the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program under the director of Sarah McColgan, director of the Tobacco Control Program for the Massachusetts Health Officers Association (MHOA) to obtain data needed to complete the required annual SYNAR report to the federal government.

Jump to full article »

Higher New York Cigarette Tax Boon for Border Stores 

New Yorkers are running for the border in search of less expensive cigarettes, the Berkshire Eagle reports. When the higher New York tax on cigarettes rose $1.60 per pack, the cost of some cigarettes jumped to more than $10.

“A lot of people say I’m going to Massachusetts for cigarettes. It’s very cheap. You know?” said Harpal Singh, manager of a Cobble Pond store. Most cigarettes in Massachusetts are cheaper by around $2 a pack.

Jump to full article »

N.Y. cig tax a border boon? 

HILLSDALE, N.Y. -- If the Marlboro Man were a New Yorker, he'd be trotting his horse into Massachusetts for cheaper smokes.

That was the instinct of a number of New York state smokers after a whopping new price tag on cigarettes went into effect on Thursday. The state added a $1.60 tax to smokes, raising the price on some packs to more than $10.

At that price, a run for the state border was in order.

The number of smoking refugees flooding to Berkshire stores "will be phenomenal," said Stephen Dellea, 43, a decades-long smoker from Copake Falls, N.Y.

Jump to full article »

• REVISED: Massachusetts Proposes Anti-Tobacco Propaganda Where Tobacco is Sold 

Note to Editors: The original version of this news release, issued on June 17, 2010, contained a quotation by Dr. Andrew Weil. His office has requested that we "remove the quote and forward a brief retraction to the same distribution network simply stating that Dr. Weil has made no comment to the IPCPR, and that the quote appearing previously was taken out of context from one of his books written in 1983." Out of courtesy to Dr. Weil, following is the revised version of that release.

The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is preparing to post propaganda pictures in some 9,000 locations where tobacco is sold . . .

According to the Cambridge, Mass.-based civil rights activist Stephen Helfer, such propaganda would be blatantly misleading.

"Massachusetts plans to use images of lungs allegedly damaged by smoking. The message being, that a smoker's lungs are invariably diseased. The public has no way of knowing, however, if the lungs in the images are from a smoker or a nonsmoker," Helfer wrote in an as-yet unpublished letter to the editor of The Boston Globe.

Jump to full article »

In Mass., a politically correct casino debate 

Massachusetts lawmakers enthralled with the lure of easy casino cash are having a tough time squaring the 24-hour world of smoke-filled, free-booze gambling haunts with the state's Puritan roots and high-minded liberal reputation.

During lengthy debates in the Massachusetts House and Senate, legislators have weighed all sorts of restrictions on casinos -- from bans on smoking and free drinks to limits on ATM withdrawals, midnight closing times, slot machine warning labels and visits from public health counselors for gamblers who've spent too much time feeding quarters into slots. . . .

For casino supporters, the agonized debate is more proof that Massachusetts is living up to its bona fides as a nanny state.

"I think that we're trying to engineer a politically correct casino, and almost by their nature casinos have elements that make some people uncomfortable," Republican Sen. Bruce Tarr said.

But casino foes aren't ready to give ground, especially when it comes to hard-fought public health victories, such as a 6-year-old statewide smoking ban and a prohibition on restaurants and bars offering free or discounted drinks.

Jump to full article »

Smoking issue stymies casino bill  

State senators on Tuesday again cut short a debate on a casino bill after an opponent said he was leery that legislative leaders were seeking to undermine a smoking ban approved for casinos.

The delay marked the fifth time the Senate has tabled or canceled debate on a bill to create three casino resorts, including one for Western Massachusetts. Senators failed to make much progress before adjourning Tuesday's session and agreeing to start again today.

Sen. James B. Eldridge, D-Acton, used Senate rules to force an early close to the session. . . .

Eldridge said he is wary of the fate of the smoking ban when House and Senate negotiators approve a final compromise casino bill. That final bill would be developed behind closed doors by a six-member, House-Senate panel and then brought back to both chambers for an up or down vote with no amendments. . . .

The original Senate bill allowed smoking in 25 percent of gaming space. Supporters said smoking is needed to compete with casinos in Connecticut and racinos in Rhode Island and prevent potential loss of revenue.

Jump to full article »

Massachusetts Senate bans smoking in casinos, rejects study on cost benefits  

The state Senate voted 24-15 Thursday to ban smoking at casinos in Massachusetts, possibly making them less appealing to smokers and reducing revenues.

The Senate also dealt a blow to casino critics by voting 26-13 to reject an amendment by Sen. Stephen M. Brewer, D-Barre, to require a new cost-benefit analysis on casinos.

The Senate resumed debate Thursday on its bill to create three casino resorts including one for a region defined as the four counties of Western Massachusetts. The debate is expected to stretch into Friday.

Jump to full article »