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Firms fighting cig tax  

A Mississippi cigarette distribution company and a Kentucky manufacturer want to nix a state law that taxes their cigarettes sold out of state.

In a complaint filed in Hinds County Chancery Court against the State Tax Commission, The Corr-Williams Co. and Commonwealth Brands Inc. said the 1 1/4-cent-per-cigarette fee on smokes sold out of state violates the U.S. Constitution by unfairly taxing interstate commerce.

The companies are not challenging taxes collected on cigarettes sold in state.

The tax in question - which equates to about 20 cents a pack - went into affect in July and applies to manufacturers not included in the state's 1997 tobacco settlement.

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• Miss. tobacco tax called unconstitutional 

A Mississippi company that sells tobacco products wants the state to stop collecting taxes on cigarettes sold at retail outlets outside the state.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Hinds County Chancery Court, the Corr-Williams Co. said a 2009 amendment to the state's tobacco tax policy that applies a $.0125-fee to cigarettes that pass through warehouses in the state violates the U.S. Constitution by applying an unfair burden on cigarettes sold through interstate commerce.

The lawsuit does not challenge the portion of the law that applies taxes to products sold in Mississippi.

Based in Pearl, the Corr-Williams company has warehouses in Columbia and Natchez.

Commonwealth Brands Inc., a Bowling Green, Ky.-based cigarette manufacturer that distributes its tobacco products through Mississippi, joined Corr-Williams in the lawsuit.

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Hollandale looks at smoking ban  

The town of Hollandale may become the latest city to become smoke-free.

A draft of a smoking ban ordinance was presented to the Board of Aldermen Tuesday night.

Several Hollandale businesses have already made the decision to not to allow smoking in their establishments.

"We are concerned about the health of our citizens, and we want to promote good health," said Mayor Melvin Willis, about the reason for the considering the ordinance.

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Tobacco policy starting Thursday  

Starting Thursday, city employees in Ocean Springs will have to go tobacco-free while they're on the clock, under a rule enacted to save on insurance costs.

Ocean Springs was facing a 3 percent increase on its health insurance policy without such a rule, according to Mindy McDowell, human resources manager. That would have amounted to $30,000 per year.

Public buildings in the city are already smoke-free, but the new rule extends that provision to include all forms tobacco and will be in effect wherever an employee is working, inside or out.

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Smoking ban for Miss. employees 

Smoking on the job will soon be out of line for Ocean Springs city employees.

"We're adopting a tobacco free workplace," said Mayor, Connie Moran.

Employees also can't smoke at any city building or inside any city vehicle.

Firefighter, Brian Dawkins doesn't smoke, but many of his co-workers do. "Some of them are upset because we work on a 24 hour basis," he said. "For somebody that's used to having a tobacco habit, to not have it for a 24 hour period, it's kind of a big step to take all at once."

But Mayor Moran says there is an upside. She says the smoking ban will keep the city's rising health care premiums down by about 6 percent.

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Tobacco partners suing Scruggs 

Two of disgraced plaintiffs attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs' former business partners are suing him, claiming part of the money owed to them from a tobacco settlement was used to further one of Scruggs' judicial bribery schemes.

Lee Young and Charles Mikhail filed their suit in Mississippi federal court Sept. 9 seeking compensation for what they feel is being withheld unfairly from their quarterly payments. Scruggs agreed to pay the two 5 percent of his firm's net gain from a national tobacco settlement in 1999.

Scruggs has pleaded guilty to two judicial bribery schemes, receiving 7 1/2 years in prison. He reduced Young's and Mikhail's payments as he fought lawsuits from former asbestos litigation partners William Roberts Wilson and Alwyn Luckey, who made a claim on Scruggs' tobacco earnings, the suit says.

"On information and belief, Plaintiffs were forced, through a deduction from their Jan. 2007 quarterly payments, to contribute money which, unbeknownst to them, was not represented to be by Defendants (a legitimate tobacco-related expense) but as payments made to further illicit a criminal scheme to unethically and illegally influence a judge," the suit says.

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SCRUGGS TOBACCO FEES EXHIBITS (PDF) 

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Miss. cigarette tax hike raises $36.8M  

Revenue from Mississippi's recent cigarette tax increase is meeting expectations for the most part, even as smokers cut back and the state loses business from its neighbors seeking cheaper smokes.

Mississippi has collected $36.8 million from the 50-cent cigarette tax increase that went into effect in May, according to data from the state Tax Commission. The state collected $4.7 million less than expected from raising taxes on stamped cigarettes waiting to be sold when the tax hike took effect.

But tax collections on cigarette stamps in July, the first month of the current fiscal year, totaled $9.2 million - fairly close to expectations. The tax hike from 18 to 68 cents per pack is expected to generate nearly $113 million this fiscal year.

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Ocean Springs parks now smoke-free 

OCEAN SPRINGS -- City parks and athletic fields in Ocean Springs are now smoke-free zones after aldermen unanimously passed a new ordinance banning the use of all tobacco products within park boundaries.

The Ocean Springs Parks and Leisure Services Department will begin posting the "Tobacco Free" signs in about 30 days. The move to make the parks smoke free was spearheaded by 17-year-old Hallie Darphin, a member of the Mayor's Youth Council.

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Tobacco snuffed at parks, athletic fields 

OCEAN SPRINGS -- The 13 city parks and athletic fields are now smoke-free zones after the Board of Aldermen unanimously passed a new ordinance last week banning the use of all tobacco products within park boundaries.

The Parks and Leisure Services Department will begin posting the "Tobacco Free" signs in about 30 days.

The move to make the parks smoke free was spearheaded by 17-year-old Hallie Darphin, a member of the Mayor's Youth Council.

"I hope now that we have smoke-free zones it will lead to a healthier Ocean Springs," said Darphin.

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Tobacco snuffed out at Ocean Springs parks  

City parks and athletic fields in Ocean Springs are now smoke-free zones after aldermen unanimously passed a new ordinance banning the use of all tobacco products within park boundaries.

The Ocean Springs Parks and Leisure Services Department will begin posting the "Tobacco Free" signs in about 30 days. The move to make the parks smoke free was spearheaded by 17-year-old Hallie Darphin, a member of the Mayor's Youth Council.

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Anatomy of a shakedown: Dickie Scruggs' mighty fall  

Lawyers and their clients, seemingly regardless of the merits of their legal claims, got rich in the bargain. It was a self-sustaining system – widely bragged about by plaintiff lawyers and lamented by defense teams.

The mastermind of that system was Richard “Dickie” Scruggs. The now disgraced and jailed tort baron was a political force moving elected political pawns on the chessboard around like a Grand Master. . . .

Scruggs is most widely known for reportedly taking home almost $800 million in the $250 billion landmark tobacco settlement. This was his reported take from Mississippi’s settlement alone. The political and PR strategies that he employed and the issues that arose in the wake of the tobacco settlement were virtually mirrored in the State Farm litigation. He was working his proven blueprint.

His greed and this post-Katrina debacle proved to be his downfall.

First, let’s look at the tobacco case.

Dickie Scruggs had made several million dollars prosecuting asbestos cases on the Mississippi Gulf Coast, just as others had done around the country. In the mid-1980’s, Scruggs’ longtime friend and political beneficiary Mike Moore was the Attorney General for the state of Mississippi. Moore’s longtime friend, attorney Mike Lewis of Clarksdale, comes up with the idea to sue the tobacco companies on behalf of the State to recoup the medical costs incurred by the state for caring for those with tobacco related illnesses. Moore contacts the now-well-funded, Pascagoula-based Scruggs about the litigation and the lawsuit begins.

There were really three parts to this plan. . . .

One other thing was left in the tobacco settlement’s wake . . . unhappy lawyers. Though many Mississippi attorneys in Scruggs’ tobacco consortium became multi-millionaires, others in that consortium believed they were “shut out” and not paid fees that they were due. One of those, Alwyn Luckey, sued Scruggs in one of the most contentious lawsuits that those involved in the case report they had ever seen.

This case eventually landed in the courtroom of Judge Bobby DeLaughter and became central to the scheme that brought the downfall of Scrugss and his cohorts.

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Home Smoking Rules Tend To Vary By Race 

Prohibiting tobacco use at home could reduce adolescent smoking rates, but the practice might be less common in black families than in white ones, a new study found.

"African-American homes have fewer full bans, and more people are allowed to smoke in those homes," said Jessica Muilenburg, Ph.D., an assistant professor in the department of health promotion and behavior at the University of Georgia.

The study appears in the August issue of the journal Health Education & Behavior.

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Still Blowing Smoke  

The president is not the only government official who is denouncing smoking while indulging in its profits and pleasures. At both the state and federal levels, government's response to smoking is two-faced. There may be no better example of this than Mississippi.

In 2008, Governor Haley Barbour, a former lobbyist for cigarette makers, named a committee to study his state's tax structure. It recommended increasing the cigarette tax, then the third-lowest in the country. In May, Mississippi increased its tax to 68 cents a pack. . . .

So what did Mississippi do with the bootleg cigarettes? Burn the evil weed? Dump them in the Mississippi River? No, the Mississippi Tax Commission will sell the contraband cigarettes to the highest bidder. . . .

"It is a daily challenge for me to work with people who have been smoking for 30 or 40 years," he said. "The vast majority of smokers start when they are in school. Nicotine is a highly addictive substance, and it becomes very difficult to quit. It is extremely difficult even in the face of lung disease and heart disease."

Ninan says some of his professional peers smoke.

"Certainly, smoking is not uncommon among physicians," he said. "Many of them are not daily smokers, but they do smoke cigars recreationally."

Ostracism of smokers goes too far in some cases and not far enough in others, says Dr. Robert Klesges, a psychologist and professor of preventive medicine at UTHSC. He says it makes no sense to ban smoking in outdoor stadiums or within 30 feet of an airport terminal because there is no danger from second-hand smoke in such an area. Hotels, on the other hand, don't go far enough. They advertise "non-smoking" instead of "smoking" rooms, a subtle but important difference. . . .

Tobacco companies, Klesges says, are outstanding marketers, usually staying one step ahead of anti-smoking efforts. A relatively new product is called snus, advertised on the Camel SNUS website as being "spitfree tobacco" that "can be enjoyed almost anywhere regardless of the growing smoking bans and restrictions." Advertising carries a warning that "this product may cause gum disease and tooth loss." Klesges said that where snus has been introduced in the military, "they can't keep it on the shelves."

Coupons for free samples of snus have been distributed in Memphis. A Flyer nonsmoking intern tried it and described an initial "burning" sensation that went away and left a pleasant "minty" taste. Camel says the product delivers a "tingle."

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EDITORIAL: Enforce the Smoking Ban 

On Feb. 1, 2009, a smoking ban went into effect for the city's restaurants. After an initial flurry of objections, the air in most of city's restaurants and clubs became noticeably cleaner and clearer.

Now, it seems, some establishments are attempting to test the city's will on the ban, seeing just how much smoking they can allow before being fined. This isn't fair to patrons or other businesses.

The ordinance itself is partially to blame, because it uses confusing language, something the Jackson Free Press pointed out even while we clarified the ordinance for our readers. As we said then, it's easier to say who is exempt than to say who is required to ban smoking. . . .

First, if you have a restaurant with an outdoor seating area, smoking is not permitted "twenty (20) feet outside entrances, operable windows, and ventilation systems where smoking is prohibited ..." In other words, smoking on attached decks and patios is not permitted.

Second, unless you are in a qualified resort area, stand-alone bars can only serve light beer and light wine, and must not share common entries, indoor areas or any other enclosed workplace (which would include a kitchen or a restaurant) where smoking is prohibited. Establishments that serve hard liquor and other higher alcohol-content libations must also make 25 percent or more from food sales. . . .

So there it is, Jackson. For the restaurants that continue to ignore the law, bite the bullet and banish the ashtrays--ensuring a level business playing field. As for the city, either enforce the law or change it, but stop making a joke of it by turning a collective blind eye to those who refuse to abide by it.

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