Tobacco.org

EDITORIAL: But me no 'butts' about your DNA  

While Foster's is not particularly interested in taking a position on dog poop left on Cheney properties, we are interested stopping the disgusting habit of discarded cigarettes.

Why is it that, despite decades of anti-liter campaigns, all too many smokers continue to believe their discarded butts somehow evaporate in thin air before they can liter the ground.

Of course, we are not about to involve the DNA butt police, as been done in the case of DNA and dog poop. But, we will use this opportunity to ask smokers who still liter the back doors of businesses, the sidewalks of our cities and our beautiful beaches to clean up their act.

Jump to full article »

Laconia man badly burned when cigarette ignites medical oxygen supply  

A Jameson Street man was seriously burned when he fell asleep smoking a cigarette Saturday afternoon. The flames were fueled by an oxygen tank.

Fire Chief Ken Erickson said it appeared the victim, who is not being identified, used an in-home oxygen breathing system and was smoking a cigarette.

He said the man appeared to have fallen asleep while sitting in a chair and dropped the cigarette. The flames, fueled by the oxygen, quickly engulfed him and Erickson said he was standing outside his apartment when firefighters arrived.

Jump to full article »

Sprinklers saved life of Laconia man smoking while on oxygen 

The Laconia man engulfed in flames when his portable medical oxygen tank ignited when he apparently fell asleep drinking and smoking remains in a Boston hospital Sunday with second- and possibly third-degree burns, the fire chief said.

The 57-year-old man's wounds do not appear to be life threatening, but it is difficult to assess a burn victim's condition because they can suffer complications, Fire Chief Kenneth Erickson said.

The man appears to have been intoxicated when he fell asleep in a cushioned recliner inside his 6 Jameson St. apartment about 3:20 p.m. Saturday, the chief said. Firefighters also believe he was smoking. . . .

Primary cause of the fire is misuse of medical oxygen materials, Erickson said.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Cutting tobacco tax wrong on two fronts 

An update of my $10 bet with Sen. Gary Lambert, R-Nashua, regarding the cigarette tax.

I was troubled by the Republicans in our state lowering the cigarette tax, claiming it would increase revenue by getting more people to come here for cigarettes.

New Hampshire already had the lowest cigarette tax in New England; to lower it seemed, to me, foolhardy. I believed this would cost the state needed revenue and encourage people to smoke.

When I couldn’t get Lambert to agree, I bet him $10 this would be the case, which it is. New Hampshire has lost $6 million.

I found out that Gary is a stand-up guy. When I saw him at the Greater Nashua Chamber of Commerce breakfast this month, he came up to me and paid that $10.

Jump to full article »

NH stores sold fewer tobacco products to children in 2011 

Store owners around the state are getting better about not selling cigarettes and other tobacco products to kids, according to a new compliance report issued by the state.

More stores are complying with state and federal laws barring the sale of tobacco products to kids, according to the latest Synar Report, a federally mandated compliance check administered by the state Department of Health and Human Services.

In 2011, 7.8 percent of stores sold cigarettes or other products to kids conducting supervised buys during compliance checks. That’s down from 8.6 percent in 2010 and a significant improvement from 14 percent in 2009, according to DHHS.

“This is very good news for New Hampshire children and their parents,” said Joseph Harding, director of the DHHS Bureau of Drug and Alcohol Services.

Jump to full article »

Officials: Smoking while using home oxygen system caused fire that killed man, 74, in NH 

Officials say a 74-year-old Manchester man has died in a fire that was caused because he was smoking while on a home oxygen system.

State Fire Marshal J. William Degnan and Manchester Fire Chief James Burkush say oxygen and smoking are a deadly combination and that anyone using oxygen should refrain from smoking while oxygen is in use.

An investigation by the state fire marshal's office and the Manchester police and fire departments has revealed that the combination of oxygen and smoking caused an apartment fire Tuesday evening. The

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Lowering tobacco tax won’t help economy  

I read the guest commentary by state Rep. Ken Weyler, R-Kingston, in The Sunday Telegraph this week titled “Tobacco tax cut still right move for New Hampshire.”

I couldn’t disagree more, and the statement in his last paragraph is completely absurd. He states that “with the latest decrease (in the cigarette tax), the economy is beginning to grow.”

If he thinks the economy is beginning to grow because of the 10-cent decrease in the cigarette tax, he is smoking something other than tobacco.

Jump to full article »

LETTER: Smoking and the rights of others  

Have you ever gone in or out of a public place and had to walk through a cloud of smoke just to get through the front door? By the time you get through the crowd of smokers and into the building, your clothing and hair smell like smoke. Not to mention the fact that you have breathed in a staggering amount of second hand smoke. This unhealthy situation drives me crazy! I am sure that this letter will upset some people, but I feel the need to share my thoughts. . . .

What I ask of you, the readers of this letter, is to stand up for your rights and insist that your environment is smoke free! To the business owners out there, please take action today. Make changes today to your smoking policies. Have an area for your employees and patrons to smoke, but have it be away from the entrances of your establishments. Why do this? Do this because it is the right thing to do.

Jump to full article »

Sparks fly over Budget Committee's smoking break policy  

HAMPTON -- A Budget Committee member said Tuesday that if he decides to step outside to smoke, he will, and that his right to vote during meetings will not be taken away by the board's chairwoman, unless she wants to face a legal battle in court.

At the end of the Budget Committee's review of the town's proposed 2012 operating budget, panel member Richard Reniere called Chairwoman Eileen Latimer's "no break unless it's to go to the bathroom" rule illegal.

Latimer said she proposed the rule after noticing several committee members taking multiple smoke breaks during meetings.

"The rule is illegal and exceeds the authorities and duties of the sitting chairperson," Reniere said. "Therefore, any member of the Municipal Budget Committee has the right to leave the proceedings briefly for any reason without fear of jeopardizing their right to vote." . . .

Audrey Silk, founder of Citizens Against Smoker Harassment, has weighed in on the flap.

"Short of internment camps, we have the ultimate proof of the campaign/crusade to turn smokers into non-persons with no right to vote just as it was for slaves and women in the past," Silk said in a statement. "Latimer and the rest who voted to sustain this motion should immediately be removed from office!! When smoking is the 'aberration' and tyranny is the 'norm' we've lost our country. This is an abomination."

Jump to full article »

EDITORIAL: Budget Committee should snuff out squabble over smoking breaks  

We think Hampton Budget Committee Chairwoman Eileen Latimer deserves full support in her quest to make sure committee members are fully informed when casting their votes.

Latimer doesn't think board members who take smoking breaks during meetings should be allowed to vote because they can potentially miss key points of a town department's budget presentation.

We agreed with Latimer's intent in a recent editorial.

There's a lot at stake in town budgets and only those who hear all the information should be allowed to vote. We disagreed with her original method to achieve her goal, which was to create a new rule that took away voting rights from any committee member who missed part of a meeting to take a smoking break. How would Latimer know whether someone was leaving the room to use the bathroom or to smoke? . . .

Budget Committee member Richard Reniere didn't completely let the issue drop, however. He made a statement saying the no smoking rule is "illegal" and said he would take legal action if his vote is ever taken away due to a smoke break.

Reniere could be technically right about his legal rights. And he and all the committee members deserve praise for serving their community.

But Latimer has met him halfway by creating a break time during the meeting. It's a fair solution. And it's time to move on.

Jump to full article »

EDITORIAL: Cigarette tax cut must be repealed  

The tortured logic used to justify New Hampshire House Speaker Bill O'Brien's insistence on cutting the state's tobacco tax by 10 cents a pack has cost the state $11 million since July, and it will continue to cost the state millions of dollars until common sense prevails and the tax cut is repealed. . . .

O'Brien and his minions argued the tax cut was needed not to fatten the already bulging pockets of tobacco companies, but rather to help poor Mom and Pop grocers who would get more customers if the tobacco tax was lowered. O'Brien made this claim despite New Hampshire already having the lowest tobacco tax in New England. Immediately after the tax cut, all the major tobacco companies helped Mom and Pop by raising the price of cigarettes the very same 10 cents a pack. O'Brien then said that the state would make up in volume the tobacco tax money it was throwing away amidst the worst budget crisis in a generation.

Clearly, that hasn't happened. In fact, it's not even close. . . .

Mr. Bettencourt, on what planet is an $11 million shortfall "revenue neutral?" How is that misinformation? On this issue, it seems the House leaders who like to say they are fiscally responsible are either blinded by ideology or so beholden to special interests that the lies just effortlessly flow from their lips.

It's time to repeal the tobacco tax cut and it's also past time for House Republicans to find leadership better able to represent the interests of the people of New Hampshire rather than corporately funded ideologues.

Jump to full article »

Rochester police say dropped cigarette led to single-vehicle crash 

Rochester police, fire and ambulance responded to a single-vehicle accident on Rochester Neck Road shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

Investigation revealed the driver, 30-year-old Corrine Giles of Dover, was operating a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu when she accidentally dropped a lit cigarette.

Police say that in the process of picking up the cigarette she lost control of her vehicle, causing her to go off the road striking a fallen tree.

Jump to full article »

Police: Dropped cigarette led to single-vehicle Rochester crash Wednesday 

Rochester police, fire and ambulance responded to a single-vehicle accident on Rochester Neck Road shortly before 7 p.m. Wednesday night.

Investigation revealed the driver, 30-year-old Corrine Giles of Dover, was operating a 2000 Chevrolet Malibu when she accidentally dropped a lit cigarette.

Police say that in the process of picking up the cigarette she lost control of her vehicle, causing her to go off the road striking a fallen tree.

Jump to full article »

• N.H. political parties split over tax cut results  

Republicans will tell you one thing, Democrats another. But store owners and customers will tell you straight: New Hampshire's recent reduction in the tobacco tax has failed to increase sales.

Republicans said the 10-cent-per-pack tax cut would help stimulate the Granite State's economy and generate millions of dollars for state coffers.

But it hasn't.

State Administrative Services Commissioner Linda Hodgdon said earlier this month the tax cut has been a major disappointment, with revenues $2.6 million below projections for October and $3.3 million behind last year's numbers for the month.

Despite the tax break, state tobacco sales continue to plummet. They have dropped 2.5 percent since July and 8 percent since last year, according to the state Department of Revenue. . . .

In what can only be described as bad timing, manufacturers raised prices 10 cents a pack within 24 hours of the state rolling back the tax. . . .

No customers interviewed Friday were aware of the tax break. . . .

Although the state administrative services commissioner said the tax cut hasn't made a difference, state GOP leaders say it's only a matter of time.

Jump to full article »

Federal official to discuss New England tobacco policies  

The assistant secretary for health at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services is coming to New Hampshire this week to hold a town hall on tobacco.

Dr. Howard Koh will join the health commissioners from Maine and the other New England states Wednesday in Manchester to call on state and local leaders to strengthen policies aimed at getting tobacco users to quit.

They also will discuss the problem of second-hand smoke.

The group will hold a news conference before the New England Tobacco Town Hall.

Jump to full article »