Tobacco.org

NH students celebrate ban on flavored cigarettes  

New Hampshire Sen. Judd Gregg is heading to Dover to thank students who helped push for the ban on flavored cigarettes that took effect earlier this week.

Gregg, who authored the language banning the candy-, fruit- and clove-flavored cigarettes, will meet Friday with Dover Youth to Youth, an after-school drug prevention program. Members have been lobbying Gregg and other lawmakers for years to ban the cigarettes, which health and federal authorities say are more appealing to youth.

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The First Annual C. Everett Koop, MD Tobacco Treatment Conference (PDF) 

We encourage you to attend the “First Annual C. Everett Koop, MD Tobacco Treatment Conference” to be held at the Lake Morey Inn in Fairlee, Vermont on Friday, September 18, 2009. Nationally recognized expert on tobacco, Founder and Director of the University of Wisconsin Center for Tobacco Research and Intervention (UW-CTI), Michael C. Fiore, MD, MPH, MBA, will provide the keynote address for a stimulating day on innovative approaches to current evidence-based tobacco treatment.

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Doctors discuss nicotine addiction at conference 

Physicians from across the nation gathered to discuss smoking-related issues in the first-annual C. Everett Koop Tobacco Treatment Conference, held on Sept. 18 and sponsored by Dartmouth-Hitchcock Medical Center.

Former U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop ’37 gained national attention as surgeon general in part because of his work to increase awareness about the dangers of smoking tobacco.

The event’s speakers highlighted emerging treatments for nicotine dependence and discussed the updated clinical guidelines for treating tobacco addiction. Attendees also completed an instructional clinic focusing on motivational interviewing techniques that may help patients stop smoking.

University of Wisconsin professor Michael Fiore presented the keynote lecture, “Treating Tobacco Dependence: New Clinical Practice Guidelines,” which focused on new strategies and medications that can be used to help people quit smoking. Roughly 20 percent of Americans have a smoking habit, he said.

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Reaction mixed to possible anti-smoking bill 

State Rep. Susan Kepner, D-Hampton, announced last week that she is considering putting forth a bill in the upcoming legislative cycle that would outlaw smoking at playgrounds, outdoor concerts and other places where a significant number of people congregate outdoors.

"I'm still trying to figure out the wording and exactly what it will entail," Kepner said.

New Hampshire already bans smoking in public buildings, offices and work places, except in smoking areas that are effectively segregated.

Smoking is also banned in schools, child care agencies, hospitals, grocery stores, elevators, buses, tramways, restaurants and bars.

Beachgoers at Hampton Beach were not thrilled Friday afternoon with the idea of seeing more places where they won't be able to partake in a cigarette.

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Cigar Association of NH holds car race for rights 

The Cigar Association of New Hampshire sponsors The Cigar 100 at the All-Star Speedway Oct. 10. The race replaces the ISMA Classic, an annual staple of the International Super Modified Association racing circuit.

The cigar association, made up of New Hampshire members of the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association, lobbies for the rights of its members and customers to sell and enjoy premium cigars in the state. IPCPR members are small, businesses that are, for the most part, family-owned smokeshops or manufacturers and distributors of premium cigars, pipes and related accoutrements.

"Irrational smoking bans and tobacco excise taxes have made it more difficult for anyone in the 'Live Free or Die' state to enjoy a premium cigar. They are driving our small businesses into the ground," said Roy Kirby, president of CANH and owner of Two Guys Smoke Shop in Seabrook. . . .

Participating cigar and tobacco-related brands include: Alec Bradley, Ashton, Avo, CAO, Camacho, Cusano, Drew Estates, El Tiante, Hammer & Sickle, HC by Xikar, Heaven, J. Fuego, Kristoff, Oliva, Ortsac, Perdomo, Padron, Punch, Tatuaje, and Villiger.

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No butts about it 

A local legislator said one way to deal with the ongoing problem of cigarette butts at Hampton Beach is simply to ban smoking there.

State Rep. Susan Kepner, D-Hampton, told selectmen this week she is thinking about submitting a bill in the coming legislative session that would ban smoking at state parks in New Hampshire.

The bill would also outlaw smoking at playgrounds, outdoor concerts and other places where a significant amount of people congregate outdoors.

"I'm still trying to figure out the wording and exactly what it will entail," Kepner said.

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Lawmaker considers ban on smoking at local beaches  

A local legislator said one way to deal with the problem of cigarette butts at the beach is simply to ban smoking there.

State Rep. Susan Kepner, D-Hampton, told the town's Board of Selectmen this week she is thinking of submitting a bill in the coming legislative session that would ban smoking at state parks in New Hampshire. The bill would also outlaw smoking at playgrounds, concerts and other places where a significant amount of people congregate outdoors.

"I'm still trying to figure out the wording and exactly what it will entail," Kepner said.

Discussion over Kepner's bill arose during a meeting between the town's local delegation and selectmen. The local delegation met with the board to ask which issues selectmen would like representatives to tackle in Concord in the upcoming legislative cycle.

Selectman Rick Griffin said his biggest pet peeve as of late has been the number of cigarette butts left at the beach.

"It's a huge problem and it's so offensive," he said.

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• Much at stake in roll-your-own suit 

Customers from near and far line up daily at the Route 13 smoke shop with the roll-your-own cigarette machines that can spit out 200 cigarettes in 10 minutes. They buy by the carton, for less than half the price of many name brands.

But state officials say the machines are making an end run around the landmark 1998 settlement with major tobacco companies, which were required to pay yearly contributions to the states. In a lawsuit filed last week, New Hampshire's attorney general contends Tobacco Haven's cigarette machines violate terms of the agreement and could jeopardize the $50 million in settlement money New Hampshire receives each year.

"At $50 million a year, we have a rather inescapable incentive here,'' said David Rienzo, an assistant attorney general.

Rienzo, along with smoking industry specialists and antismoking groups, say that higher cigarette taxes have spurred a burgeoning roll-your-own market. But until now, it has been largely confined to individuals who buy small, hand-operated rolling machines for personal use. The machines at Tobacco Haven, by contrast, are more akin to high-powered vending machines that spit out cartons of cigarettes in a matter of minutes. Such machines have cropped up across the country, and in New Hampshire prosecutors worried that they could emerge as powerful competitors to commercial cigarettes.

New Hampshire's suit, believed to be the first of its kind, argues that Tobacco Haven is essentially manufacturing cigarettes and therefore should be making contributions to the state. Tobacco Haven counters that they are strictly a retail outfit and that customers are paying to use the machines for personal use.

State officials say that by allowing a shop to make cigarettes without contributing some proceeds, they risk lawsuits from competing manufacturers angry over unequal treatment.

"At face value, this tobacco shop is in the business of making cigarettes,'' Rienzo said. "It's roughly a pack a minute, so it's not an insignificant number of cigarettes, and it really could cause us some heartburn.''

Under state law, Tobacco Haven would have to contribute about 2 cents for each cigarette sold to a set-aside fund, he said.

This week, the state ordered the shop to shut down the machines, but the two machines rolled on as usual on a recent morning, with a lengthy line of smokers from New Hampshire, and Massachusetts. . . .

Sweda had never heard of a similar lawsuit, but Burd said there are plenty of other shops that have machines like Tobacco Haven's.

Doug Kennedy, editor of Roll Your Own Magazine, which caters to custom-made cigarette smokers, said the publication has "aggressively recommended shops to walk away from making cigarettes for their customers.''

"You make a cigarette for someone, then sell it to them, you are a tobacco manufacturer,'' he said.

Kevin O'Flaherty, director of advocacy in the Northeast for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said many states are fueling the growth of roll-your-own cigarettes by taxing loose tobacco at a lower rate than store-bought cigarettes.

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Six Portsmouth stores fined for selling tobacco to minors  

The state Liquor Commission Bureau of Enforcment recently fined six Port City businesses for selling tobacco products to an underage person during a series of compliance checks.

The BX Express at 803 Lafayette Road and Samuel Fuels at 1400 Lafayette Road were both cited for selling to minors on Aug. 3 and each received a $250 fine from the commission

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EDITORIAL: Smoking crushed in Hilltop parks  

Smoking is not allowed in public buildings and in Somersworth it is no longer allowed in public parks.

The City Council said Tuesday night there are no "butts" about it. There is no more lighting up in the city's 12 parks and outdoor recreation areas.

The ordinance was well-advised and neighboring communities without a similar restriction would do well to consider following suit.

It is not "nanny" legislation. It is a matter of good health and eliminating a source of trash and setting an example for the city's children. . . .

It doesn't matter how many "butt cans" are placed in an area, there are always people who will treat the space they are in as a public ashtray — choosing to crush underfoot, or more likely toss away, the remains of their smoking materials.

Yes, smokers have rights, too. But their rights do not include — or at least should not include —causing others needless discomfort or endangering the health of others.

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Tobacco shop will dispute claim that it's manufacturing 

Tobacco Haven isn't a cigarette manufacturer despite claims by the state, says the attorney for the small tobacco shop in Brookline facing an unusual legal action against its use of roll-your-own cigarette machines.

Acting Attorney General Orville "Bud" Fitch filed a lawsuit Tuesday against the tobacco shop in Merrimack County Superior Court, alleging that the operation sidesteps the federal settlement between tobacco manufacturers and the state.

The company has a pair of 4-foot tall "roll your own" machines in its store. Customers buy one of three types of loose tobacco and paper tubes with filters, then use the machines to turn them into cigarettes at about half the cost of name-brand cigarettes.

Jeffrey Burd, of Cincinnati, one of several lawyers who will represent Tobacco Haven in court, said this business doesn't make Tobacco Haven a manufacturer."Tobacco Haven rents its machine to customers. They can buy or rent," said Burd. He contrasted the shop's operation with a hypothetical cigarette manufacturer in North Carolina that can produce several hundred cigarettes in seconds, while it takes minutes to roll the same number at a tobacco shop.

Burd will make his case in Merrimack County Superior Court at 11 a.m. Oct. 13, when the state brings its case against the tobacco shop.

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• State sues tobacco shop over cigarette-making machines 

The state of New Hampshire is suing a Brookline businessman who is charging customers $20 for a carton of cigarettes they roll themselves.

According to Assistant Attorney General David Rienzo, Joseph Correia Jr. of Tobacco Haven in Brookline has two machines customers use to make their own cigarettes. Customers buy tobacco and other cigarette components and then are directed to the machines and taught how to operate them, according to Rienzo.

Each machine can churn out about 200 cigarettes -- a carton -- in about 10 minutes. Customers pay $26 a carton, about $30 less than the going price of a pre-packaged carton.

Atty. Jeffrey Burd of Cincinnati, Ohio, who represents Correia, said Tobacco Haven disputes it is a manufacturer.

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BEAM: Where there’s e-smoke...  

In my lifelong quest to become America's Most Reviled Columnist, I have taken up smoking, again.

Not my beloved Larks (gack!) or non-filter Kools (double gack!) of yore. Now I am smoking a plastic doohickey known as "No. 9,'' an electronic cigarette. . . .

How is it? Well, it's cool to be smoking again, just like those smooth fellows on "Mad Men.'' People think I'm French or James Dean, which is a step up for me. I've smoked my e-coffin nail in cafes, libraries, and restaurants, so far without incident. I should add that I have done a lot of this smoking in New Hampshire, where there are no laws at all. . . .

So why does the Food and Drug Administration want to ban them? That's an interesting question, one the FDA can't answer right now because its lawyers are in court as we speak, trying to enforce its authority over the devices. Heaven knows there are plenty of nicotine products out there - patches, gums, and so on - so how the FDA lawyers concluded that "distribution of E-Cigarettes in commerce in the U.S. is prohibited'' is beyond me.

FDA, schmeffDA, the e-butts are on sale everywhere . . .

What's the bottom line? If you would like to quit, then e-cigarettes' milder dose of nicotine - less than one fifth of a tobacco cigarette - might help. (Got that, President Obama?) If you are hooked on nicotine, the cooler vapor is a lot better for you than tobacco smoke. The e-cigs are cheaper, too, averaging out to about $2.50 or $3 for a putative pack, versus $6 and up for the real thing.

And if you want to look like James Dean in "East of Eden'' or Jean-Paul Belmondo in "Breathless'' - oh, never mind.

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VIDEO: US smoker chokes on cost of habit 

A man in the United States popped out to his local petrol station to buy a pack of cigarettes - only to find his card charged $23,148,855,308,184,500.

That is $23 quadrillion (£14 quadrillion) - many times the US national debt.

"I thought somebody had bought Europe with my credit card," said Josh Muszynski, from New Hampshire.

He says his appeals to his bank first met with little understanding, though it eventually corrected the error.

It also waived the usual $15 overdraft fee.

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Influence of Movie Smoking Exposure and Team Sports Participation on Established Smoking 

Setting

School- and telephone-based surveys in New Hampshire and Vermont between September 1999 through November 1999 and February 2006 through February 2007. . . . Conclusions

Team sports participation clearly plays a protective role against established smoking, even in the face of exposure to movie smoking. However, movie smoking exposure increases the risk of established smoking among both team sports participants and nonparticipants. Parents, teachers, coaches, and clinicians should be aware that encouraging team sports participation in tandem with minimizing early exposure to movie smoking may offer the greatest likelihood of preventing youth smoking.

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