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U.S. Rep. Phil Roe Joins Fight Against Canadian Tobacco Bill  

A Northeast Tennessee Congressman is the latest person to join the fight against a bill making its way through the Canadian legislature that could hurt American burley tobacco farmers.

On Tuesday, U.S. Rep. Phil Roe, R-1st, sent Canadian International Trade Minister Stockwell Day a letter voicing his opposition to that country's "Cracking down on Tobacco Marketing Aimed at Youth Act."

Known as C-32, the bill would ban the sale and manufacture of flavored cigars and cigarettes in Canada. The legislation unanimously passed the Canadian House of Commons on June 17 and is now making its way through the Canadian Senate. . . .

"I view this as a trade measure rather a health measure," Roe wrote in his letter, which called C-32 a "protectionist measure" because it could put American tobacco farmers at a loss while creating a market for tobacco varieties not commonly grown in this country.

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Smokefree Innotec, Inc. Holds International Launch Conference  

Smokefree Innotec, Inc. (Pink Sheets:SFIO - News) (www.smokefree-innotec.com) today announced that it will organize a management conference June 30 and July 1 in Nashville, Tennessee, to finalize the launch of the World’s first totally smoke-free electronic cigarette, scheduled for this autumn. Among the key staffers flying into Nashville International are Dr. Robert Wang, the inventor of the device; North American Sales and Marketing Director Bill Whalen, and Manfred Bogaert, General Manager of our European subsidiary, Smokefree Innotec BVBA. Also attending the conference will be Christopher Hansen, a senior executive of SENCO G.C.S. The Company and SENCO G.C.S. anticipate the initial targeted markets will include domestic and foreign United States Military Exchange Services installations across the globe, beginning in Europe. Further expansion will include bases located in Asia and the United States.

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Anti-tobacco bill further tests Canada-U.S. trade relationship 

Add American cigarettes to the growing list of products getting caught up in the increasingly testy trade relationship between Canada and the United States.

Tobacco growers in Kentucky have launched a protest against the Harper government over a new anti-smoking bill they argue will lead to a ban on the vast majority of U.S. cigarette exports to Canada.

Tobacco growers in Kentucky have launched a protest against the Harper government over a new anti-smoking bill they argue will lead to a ban on the vast majority of U.S. cigarette exports to Canada.

Two U.S. congressmen have taken up the cause of 8,100 Kentucky farmers who grow burley tobacco - used in popular American-style cigarettes like Camel and Winston - and have warned International Trade Minister Stockwell Day that Canada's legislation violates NAFTA and other trade agreements.

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• Canadian Tobacco Bill Comes Under Fire From US Congress  

A move by the Canadian parliament to keep flavored cigarettes away from children is coming under fire from members of the U.S. Congress amid charges it essentially bans certain tobacco exports to Canada and violates trade laws.

A bill pending in Canada's House of Commons seeks to ban companies from selling tobacco products with cherry, milk and chocolate flavorings amid concerns the ingredients are added to lure children and teens to smoke.

U.S. Senators and Representatives as well as business lobbies say the bill would essentially ban the export of burley tobacco, grown in states such as Kentucky and Tennessee. Burley tobacco contains flavoring ingredients that mask tobacco's harsh taste. The tobacco industry says the flavoring in burley tobacco isn't detectable by smokers and is different from the candy-flavored cigarettes that carry names such as "Twista Lime" and "Chocolate Mocha."

A delegation of Senators and Representatives from Kentucky wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to help stop the bill, which they see as an "unfair assault" on U.S. tobacco growers, according to a letter the group sent Monday to Clinton.

"This is a delicate situation that merits your attention," the letter says. "The stakes involved for American tobacco growers could not be higher." . . .

Melisa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Stockwell Day, Canada's Minister of International Trade, said Day is aware of the concerns expressed by U.S. congress members. She said the bill responds to an "important public health objective" of the Canadian government over concerns with tobacco products.

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Spouses added to quit-tobacco class 

County officials hope a class to help employees quit tobacco can save them more in health-care benefit costs by letting spouses enroll.

"If statistics are true, we are going to save about $287 per year per person in claims," said Lois Miller, Rutherford County's director of insurance. There are 4,200 government and school-district workers on the health-care plan.

She noted survey results suggesting how many more would take the class if spouses could sign up.

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TN Senators Split Vote On FDA Overseeing Tobacco Products 

Sen. Bob Corker voted on Thursday in favor of legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to oversee the production and sale of tobacco products. The bill, H.R.1256, passed the Senate by a vote of 79 to 17.

Sen. Corker said, "It's no secret that tobacco products are highly addictive and contribute to heart disease, lung cancer, and other deadly illnesses. This bill ensures these products face the same level of oversight and regulation as food, medicine, and other everyday items we purchase at our local grocery store. It also places an emphasis on preventing children from using tobacco.

Sen. Lamar Alexander voted again the bill. He said, "This bill does the right thing in the wrong way. It regulates tobacco but gives the job to the wrong government agency. The Food and Drug Administration is already so overwhelmed it can only regulate one percent of the food we import from around the world. I voted instead to give the regulatory job and adequate resources to the Department of Health and Human Services."

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Mount Carmel fire blamed on cigarette, medical oxygen tank 

A Wednesday night house fire on Elm Street in Mount Carmel has been attributed to a person using medical oxygen while smoking a cigarette, a combination that has resulted in several serious residential fires in the region over the past year and a half.

At 8:43 p.m. Wednesday, firefighters were dispatched to 534 Elm St. in Mount Carmel, a residence occupied by Varcilla Jackson, 57, and her father Guy Cobb, 81.

Mount Carmel Volunteer Fire Department Chief Chris Jones said Jackson, who is on a medical oxygen tank, was lying in bed and fell asleep while smoking a cigarette.

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Smoking surcharge for TN state workers delayed 

The House has voted to postpone for a year a planned $50-per-month health insurance surcharge for state employees and teachers who smoke.

The move came in a House floor amendment to SB205, adopted at the urging of Rep. John Litz, D-Morristown.

"I just felt this was the wrong time and the wrong effort to be putting this on state employees," said Litz.

He said that Gov. Phil Bredesen's administration had agreed to the delay, though Bredesen indicated later that he did so somewhat reluctantly.

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Student groups push for tobacco-free campus  

Because of the harmful effects of smoking, some groups on campus are advocating that UT become tobacco-free. The Colleges Against Cancer (CAC) chapter at UT has launched a Tobacco-Free Campaign on campus.

The CAC had much inspiration from East Tennessee State University, which became a tobacco-free university starting August 11, 2008. ETSU permits smoking only in private vehicles, and their policy is enforced 24 hours a day. The CAC has many similar goals for their tobacco-free policy.

According to a press release by the CAC, the tobacco-free policy would prohibit tobacco use on all college property, including residence halls. It would also prohibit the free distribution of tobacco products on campus, along with affiliated fraternities and sororities. The policy would also prohibit the sale of tobacco products on campus, prohibit tobacco advertisements in college-run publications and promote tobacco treatment services and products through University Health Services.

Some of these points are already part of debate and policy on campus. SGA has debated the sale of tobacco products on campus and the Student Health Center has already made efforts to help students quit smoking.

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TN Editorial: Part of past up in smoke 

Tobacco, even while it was killing people by the thousands, made good money for many a farm family and factory worker. Along with the banks and the cotton mill interests, tobacco held the power in Raleigh to bend the Legislature to its will. Until very recently, the halls of the General Assembly smelled more like a smoking-required zone than a smoke-free zone.

This is the historical context of the vote in the state House on Wednesday night that outlawed smoking in bars and restaurants, effective Jan. 2. In North Carolina!

You would think some titanic battle would have preceded a change of such magnitude in the state that still accounts for roughly half of the total agricultural value of tobacco.

But the bill passed with all the drama of glacial ice melt -- an evolutionary change that happened too slowly to be seen. . . .

Now restaurants won't have to risk alienating longtime patrons by putting up an inhospitable "No Smoking" sign. The state has done it for them. And the patron can't walk out and find a bar down the street that allows smoking.

It's not to romanticize North Carolina's historic ties to tobacco that we recall the deep green tobacco fields and the tobacco barns that glowed in the night sky.

It is simply to remember, and to realize that this is not our grandfather's North Carolina.

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Experience - Smith Wholesale Co. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 65-6053, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4254 (6th Cir. Feb. 27, 2007) 

Client(s): R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company

Representation: Smith Wholesale Co. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., No. 65-6053, 2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4254 (6th Cir. Feb. 27, 2007)

Lead Practice(s): Antitrust Litigation, Distribution & Robinson-Patman

February 2007

Summary: Jones Day successfully defended R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company (RJR) in response to Robinson-Patman claims filed in the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Tennessee by more than 20 cigarette wholesalers. The plaintiffs challenged RJR's wholesale program, which granted discounts and rebates to wholesalers willing to devote a certain percentage of their business to the promotion and sale of RJR savings brands. . . .

The district court, after two years of discovery, granted RJR's motion for summary judgment. In February, 2007, in affirming the district court's decision, the Sixth Circuit found that RJR offered its market share discounts "to all wholesalers using a non-discriminatory formula" (2007 U.S. App. LEXIS 4254 at *71), that "[t]he capacity of plaintiffs to qualify for the [wholesaler program's] best discount was a matter of marketing strategy and brand prioritization, a choice inherent and unavoidable in multi-brand incentive programs," and that RJR’s prices were therefore functionally available.

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• Rowlett voters approve smoking ban  

Rowlett voters decided Saturday that the city will become smoke-free after all. With 10 of 12 precincts reporting, 64 percent of voters supported the smoking ban with 34 percent opposing it.

The city council passed the ban by a 4-3 vote in February. It was scheduled to go into effect May 1, but a group of business owners successfully petitioned to have the issue go before the voters. The referendum was the only issue on the Rowlett ballot.

The owners of The Track Grill and Bar helped start the petition. Co-owner Eric Gigon spent eight hours speaking with voters at the polls Saturday, and he said he is disappointed with the outcome but is prepared to accept the new ordinance.

"Ninety percent of the people that voted don't ever come into any of [the establishments that allow smoking], and they dictated the future of our restaurant, so I'm hoping ... that means they're going to lend their support to us now and start coming out," Gigon said.

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White Bluff considers smoking ban 

White Bluff wrestled with the issue of public smoking on city property following complaints made to Vice Mayor Jeff Martin and Councilman Dale Whitfield concerning Veterans Park.

"From the standpoint of a safety and health issue of our kids in our parks and just a cleanliness issue, I would like the council to discuss designating all town-owned, public-used property as no-smoking areas," Martin said.

The list of city-owned properties include the Jennie Woodworth Library, City Hall, White Bluff Community Center, Veterans Park, the sewage plant, the fire house and the Field of Dreams playground. However, because of the playground's wooden structure, the area is already designated as non-smoking. The ban would cover both inside and outside areas of the said properties.

Martin said, along with the mother who had an asthma attack while watching her child's ballgame at Veterans Park, he noticed all the cigarette butts scattered around town while he participated in the Great American Clean Up.

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It'll cost state employees to smoke 

Current and former state employees have until the end of this year to quit smoking, or pay the consequences.

The consequences, in this case, will be a $600 smoking surcharge that goes into effect on New Year's Day 2010 for everyone in the state employee health system who smokes, or has a smoker for a spouse.

The hope is that the extra $50-a- month surcharge will provide the extra push smokers need to quit -- and save Tennessee an estimated $3,400 a year in lost productivity and smoking-related health claims per worker.

"We're trying to create incentives for healthy living," said Brian Haile, deputy director for the state's Division of Benefits Administration, which oversees coverage for some 270,000 adults and children covered by state employee health insurance.

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Nashville firm launches electric cigarette  

Makers of a smokeless cigarette will be launching their product in Germany.

Nashville-based Smokefree Innotec Inc. has entered into an agreement with Ubema GmbH for the German marketing of Rauchless, the world's first smokeless "electric cigarette."

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