http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/costs.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.thestage.co.uk/news/newsstory.php/20698/variety-artists-call-on-equity-to-lobby http://tobacco.org/news/265344.html According to performers, the new legislation, which was introduced in July 2007, is causing clubs and pubs to close, creating a knock-on effect for artists who had previously been booked to perform in them. They claim opportunities for work are dropping by up to 50%. Kevin Smyth, director of the Club and Institute Union, which represents working men's clubs - one of light entertainment's biggest employers - said he "totally understood" the calls for Equity to lobby parliament. Smyth has previously complained that the smoking ban has caused the rate of club closures to increase dramatically. The Stage Newspaper Limited Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.ft.com/cms/s/a18fc11a-2062-11dd-80b4-000077b07658,Authorised=false.html?_i_location=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.ft.com%2Fcms%2Fs%2F0%2Fa18fc11a-2062-11dd-80b4-000077b07658.html%3Fnclick_check%3D1&_i_referer=&nclick_check=1 http://tobacco.org/news/265343.html Victor Ramírez has a plastic blue apron tied tight around his wiry frame as he waits in the sun for lunchtime customers, just as he has done for decades. But even though the afternoon is advancing, the 20-odd tables inside the “Cantina The Return” are laid and the television sets bolted to its peach-coloured walls are blaring a normally irresistible cocktail of soaps and sport, only a couple of people have turned up. “Things are bad,” admits the 59-year-old. “Very bad.” The downturn began last month, when Mexico City became the latest capital to join the global trend of imposing smoking bans in public places. The air in the city’s traditional watering holes may be cleaner, but there is growing concern that the new rules may prove fatal for one of the city’s traditional symbols of popular culture. “Cantinas are taking the brunt of this,” says Daniel Loeza, vice-president of Canirac, which represents almost 250,000 restaurants and bars across the country. “It is very hard to divorce cigarettes from drink and I don’t see a bright future for the city’s traditional cantinas.” Unsurprisingly, perhaps, a lot of other food and drink outlets are also suffering from the ban. Financial Times Mexico Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.honoluluadvertiser.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/NEWS01/805110381/1001/LOCALNEWSFRONT http://tobacco.org/news/265283.html The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawai'i hopes to convince owners of residential rental and condominium buildings to prohibit smoking inside private living areas. The nonprofit group argues second-hand smoke emanating from the privacy of one unit may affect others when people live in close quarters. The state already bans smoking in restaurants, bars and within 20 feet of the entrances or windows of smoke-free buildings. "As laws like this become the norm, I think people are going to start thinking about how, about where we live," said Hye-ryeon Lee, chairwoman of Tobacco-Free Hawai'i and a University of Hawai'i speech professor. Smoke-free advocates say residential smoking bans deliver financial benefits to property owners through lower insurance costs because of reduced fire risk, reduced cleaning expenses and fewer problems between neighbors. But advocates for smokers' rights fume Honolulu Advertiser agomes@honoluluadvertiser.com (Andrew Gomes Advertiser Staff Writer) Sun, 11 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tuscaloosanews.com/article/20080514/NEWS/318213015/-1/NEWS03 http://tobacco.org/news/265281.html Dear Editor: Rush Limbaugh recently blasted the governor and state lawmakers of Ohio for taking back the anti-tobacco funding. Rush, with his public compassion toward smokers, stated, 'We ought to be giving these people medals. These are the people paying for health care in this country. The taxes they pay on tobacco products, they are funding health care for your little Johnny while you're out there thinking that they're the worst scum on earth. You ought to be thanking them.' Rush needs a little Internet research before spreading his pro-tobacco manure. A report states that in the fiscal year 2006, the federal smoking-caused health expenditures were $54.5 billion and the total federal tobacco tax revenues were $7.3 billion. Rush, shouldn't your tobacco-less Bush administration adjust the federal tax on tobacco like the increases on postage stamps? . . . Bush stamped out two federal tobacco tax increases last year with his vetoes that would have provided health care for little Johnny. Tuscaloosa News greg.lawson@tuscaloosanews.com (Mike Sawyer) Wed, 14 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://business.timesonline.co.uk/tol/business/industry_sectors/leisure/article3925375.ece http://tobacco.org/news/265268.html The chief executive of Enterprise Inns, Britain's second-biggest pub company, said today that trading conditions in the past six months had been the worst he could remember. Ted Tuppen, who founded the tenanted pub group in 1991, said that the smoking ban, the consumer spending downturn and rising costs had combined to ensure "the worst six months the industry has probably ever experienced". Times Of London UK Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://portmacquarie.yourguide.com.au/news/local/news/general/smoking-ban-forces-a-rethink-for-clubs-pubs/767911.aspx http://tobacco.org/news/265181.html Banning smoking in clubs and pubs has cleared the air but almost 12 months after its introduction by the state government, also has forced many establishments to drastically review their practices to ensure patronage and profit is maintained. The latest figures released by the NSW Office of Liquor, Gaming and Racing, between July last year, when the smoking ban was implemented, and February, show that turnover from poker machines fell by 11.4 per cent in pubs and by 7.7 per cent in clubs. Port Macquarie News Australia Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.whiotv.com/news/16201879/detail.html?rss=day&psp=news http://tobacco.org/news/265159.html Enforcing Ohio's ban on smoking is costing the city of Dayton and Montgomery County a lot of money. Officials with public health said they have spent around $70,000 since May of 2007. That is when the state began enforcing the law. WHIO-TV Channel 7 daynews@whiotv.com Thu, 08 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bizjournals.com/columbus/stories/2008/05/12/story4.html?ana=from_rss http://tobacco.org/news/265130.html A plan to increase Ohio's employment base is starting with a round of job cuts. Northlich, a Cincinnati-based advertising agency that for six years worked on Ohio's anti-smoking campaigns, cut 27 employees at its Columbus and Cincinnati offices after the state abolished the Ohio Tobacco Prevention Foundation. The workers were casualties of the state's plan to use $230 million of the foundation's $270 million endowment for Gov. Ted Strickland's stimulus package that's designed to create 57,000 jobs. Business First of Columbus Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.morningadvertiser.co.uk/news_detail.aspx?articleid=61326 http://tobacco.org/news/265110.html A survey of wine lists at venues across the UK has shown that many are not giving customers enough choice. A poll of 500 sites by CGA, on behalf of the Wine and Spirit Trade Association (WSTA), revealed that wine sales have risen 13% since the smoke ban, mainly due to 58% of hosts seeing a uplift in food sales post ban. The trade body said that operators need to capitalise on the growing popularity of the product. The survey found that 57% of sites have a wine list with 10 or less wines, with just 12% offering a choice of more than 25 wines. Morning Advertiser.co.uk UK Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2008/may/11/gambling.tax?gusrc=rss&feed=networkfront http://tobacco.org/news/265105.html It is not just a business, she insists, but provides a 'safe, sociable night out' for its thousands of members. More than three million people across the country regularly play bingo, a pastime with its roots in the tombola fund-raisers of nearly a century ago. But the major commercial chains such as Gala and Rank's Mecca bingo have seen their profits slashed by political and economic constraints - with little sign until recently that the industry's cries for help are being heard in Whitehall. 'The smoking ban hit us badly,' says Milton, 'particularly when the cold weather set in last winter.' But the industry bosses' main gripe is that, alone among gaming businesses, bingo faces 'double taxation' - the gambling profits' levy as well as VAT. And under the government's new gambling legislation, bingo halls have also had to cut back drastically on the number of their profitable £500 jackpot machines. The Observer reader@observer.co.uk UK Sun, 11 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.hometownlife.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080511/NEWS24/805110605 http://tobacco.org/news/265059.html The president of a local civic group is blasting state lawmakers who are on the verge of approving legislation that could have a serious impact on its bingo operations. Vic Barra, president of the Wayne Ford Civic League, said the legislation which bans smoking in all workplaces, including bars and restaurants, would force bingo players to go to Indian casinos that would not be covered by the proposed ban. "This bill can't pass in its present form, the state is reaching too far with this," said Barra. . . . One senator approving the measure was Glenn Anderson, D-Westland, who described the ban as "one of the most important issues we will debate this year, in terms of protecting public health and reducing preventable smoking-related illnesses here in Michigan." "Workers in service industries shouldn't be forced to choose between their health and their job," Anderson said in a prepared statement. He said that 33 states have already passed similar legislation "to protect their workers from deadly exposure to secondhand smoke," including Ohio, Illinois, Iowa and Minnesota. Anderson's press release cited a study conducted at the University of California, Berkeley, that found that food service workers are approximately 50 percent more likely to develop lung cancer than the general public, because many are exposed to second-hand smoke at work. Barra believes passage of the legislation will have the same impact in Michigan that it had in Canada, where similar legislation has "put many bingo halls out of business due to the loss of customers." HomeTown Digital smason@hometownlife.com (Sue Mason / OBSERVER STAFF WRITER) Sun, 11 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theretailbulletin.com/news/tobacco_display_ban_could_cost_retailers_252_million_10-05-08/ http://tobacco.org/news/265038.html The ACS (Association of Convenience Stores) has submitted to the Department of Health detailed estimates of the potential costs to a convenience store retailer of implementing a tobacco display ban. It is estimated that the new equipment required to safely remove tobacco from customers view could cost the convenience industry as much as �252 million. The minimum a single store could expect to pay is �1,850 but this could rise to as much as �4,985 depending on the detailed requirements in any regulation. ACS Chief Executive James Lowman said: "What we have found is that changing tobacco displays will bring significant and damaging costs to convenience stores. As the picture becomes clearer about what the likely harm to business will be, we have still not seen the convincing evidence that a ban would have the desired effect on underage smoking. If the costs are high and the benefits not clear then the Government should not press ahead. Retail Bulletin UK Sat, 10 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/S/SMOKING_BAN_CASINOS?SITE=WSAW&SECTION=HOME&TEMPLATE=DEFAULT http://tobacco.org/news/265022.html A ban passed by the Michigan Senate on Thursday now heads to the House, which passed a narrower bill five months ago. If the new bill becomes law, smokers could pass up the trip downtown to gamble and head instead to Indian casinos, which aren't affected, industry observers said. But 37-year-old Yolanda Horne, who stays away from Detroit's casinos because the smoke inside is too much for her asthma, said she would reconsider if they went smoke-free. "I think it's excellent," Horne, of Detroit, said of the anti-smoking legislation. More than 30 states now outlaw smoking in public or workplaces, according to supporters of the ban, though some of the laws don't apply to restaurants and bars, while others make exceptions for casinos. Atlantic City's ban, which goes into effect Oct. 15, gives casinos the option to build enclosed, ventilated smoking lounges away from table games and slot machines. Smoking bans in other states have had negative impacts on casinos, said spokeswoman Jacci Woods at MotorCity Casino. AP Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601102&sid=aLjqZCK0EUPI&refer=uk http://tobacco.org/news/265014.html Rank Group Plc, owner of the U.K.'s second-largest bingo-hall chain and Grosvenor Casinos, said a sales decline eased after managers took steps to counter a decline in customer numbers caused by a ban on indoor smoking. Revenue fell 8 percent at outlets open at least a year in 2008's first 17 weeks, the Maidenhead, England-based company said today in a statement. That was less than the 10 percent slide in the first eight weeks. Cost-savings have strengthened the company's ``profit performance,'' it said. Rank opened sheltered outdoor gaming areas and installed electronic gear that permits remote play at its bingo halls to counter a fall in sales after England barred indoor smoking in public places in July. The company is vulnerable to prohibitions on tobacco use because about half of bingo players smoke, twice the rate of the general populace, according to executives. Bloomberg News lnesbitt@bloomberg.net (Louisa Nesbitt and Loveday Morris) UK Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://news.scotsman.com/scotland/Scots-39outspend-UK-on-drink.4066914.jp http://tobacco.org/news/264966.html THE stereotype of Scotland being a nation of drinkers and smokers appears to have been borne out by new research. The country spends £3 per household a week more than the rest of the UK on alcohol, tobacco and drugs �?" but less on food. Scotland also has the highest adult mortality rates in the UK for cancer and circulatory diseases. New figures published yesterday by the Office for National Statistics (ONS) detail the disparities between the different countries and regions of the UK. . . . SCOTLAND has the worst mortality rate in the UK – a clear indication of the poor state of the nation's health. A total of 361 people per 100,000 population died early from circulatory diseases such as heart attacks, while 128 per 100,000 died from respiratory diseases. Scotland topped the league for lung cancer – with women even more at risk than men The Scotsman UK UK-Scotland Fri, 09 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT