http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/costs.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.coalitiontostopcontrabandtobacco.com/sites/default/files/11-17_CTSCT_press_release-FINAL.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/292951.html Representatives of law enforcement groups, public health organizations and trade associations today gathered on Capitol Hill to urge the Senate to pass S. 1147, the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act of 2009 (PACT Act). This legislation will help combat online cigarette sales that have robbed hundreds of millions of dollars in tax revenues from the states and that undermine state laws that prevent youth access to tobacco products. This bill closes gaps in current federal laws regulating “remote” or “delivery” sales of cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products. These organizations were joined by Sen. Herb Kohl (D‐WI) and Rep. Anthony Weiner (D‐NY), advocates of combating illegal cigarette sales. Numerous stakeholders have worked with Sen. Kohl through the years to pass the PACT Act, which was passed in the House of Representatives this May. “The PACT Act will strengthen our tobacco laws to ensure that law enforcement has the tools they need to investigate and prosecute cigarette traffickers, said Sen. Kohl. “Each day we delay its passage, terrorists and criminals raise more money, states lose significant amounts of tax revenue, and kids have easy access to tobacco products sold over the internet.” . . . Organizations represented at the press conference included the National Association of Convenience Stores, American Wholesale Marketers Association, National Black Police Association and Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids. . . . The American Wholesale Marketers Association also released its latest findings from a study it conducted examining the prevalence of illegal Internet cigarette sales and the cost to the country. In the study AWMA found the cost to states in illegal cigarette sales could be upwards of $5 billion per year, and that with online sales there is almost no age verification at the time of purchase. Coalition to Stop Contraband Tobacco Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/massachusetts-model-tobacco-cessation-benefit-spurs-unprecedented-drop-in-smoking-rates-heart-attacks-asthma-and-birth-complications-70401442.html http://tobacco.org/news/292940.html A "model" tobacco cessation benefit offered to Massachusetts' Medicaid participants has produced an astounding 26% drop in smoking rates in only two and a half years, and has already been linked to decreases in heart attacks, hospitalizations for asthma and COPD, and a significant decrease in birth complications. Researchers from the Massachusetts Tobacco Cessation and Prevention Program (MTCP) found that up to 38% fewer MassHealth cessation benefit users were hospitalized for heart attacks in the first year after using the benefit, and that 18% fewer benefit users visited the emergency room for asthma symptoms in the first year after using the benefit. Researchers also found that there were 12% fewer claims for adverse maternal birth complications since the benefit was implemented. The Massachusetts Executive Office of Health and Human Services said more than 75,000 people -- a full 40% of MassHealth members who smoke -- have used the benefit to try to quit smoking. Cost savings are being studied, and all indications suggest they will be significant. "It is clear from these latest findings that the Commonwealth's efforts to help people quit smoking is a sound investment," Executive Office of Health and Human Services Secretary JudyAnn Bigby said. . . . "As the nation debates the future of its health care system, the national significance of this research cannot be understated," said Robert J. Gould, PhD, President and CEO of Partnership for Prevention, a national organization that advances policies and practices to prevent disease and improve the health of all Americans. "These findings demonstrate that prudent investments in preventive health today will have a dramatic and positive effect on our health care system tomorrow." PR Newswire Wed, 18 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://dccc.org/blog/archives/sessions_stands_behind_remarks_that_women_are_like_smokers_insurance_compan/ http://tobacco.org/news/292885.html One week has passed since NRCC Chairman Pete Sessions (TX) made controversial remarks defending the insurance industry's practice of charging women more than men for health insurance by equating being a woman to being a smoker: REP. PALLONE (D-NJ): Why should a woman pay more than a man? REP. SESSIONS (R-TX): Well now. We're all different. Why should a smoker pay more than a non-smoker? Yesterday his office provided their first public response to the controversy in a statement to the Dallas Morning News that stood by the comparison. "We scoured the statement provided by Representative Sessions's office about his insulting remarks to look for the phrase 'I was wrong,' but found nothing," said Jesse Ferguson, Southern Regional Press Secretary for the Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee. Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://trailblazersblog.dallasnews.com/archives/2009/11/sessions-hammered-for-comment.html http://tobacco.org/news/292884.html Memo to Dallas Republican Rep. Pete Sessions: Think twice before making comparisons. Sessions, who famously compared his own party to the Taliban, is taking heat from liberal groups and Democrats for a comment reportedly made last week in a debate over higher health insurance premiums that women pay. Asked why that should be, Sessions replied: "Well, we're all different. Why should a smoker pay more?" As with the Taliban comment, there's an argument buried in there somewhere, about whether, for instance, higher premiums are justified because of, for instance, childbirth costs. We'll leave that to the experts. But Sessions, as leader of the National Republican Congressional Committee, is a huge political target. And Democrats sense the GOP is exacerbating its problem with large numbers of women's voters. So you can bet this one will be echoed quite a bit throughout the health care debate. UPDATE: Sessions spokeswoman Emily Davis has responded, accusing "liberal partisans" of offering "peddled fabrications." Davis writes: At no time during the exchange did Mr. Sessions use the word "woman" or "women." In fact, only Democrats brought up gender in the discussion. Neither Mr. Sessions nor any Democrat made any connection between women and smokers. Dallas Morning News politics@dallasnews.com Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mailonsunday.co.uk/sciencetech/article-1228482/Smokers-soon-jab-halt-addiction.html http://tobacco.org/news/292869.html Smokers could soon break their habit with a jab that stops nicotine from being addictive by preventing it from entering the brain, scientists claimed. As a result the vaccine stops the smoker from deriving any pleasure from inhaling a cigarette. In human trials the vaccine proved successful in 50 per cent of cases. Help: Smokers could quit using the vaccine that stops nicotine entering the brain This would help relieve the NHS of the heavy burden of tobacco-related diseases. . . . The product, called NicVAX is likely to open a new front in the tobacco wars. They are many products currently on the market to help people quit smoking such as nicotine patches, and gum. But many of the existing smoking cessation products are failing to prevent many people from returning to their tobacco habits. NicVAX is the first product that prevents smokers from returning to their habit with others just stopping their immediate tobacco use. The Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday UK Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.lohud.com/article/20091116/OPINION/911160305/1076/OPINION01/Funding%20anti-tobacco%20programs%20saves%20us%20in%20the%20long%20run http://tobacco.org/news/292805.html The 2008 Independent Evaluation report of the New York State Tobacco Control Program was recently released, and the news is good. Our tobacco control program in New York is working, and working well. Both youth and adult smoking rates are declining significantly faster than the rates for the U.S. as a whole. The smoking rates in Putnam, Orange, Westchester and Rockland counties are at or significantly under the national smoking rate. Support for the Clean Indoor Air Act is continuing to grow every year, and anti-tobacco attitudes are increasing. Even though our programs are funded at one-third of the funding levels that the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention recommends for the size of our state, these programs are having an effect. This saves lives and saves us money. Continued program funding cuts will jeopardize the gains we are already seeing. New York Journal News Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://toledoblade.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20091117/OPINION02/911170325 http://tobacco.org/news/292778.html COMPLACENCY has its cost. It has led some people to erroneously believe that smoking is fading as a public health danger. But a new report by the government dispels that perception by showing a small but disturbing uptick in the number of American smokers. . . . Gains have been undermined by cuts in state tobacco control campaigns, as happened in Ohio. Tobacco companies have offered deep discounts to offset tax increases, and, since the 1998 state tobacco settlement, overall tobacco marketing has risen substantially. . . . Basically, say anti-smoking advocates, when you increase tobacco prices and fund tobacco prevention and cessation programs, smoking rates go down, and when prices stay flat and programs are cut, rates go up. The challenge, they say, is to resist the complacency that follows victory over tobacco use, as with indoor smoking bans, higher cigarette taxes, and Congress' recent decision to allow the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco. The CDC survey clearly indicates that much more needs to be done to reduce smoking. The cost to the nation in lives and medical expense is too steep to allow backsliding now with an unhealthy habit that remains the number one preventable cause of death in the United States. Toledo Blade Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=11360 http://tobacco.org/news/292739.html A study co-authored almost a year ago by Michael D. LaFaive, director of the Morey Fiscal Policy Initiative at the Center, continues to garner media attention. "Cigarette Taxes and Smuggling," released Dec. 2, 2008, and LaFaive were cited Friday in Chicago Talks and Saturday by NBC Chicago. Both media outlets addressed two major points in the study: higher cigarette taxes do not increase government revenue, and those higher taxes can also lead to more cigarette smuggling. Mackinac Center for Public Policy Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mackinac.org/article.aspx?ID=10005 http://tobacco.org/news/292721.html In this study, the authors consider cigarette smuggling from two angles. First, they employ a statistical model to estimate the degree to which cigarette smuggling occurs in 47 of the 48 contiguous U.S. states. Second, they review the historical experiences of three states -- Michigan, New Jersey and California -- known to have problems with cigarette smuggling. The author's findings suggest that state policymakers should reassess the value of cigarette taxes as a revenue and public health tool. Mackinac Center for Public Policy Tue, 02 Dec 2008 05:00:00 GMT http://www.stuff.co.nz/national/3063574/Pub-ban-stubs-out-smoking-at-home http://tobacco.org/news/292692.html A ban on smoking in bars and pubs has prompted many New Zealanders to stop smoking at home, Ministry of Health research shows. Next month will mark six years since the passing of smoke-free legislation that bans smoking in indoor work environments such as clubs, casinos, bars and restaurants. It came into force one year later, in December 2004. A ministry expert on tobacco, Dr Ashley Bloomfield, says one of the positive spin-offs of the law has been that the number of smoke-free homes has dramatically increased. He attributes the trend to a change in attitude - "People started thinking, `I can't smoke in the pub so I won't smoke in my home'." A report evaluating the law's effectiveness and impact across various sectors shows exposure to second-hand smoke in the home decreased from 20% in 2003 to 9% in 2006. And the cultural shift, which has seen smoking become less socially acceptable, has seen smoking rates fall year on year. The research, he says, also shows "the overall economic impact [of the legislation] was not a negative one". But Josh White of the Hospitality Association of New Zealand says there is no doubt the law has had a negative impact on licensed premises. "Everyone that's tried to survive has had to put a smoking area in at their own cost." Independent Newspapers Ltd. / STUFF newstips@stuff.co.nz (LEIGH VAN DER STOEP - Sunday Star Times) New Zealand Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thestar.com/news/ontario/article/726038---2-billion-in-tax-revenue-up-in-smoke http://tobacco.org/news/292686.html One in two cigarettes smoked in Ontario is illegal, robbing provincial and federal coffers of more than $2 billion a year and raising concerns about children gaining easy access to tobacco. "There's absolutely no doubt that there's an incredible amount of revenue lost both in the province of Ontario and Quebec and to the federal government as well," provincial Community Safety Minister Rick Bartolucci said in an interview. A study for the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council found that illegal cigarette purchases in Ontario have climbed to 48.6 per cent, followed by Quebec with 40.1 per cent. . . . Originating on First Nations reserves, the contraband smokes are readily available in most towns and cities. "People have to understand the severity of buying, of making ... and what damage it does do," said Bartolucci. But how do we know? Enter the squad of "butt pickers." In a separate investigation last month, the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco collected by hand 19,770 cigarette butts near 110 high schools, and discovered 30 per cent were illegal. The coalition, which was launched by the Canadian Convenience Stores Association, whose members lose an average of $115,000 in sales annually due to illegal cigarettes, analyzed 14,064 butts from 75 Quebec high schools and concluded 45 per cent were contraband. Because each legal cigarette has a distinctive marking on the filter, investigators are able to pinpoint hot spots for untaxed and unregulated smokes. Ontario and Quebec represent about 95 per cent of illegal tobacco sales in Canada, and about 33 per cent of cigarettes sold in Canada are contraband, according to the manufacturers' council study. . . . The major source of that supply is the Akwesasne native reserve that straddles Ontario, Quebec and the State of New York. Ten cigarette manufacturing plants on the U.S. side pump out billions of cigarettes annually. "We know that perhaps 95 per cent of the contraband in Canada originates in illegal operations located on four First Nations reserves, the most important of which by far is the U.S. side of Akwesasne near Cornwall, Ont. There is also Kahnawake near Montreal, Tyendinaga near Belleville, and Six Nations near Brantford," said Cunningham. Toronto Star publiced@thestar.ca ( Robert Benzie Queen's Park Bureau Chief / Richard J. Brennan Ottawa Bureau ) Canada Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://news.cincinnati.com/article/20091113/BIZ01/911140302/1001/BIZ/Smokers face more scrutiny from insurers http://tobacco.org/news/292663.html When I started in the business nearly 40 years ago, an agent never asked if the person applying for insurance smoked. Smokers and non-smokers all paid the same for their life insurance. Then, in the 1980s insurers began to charge less for those who said they had not smoked in at least a year. And that is pretty much the standard still used today. But, as explained below, that might be changing. By the way, insurers still do not screen for "passive" or "sideways" smoke. If you live in a house full of smokers and are around smoke all day long at work, common sense and empirical evidence indicate that you can be affected by such exposure. But this is never questioned in a life-insurance application. It is common practice for an insurer to change a person's rating from a smoker to a non-smoker if the insured quits. It used to be that the insured simply had to sign a form attesting to the fact that tobacco had not been used for at least a year. Now the insurers that I represent want that signature plus a urine sample (at company expense) to verify that there has at least been no smoking in the recent past. But beware: Insurers may say that they will reduce the rating if a person gives up smoking, but it does not always happen. . . . The bottom line: Don't smoke. Even if you do and eventually give it up, the earlier exposure to carcinogens may affect your cost of life insurance down the road. Cincinnati Enquirer jbryanclu@aol.com (J. Brendan Ryan ) Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://news.cincinnati.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/AB/20091111/NEWS0108/911110379/ http://tobacco.org/news/292500.html CRESTVIEW HILLS - Nearly two years ago, county officials in Northern Kentucky began studying a possible regional, indoor, smoke-free workplace law, but the issue has yet to come to a vote. Tuesday, Crestview Hills' economic development and zoning committee attempted to prod county officials to take action. By a 4-2 vote, the committee of three council members and three residents recommended that their council adopt a resolution encouraging Boone, Kenton and Campbell fiscal courts to adopt a public indoor smoking ban. Crestview Hills City Council meets Thursday. . . . Linda Vogelpohl, chair of Northern Kentucky Action, a coalition of health organizations and others who support a regional public indoor smoking ban, cited a recent University of Kentucky study that concluded restaurants and bars in Kentucky counties bordering Ohio did not profit economically because of Ohio's smoke-free law. Cincinnati Enquirer cschroeder@nky.com (Cindy Schroeder ) Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/news-releases/dont-let-your-financial-future-go-up-in-smoke-69645352.html http://tobacco.org/news/292419.html The impact of smoking on your health is well documented. But counselors at Consumer Credit Counseling Service (CCCS) of Greater Atlanta know that it can also wreak havoc on a person's financial health. Whether it's helping people struggling with credit card debt or trying to avoid foreclosure, counselors find that tobacco use adds a significant amount to monthly household expenditures and they advise consumers to consider reducing or quitting smoking to save money. A pack-a-day smoker spending an average of $5.15 per pack could save $1,879 per year by quitting smoking. These funds could be used to cover living expenses, reduce household debt or start a savings plan. Invested in a basic savings plan paying just 3 percent interest, you would have in excess of $21,000 after 10 years. Over 30 years, that figure climbs to more than $91,000. "Quitting smoking is good for more than just your physical health," said Michelle Jones, Senior Vice President of Counseling for CCCS of Greater Atlanta. "Reducing or eliminating tobacco use can significantly increase the amount of money consumers have to use to pay off outstanding debt." PR Newswire Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tribtoday.com/page/content.detail/id/529474.html?nav=5017 http://tobacco.org/news/292381.html From the greatest generation to our current conflicts, the men and women who've served our country gather in private at our local VFW where those who gave continue giving. Last year alone, we donated more than $40,000 of our own money back into the charities of Warren. Though our doors are closed to the privacy of war veterans and supporters, we have been singled out and adjudicated by the city as a public entity under the state smoking ban. Mayor O'Brien and the Warren Health Department have fined us anonymously and spuriously in the thousands of dollars. These same monies, which I used to give to local charities such as the Salvation Army, Warren Family Mission, Hospice, Meals on Wheels and many others, now goes as fines through the health department. As Veterans Day approaches, on behalf of the men and women of Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1090 of Warren, I feel personally obligated as charities chairman to apologize to my fellow citizens. Our loss of revenue has caused me to protect our own interests, redirecting an open policy of charity to lesser amounts in a time when the funds are needed most. Warren Tribune Chronicle Sun, 08 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT