http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/internet.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://7thspace.com/headlines/405290/lcq8_sale_of_illicit_cigarettes.html http://tobacco.org/news/333499.html Following is a question by the Hon Wong Ting-kwong and a written reply by the Secretary for Financial Services and the Treasury, Professor K C Chan, in the Legislative Council today (February 8): Question: It has been reported that quite a number of traders are suspected of sellingduty-not-paid cigarettes (illicit cigarettes) through a major shopping web site on the Mainland; as the retail price of these illicit cigarettes is 60% lower than that of genuine duty-paid cigarettes, and traders can deliver the illicit cigarettes through courier companies to the buyers' residences in three days, thus quite a number of young people in Hong Kong are attracted to place orders. In this connection, will the Government inform this Council: . . . Reply: President, (a) The Customs and Excise Department (C&ED) has been closely monitoring illicit cigarette activities. Intelligence reveals that the sale of illicit cigarettes via internet is not common. Last year, C&ED received only a single complaint regarding such activities in the local market. C&ED will continue to monitor the situation so as to prevent such illegal activities. . . . (c) C&ED will take stringent enforcement actions against illicit cigarette activities. If the illicit cigarette activities involve Mainland websites, as these websites are operated outside Hong Kong, C&ED would refer such cases to the Mainland authorities for follow-up actions or appropriate preventive measures. Having regard to the mode of delivery adopted by such activities, C&ED will also step up inspection on import cargoes to prevent the smuggling of illegal commodities into Hong Kong. 7thSpace Interactive Hong Kong Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.thelocal.se/38960/20120207/ http://tobacco.org/news/333434.html A mother in Sweden has been charged with abuse and breach of alcohol laws after coaxing her 3-year-old to have beer and cigarettes. “If this gets on YouTube, I’ll swear I have no baby,” said the woman on mobile phone footage while lighting a cigarette for her 3–year-old son, according to local paper Sydsvenskan. The transcript from the two films, shot by a friend of the woman, then shows that the mother started urging her son on. “Take a toke then you little… inhale then… come on now. Inhale a little. Light it up now, for goodness sake, get the damned thing going.” According to the paper, others then gave the boy a can of beer. The mother did not protest. They started joking about what would happen if the social services found out. The mother allegedly told the boy not to tell them, called him a squealer and a snitch and flicked her fingers at his head. The film shows the young boy coughing and the group laughing. He is encouraged to blow smoke in his mother’s mouth and she does the same to him. She then scolds him for not handling the cigarette right, according to the paper. The Local Europe news@thelocal.se Sweden Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.upi.com/Top_News/World-News/2012/02/07/Mom-arrested-for-giving-toddler-cigarettes/UPI-80481328625229/?spt=hs&or=tn http://tobacco.org/news/333399.html A Swedish woman has been charged with child abuse for allegedly giving her 3-year-old son beer and cigarettes, police say. Sydsvenskan reported two cellphone videos show the woman, in the company of other adults, urging her son to smoke a cigarette. She allegedly told the child: "Take a toke then you little … inhale then … come on now. Inhale a little. Light up now, for goodness sake, get the damned thing going." . . . "If this gets on YouTube, I'll swear I have no baby," she was quoted as saying. UPI Sweden Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.handsoffourpacks.com/blog/hands-off-our-packs-off-to-a-promising-start/ http://tobacco.org/news/333255.html The Hands Off Our Packs petition against plain packaging got off to a great start this week with several hundred people signing up. The petition was mentioned in The Times business section. It was also reported by several trade publications including Off Licence News, Retail Times, Packaging Gazette and Tobacco Journal International and You can read about us on Talking Retail and Politics.co.uk. Elsewhere Spectator columnist and Telegraph blogger James Delingpole retweeted our tweet about the petition and there have been supportive comments on both Twitter and Facebook where Hands Off Our Packs has its own page. Bloggers too have come out in support. They include historian Chris Snowdon (who also blogged here on Monday) and the ever passionate Pat Nurse. Popular libertarian blogger Dick Puddlecote also spoke out. . . . Finally, we're delighted to report that the opposition - Plain Packs Protect - are following us on Twitter. This could get interesting! Hands off our Packs UK Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.indystar.com/article/20120201/PROMO/120201043/1001/NEWS http://tobacco.org/news/333111.html Indianapolis Star info@indystar.com Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.emcsmithsfalls.ca/20120202/news/Town seeks comments on smoke-free bylaw http://tobacco.org/news/333063.html EMC News - Are you fuming because of the proposed no-smoking bylaw or because of your exposure to second-hand smoke? Either way the Town of Smiths Falls wants to hear from you. An online public survey was launched by the Town of Smiths Falls on Jan. 20 that asks for the public's response to councillor Shawn Pankow's proposal to ban smoking in front of buildings, in parks and other public areas. Niki McKernan, assistant planner for the town, said the surveys are yielding some great comments from the public, but no clear consensus on the issue before Council. "In six days we've had almost 60 responses," McKernan reported. The online survey will be available until Feb. 24 at www.smithsfalls.ca. On the home page click on the 'Take Our Survey' button in the top left. Smiths Falls EMC Canada Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.upmc.com/MediaRelations/NewsReleases/2012/Pages/Hookah-Tobacco-Websites-Study.aspx http://tobacco.org/news/333053.html Of the growing number of businesses promoting hookah tobacco smoking on the Internet, fewer than 1 percent included a tobacco-related warning about the practice on the first page of their websites, according to a University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine study available online in the American Journal of Preventive Medicine. The study also found that, while cigarette-related web pages often are required to verify users’ ages, none of the hookah tobacco web pages required any type of age verification. Researchers say the findings suggest more health education may be valuable in countering misinformation about smoking tobacco through hookahs. Brian Primack, M.D., Ph.D., associate professor of medicine and pediatrics at Pitt’s School of Medicine, who led the study, said many websites stated or implied that smoking tobacco through the pipes was safer than cigarette smoking. In fact, only 26 percent of the websites included the word “tobacco” somewhere on opening web pages. “Hookah tobacco smoking is growing in popularity in the United States, but many people are unaware of the health risks. It’s believed that one session of smoking tobacco through a hookah can deliver about 50 to 100 times the smoke volume, 40 times the tar and twice the nicotine usually delivered by a single cigarette,” Dr. Primack said. “Hookah smoking has been linked to serious diseases like cancer and cardiovascular disease, and people should be aware of these risks.” University of Pittsburgh Schools of the Health Sciences Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.telegraph.co.uk/health/healthnews/9054243/Facebook-and-Twitter-more-addictive-than-tobacco-and-alcohol.html http://tobacco.org/news/333029.html Resisting the urge to check social networking sites for updates is more difficult than turning down a drink, according to a study of people's everyday desires. The survey of 250 people found that sleep and sex were the two things people most longed for during the day, but that the urges to keep on top of social networks and work were the hardest to resist. In contrast alcohol and tobacco prompted much lower levels of desire despite their reputation for being addictive. Researchers from the University of Chicago Booth School of Business in America fitted participants with devices which logged nearly 8,000 reports about people's everyday desires. Electronic Telegraph Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tobaccolawblog.com/2012/01/proliferation-of-remote-sales-from-abroad-an-unintended-consequence-of-the-pact-act/ http://tobacco.org/news/332962.html The 2010 Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act imposes a functional ban on remote sales of cigarettes. U.S. Mail cigarette deliveries are now prohibited. Remote sellers (if they can find a common carrier to transport their products) are now required to collect excise taxes and obtain licenses as if the transaction occurred entirely in the purchaser's state. (This provision has thus far been ruled unconstitutional.) More robust enforcement mechanisms of the Jenkins Act's reporting requirements better allow states to collect excise taxes from consumers who remain able to buy cigarettes remotely. Has all of this prevented consumers from buying cigarettes over the Internet? Apparently not. An January 16th article in the Idaho Statesman discusses the apparent proliferation of Internet sales by foreign entities. The article discusses an Idaho distributor who was able to buy a carton of cigarettes from Cyprus for $31.99 . . . One lesson from all this is clear. Raising cigarette taxes and eliminating economical tobacco sources will not stop consumers will smoking, nor will it necessarily drive consumers to higher-priced brands. Rather, it only increases incentives to break the law, and makes it harder for legitimate businesses to survive. Tobacco Law blog— Troutman Sanders LLP bryan.haynes@troutmansanders.com ([item undated] Troutman Sanders Tobacco Law Team) Wed, 01 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/ranchi/NIT-students-on-anti-tobacco-drive-in-schools/articleshow/11704578.cms http://tobacco.org/news/332925.html Students of the region's engineering cradle, the National Institute of Technology (NIT-Adityapur), have launched an anti-tobacco drive in schools. For starters, they visited Kerala Samajam Model School, Sakchi. "The drive was launched last week but owing to a mishap (drowning of three students) the campaign was suspended," said Abhishek Meena, coordinator of Sankalp, the social empowerment arm of NIT. "So far we have organized awareness sessions at DAV-NIT, Gayatri Public School and Subash Public School and got a good response from the school administration and students," said Meena, a final year civil engineering student. The campaign includes talks on the ill effects of tobacco consumption, pasting of informative posters and hosting of interaction sessions. "In the second phase, we will visit slum areas and hold awareness sessions from door to door," said the prospective engineer. The Times of India India Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.politics.co.uk/news/2012/01/31/plain-cigarette-packaging-campaigners-jostle-for-position http://tobacco.org/news/332919.html Initial skirmishes are taking place over plans to impose plain cigarette packaging, ahead of a public consultation this spring. Smokers' group Forest has set up an online petition for customers to lobby government ahead of the consultation, which is being backed by an alliance of tobacco control groups including Action on Smoking and Health (Ash). "Public consultations on tobacco control are effectively public sector consultations," said director Simon Clark. "Thousands of public workers are deployed to persuade MPs that there is overwhelming support for the latest tobacco control initiative. "All over the country groups funded by the taxpayer will be gathering signatures or signing their own petitions. We want to give opponents of pointless regulation the voice they are often denied." Politics.co.uk UK Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.scribd.com/document_downloads/direct/75813626?extension=pdf&ft=1327689966&lt=1327693576&uahk=NMO09ZhYZy+iPXb82zg1OBxETvI http://tobacco.org/news/332899.html Defendants have not responded to Plaintiffs Application for Preliminary Injunction, nor made any filing in this case, nor have Defendants appeared in this matter either individually or through counsel. UPON CONSIDERATION of the Motion, the pertinent portions of the Record, and being otherwise fully advised in the premises, the Court enters the following Order. I. BACKGROUND1 Plaintiff Philip Morris USA is the registered owner of numerous trademarks used in connection with the manufacture and distribution of cigarettes. Among these trademarks are trademarks associated with United States Patent and Trademark Office ("USPTO") No. 68,502, registered on April 14, 1908, and USPTO No. 938,510, registered on July 25, 1972 (collectively, "Philip Morris USA Marks"). Defendants are unknown individuals, residing in the People's Republic of China ("PRC") . . . Recently Plaintiff became aware of the potential sale of counterfeit versions of Plaintiff's products by Defendants. This is alleged to have been accomplished by Defendants through the operation of commercial Internet websites operating under domain names such as marlborocigarette.biz, marlboro-gold.biz, and marlborowholesale.com.2 In response to Defendants' alleged trademark infringement, Plaintiff retained Investigative Consultants, a licensed private investigative firm, to investigate the sale of counterfeit versions of Plaintiff's products by Defendants. . . . 5. The domain name Registrars for the Subject Domain Names are directed, to the extent it is not already done, to transfer to Plaintiff's counsel, for deposit with this Court, domain name certificates for the Subject Domain Names; 6. The Registrars and the top-level domain (TLD) Registries for the Subject Domain Names, upon receipt of this Preliminary Injunction shall, to the extent it is not already done, cause to be changed or change the registrar of record for the Subject Domain Names . . . Plaintiff may continue to enter the Subject Domain Names into Google's Webmaster Tools and cancel any redirection of the domains that have been entered there by Defendants which redirect traffic to the counterfeit operations to a new domain name and thereby evade the provisions of this Order; . . . 9. Upon receipt of notice of this Order, Western Union Financial Services, Inc. ("Western Union") shall divert and/or continue diverting all money transfers sent by United States consumers to: (1) Zhilin Jiang in Putian, China, with the date of birth and identification number provided by the recipient of MTCN 455-906-9491; (2) Haidong Huang in Putian, China, with the date of birth and identification number provided by the recipient of MTCN 853673-9729; and (3) Haidong Huang in Putian, China, with the date of birth and identification number provided by the recipient of MTCN 9464580813, and continue to hold such transfers until it receives further direction from the Court;4 10. In the event any money transfers are diverted in accordance with Paragraph 9 of this Order, Western Union shall be permitted to inform consumers who may contact Western Union about the transfers that the transfers are being held pursuant to a Court Order in Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Jiang Scribd China USA Mon, 12 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/289194/20120129/sms-text-services-teens-smoking.htm http://tobacco.org/news/332866.html Teens struggling with smoking addictions have a new gizmo guide to help them get rid of that addiction. Smokefree has launched its first text-only support program, which delivers a series of automated text messages directly to the smoker's mobile phone over a period of up to 12 weeks, designed to help them kick the butt. IBTimes Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.lexisnexis.com/Community/Mealeys/blogs/copyright__trademark_law/archive/2011/12/20/philip-morris-granted-injunction-against-online-counterfeit-cigarette-sellers.aspx http://tobacco.org/news/332746.html Finding that cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris USA Inc. has "a very strong probability of proving" that the operators of 60 websites are guilty of selling counterfeit cigarettes bearing Philip Morris' trademarks, a Florida federal judge on Dec. 12 granted the plaintiff's motion for a preliminary injunction (Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Zhilin Jiang, et al., No. 1:11-cv-24049, S.D. Fla.; 2011 U.S. Dist. LEXIS 142630). Full story on lexis.com Lexis Nexis Tue, 20 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.jdsupra.com/post/documentViewer.aspx?fid=8e151e66-4109-45fe-a95a-5aea0d3d606a http://tobacco.org/news/332745.html Philip Morris USA, Inc. v. Jiang, No. 11-cv-24049 (S.D. Fla. Dec. 12, 2011) by David M. Kelly As part of a preliminary injunction against a cybersquatter and counterfeiter, the Southern District of Florida ordered defendants’ domain name registrar to redirect the infringing domain names to a website displaying the injunction and other legal documents from the lawsuit. JD Supra, LLC Thu, 26 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT