http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/country/iraq.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://news.yahoo.com/iraq-parliament-bans-smoking-public-175418476.html http://tobacco.org/news/333107.html The Iraqi parliament on Thursday approved an anti-smoking law that stipulates a roughly $8.50 fine for smoking in public, in a country where such smoking is a fixture. "The law aims to protect citizens from the danger of tobacco and reduce the number of smokers by taking measures to combat this plague," the law reads. Smoking in government offices, schools, universities, hospitals, airports, offices, theatres, gathering places, hotels, restaurants, nightclubs, markets and petrol stations will now be banned. . . . One of its sponsors, health committee member Haidar al-Shamari, said in his remarks the law is based on Article 33 of the constitution, which says that "every individual has the right to live in safe environmental conditions." Agence France Presse Iraq Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/2011/12/30/world/middleeast/turkish-airstrikes-kill-35-along-smuggling-route.html?_r=1 http://tobacco.org/news/331208.html The Turkish military said Thursday that it had accidently killed at least 35 Turkish cigarette smugglers in airstrikes after mistaking them for separatist fighters in the Kurdish border region with Iraq, infuriating many of Turkey's long-oppressed Kurds. Most of the dead were between 17 and 20 years old. New York Times Turkey Iraq Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.smh.com.au/world/turkish-airstrike-error-kills-35-smugglers-20111230-1pf5n.html http://tobacco.org/news/331207.html Turkish warplanes mistakenly killed 35 smugglers and other villagers in an operation targeting Kurdish rebels in Iraq, a senior official said - one of the largest one-day civilian death tolls during Turkey's 27-year drive against the guerrillas. The killings spurred angry demonstrations in Istanbul on Thursday and several cities in the mostly Kurdish southeast, and were the latest incident of violence to undermine the Turkish government's efforts to appease the aggrieved Kurdish minority by granting it more cultural freedoms. Huseyin Celik, a spokesman for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's ruling party, said authorities were still trying to identify the dead, but that most were youngsters from an extended family in the mostly Kurdish-populated area that borders Iraq. Associated Press Turkey Iraq Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-16352388 http://tobacco.org/news/331206.html A senior Turkish official has acknowledged that 35 civilians were killed in an air strike near a Kurdish village close to the border with Iraq. Turkey's military said earlier it had targeted suspected Kurdish militants. But the victims of Wednesday night's attack are believed to have been villagers involved in smuggling cigarettes into Turkey from Iraq. Governing party vice-president Huseyin Celik said an investigation was looking into possible intelligence failures. The attack, on Wednesday night, took place near the village of Uludere in Sirnak province in south-eastern Turkey. . . . The pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party condemned the air strike as a "massacre", saying that all the victims were civilians aged between 16 and 20. "Those killed were young people who made a living from smuggling. There were people studying for university exams among them," said party leader Selahattin Demirtas. BBC Online Turkey Iraq Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.guardian.co.uk/world/2011/dec/29/turkish-air-strikes-iraq-border?newsfeed=true http://tobacco.org/news/331205.html The donkeys had been sent across Turkey's south-eastern border with Iraq to ferry vats of smuggled diesel and cigarettes. On Thursday when they came back it was with bodies wrapped in carpets lashed to their sides: the victims of a Turkish air raid that killed up to 35 villagers from this remote region. In a major embarrassment for Turkey's government, it was forced on Thursday to admit that the dead, originally described by the Turkish army as Kurdish separatist fighters from the banned PKK, were civilians, misidentified by Turkish drones and then bombed on Wednesday evening as they travelled close to the Iraqi border. A Turkish ruling party spokesman, Huseyin Celik, said the victims "were not terrorists" but smugglers, adding that officials were investigating possible intelligence failures that led to the strikes. He expressed regret for the deaths and suggested the government would compensate the victims. . . . According to local accounts, a group of people from the villages of Ortasu and Gulyazi were crossing the border from northern Iraq when they were blocked by soldiers on the path and then bombed at around 9.30pm on Wednesday. The attack, which Turkey's largest pro-Kurdish party called a "crime against humanity", sparked clashes between hundreds of stone-throwing protesters and police in Diyarbakir, the largest city in Turkey's restive mainly Kurdish south . . . Local politicians strongly denied that those killed were militants, insisting they were involved in smuggling instead. "We have 30 corpses, all of them are burned," said Fehmi Yaman, mayor of Uludere in Sirnak province. "The state knew that these people were smuggling in the region. This kind of incident is unacceptable. They were hit from the air." The Guardian reader@guardian.co.uk Turkey Iraq Thu, 29 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/top-stories/2011/12/30/35-kurdish-tobacco-smugglers-killed-in-turkish-air-attack-115875-23667423/ http://tobacco.org/news/331204.html At least 35 people were killed when Turkish jets launched an attack on tobacco smugglers who had been mistaken for Kurdish rebels. Officials are investigating possible intelligence failures that led to the strikes. Ruling party spokesman Huseyin Celik expressed regret for the deaths and suggested the government would compensate the victims. The Mirror Turkey Iraq Fri, 30 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.slate.com/blogs/weigel/2011/12/16/christopher_hitchens_1949_2011.html http://tobacco.org/news/330576.html Slate's "Fighting Words" columnist has died at age 62. As recently as three weeks ago, he was still filing columns for Slate. . . . 2007: Reason magazine, which pays me to report on politics (mostly Ron Paul, at that moment), brings Hitchens in for an event that he suggested -- an anti-Christmas Party. The staff inflates a Grinch, who bobs in and out of an equally inflatable chimney, and procures a bottle of Johnny Walker Black. Hitchens shows up early (we're a short walk from his house), smoking and wearing his leather bomber jacket even though it's utterly unfit for the cold weather. (I think this is the jacket he's wearing in a photo taken during the American liberation of Iraq, when he passed out cigarettes to the newly un-Baath'd Iraqis.) Slate daveweigel@gmail.com (David Weigel) Iraq Fri, 16 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.reuters.com/article/2011/05/26/uk-iraq-basra-ferries-idUSLNE74P00Y20110526 http://tobacco.org/news/320545.html For the hip and trendy in Iraq's southern oil city of Basra, a warm spring evening spent puffing a water pipe or drinking tea on a boat that was once used to smuggle oil is just the ticket. Ferries used to smuggle crude, weapons and people in the mayhem that followed the 2003 overthrow of dictator Saddam Hussein have been transformed into floating cafes as the shore of the Shatt al-Arab waterway reclaims its role as a nightlife hotspot. "This place where we are sitting used to be a place for gas and oil smuggling ferries. It was an isolated area," said Mustafa Sadiq, sitting with two friends on one of the boats. "But now it has become a very nice amusement place. We spend lovely evenings here." . . . As the smugglers took over the Basra shore, the smell of oil hung heavy in the air. The area was transformed by drugs, prostitution and the detritus of a thriving illegal trade. Now the smell of grilled meats and shisha, the aromatic flavoured tobacco smoked in hookah-style water pipes, wafts over the shore. "The Shatt al-Arab and its shore were considered to be one of the most important tourist places in Basra," said Zahra al-Bijari, head of tourism and heritage for the Basra provincial council. "Now the change we see in the use of these ferries serves Basra and ... raises the economic conditions in Basra." The resurrection of the cafes on the Shatt al-Arab is another sign of the halting restoration of normal life in Iraq, still beset by an Islamist insurgency. Reuters Iraq Thu, 26 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://edition.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/meast/05/19/iraq.smoking.ban/ http://tobacco.org/news/320136.html STORY HIGHLIGHTS * Iraqis question why the government is targeting smokers when insurgents still plague country * Iraqi lawmaker: "Even terrorist groups in the country have killed less Iraqis than smoking" * The Western-style law would ban smoking in most public places . . . Iraq's Parliament is considering a sweeping anti-smoking law that would ban lighting up in most public places, a proposal that has some questioning why the government is taking aim at smokers in a country where bombings and shootings are still common place. The Western-style law would ban smoking in most public places, force cigarette companies to print health warning labels and ban cigarette advertising, a tall order in a country where cigarettes cost as little as 33 cents a pack and which boasts the highest smoking rate in the Middle East. "Smoking a cigarette or hookah is the easiest thing to do in Iraq. Everything else is difficult, said 36-year-old Abu Ali, while sitting and smoking a hookah with friends at a sidewalk cafe in central Baghdad. "We are not like Americans or European people. Iraqis have many other concerns to deal with on a daily basis. A smoking law will be difficult to apply in Iraq." CNN Iraq Thu, 19 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/13/world/middleeast/13iraq.html http://tobacco.org/news/319818.html A pack of cigarettes costs as little as 25 cents. They are ubiquitous, sold from mud-brick huts along highways, from card tables set up on city sidewalks and at countless storefronts throughout Baghdad. And you can light up pretty much anywhere, from buses to elevators to hospitals. Even (or especially) inside the Iraqi Parliament. But following the lead of New York, London, Paris and scores of other Western cities, Iraqi lawmakers are now trying to push smoking to the margins of public life here, to the frustration of many of their constituents. On Sunday, they are set to consider a law that would ban smoking from schools, universities, government offices and a wide range of private businesses, including restaurants and cafes. Billboards advertising cigarettes, which wallpaper commercial districts of Baghdad, would be outlawed. And cigarette companies would be forced to print harsher warning labels. "This is an important issue," said Jawad al-Bazouni, a member of Parliament's Health Committee, which is pushing for the restrictions. "The citizen can complain to the smoker. He will get the law on his side, and it will be reflected in the public health." New York Times Iraq Thu, 12 May 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.rudaw.net/english/kurds/3606.html http://tobacco.org/news/318962.html There are no ashtrays to be found anywhere in Paryawla. The forty families who live here have made it a No Smoking village and this is a law that hasn't been broken even once in the past eighteen years. Ibrahim Kareem, is a member of the village council. He is proud and happy with his village's commitment to this unwritten decree and he attributes this achievement to both elders and youth alike. . . . Paryawla is located in the heart of an expanse of farmlands in the Garmiyan region of Iraqi Kurdistan. Its residents are farmers and cattle herders. Passing through its narrow alleys one wouldn't spot even a single cigarette butt. The villagers say that there had been smokers in Paryawla for generations but eighteen years ago they made a decision to quit smoking and ban it forever. . . . When I got home, my child told me, 'You did not have money for my biscuits, but you got yourself cigarettes." said Kareem. These words deeply touched Kareem, he threw the cigarettes on the ground and crushed them under his feet and never smoked again. . . . If a visitor lights a cigarette in Paryawla he will instantly and politely be reminded of the no smoking tradition. Rudaw Iraq Tue, 19 Apr 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.middle-east-online.com/english/features/?id=40198 http://tobacco.org/news/305268.html A smoking ban in Qadisiyah province has been dismissed as trivial and unrealistic by locals who are now questioning politicians’ priorities in an area that suffers a widespread lack of basic services. The provincial council voted on July 1 to prohibit smoking in any government office or building on the grounds of protecting public health. The new sanction carries a fine of up to 25,000 dinar (21 US dollars) for violators. “It’s not right to have non-smokers exposed to deadly smoke from smokers,” said Jabeer al-Jebori, head of the Qadisiyah council. “The resolution will help limit the spread of smoking in the province. Our goal is to have clean air inside government buildings to protect our employees’ health.” Jebori added that designated smoking rooms will be set up in government buildings and that “poor people, orphans and [hospital] patients” will be given some leniency on fines. Middle East Online Iraq Mon, 26 Jul 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www2.eprisenow.com/ent/news/local/article/ozark_shop_collects_cigars_for_soldiers/161329/ http://tobacco.org/news/303382.html The war in Iraq was brought closer to home for owners of a local cigar shop when a military customer deployed there. Chief Warrant Officer Rob Way and the owners of Cigars and Such in Ozark met while Way was stationed at Fort Rucker from April 2008 until March of this year. . . . "The area in Baghdad I am stationed at actually has a few cigar clubs," Way said. A couple of the clubs meet weekly, he said. "The largest club meets every two weeks at different locations; each time they meet they provide food and live music." The Varneys decided to find a way to show their support for the military by doing what they know best. "We decided to ship cigars to military personnel stationed overseas Rob Varney said. "That's how the idea for 'Cigars for Soldiers' was born." The staff at Cigars and Such is planning an event at their shop on the square in Ozark on July 1 from 6 p.m. until 9 p.m. A representative from Perdomo Cigars will be on site that evening and has made a generous donation to "Cigars for Soldiers," Varney said. The plan is to fill a waterproof, airtight case that was donated by the Fort Rucker Dive Club and ship it to Way by July 2. Varney said he was overwhelmed by the support for the project. "We have people that don't even smoke coming in to buy boxes to send," he said. Enterprise Ledger mmann@eprisenow.com (Michelle Mann) Iraq Sun, 20 Jun 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.onlineprnews.com/news/23200-1267063122-smokeless-cigarettes-4u-is-looking-for-active-duty-soldiers-in-iraq-to-partner-with.html http://tobacco.org/news/297495.html SmokelessCigarettes4U.com is actively searching for active duty soldiers in Iraq to offer our products to at discounted prices. We need a contact to coordinate shipping samples of our product to for your soldiers to try. We are aware that over 40% of US soldiers smoke and in a combat situation this can be dangerous if not deadly. Traditional cigarettes burn tobacco which can easily give your position away from the glow of the ember and the smell of burning tobacco. The death toll over there has us truly concerned and we want all our troops to come home safely. We want to do our part to support our troops and help them come home safely. If we can help save that 40% that smoke we would feel like we are doing our part. Online PR News SmokelessCigarettes4U@hot.rr.com Iraq Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5jooQ92KT9J7K4gU9woIaJStb8ffw http://tobacco.org/news/292789.html Arnold Schwarzenegger flew in to Iraq on a morale-boosting visit for US troops on Monday, drawing cheers from servicemen and women, some of whom were lucky enough to be gifted a cigar. Agence France Presse Iraq Mon, 16 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT