http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/CT.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.rep-am.com/articles/2008/08/31/commentary/363170.txt http://tobacco.org/news/270530.html an Internet site that collects published data, tells us the use of tobacco goes back centuries. However, it was near the end of the 19th century that cigarettes became popular and their use widespread. According to the article, smoking reached a peak in 1965, when polls showed 52 percent of men and 32 percent of women in the United States smoked cigarettes. But society has made progress against smoking. A number of factors can be credited. . . . Higher taxes may have given smokers reason to quit, but in my estimation, they may have been more influenced by the wakes they may have been attending of relatives, friends and neighbors who fell victim to cancer caused by cigarettes. Waterbury Republican-American Sun, 31 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2008/08/22/slow_burn_for_a_cash_crop/?p1=Well_MostPop_Emailed6 http://tobacco.org/news/270338.html Despite well-documented health concerns about tobacco use, consumption of expensive cigars began to surge in the 1990s, and demand remains high today. But tobacco is also one of the most expensive crops to produce. Worried farmers say those costs are going up fast, raising concerns that they will not be able to fend off developers' bulldozers much longer. The energy crisis has sent the price of diesel fuel for their tractors soaring. Propane gas used to help dry the leaves in the long tobacco sheds is way up, and organic fertilizer prices have nearly doubled in a year's time. Farmers will have to start getting more for their crops, warned Kathi Martin, manager of H.F. Brown Inc., one of Connecticut's oldest tobacco-growing operations, "or we won't be here next year." Growers are also struggling to find the skilled workers necessary to pick the leaves . . . More than two-thirds of the crop comes from Connecticut, but Martin believes the unrelenting encroachment of new housing is making her state less hospitable for tobacco farmers. "It's very farm friendly" in Massachusetts, she said. Boston Globe Fri, 22 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.law.com/jsp/article.jsp?id=1202423771885 http://tobacco.org/news/270017.html The Connecticut Supreme Court has ruled that a laborer's lung damage from smoking can be segregated from respiratory problems caused by asbestos work, and his workers' compensation award reduced by the portion of his ailment caused by cigarettes. Workers' comp plaintiffs lawyers say that before the decision in George Deschenes v. Transco, such blended injuries had consistently resulted in full compensation. The justices reached their conclusion after a long struggle. The ruling, to be officially released this week, was a reconsideration of a decision issued in the same case last year. The justices tightened some language after considering amicus briefs by lawyers who represent injured workers. . . . "For the court to judicially create this apportionment where none had been before really caught the attention of a lot of people," said Nathan J. Shafner, of Groton, Conn.'s Embry & Neusner, who co-authored one of four amicus briefs in the case, on behalf of the New England Health Care Employees Union. "We saw this as more than a slippery slope -- this was a runaway train." Justice Flemming L. Norcott Jr., writing for a unanimous court, saw the question as one that had never been asked before. Whether the Workers' Compensation Act requires official consideration of two separate but concurrent illnesses -- one occupational, the other not -- is a question of first impression, he wrote, and one "that requires us to fill a gap in our statutes." . . . there was too little information in the court record for the Supreme Court to issue a final ruling. So the case was sent back for further legal proceedings before a different commissioner. Law.com Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.stamfordadvocate.com/localnews/ci_9792163 http://tobacco.org/news/268298.html "There's smoking restrictions and pressure from those around you who don't want you to smoke," said Mark Rozelle, a spokesman for Stamford-based UST. "I think what's happening is as more people switch to smokeless tobacco, it becomes a socially acceptable alternative to smoking." In a recent letter published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Gregory Connolly, director of Harvard University's Tobacco Control Research program, cited a reduction in cigarette sales, but an increase in the use of alternative tobacco products such as snuff, small cigars and roll-your-own cigarettes. Americans bought 17.4 billion packs of cigarettes in 2007, down from 21.1 billion in 2000, according to the letter. During the same period, sales of snuff, small cigars, and roll-your-own cigarettes increased by an equivalent of 1.1 billion packs. . . . UST officials and representatives from the cigar lobby, dismiss the idea that smokers are turning to other tobacco products just because the price of cigarettes are rising. "Price has the least to do with it," Rozelle said. UST and other smokeless tobacco have used millions of dollars to promote their products to the smoking community, letting them know that there are other alternatives out there to cigarettes, Rozelle said. UST has invested $100 million annually to these advertising efforts since 2001, Rozelle added. . . . Owners of small cigar and tobacco shops in lower Fairfield County are unsure if Connolly's numbers are translating to higher sales for them. Stamford Advocate Sat, 05 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/crime/x222990995/Norwich-police-arrest-10-for-selling-tobacco http://tobacco.org/news/267313.html Norwich police issued infractions to 10 people, including one minor, for sale of tobacco to a minor during a three-hour period Wednesday afternoon. Norwich Bulletin abuse@norwichbulletin.com Thu, 19 Jun 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.norwichbulletin.com/news/x2031258212/Peachtree-ruled-accidental http://tobacco.org/news/266071.html Officials say discarded smoking materials sparked the April 26 blaze that destroyed much of the 120-unit Peachtree Apartment complex and displaced more than 150 residents. On Wednesday, the six-alarm fire at 2 Westledge Drive officially was ruled accidental. No criminal charges are expected, Norwich Fire Marshal Kenneth Scandariato said. . . . A first-floor tenant admitted smoking in the area where the fire started, which Scandariato said was at the base of the deck of a rear apartment of building No. 14. Conditions were ripe for a fire. . . . "Unbelievable," was the first reaction of former Peachtree tenant Mark White, 51, when he heard what caused the fire. . . . "If it was just someone who finished a cigarette and flicked it off the deck -- I'm pretty damn angry about that. That area always collects not only pine needles but leaves." Norwich Bulletin gasmith@norwichbulletin.com (GREG SMITH Norwich Bulletin) Thu, 29 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.zwire.com/site/news.cfm?newsid=19691895&BRD=1653&PAG=461&dept_id=12717&rfi=6 http://tobacco.org/news/265373.html Fairfield teens and school faculty agree that teen smoking is on a decline. . . . "From an observational standpoint, over last 10 years, I have noticed a decrease in the number of kids who are smoking," Fairfield Warde High School Principal James Coyne said. "There are very few incidents of smoking in the school building." Coyne said smoking is addressed in the health curriculum in Fairfield public schools. "It is addressed in curricular ways," he said. "The health curriculum addresses it. Also, several students, through the Young American Cancer Society, take on the topic in our schools." . . . "Teen Smoke Stoppers," a smoking prevention and cessation program, sponsored by St. Vincent's Medical Center and "Swim Across the Sound," is offered free of charge in Fairfield public schools. Fairfield Minuteman news@fairfieldminuteman.com (AUDREY ADADE, Reporter) Thu, 15 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.connpost.com/localnews/ci_9220201 http://tobacco.org/news/265064.html In his latest crusade against teenage smoking, Attorney General Richard Blumenthal is butting heads with Stamford-based UST Inc. Blumenthal wants Congress to add tobacco to the list of items banned from mail delivery, a step he claims would effectively block Internet sales of cigarettes to minors and those seeking to evade paying state taxes. UST, the world's leading producer of moist smokeless tobacco products, is lobbying against such a ban. The holding company and its public affairs arm reported spending $650,000 in the first quarter of 2008 on lobbying Congress, according to a quarterly report recently filed with the U.S. Senate. Although $650,000 may seem large, it represents only a small fraction of special interest lobbying. . . . Beyond the sale of cigarettes to minors, Blumenthal said the Internet is costing states tax revenues, particularly those that have enacted high taxes like Connecticut. The state's $2-a-pack tax is one of the highest in the nation. Prudential Financial Research estimated that states lost $254.7 million in excise taxes in 2002 as a result of Internet cigarette sales. Connecticut Post Sun, 11 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=8b390ecb-7873-47de-947f-e503448ec2e3 http://tobacco.org/news/264827.html Hartford - The House of Representatives will not take up a proposal that could have extended the state smoking ban to the Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun casinos, the chamber's leader said Tuesday. One day before the adjournment deadline of the 2008 regular session, the decision by the House Democrats effectively killed the bill, which had been aggressively sought by some labor groups but opposed by other unions and by the owners of the two casinos, the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes. In a closed-door meeting of the House Democratic caucus, opinion had run nearly two-to-one against the bill, said House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, who had previously expressed skepticism about the proposal but agreed to consider a vote on it amid fierce lobbying from the United Auto Workers union. The Day t.mann@theday.com ( Ted Mann Day Staff Writer, Politics ) Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.detnews.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20080501/OPINION03/805010306 http://tobacco.org/news/264678.html Loath to tax the citizenry based on income, many states have increasingly turned to cigarette smokers and gamblers for revenues. Gamblers are often smokers, and both groups tend to be of modest or low income. . . . And when states ban smoking in all entertainment venues but the casino, they end up securing an especially dependable revenue stream. As public policy goes, this means of taxation is highly unattractive. After all, they are funneling their smoker population into another highly taxed and unhealthy activity. As an added anti-social bonus, they discriminate against other businesses in search of the same entertainment dollar. But the casino industry knows that its profits have become oh-so-important to the gambling-addicted states and localities. We're partners now. That mentality explains how Donald Trump could stand up a few days ago and with a straight face call on 11 casinos to unite in a lawsuit against Atlantic City. . . . A similar conversation is going on in Connecticut. . . . Perhaps someone would like to tote up how many jobs would be created -- at the pubs, fish restaurants and pool halls in New London and elsewhere in the region -- if the smokers who had left them for the casinos suddenly started returning. Or a general accounting of how many jobs elsewhere in the economy have vanished because of casino competition. Detroit News fharrop@projo.com (Froma Harrop) Thu, 01 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/05/05/connecticut/doc481bc0ce3f40e354633178.txt http://tobacco.org/news/264677.html About two hours before the state Senate approved a bill that would lead to a ban on smoking at the two Indian casinos in southeastern Connecticut, a decision Friday night by majority Democrats in the House of Representatives had appeared to kill the measure. The Senate passed the bill 24-11. House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, moments after announcing that Democrats had ended efforts to negotiate a revised 2009 state budget with Gov. M. Jodi Rell, said it wouldn't be wise to consider the casino measure in the House since it could cost a deficit-plagued state budget more revenue. When asked whether it would make sense to vote on the casino measure in the House, Amann responded "I would say the answer is 'no.'" Manchester Journal-Inquirer Sat, 03 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.boston.com/news/local/connecticut/articles/2008/05/02/senate_passes_casino_smoking_ban_bill/ http://tobacco.org/news/264674.html Despite opposition from the state's two federally recognized tribes, the legislature is moving ahead with a bill that bans smoking in their casinos. After a lengthy debate that included a two-hour Republican filibuster, the Senate voted 24-11 to create a committee to work with the Mashantucket Pequots and Mohegans to negotiate a smoking ban next year. The bill moves to the House of Representatives. But House Speaker Jim Amann said he likely won't bring it up for a vote. AP Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.journalinquirer.com/articles/2008/05/02/news/doc481bd36d6f3a1591560503.txt http://tobacco.org/news/264591.html About two hours before the state Senate approved a bill that would lead to a ban on smoking at the two Indian casinos in southeastern Connecticut, a decision late Friday by majority Democrats in the House of Representatives had appeared to kill the measure. The Senate passed the bill 24-11. House Speaker James A. Amann, D-Milford, moments after announcing that Democrats had ended efforts to negotiate a revised 2009 state budget with Gov. M. Jodi Rell, said it wouldn't be wise to consider the casino measure in the House since it could cost a deficit-plagued state budget more revenue. When asked whether it would make sense to vote on the casino measure in the House, Amann said "I would say the answer is 'no.'" Manchester Journal-Inquirer Sat, 03 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=ebe23c8c-7402-41cc-887a-cc030e94a7e3 http://tobacco.org/news/264579.html cratic leaders in the Senate moved a controversial bill to ban smoking in the state's Indian casinos off the foot of the calendar Wednesday night but took no further action late that evening. A vote on the bill could come as soon as today, said Sen. Mary Ann Handley, D-Manchester, who supports extending the ban. The bill would appoint a committee to negotiate an extension of Connecticut's 2003 ban on smoking in bars, restaurants and other workplaces to Mohegan Sun and Foxwoods Resort Casino, the two tribal-owned casinos, which are currently exempt. The Day t.mann@theday.com (Ted Mann Day Staff Writer, Politics) Thu, 01 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/re.aspx?re=873ea09c-bbbe-41ef-a22e-b565ffd28479 http://tobacco.org/news/264576.html The state Senate had taken no action by Thursday evening on a bill extending the ban on indoor smoking to Connecticut's two tribal casinos. The bill, which had once seemed stalled, was revived from the foot of the Senate calendar Wednesday, to the displeasure of the Mashantucket Pequot and Mohegan tribes, which own Foxwoods Resort Casino and Mohegan Sun, as well as many area legislators. Both tribes have insisted that they will negotiate on the possible extension of the existing ban to the casinos only if legislative efforts are abandoned. Also opposed to the legislation are most of the lawmakers from the southeastern Connecticut towns surrounding Foxwoods and Mohegan Sun, who have urged leadership and Gov. M. Jodi Rell to negotiate a settlement on smoking, rather than pass a law they fear would poison relations with the tribal governments. The Day t.mann@theday.com (Ted Mann , Published on 5/2/2008) Fri, 02 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT