http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/NY.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.watertowndailytimes.com/article/20120206/NEWS05/702069918/0/FRONTPAGE http://tobacco.org/news/333635.html Massena Housing Authority officials will hold a public hearing later this month to receive comments about a proposed change to smoking regulations that would require residents who live in Victory Apartments or high-rise apartments at Laurel and Grasmere terraces to close their doors if they light up. Executive Director Patrick J. Regan said the authority wants to ensure that others in the apartment complexes with hallways aren't exposed to secondhand smoke. The policy would not apply to residents of family housing, where there are doors that open to the outside. Watertown Daily Times Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2012-02-09/pepsico-unions-seek-nlrb-help-to-fight-50-tax-on-fat-smoking.html http://tobacco.org/news/333631.html Teamster union members at PepsiCo (PEP) Inc. in upstate New York are seeking National Labor Relations Board help to fight the company’s health-care policy that charges employees $50 a month when they smoke or have medical issues that may trigger weight gain. Three International Brotherhood of Teamsters locals, representing about 300 drivers, sales agents and warehouse workers in Binghamton, Latham and Syracuse, complained to the labor board in October. PepsiCo is hindering the union’s effort to shop for a health plan without a “sin tax,” said Ozzie Martucci, secretary-treasurer of Teamsters Local 669. “We’re against that type of tax, frankly,” Martucci said yesterday in a phone interview. “It feels wrong to tax workers if they are overweight or happen to have diabetes or smoke, and we wanted to look elsewhere for different insurance.” PepsiCo (PEP) workers can avoid the fee if they join programs to stop smoking or lose weight, said Dave DeCecco, a company spokesman. “These programs enable our associates and their families to live a healthier lifestyle,” he said. The fee is applied to smokers, as well as to workers who have diabetes, hypertension, high blood pressure or asthma, conditions that often lead to being overweight, he said. Bloomberg News hrosenkrantz@bloomberg.net (Holly Rosenkrantz) Thu, 09 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.silive.com/news/index.ssf/2012/02/city_targets_another_roll-your.html http://tobacco.org/news/333515.html STATEN ISLAND, N.Y. -- It's round two of Mayor Michael Bloomberg versus the city's roll-your-own cigarette stores, with the city announcing yesterday that they've filed a lawsuit seeking to close yet another store on Staten Island. The city Law Department filed suit yesterday against Victory Smoke Shop at 1765 Victory Blvd. in Castleton Corners, as well as another store in Manhattan, alleging that the shop evades cigarette taxes by providing its customers with loose tobacco, paper tubes, and access to a machine where they can make their own cigarettes. Customers at Victory Smoke Shop can buy what amounts to a carton of cigarettes, or 10 packs, for roughly $30. A store-bought pack would otherwise cost $10 to $14 for a pack of 20 cigarettes, after customers pay the $1.50 city tax and $4.35 state tax. The federal lawsuit comes just weeks after a similar store, Island Smokes in Great Kills, signed a consent degree to shut its business down in the face of a similar lawsuit. Staten Island Live Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.pressconnects.com/article/20120208/VIEWPOINTS02/202080301/Guest-Viewpoint-Anti-smoking-funds-should-increased-not-slashed?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CFRONTPAGE%7Cs http://tobacco.org/news/333492.html The New York State Tobacco Control Program has been working for years with one hand tied behind its back because of inadequate funding and seen some success in spite of it. Now, Gov. Andrew Cuomo has included a $5 million cut to the program in his 2012-13 proposed state budget. There are many things that seem unfair about the ongoing cuts to this vital program. It's unfair that the governor proposes cutting anti-tobacco programs. After all, the state raises lots of money from tobacco revenues and Cuomo has proposed increasing the tax on loose tobacco (a good idea). As a result, more people will want to quit smoking because of higher prices, but they'll have fewer resources to help them do it. It's unfair that smokers pay into the state's coffers in the form of the highest cigarette tax in the nation ($4.35 per pack), to the tune of $1.5 billion this year, but get little in terms of services when they want to quit. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://thedailynewsonline.com/news/article_3b2a8908-5215-11e1-a35c-001871e3ce6c.html http://tobacco.org/news/333475.html The rebirth of the Batavia Downs hit another milestone when an expanded smoking room opened Friday at the historic race track on Park Road. Contractors turned a bar near the clubhouse into an expanded indoor smoking room, a $100,000 project that allowed the Downs to increase the number of gaming machines by 32, the facility’s biggest expansion since it opened with 586 video gaming machines on May 18, 2005. Batavia Downs was up to 608 machines until Friday, when the gaming floor opened with 640. The gaming machines in the smoking room tend to triple the revenue of those outside the smoking room. The 32 additional machines are projected to produce about $5 million in profits this year, said Michael Kane, president and CEO of Western Regional Off-Track Betting Corp., owner of Batavia Downs. Batavia Daily News trivers@batavianews.com (Tom Rivers) Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nydailynews.com/news/crime/pleads-guilty-conspiracy-charges-gun-cigarette-smuggling-ring-article-1.1018115?localLinksEnabled=false http://tobacco.org/news/333468.html The ringleader of a gang of active and retired cops pleaded guilty Monday to conspiring to transport illegal guns, cigarettes and slot machines across state lines. Disgraced NYPD officer William Masso, 48, pleaded guilty in Manhattan Federal Court in exchange for a prison sentence that could put him behind bars for five to six years when he is sentenced June 15. He also agreed to forfeit $50,000 in illicit proceeds. Masso was one of eight current and former cops arrested, along with four others, after a two-year FBI sting. He and the others were busted last October on charges of bringing weapons, slot machines and cigarettes across state lines to line their pockets. "William Masso brought dishonor and disrepute to his fellow officers and was willing to endanger others for his own personal gain," said Manhattan U.S. Attorney Preet Bharara. New York Daily News Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nydailynews.com/new-york/city-files-lawsuit-city-smokes-brooklyn-staten-island-victory-smoke-shop-article-1.1018260?localLinksEnabled=false http://tobacco.org/news/333467.html City lawyers Monday filed suit against City Smokes in Brooklyn and Victory Smoke Shop in Staten Island, arguing that they evade taxes by selling paper tubes and loose tobacco — taxed at a much lower level than prepackaged cigarettes. “These legal actions are part of our ongoing efforts against businesses that think they can invent loopholes to skirt New York City’s tough cigarette laws,” said Corporation Counsel Michael Cardozo. New York Daily News Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://gothamist.com/2012/02/07/roll_your_own_cigarette_crackdown.php http://tobacco.org/news/333426.html The city's Law Department has filed two more lawsuits against stores that exploit a perceived loophole in the city's obscene cigarette tax law. You'll recall that New York Smokes, a retail tobacco outlet on Staten Island, was making bank selling customers loose tobacco, which is taxed at a far lower rate than cigarettes. Customers would then roll their own smokes in the store using cigarette stuffing machines, walking out with a pack for about $6--far less than the average $13 price. But then the city cracked down on that enterprise, and now the guv'ment is going after two more shops. . . . Michael McGowan, the owner of Victory Tobacco, tells us he plans to fight the city. "We're not doing anything illegal," insists McGowan. "Why did they give us a license if we're illegal? We just rent machines so people can make their own cigarettes. We do not manufacture cigarettes. And the excise taxes are paid by the supplier of the tobacco, Fresh Choice tobacco." The Gothamist [Blog] tips@gothamist.com (John Del Signore) Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cbs6albany.com/news/child-1290250-down-edward.html http://tobacco.org/news/333390.html FORT EDWARD, Police say a child playing with a lighter and cigarettes is to blame for a fire that left six people homeless in Fort Edward in Washington County. WRGB TV-6 / cbs6 Albany news@cbs6albany.com Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://portchester.patch.com/articles/should-port-chester-ban-smoking-in-open-air-spaces http://tobacco.org/news/333380.html According to the Port Chester Community Cares Coalition Youth Committee, the answer is yes. Citing data from a school survey, five Port Chester High School students said they believe the parks are "underutilized because of people smoking in them." Prohibiting smoking in parks would eliminate the possibility of second-hand smoke for people using the parks, and parks staff wouldn't have the extra burden of cleaning up discarded cigarettes, senior Kyle Thomas told trustees. The group cited existing laws in cities like White Plains, where smokers can be fined for puffing in public spots Patch.org nik@patch.com (Nik Bonopartis) Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.lohud.com/usatoday/article/38506959?odyssey=mod%7Cnewswell%7Ctext%7CNews%7Cp http://tobacco.org/news/333326.html Police say a child playing with a lighter and cigarettes is to blame for a fire that left six people homeless in Fort Edward in Washington County. No injuries were reported in the apartment house fire Saturday morning. Washington County Sheriff's Investigator Tony LeClaire tells the Glens Falls Post-Star (http://bit.ly/zYeGB9 ) that a child in one of the apartments got up before his parents and was playing with a lighter when he ignited curtains. New York Journal News metro@lohud.com Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.timesunion.com/local/article/Cohoes-fatal-fire-caused-by-smoking-3050512.php http://tobacco.org/news/333314.html A 70-year-old woman died Saturday night after she likely fell asleep while smoking in her living room. Firefighters responded to 570 Saratoga St. around 11:30 p.m. and soon found Beverly Redcross on the floor halfway between the front and back door of the two-family home, said Cohoes Fire Chief Joseph Fahd. Fahd said Redcross was a heavy smoker, and there was extensive fire damage around the couch in the living room. Albany Times-Union Sun, 05 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cnycentral.com/news/story.aspx?id=715433 http://tobacco.org/news/333305.html The ads may be difficult to watch, but American Cancer Society Community Mission Manager Jason Warchal says they do get people's attention. "If you do smoke, if you do use tobacco, these are the consequences of it," says Warchal. "Many people are diagnosed daily with lung cancer and other types of deadly diseases that are attributed to tobacco use." According to statistics from the American Cancer Society, about 300 people die from lung and bronchus cancer in Onondaga County each year. Many of those deaths can be prevented. Leave your comments below or join the conversation on our Facebook page. What do you think? CNY Central jcain@cnycentral.com (Jessica Cain) Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.pressconnects.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=2012202030305 http://tobacco.org/news/333303.html I would like to address online comments made in response to the Dec. 24 letter to the editor titled "Tobacco prevention funds pay off in time." A common misconception is that smoking pays for "kiddy health care." "Kiddy health care" is what some people call the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) . . . In contrast to the $2.2 billion that the state received from tobacco in 2010, that same year $8.2 billion was spent in New York to cover health care costs directly caused by smoking, with $5.4 billion coming from the Medicaid program. If smoking ceased and we no longer used Medicaid money to treat smoking-related diseases, New York would have $3.2 billion more to fund "kiddy health care," not the other way around. The current budget of the New York State Tobacco Control Program is $41.4 million. This represents less than half of what the program received four years ago. Although New York has raised $10.5 billion in tobacco revenue over the past six years, less than 4 percent has been spent on tobacco control programs. . . . The key message is that tobacco use not only takes a terrible toll on the health of our family and friends, it also costs taxpayers a large amount of money. Each household in New York has a tax burden of $884 per year in state and federal taxes from smoking-caused government expenditures — a fact too often forgotten when people think only of the revenue that tobacco provides. Binghamton Press & Sun-Bulletin Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://gothamist.com/2012/02/03/someone_actually_got_ticketed_for_s.php http://tobacco.org/news/333223.html a tipster tells us she got a $50 ticket for smoking a cigarette in Washington Square Park recently. "I really feel like this news should be out there because IT IS RIDICULOUS & people should know. I did some research into this and no one I know has heard of this happening," she writes. Read her whole account of the ticketing below: I got a $50 ticket for smoking in Washington Square Park. I really feel like this news should be out there because IT IS RIDICULOUS & people should know. I did some research into this and no one I know has heard of this happening. I was sitting with a girlfriend on a bench on the north side edge of the park at lunch, not many people were around (So I know it was not reported by a passerby). A parks guard (i don't even know what they are called) approached me, told me I was not allowed to smoke and took out his ticket book thing right away. I was respectful, as I always am to working people who are doing their job, and asked him to please not ticket me. . . . The worst part about is that when I pointed out to this asshole parks guy (nope even a cop!) that a large number of the chess touts in the NW corner of the park, who, incidentally, were looking on in amusement, were also smoking he ignored me. It was enraging. . . . Those regular chess players of the park have been notoriously defiant when it comes to the smoking ban, as one man told The Villager last year: "You could ask me to put it out and if I like the way you ask me, I might put it out. I'm just out here enjoying myself. I'm not a criminal so I don't care what they do." We've contacted the Parks Department for comment on whether that has been an uptick in ticketing people for smoking in the parks. The Gothamist [Blog] tips@gothamist.com (Ben Yakas) Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT