http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/RI.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2012/02/06/ri_gov_wants_to_add_tobacco_tax_investigators/ http://tobacco.org/news/333406.html Nearly three months after police busted a cigarette-smuggling ring that authorities say cost Rhode Island $5.7 million in tax revenue, Gov. Lincoln Chafee wants to increase the number of investigators working on a tobacco enforcement task force from one to five. Chafee's budget plan estimates that spending $156,220 to add four investigators would boost tobacco tax collections by $2.9 million. Chafee is also calling on lawmakers to increase the state's cigarette tax from $3.46 per pack to $3.50 per pack to boost revenues by $1.6 million. The state has the second-highest tobacco tax in the nation. All together, the plan would increase tobacco revenue by $7.1 million to nearly $136 million in the fiscal year that starts on July 1. The proposal for more investigators comes as administrative hearings are being scheduled for 17 stores where authorities allege contraband cigarettes tied to a smuggling ring were being resold. The Division of Taxation says it is prohibited by law from identifying the stores or specifying what action it wants to take against them. Associated Press Mon, 06 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.itemlive.com/articles/2012/01/31/updates/updates08.txt http://tobacco.org/news/333012.html A not-guilty plea has been entered for a Cambridge man accused of participating in a contraband cigarette ring that cost Rhode Island an estimated $5.7 million in tax revenue. Court records show the not-guilty plea was entered by the court on Mohamad Mohamad's behalf on Tuesday in Providence. Associated Press Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://news.providencejournal.com/politics/2012/01/lawmakers-to-mull-smoking-ban-at-ri-beaches-parks.html http://tobacco.org/news/332443.html Public parks and beaches could join the list of places in Rhode Island where smoking is prohibited under a bill to be considered by state lawmakers. Rep. Richard Morrison, D-Bristol, says he has written legislation to ban smoking in public parks, pedestrian malls and public beaches. Morrison says it makes no sense to allow smoking in areas set aside for public recreation. Associated Press Fri, 20 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.boston.com/news/local/rhode_island/articles/2012/01/13/providence_bans_sale_of_flavored_tobacco/ http://tobacco.org/news/331985.html The city of Providence has banned the sale of flavored tobacco and made illegal promotional strategies that cut the cost of cigarettes. Mayor Angel Taveras (tuh-VEHR'-us) signed ordinances recently passed by the City Council that ban the sale of tobacco in flavors such as strawberry, chocolate and blueberry. The orders also prohibit pricing strategies like "buy one, get one free." City officials say young people in Providence smoke at a significantly higher rate than youth in Rhode Island as a whole. Associated Press Fri, 13 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.therepublic.com/view/story/be280b94ec7f47c2865074d45466f010/RI--Cigarette-Smuggling-Ring/ http://tobacco.org/news/331649.html A Massachusetts man accused of leading a $5.7 million Rhode Island cigarette smuggling ring says his court-ordered electronic monitoring is making it difficult for him to get part-time dentistry work. Mohamad Mohamad, of Cambridge, Mass., says in a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Providence that he can't take temporary work as a dental assistant because the electronic monitoring ordered as part of his home detention requires 48 hours-notice. Mohamad Mohamad, of Cambridge, Mass., says in a motion filed in U.S. District Court in Providence that he can't take temporary work as a dental assistant because the electronic monitoring ordered as part of his home detention requires 48 hours-notice. Mohamad says he can't accept temporary dental assistant assignments because he gets less than 24 hours-notice for work. Associated Press Fri, 06 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.browndailyherald.com/r-i-anti-smoking-funding-falls-short-1.2680939 http://tobacco.org/news/330080.html A recent report from a coalition of anti-smoking organizations ranked Rhode Island's funding for anti-smoking programs 38th in the country. The state spends $373,000 yearly on anti-smoking efforts, only 2.5 percent of the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention's recommended level of $15.2 million, according to the report. Alaska ranks first, spending $10.8 million on prevention programs, 101.3 percent of the recommended level. The coalition's annual report evaluates states' expenses in comparison to the federally recommended levels. The report aims to "raise awareness," said Dan Cronin, state communications director for the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, one of the organizations in the coalition. "We want to do the report to see if states are actually doing what they're supposed to be doing" with the money they have received from settlements with tobacco companies and the revenue they collect from tobacco taxes, he said. "Unfortunately, Rhode Island is not doing as well as it should be," he added. . . . Students generally perceive Brown as a smoke-friendly campus. "I was surprised by the number of student-smokers on campus, especially cigarette smoking," said Mary Sketch '15. "I didn't realize it was as much a part of college life." "It's accepted, and if you want to be a part of that community, then you can be," said Lucy Fernandez '14. "But if you don't want to, that's fine too." In 2009, a survey conducted by the Public Health and Health Education programs at Brown found that 85.6 percent of the student body reported smoking or using chewing tobacco five times or fewer over the previous academic year, wrote Frances Mantak, director of Health Education, in an email to The Herald. The Health Education website offers a variety of resources on smoking, including lists of reasons and methods for quitting. Brown Daily Herald Wed, 07 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.theday.com/article/20111126/NWS12/311269926/1019&town= http://tobacco.org/news/329500.html East Greenwich, R.I. - The first municipality in Rhode Island to ban smoking in restaurants won't back a Boy Scout's offer to install cigarette butt receptacles along Main Street, in part because the town manager believes the containers could encourage the habit. William Sequino, the town manager in the wealthy waterfront town of East Greenwich, described eighth-grader Giulio Cataldo's idea as "kind of a unique project" but told the 13-year-old, in short: If you want to do it, leave the town out of it. "I thought it sent an ambivalent kind of message," Sequino said of having the receptacles installed at spots along the mile-long thoroughfare of hair salons, restaurants and other small shops. "I thought if you put the receptacles there, you would encourage smoking." Sequino also said the town didn't want to spend resources emptying the receptacles, the receptacles could become a liability if they ended up in the street and they didn't fit with the town's quaint aesthetic. The Day a.nunes@theday.com (ERIKA NIEDOWSKI Associated Press) Sat, 26 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wickedlocal.com/cambridge/news/x363494406/Cambridge-man-charged-in-federal-cigarette-smuggling-ring http://tobacco.org/news/329173.html A Cambridge man was arrested after a joint federal-state investigation in five states into the alleged importation and sale of contraband cigarettes in Rhode Island, according to a press release from the U.S. Attorney's office in Rhode Island. Mohamad Mohamad, 35, of Cambridge allegedly deprived Rhode Island of millions of dollars in cigarette tax revenue, officials found. A nearly yearlong investigation by ICE-HSI, ATF and the R.I. State Police High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area Task Force (HIDTA) culminated with the execution of federal search warrants on Tuesday and Wednesday at storage facilities in Warwick, R.I., Richmond, Va., and Columbia, S.C.; and at Mohamad's residence. . . . According to an affidavit in support of an arrest warrant, an investigation that began in December 2010, determined that Mohamad allegedly traveled regularly to North Carolina, South Carolina, and Virginia to purchase large quantities of cigarettes from retailers and wholesalers for resale to convenience stores and independent salespersons in Rhode Island. It is alleged that none of the packages of cigarettes resold by Mohamad contained Rhode Island tax stamps. Mohamad is not licensed to sell cigarettes in Rhode Island. Wicked Local cambridge@wickedlocal.com (Staff reports) Wed, 09 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.golocalprov.com/health/great-american-smoke-out-coming-to-ri/ http://tobacco.org/news/328488.html Ready to quit and stay quit? Check out the variety of resources available right here, and get yourself ready to quit tomorrow or on November 17. Remember: within 10 minutes of quitting your blood pressure will return to normal. Within 8 hours, your carbon monoxide levels will drop and your oxygen levels will rise. And within one year of quitting, your risk for cardiac disease has dropped to half that of someone who smokes. For state employees: Free Nicotene Replacement Therapy State Employee Health Plan Coverage includes Nicotine Replacement Therapy GoLocalProv.com Tue, 08 Nov 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/business/content/HOOKAH_BARS_RI_08-20-11_CLPQE1B_v27.483b6.html http://tobacco.org/news/325142.html Hookah lounges arrived in Rhode Island in 2005. Instead of burning out, the fad appears to have grown increasingly popular, with a half-dozen hookah lounges on Federal Hill alone. One of them, Skarr Hookah Lounge Bar & Grille at 292 Atwells Ave., opened just three weeks ago. "There's enough business for everybody," said owner Eli Yazbeck. Georges Makhlouf, who started Providence Byblos on the East Side in 2005, said there's nothing wrong with Sullivan's offering hookahs to its customers. But, he added, it's not the true hookah experience. "It's a whole cultural thing," said Makhlouf, who came to the U.S. from Lebanon in 1987. "Our objective is to give people the whole experience -- the food, the culture, the aroma. You come in, you think you're in Lebanon." Makhlouf now has three hookah lounges in Rhode Island . . . For the American Lung Association of Rhode Island, the kind of hookah bar doesn't really matter. "We hate them," said Tina Ragless, director of health promotion and public policy. Ragless said most hookah smokers are using tobacco, and the dangers of tobacco are well known. And anyone who believes that the water inside hookahs makes tobacco safer, she said, is wrong. (Joe Karam, owner of Opa, a Lebanese restaurant and hookah lounge at 244 Atwells Ave., disagreed with Ragless, saying some brands of hookah tobacco are processed to remove much of the nicotine and other toxins.) Ragless said young people who might never consider smoking a cigarette are often drawn to the novelty of a hookah. Once they're smoking tobacco, she said, there's a chance they will be addicted. Providence Journal-Bulletin asmith@projo.com (Andy Smith Journal Staff Writer) Sat, 20 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://tiverton.patch.com/articles/little-compton-weighs-imposing-trash-cigarette-disposal-units-around-town http://tobacco.org/news/324701.html The Little Compton Town Council discussed potential options to prevent and limit litter around town at Thursday night's meeting. This issue was initially brought up in the spring by residents Robert Marra and Sandy Farr representing the Sogkonate Garden Club. "They contacted us about a month ago" said Town Council President Robert Mushen, regarding an email. "I actually missed our initial meeting, which pushed this back slightly, but we are attempting to keep this a prioritized issue and get something done relatively quickly. They are both individuals with a vested interested in this." The item discussed was the potential to require certain businesses and other locations around town to have trash barrels and cigarette disposal units placed outside their establishments. This would extend to "basketball courts, baseball fields, tennis courts, Ponderosa, beaches and landings, Town Hall, the Little Compton Community Center, school, library, restaurants, coffee shops, liquor stores and post office," according to Marra's e-mail. Patch.org Matthew.Sanderson@patch.com (Ned Brady) Fri, 05 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.projo.com/news/content/PHA_NO_SMOKING_08-04-11_LNPHR11_v56.43450.html http://tobacco.org/news/324411.html PROVIDENCE -- Doctors removed a tumor on Amelia Perry's larynx last year, ending her 50-year smoking routine. But the urge is so strong this sunny Wednesday that she squeezes between two elderly men on a wooden bench at Dominica Manor for the secondhand contact. Her husband, who has emphysema and another lung disease, and their neighbor inhale Cheyenne after Cheyenne, laughing and chatting as they puff. They say their hangout spot is by choice, but it really isn't. Smokers living in the Providence Housing Authority's five high-rises for the elderly and disabled can't light up in their apartments anymore. Effective April 30, but still being implemented, the policy forces them to designated areas outside. City officials will announce the regulation Thursday, saying it promotes a healthy living environment and reduces the risk of fires. Providence Journal-Bulletin apina@projo.com (Alisha A. Pina Journal Staff Writer ) Thu, 04 Aug 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://woonsocket.patch.com/articles/opponents-celebrate-defeat-of-cigarette-tax-bill http://tobacco.org/news/322223.html With the Rhode Island General Assembly's 2011 session quickly drawing to a close, opponents have already planned the victory celebration for defeat of a bill which would have lowered the tax on cigarettes in the state by $1 per pack. H 5158, introduced by Rep. Robert Phillips (D-Dist. 51, Woonsocket,) Rep. Jon Brien (D-Dist. 50, Woonsocket,) and Rep. Brian Newberry (R-Dist. 48, North Smithfield, Burrillville) was aimed at stimulating economic growth by luring in smokers from nearby states with higher tax rates on the product. Patch.org Sandra.Phaneuf@patch.com (Sandy Phaneuf) Fri, 17 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://ekasearch01.eurekalert.org/e3/cs.html?url=http%3A//www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/l-hlq060211.php&charset=iso-8859-1&qt=%2Bsmoking%2C+EurekAlert&col=ev3rel&n=2&la=en http://tobacco.org/news/321415.html Latinos looking to quit smoking are more successful when they have a significant other and partner support, say researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. According to the study, published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, this support can also buffer the demonstrated negative effect that depression can have on smoking cessation. Latinos are the largest, fastest growing minority population in the country, based on U.S. Census data. Smoking prevalence among Latinos is 15.8 percent and is even higher among those who are more adapted to U.S. culture. Overall, Cubans have the highest rates of smoking, followed by American-born Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central and South Americans, immigrant Mexicans and Dominicans. EurekAlert jgrimes2@lifespan.org Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2011-06/l-hlq060211.php http://tobacco.org/news/321076.html Latinos looking to quit smoking are more successful when they have a significant other and partner support, say researchers from The Miriam Hospital's Centers for Behavioral and Preventive Medicine. According to the study, published in the May/June issue of the American Journal of Health Promotion, this support can also buffer the demonstrated negative effect that depression can have on smoking cessation. Latinos are the largest, fastest growing minority population in the country, based on U.S. Census data. Smoking prevalence among Latinos is 15.8 percent and is even higher among those who are more adapted to U.S. culture. Overall, Cubans have the highest rates of smoking, followed by American-born Mexicans, Puerto Ricans, Central and South Americans, immigrant Mexicans and Dominicans. Although previous research suggests that social support appears to facilitate smoking cessation, other factors, such as depressed mood, can hinder those efforts, since depression and depressive symptoms are associated with lower likelihood of quitting. Given that Latinos have slightly higher rates of depressive symptoms compared to other racial or ethnic groups, they may have particular difficulty quitting smoking. EurekAlert jgrimes2@lifespan.org Fri, 03 Jun 2011 04:00:00 GMT