http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/VA.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.dailypress.com/news/dp-local_smoking0321mar21,0,5112907.story http://tobacco.org/news/298929.html Kopcial has grown frustrated as his tobacco-dependent patrons migrate to bars that remain smoke-filled. He has complained to Roanoke police, the state health department and the state Alcoholic Beverage Control Department. The new law makes local health departments responsible for monitoring compliance with the law during routine inspections of restaurants. But the health departments say the law gives them no authority to cite violators. The most they can do is refer a case to police, said Robert Parker, a spokesman for the state health department's Southwest Virginia regional offices. Police have visited a handful of smoke-filled restaurants since the law took effect Dec. 1. They've issued no summonses. If they did, the top penalty would be a $25 civil fine. Instead of writing tickets, Roanoke police are educating restaurant owners and citizens about the law, police spokeswoman Aisha Johnson said. Offending businesses are told they must go totally smoke-free or build a separate room for smokers with a separate ventilation system. How to enforce the law is being discussed by police, health officials and the ABC. Johnson declined to elaborate on those talks. Newport News Daily Press Sun, 21 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/03/18/tawdry-anaylsis/ http://tobacco.org/news/298781.html The toughest part of responding to Hung Vu’s column (“Lighting Up,” March 16) is knowing where to begin. Vu proves to be a difficult writer to endure grammatically and a master of logical non sequitur. Even less impressively, his simplistic attack on President John T. Casteen, III reveals a glaring ignorance of political history and corporate governance. Perhaps worst of all, Vu takes it upon himself to ascribe motive to Casteen’s decisions, and he cannot manage to do it respectfully or with any trace of humility. . . . It might also be a good idea for Vu to read something about what a corporate board does. A small amount of education could go a long way toward explaining what a company with over $16 billion in revenue does other than exploit children with cigarette ads (hint: it includes providing jobs and health care to employees, financial return to investors and, in 2008, over $48 million in charitable giving). . . . Vu manages to flail around wildly in his last few paragraphs, simultaneously dismissing and embracing fundamental attribution error, equating “Jeffersonian ideals” with hypocrisy, and, cheaply, summing it all up by deciding that one explanation exists outside the realm of Vu omniscience: “the decision was just Casteen being Casteen.” How enlightening. Vu worries about broad-brush geography-based “stigmas.” Maybe he should first consider the “Vu being Vu” stigma that he now bears so prominently — the combination of poor journalism, tawdry reasoning, and unfounded invective. The Cavalier Daily Thu, 18 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/03/16/lighting-up/ http://tobacco.org/news/298775.html Besides the health risks involved with smoking and the unethical targeting of underage children, Casteen’s decision to join Altria is ill-advised because it is also deleterious to Virginia’s history, particularly that of the University and the Charlottesville-Albemarle community. Virginia has been progressive in the past few years to a point where we have almost shattered the “southern” stereotype. . . . When I took social psychology last semester, one of the key points we learned about was the fundamental attribution error. People make this error when they assume that the actions of a person are a result of that person’s character rather than the circumstances of the situation. The fundamental attribution error applies in many cases. On the other hand, if every action was a result of the circumstance, then there would be no need for personality psychology. Casteen has no situational excuse for the position he put himself into by joining Altria. He is fully aware of the public perception, did not need the money and could not possibly already be bored of the retired life since he is still employed. Maybe the decision was just Casteen being Casteen. The Cavalier Daily h.vu@cavalierdaily.com (Hung Vu, Cavalier Daily Columnist ) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www.cavalierdaily.com/2010/03/16/lighting-up/ http://tobacco.org/news/298774.html Besides the health risks involved with smoking and the unethical targeting of underage children, Casteen’s decision to join Altria is ill-advised because it is also deleterious to Virginia’s history, particularly that of the University and the Charlottesville-Albemarle community. Virginia has been progressive in the past few years to a point where we have almost shattered the “southern” stereotype. . . . When I took social psychology last semester, one of the key points we learned about was the fundamental attribution error. People make this error when they assume that the actions of a person are a result of that person’s character rather than the circumstances of the situation. The fundamental attribution error applies in many cases. On the other hand, if every action was a result of the circumstance, then there would be no need for personality psychology. Casteen has no situational excuse for the position he put himself into by joining Altria. He is fully aware of the public perception, did not need the money and could not possibly already be bored of the retired life since he is still employed. Maybe the decision was just Casteen being Casteen. The Cavalier Daily h.vu@cavalierdaily.com (Hung Vu, Cavalier Daily Columnist ) Tue, 16 Mar 2010 04:00:00 GMT http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/news/local/article/most_restaurants_smoke-free_but_exceptions_exist/18865/ http://tobacco.org/news/298328.html More than three months after Virginia's new restrictions on smoking in restaurants went into effect, about 88 percent of restaurants in the state have gone smoke-free, the state Health Department says. Yet smokers still can find havens where lighting up is welcomed. Some restaurants have taken steps to permit smoking legally. Stories also abound of places where smoking is accepted even in violation of the law, which has prompted some calls for tougher enforcement and fines. The law, which went into effect Dec. 1, prohibits smoking in restaurants but allows certain exceptions. Restaurants may allow smoking indoors only if they have separately enclosed and vented smoking and nonsmoking rooms with a public entrance into the nonsmoking area. They also may allow smoking in outdoor areas such as patios. So far, it appears that few, if any, summonses have been issued for violations. Danville Register & Bee editor@registerbee.com Thu, 11 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://fredericksburg.com/News/FLS/2010/032010/03102010/533386 http://tobacco.org/news/298202.html One of the 14 people charged in a major contraband cigarette probe started by the Stafford Sheriff's Office was convicted yesterday for his role in a murder-for-hire scheme. Xing "Andy" Xiao, 32, of Fairfax pleaded guilty to conspiracy to commit murder-for-hire and other charges yesterday in U.S. District Court in Alexandria. Xiao and 13 others were arrested in November following a 14-month investigation that began after a Stafford detective got information about an illegal cigarette-trafficking business in the area. The investigation, which included federal agencies, revealed the purchase of 388,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes that were sold or destined for sale in New York. The cigarettes were valued at $77 million. Fredericksburg Free Lance-Star kepps@freelancestar.com (KEITH EPPS) Wed, 10 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www2.staffordcountysun.com/scs/news/local/crime/article/fairfax_man_pleads_guilty_to_murder-for-hire_scheme_as_payback_for_stolen_c/53593/ http://tobacco.org/news/298170.html Xing Xiao, aka Andy, of Fairfax, pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to hire a hitman to murder someone he believed had stolen more than 15,000 cartons of contraband cigarettes from him. Xiao, 32, is the last of 14 people charged in a 14-month investigation started by the Stafford County Sheriff's Office that involved individuals paying or trading more than $8 million, nearly 40 firearms and drugs to purchase 388,000 cartons -- totaling more than 77 million contraband cigarettes -- to sell in New York. Neil H. MacBride, United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia; Charles E. Jett, Stafford County sheriff; and Willie Brownlee, Acting Special Agent in Charge of the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives Washington Field Division, made the announcement after the Xiao's plea was accepted by United States District Judge Gerald Bruce Lee. "The defendants admitted that they sold illegal cigarettes, dealt drugs, guns and even hired someone for murder," said MacBride. "The work of these dedicated law enforcement officers has made our community safer." Stafford County Sun tbell@staffordcountysun.com (Tracy Bell) Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.dailypress.com/news/virginia/dp-dc--cigarettesmugglin0309mar09,0,3351816.story http://tobacco.org/news/298161.html A Fairfax man at the center of a massive cigarette-smuggling ring pleaded guilty Tuesday to conspiring to hire a hitman to murder someone he thought had stolen from him. The plea in U.S. District Court from Xing Xiao, 32, is the 14th conviction obtained by federal and local authorities in breaking up a Stafford County smuggling ring. The group bought 77 million cigarettes from undercover agents in Virginia and took them to New York, where they fetch a better price. In the last few years, federal agents in Virginia have sold more than 250 million cigarettes in sting operations designed to combat increased smuggling. AP tdetrick@dailypress.com (the Associated Press) Tue, 09 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wpcva.com/articles/2010/03/08/chatham/news/news35.txt http://tobacco.org/news/298018.html A new law targeting cigarette smugglers has cleared both houses of the General Assembly and now goes to the governor for his signature. The House of Delegates on Wednesday joined the Senate in unanimously passing Senate Bill 476, sponsored by Sen. John C. Watkins, R-Midlothian. The bill would establish additional penalties for "any person who sells, purchases, transports, receives, or possesses unstamped cigarettes" in Virginia. Cigarettes are stamped in most states to ensure that the tax on them has been paid. If a pack of cigarettes is sold in Virginia without a stamp, that means no tax has been paid to the commonwealth. In Virginia, the tax on a pack of cigarettes is 30 cents. In South Carolina, the tax per pack is 7 cents, and that state doesn't stamp its cigarettes. Smugglers often purchase cigarettes in states with low tobacco taxes and sell them illegally in states with higher tobacco taxes, pocketing the difference as profit. Brookneal Union Star news@chathamstartribune.com (Rich Griset/Capital News Service) Mon, 08 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nbc12.com/Global/story.asp?S=12077974 http://tobacco.org/news/297834.html The statewide smoking ban in restaurants and bars has been in effect for three months. The state Health Department says 87% of restaurants in Virginia are now non-smoking. However, NBC 12 sent cameras into some restaurants and found some that are not complying with the ban, and so far, none have received a court summons or fine. The smoking ban requires all bars and restaurants in Virginia to be smoke-free unless they have a separate room with a separate ventilation system for smokers. The law allows the Health Department to refer violators to law enforcement to issue a court summons for a $25 fine. The Coffee Pot Roadhouse at 2902 Brambleton Avenue SW in Roanoke is the only restaurant in Virginia the Health Department has referred to law enforcement for refusing to comply with the smoking ban. The inspection report notes that the owner said he could not comply with the new law without alienating most of his customers. WWBT NBC12 hsullivan@nbc12.com (Heather Sullivan) Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wtvr.com/news/wtvr-abc-smoking-ban,0,3422731.story http://tobacco.org/news/297831.html Virginia Alcohol Beverage Control (ABC) can actually take away an establishment's liquor license --- if they're caught breaking the smoking ban law over and over again. Will Horton, general manager of the Rock Falls Tavern plays by the rules when it comes to Virginia's state smoking ban --- with a smoking and non-smoking section. He says he's lucky the ban hasn't affected his bottom line. "Business has been pretty good", he says. WTVR TV 6 Wed, 03 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www2.statesville.com/content/2010/mar/02/sheriff-deputies-break-cigarette-smuggling-operati/ http://tobacco.org/news/297786.html STATESVILLE, NC - Teaming up with officials from the Virginia State Police, Iredell deputies may have uncovered a cigarette smuggling operation. Iredell Sheriff Phil Redmond said members of the Interstate Criminal Enforcement (ICE) team spotted a 1998 Lincoln Navigator on Interstate 77 near the 61 mile marker around 9:15 a.m. Monday for a traffic violation. While speaking with the driver and occupant, the deputies noticed a large number of boxes in black trash bags in the back seat and rear cargo area, Redmond said. After issuing a citation to the driver for a traffic violation, he said, deputies received permission to search the vehicle, and found 16 cases of cigarettes. Each case contained about 30 cartons of cigarettes, Redmond said. The driver told deputies he purchased them for a friend and was taking them to Newark, N.J. Because there are no specific laws in North Carolina regarding the transportation of cigarettes, the ICE team contacted members of the Virginia State Patrol and arranged for a traffic stop once the vehicle was inside Virginia, Redmond said. Statesville Record & Landmark Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://progress-index.com/news/last-tobacco-maker-in-petersburg-ends-local-operations-1.651362 http://tobacco.org/news/297751.html The city's last remaining tobacco manufacturing company has closed its headquarters here, moving to the Richmond area and marking an end to Petersburg's role in an industry that once employed more than two-thirds of the city's workers. Star Scientific Inc. recently moved its corporate headquarters and sales office from South Market Street to a new location in the Glen Allen area. Fewer than 30 employees were affected, and most have transferred to the new location, said Sara Troy Machir, Star's vice president for communications and investor relations. . . . Star's opening a couple of years later maintained the industry's presence in Petersburg but at a much lower level of activity: The company's manufacturing operation employed about 40 people here in the late 1990s before it shifted to Chase City. That was a huge decline from tobacco's boom times locally after the Civil War. An 1880 report on the industry in Virginia noted that 68 percent of Petersburg's workers at the time were employed in tobacco manufacturing, when the industry accounted for 12 factories in the city. A more detailed 1917 report issued by the Petersburg Chamber of Commerce listed the city's biggest tobacco producers at the time: British-American Tobacco Co., the owner of Brown and Williamson; the Export Leaf Tobacco Co.; Maclin-Zimmer-McGill Tobacco Co.; and Seidenberg and Co. In those years, the city was producing an annual average of 2.1 billion cigarettes, as well as 13.2 million cigars, 600,000 pounds of smoking tobacco and 5.5 million pounds of plug and twist (chewing) tobacco. Petersburg Progress-Index mbuettner@progress-index.com (Michael Buettner (Staff Writer) Tue, 02 Mar 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://www.washingtoncitypaper.com/blogs/citydesk/2010/02/24/d-c-cigarette-tax-hike-fail/ http://tobacco.org/news/297602.html Allow LL to follow up on the new city revenue projections for a second. In his letter to the mayor and D.C. Council, Chief Financial Officer Natwar M. Gandhi informed them that a $.50 per-pack cigarette tax hike implemented last October has not gone as planned. Because the increase, to $2.50, catapulted the District's rate over Maryland's $2-per-pack rate, Gandhi explains, many Maryland smokers who'd bought their tobacco in the District switched back to buying in Maryland. Add that to all the D.C. smokers who started buying cheap-as-dirt Virginia smokes, and you get the picture---instead of $45.4 million in revenue, Gandhi says the District will only bank $30 million. But the legislative screw-up is more profound than that: The projections are now that this year's estimated cigarette tax revenues will fall below the pre-hike FY2009 levels ($37.6 million)---in other words, the tax hike got the city less revenue, not more. . . . The good news: Maryland's currently considering another cig-tax hike, to $3. Washington City Paper mdebonis@washingtoncitypaper.com (Posted by Mike DeBonis on Feb. 24, 2010, at 5:24 pm ) Wed, 24 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT http://dailycaller.com/2010/02/25/washington-cigarette-tax-hike-results-in-decreased-revenues-as-smokers-buy-outside-city-limits/ http://tobacco.org/news/297600.html The District of Columbia’s Chief Financial Officer Natwar Gandhi learned a hard lesson this week after assessing the fiscal forecast for 2010: D.C. smokers weren’t happy with the city council after it upped the cost of cigarettes, and responded by depriving the District of millions in tax revenue. Any nicotine fiend who’s dodged puddles of upchuck in Adams Morgan on a Friday night or maintained a distance of 30 feet from downtown office buildings on a weekday could have predicted that smokers would flee to Maryland and Virginia. And according to a report released Wednesday by Gandhi, that’s exactly what happened after the D.C. Council raised taxes on cigarettes from $2.00 to $2.50 a pack in mid 2009. In a report addressed to D.C. Council Chairman Vincent Gray and Mayor Adrian Fenty, Gandhi wrote, “The 50-cent increase in the cigarette tax rate was projected to increase revenue but also decrease volume. Collections year-to-date point to a more severe drop in volume than projected.” How severe? “The estimate for cigarette tax revenue is revised downwards by $15.4 million in [fiscal year] 2010 and $15.2 million in [fiscal year] 2011.” The Daily Caller Thu, 25 Feb 2010 05:00:00 GMT