http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/WA.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.businesswire.com/news/google/20080826005368/en http://tobacco.org/news/270396.html Free & Clear, Inc., the national leader in evidence-based tobacco cessation programs delivered via the phone and internet, enrolled four percent of Washington smokers in their Quit For Life Program® during the state’s fiscal year July 1, 2007, through June 30, 2008, up from 2 percent in fiscal year 2007. In addition to the Washington State Tobacco Quit Line, Free & Clear provides tobacco cessation services to 33 health plans and employers based in Washington State including Boeing, Microsoft, Weyerhaeuser, PACCAR, Inc., REI, Regence Association of Washington Cities, City of Seattle, WaMu and Group Health Cooperative. Overall, Free & Clear has provided services to 23,534 tobacco users in the state during fiscal year 2008, up from 20,405 in fiscal year 2007. The majority of these tobacco users (12,137) were covered by their employer’s benefits program, and an additional 11,397 were helped through the Washington State Tobacco Quit Line. Washington State exemplifies a well supported public-private partnership model where every tobacco user in the state can get free coaching and medication support for quitting tobacco just by calling 1-800-QUITNOW (1-800-784-8669). Business Wire Sharen.Ross@freeclear.com Tue, 26 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.usdoj.gov/usao/waw/press/2008/aug/gottfriedson.html http://tobacco.org/news/270071.html HENRY GOTTFRIEDSON, 61, and ALISON GOTTFRIEDSON, 56, owners of Frank's Landing Indian Discount Tobacco, pleaded guilty in U. S. District Court in Tacoma to Conspiring to Traffic in Contraband Cigarettes and Structuring Currency Transactions, in connection with a scheme to sell contraband cigarettes to the public at large without paying the applicable State of Washington taxes. The GOTTFRIEDSONs admitted to unlawfully avoiding more than $9.2 million in Washington State taxes and agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash. HENRY and ALISON GOTTFRIEDSON owned and operated the smoke shop, which did business in Olympia, Washington, as part of the Frank's Landing Indian Community. Both defendants entered pleas earlier today before U.S. District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle. As part of the plea agreements, the GOTTFRIEDSONs admitted to conspiring from January 2001 until October 2007, to purchase, receive, and sell contraband cigarettes. Contraband cigarettes are a quantity of cigarettes which bear no Washington tax stamp . . . As part of the plea agreements, the GOTTFRIEDSONs agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash, 53,870 cartons of contraband cigarettes, and a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. They also agreed to pay restitution to the State of Washington in the amount of $9,201,982. It is a federal crime to transport, possess, or sell contraband cigarettes, whether on federal land, including tribal reservations, or elsewhere. US Department of Justice Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thenewstribune.com/news/local/story/444808.html http://tobacco.org/news/270070.html The owners of a Frank's Landing smoke shop pleaded guilty Wednesday to selling contraband cigarettes, striking a deal with federal prosecutors that leaves them more than $9 million in debt to the State of Washington. Henry Gottfriedson, 61, and Alison Gottfriedson, 56, both longtime residents of Frank's Landing Indian Community near the mouth of the Nisqually River, admitted to dealing in untaxed cigarettes between 2001 and 2007. . . . According to Frank's Landing residents, a portion of the profits from the smoke shop went to help finance the Wa He Lut Indian School at the Landing and also the Alesek Institute, a social services organization affiliated with Frank's Landing. After the raid in 2007, the Frank's Landing smoke shop reopened under an agreement with the Squaxin Island Tribe, which operates legal smoke shops under the terms of a compact with the state. The Nisqually Tribe, which claims jurisdiction over Frank's Landing, filed a federal lawsuit against Gov. Chris Gregoire and members of the Squaxin Island Tribe, claiming the deal is illegal. Tacoma News Tribune Thu, 14 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theolympian.com/377/story/542933.html http://tobacco.org/news/270069.html The owners of an Olympia smoke shop pleaded guilty today for selling contraband cigarettes that cost the state more than $9.2 million in unpaid taxes, according to the U.S. government. Henry Gottfriedson, 61, and Alison Gottfriedson, 56, also pleaded guilty to scheming to structure cash deposits at local banks so their contraband sales went unnoticed by the state and Internal Revenue Service. Under plea agreements, the Gottfriedsons, who own Frank's Landing Indian Discount Tobacco, agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash, 53,870 cartons of contraband cigarettes and a 2007 Cadillac Escalade. They also agreed to pay $9,201,982 in restitution to the state -- the amount of the state cigarette taxes they failed to pay with the sale of the contraband cigarettes. The Olympian Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/374814_smokeshop14.html http://tobacco.org/news/270020.html A couple who ran a smoke shop in Olympia pleaded guilty in Tacoma federal court Wednesday to trafficking in contraband cigarettes and scheming to avoid paying more than $9.1 million in Washington state cigarette taxes. Appearing before District Court Judge Benjamin H. Settle, Henry and Alison Gottfriedson, 61 and 56 respectively, owners of Frank's Landing Indian Discount Tobacco, as part of plea agreements, also agreed to forfeit more than $1.5 million in cash, the U.S. Attorney for Western Washington's office reported. Seattle Post-Intelligencer mikebarber@seattlepi.com ( MIKE BARBER P-I REPORTER ) Wed, 13 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.eurekalert.org/pub_releases/2008-08/lsdf-lsd080508.php http://tobacco.org/news/269767.html Six Washington State-based life sciences organizations and their partners will receive health research project grants totaling $5 million, the Life Sciences Discovery Fund announced today. The newly-funded health research endeavors will concentrate on prostate cancer imaging, safer in-home environments for older and disabled adults, recovery from brain damage, soft tissue calcification, pain localization and diagnostic smart cards (See Backgrounder Information). . . . Funding for these grant projects comes from Washington's allocation of bonus payments under the Master Tobacco Settlement, revenues arising from multi-state litigation with tobacco product manufacturers. This group of awardees is the second to be funded through the tobacco settlement mechanism. EurekAlert needham@lsdfa.org (2040, nearly one quarter of the U.S. population will be 65) Tue, 05 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bellinghamherald.com/102/story/483697.html http://tobacco.org/news/269546.html Cigarette litter is plentiful. It's also long-lasting, because most filters are made of durable plastic. "It's just become a major burden on our maintenance crew," said Walker, executive director of Downtown Renaissance Network, the business organization that cleans and beautifies downtown. "You think one little cigarette, what's the big deal," she said, "but 3,990 in a block, now that's a big deal." That's why the organization is staging a month-long campaign backed by Keep America Beautiful, a national nonprofit outfit that, among other things, fights litter. Walker's July 14 count set the benchmark. She'll do another count by Aug. 18 to see if the campaign makes a difference. Bellingham Herald dean.kahn@bellinghamherald.com Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://seattletimes.nwsource.com/html/localnews/2008088819_rollcall03.html http://tobacco.org/news/269509.html 's how area members of Congress voted on major roll calls in the week ending Friday. House Tobacco regulation By a vote of 326-102, the House on Wednesday sent the Senate a bill (HR 1108) to begin Food and Drug Administration (FDA) regulation of tobacco products. The bill empowers the FDA to regulate cigarette content, require disclosure of product ingredients, ban cigarette marketing to children and require more prominent health warnings. Voting yes: Jay Inslee, D-1; Rick Larsen, D-2; Brian Baird, D-3; Doc Hastings, R-4; Cathy McMorris Rodgers, R-5; Norm Dicks, D-6; Jim McDermott, D-7; Dave Reichert, R-8; Adam Smith, D-9. Seattle Times Sun, 03 Aug 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theolympian.com/northwest/story/521865.html http://tobacco.org/news/269306.html It's a great alternative for smokers, who have been banished to the outdoors since the state implemented a smoking ban in 2005. But patio or not, the smokers have other reasons they keep coming back. "(Bill's) got a really good cook," said Carolyn Anderson, a 48-year-old smoker from Selah. "His food is cheap. There are no troublemakers." Revenues at bars and taverns statewide have started to bounce back to pre-ban levels. Those businesses generated 20.3 percent more income in 2007 than they did during the same period a year ago. The gain was a mere 0.3 percent in 2006, according to data from the state Department of Revenue. The Olympian Mon, 28 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/6420ap_wa_oxygen_tank_fire.html http://tobacco.org/news/269209.html Bremerton fire officials say a 61-year-old woman was seriously injured after her oxygen hose caught fire while she was lighting a cigarette. A neighbor, Rodney Jewell, told the Kitsap Sun that he noticed smoke coming out of a window Thursday afternoon and opened the door to her unit. Jewell says the woman's wheelchair was spinning in circles. He says her oxygen hose had burned in half and the bottle end was whipping around "like a wild snake," spreading fire around the room. AP newmedia@seattlepi.com Sat, 26 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theolympian.com/377/story/511306.html http://tobacco.org/news/268938.html Fifteen out of 80 retailers -- 19 percent -- sold tobacco to minors during a recent check by Thurston County Public Heath and Social Services. The Olympian Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.kndo.com/Global/story.asp?S=8698183&nav=menu484_2_7 http://tobacco.org/news/268927.html A local downtown association is trying to keep ugly cigarette butts from ending up on the pavement. For years the remnants of used cigarettes have ended up strewn across the ground in downtown Kennewick angering some business owners who say the ugly litter cuts down on foot traffic during the day. To clean up, the Historic Downtown Kennewick group just finished putting in six smoking tubes outside various downtown bars, with the hope it'll cut down on smokers coming outside to smoke, and their cigarette buts piling up along the sidewalk. KNDO-TV Fri, 18 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.theolympian.com/672/story/506749.html http://tobacco.org/news/268721.html Three male suspects broke into the Smoke and Beer Shop on 7243 Martin Way E. early this morning and stole $10,500 worth of cigarettes. The suspects, who were caught on a surveillance camera, wore jeans, had hoods over their faces, and wore gloves. The Olympian Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://seattle.bizjournals.com/seattle/stories/2008/07/07/daily9.html?jst=cn_cn_lk http://tobacco.org/news/268719.html Close. But no cigar. Backers of an initiative petition in Washington that would have allowed cigar smoking in cigar bars, cigar stores and private clubs said they've come up short in obtaining the required number of signatures to put the measure on a state ballot. Initiative 1016 supporters said they gathered 213,000 signatures but fell 12,000 short of the 225,000 required by July 3. Supporters called the current ban on smoking "draconian." Puget Sound Business Journal Tue, 08 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.tdn.com/articles/2008/07/14/editorial/doc487a46c98cf61100345486.txt http://tobacco.org/news/268716.html Sixty-three percent of Washington voters decided the state would be better off eliminating secondhand smoke from public places. It was a wise decision -- one that needs no revision. Longview Daily News Mon, 14 Jul 2008 04:00:00 GMT