Some tobacco companies have pulled another one on the federal government. By relabeling their product, the companies are avoiding a punitive tax placed on roll-your-own tobacco products. Congress and the Obama administration raised taxes on tobacco products earlier this year, with taxes on tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes skyrocketing from $1.10 per pound to $24.78 per pound. That’s more than a 2,000 percent jump. Ostensibly, the tobacco tax increases were to pay for expanding children’s health insurance programs. But such an increase on roll-your-own tobacco was obviously meant to do ... Jump to full article >>

French tobacconists are fuming about Belgians stealing their customers. But they are fighting back, reports John Lichfield Smokers from all over north-eastern France are responding to increases in tobacco taxes by driving over the border to Belgium to buy their cigarettes for about 20 per cent less Afew years ago, Adinkerke was a forgotten, dilapidated village of red-brick houses, just inside the Belgian border with France. In the past four years, however, it has been transformed into a glittering mini-Las Vegas: a village full of garish signs reading “Smokey River”, “Euroba ... Jump to full article >>

Society of Unrepentant Cigar Connoisseurs was born after members ran out of public places to smoke Roger Mah enjoys a fine cigar in a leased house, where members of the Society of Unrepentant Cigar Connoisseurs may smoke legally. I drove down an alley, as I had been instructed to do. I found the unmarked door that had been described to me. It had a reinforced lock and a peephole. It was in a neighbourhood somewhere in Metro Vancouver. More than that I had sworn not to divulge. Inside, there was a big room about the size of a four-car garage. It was decorated in the style of . . . how to put t ... Jump to full article >>

David Beckham has had asthma for years but it has never affected his performance on the football pitch, his agent has revealed. The England star was photographed using an inhaler during the Major League Soccer Cup final in Seattle. The 34-year-old played extra time for LA Galaxy for the second time in two weeks on Sunday and was coughing badly after the game. “David has suffered with this since he was a young boy, but it has obviously had no effect on his performance,” his agent Simon Oliveira told the Daily Mail. “He has never sought to make it public but if it does inspire ... Jump to full article >>

A horse-drawn trolley, shown in Marti City, ran south from Ocala’s railroad station along North Magnolia to Broadway, turned west and followed Broadway to haul passengers and freight to the cigar factories at Marti City. Maria Pares, representing Marion County’s Cuban citizens, appeared before the Ocala city council in February 1993 to seek permission to erect a monument in Tuscawilla Park commemorating Marti City, which once was the center of Ocala’s thriving cigar-making industry. Marti City? In the 1890s, the incorporated community was located generally between Southwest ... Jump to full article >>

This spring, with equity markets plunging and bank results deep in the red, was probably not the best time for a banker to try giving up smoking – especially when that banker was Eric Daniels, chief executive of Lloyds Banking Group. But the stress that Mr Daniels felt then, as he grappled with his acquisition of the troubled HBOS and its vast portfolio of rapidly souring lending, was nothing compared with what he was about to go through. He has spent the past six months fighting a battle on four fronts – with the government (his biggest shareholder), with regulators, with the European Co ... Jump to full article >>

In what appears to be an about face, we will get the opportunity to vote on HB 1240. This piece of legislation expanded South Dakota’s smoking ban statute and repealed exemptions for liquor retailers, video lottery establishments and Deadwood gaming establishments. Petitions were filed last June to refer the issue to a public vote, but Secretary of State Chris Nelson ultimately rejected them because of the many errors he found in a sampling of petitions filed. The way has been cleared for voters to decide the fate of South Dakota’s smoking ban in next year’s general election after S ... Jump to full article >>

Eighties singer Pete Burns shows how smoking a cigarette can be a real drag. The former Dead or Alive frontman, who has undergone extensive plastic surgery, appeared to struggle to hold it between his pumped up lips as he lit up outside a west London café yesterday. Pete, 50, was joined by his civil partner Michael Simpson who was sporting a goatee beard and a bandanna. Pete Burns appears to struggle to clamp a cigarette between his surgically enhanced lips as he lit up outside a west London café yesterday. The eccentric You Spin Me Round singer wrapped up warm in a sheepskin coat and the p ... Jump to full article >>

Background Smoke-free legislation was introduced in Wales in April 2007. In response to concerns regarding potential displacement of smoking into the home following legislation, this study assessed changes in secondhand smoke (SHS) exposure amongst non-smoking children. Methods Approximately 1,750 year 6 (aged 10-11) children from 75 Welsh primary schools were included in cross-sectional surveys immediately pre-legislation and one year later. Participants completed self-report questionnaires and provided saliva samples for cotinine assay. Regression analyses assessed the impact of legislation ... Jump to full article >>

On the demand side, exporters and strategic planners focusing on beverages and tobacco in the United Kingdom face a number of questions. Which countries are supplying beverages and tobacco to the United Kingdom? How important is the United Kingdom compared to others in terms of the entire global and regional market? How much do the imports of beverages and tobacco vary from one country of origin to another in the United Kingdom? On the supply side, the United Kingdom also exports beverages and tobacco. Which countries receive the most exports from the United Kingdom? How are these exports conc ... Jump to full article >>

Some top area employers say they have no plans to exclude smokers from employment consideration While policies banning the hiring of smokers have been slowly gaining traction across the country, business leaders and major employers in Cumberland County say they don’t know of any local employers who have gone that far to crack down on nicotine use. “Smoking at the job is one thing, but not being able to smoke in regular life is another issue,” said Jeff Palm, executive director of the Mechanicsburg Chamber of Commerce. Last week, Williamsport-based Susquehanna Health System announced that ... Jump to full article >>