The excise duty on tobacco has been increased effective today under the Customs Import Duties (Amendment) Order 2010 to 25 cents per stick of cigarette compared with the current $60 a kg. This means that the excise duty on a packet of 20 cigarettes will be $5. Moreover, under the second schedule of the order, travellers entering the country will no longer be allowed to bring in duty free cigarettes. Up till now those above the age of 17 have been allowed to bring in up to 200 sticks duty free. As for “unmanufactured tobacco and tobacco refuse” the duty will be raised from $30 per k ... Jump to full article >>

Let’s hear it for the tobacco industry. No, really, give it up. C’mon, put your hands together. Big Tobacco, the cockroach of American capitalism, is working hard to show not only is it not worried about the future, it’s prepared for it. It’s adapting like a chameleon. It’s not about to let a few smoking bans and feel-good Clean Air acts stop it from cashing in. South Dakota, go ahead and pass your little smoking ban next week. By the way, it’s about time, you lemmings. Smoking just isn’t what it used to be. It used to be the cool thing to do. The best ... Jump to full article >>

VICTORIA is lagging behind other states in its anti-smoking efforts and should catch up with a ban for alfresco dining areas and a licensing scheme for vendors, doctors say. The president of the Australian Medical Association’s Victorian branch, Harry Hemley, said that if the Victorian government was serious about cracking down on smoking, it would follow the lead of other states such as Western Australia where outdoor dining areas have to be smoke-free. Dr Hemley said the government should also make milk bars, petrol stations and other tobacco vendors pay a licence fee of $2000 before t ... Jump to full article >>

Actor Zach Galifianakis stunned American TV viewers when he lit up a joint and started smoking it during a political chat show. The Hangover star was making a point about the upcoming vote for marijuana legalisation on Real Time With Bill Maher when he took the roll-up cigarette and a lighter out of his jacket pocket. He said: ‘It’s a tricky thing politically to jump on that bandwagon because I think that maybe people still see it as taboo.’ Galifianakis then started puffing away and offered the joint to fellow guest Margaret Hoover, a conservative news reporter, who smelled ... Jump to full article >>

LONDON — Alcohol is more dangerous than illegal drugs like heroin and crack cocaine, according to a new study. British experts evaluated substances including alcohol, cocaine, heroin, ecstasy and marijuana, ranking them based on how destructive they are to the individual who takes them and to society as a whole. Researchers analyzed how addictive a drug is and how it harms the human body, in addition to other criteria like environmental damage caused by the drug, its role in breaking up families and its economic costs, such as health care, social services, and prison. Heroin, crack cocaine ... Jump to full article >>

NEW YORK — As Lorillard Tobacco Co. prepares to launch Newport Non-Menthol cigarettes in early November, retailers seem ready for the new offering. According to “rough-math” research from UBS Securities LLC, the new cigarette could take as much as a 0.5% share of the total cigarette category (close to 5% of total Newport volumes) over the next 12 months. “Factoring in an introductory, off-invoice discount of $1.65/pack (putting its effective wholesale price in line with Maverick), we estimate Newport Non-Menthol could generate about $100 million over the next 12 months ... Jump to full article >>