Independent retailers in Ireland are stepping up their campaign to get more support from the Irish Government in the battle against the smuggled tobacco trade. A detailed survey of the members of Retailers Against Smuggling (RAS), the pressure group set up in June, showed 84% were adamant that current Government legislation was working against the Irish retailer. Tobacco smuggling and the movement of tobacco on the black market is having a detrimental effect on Irish retailers. In 2008, retailers lost €487m, as more and more people were starting to buy counterfeit cigarettes for far less ... Jump to full article >>

Retailers have criticised elements of new anti-smoking laws saying the legislation will make it difficult for smaller shops. The legislation was passed through State Parliament yesterday making W-A’s anti-smoking laws the toughest in the country. Under the new laws, smoking will be banned in alfresco areas of restaurants and cafes, while hotels will be required to make at least 50 per cent of their outdoor areas smoke free. Retailers are also banned from displaying cigarettes at the point of sale. Bob Stanton from the Independent Retailers Organisation says smaller retailers will strugg ... Jump to full article >>

NEW YORK (WPIX) – Starting in the beginning of October, it’ll be against company policy to light up in any Avis or Budget rental car – and if you get caught you’ll be hit with a $250 fine. “I appreciate it because I’m a non-smoker,” Jasmin Walter told PIX News. “The smell and dry eyes is just an awful feeling.” After being pushed out of restaurants, bars and hotels, smokers are once again being pitted against non-smokers. “I’ll suffer,” said smoker Jeremy Ammon. John Barrows of Avis says most customers request smoke free c ... Jump to full article >>

Munger, Tolles & Olson was on the wrong side of a federal ruling this week that gave San Francisco the green light to ban the sale of cigarettes in drug stores and major retail stores that also house pharmacies, according to The Recorder, an Am Law Daily sibling publication. Tobacco companies led by Philip Morris filed suit to block the law, arguing that it would infringe on their First Amendment rights. As we wrote in October, the Munger team–longtime counsel to Philip Morris–argued that the ban on sales is, in effect, a ban on advertising, since it would make little sense for ... Jump to full article >>

CIGARETTE sales should be banned from pubs and clubs, say anti-smoking campaigners, who point to the results of world-first research carried out in Sydney. The combination of being in the company of smokers at a venue where tobacco is also for sale softens the resolve of would-be quitters and can turn a one-off cigarette into a full-blown relapse, a study has found. Wendy Oakes, tobacco control manager for the Cancer Council NSW, which funded the research, said long-term smokers would not be disadvantaged if cigarettes were removed from sale in licensed premises. ”Smokers have very habit ... Jump to full article >>

TALLAHASSEE – Cigarette sales have plunged and smokers have been streaming across the border since Florida’s $1 a pack tax went into effect July 1. The latest figures from the Department of Business and Professional Regulation show a 28 percent drop in the sale of cigarette packs from July 2008 to July 2009 – 76.8 million packs sold this year, compared with 106.6 million packs a year ago. Sales are also down from June, the month before the buck-a-pack increase was added, 17 percent less in July than June, when 92.9 million packs were sold. The state’s convenience stores ... Jump to full article >>

Failure of the social networking website “Facebook” to remove pages and groups relating to various tobacco products, brands and articles is now likely to land the company in legal trouble. Well-known social activist and crusader for public health causes, Hemant Goswami, has issued a legal notice to Facebook to remove all pages and groups relating to promotion of any kind of tobacco product or which promotes its consumption. Hemant who is also a notified member of the “National Steering Committee on Tobacco Control” formed by the Union Ministry of Health and Family Welfa ... Jump to full article >>

Popular social networking website Facebook has been caught in a ‘smoky’ row. An anti-tobacco activist here has served a notice to the website, accusing it of ‘promotion of smoking culture’ through its web pages. Burglars using Facebook, Twitter to find targets Anti-tobacco activist Hemant Goswami Tuesday said he has served a notice to Facebook Inc. in California (US) and Facebook Ireland Ltd, which run the social networking website facebook.com, for violation of Indian laws that ban advertisement and promotion of tobacco products. ‘Apparently, Facebook claims to h ... Jump to full article >>

The corporation is no more than an aggregation of capital managed for the proportional benefit of those who supply it. It is a system controlled by managers, administrators and clerks largely for the benefit of passive investors looking for a higher return than they can earn elsewhere. It makes no sense that government should provide the very wealthy with a tool that poses a continuous threat to the public interest. Government’s job is to protect the public interest, not sponsor those that destroy it. Doing nothing In Common Sense Thomas Paine from argued for a change of government, bu ... Jump to full article >>