The cigarette excise tax hike passed by the House is another blow to small local businesses like Hibbert & McGee Wholesalers and other distributors that provide jobs to Vermont residents. But if that’s not bad enough, the increase could actually end up costing Vermont tax revenue as fed-up smokers go out-of-state to buy cigarettes. If passed by the Senate and signed into law, the tax hike would increase by $1 the Vermont state excise tax on a pack of cigarettes to $3.24, and would be the fourth cigarette tax increase in five years (a 172 percent increase). Why do my employees and I car ... Jump to full article >>

NEGAUNEE TOWNSHIP — It’s been almost a year since the smoke-free law was put into effect in Michigan. The law was passed May 1, 2010, and was designed to remove smoking from local restaurants, bars and businesses. So, how has Michigan responded to the new law? The results are now in. Researchers with the Michigan Department of Community Health Tobacco Section just completed an analysis of results from a public opinion survey related to the law. The survey was conducted this past August and September, and showed that 73 percent of all participants state-wide were in favor of the ... Jump to full article >>

The development of two buildings in Brooklyn has been temporarily blocked by a federal judge, who ordered Friday that the mid-19th-century structures be returned to a designation of federally protected parkland. New York City had approved a proposal to allow one of the buildings, the Tobacco Warehouse, to be used by St. Ann’s Warehouse, a theater company based in the Dumbo neighborhood that has been looking for a new home. The city was planning to take proposals for the Empire Stores building this spring, city officials said. But Judge Eric N. Vitaliano said that the National Park Service b ... Jump to full article >>

Smokers deserve the same protection as disabled people and children, Jeremy Irons has said. The actor, who is a smoker, made the startling remark as he attacked new laws in New York that restrict lighting up in public. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has brought in sweeping changes to try and improve the health of the city but has been met with harsh criticism. Irons, 62, is one of the most high-profile people to have spoken out on behalf of smokers’ rights after the ban in 1,700 parks, public squares and beaches, including Central Park and Times Square. Mr Bloomberg, a reformed smoker, introduc ... Jump to full article >>

We are a group of 10- to 16-year-olds from Greater New Hope Church in Indianapolis. We belong to the VOICE movement, which is Indiana’s youth-led movement against Big Tobacco targeting their products to us. Today is Kick Butts Day, a national day of activism that empowers youth to take action against Big Tobacco. Big Tobacco doesn’t want us to think secondhand smoke is a problem. We’ve been working with our adult allies and we know secondhand smoke is a big problem. We are writing to show our support for a smoke-free air law that protects everyone, such as the first version o ... Jump to full article >>

Cape Town – A cigarette firm has labelled sections of the health department’s proposed amendments to regulations of the sale of cigarettes as “silly”. “What is the intent of the legislation? They’ve amended this legislation, looking to limit the independence of traders to communicate at the point-of-sale,” British American Tobacco regulatory affairs manager Jerry Gilbert told News24. “Small traders won’t be able to sell cigarettes within one metre of anything that might attract kids. The logic seems to be that seeing cigarettes will likely ... Jump to full article >>

Parents who smoke while driving with their children in the car may face prosecution under strict new laws. Health watchdogs in Wales are ­trying to slash the number of smokers by a third over the next decade. Chief medical ­officer Dr Tony Jewell said the laws will help break the cycle of ­smoking within families and “bring home to parents the risks of smoking in front of their children”. He added: “Reducing ­children’s exposure to ­second-hand smoke will help to protect the most ­vulnerable in society.” Patients and staff in Wales could also be banned from smoking while on br ... Jump to full article >>

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is targeting people who resolve to quit smoking in the new year with advertisements suggesting they switch to its smokeless tobacco pouches, a move critics say is an attempt to keep people from quitting nicotine. The ads mark the company’s first campaign aimed at getting smokers to switch to the pouches known as snus, which Reynolds introduced in early 2009, spokesman David Howard said Wednesday. The carefully worded ads suggest, but don’t say directly, that the pouches are a way to help kick the smoking habit. Under federal law, com ... Jump to full article >>

Bolingbrook, IL — A recent check of 46 retail establishments by DuPage County Sheriff’s deputies found all outlets were in compliance with tobacco sales laws, according to the sheriff’s department. Deputies, accompanied by underage teens, visited the establishments throughout DuPage County and attempted to purchase tobacco products. All businesses complied with laws controlling the sale of tobacco to minors under the age of 18, according to a release issued by the department. The release did not specify the businesses on the check list. Part of the north side of Bolingbrook is within the ... Jump to full article >>

One year after the new tobacco control law passed first reading at the Legislative Assembly (AL), the Government has sent a second draft for lawmakers to analyse. The new proposal allows casinos to set up designated smoking areas but removes the exemptions for saunas, massage lounges and dance halls initially proposed. According to the draft sent to the AL on Friday, casinos have a one-year period to create smoking areas “up to a maximum of 50 percent of the total public area, as long as they are physically separated from the remaining facilities”. These designated areas will also have to ... Jump to full article >>

Antismoking activists have called on the Indonesian government to enforce a law obliging tobacco companies to place graphic images of smoking-related diseases on cigarette packs. Fuad Baradja, head of public education at the Indonesian Smoking Control Foundation (LM3), said on Tuesday that pictorial warnings were needed to discourage people from smoking. “It has been proven around the world that putting pictorial health warnings on cigarette packs helps stop people from taking up smoking in the first place,” he said at a public health seminar in Jakarta. “It’s the government’s obliga ... Jump to full article >>