The pace of Massachusetts cities and towns banning tobacco sales at pharmacies appears to be accelerating: Of nine such bans that have taken effect since early 2009, four began this year, and more are under consideration. South of Boston, Sharon defeated a proposed ban April 11, but the Wareham Board of Health may opt for one, according to Bob Collett, director the Cape Cod Regional Tobacco Control Program. Collett made a presentation to the Wareham board recently. “I’m confident that it will happen there,’’ he said. “They do understand the obvious hypocrisy of selling tobacco in a ... Jump to full article >>

The California Medical Association (CMA) filed a brief last week in U.S. District Court supporting the City and County of San Francisco’s ban on the sale of tobacco products in retail stores with pharmacies. “Unlike other retail outlets that sell cigarettes, stores that provide pharmacy services pose a unique problem if they also sell tobacco products,” CMA’s brief states. “Stores such as Safeway that contain a pharmacy are an integral part of the health care delivery system. “Selling tobacco products in such institutions creates a conflict of interest and s ... Jump to full article >>

Brian Gottlob, an economist from Dover, announced recently that findings from PolEcon Research contradict claims that New Hampshire revenues will benefit from a decrease in the state cigarette and other tobacco products tax. Gottlob completed a review of NH specific tobacco sales and tax changes over a 10-year period and the possible impact on other state revenue; gasoline, rooms and meals, and alcohol. The PolEcon report found no correlation between tobacco sales and the sales of these other retail products, which provide tax revenue to support the NH state budget. His findings disprove those ... Jump to full article >>

A bill that would create a process for the state of Nebraska to collect revenue from tribes for tobacco sales was forwarded out of the Revenue Committee Wednesday. A Winnebago tribal leader said his tribe doesn’t fully support changes made in the bill, some of which were negotiated with the tribe, but also wouldn’t oppose the bill. “No one’s shooting off fireworks in Winnebago,” said Lance Morgan, CEO of Ho-Chunk Inc., his tribe’s economic arm. “That’s the nature of compromise.” Introduced by Sen. Mike Gloor of Grand Island, the bill (LB59 ... Jump to full article >>

Dip, rub, moist snuff, spit tobacco, chawburger — dipping tobacco has many names, but it’s always in demand. Second only to cigarettes in tobacco sales, $4.5 billion worth of moist smokeless tobacco was sold in the U.S. in 2009, according to information from the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. The company is the world’s leading producer of smokeless tobacco, making up 55 percent of the market. Its Copenhagen brand is the country’s most popular, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the market. Skoal is a close second, at about 23 percent. U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. estimates 2009 ... Jump to full article >>

A U.S. trial judge ruled Monday that a British American Tobacco PLC subsidiary is no longer subject to her landmark 2006 racketeering judgment against the tobacco industry. U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that recent legal precedent by the Supreme Court required her to find that British American Tobacco (Investments) Ltd. wasn’t liable under U.S. racketeering laws. In 2006, Judge Kessler ruled that the tobacco industry violated federal racketeering laws by engaging in a decades-long scheme to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking. In recent court proceedings, BAT ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco Retailers Alliance says increase could drive smokers to use the black market Smokers have been hit by the budget, with tobacco prices up 2% above inflation from . Duty on hand-rolling tobacco was raised by 10%. A packet of economy cigarettes now costs 50p more, while premium brands are up 33p as the government pursues both cash and health objectives. Small shops rely on tobacco sales – they make up a third of a newsagent’s trade – and warned the rise in taxes would endanger small businesses by boosting the black market. Ken Patel, a newsagent from Leicester and spokesman for ... Jump to full article >>

LONDON -(Dow Jones)- Imperial Tobacco Group PLC (IMT.LN) Thursday said it’s on track to meet fiscal-year expectations following an expected rise in first-half sales, but the maker of Lambert & Butler and JPS cigarettes also forecasts volumes to fall around 1%. The world’s fourth-largest global tobacco group by revenue said first-half tobacco sales are expected to increase around 2% year-on-year. It also said the drop in combined cigarette and fine cut tobacco volumes is partly due to a change in U.K. trade buying patterns which will shift some volumes from the first to the se ... Jump to full article >>

Government parties are however resisting the move due to lack of available data connecting a ban with a decrease in tobacco sales. Eva Olofsson, of the Left Party, is one of the advocates for a ban. “The aim is to get less people overall to smoke and less children and young people to start smoking. To achieve that, sales must decrease. This might be one way to tackle that,“ she said to Sveriges Radio (SR). The UK Health Department decided earlier this month to ban tobacco displays from large stores in England from April 2012, with smaller shops following suit by 2015 at the latest. Scotla ... Jump to full article >>

FALL RIVER — Chain stores such as Rite Aid, Walgreens and Shaw’s will be banned from selling cigarettes and other tobacco products if the City Council follows up Tuesday night’s 5-4 vote on a first reading and approves final passage of the ordinance March 22. It would affect 16 city chain store outlets. Five independent stores haven’t sold the products in a decade. “I’m just really happy, and hopefully the city sees they’re doing the right thing for the youth,” Markus Watson, a high school senior and BOLD Coalition leader, said after a passionate debate at the meeting that ... Jump to full article >>

Georgia smokers could see the tax for a pack of smokes spike more than 80 percent. Georgia lawmakers are considering raising the sales tax on cigarettes from 37 cents to 68 cents per pack. The 84 percent increase would create another $114 million dollars in revenue for Georgia. The state’s cigarette tax has been 37 cents since 2003, when it hiked 12 cents. Opponents of tobacco use told the panel to go for it and forward the measure to the full Unicameral for debate. They cited the health hazards linked to smoking. Critics of the bill (LB436) said the increased tax would cause economic h ... Jump to full article >>