GUNTUR: The Centre is considering to bring the crops that are being managed by independent boards such as tobacco , tea and rubber under insurance cover. It is learnt that the commerce ministry has asked for detailed reports from the chiefs of the boards with observations of the stakeholders of the crops. After a meeting in Delhi, senior officials of the commerce ministry asked the Tobacco Board to initiate discussions with the growers to implement the scheme. With Parliament in session , Tobacco Board chairman G Kamalavardhan Rao deputed its executive director K Subbarao for the high-level me ... Jump to full article >>

IRELAND REMAINS one of the “preferred destinations” in the EU for cigarette smuggling because of its comparatively high taxes on tobacco, a new report into criminal activity in the union has found. Europol, the agency that handles criminal intelligence within the union, published its EU Organised Crime Threat Assessment 2011 yesterday. It covers a wide range of criminal activity, including the drugs trade, illegal immigration, human trafficking, fraud, counterfeiting, property and environmental crime and weapons trafficking. Europol says the “outstanding” feature of its latest assessm ... Jump to full article >>

STAR CITY, Ark. (AP) — A Roman Catholic priest has been charged with a felony for allegedly trying to smuggle tobacco to a death row inmate. Fifty-year-old Rev. Charles Thessing of Sacred Heart Catholic Church in Morrilton was charged Wednesday in Lincoln County Circuit Court. He faces three to 10 years in prison and up to a $10,000 fine if convicted. Thessing did not return a phone call seeking comment. Administrative affairs chancellor Dennis Lee with the Catholic Diocese of Little Rock told the Arkansas Democrat-Gazette that Thessing remains a priest in good standing. Lee was stopped at t ... Jump to full article >>

COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — Eating healthy can start in the checkout line. So Vermont officials are making a pitch to retailers in hopes of getting consumers to eat healthier food and avoid tobacco and alcohol. On Wednesday, the state Department of Health is holding a conference to launch its “Healthy Retailers” campaign, a training session involving 75 community health advocates. As part of it, store owners will be offered free point-of-sale materials including posters that show people involved in healthy activities. Dr. Harry Chen, the state health commissioner, says point-of-sale a ... Jump to full article >>

Teens, young adults and even pregnant women worldwide are using waterpipes to smoke tobacco at high rates, University at Buffalo researchers said. Dr. Elie Akl, an associate professor at University at Buffalo’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and School of Public Health and Health Professions, conducted a systematic review involving 38 studies on the prevalence of waterpipe smoking across several countries including — Britain, Australia, Estonia, Lebanon, Pakistan, Egypt, Syria, Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, the United Arab Emirates and Yemen — age groups and gende ... Jump to full article >>

The pro-reproductive health bill lobby group obviously has a huge public relations war chest amounting to millions. The fact alone that they can afford to go into TV advertising is a clear indication of this. I have not had the time to watch television lately but in the few times that I did, I was able to see that professionally produced and slick ad featuring one of the principal reproductive health bill advocates, senatorial wannabe Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel. Now those TV ads are expensive to produce and even more costly to show. I heard that the average cost of a 30-second ad on primetime is ... Jump to full article >>

Manuel Garcia, a long-time vice-president of Cuba’s cigar industry, has been arrested and 10 of his staffers may face trial for corruption, according to the British news magazine The Economist. In a report posted Thursday on its Web site, the newsweekly reported Garcia, the No. 2 at Habanos S.A., has been in jail since August, “accused of mastermind graft on a grand scale.” Cuban investigators believe Garcia and 10 of his staffers, “who also face trial,’’ were accepting bribes in exchange for selling Cuban cigars at a discount to black market distributors in the Caribbean, The Ec ... Jump to full article >>

MONTGOMERY, Ala. and AUGUSTA, Maine — State representatives in Alabama and Maine are seeking cigarette tax hikes of $1 per pack and $1.50 per pack respectively, reported tobacco-news.net and Forbes. Alabama State Rep. Patricia Todd (D-Birmingham) proposed House Bill 457, which would raise the state’s cigarette tax to $1.425 per pack. Todd stated that the tax funds would raise an estimated $230 million a year and primarily benefit Medicaid and the Children First Trust Fund, as well as encourage smokers to quit the habit. “It’s a win-win,” said Todd. If the bill pas ... Jump to full article >>

House lawmakers voted unanimously last night to ban welfare recipients from spending their cash benefits on alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets, reigniting an issue that flared during Governor Deval Patrick’s reelection campaign last year. The House approved the ban, as part of a larger amendment to the state budget, on a 155-0 vote. The measure not only targets welfare recipients, it also bans store owners from accepting welfare debit cards for purchases of alcohol, tobacco, and lottery tickets. Store owners who violate the ban could be fined $500 for the first offense, and more than $1,0 ... Jump to full article >>

One of Europe’s biggest taxi firms today lost a legal battle over its unauthorised installation of cigarette “adbins” outside pubs and restaurants. For more than three years, Addison Lee has sponsored more than 19,000 “adbins” outside businesses across London where smokers could leave their discarded butts. Today, a judge ruled that the business – which has more than 2,500 minicabs – acted illegally by erecting some of the bins without planning permission. Westminster City Council brought the legal action over 21 advertisements at seven sites – s ... Jump to full article >>

Hawaii is facing a $1.3 billion state budget deficit — and in response, a series of bills have been introduced to hike taxes, including “other tobacco product” taxes. Among the proposed legislation is House Bill 273, which would increase taxes on products such as cigars and smokeless tobacco. The state should avoid all tax increases and instead turn to spending cuts to balance its budget. Tobacco taxes are often sold to the public as a way to improve public health by raising the cost of tobacco products. But proponents never advertise the hidden costs of such policies, which can ... Jump to full article >>