Altria Sees '08 US Industry Cigarette Volumes Down 3%-3.5%

Altria Group Inc. lowered its outlook on U.S. industrywide cigarette volumes for both this year and in the longer term, citing economic conditions, activity to boost cigarette excise taxes and retailer inventories. During a conference call Thursday, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer David Beran said Philip Morris USA Inc. estimates a long-term annual U.S. industry volume declines of 3% to 3.5%, compared with a March view of annual declines of 2.5% to 3%. Over the last five years, the maker of Marlboro, Virginia Slims and other brand-name cigarettes has seen shipment volume decline by an average of 1.8% a year, less than the overall industry. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

New cigarette tax bill '100 times worse than first bill'

ALBANY, N.Y. - The ongoing sovereignty battle over untaxed cigarette sales on tribal land heated up again recently when the New York state legislature passed a bill intended to enforce the collection of state sales taxes on tobacco products sold to non-Indians in Indian country. But if S. 8146-B, which the Senate passed Aug. 8 during a special legislative session, provoked an outcry of opposition from the nations - and it did - a newly introduced bill that was drafted with the help of tobacco giant Philip Morris USA is likely to draw even more fire. S. 8146-B, which has not yet been signed into law by Gov. David Paterson, would prohibit tobacco companies from selling cigarettes without tax stamps to any wholesaler who had not provided certification, under penalty of perjury, to both the state and the tobacco companies saying that the cigarettes would not be resold untaxed in violation of the state tax law. State legislators have tried for years to force the nations to collect state taxes on products sold to non-Indians. Tribal members are not required to pay taxes on cigarettes they purchase from tribal retailers; and the tribal nations say that, as sovereign entities, they are not required to act as tax collectors for the state. Non-Indian purchasers are obligated to pay the tax, according to state law. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Merger Could Create Fourth-Largest Cigarette Firm

China - A planned merger between Hongyun Group and Honghe Group would create a major global cigarette producer, with combined revenues of RMB45 bn, Reuters reports.
Serving 360 million smokers in China (or roughly one-third of the world's smoking population), the merger of Chinese cigarette producers Hongyun Group and Honghe Group would create the world's fourth-largest tobacco company by number of cigarettes sold - behind Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and Japan Tobacco. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

FDA control of tobacco may reshape industry

NEW YORK - If legislation passes to give the Food and Drug Administration the authority the regulate the tobacco industry, it could reshape the industry's competitive landscape, Fitch Ratings said in a new report Thursday. The U.S. House overwhelmingly passed the legislation in July, but it requires approval by the Senate and President Bush. Bush's administration has said he will veto the bill. The bill would empower federal public health authorities to regulate tobacco for the first time. Fitch said it does not expect the law to be put into practice this year but said that if a Democrat is elected to the White House, the eventual passage of the bill is "highly probable." More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Anti-smoking group urges higher tobacco taxes

Canada - An anti-smoking coalition is pressing the provincial government to hike taxes on cigarettes, arguing young people are benefiting from the hot job market and have more cash to buy smokes. But the government says it's not contemplating any changes, noting tobacco taxes have been increased several times in the past few years. The Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta argues cigarettes sold in Alberta are the most affordable in Canada for people between the ages of 15 and 24, as this groups makes a higher average hourly wage compared with counterparts in other provinces. Tobacco companies are also offering discount cigarettes, the group said. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Trouble Quitting? New Smoking Study May Reveal Why

Pennsylvania - A new study from researchers at the University of Pittsburgh and Carnegie Mellon University sheds light on why smokers' intentions to quit “cold turkey” often fizzle out within days or even hours. If a smoker isn't yearning for a cigarette when he makes the decision to kick the habit-and most aren't-he isn't able to foresee how he will feel when he's in need of a nicotine buzz. The new study bolsters the theory that smokers not in a state of craving a cigarette will underestimate and underpredict the intensity of their future urge to smoke. More...

BATU announces massive growth in half-year profit

Uganda - British American Tobacco Uganda has announced a huge leap in its half year revenue, an indication that the firm could sustain its return to profitability. The company results released on Monday, indicate that Batu earned a profit after tax of Shs4.2 billion, for the six months to June 30, 2008, a figure, 135% higher than the revenue collected in the same period last year. The profit accrued from Shs85.3 billion which was earned from Batu’s overall cigarette and leaf sales in the same period. However, the profit should not bring much excitement to shareholders who are expecting dividends, as none, is in the pipe line. Batu’s improved revenue is greatly attributed to a 10 percent increase in cigarette sales and benefits of the revision of the company’s tobacco leaf business in 2006. More...

Children’s Health Care Proposal Could Resurface In 2009 Legislative Session

Children’s health insurance could once again be at the top of the agenda when the Oregon Legislature convenes next year. A plan to fund it with a cigarette tax hike died last year. This time, lawmakers might use a different strategy. Salem Correspondent Chris Lehman has more. It was one of Gov. Ted Kulongoski's highest priorities in 2007. But the cigarette tax he proposed to fund children’s health care didn’t pass muster with lawmakers or voters.
Senate Majority Leader, Democrat Richard Devlin, says health coverage for kids will be back on the agenda when the Legislature convenes in January. More...

'Light' Cigarette Labels a Fraud - American Public Health Association

Tobacco company Philip Morris committed fraud by misleading the American public to believe that "light" cigarettes are less of a health risk than regular cigarettes, APHA said in a friend-of-the- court brief submitted in June in a U.S. Supreme Court case. Along with fellow public health and anti-tobacco organizations, APHA argued that the case, Altria Croup Inc. and Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Stephanie Good, Lori Spellman and Attain Thibodeau, is about "fraud and deception and not about a failure to adequately warn." Thus, the Supreme Court should uphold a lower court's decision that Philip Morris falsely marketed light cigarettes and violated racketeering laws. The brief noted the long-held consensus among public health professionals that tobacco companies should not be allowed to use descriptions such as "light" on cigarette labels. More...

Judge: State can sue R.J. Reynolds over claims

BURLINGTON, Vermont - A judge has rejected R.J. Reynolds' request that he dismiss a state suit challenging the tobacco giant's claim that its Eclipse cigarette is healthier than the average cigarette.
Chittenden Superior Court Judge Dennis Pearson also rejected eight of nine other pretrial motions Reynolds' lawyers filed on what evidence and witnesses should be included in the trial. More...

Appeals court overturns Reynolds tobacco victory in patent lawsuit

The U.S. Court of Appeals for the federal circuit on Monday overturned a previous ruling in favor of R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co Inc. in a patent lawsuit.
Virginia-based Star Scientific Inc. filed suit in 2001, alleging that RJR, subsidiary of Winston-Salem-based Reynolds American Inc., had infringed upon patents relating to a process to cure tobacco that reduces carcinogens in cigarettes. But a lower court ruled in 2007 that the Star Scientific patents were unenforceable, as RJR had argued. More...

China tobacco merger to form industry leader

SHANGHAI - Hongyun Group and Honghe Group, two major tobacco firms based in southwest China's Yunnan province, plan to merge to form the world's fourth-largest cigarette maker by volume, the official Shanghai Securities News said on Tuesday. The merger is part of a consolidation of the fragmented tobacco industry in China, the world's largest cigarette producer and consumer with a growing market of more than 300 million smokers. More...

A new weapon to fight cancer - tobacco plants

Arizona - Tobacco is better known as a cause of cancer rather than a potential cure. But scientists in Arizona and elsewhere believe tobacco plants may hold the key to developing a personalized cancer vaccine as well as treatments for other diseases. The experiments are part of a growing field of plant-based biotechnology, and the cancer treatment has gained enough traction to interest the likes of German drug giant Bayer. "Most important is that the vaccine has been successfully used in human clinical trials," said Charles Arntzen, director of the ASU Biodesign Institute's Center for Infectious Diseases and Vaccinology. The made-to-order vaccine has been tested in an early-stage clinical trial, and it showed an immune response in 70 percent of non-Hodgkin's lymphoma patients without harmful side effects. More...

Using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking is hazardous to your health

Michigan - Using electronic cigarettes to quit smoking is hazardous to your health and nervous system. They cram too much nicotine into your blood, a study reveals. Mahidol University dental school researcher Dr Varanant Buejeap says electronic cigarettes contain nicotine and 28 carcinogenic substances, such as alkaloida, which releases substances that have amphetaminelike effects. This increases blood pressure and lipids in blood vessels. This makes the heart work harder and can lead to heart failure and sexual dysfunction. More...

Smoke-free dining in N.Y. points way for Michigan

Michigan - My family just got back from a vacation to New York City, and as I was unpacking and loading our dirty clothes into the washer, I noticed something.Our clothes didn't reek of cigarette smoke. It was delightful.Over our five-day trip, we were in many restaurants and other businesses that in Michigan would have allowed cigarette smoking. But in New York -- thanks to a law there -- cigarette smoking is prohibited in businesses.
Earlier this year, lawmakers in Lansing were close to enacting a smoking ban in Michigan that included bars and restaurants. More...

Cigarette tax increase must be win-win

Mississippi - This newspaper has been an unwavering advocate of raising the cigarette tax for several years. The only question in our mind has been how much the increase should be.
Mississippi, with the third lowest cigarette tax in the nation, trails the national average by about a buck a pack. Some in the Legislature have advocated kicking it up by that amount.
Another school of thought - one supported by Gov. Haley Barbour's tax study group - is to keep the tax in line with that of neighboring states, so that smokers aren't enticed to cross state lines to buy their cigarettes and take their tax money with them. With that in mind, the tax study group has settled on a more modest increase to 50 cents a pack. More...

Tobacco sting leads to citations

Granite City - A recent tobacco sting operation orchestrated by the Granite City Police Department's neighborhood intervention team resulted in the illegal sale of tobacco products by workers at Easy Stop, Corner Market and Tobacco Road, according to Lt. Detective Mike Nordstrom. Easy Stop is located at 3215 Illinois Route 162, Corner Market at 2501 E. 24th St. and Tobacco Road at 2430 Pontoon Road. All the businesses are in Granite City. The sting operation took place Aug. 16 through a underage confidential informant, Nordstrom said. "This is what the Police Department calls its tobacco compliance check, which is done periodically and on a yearly basis. This year, like in past years, several businesses were targeted." Nordstrom said. More...

Small engine plane goes down in Ohio River; during Tobacco Festival

Ohio - An ultralight airplane crashed into the Ohio River on Friday evening during the Ohio Tobacco Festival parade. Emergency workers, who were in the parade, pulled out, turned their sirens on, and left the parade to arrive on the scene near Ripley's public landing. Pilot Richard Swope was not injured. He was taken into custody by law enforcement officials. His plane made from wheels you could buy at Walmart or Tractor Supply with a plastic gas can to hold his fuel appeared to be slightly damaged. Law officer would not comment at the scene if charges would be brought against Swope. Source

Tobacco firms kept quiet on polonium role in cigarettes

Some of the world's biggest tobacco firms researched the lethal radioactive substance polonium – present in cigarettes – over a 40-year period but never published the results, according to a new scientific article.
Experts have examined more than 1,500 internal documents from tobacco companies. Polonium 210 is known to cause lung cancers in animals and studies suggest it is responsible for 1 per cent of all lung cancers – equivalent to 11,700 deaths globally – each year in the US. It is also the substance that poisoned the Russian dissident Alexander Litvinenko in London in 2006. More...

Shopkeepers fuming over cigarette plan

UK - Shopkeepers want to see a proposed ban on displaying cigarettes stubbed out. There are fears livelihoods could be affected if the Government plans are given the go-ahead and tobacco products are sold from under the counter. More than 1,000 independent retailers from across the country have already signed a petition for Prime Minister Gordon Brown. It is hoped by not having cigarettes on display more people will smoke less and children will be discouraged from starting. But Raxika Patel, owner of Surrey News, in Croydon High Street, is worried about the effect it could have on businesses like hers. "I don't think it's a good idea," she said. "If people are going to smoke then they are going to smoke anyway. More...

Americans are still willing to spend to have Life's little luxuries

USA - Your monthly gasoline bill may equal your car payment. Groceries may eat up most of your paycheck. But that doesn't stop a lot of folks from setting aside enough for just a few little luxuries, especially when it comes to candy, cigarettes and liquor. "I am spending my gas money on Corona," said Melissa Tintor, 26, of Newbury Park as she nursed her favorite beer in the Alamo Bar and Grill in Newbury Park. "I'd give up air before I'd give up beer," said Trent Eisner, 34, of Reno, Nev., as he tipped back a Coors Light at the Alamo. More...

Legality of higher tax on cigarettes upheld

MANILA, Philippines - The Supreme Court on Wednesday declared as constitutional a provision of the National Internal Revenue Code (NIRC) which levies higher taxes on cigarette brands that entered the market after 1996. The high court en banc unanimously affirmed the constitutionality of Section 145 of the NIRC that levies new cigarette brands at their current net retail price and existing brands at their net retail price as of Oct. 1, 1996.
It also nullified two regulations imposed by the Bureau of Internal Revenue to implement the NIRC provision which empowered the bureau to reclassify or update cigarette brands every two years or so. More

Customers now have to swipe ID to purchase cigarettes

Canada - As Mac's Convenience Store owner Mubashar Shorish scans a pack of cigarettes for a customer, a digital voice erupts from one of the many machines surrounding his cash register. "Please provide photo ID before purchase," it says. Shorish raises his eyebrows at the young woman, who hesitates for just a moment before digging into her wallet and producing her driver's license. He swipes it, and her age pops up in green characters on the screen before him. She's old enough for the purchase, and they can finish the exchange. After the customer leaves, Shorish stifles a chuckle. "You know, when I ask people for ID, they don't want to give it, but when a machine asks them, it's OK. I don't understand it," he said.
The "machine" Shorish is referring to is the newest addition to more than 7,000 convenience stores across Ontario as part of the Canadian Convenience Store Association's (CCSA) new 'We Expect ID' program. More...

Study Examines Impact of Cigarettes on TV

USA - The National Cancer Institute concluded that there is a causal relationship between depictions of smoking in the mass media and youth smoking, and that there is a causal relationship between cigarette advertising and increased tobacco use. "The total weight of evidence from cross-sectional, longitudinal and experimental studies indicates a causal relationship between exposure to depictions of smoking in movies and youth smoking initiation," the NCI said in a just-released review of the current evidence on the affects of media on smoking.The NCI pointed primarily to movies, but also said smoking depictions can be found in 20% of TV shows and 25% of music videos. It added that an anti-smoking media campaign, particularly on TV, can be effective in discouraging smoking, saying, "Evidence from controlled field experiments and population studies shows that mass-media campaigns designed to discourage tobacco use can change youth attitudes about tobacco use, curb smoking initiation and encourage adult cessation." More...

GOP catching drift on cigarette tax

Mississippi - Republicans in the Mississippi Legislature have suddenly gotten religion when it comes to raising the state’s ludicrously low tax on cigarettes. Republican lawmakers have spent the last several years helping Gov. Haley Barbour block efforts to raise the tax, including during the recent fruitless special session. Now some GOP leaders, including Lt. Gov. Phil Bryant, are saying let us take another crack at it in yet another special session in September or October. More...

Tobacco firms call for greater enforcement

PETALING JAYA: Cigarette makers can raise a hue and cry about sin taxes but they know that a rise in taxes is inevitable this or next year but the bigger issue at hand is how to curb the growing illicit trade of cigarettes in the country. What these cigarette makers want is stronger enforcement to stop the sales of cigarettes where no duty is paid as this is hurting their market share. “Whichever way the industry goes, nothing much changes without a full scale enforcement,’’ Philip Morris director for Malaysia IIwoo Chong said in an interview. British American Tobacco Malaysia managing director Jack Bowles shares the same sentiments. More...

Wisconsin confiscates more illegal cigarettes since tax hike

MADISON, Wisconsin - Wisconsin revenue officials are confiscating more illegal cigarettes. State Revenue Department spokeswoman Jessica Iverson says one reason for the increase is because smokers are trying to avoid paying a higher tax. The state increased the cigarette tax by $1, to $1.77 a pack on Jan. 1. Revenue officials say agents confiscated 12,040 packs of cigarettes from businesses in the year that ended June 30. That's four times the 2,922 packs taken in the previous year. More...

Tobacco CEO Tells "Truth" About Cigarette Ads

"The truth is that Lorillard markets its Newport brand cigarettes to adult smokers of all ethnicities," writes Lorillard CEO Martin Orlowsky to the Chicago Tribune today. "The truth is that our marketing is not disproportionately directed to African-Americans. The truth is that we do not target underage smokers. The truth is that there are twice as many Caucasian menthol cigarette smokers as there are African-American menthol cigarette smokers. I challenge those who want to prove otherwise to come forward with evidence to support their charges." More...

Tribal rights upheld in federal appeals court in "Cigarette Tax Case"

YAKIMA, Wash. - A member of the Yakama tribe says tribal rights have been reaffirmed in a federal appeals court decision in a cigarette tax case.
Harry Smiskin and his son Kato were charged with smuggling tobacco after more than 4,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes were seized in 2004 at his home at Wapato. They could have faced five years in prison if convicted.
At the trial the judge ruled that under an 1855 treaty, Yakama tribal members don't have to notify the state when transporting goods to market.
The federal government appealed but lost in a decision from the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals. Source

Battered for not having cigarette

UK - Martin Bramhall fights for life in hospital after he was battered by drunken thugs — for not having a cigarette. The 25-year-old who was last night in a coma faces permanent brain damage. Martin was waiting for a taxi after a night out when the yobs asked him for a cig.
When he said he did not smoke, three of them punched him to the ground and kicked his head. More...

Smoking in movies encourages young people to pick up the habit

Tobacco marketing and depictions of smoking in movies encourage young people to smoke, says a report released Thursday by U.S. National Cancer Institute.
The report also found that cigarettes are one of the most heavily marketed products in the U.S.
Entitled The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use, the report said American cigarette manufacturers spent about $13.5 billion in 2005 on cigarette advertising and promotion. That's $37 million a day. More...

Tobacco Marketing Promotes Youth Cigarette Use

Mass media has the power to both encourage tobacco use, especially among young people, and to discourage it, according to a landmark study released Thursday by the U.S. National Cancer "This is the first report to conclude that tobacco advertising and promotion increases tobacco use," said Melanie Wakefield, senior scientific editor of the report, The Role of the Media in Promoting and Reducing Tobacco Use. "It's the first report to make the conclusion that there is a causal relationship between exposure to depiction of smoking in the movies and youth beginning to smoke," she said. More...

Senators oppose FDA rules on tobacco

North Carolina Senator Elizabeth Dole says the federal Food and Drug Administration needs more money and staff but not for regulating tobacco. Bills in the U.S. House and Senate would give the FDA authority to regulate tobacco products. North Carolina Senators Elizabeth Dole and Richard Burr oppose the measures. More…

Smoke-free China a marathon challenge

BEIJING — Chinese fans are watching the Olympics on TV, puffing on cigarettes in a smoke-filled bar. Suddenly, when the Chinese team scores, they crush out their cigarettes and jump up to cheer. “Love China,” says a message on the screen. “Increase patriotism even more. Love a smoke-free Olympics.” That public-service advertisement was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, targeting TV viewers in China during the Olympics. More…

Tobacco’s a stretch for FDA

Although we understand the well-intentioned impulse to slap cigarette makers with more layers of government regulation, we’re skeptical of a bill in Congress that would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate tobacco. Backers of the measure, which cleared the U.S. House overwhelmingly in July, claim it will make it much easier for the government to regulate cigarette marketing and contents, as well as the size and wording of new warning labels. More…

Senecas lobby as Paterson weighs cigarette tax

ALBANY, N.Y. - Days before the New York Legislature will try to stem growing budget deficits, leaders of the Seneca Nation pressed Gov. David Paterson’s office to veto a bill that would require collecting millions of dollars in taxes on cigarettes now sold tax-free by tribes.Nothing was resolved Thursday, said spokesmen for the tribe and Paterson. “We continue to ask New York state to honor its treaties,” said Richard Nephew, chairman of the Seneca Nation’s Legislative Council. More…

Comanche Nation agrees to higher tobacco tax

Oklahoma - The Comanche Nation has agreed to sell cigarettes at its smoke shops with a higher state tax, which will mean more revenue for the state of Oklahoma, while giving less revenue to the Comanche tribe. The compact went into effect on July 1, and requires Comanche smoke shops to sell tobacco with a 51.5-cent tax stamp. The tribe will still be able to sell their tobacco products with lower taxes than non-tribal shops, but with the increase, Oklahoma will see a bigger portion of the revenue generated on tribal land. It may be good for the state, but some smoke shop owners say it isn’t good for them. More…

Lawmaker doubles proposed cigarette tax hike

SALT LAKE CITY - A pack of cigarettes would cost $1 more under a proposal being floated by a conservative Utah lawmaker who wants to make smoking less affordable and punish tobacco companies that he says helped bury a bill earlier this year that would have raised the tax by only 50 cents a pack. “I told the tobacco (companies), ‘If you screw with it - if anything happens - I’m doubling it and bringing it back,’” said Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clinton. More…

Why Cigarettes Bring Pleasure: Because of a Gene Variant

University of Michigan scientists may help explain why for some smokers the first cigarette brings them waves of pleasures while for other people it brings on nausea and coughing. Besides factors such as social pressure or environmental conditions, someone’s decision to carry on smoking can be determined by a gene, called CHRNA5, which has already been highlighted by other studies into nicotine addiction. More…

Cigarette Tax Burnout

Politicians in Annapolis are scratching their heads wondering what happened to all those chain smokers who were supposed to help balance Maryland’s budget. Last year the legislature doubled the cigarette tax to $2 a pack to pay for expanded health-care coverage. Eight months later, cigarette sales have plunged 25% and the state is in fiscal distress again. More…

FDA Sought to Regulate Cigarette Makers

Anti-smoking adovcates have long sought to empower the Federal Drug Administration (FDA) to regulate the tobacco industry. Recently, the House voted 326 to 102 to approve the measure which would give the FDA broad authority over cigarette makers. It is believed that President bush will veto the legislation if approved by the Senate. More…

Ban single cigarette sales in Dallas

Texas - Amid a battle over whether to ban smoking in Dallas bars, Deputy Mayor Pro Tem Dwaine Caraway wants to attack what he says is another puffing problem: sales of loose cigarettes in South Dallas and the greater southern sector stores, and on the street. Such sales, Mr. Caraway said, are made without the U.S. surgeon general’s warning appearing on any packaging. And, people often use the cigarettes simply to hollow out and fill with illegal drugs to smoke, he added. More…