Philip Morris challenges San Francisco tobacco ban

SAN FRANCISCO —The nation's largest tobacco company is suing the city of San Francisco over a law that would ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products at pharmacies in the city.
Philip Morris USA filed suit in federal court Wednesday, claiming that the new law is unconstitutional. San Francisco passed the ban in July, saying people getting their prescriptions filled shouldn't be offered the opportunity to buy tobacco products. The new law is scheduled to go in effect on Oct. 1. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Movie stars of 1930s, 1940s were paid millions for cigarette endorsements

Washington - Gary Cooper, Clark Gable, Joan Crawford, Spencer Tracy, Bob Hope, Henry Fonda and other stars of the 1930s and 1940s were paid millions of dollars in today’’s money for promoting cigarettes, according to a new research.
The researchers claim that the legacy of these deals can still be seen in the high profile given to smoking on today’’s cinema screens.
For the study, the research team accessed cigarette endorsement contracts between tobacco companies and studio-controlled movie stars, as well as adverts of the period, from university and major US newspaper archives. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Pennsylvania Kicks Cigarettes Off College Campuses

Pennsylvania - Nicotine addicts can no longer light up anywhere on any of Pennsylvania's 14 state university campuses following the state higher education authority's decision to ban on-campus smoking, the Associated Press reported late last week.
Pennsylvania's State System of Higher Education notified students of the ban last Wednesday, the day before a statewide ban on smoking in most workplaces and public spaces took effect. Chancellor John Cavanaugh told the AP that the state law means a smoking ban on all campus grounds, not just academic buildings or residence halls, and that he put the campuswide bans in place accordingly. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Cigarette and Tobacco News: Idaho sues New York-based cigarette wholesaler

BOISE, Idaho - Idaho is suing Native Wholesale Supply Co., contending that the cigarette supplier illegally sold millions of smokes to retailers on Native American lands in the state.
The lawsuit, originally filed in state court last month, was removed last week to U.S. District Court at the request of Native Wholesale of Gowanda, N.Y. The complicated case involves Seneca and Opal cigarettes that are made by Grand River Enterprises of Ohsweken, Ontario, and sold by Native Wholesale to Native American-owned retail outlets on reservations in Idaho. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

General Tobacco Launches New Vaquero Little Cigars Wildberry Flavor

MAYODAN, N.C - Vidal Suriel, founder and president of Mayodan-based General Tobacco (GT), announced today the launch of the new Vaquero Little Cigars Wildberry Flavor.
"We are very pleased to present this latest flavor to the Vaquero Little Cigars family," said J. Ronald Denman, Executive Vice President and General Counsel for General Tobacco.
General Tobacco has improved the flavor of Vaquero Little Cigars and has added a number of new flavors to the catalog, including: Natural, Light, Vanilla, Menthol, Peach, Cherry and, most recently, Wildberry. The Vaquero Little Cigars Wildberry flavor is available in 100's box.
Vaquero Little Cigars Wilberry joins the other successful brands of General Tobacco including GT One, Bronco, Silver and 32 Degrees. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

France denies trying to raise cigarette prices

PARIS - The French government denied a newspaper report on Friday that it was pressuring cigarette manufacturers to raise prices by 10 percent to help bolster public finances. Le Parisien daily said the government hoped to raise an extra 500 million euros with an increase that would take effect on Jan. 1. It said the customs office had made the announcement to cigarette makers this week. "Contrary to the article which appeared this morning, (Budget Minister) Eric Woerth declares that public authorities have absolutely not contacted tobacco manufacturers to encourage them to raise the price of their cigarettes from Jan. 1, 2009," the budget ministry said in a statement. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

State's adult smoking rates hit a new low

Washington - Bumming a cigarette should be a bit harder now that Washington's adult smoking rates have dropped to a new low.
The state Department of Health said Wednesday that 16.5 percent of adult residents smoked in 2007, below the national rate of 19.8 percent and sixth lowest among all states. In 2006, the state ranked fifth-lowest in the nation with a 17 percent smoking rate.
But smoking rates among the poorest and least educated residents haven't budged significantly in years. Almost a third of adults with less than $25,000 in household incomes are smokers, for instance. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Canada's Harper promises to ban "kiddy" tobacco

OTTAWA - Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper, campaigning ahead of the October 14 general election, promised on Wednesday to crack down on the marketing of flavored tobacco products like cigarillos, which he said were aimed at young people.
Harper said he was appalled to see "kiddy packs" of cigarillos being sold for less than C$2 each.
"Flavoring and packaging them like candy, gum or a fruit roll up," Harper said. "This just isn't right. This practice can't continue. We will not tolerate it." More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Hurricanes devastate Cuba's tobacco industry

Cuba - Cuba suffered $5 billion in damage from back-to-back storms, and tobacco -- one of the few crops that can earn the cash the country needs to bounce back -- was hit hard. Alejandro González spends his days touting the intricate craft of tobacco growing to tourists here on the western reaches of the island that produces the world's premier cigars.
But when Hurricane Ike blew through Cuba eight days after Hurricane Gustav's pass, Gonzalez, 35, a tobacco engineer/plantation guide at the Hoyo de Monterrey cooperative, joined an intense effort to move delicate tobacco leaves from their drying barns to stronger buildings in hopes of shielding them from the storm's fury. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Swedish maker of snuff could be next to attract bid

London - Swedish Match, the last independent smokeless tobacco company, may attract a bid from a cigarette maker now that Altria's bid for UST is set to make the U.S. market more competitive.
While cigarette smoking in the mature markets of Western Europe and the United States is declining, snuff consumption is rising in the United States, driven by the perception that it is not as harmful as cigarettes, prompting two takeovers in the last two years.
Snuff is moist tobacco placed under the upper lip rather than smoked and is Swedish Match's biggest and most profitable product, largely limited to the United States, the world's biggest market, along with Sweden and Norway.
Some analysts say a front-runner is Lorillard, the third-largest U.S. cigarette maker, which unlike some potential buyers already has a large U.S. distribution network. Lorillard declined to comment. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Philip Morris bid for Rothmans succeeds

NEW YORK - Philip Morris International said on Wednesday that it succeeded in its tender offer to acquire Canada's No. 2 cigarette maker Rothmans Inc. Phillip Morris, maker of Marlboro cigarettes, said 67.8 percent of Rothmans shares were tendered. The company also said it extended the offer period for an additional 10 days, noting that its C$30.00 per share all-cash offer will expire at 11:59 p.m. Toronto time on September 29. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Walgreens Sees Smoke Over San Francisco’s Tobacco Ban

San Francisco recently passed a city-wide ordinance that bans the sale of all tobacco-based products in pharmacies, such as Walgreens. The ban, scheduled to take effect October 1, has stirred up a fire at the nationwide pharmacy chain, Walgreens leading officials to ask for an injunction against the ban.
Walgreens’ objection is that stores other than drugstores can continue to sell tobacco products, even when they contain a pharmacy as a feature of business, as many supermarkets and wholesale-club stores do. Walgreens claims the ban is unconstitutional and anticompetitive. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Walgreen Gets Court Date To Contest San Francisco Tobacco Sale Ban

California - The California Supreme court set a Sept. 30 hearing date for preliminary injunction of a lawsuit filed by Walgreen over a new San Francisco law that bans the sale of tobacco products at pharmacies. Walgreen argues that the ordinance, which affects 52 Walgreen pharmacies in San Francisco, is anticompetitive and unconstitutional because it does not ban tobacco sales at grocery stores and wholesale clubs that have pharmacies. Source... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Tobacco bill unlikely to pass this year

WASHINGTON — Landmark legislation that would give federal health authorities the power to regulate the tobacco industry is unlikely to pass this year.
The House overwhelmingly approved the bill this summer, and a majority of senators, including presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain, support the legislation. But President Bush has threatened a veto, and the prospect of a drawn-out debate will probably keep the Senate from taking up the measure as it races through a tight schedule this month, senior congressional officials of both parties said.
Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Sen. Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., the bill's leading sponsor, said supporters have not given up, but acknowledged the legislation faces an "uphill" battle. Kennedy is being treated for a brain tumor and isn't expected back at the Senate this year. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Cigarette Company Reynolds American To Cut 570 Jobs

New York, NY - Reynolds American Inc. announced Tuesday that they will cut roughly 10 percent of their American workforce in an effort to save $100 million by the end of 2010.
The maker of the Camel cigarettes brand plans to cut 570 employees at its Winston-Salem, N.C. headquarters beginning in the third quarter. The cuts will likely last until the end of 2009.
The company plans to scale back resources used to promote its Kool menthol brand in order to focus more on growing the Camel menthol brand. Reynolds also plans to enter the smokeless tobacco market in order to become a more complete tobacco company. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

College students continue to take up smoking

NEW YORK - An "unacceptably high" number of college students -- roughly one in five in 2006 -- continues to smoke cigarettes, according to an American Lung Association report released Monday. The association says aggressive tobacco industry marketing on college campuses is largely to blame.
To gauge the current status of tobacco use and policies on college and university campuses, the American Lung Association analyzed published research, surveys and tobacco industry documents. Their findings are compiled in a report, "Big Tobacco on Campus: Ending the Addiction." More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Check Out Line: Not so cool for Kool

Check out how it’s no longer cool to be Kool. Reynolds American has given the Kool brand a demotion, moving it to what it calls a “support” brand – meaning it will actually get less support.
Before Tuesday, Kool had been a “growth” brand, which meant that, along with Camel and Pall Mall, it was one of the brands where Reynolds focused most of its marketing efforts.
Kool also had been Reynolds’ leading brand in the menthol cigarette market, a market that has been growing while the rest of the U.S. cigarette market shrinks.
Now Reynolds wants is leading brand, Camel, to be its leading menthol brand, too. So Kool gets kut. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Reynolds American Aims For Smoke-Free Tobacco Growth

NEW YORK - Reynolds American Inc. said Tuesday it will take a third-quarter restructuring charge and cut about 8% of its workforce to refocus its business on potentially faster-growing product lines for its Camel cigarette brand and smoke-free tobacco. The second largest cigarette manufacturer in the U.S., the Winston-Salem, N.C., company said the move will also save the company about $100 million by year-end 2010. Reynolds American (RAI) said it will cut about 570 full-time jobs, most before next year, resulting in a pretax charge of about $90 million related to severance packages, benefits and related restructuring costs. The company said it would refocus its business resources to grow its Camel brand cigarette in the premium menthol category, which the brand currently has a small but growing position. Camel has long been Reynolds' growth brand. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Federal funds fill Medicaid shortfall - No need to raise cigarette taxes

JACKSON, Mississippi - Mississippi's $90 million Medicaid deficit has been solved for another year without raising anybody's taxes. On Monday, Gov. Haley Barbour said the deficit, which was the subject of a $600,000 special session earlier this year, was resolved by discovering what essentially was an accounting error. The state since October 2003 has been paying to the federal government more than it should to provide health care for certain Medicaid recipients. The reimbursement from the federal government, which was agreed to Friday, provides to money to cover the deficit for the current year.For much of the summer, the Legislature and Barbour have been haggling over how to solve the deficit. The Legislature was in special session for several weeks this summer at an expense of about $610,000 without reaching an agreement. The Senate and Barbour supported taxing hospitals, while the House leaders supported increasing the cigarette tax, though they said they would agree to a combination of hospital and cigarette taxes. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Walgreens seeks injunction to stop San Francisco tobacco ban

Attorneys representing Walgreens today alerted the city they will be seeking an emergency injunction to stop the city's plan to prohibit the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies. In July, San Francisco became the first city in the nation to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite-Aid. The ban doesn't affect the sale of cigarettes in grocery stores or big-box stores that also have pharmacies. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Russian officials sue British American Tobacco

MOSCOW - Russia's top health officer said Monday his governmental agency is suing British American Tobacco's Russian office for misleading the consumers, Russian news agencies reported.
Gennady Onishchenko, director of consumer rights agency Rospotrebnadzor, said he has signed a lawsuit against BAT for "misleading the consumers" and infringing on their rights. Rospotrebnadzor would not specify the nature of the claim.
Alexander Lyuty, corporate and regulatory affairs director at British American Tobacco Russia, said the company have not received any official claim and, therefore, was "not aware of its grounds in detail." Lyuty said BAT was acting "in full accordance with Russian legislation." More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Altria to buy UST for $10.4 billion

Chicago - Altria Group Inc. has agreed to buy UST Inc. , the largest U.S. smokeless tobacco maker, for $10.4 billion in a deal that will combine the Marlboro cigarette and Skoal moist snuff brands.
Altria said on Monday it will pay $69.50 a share in cash and assume about $1.3 billion in debt to acquire UST, aiming to expand its own offerings from a shrinking U.S. cigarette market.
The price represents a 29 percent premium to UST's closing price on Thursday, the day before news of a possible deal between the sides broke in The New York Times. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Car show gives Big Tobacco the red light

UNION CITY - Most event organizers are keen to attract sponsors, but members of Project RIDE are telling a particularly well-heeled one to get lost. Visitors to the group's import car show Saturday could find hip-hop dance contests, face-painting for the kids and, of course, row upon row of tricked-out Hondas, Mitsubishis and Nissans. What was missing, however, were the tobacco sponsorship and promotions that have become common at similar events around the state. "This is not an ordinary car show "... it's a statement," said Stella Jun, director of Project RIDE. "This is our community. This is our scene. So tell (the tobacco companies) to back off, and welcome people who love cars." More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Marlboro maker to buy chewing tobacco firm

The Marlboro cigarettes empire Altria is in talks to buy the US's biggest maker of chewing tobacco, UST, in a potential deal worth more than $10bn (£5.7bn) intended to capitalise on a resurgence in the popularity of smokeless nicotine. Moist chewing tobacco and snuff, also known by the Swedish word snus, are among the few sectors of the industry still growing in the US, as consumers look for ways to get around a crackdown on smoking in public places. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Kremlin Yields to Smokers

MOSCOW — On a recent summer evening, Nikolai Yashkin lighted a cigarette to relax after a long day of work as a courier. Mr. Yashkin, 58, said he had been smoking since he was a boy, and he made it clear that cigarettes were as much a part of him as the tattoo of the title of a Soviet love song on his arm. Mr. Yashkin is among the 60 percent of male Russians who smoke, and if statistics are any guide, he is already near the end of his lifespan. The average life expectancy of male Russians hovers around 60, and health analysts say the heavy rate of smoking here plays a big role in a looming population drop that has economists here quite worried. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Cigarette sales ban receives initial okay from Boston board

Boston - Boston health regulators today gave initial approval to sweeping new tobacco control rules that would ban cigarette sales at Boston drugstores and on college campuses. The restrictions, which would give Boston among the toughest antismoking laws in the nation, could go into effect early next year. The rules would also stamp out smoking on the patios of restaurants and bars with outside service; tobacco use has been banned inside since 2003. And, after a five-year grace period, the city would shutter cigar bars, swank salons catering to tobacco connoisseurs, which were exempt from the earlier regulation. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Council 'wastes' money prosecuting smoker who dropped cigarette butt in gutter

UK - A council has been accused of wasting hundreds of pounds of taxpayers’ money by prosecuting a smoker who threw a cigarette butt in a street gutter. John Meakin was ordered by magistrates to pay a £75 littering fine, plus an additional £15, after he had initially refused to cough up the cash when a warden handed him a ticket last year. But the local authority failed in its bid to force the 55-year-old university technician to pay its £580 court costs.
Yet the council defended its policy, saying fining litter-droppers and enforcing those tickets discourages others from throwing away rubbish in the streets. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Cigarette packs need to have horrific graphics to deter teens

Canada - Graphic health warnings need to cover almost the entire surface of cigarette packages if they are to become more effective in convincing smokers to kick the deadly habit, new Health Canada research found. The department set out to find out whether increasing the warning size from the current level - 50 per cent of the panel's surface - to 75, 90 or 100 per cent of cigarette packages would have a greater effect on smokers. The research, conducted by Montreal-based polling firm Createc on behalf of Health Canada, found that increasing the size of health warning to cover 75 per cent of cigarette packages would only have a "small impact" and over time would unlikely remain more effective than the current coverage of 50 per cent. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Boston Looks to Ban Cigarette Sales in Pharmacies

Boston - Should a store that sells prescription medicines also be in the business of selling cigarettes, the nation’s leading cause of preventable deaths? Boston’s health Brahmins don’t think so. The city’s Public Health Commission is likely to give initial approval today to a ban on cigarette sales at pharmacies, the Boston Globe reports this morning. “Why, in a place where people go to get healthy and get information about staying healthy, would you want to sell something that has absolutely no redeeming value and ends up killing a lot of people?” Barbara Ferrer, the commission’s executive director, told the paper. The proposal, which would also ban the sale of cigarettes on college campuses, has the support of the mayor. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Tobacco tax hikes just hurt the poor

Canada - Smoking is an unhealthy, highly addictive behaviour that kills people. Still, tobacco is a legal product and governments make more money from it than tobacco companies. The hypocrisy is governments pass laws meant to stop people from smoking, and bow down to pressure from professional lobby groups such as Action on Smoking and Health (ASH).
That's the group that helped convince Alberta politicians to last year enact the toughest tobacco law in Canada. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Taxing tobacco will shortchange kids

SCHIP is an acronym for the federal State Children's Health Insurance Program and congressional Democrats are likely to vote this month to expand the program by $35 billion. To finance the increased spending, the Democrats would enact the largest tax increase on cigarettes and tobacco products in the history of the United States. While SCHIP is an important program to provide health insurance to children in low income families, attempting to fund the $35 billion expansion solely through a federal tobacco tax increase should sound alarm bells in the halls of Congress. The $35 billion SCHIP expansion relies on higher tax rates for all tobacco products including raising the cigarette tax by 61¢ a pack or 156.4%, increasing the tax on cigars up to $3.00 per cigar or 6,000%, and hiking the tax on pipe tobacco and smokeless tobacco by 156.4% as well. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

NYC Can Proceed With Suits Against Online Cigarette Vendors

New York - A federal appellate court on Tuesday allowed New York City to move forward with four lawsuits against roughly 10 online cigarette vendors, accusing the out-of-state companies of violating federal and state laws by failing to report cigarette purchases by city residents.
The 2 to 1 decision, by the United States Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit, was a limited victory for the Bloomberg administration, but the future of the litigation remained uncertain.
Although a 2000 state law banned direct sales of cigarettes over the Internet, and by telephone or mail, officials acknowledge that city residents commonly buy cigarettes online and maintain that, when such sales occur, the state and city are unfairly cheated of excise and sales taxes — to the sum of “tens if not hundreds of millions of dollars a year,” according to the city. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

State, Federal Governments Dependent on Tobacco Tax Revenue

The New York Times on Sunday examined how a "growing reliance by the states and federal government on cigarette taxes -- as well as a popular proposal to increase federal taxes by 61 cents to an even $1 per pack to finance -- provide a sort of insurance policy for the continued survival of menthol cigarettes." The National Conference of State Legislators last month said states were facing combined deficits of more than $40 billion in 2009, and increasing tobacco taxes "is one way some states are trying to make up the shortfall," the Times reports. Last year, states collected more than $19 billion in cigarette taxes. Ten states increased their cigarette taxes in 2007 and more states are considering increases this year. According to the Times, the government "has become a financial stakeholder in smoking, some would argue, even as public health officials warn people about its deadly consequences". More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Cigarette Mafia Exist in Iran

Iran - Although using tobacco is dangerous and prohibited, still the tobacco business is a profitable one. Perhaps this is the reason that it has one of the biggest mafias in the world following narcotics and arms. Mahmud Abtahi, General Director of Iran Tobacco Company gives information about the cigarette mafia in Iran and interest of American producers to cooperate
- Does the general director of Iran tobacco company smoke?
- No, not at all. He is against smoking and strongly advises those who smoke to quit. Particularly ladies, who follow the new fashion of smoking recently.
- Then how do you fulfil your duties with this belief? Isn't there a contradiction? More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Time to collect unpaid state cigarette taxes

New York - Governor Paterson is absolutely right — New York state must face budget issues head-on and address the growing fiscal crisis with courage. To us, "courage" includes collecting taxes on tobacco products sold by Native American retailers. Because higher prices discourage consumption, Big Tobacco's grip on as many as 100,000 nicotine addicts would go up in smoke if consumers had to pay the taxes due on their cigarettes. And vital programs such as those that keep kids from smoking and provide life-saving mammograms for low-income women would not have to be cut if Albany collected the approximately $500 million in unpaid taxes. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Butts piling up since smoking ban

CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa - Business owners say the statewide ban on smoking inside is creating a mess outside. They say the number of cigarette butts tossed on the ground outside of their doors has increased dramatically since the smoking ban went into effect on July 1. The ban was approved last spring and opponents are still voicing their displeasure, including their argument that smoking should be allowed on outside patios. Businesses that don't prepare food can allow that, but many bars serve at least some food, forcing smokers to go outdoors to light up. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

California tobacco control program saved billions in medical costs

California's state tobacco control program saved $86 billion--in 2004 dollars--in personal healthcare costs in its first 15 years, according to a study by researchers at the University of California, San Francisco.
During the same period, the state spent only a total of $1.8 billion on the program, a 50-to-1 return on investment, according to study findings. The study is the first that has been able to quantifiably connect tobacco control to healthcare savings, say its authors.
The healthcare savings occurred because the program prevented 3.6 billion packs of cigarettes--worth $9.2 billion to the tobacco industry--from being smoked between 1989, when the state-funded California Tobacco Control Program began, and 2004, when this study ended. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Why Strawberry Jam Is More Regulated Than Cigarettes

While jams and other consumer products are strictly regulated and are required to pass stringent tests before they can be sold, tobacco has no restrictions and manufacturers can, and do, add anything they want into the product. A new editorial discusses the issues surrounding tobacco regulations and how the industry could be more effectively governed.
“The establishment of regulation is a political process and occurs slowly. However, with the gradual but prolonged and massive epidemic of tobacco-related diseases, regulation of the industry’s products – specifically the constituents of tobacco smoke – has to begin now”, says author Dr. Nigel Gray, member of the World Health Organization’s (WHO) Tobacco Regulation Study Group. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Game day tests University of Arkansas' toothless tobacco ban

Arkansas - The University of Arkansas campus is now tobacco-free. It didn’t seem to make much difference to the thousands of Razorback fans who swarmed around the stadium waiting to see Bobby Petrino’s debut as Arkansas’ coach. The policy was developed by professionals with UA’s Pat Walker Health Center with input from students. It was announced a year before it took effect and bans all forms of tobacco products from all university-owned property and grounds. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News

Indian cigarette tax bill action urged

New York - State Sen. Michael Nozzolio, R-Fayette, this week sent a letter to Gov. David Paterson seeking support for his bill that would force Native American businesses to pay state sales tax on cigarettes they now sell tax-free. Nozzolio said Thursday the measure, if enacted, would raise about $400 million in new revenue for the state, which is in the throes of a budget crisis. It also would "level the playing field" for non-Indian businesses that already collect the tax, he said. The bill has been approved by both the Assembly and Senate, but had yet to be delivered to Paterson for his consideration. More... Nutty News - Cigarettes America Front Page News