Cigarette tax increase lowered New York smoking rates

The State Health Department announced that one year after New York State substantially increased the state excise tax on cigarettes, adult smoking in the state is at the lowest rate ever recorded.

A recent state health survey found that 16.7 percent of adult New Yorkers were smokers in 2008, a 12 percent decrease, or nearly 310,000 fewer adult smokers from 2007.

On June 3, 2008, state cigarette excise tax increased by $1.25 to a total $2.75 per pack of cigarettes, making it the highest state cigarette tax in the nation at the time.

Research shows that cigarette taxes are the most effective way to reduce smoking because higher prices drive people to quit smoking and prevent young people from starting smoking.

"For the first time, New York's adult smoking rate has dropped below 17 percent, which is well below the national average," said State Health Commissioner Richard F. Daines, M.D. "The data reported today show that New York's tobacco control efforts are having an impact and that keeping the price of cigarettes high is a proven intervention that has helped 310,000 New Yorkers become ex-smokers, who can now lead healthier, longer lives."

The New York State Tobacco Control Program promotes policies that support indoor and outdoor smokefree areas as well as high tobacco product prices to prevent youth from starting and to encourage adults to quit. The program increases access to effective cessation services, including support for the New York State Smokers' Quitline, supports media campaigns designed to increase public awareness of the dangers of tobacco use and motivate smokers to quit for good.

Last year's state cigarette tax increase, coupled with the 61-cent federal increase that took effect this April, have resulted in a continued peak level of calls to the toll-free New York State Smokers' Quitline. Since June 3, 2008, when the state tax increase took effect, the Quitline has received over 220,000 calls and provided free nicotine replacement medications to over 140,000 smokers trying to break their addiction to tobacco.

Additionally, during the same period the program's hard-hitting, emotionally-evocative media campaigns depicting the devastating health effects from smoking have motivated over 220,000 smokers to contact the Quitline to receive free coaching and nicotine replacement medications. Ads promoting the Quitline encourage thousands more New York smokers to try to quit on their own.

Source: EmaxHealth, 06 June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/quy9wq

Cigarette vending machines should be banned, doctors say

Cigarette vending machines should be banned and manufacturers forced to use 'plain packaging', as the British Medical Association urge drastic moves to prevent children smoking. 

The BMA, which also wants to ban tobacco displays, is urging MPs to support proposals in the Health Bill which is debated in the House of Commons for the first time today.

It says nearly one in four British adults still smokes despite tobacco being the most common cause of death. Most smokers take up the habit before the age of 25.

The Bill stops short of an outright ban on vending machines, proposing instead age-restriction mechanisms such as payment with tokens that could only be bought by those over 18 or a remote control thar shopkeepers could activate if they believe the customer to be over 18.

The government says its measures would be brought in by 2011 and monitored to check they are working. If not, ministers will consider banning vending machines altogether in 2013.

Last month, the Lords endorsed a ban on the display of tobacco products in shops by 2013 but voted down an amendment to outlaw vending machines immediately as favoured by the BMA.

Dr Vivienne Nathanson, head of BMA science and ethics, said: "MPs in Westminster have a real opportunity to help protect children from a lifetime of addiction and the associated diseases that go hand in hand with smoking.

"Displaying packets of cigarettes in shops, cigarette vending machines and tobacco packaging all contribute to normalising the habit and encourage the onset of smoking," she added.

Almost 200,000 children aged between 11 and 15 are thought be regular smokers. A study by the British Heart Foundation estimated that 46,000 children bought cigarettes from vending machines in 2006.

In Scotland, where one third of those aged 16 to 24 smokes, ministers have already announced a ban on vending machines and shop-shelf displays.

The Tobacco Manufacturers' Association says there is "no credible evidence" that the move will reduce youth smoking while retailers say teenagers would be more attracted by under-the-counter goods.

A spokesman for the Department of Health said: "The Government is very pleased that the House of Lords has voted to support our new proposals for tobacco control which will be particularly important in helping to protect children and young people by supporting them to resist the temptation to start smoking."

The spokesman added more evidence was needed before it would consider moves to enforce plain tobacco packaging.

A YouGov poll commissioned by antismoking group Action on Smoking and Health (ASH), of 3,330 people found that 65 per cent supported a complete ban on cigarette vending machines, while 43 per cent favoured the introduction of plain packaging.

Neil Rafferty, a spokesman for smokers' lobby group Forest, said: "In one Canadian province, youth smoking actually went up in the first 18 months after a display ban was introduced.

"As far as vending machines go, the simple solution is to make them credit card operated – then children can't use them."

He also criticised plans to ban packs of 10, arguing that children could still afford packs of 20.

Dr Nathanson added: "With most smokers becoming addicted before their mid-20s, it is essential that we try and prevent young people from taking up smoking in the first place.

"A teenager might think that cigarettes are cool but the reality is that smoking is one of the most dangerous things they are likely to do – it has a 50 per cent chance of killing them."

Ireland, Thailand and Iceland have all forced the sale of cigarettes under the counter, with some Australian and Canadian territories following suit but the evidence has been mixed. In Iceland, the number of 15- to 19-year-olds who say they have smoked has remained constant at 30 per cent since its display ban in 2001.

Source: The Telegraph, 08 June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/l3rw54

USA: Defending Big Tobacco is a lonely fight these days

Like smoking, defending tobacco just isn't cool anymore.

Just ask GOP Sen. Richard Burr of North Carolina, home to tobacco giants RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co., and thousands of their employees. Last year, North Carolina farmers produced $686 million worth of tobacco, nearly half the value of the entire U.S. output.

Burr, who is running for re-election next year, spent much of the past week arguing in the Senate against a popular bill that would regulate tobacco for the first time.

Most of the time, he was alone.

Just five years ago, Burr was a congressman running for the Senate and had powerful allies such as then-House Majority Leader Tom DeLay, who helped kill similar tobacco legislation.

Congress has a long history of legislative leaders defending the industry. Today, however, friends of Big Tobacco are few and far between.

Individuals associated with the industry gave more than twice the amount of money to federal candidates during the 2008 election cycle than they had in 2006.

But that money wields less influence than it once did. Few lawmakers are willing to risk the political clout on defending an industry that many see as a political relic in an age where the public increasingly rejects tobacco products.

That shift has brought a change in strategy for the industry and its allies on Capitol Hill.

"Fifteen years ago, it was, `We don't support any regulation.' Now it's about the form and content of the regulation," says Tommy Payne, a top lobbyist and executive vice president at RJ Reynolds.

The Senate bill would give regulatory authority to the Food and Drug Administration and let the agency control the ingredients in tobacco products.

Instead of simply fighting the proposal, Burr and Sen. Kay Hagan, D-N.C., have tried to highlight what they say are flaws in the legislation and have offered an alternative that would have a new agency to regulate tobacco. The senators say the current measure wouldn't do enough to reduce smoking.

Under their plan, the new agency would study the benefits of any reduction in nicotine levels; the competing bill would not require such studies.

Their proposal would encourage adult smokers to switch to smokeless tobacco products, which the lawmakers and the companies claim are less risky than cigarettes. That would help RJ Reynolds and Altria Group Inc., parent company of Philip Morris USA, which have bought smokeless tobacco companies in recent years.

Even Burr is distancing himself from the industry. He says he is not defending tobacco companies, but helping to save jobs in the health sector because adding a new mission to the already stretched FDA could have disastrous consequences.

Burr attributes the shift in Congress to an environment where regulation is more popular. Gone are the days when DeLay helped kill FDA regulation of tobacco in 2004 after it passed the Senate. He said then he was philosophically opposed to increasing government regulation.

The North Carolinians certainly aren't the only opponents of the legislation. Some conservatives, along with other tobacco-state senators, including Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell and GOP Sen. Jim Bunning, both from Kentucky, have come to the Senate to oppose the bill.

But the Democrats are in charge, and the chairmen of the two committees of jurisdiction — California Rep. Henry Waxman and Massachusetts Sen. Ted Kennedy — are among the original proponents of tobacco regulation. The House easily passed the bill this year and President Barack Obama, once a smoker, has pledged to sign it.

For most of the nation's history, tobacco has held a special place on Capitol Hill. Early lawmakers were farmers and many of them grew the plant. Tobacco leaves are carved into the speaker's rostrum in the House chamber and adorn the capitals of columns inside the building.

"The debate in both the House and Senate reflects a very new day," said Matthew Myers, the president of Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids who has been fighting for regulation for more than 15 years.

Even Burr's own state has accepted the inevitable. North Carolina Gov. Beverly Perdue signed a bill last month that will ban smoking in the state's restaurants and bars.

Source: The Associated Press, 07 June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/muoocc

Seven million illegal cigarettes in swoop

Seven million cigarettes that had been smuggled into the UK have been seized from a farm in South Staffordshire.

In a major customs operation, thought to be one of the biggest in the West Midlands in recent years, officers raided a farm in Coven as part of a swoop that also involved Staffordshire Police. They disrupted the racket, uncovering a farm unit and a Sprinter van containing numerous pallets stacked high with boxes of Regal King Size cigarettes.

A man in his early 30s from Willenhall was arrested and the van was also seized. Today officials have revealed the revenue loss to the public purse would have been more than £1.5 million.

The raid was one of a number that took place on Thursday and involved a number of officers from HM revenue and customs.

Customs officials said today the location of the farm cannot be revealed but investigations into the case are still ongoing. The cigarettes recovered will now be incinerated and turned into power pellets for the National Grid.

Keith Morgan, inland detection manager for HM Revenue & Customs, said: “This operation was part of our continuing efforts to disrupt tobacco smuggling and reduce the availability of cheap, and often counterfeit, cigarettes from local streets in the region."

“The proceeds from cigarette smuggling are often used to fund serious and organised crime such as drug smuggling. The illicit cigarette trade breeds contempt for the law by encouraging otherwise honest people to trade with criminals.”

More than 6,400 cigarettes that had also been smuggled into the country were recovered from shops in Walsall and Wolverhampton as part of an operation aimed at ensuring retailers were operating within the law.

Eighteen shops were visited and officials made seizures of cigarettes and 1.5 kilos of hand-rolling tobacco. No arrests have been made and inquiries into the supply chain are ongoing.

Source: Express and Star, 06 June 2009
Link: http://tinyurl.com/njv8ud