West Midlands: Cigarette Smuggling attempt foiled

An attempt to smuggle nearly 1.4 million cigarettes into the West Midlands was foiled [...], following a high profile operation by HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC) who seized the illicit goods near Bilston. 

Customs officers, with assistance from the Police, stopped two vans travelling on the A463 towards Wolverhampton, near Junction 10 of the M6 motorway. The cigarettes were loaded in the back of the vehicles and were all branded as Superkings, although it is believed they are counterfeit. The revenue loss to the public purse is around £220,000.

Keith Morgan, Specialist Investigation Detection Manager for HM Revenue & Customs (HMRC), said:
“We are determined to eradicate this form of criminality which has a devastating effect on local retailers trying to compete with black market traders. We are calling on local people to work more closely with us in the fight against crime and encourage anyone aware of illicit cigarettes and hand rolling tobacco to contact the Customs Hotline on 0800 59 5000 or email customs.hotline@hmrc.gsi.gov.uk ”

He added: Cheap tobacco products can often seem like an attractive offer to local people, lured into purchasing them at what seem like bargain prices. However, the truth is these sales are unlicensed and unregulated. Those involved are not concerned if they are selling to under age children and young people. In addition, with expertly crafted packaging it is almost impossible to spot whether the cigarettes are counterfeit. Like any other counterfeit product, individuals don’t know exactly what they are buying.”

Two men were arrested at the scene. Investigations are ongoing.

Source: The Sikh Times - 25 January 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/7Ao1ln

Blood pressure harm from smoke 'may explain cot death'

Smoke exposure during pregnancy damages a baby's blood pressure control, which may explain why such babies' risk of cot death is higher, say experts.

Maternal smoking remains one of the biggest risk factors for cot death.

A team at Sweden's Karolinksa Institute found smoke-exposed babies had abnormal surges in blood pressure, even when sleeping undisturbed in their cots.

These surges put extra demand on the heart, making it pump faster and harder, the journal Hypertension says.

The study suggests damage to the circulation may be a factor in sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), althought set out to look at the effects of smoking on the newborn rather than cot death per se.

Dr Gary Cohen and his team studied 36 newborn babies - 17 of whom had mothers who smoked during the pregnancy.

When they examined the babies they found the ones that had been exposed to cigarette smoke showed abnormal heart rate and blood pressure responses.

And these abnormal responses got worse throughout their first year of life.

At one week of age the smoke-exposed babies showed abnormally large blood pressure rises as they were lifted up from lying down.

By the age of one, the same babies appeared to have adapted to this and now showed abnormally low blood pressure responses to the same posture change.

Usually, when a person stands the heart rate increases and the blood vessels tighten, raising blood pressure slightly, to keep up the blood flow to the heart and brain.

Dr Cohen said: "Babies of smokers have evidence of persistent problems in blood pressure regulation that start at birth and get worse over time.
 

"This study reveals for the first time that early life exposure to tobacco can lead to long-lasting reprogramming of the infant blood pressure control mechanism."

He said this might explain why babies of women who smoke are at increased risk of cot death.

"We have known for some time that there is a cardiovascular element to sudden infant death. "It's not just breathing, but blood pressure control and heart rate control. This is another piece of the jigsaw."

He plans to continue to study the babies as they grow up to see if the damage is lasting and whether it leads to problems, such as high blood pressure, in later life.

Professor George Haycock, scientific adviser for the Foundation for the Study of Infant Deaths (FSID), said: "The hypothesis presented here is highly plausible and agrees with work from other research groups.

"FSID's top piece of advice remains, cut smoking in pregnancy - fathers too, and don't let anyone smoke in the same room as your baby."
Experts say a third of cot deaths could be avoided if mothers-to-be did not smoke.

Source: BBC News - 26 January 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/4NQXtZ

Germany: Higher tobacco taxes push smokers to contraband cigarettes

An increasing number of German smokers are turning to contraband cigarettes in response to higher tobacco taxes, according to research published on Monday.

Between 2005 and 2008 the number of untaxed cigarettes smoked in Germany grew from 16 to 20 percent, according to Hamburg Institute of International Economics (HWWI) Director Thomas Straubhaar at a conference in Berlin. 

Instead of reducing the number of cigarettes smoked, the tax has only increased the number of illegal cigarettes consumed – some 23 billion, according to Straubhaar.

The tax increase has also created an overall reduction in tax revenue earned on tobacco, HWWI expert Michael Bräuninger said, adding that he expected a continued increase in contraband cigarettes.

According to a study by the DZV German cigarette association presented at the event, the increase means a yearly loss of some €4 billion.

The highest number of banned smokes – most of which come from Poland – are consumed by eastern Germans, where every second cigarette is reportedly untaxed. Meanwhile every fifth cigarette in the state of North-Rhine Westphalia is contraband.

At about €140 per thousand cigarettes, Germany has Europe’s fourth highest tobacco tax after Ireland, England and France.

Source: The Local - 25 January 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/8b9NQd

South West employers losing £161.4m every year due to smoking related absences

Smokers are costing South West employers up to £161.4m every year through illness absences and smokers taking cigarette breaks, according to a report conducted by the London School of Economics (LSE) on behalf of NHS Smokefree.

In their efforts to turn the tide in their region, North Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service has been working with the South Bristol branch of the national building company, Rok to deliver a new and free healthy lifestyles programme designed to inform its employees on the advantages of making lifestyle changes to benefit them and their employers.

January 2010 saw the delivery of the first session where 70 Rok employees attended a schedule of presentations based on the Roy Castle ‘Look after your lungs’ programme - a workplace health promotion initiative developed by The Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation.

Miriam Thornton, the tobacco control lead at North Somerset Primary Care Trust said:

“As well as providing general health and wellbeing advice to Rok employees covering advice on physical activity and what constitutes a health diet, the sessions were focussed on raising awareness of lung cancer and spotting the symptoms of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease,” Miriam said.

“Research has shown that offering stop smoking support in the workplace is an effective way to help smokers to quit, so it was also an opportunity to promote the availability and effectiveness of the NHS Stop Smoking Service and to inform those who declared an interest in attempting to quit smoking about the various access points to the free service.

“The first session was very successful with a number of employees committing to making a lifestyle change and planning to quit smoking and make their homes and cars smokefree.

“Rok has even identified a member of staff who will be trained to NHS levels to become an in-house NHS stop smoking adviser which is a fantastic result.”

Andy Corp Area Leader for Rok is delighted that the company is leading the way in encouraging healthier lifestyles among its workforce.

“By developing this partnership with North Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service, we are delighted to be able to offer our employees this opportunity to learn about the benefits of leading healthier lifestyles,” Andy said.

“We hope that the presentations will help to enlighten them as to the potential effects of smoking, and encourage more employees to take the first steps to making that all-important lifestyle change.”

This campaign comes hot on the heels of a survey which revealed North Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service is setting the standards in client satisfaction in the South West.

The survey, produced in collaboration with the Smoking Cessation Service Research Network (SCSRN) and North Somerset NHS Stop Smoking Service* found that over 95% of people who used the service were either very satisfied or satisfied with the support they received from their advisers.

And 100% of respondents stated that they would not hesitate to recommend the service to other smokers who were considering quitting the habit.

The service is keen to offer the workplace programme to other companies in North Somerset. For more information, please contact 01275 546744, email sts@nsomerser-pct@nhs.ukor visit www.northsomerset.nhs.uk

Source: COI - 25 January 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/8GXbms

New York: Justices rule on RICO lawsuit about online tobacco sales

The Supreme Court held today that a city does not have the right to sue under federal anti-racketeering law for a failure to pay city taxes.

In 2003, New York City filed four lawsuits charging that online vendors who sell tax-free cigarettes violated the Jenkins Act, which requires businesses to report out-of-state tobacco sales to state tax authorities by marketing their product as tax-free.

Two years later, Judge Deborah Batts of the U.S. District Court for the Southern District of New York dismissed the racketeering claims and state claims based on common law fraud, New York state’s consumer fraud statute, General Business Law §349 and public nuisance claims against the sellers.

She gave the city leave to refile on the racketeering claims, which city attorneys did, however Batts dismissed the case in 2006.

In September 2008, a divided three-judge panel on the 2nd U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals in New York ruled that New York did have standing to sue under federal racketeering statutes.

Hemi Group LLC, a New Mexico-based business, and Kai Gachupin, an individual named in one of the lawsuits, appealed to the high court.

On Jan. 25, 2010, the Supreme Court reversed and remanded the lower court order in an opinion by Chief Justice John Roberts.

The city's lost taxes "were not caused directly by the alleged fraud," Roberts wrote in a majority opinion joined by Justices Antonin Scalia, Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito and joined in part by Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg.

In a dissenting opinion, Justice Stephen Breyer wrote that the city's revenue loss "falls squarely within the bounds of the kinds of harm that the Jenkins Act seeks to prevent."

"The statute is entitled 'An Act To assist States in collecting sales and use taxes on cigarettes,'" the justice noted.

Justice Sonia Sotomayor did not take part in the case because she had participated previously as an appellate judge on the 2nd Circuit.

Question presented: Whether city government meets the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act standing requirement that a plaintiff be directly injured in its “business or property” by alleging non commercial injury resulting from non payment of taxes by non litigant third parties.

Source: On The Docket - 25 January 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/5YpWb0

USA: Pipe tobacco tax target of federal bill

A new bill was introduced and is pending in Congress, called H.R. 4439, that would amend federal law established by last year's State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) expansion to make the federal excise tax rate on pipe tobacco equal to the tax rate on roll-your-own tobacco, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) reported.

The federal pipe tobacco tax stands at $2.8311 per pound, and was increased last year from $1.0969 per pound, as a result of the SCHIP expansion. The new bill would hike the per-pound tax on pipe tobacco to $24.78 per pound, according to NATO.

Source: Convenience Store News - 25 January 2010
Link: http://bit.ly/75kape