News 2011-11-22 17:31:00 Students younger than 18 who bring discount cigarette online to East or West Jessamine high schools in Nicholasville can find themselves paying a steep price.Literally.School resource officers at the two Jessamine County high schools now issue citations to underage students if they are caught with cigarettes store or buy cigarettes products on school property. The tickets are referred to Jessamine County Juvenile Court, where students can face fines of as much as $150 for violations, Jessamine Superintendent Lu Young said.Citations are issued to enforce Kentucky state law that prohibits possession of tobacco products by anyone younger than 18. Fines are paid to the court and dont go to the school system, Young said.Students 18 and older cant be ticketed for tobacco violations, but they can receive administrative punishment from the school system, Young said.East Jessamine High began issuing tickets to tobacco violators at the start of the previous school year, and West Jessamine High started last month. District officials said both schools have seen a sharp drop in cases of students bringing tobacco on campus.Before the policy went into effect, East Jessamine had 120 incidents of students smoking cigarettes in 2008-09 and 148 in 2009-10, Principal Janet Granada said.Last year, we only had 39, Granada said. Once the word spreads that theres a fine involved, it seems to lessen smoking cigarettes greatly.Young says the intent is to reduce student smoking cigarettes, not punish students.Were not about fining kids or busting kids and that sort of thing, she said. But these deterrents are there for a reason.And if it can become the ticket that moves a kid toward smoking cigarettes cessation, then thats a win for us.Brad Hughes, a spokesman for the Kentucky School Boards Association, said other Kentucky school districts might be taking such steps to combat smoking cigarettes, but he hasnt heard of any. State Education Department spokeswoman Lisa Gross also said this is the first she has heard of school officers ticketing underage students for having tobacco on school property.Federal law generally prohibits tobacco in any building used for educational purposes but doesnt cover outdoor smoking cigarettes on school property.Many of Kentuckys 174 public school districts, including Jessamine County, have adopted tobacco-free policies on their campuses. Fayette County Public Schools prohibit online cigarettes and tobacco products in buildings, on grounds, in school-owned vehicles and on field trips.Presumably, however, any public school district could adopt a court-based approach like the one at East and West Jessamine.The Jessamine County effort is the brainchild of Billy King, a school resource officer at East Jessamine High. School resource officers in the Jessamine County system are official members of the Nicholasville police.We recognized we had a problem with minors using tobacco, King said. We talked with faculty members and also with the court system, and we decided that I would make it a rule that if students were caught in possession of tobacco on campus, they would receive citations.I felt that it would prevent them from bringing tobacco to school if they knew they could get a fine. But I also knew that they probably didnt think it would happen. Police generally dont cite juveniles for tobacco possession, even though the law has been on the books forever.King said he first posted signs around the school warning that citations would be issued to any minors who were caught with tobacco. After waiting a few weeks for students to get the picture, he started issuing tickets.The word got around pretty quickly that the court system was putting some pretty big penalties on the violators, he said.Young said she didnt know exactly how many students have been fined, but that the number is relatively small.They only had to fine a couple of students at East High before the kids were saying, Forget it, she said. Now, theyre applying the same thing at West High too, and apparently its gotten some quick reaction there as well.Asked whether parents end up paying the fines, Young said that many students now have part-time jobs and could pay the fines themselves. Individual families would decide how they want to handle it, she said.King said he understands that the court has required students, not parents, to pay the fines. He said, however, that fines are not imposed in every case.Young said the school district is trying to support the effort with smoking cigarettes-cessation classes for students who want help.The kids who dont smoke cigarettes say theyre really annoyed when they have to use bathrooms that smell like smoke, she said. This is another weapon to try and cut out smoking cigarettes in the high schools. Im hoping its going to be successful. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/jessamine_schools_target_underage_smokers.html 2011-11-22 17:30:00 As buy cigarettes dangled from their mouths, Rodney Harney and Chuck Newberry played a friendly game of nine ball in Bluegrass Billiards.Over the pulsing beat of back-to-back Grand Funk Railroad hits Im Your Captain/Closer to Home and Some Kind of Wonderful, they talked about the prospect of a smoking cigarettes ban that appears likely to be proposed for Bourbon County next year.Harney, 39, acknowledges that a ban would help improve peoples health around here. But the thing about it is, drinking and smoking cigarettes go hand in hand.Newberry, 51, said he can understand a ban in other public places, such as a grocery store or restaurant. But 99.9 percent of the people that come into this bar smoke, Newberry said. If you dont smoke, you dont need to come in here.Smoke-free advocates are gearing up to push for an indoor smoking cigarettes ban in Bourbon County, which ranks among the states top producers of burley tobacco.Armed with an air-quality study and a public-opinion survey to bolster their cause, members of the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Bourbon County plan to hold a public forum sometime in early 2012, coalition member Phyllis Robinson said.After that forum, the coalition will ask Bourbon Fiscal Court to pass an ordinance for a countywide smoking cigarettes ban, Robinson said.We have already started sending our fiscal court members educational pieces about secondhand smoke cigarettes and the dangers, Robinson said. And well definitely be proposing an ordinance.A public-opinion survey found that 65 percent of respondents said Bourbon County should adopt a local law so that all public buildings, including restaurants and other businesses, would have a smoke-free environment.In addition, 67 percent of the respondents agreed with the statement, People who work in bars and restaurants should be protected from exposure to secondhand smoke, even if this means smoking cigarettes is not allowed at all in bars and restaurants.Those were the results released earlier this month from a telephone poll conducted from Aug. 31 to Sept. 22, 2010, by the University of Kentucky Survey Research Center.The poll results show how far public opinion has turned in this largely agricultural county, where cigarettes online was crucial among crops. In the early 1900s, Paris was home to two cigar manufacturers and six cheap cigarettes redrying factories, according to a local newspaper at the time. Several tobacco auction warehouses were in Paris, too.Paris also was home to Virgil Chapman, who was Kentuckys leading spokesman for tobacco interests while a congressman in the late 1920s, 30s and 40s, and a U.S. senator from 1949 to 1951. Chapman helped organize tobacco growers in Kentucky and other states into cooperative marketing associations.In 1990, Bourbon ranked first among Kentucky counties in production of burley tobacco, an ingredient in cigarettes. In 2009, the latest year for which figures are available, Bourbon ranked fourth in burley production, according to the Kentucky field office of the National Agricultural Statistics Service.Today, many restaurants, government offices and businesses in Paris and Bourbon County already are smoke-free, Robinson said. The Bourbon County and Paris Independent school districts both have campus-wide smoke-free policies, she said.But only community-wide laws ensure that workers and customers are free from exposure to secondhand smoke cigarettes in all public places, advocates say.On the same day that the results of the public-opinion survey were released, the coalition released the findings of the first indoor-air-quality study in Bourbon County.Indoor air pollution in a sampling of Bourbon Countys public places was 13.9 times higher than those in Lexington, where a smoke-free ordinance has been in effect since 2004, according to a study conducted by the UK College of Nursing.The Bourbon measurement was also 12.6 times higher than in nearby Georgetown, another community where a smoke-free ordinance is in effect.The indoor-air-quality study was conducted from May 21 to July 1, 2010, and it measured fine particulates that come out of the burning ends of cigarettes. The study measured air quality in eight public venues, including restaurants and bars, of various sizes in Bourbon County.The venues are not identified in the study, which is in keeping with the protocol for such studies. Some were individually owned, and some were part of local or national chains.Researchers measured the air quality with small, purse-size monitors. The monitors analyzed the level of fine particulates in the air every minute for an average of 64 minutes.The monitors found that the average amount of particulates — the pollution smoking cigarettes causes — was 251 micrograms per cubic meter. The outdoor air standard is 35 micrograms per cubic meter. There is no national standard for indoor air quality.No organized opposition to a smoking cigarettes ban has surfaced yet in Bourbon County, Robinson said.But Tiffany Bezeau, owner of Bluegrass Billiards, said a ban would take money out of my business. When people have to leave their drinks and go outside to smoke, its definitely not going to have a positive impact. I dont think its great that this coalition is trying to decide for me what is best for me or my employees in my business.According to a UK study released in 2005, the smoke-free law in Lexington did not have any significant economic effect on bars and restaurants. A study for the Lexington-Fayette County Food and Beverage Association countered that there was a 9.8 percent to 13.3 percent reduction in alcohol sales by wholesale distributors to hotels, bars and restaurants.As of Oct. 31, 30 Kentucky communities had implemented smoke-free laws or adopted smoke-free regulations. The Bullitt County Board of Health in Shepherdsville adopted a comprehensive regulation in March, but a judge declared the ban void just days before it was to take effect.The judge said the Bullitt health department overstepped its bounds to restrict smoking cigarettes, but smoke-free advocates say health departments have authority under state law to abate nuisances, sources of filth and sicknesses. The Bullitt County health department has appealed the judges decision.What happens on appeal might affect Clark, Madison and Woodford counties, where health departments also passed smoke-free regulations.Because of the Bullitt County case, the Coalition for a Smoke-Free Bourbon County decided not to seek a health-department regulation but to push for a countywide ordinance through elected officials.But going that route is no guarantee of success. Earlier this year, smoke-free advocates sought a smoking cigarettes ban simultaneously from the Nicholasville City Commission, Wilmore City Council and Jessamine Fiscal Court.But the three local governments could not come to consensus on a proposed ordinance, so the effort lapsed, and nothing passed.If that happened in Bourbon County, it would be fine with Newberry, one of the billiard players.We have the government making up our minds for us enough as it is, he said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/smoke_free_advocates_in_bourbon_push_for_smoking_ban.html 2011-11-20 17:28:00 Having endured a drought-plagued season last fall, burley cheap cigarettes farmers in Kentucky hope to be rewarded for their resilience in sticking with the embattled crop — a lynchpin of the regions farm economy until smoking cigarettes bans, health concerns and social stigma took a toll.Tobacco experts are upbeat about prospects for a spike in burley prices in the marketing season getting under way, thanks in part to favorable curing conditions that should make the leaf more appealing to cigarette producers.Ideally, the post-harvest curing process changes long green burley cigarettes online leaves to a dark reddish brown tint desired by buyers.After a rainy spring that pushed back the planting season, followed by a summer dry spell, weather conditions have generally cooperated with farmers during the crucial late-summer and fall curing season.This is a crop deserving of a profit, said Bob Pearce, a University of Kentucky extension tobacco specialist.A crop-reporting service said recently that the condition of Kentucky burley being readied for market was 64 percent good, 22 percent fair, 10 percent excellent and 4 percent poor or very poor.Kentucky leads the nation in burley production, and Pearce ranks this years crop as the highest quality in the past three or four years. He said farmers are benefiting from a curing season thats been about as good as we can expect.Its a big turnaround from last autumn, when a prolonged drought — combined with hot temperatures — caused much of the burley crop to dry too fast in barns. That left much of the leaf with an undesired light tan color.As a result, market prices generally fell and a portion of the crop grown under contract was rejected outright by the companies.Burley is mostly grown under production contracts between farmers and tobacco companies. Those agreements allow buyers to reject leaf that doesnt meet quality specifications.Will Snell, a UK agricultural economist, predicts U.S. burley prices for this years crop will bounce back to the $1.70 per-pound range. Prices for the 2010 crop averaged about $1.50 per pound, he said, though some drought-stressed leaf fetched less than $1 a pound.Besides the more desirable leaf color, farmers are benefiting from an improvement in market conditions that in the past contributed to lower demand for their burley, Snell said.The decline in U.S. cigarette sales slowed in 2011, which could boost domestic demand for American burley, Snell said. U.S. burley exports also stabilized this year as a result of a weak U.S. dollar and limited inventories of quality leaf, he said.Burley production in Kentucky is forecast at 128 million pounds, down 9 percent from last year, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. Per-acre yield is projected at 2,000 pounds, up slightly from a year ago.Kentucky farmers raised tobacco on an estimated 64,000 acres, down 8,000 acres from 2010, it said.Nationally, burley production this year is expected to be 173 million pounds.R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., the maker of such brands as Camel and Pall Mall, wont specify how much burley it needs but is upbeat about this years crop.The burley crops in Kentucky and Tennessee this year have been above average, said company spokesman David Howard. We are pleased with the good quality burley that our contract growers have produced, as they do on a consistent basis.Philip Morris International, the maker of Marlboro and other cigarette brands for the overseas market, said it plans to open its receiving stations to accept contracted burley on Nov. 29.Overall, we believe this years crop is of better quality than 2010 and we look forward to the buying season, said company spokeswoman Anne Edwards.Altria Group Inc. in Richmond, Va., owner of Philip Morris USA, spun off Philip Morris International in 2008.Philip Morris USA, the nations top cigarette maker, declined to discuss expectations for the new burley marketing season.The condition of Kentuckys burley depends partly on when it was planted. Earlier-planted burley put on more weight that will pay dividends at market. Steady spring rains delayed planting for some, and much of the later-planted leaf didnt put on as many pounds.Shelby County farmer Doug Langley eked out a profit from his burley last year despite the worst curing season hed seen since the early 1980s. He expects higher prices in the next round of marketing, but said this years crop wont carry as much weight due to the dry summer.It should be profitable, but its not a landslide victory, he said.And the favorable curing conditions means farmers wont deliver unmarketable leaf, as some did a year ago, Langley said.Pearce said it would be disheartening for growers if the companies are picky with this years crop and discount prices.Its got reasonably good quality and theres a lot of hard work that goes into tobacco production, he said. The buyers need to recognize that, and when they have an opportunity like this with a crop that they can use, they need to make sure the growers feel appreciated. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_sector_hoping_for_higher_market_prices.html 2011-11-06 21:59:00 An Aurora mother whose teenage son died in a high-speed crash after smoking cigarettes synthetic marijuana filed a wrongful-death lawsuit Tuesday accusing a buy cigarette online shop of selling him an unreasonably dangerous product.I understand my son is already gone and theres nothing I can do to save him — but I can still fight for him, Karen Dobner said tearfully.Just days after his 19th birthday, Dobners son Max called his brother saying he smoked the legal stuff and was experiencing symptoms consistent with a panic attack. Later that day, he ran a stop sign in North Aurora, and hit a garden wall. His car became airborne, and crashed into a house, police said.On Tuesday, Dobners mother filed a lawsuit in DuPage County accusing the Cigar Box in Aurora of selling an unreasonably dangerous product — iAroma Hypnotic — which she contends ultimately led to her sons death June 14.According to the lawsuit, the Cigar Box, formerly at the Westfield Fox Valley mall, was not properly licensed to sell discount cigarettes in Aurora or operate as a business in DuPage County at the time of the crash. The shop since has closed and its owner, identified in the lawsuit as Ruby Mohsin of Glen Ellyn, could not be reached for comment.The lawsuit says iAroma Hypnotic was intentionally mislabeled as potpourri, but Mohsin knew or should have known it was routinely, if not exclusively, used as something smoked by people when the store sold it to Max Dobner and a friend the afternoon of the crash.Only marshmallow leaf and fruit scent were listed as ingredients on the package, according to the lawsuit, but the product contained synthetic cannaboids that are exponentially more potent than natural marijuana and cause pronounced psychological and physical reactions in the human body, including delusions, paranoia, cardiac issues and panic attacks.The packaging for the iAroma product in question contained no directions as to what its uses were or how it was to be used, the lawsuit says. The packaging does, however, depict, both front and back, wisps of rising smoke while making no reference as to who makes the item, where it is made, who is responsible for it, or who can be contacted about the contents.In an ongoing battle, Illinois has banned several synthetic cannaboids that mimic marijuanas effects in recent years. But authorities say designers typically circumvent changes in the law by altering their formulas slightly.Karen Dobner, who is seeking a judgment of at least $50,000, said the lawsuit is one of several steps shes taking to help protect other youths and find justice for her son.She is also launching a nonprofit foundation, To the Maximus, and is lobbying for drug law changes. So far, Aurora, North Aurora, and Sugar Grove have banned synthetic marijuana.I would like for people who sell these drugs to be held accountable. Its really just that simple, said Dobner, who was on her way to report a Sugar Grove-area business to police Tuesday for stocking synthetic pot. I cant even believe how far weve come in the last few months as far as educating and informing the public about what was going on under their noses. Its a very shady business. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/aurora_mom_sues_tobacco_shop_over_teen_s_death.html 2011-10-18 17:27:00 Promises from leaders that monies from cigarette taxes and the cigarettes Masters Settlement Agreement would go to help New Jersey smokers quit have gone up in smoke.Its a key finding of a new report released today by a coalition of health groups and documents that the state spends less than a full penny of $1 it raises from cheap cigarettes taxes on anti-smoking cigarettes programs. New Jersey has the sixth highest cigarette tax in the nation at $2.70 per pack.Up in Smoke analyzes the adequacy of New Jerseys anti-smoking cigarettes efforts, given the minimal funding for tobacco control programs in light of the significant resources available. The report finds that although New Jersey has raised $5 billion over the past five years, yet less than one percent has been spent on anti-smoking cigarettes programs. During the current fiscal year, New Jersey will spend almost nothing on tobacco control, providing only one percent of the amount recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Money the state earns from tobacco includes taxes and annual payments from the Master Settlement Agreement.The toll tobacco takes on New Jersey is devastating. More than 11,000 New Jerseyans will die this year of smoking cigarettes-related diseases and more than $3.17 billion is spent on health care costs each year to treat smoking cigarettes caused illnesses. Lost wages and productivity due to tobacco use total $2.60 billion a year in the Garden State. The adult smoking cigarettes rate is 15.8 percent and the teen smoking cigarettes rate is 17 percent Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/new_jersey_tobacco_funds_up_in_smoke.html 2011-09-10 12:44:00 Within a few months the city might outlaw the smoking cigarettes of online cigarettes and cigars in parks, on Third Street, in front of local businesses and other outdoor areas. The city council Wednesday will consider spending up to $41,000 on a public outreach process to weigh the pros and cons of a comprehensive outdoor secondhand smoke cigarettes ordinance that could prohibit discount cigarette online smoke cigarettes use in the citys parks, on the sidewalks, dining areas, recreation areas and other outdoor public places.Numerous studies have concluded not only that smoking cigarettes, but even secondhand smoke cigarettes is unhealthy, and the citys parks and recreation commission has been on a mission to snuff out cigarettes store where it might affect others outdoors, Morgan Hill recreation and community services department director Steve Rymer said. Many communities have gone forward with smoke-free (outdoor ordinances), Rymer said. And the county is trying to look at a more global approach for buy cigarette online prevention.The outreach effort, if approved by the council, would be funded by a grant from Santa Clara County.In April, the council approved a grant agreement with the county to coordinate their efforts to educate residents about the dangers of cigarettes online and secondhand smoke, and to adopt a universal ordinance when it comes to parks and outdoor public service areas.If the council approves the expenditure of the grant funding, between Wednesday and March 2012 the city will conduct at least 10 educational programs and events to educate young people and residents of all age groups about the effects of smoking cigarettes and to promote tobacco use prevention. The city of Morgan Hill received a grade of F on its efforts to curtail tobacco use, the Santa Clara County Public Health department reported last month. The yearlong Communitys Health on Tobacco Report Card graded each city in four categories: amount of tobacco advertising, youth access to tobacco, tobacco sales and display and an extra-credit category for cities with additional enforcement or education.Morgan Hill, 40, and Gilroy, 50, were the only cities to receive failing grades on a 100-point scale.Also by March, the city would draft the outdoor anti-smoking cigarettes law for the councils approval if funding is approved Wednesday. As part of the process, the city will research what kinds of no-smoking cigarettes ordinances are in place in other communities and what results they have had, Rymer said. Some areas where smoking cigarettes could be banned under such an ordinance would be the Community and Cultural Center amphitheater, public sidewalks in downtown and other shopping or dining areas, outdoor patios, service areas such as ATM lines, public events such as farmers markets and concerts, and all recreation areas such as parks, sports fields and trails.The ordinance would likely be enforced by Morgan Hill police, but Rymer said the city would rely mostly on self-enforcement and education to ensure people dont smoke cigarettes where theyre not supposed to, rather than encourage an ambitious ticket-writing effort by police.Mike Davenport, a Morgan Hill resident, board member of the Morgan Hill Cigar Company and a cigar smoker, was not familiar with the specific measures the city is pursuing. But he said the general idea of prohibiting smoking cigarettes outdoors is draconian and defies common sense.Thats where youre supposed to smoke. You cant smoke cigarettes indoors anymore, Davenport said. I think its a violation of property owners rights, and a violation of smokers rights. Smokers do have rights, whether people agree with them or not.Such an ordinance that affects the minutiae of peoples lives should be decided by the voters as a whole, Davenport added.Last year, the Santa Clara County board of supervisors approved three ordinances that made it the most strict county in the nation when it comes to regulating tobacco use. Those ordinances outlawed smoking cigarettes in public parks, hotels, and inside duplexes and apartment complexes. They also required any retailer wishing to sell tobacco products to acquire a $425 permit from the county.The first violation of the ordinances is a $100 fine and apartments in violation of a smoking cigarettes ban could be liable to lose their county permit.Retailers that also operate a pharmacy or are located within 1,000 feet of a school or within 500 feet of another tobacco retailer are no longer be allowed to sell tobacco as a result of the county ordinance.And smoking cigarettes is prohibited in and within 30 feet of any outdoor service area, such as a ticket line or outdoor seating of a restaurant, though only in unincorporated areas of the county. When the county of Santa Clara decided to do this last year, the first thing I did was register my home as a designated smoking cigarettes area, Davenport said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/city_looks_to_snuff_out_smoking.html 2011-09-09 12:43:00 State governments, including California as well as others in Canada and the United Kingdom, pour hundreds of millions of taxpayer dollars into major motion pictures that depict smoking cigarettes – leading to thousands of new teen smokers every year, a University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) researcher has found.According to a survey published in PLoS Medicine, those subsidies, along with government inaction on stricter ratings for movies that depict smoking cigarettes, also promote youth smoking cigarettes and undermine online cigarettes control efforts.In California, approximately 70 percent of all released PG-13 movies subsidized under the states program depict smoking cigarettes, researchers have independently found.Californias state film subsidy program is undermining its longstanding cigarettes store control efforts, said lead author Stanton Glantz, PhD, UCSF professor of medicine and director of the Smoke Free Movies Project based at UCSF. These activities never made sense, but are even more remarkable at a time when health and education programs are being slashed.In addition to ending subsidies for films that promote smoking cigarettes, modernizing the rating system to give smoking cigarettes films an R rating will provide a market incentive for producers to keep smoking cigarettes out of movies that they market to adolescents.In the United States, 40 states offer a combined $1.3 billion in film and video production incentives to the film industry, the article reports citing data from 2008. The bulk of the annual funds come from five states: New York, California, Louisiana, Massachusetts, and Pennsylvania.These grants, commonly in the form of tax credits, cover 25 percent of Hollywoods day-to-day production costs, the study said. TV series and undistributed low-budget film also draw from the subsidy pool.In California, which has provided film subsidies since 2009, a bill currently pending would extend a state subsidy of $500 million for an additional five years. Health groups and the Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee, which advises California officials on tobacco-related issues, have urged that the bill be amended to make ineligible future film and TV productions with buy cigarette online imagery or branding. Previous studies have estimated that exposure to on-screen smoking cigarettes accounts for 44 percent of all adolescent smokers in the United States, with more than one million teens nationwide currently smoking cigarettes. Almost all of their exposure to smoking cigarettes comes from films produced by U.S. studios.About half of movies in the United States with smoking cigarettes are rated R for other reasons, namely because of violent or sexual content or because of graphic language, meaning that they cannot be marketed directly to youth.In Canada and the United Kingdom, however, most of these movies are re-rated as appropriate for teens or children, largely because of more permissive attitudes toward language and sex. As a result, youths in these countries experience greater exposure to onscreen smoking cigarettes, suggesting that more Canadian or British youths may begin to smoke cigarettes due to smoking cigarettes in films than youths in the United States, the researchers conclude. In 2010, 45 percent of films with smoking cigarettes were rated for youth in the United States, 93 percent in the UK, and 82 percent in Canada.The World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control (CDC) and Prevention also recommend that in the future films with smoking cigarettes be given an adult rating (R in the U.S.).In July, the CDC drew attention to the problem of state subsidies being provided to movies that promote smoking cigarettes, advising that states harmonize their film subsidies with their public health imperatives by making productions with smoking cigarettes ineligible for taxpayer subsidies.Co-authors are Christopher Millet, PhD, a clinical senior lecturer at Imperial College London, and Jonathan R. Polansky, a consultant with Onbeyond LLC in Fairfax, California.The authors report no direct funding for their article.UCSF is a leading university dedicated to promoting health worldwide through advanced biomedical research, graduate-level education in the life sciences and health professions, and excellence in patient care. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/taxpayer_film_subsidies_promote_youth_smoking.html 2011-08-29 11:57:00 In the coming weeks, children across the state are headed back to school. Store fliers are broadcasting sales on pencils and notebooks and computers. Teachers are decorating their classrooms, and bus drivers are learning their routes. Moms and dads are working hard to ensure children start the school year with everything they need.One thing children may not be getting this year, however, is a school environment that is free of tobacco.Many believe that schools are already tobacco-free, but this is only partially true. While smoking cigarettes is prohibited inside school buildings, weak policies at many of our schools mean staff and students continue to light up on school grounds.About 10 percent of Kentucky high school students reported smoking cigarettes on school property, according to the 2009 Kentucky Youth Risk Behavior Survey.Many more Kentucky high school students — roughly 60 percent — report that they have tried smoking cigarettes. Whether or not these students are smoking cigarettes on school property, research tells us that kids are more likely to smoke cigarettes when they observe teachers, coaches and other role models using tobacco. Our kids are watching, and it is up to us to set a positive example for them.Now is the perfect time for school districts to adopt 100-percent tobacco-free school policies, which prohibit the use of all cigarettes store products by students, staff, parents or guests while on school property or at school-sponsored events, such as field trips and sporting events.Smokers and non-smokers are in agreement about this issue: We dont want our kids to smoke, and we want to set a good example for them. The 2010 Kentucky Health Issues Poll shows that 86 percent of Kentuckians favor 100-percent tobacco-free school policies.While support for these policies was strongest among those who have never smoked, a solid majority of smokers (75 percent) also supported 100 percent tobacco-free school policies. Clearly, tobacco-free policies are an easy win for school districts.Tobacco use is legal for anyone over 18 years of age, so the goal of tobacco-free schools is not to prohibit adults from smoking cigarettes or using other discount cigarette online products. While adults are at liberty to leave school property if they choose to use tobacco, children are required to be at school and dont have the option of avoiding a cloud of secondhand smoke cigarettes near the school entrance when they need to get to class.Asking adults to refrain from tobacco use while on school property or at school-sponsored events is a reasonable concession to the health of our children.Recently, Terry Holliday, commissioner of the Kentucky Department of Education, and William Hacker, then-commissioner of the Kentucky Department for Public Health, sent a letter to all school superintendents in the commonwealth, urging them to adopt a tobacco-free policy. I commend Holliday and Hacker for taking a stand to protect the health of our kids. As parents and community members, we can all take a stand and share our opinions about tobacco-free policies. Isnt the health of our children worth it? Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/kentucky_schools_must_adopt_tobacco_free_policies.html 2011-08-28 11:54:00 As Gov. Steve Beshear and leaders of the Kentucky General Assembly predicted it would when the state cigarette tax was doubled from 30 cents a pack to 60 cents in 2009, revenue from the cigarette tax has declined steadily after initially increasing. In fact, it dropped by 17.2 percent in the fiscal year that ended June 30.So does that mean the sharp increase in the price of cigarettes online has convinced many smokers to kick their deadly habit? One would hope so but it is not necessarily tue, said Richard Dobson, director of sales and excise taxes for the Department of Revenue. He claims more and more Kentucky smokers are avoiding the 60-cents-a-pack tax by turning to roll-your-own cheap cigarettes and little cigars.The little cigars look much like cigarettes but are wrapped in brown paper. They cost about $1.25 a pack, compared to about $3.25 for the cheapest pack of cigarettes.The fall in revenue from cigarette taxes and a move to small cigars and roll-your-own buy cigarettes follows a national trend. The U.S. Department of Justice estimates that states have lost $5 billion a year because people are using alternatives that have no state retail cigarette tax.This begs the question: If the tax was increased on buy cigarette online to promote public health by discouraging individuals from smoking cigarettes — and this states political leaders claimed the last two increases were more about promoting health than raising revenue — then why was not the tax increased on all cheap cigarette online products? Do not roll-your-own cigarettes for sale and little cigars in which the smoke cigarettes is inhaled also endanger the health of users? Of course, they do,Ken Garcia, a spokesman for Phillip Morris USA, one of the nations largest manufacturers of cigarettes, said the issue goes beyond just promoting health. It is about fairness. The lower taxes on roll-your-own cigarettes, little cigars and other discount cigarettes products gives those products an unfair commercial advantage over cigarettes sold by the pack.We believe these products should be taxed the same as packaged cigarettes, Garcia said. In the interest of promoting health and fair competition, we agree.Yet Kentucky is hardly alone in taxing cigarettes at a much higher rate than other tobacco products. Other states do the same.Dobson said tobacco retailers are devoting more shelf space to low-taxed pipe tobacco and roll-your-own tobacco. And there are 20 or 30 commercial-size roll-your-own cigarette machines in Kentucky. Arkansas recently became the first state to ban commercial roll-your-own machines.While smokers may be switching to less expensive ways to satisfy their nicotine habit, we think the high cost of cigarettes that are a result of the tax hikes are discouraging young people from beginning to smoke. Not only is smoking cigarettes too expensive to meet the budgets of many teens, there also is more of a social stigma associated with smoking cigarettes than existed even just a few years ago. To many of their peers teens who smoke cigarettes are not being cool but stupid — and there is nothing quite like peer pressure to motivate teens.However, some of us know from experience that kicking the nicotine habit after years of puffing away is not easy. Unable or unwilling to quit, those are the smokers most likely to switch to less expensive tobacco products.At a time when many Tea Party Republicans oppose even the most sensible increases in taxes it may be difficult to convince legislators in Frankfort to increase taxes on tobacco products that are not cigarettes. However, if they wont do it to promote health, perhaps they will do it in the interest of fairness. After all, under the status quo, other tobacco products have an unfair competitive advantage over packaged cigarettes. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_retailers.html 2011-07-29 10:46:00 The budget deal that ended Minnesotas government shutdown comes with a hefty price: It relies heavily on borrowing $640 million against money from the states 1998 tobacco settlement, but may cost that same amount in interest — plus a substantial annual revenue loss for years to come.Still, it allowed Democratic Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders to avoid $640 million in spending cuts or tax increases.From the Republican standpoint, it is considered better than a tax increase. I would presume from the governors standpoint it makes money available to support critical programs, said Tom Hanson, who was the states finance commissioner under former Gov. Tim Pawlenty. The downside is its money thats not going to be available in the next biennium ... but the spending expectations will probably be there.All 50 states reached settlements with the major tobacco companies in 1998 to recover billions of dollars in costs incurred from treating smoking cigarettes-related illnesses. Forty-six states signed a master agreement with the industry while Minnesota was one of four states that negotiated separate deals. Minnesotas settlement was expected to bring the state $6.1 billion over 25 years, with payments continuing into perpetuity.About 20 states have issued bonds backed by future tobacco settlement revenues to meet more immediate needs, according to Arturo Perez, a financial analyst with the National Conference of State Legislatures. Some states have done so more than once. This will be Minnesotas first time, although the idea has been floated at the Capitol before, most recently in 2009 when Pawlenty was unable to get support for a tobacco bond issue.The budget deal calls for $1.4 billion from tobacco bond proceeds and delayed payments to schools. Minnesota gets about $160 million a year from the cigarette makers, so its expected to receive about $320 million in the two-year budget period that began July 1. The loss of an as-yet unknown portion of that revenue in future budgets means lawmakers may have to find a way to plug that gap.Theyre going to have the same debates two years from now, Hanson predicted. ... Hopefully the economy will grow and the revenue will grow faster than the obligations for the programs.The special session tax bill Dayton signed Wednesday leaves it up to his finance commissioner to work out most details of how to structure the bond sale. The bonds wont be guaranteed by the state.As a general rule, said Bill Marx, a fiscal analyst for the Minnesota House of Representatives, the final cost to the taxpayers could be 150 percent to 200 percent of the bonds issued. By that math, a $640 million tobacco bond issue could cost almost $1 billion to close to $1.3 billion. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/tobacco_fix_to_end_shutdown_may_be_costly.html 2011-07-28 10:44:00 A week from today, tobacco use no longer will be allowed on the grounds of public libraries in Wayzata, Mound, Excelsior and Long Lake.They are one of the more than 40 Hennepin County libraries where tobacco products will be prohibited as of Aug. 1.The policy is intended to reduce the exposure to secondhand smoke, reduce hazardous tobacco use among visitors and employees, and uphold the countys commitment to enhancing the health of its residents, according to information from the county.Cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco will not be allowed in buildings, grounds, parking ramps and lots, in county-owned vehicles and in personal vehicles on county property.The ban does not include drivers on county roads, psychiatric patients in a certain area of Hennepin County Medical Center or tobacco use done as part of a traditional spiritual or cultural ceremony that has prior approval by the county, according to the new policy.A county policy previously banned tobacco in buildings and within 45 feet of ground-level entrances.In March, the Hennepin County Board of Commissioners approved the more strict ban in a vote of 6-1. The one dissenting vote was Commissioner Jeff Johnson, who said it goes too far.Theres a point at which government can no longer prevent people from making poor personal decisions, he said, according to an MPR News report. And were all going to disagree on where that point is. But I would argue that its short of banning it in your own car.Anyone who repeatedly violates the policy could be charged with a petty misdemeanor, the new policy states. Employees who violate the policy could be disciplined by their supervisor. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/library_system_stamps_out_smoking.html 2011-07-27 10:43:00 The auction of six Davie County properties associated with the owner of three bankrupt tobacco manufacturers yielded nearly $1.3 million, according to a legal filing Monday.The auction took place June 23. The sale of the properties requires the approval of William Stock, the U.S. Bankruptcy Court judge assigned to the case involving Calvin Phelps, the owner of Renegade Holdings Inc., Alternative Brands Inc. and Renegade Tobacco Co. Phelps wife, Lisa Yamaoka Phelps, was listed on two of the properties.The largest block of property, about 311 acres, was sold for slightly more than $1.12 million. Webster Swicegood was listed as the agent for the bidder for the properties — 228.48 acres off East U.S. 64, 66.49 acres at 3737 S. N.C. 801 and 15.99 acres at S. N.C. 801.Before the auction, the properties were valued at a combined $1.26 million by Davie County tax records.A 27.83-acre site at Allen Road was sold to Justin M. Carter for $160,000. The property had a tax value of $343,790.Two adjoining properties of 1.62 acres and .73 acre were sold to James E. Ruddock for $76,000. The properties had a tax value of $150,940.None of the apparent buyers could be reached for comment on their plans. Each buyer had to deposit at least 20 percent of their bid amount with Iron Horse.John Northen of Northen Blue LLP of Chapel Hill, an attorney for the manufacturers, said the results were within the expectations of the bankruptcy trustee, Peter Tourtellot.Both Stocks and Iron Horse Auction Co. had said an auction was most likely to maximize the sale proceeds compared with separate foreclosure sales.Gene Tarr, the bankruptcy examiner for the manufacturers, filed a lawsuit in September against the Phelpses and 13 limited-liability companies that Phelps owns or controls.The suit alleges that Phelps made a fraudulent transfer of $8.1 million in assets from the three companies and used it to help buy the six parcels of land, as well as Chinqua Penn Plantation, two corporate jets, cigar-manufacturing equipment and a 2008 Maserati Quattroporte. Tarr requested the sale of the properties April 22.NewBridge Bancorp is the lien holder for the parcels that comprised 228.48 acres, 27.83 acres, 1.62 acres and 0.727 acres. Bank of the Carolinas Bancorp is the lien holder for the 66.49-acre and 15.99-acre sites.Dan Robertson, the general counsel for Bank of the Carolinas, said the bank received full payment of its lien interests on the two properties. NewBridge declined to comment.The three manufacturers filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection on Jan. 29, 2009, and exited bankruptcy June 1, 2010.They were put back into bankruptcy July 19, 2010, when Stocks vacated the reorganization plan, in part because of a criminal investigation of Phelps and the companies regarding what authorities called unlawful trafficking of cigarettes.Iron Horse would receive $40,830 in commissions. The manufacturers also paid $12,500 of the cost of advertising the auction. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/davie_county_property_tied_to_owner_of_bankrupt_tobacco_companies.html 2011-07-26 10:42:00 A massive expansion of Keno in Jackson County and across the state last year couldnt overcome the states smoking cigarettes ban.Last year the number of locations in the county where people could buy tickets for the popular state lottery game went from 65 to 201.Nevertheless, ticket sales in the county fell for the first time since the games inception in 2003, according to records from the state lottery obtained through the Freedom of Information Act.We can definitely attribute that to the smoking cigarettes ban, said Andi Brancato, director of public relations for the Michigan state lottery. Once that went into effect, the sales dropped.The losses in the county are reflected statewide, where Keno sales fell by about $22 million, down to $371 million.The loss of revenue from Keno and other lottery games hurts school funding.Contributions to the states school aid fund declined by 3.2 percent last year. The lottery disbursed $701 million to the school aid fund in 2010, down $23 million from 2009. Revenue from the lottery totals about 6 percent of the states school aid fund.Since the smoking cigarettes ban took effect May 1, six of the 10 biggest Club Keno locations in Jackson County saw a loss in ticket sales. Some of the losses were a few thousand dollars.At the Ground Round Grill & Bar, 1051 Boardman Road, the loss was much more dramatic. It saw ticket sales plummet by $141,000 in 2010 — a 26 percent decline.Establishments receive a 6 percent commission of their ticket sales and a 2 percent commission on prizes won.Our sales dropped off right away, general manager Dennis Slaby said.He said the ban has caused the length of stay of his customers to decrease. Where people used to stay for two or three hours and play Keno while they smoked and drank, now they stay for one or two drinks and go home.The Club Keno is more entertainment, he said, And having to get up and go outside to smoke cigarettes is a disruption to their entertainment.Andy Deloney vice president of public affairs for the Michigan Restaurant Association, said since the smoking cigarettes ban has been in effect, about two-thirds of the 4,500 restaurant locations they represent in the state said the smoking cigarettes ban affected their business. And the overwhelming majority said it had been a negative effect.It wasnt surprising to us, he said. The Club Keno impact certainly seems to support that data.Deloney said his members are reporting the typical length of stay was down along with sales.Slaby said at the Ground Round, the decrease in length of stay has actually helped business on the weekends.The tables turn over quicker, he said.He said they have adjusted to the new way of life under the smoking cigarettes ban.I dont think wed want to go back now, he said. Its nice for our employees.Tomorrow, we will look at efforts the state lottery has taken to help stave off declining revenues, including being able to watch the Keno game screen from the comfort of your own home. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/michigan_s_smoking_ban_took_effect.html 2011-07-25 10:42:00 In a July 16 letter to the Flint Journal, Melissa Florida of Flushing makes several embarrassing assertions about Michigans smoke-free workplace law. For opponents of this law, the facts never get in the way of telling us what they know is true.First, Ms. Florida says that she disagrees with her (Judy Stewarts) take on the Lottery not being negatively impacted. Well, she may disagree, but the Bureau of the Lotterys sales figures do not. According to the Bureaus 2010 annual report, sales for almost all Lottery games declined, not just Keno and other bar games. There is no unique evidence to suggest the smoking cigarettes ban is the primary cause for declining lottery sales.Furthermore, she argues, A poll of 600 people is ridiculous. A quick lesson in statistics shows its not ridiculous. It is nearly impossible to poll every Michigan resident (it costs about $11 million to have a statewide election, and were lucky to get about half!) If we drew random samples of 600 people at a time until we polled all 9.8 million residents, we would get results that resembled a normal curve. We can use that normal curve to estimate the error in a smaller sample of residents.There have been a dozen polls on this topic over the past several years and all have found the same level of support for smoke-free workplace laws.Finally, she states a handful of government people decided this issue for us. Well, in the House of Representatives, the vote was 73-31 and the Senate vote was 24-13, with both Democrats and Republicans supporting the measure. To date, there is yet to be a law introduced in the Legislature to repeal this law.Smoke-free workplaces are supported by a broad spectrum of Michigan residents. Consumers, employees and restaurant owners support smoke-free restaurants and bars. I urge people like Ms. Florida and Mr. Steven Mace to accept the overwhelming set of facts and data showing the Dr. Ron Davis law is a popular and appreciated law. Just because you think or say the smoking cigarettes ban is unpopular doesnt make it true. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/smoke_free_law_has_broad_spectrum_of_support.html 2011-07-24 10:41:00 Smoking in public areas is a prevalent issue in Michigan, with non-smoking cigarettes advocates demanding the habit be kept away from the general public.Marine City resident Gary Gabler joined the ranks of the protesters when he read a letter he wrote to commissioners at the July 21 Marine City meeting. There were a couple issues Gabler said he would like to see changed at Marine City Beach.First, he suggested designating the Marine City Beach a non-smoking cigarettes zone.My granddaughter put a cigarette butt in her mouth and I walked on top of one and burned my foot, he told commissioners.He also cited examples of other cities that banned the habit as far back as 2006.Los Angeles banned all smoking cigarettes in parks in 2007 in city parks and beaches, he said. San Diego in July 2006 banned smoking cigarettes in all city beaches and parks. New York City 2011 banned all smoking cigarettes in parks, beaches, boardwalks, recreation centers and pools.Mayor Charles Browne said Marine City does not have the manpower that larger cities have to enforce a smoking cigarettes ban. Instead, the commission agreed to place cigarette butt receptacles on the grassy sections at the back of the park behind the sandy area of the beach. Commissioners also discussed putting up signs asking smokers to be respectful of non-smoking cigarettes residents at the beach by smoking cigarettes only on the grassy areas and placing their butts in the provided receptacles.They agreed and directed City Manager John Gabor to order the signs and butt cans.Gabler said he would like to see a shower installed so that swimmers can wash off after getting out of the water. Gabler wrote that for health and cleanliness reasons, beach patrons should be rinsing off after exiting the St. Clair River.He said the cost of the pipe showerhead and shut off valve would be less than $100. He referred to a newspaper article that stated taking a shower with soap and water was recommended for safety reasons. Swimmers itch and other bacterial afflictions are not unusual side affects of swimming in public waterways.Commissioners discussed putting in a makeshift shower, but City Manager John Gabor said it would probably not last too long with teens around.The issue went unaddressed but could be resurrected at a later date. After the meeting, Mayor Charles Browne said he would talk further with Gabler on it.Gabler was distressed with the commissions solution to the smoking cigarettes issue.This whole thing backfired on me, he said. Now more people will smoke, with the butt cans out there. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/marine_city_beach_smokers_asked_to_keep_off_the_sand.html 2011-07-23 10:40:00 For cigarette smokers, James and Kristen Bearup are offering a cheaper and less harmful alternative.We provide electronic discount cigarette online and electronic e-liquid for people who want to quit smoking cigarettes or want a cheaper alternative to smoking cigarettes, says James Bearup.E-cigarettes resemble regular cigarettes right down to an LED light at the tip that lights up when the liquid inside the unit is inhaled. The e-cigarettes contain a rechargeable battery and an atomizer consisting of a heating element that warms the liquid into a water vapor, making it look a lot like cigarette smoke cigarettes when its exhaled.The e-cig serves the same purpose as a (nicotine) patch in that you can wean yourself off the nicotine but still get the oral fixation of putting it in your mouth and getting that repetitive motion, James Bearup said.With most units, you push a button, turn on the heating element, and it turns the nicotine into a water vapor.James and Kristen were each pack-and-a-half-a-day smokers when they committed to quitting last year with the aid of electronic cigarettes.Their efforts were successful, prompting them to open the Kalamazoo Vapor Shop, which is relocating this week from one business they own to a storefront at 4129 Portage St.The liquid inside the e-cigarettes is either a nicotine-based blend or one of more than 40 different flavors that James Bearup blends himself. He said the most popular blend is a caramel-flavored tobacco followed by blueberry and regular menthol.Bearup said e-cigarettes may be used with or without nicotine. The cost of e-cig units starts at $29.99 and increases with the number of units and the amount of liquid refills. The basic unit comes with one full e-cig, a charger and liquid cartridges.We resell the prefilled cartridges for $2 apiece, and we also sell the e-liquid so you can refill the cartridges yourself, Bearup said.When Michigan lawmakers voted to approve a ban on smoking cigarettes in bars and restaurants and e-cigarettes began gaining traction as an alternative to traditional cigarettes, Bearup said he and his wife took notice.At that time, Bearup, 36, was a commercial truck driver, and his wife, 34, was managing Kalamazoo Electric Motor Inc., a business that sells and services electric motors and tools for commercial, industrial and residential uses.Their e-cigarette business started in March 2010 in the 414 Mills St. building that houses Kalamazoo Electric Motors. Bearup said that as the Vapor Shop began averaging five to 10 customers a day, space became scarce at the Mills Street location. The new 4129 Portage St. storefront includes a lounge where customers can relax and try e-cigarettes and the custom-blended liquid formulas.The people who come in all want to quit, Bearup said.However, the e-cigarettes at Kalamazoo Vapor Shop arent sold as smoking cigarettes-cessation aids and Bearup does not make any claims about their non-cancer causing properties because, he said, There are no real studies about e-cigs just yet.One of the known advantages of e-cigarettes is that they can be smoked in a lot of places where cheap cigarettes are banned because theyre not online cigarettes and there is no secondhand smoke.Bearup said its better to ask before lighting up an e-cigarette, however.Weve only found a couple of places which have asked us not to use them, he said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/smoking_hot_trend_becomes_a_business.html 2011-07-22 15:52:00 The West Virginia Department of Administration has alerted Attorney General Darrell McGraw to what it calls an apparently new phenomena of roll-your-own cigarette machines in tobacco stores in the state.The department, in a letter to McGraws office dated June 24, said in these stores a customer can purchase bulk tobacco and rolling papers, and place them into a hand-cranked machine that takes the raw materials and turns them into cigarettes.Purchasing cigarettes store in this manner allows the customer to circumvent state cigarette tax, Administration Secretary Robert Ferguson wrote.To the extent that this practice impacts your ability to work with the tax department to collect revenue pursuant to the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement, it was the hope of the (Tobacco Settlement Finance Authority) that bringing it to your attention would be helpful to your office.The states Tobacco Settlement Finance Authority, or TSFA, is a blended component unit of the State and is governed by a five-member board, including the Secretary of Administration, the state Treasurer and three individuals appointed by the governor.The TSFA was created to issue bonds related to the States portion of the tobacco settlement revenue from the Master Settlement Agreement between tobacco manufacturers and the covered states.In general, our department issues bonds and, in terms of this transaction, we sold the rights to the income of those bonds years ago, Administration spokeswoman Diane Holley-Brown explained in an e-mail.McGraws office, in a response to Ferguson dated June 27, said it was already aware of the cigarette machines.Please be advised that not only are we are of this issue, but also we have been engaged in active litigation with respect thereto for the past six months, Managing Deputy Attorney General Barbara Allen wrote.Numerous messages left for the Attorney Generals Office were not returned.The Charleston Gazette reported that one such shop is located in Kanawha City.The price of the roll-your-own cigarettes, the newspaper says, is about half of what a brand-name pack of cheap cigarettes cost. Thats mostly because of the states 55-cent tax on cigarette packs.It is illegal to sell online cigarettes that dont have the state cigarette tax stamp on them. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/ag_s_office_looking_at_roll_your_own_cigarette_machines.html 2011-07-21 15:51:00 Tilda Briggs loves her job as a table gambling dealer, but after eight hours of breathing in cigarette and cigar smoke cigarettes from gamblers, her lungs begin to hurt.Theres a lot of players that dont want smoking cigarettes during games, Briggs told members of the Wheeling-Ohio County Board of Health on Tuesday.Briggs, who works at Wheeling Island Hotel-Casino-Racetrack, said before the meeting she was concerned that speaking in favor of the boards proposed plan to expand the countywide smoking cigarettes ban to her workplace might cause her to be fired. But she felt compelled to speak anyway.I do realize there are pros and cons, but Im here to tell you the hardest part of my day is sucking down someone elses smoke, Briggs said.The health board is considering expanding the ban to prohibit smoking cigarettes in all indoor public places, in addition to 20 feet outside of both public and government buildings. Currently, the ban exempts gambling areas inside the casino, along with video gambling areas inside bars and stand-alone video gambling parlors.Briggs claimed workers were told by casino supervisors if they didnt sign form letters against the ban, it would ultimately result in job losses if the expansion is approved.Wheeling Island spokeswoman Kim Florence said, however, no employee was forced to sign a letter or told they would lose their job. She noted half of the casinos 1,000 employees signed letters given to the health department.Board member Gloria Delbrugge, also a Wheeling councilwoman, said she believes it is the wrong time economically to expand the ban. The current measure is enough, she said.Why now? ... I dont agree with it and I think its wrong, Delbrugge said. Its working fine, leave it go.Board member Cheryl Wonderly disagreed with Delbrugge, noting the ban was meant to protect everyone, including workers.Were trying to stand up for those voices that cant do anything, Wonderly said.Dr. William Mercer, county health officer, said some casino workers told him they are tired of waiting for an expansion of the ban, enacted six years ago by the board.The workers say, When are you going to protect us? Mercer said.Administrator Howard Gamble gave board members additional proposed ban amendments to consider, including a plan to phase-in the smoking cigarettes ban at the casino during a two-year period. During that period, every six months another 25 percent of the casino would go smoke-free. And every six months, the health department would monitor whether gambling revenues are decreasing at the casino. The numbers would come from the state, he said. If the numbers did show a decrease in revenues, it would be up to the board to continue the expansion or go back to the old ban.Gamble said the phase-in idea came about after hearing concerns from city and county officials about the economic impact the expanded ban could have on their coffers.Another proposed amendment calls for giving parlors and bars time to enforce the expanded ban.The board was asked by Gamble to read over comments submitted during the past 30 days about the proposed ban before making any decisions. The board is scheduled to hold a work session, open to the public, at 4 p.m. Aug. 11. The meeting likely will be held in City Council Chambers, second floor of the City-County Building. A public hearing date was not set. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/no_decision_on_expansion_of_smoking_ban.html 2011-07-20 15:50:00 The tobacco companies are responding to statewide smoking cigarettes restrictions by developing new smokeless tobacco products. One look at these products and its apparent they have little in common with traditional chew-besides the same deadly effects of course. Most are dissolvable, meaning no spitting is involved in their use. They also come in different forms, most of which look deceptively harmless.The colorful packaging and candy flavors of these products also make them more appealing to kids. In fact, unless you already knew what they were, you could easily mistake most of them for candy. For instance, new Camel Orbs take the form of small mints and look nearly identical to tic-tacs, right down to their bright, eye-catching packaging.As a coalition working to protect our youth, we are especially disturbed by the discrete nature of these products. Theyre not as obvious as cigarettes store or chewing tobacco, but make no mistake, they are deadly.No one actually expects responsible behavior from big tobacco at this point, but companies like Philip Morris and RJ Reynolds have clearly hit a new low. These products are currently being tested in cities all across the country, and Snus, small dissolvable tobacco pouches that fit in the corner of your cheek, are already available throughout Wisconsin.I encourage you to learn more about these dangerous new products and tell your friends and family about them. Lets stop this lethal new trend before it takes hold in Wisconsin. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/dangerous_new_products.html 2011-07-19 15:49:00 The recent influx of tobacco shops in South Beloit has raised some concerns among South Beloit City Council members.Monday, council members discussed options available to the city in regulating the number of tobacco shops and what they sell.Once concern voiced by council members was that some tobacco shops sell items that can be used with illegal drugs or as substitutes for illegal drugs. The concern was that some tobacco pipes seem designed for marijuana or hashish smoking cigarettes and some may sell items that contain synthetic marijuana.Council member John LaMendola said he is aware that many businesses have their products labeled for tobacco use only, but that doesnt change the fact that some products are specifically designed for illegal drug use.I just think we need to do something about it, he said. A crack pipe is a crack pipe is a crack pipe. A bong is a bong is a bong.There has been growth in the number of tobacco shops opening in South Beloit, especially since the taxes on tobacco products are much higher in Wisconsin. Many Wisconsin residents cross the state line to get a price break on cigarettes for sale and tobacco products. LaMendola said there are about five tobacco shops in South Beloit that he knows of.The council discussed the possibility of limiting the number of licenses issued for tobacco shops. However, City Attorney Roxanne Sosnowski said crafting an ordinance to limit the number of tobacco shop licenses would be in a gray area of the law and may not withstand a legal challenge.Mayor Michael Duffy asked if the city could increase the license fee for tobacco shops as a way to limit the number of shops. Sosnowski said that would be allowed under the law.I dont want to run any businesses out, but I think there are some businesses that are detrimental to the community, Duffy said.The council voted to lay over the discussion and agreed to discuss it further at a future meeting.In other business, the council approved hiring Sosnowskis law firm of Barrick Switzer Long Balsley and Van Evera to represent the city in future labor negotiations.Charlotte LeClercq is the attorney who will head labor negotiations while Sosnowski may be called on to handle union grievances.Jill Leka of the law firm of Clark Baird Smith based in Rosemont, Ill., had been heading labor negotiations for the city. She will continue the labor negotiations with the citys Street and Sewer Department union members, which already has started.LaClercq will handle negotiations with the citys police officers union, which is the Fraternal Order of Police, and the police sergeants union, which is the Illinois Council of Police (ICOPs). Both contracts expired June 30. Also, an Illinois Labor Relations Board election will be held July 27 to determine if the South Beloit police officers want to be represented by ICOPs instead of the Fraternal Order of Police. If they did, all city unions would be represented by ICOPs.The council also discussed doing criminal background checks on new employees for the city. The issue came up when Fire Chief Ken Morse proposed hiring two volunteer/paid-on-call firefighters. He said he does a criminal background check with the Winnebago County Sheriffs Department on new hires who are part-time, but that only extends to criminal histories in the county.Duffy said he would like to see a more extensive criminal background check for all new employees, which may include running fingerprints on new hires.The council decided to hold off on hiring any new employees until a policy can be crafted on criminal background checks so it is uniform throughout all departments.The council also approved buying three laptop computers and two desktop computers for city council members use.Sosnowski noted that any e-mail communications between council members are subject to Freedom of Information and Open Meetings laws. Council member Alice Schoonover said she and other council members would be more comfortable if e-mails and city documents would not be on her personal computer so all city documents and communications would be centralized. The cost for the computers was $4,794.59.Also, the council agreed to give $5,000 from hotel/motel tax funds to the South Beloit Fire Department for its annual corn boil, which is scheduled for Aug. 27. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/lit_up_over_smoke_shops.html 2011-07-18 13:34:00 The smoking cigarettes ban in San Francisco has been in place for years, but a change to that law last year is now having an impact on places where a certain kind of smoking cigarettes has continued. The city is cracking down on hookah lounges.Kamel Asfour is happy to demonstrate how to use a hookah at his familys Polk Street tobacco shop, which is right next door to their Hookah Dream lounge. Just opened last year, it was ordered to close down as of Friday, because of state and local laws against smoking cigarettes in enclosed workplaces.Asfour says his dad put $100,000 into the lounge and isnt sure what to do now.A lot of families are going to go broke and dont know what is going to happen now, Asfour said.The hookah is a water pipe, used for smoking cigarettes flavored tobaccos through a long tube. Multiple smokers can share the same hookah using different mouthpieces. The smoked product is a combination of tobacco, molasses and fruit flavoring.Asfour says it is nothing like cigarette tobacco.Its safe; its not bad at all, he said.But the Department of Public Health disagrees.Theres a lot of science reports out right now saying exposure is equal to or greater than buy cigarettes because of the number of people and amount of time, Department of Public Health spokesperson Janine Young said.Young says she has sent letters to 20 enclosed hookah businesses, and there are 20 more under investigation.Cafe Chanta has until Tuesday to remove all smoking cigarettes equipment, and Cairo Nights is ordered to stop indoor smoking cigarettes immediately.In San Francisco anyway, hookah smokers probably wont be going out as much.You can smoke cigarettes in your own home and in a multi-unit building you can smoke cigarettes in your own unit as long as your front door is closed, Young said.The owner of Kan Zaman Cafe on Haight Street says he has hired legal help to try to find a way to keep his hookahs going. The city says it is committed to working with hookah businesses to keep them open. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/san_francisco_cracks_down_on_hookah_lounges.html 2011-07-17 13:33:00 Smoking costs American Indians in California $795 million a year in health care and lost productivity, according to a report released yesterday by researchers at UCLA.By analyzing census figures, government health data and economic consequences of smoking cigarettes, the UCLA Center for Health Policy Research estimated that smoking cigarettes comes with an average annual price tag of $1,076 per American Indian in California.More Native Americans – nearly 739,000 – live in California than in any other state. They make up just 2.1 percent of the states population, but they account for 4.4 percent of its $16.3 billion smoking cigarettes-related costs, researchers found. The disproportion reveals holes in access to health care and cultural complications in cessation campaigns.Nearly 20 percent of the states American Indian adults currently smoke, and more than one in four used to smoke. The rates are among the highest of all racial and ethnic groups, but Native populations are less likely to have health insurance, the report found.Forty-one percent in the state are covered by their employers, compared to 67 percent of whites with job-based insurance. The majority of Native Americans in California – 90 percent – cannot access Indian Health Service here because their tribes reservations are in other states.Even for those whose reservation is in the state, Californias vast geography may mean the services are beyond their reach. About two-thirds of American Indians in the state live in urban areas.As a result, many Native Americans do not have the resources or support to address tobacco-related illnesses – the single most preventable cause of premature death in the country, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Nineteen percent of American Indians in California say they lack a regular health care provider.In addition to the direct health costs of smoking cigarettes, researchers calculated productivity lost due to smoking cigarettes-related illnesses among Californias Native population. Among the costliest conditions: * Trachea, lung and bronchus cancer: $84.5 million * Ischemic heart disease: $58.3 million * Chronic airway obstruction: $60.8 million * Stroke: $11.1 millionCalifornia American Indians ages 25 to 39 have the highest smoking cigarettes rate (23 percent). As these smokers age, their health and economic burden will increase, said Delight Satter, the reports lead author and a member of the Confederated Tribes of Grand Ronde, Ore.However, researchers noted that the cost of smoking cigarettes was not always financial.Older members of the family and community are called upon to pass on important traditions, knowledge and history to the younger members, the report said. The loss of cultural capital due to death could be even higher than the human capital loss … or actual spending on health care.In many American Indian tribes, tobacco is one such tradition. It has a medicinal and sacred use in prayer and other ceremonies.The tobacco industry is aware that Natives have a sacred value and a sacred relationship with tobacco, and they exploit that cultural value in marketing campaigns, Satter said.Used moderately in Native tradition, smoking cigarettes tobacco did not always pose the health risks seen today. But with little or no access to natural tobacco plants, many American Indians have turned to commercial tobacco, she said.Commercial tobacco is not the same as the original plant. Its got additives, carcinogens and toxins added to it, she said.Native communities must do more to separate these types of tobacco, Satter said. The report includes measures that could reduce commercial tobacco use, including implementing tribal policies that regulate tobacco advertisement, availability and taxes. Community education and social marketing interventions are also suggested.Im quite sure Natives would readily choose a traditional plant over a commercial tobacco, Satter said. You can still promote sacred use and cultural identity at the same time you can say, Be healthy and stop commercial tobacco use. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount-Cigarettes-Planet.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/american_indians_hit_hardest_by_tobacco_costs.html 2011-07-16 13:31:00 I am not paid by the state of Ohio over here to enforce their laws, says Pitzer.Hes the son of the owner of Pegs Pub. He invited us inside the darkened bar to show it has No Smoking signs up on the front door and beyond. But Pitzer says, regardless, patrons want to smoke cigarettes and he doesnt want to lose their business.When people light up, we tell them, by law you are not supposed to smoke cigarettes in here. But Id be a stupid business owner if I rand them out because they are paying customers. If I ran them out, Id lose 30 to 50 percent of my business, says Pitzer.Its illegal to smoke cigarettes in any bar or restaurant in the state of Ohio. So over the last few months, Pegs Pub has been cited by the state many times and the owners now owes more than $50,000 in fines.Dave says his familys been paying that down.Weve been paying a hundred dollar a month money order for the last, ballpark year and a half, says Pitzer.Now the state has sent a certified letter telling the Pitzer family theyve lost the liquor licence for Pegs Pub. The smoking cigarettes violations are simply too many.Word about this has spread fast.Oh yeah. This parking lot is packed. On Friday night, if we work late, its hard to find a place to park our service vans. So, it was a well established establishment, says patron Tim Heim.Pegs Put remains open for now. Pitzer says hes going to fight the state on this one. He says its not about smoking cigarettes, but about getting the state to butt out of small business.The Pitzers have 30 days to fight the judgement. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/evendale_bar_faces_loss_of_liquor_license_after_smoking_ban_violations.html 2011-07-15 13:30:00 Fultondale city leaders get it. They understand the danger to their citizens that comes with secondhand smoke. They know that while tobacco smoking cigarettes is legal, its also lethal.If somebody wants to smoke cigarettes and injure or kill himself, thats one thing. That smoker has no right to inflict his disease-causing habit on anybody else. Thats whats behind the Fultondale City Council, with strong support from Mayor Jim Lowery, unanimously passing the strongest smoking cigarettes ordinance in Jefferson County.Lets hope other cities quickly follow. Better yet, lets hope the state finally passes a comprehensive smoking cigarettes law that, like Fultondales, prohibits smoking cigarettes in all enclosed public places, workplaces, private clubs, restaurants and, yes, bars.Lots of cities, Birmingham included, prohibit smoking cigarettes in some of those places -- mostly restaurants. Few go as far as Fultondale. Only 12 other cities in Alabama have the same ordinances.Until Fultondale acted, Fairfield had Jefferson Countys toughest ordinance. But Fairfield still allowed business owners (outside of bars and restaurants) to make a choice whether they were smoking cigarettes or nonsmoking cigarettes businesses, and Fairfield also exempted tobacco retail stores and hotels.The Fairfield City Council has courageously resisted two separate efforts to force more exemptions, so Fultondales example will be encouraging.The trend nationally is toward these type comprehensive laws, called gold standard laws and endorsed by groups such as the American Lung Association, the American Cancer Society, the American Heart Association and, in Jefferson County, the Jefferson County Health Action Partnership. The Health Action Partnership is pushing for other cities in the county to enact comprehensive smoking cigarettes ordinances.Since 2000, 25 states and the District of Columbia have passed comprehensive smoke-free laws. Alabama is far behind. A law has been proposed in the Legislature for more than a decade, but it goes nowhere. As a result, more Alabamians die or get sick from secondhand smoke cigarettes than should.The Legislatures failure to act on this issue is why Fultondale finally did. As Lowery said, because of the ordinance, Fultondale will be a healthier, safer place to live, shop, worship and go to school.The Alabama Department of Public Health reports more than 800 adult nonsmokers die from exposure to secondhand smoke cigarettes each year. Many thousands more become sick with heart disease, cancer, respiratory problems or other ailments.Many of those exposed to secondhand smoke cigarettes have no choice, either, because they work in businesses that condone smoking cigarettes, usually as servers, bartenders, managers or other workers.Fultondale city leaders are setting a fine example for other cities and, yes, the Legislature to follow. For the sake of the health of nonsmokers, lets hope they do. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/fultondale_city_leaders_set_an_example_with_a_tough_smoke_free_ordinance.html 2011-07-14 13:29:00 The Fultondale smoking cigarettes ordinance goes too far. The law is a direct intrusion on a storeowners right to run his business as he sees fit.The city can outlaw smoking cigarettes in all city-owned public buildings, for all I care, but to come right out and tell private business owners what they can or cannot allow in their establishment?Alcohol sales result in drunken-driving accidents? Is alcohol next on the ban list?Fatty foods cause obesity. Is Fultondale going to outlaw them, too? The smoking cigarettes ban is based on the health risk, right? Alcohol and fatty foods are health risks, too.There comes a point when government goes too far, and this is it. If secondhand smoke cigarettes bothers you, dont patronize the businesses that allow it. Its as simple as that. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • Online Cigarettes Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/anti_smoking_ordinance_intrudes_on_rights_of_businesses.html 2011-07-13 13:28:00 Minnesota Gov. Mark Dayton and top Republicans agreed Thursday to end a budget impasse that prompted the longest state government shutdown in recent history, after the Democratic governor surrendered on raising taxes.Dayton said the state government would be back in business very soon, but he didnt say exactly when.The deal to erase a $5 billion deficit came after a big sacrifice from Dayton, who made new income taxes a central campaign message last year and the centerpiece of his budget. He dropped that and said he would accept -- with conditions -- an offer the GOP put forward on the eve of the shutdown to bring about $1.4 billion into the budget by delaying payments to schools and selling tobacco payment bonds.Republicans agreed to his conditions, which included relinquishing a list of policy changes such as banning state aid for stem cell research and a plan to cut the state workforce by 15 percent.They conceded to higher state spending than they had wanted. Republican lawmakers spent months insisting that the two-year budget be capped at $34 billion, the amount the state was projected to collect without new sources of money. Instead, it will be closer to $35.4 billion.The deal -- if approved by lawmakers -- would end a government interruption that has lasted two weeks and isnt over yet.Dayton announced the deal outside his office with House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch after a three-hour negotiating session. The somber looks on their faces testified to a hard bargain.It was about making sure that we get a deal that we can all be disappointed in, but a deal that is done, a budget that was balanced, a state that was back to work, Zellers said.Nobody is going to be happy with this, which is the essence of real compromise, Dayton said.Dayton didnt say when he will call a special legislative session to pass a budget but indicated it would be within days. He said a stopgap funding measure wont be necessary because the two sides will agree on and pass bills setting a new two-year budget.Yet many of the deals details remained murky, including exactly what will be cut from planned spending.The shutdown has idled 22,000 state employees, closed state parks and rest stops and cut off funding to many social services. It has cost the state millions in the cost of preparing for the shutdown and in lost revenue since then. The interruption has also prevented entrepreneurs and professionals from getting state licenses. The latest licensing snag threatens to stop the sale of Miller, Coors and other popular beers in the state within days.Payments by the state to schools and local governments have continued, and a court has taken some of the pressure off by restarting the flow of cash to programs ranging from child care assistance to home meal services for the elderly.The governor sounded weary earlier Thursday when he told a University of Minnesota audience in Minneapolis that he would embrace the GOP proposal. He said people he met as he traveled around the state had this clear message: End the shutdown. * Tweet Be the first to Tweet this! * ShareThisThey want this resolved, and they dont even care how. I care how, Dayton said.The deal is contingent on approval by the Legislature, no easy task after an election in which a more conservative Republican caucus took power. Koch and Zellers said they believed rank-and-file legislators would approve it. Republicans hold narrow majorities in both chambers, and Democratic minority leaders werent in on the deal-making.Certainly were not doing any end zone dances, said Rep. Mike Benson, a freshman Republican from Rochester. Realistically there are some things that are going to go down hard. Sounds to me were kicking the can down the road a little bit with the education shift, but were not raising taxes.Democratic House Minority Leader Paul Thissen said in a statement that it would be up to Republicans to pass the compromise.Unions, and some Democrats, sharply criticized the plan as irresponsible for borrowing against future revenue.More debt and more borrowing only make this bad situation worse, state Rep. Ryan Winkler, a Democrat from Golden Valley, said in a statement. Winkler said the delay in school funding, which has become a regular part of Minnesotas budget balancing, would mortgage our childrens future.Some of what we have been working for has been set back years today, said Rev. Grant Stevensen, who heads a coalition of Twin Cities congregations focused on social justice issues and said he was disappointed that Dayton dropped his call to raise taxes on top earners.Outside the Capitol, there was frustration that the impasse went far enough to close government.I guarantee I lost some business out of it, said Jim Berg, who owns a 13-cabin resort in Crosslake and was hurt by the suspension of fishing licenses in the shutdown.Berg said hes not sure whether the settlement comes soon enough for him to salvage the rest of the summer.Only times going to tell that, he said. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cheap Cigarettes News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • CigarettesBox.Com Cigarettes News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/minn__leaders_make_deal_to_end_government_shutdown.html 2011-07-12 13:26:00 Gov. Mark Dayton and Republican legislative leaders are in budget talks after Dayton offered to accept a Republican revenue plan to end Minnesotas two-week-old government shutdown.The two sides went into Daytons office at 2 p.m. on Thursday. It was their first session since last week.Dayton attached significant conditions to his offer. He said Republicans must drop a list of policy changes and a plan to reduce the state workforce by 15 percent. In exchange, he would sign off on a Republican proposal that would raise $1.4 billion, half by delaying state aid checks to school districts and the other half by selling tobacco payment bonds.I believe this is the best option for Minnesota, a weary-sounding Dayton said after announcing his offer in a speech at the University of Minnesota. I know in my soul that I am doing what I believe.Rep. Steve Gottwalt, R-St. Cloud, called Daytons offer a very hopeful sign.Before agreeing to support the offer, Gottwalt said he needs more specifics on the governors condition requiring Republicans to drop their call for policy provisions.Gottwalt acknowledged the budget proposal relies on one-time funds, which contrasts with Republicans calls to put the state budget on sustainable footing. But Gottwalt said the shutdown has to end soon.If this is a reasonable compromise to get us there, Im willing to concede that for now, Gottwalt said of the one-time funds.At least one area legislator opposes the Dayton proposal.Rep. Larry Hosch said today that he cant envision himself supporting the measure if it comes to a vote.Since the proposal relies on one-time funds, Hosch, DFL-St. Joseph, said it wont eliminate the states structural deficit.The fact of the matter is, this budget is only going to perpetuate deficits, Hosch said.Hosch added that he particularly opposes the tobacco-bond portion of the proposal, in which the state would issue bonds and repay them with future tobacco revenues.Hosch said hes not sure how many other DFLers will support Daytons proposal. But he said if any do, youd be able to count them on one hand.Rep. Mary Kiffmeyer, R-Big Lake, wouldnt commit to opposing or supporting Daytons offer.Kiffmeyer called the tobacco bonding proposal palatable, but sounded reluctant to expand the funding shift for school districts.Putting that onto the school districts is not very satisfactory, and I dont know that thats really necessary, Kiffmeyer said.If the Republicans agree to Daytons proposal and the pieces fall into place, the first-term governor said he is prepared to call a special session within three days.The Minnesota impasse was months in the making, with Dayton insisting on raising income taxes on the highest earners to soften the effect of budget cuts necessary to resolve a $5 billion deficit. More recently, Dayton had offered to consider an array of other ways to raise revenue, including cigarette and alcohol taxes and a broader sales tax.As the shutdown persisted, the pressure for a resolution has intensified.The partisan standoff has closed state parks and rest stops, prevented many people from getting licenses they need to launch careers or move ahead with businesses, and cut off funding streams to countless social service programs. It has also cost the state millions in preparation costs and lost revenue.Dayton has been on the road this week, holding public events around the state, and said he received a clear message from the people he met: End the shutdown.They want this resolved and they dont even care how. I care how, Dayton told a University of Minnesota audience in Minneapolis.Dayton said he is reluctant to accept the Republicans way out of the budget impasse.Despite my serious reservations about your plan, I have concluded that continuing the state government shutdown would be even more destructive for too many Minnesotans, he said in a letter to GOP leaders that he read aloud. Therefore, I am willing to agree to something I do not agree with -- your proposal in order to spare our citizens and our state from further damage.Dayton is also asking lawmakers to approve a construction projects bill totaling at least $500 million. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/budget_talks_under_way.html 2011-07-11 13:25:00 Observers may be giving President Obama credit for being a savvy poker player. The next few hours will decide if Gov. Dayton is seen in the same light. Monica Davey of the New York Times writes: Of his willingness to now accept terms that he rejected on June 30, the afternoon before the state had to agree to a budget for the new budget year or close its doors, Mr. Dayton said, I am willing to agree to something I do not agree with — your proposal — in order to spare our citizens and our state from further damage. Under Mr. Daytons proposal, he would abandon his push to raise taxes on the highest-paid Minnesotans and would give up efforts to raise other taxes (such as those on cigarettes) in order to bridge a budget deficit. Instead, Mr. Dayton said, he would accept Republican proposals to, in essence, shift funds around to create $1.4 billion more in revenue — the amount that stood between Mr. Dayton and the Republicans. About half would come from delaying state payments to local school systems, and the other half from borrowing money against expected future state revenue from the tobacco industry. More contentious, though, may be terms Mr. Dayton now wants: the removal of nonbudget, policy matters (like embryonic stem cell research) from any deal; abandoning of plans to make an across-the-board cut of 15 percent of state workers; and support for a bonding bill of at least $500 million.Chris Williams of the AP says: If the Republicans agree to Daytons proposal and the pieces fall into place, the first-term governor said he is prepared to call a special session to pass a budget within three days. Its unclear whether their legislative caucuses, which include hard-liners on spending as well as moderates who are willing to consider ways to raise more revenue, will put up all the votes required to pass a budget with a higher price tag. Republicans have dug in for months on spending no more than the $34 billion the state is projected to collect already over the next two years. Democratic lawmakers have been cold to the tobacco proposal, which could add another complication to finishing a budget.At the Strib, Rachel Stassen-Berger reports: At a morning speech in Minneapolis, Dayton said he was disappointed we cant do better. During the speech and afterwards, the governor repeatedly said that Republicans could avoid the unpalatable tobacco bond revenue by offering up a more substantial form of revenue. Their leadership has not done so in the weeks of shutdown. Even if House Speaker Kurt Zellers and Senate Majority Leader Amy Koch agree to the plan, they may still face hurdles wrangling the votes within their own caucus. Borrowing from tobacco bonds will likely mean the final deal is larger than the original $34.2 billion GOP budget, which some Republican members will not agree to. Republican leaders plan to meet with Dayton at 2 p.m. Thursday to discuss the offer. For several hours after Dayton made the offer, both Zellers and Koch stayed silent. ... Sen. Michael Jungbauer, R-East Bethel, was one of the first Republicans to react to Daytons proposal. When he [says drop] all the policy positions, if that means that we dont get any structural change to government, I guess Im not really excited about that, he said. If we dont have any structural change, were going to be in this position — weve been in this position the nine years Ive been here in the Senate. That would be a real non-starter for me, but I dont want to see this shutdown, Jungbauer added. If hes saying drop all structural changes, I dont like that. Well, the one structure that will continue would be accounting gimmicks and non-recurring revenue patches the ratings houses like so much.MPRs Catharine Richert and Elizabeth Dunbar report: [U]nions representing state workers had supported Daytons tax plan. Neither union immediately reacted to Daytons latest offer, but other Dayton supporters said they were disappointed the governor had given up on the proposal. I am afraid that the governor may have based this decision on listening to citizens who were very upset and afraid due to real or possible loss of services and layoffs, said Barbara Fritz, who attended Daytons event this week in Rochester. Many of us feel very strongly that Gov. Dayton needs to find a way to put more tax burden on those with more. ... Regrettably, I dont think the citizenry of Minnesota who support Gov. Dayton let him really hear and feel that support. James Hohmann of Politico thinks Dayton might be playing a shrewder game: Daytons move is risky, but it could be a master stroke. While Dayton looks like hes caving in to the GOP, hes also presenting himself as the one who wants to end the shutdown without raising taxes. Unveiling the offer in public puts the burden on Republicans, who will be in an awkward position if they reject the deal. Independent voters may blame Republicans for allowing the government to stay shut down so they can push a conservative social agenda. There are national implications: if congressional Republicans draw as a lesson from this imbroglio that the president might buckle on the debt ceiling debate if they stand as firm as the Minnesota GOP has for the last two weeks, the likelihood of default increases. Dayton sounded cognizant of the parallels during a Thursday morning appearance at the University of Minnesota ... The House of Representatives actually does parallel Minnesota legislative bodies more closely [than the U.S. Senate] — a lot of new members, a lot of ideology, a real just disdain for government — which makes it curious that they want to spend their time in government, he said. He used some of his harshest public rhetoric to date to blast Republicans, saying he learned a valuable lesson watching George W. Bush and congressional Republicans in the lead up to the 2003 invasion of Iraq. Ignorance and arrogance is a very dangerous combination, Dayton said. He also offered a takeaway thats potentially relevant for negotiations in Washington this week. Dont get too close to the precipice, he said. Going to the brink, at least Ive learned from this experience, is even more ill advised than I thought. But if you always knew you were going to the brink, Id think you would have brought a rope, or a parachute?The battle for perception (of victory) is already well under way. Conn Carroll at The Washington Examiner writes: Dayton sent a letter Thursday to Republican state legislative leaders saying that he reluctantly agrees to accept their budget proposal to end the government shutdown. Dayton, like President Obama, had been insisting that higher tax rates on the rich must be part of any budget deal. ... Republicans in Washington should be emboldened by Daytons capitulation. When any government shuts down, the natural first response is to blame the man at the top. For the U.S. government, that is Obama. Even before the debt limit crisis became the story in Washington, Obama had a terrible approval rating on the budget deficit.At the conservative Power Line blog, John Hinderaker writes: As I read Governor Daytons letter to the Republican leadership in the legislature, the most notable fact is that Dayton has given up on imposing tax increases as a condition of ending his shutdown of state government. Why did Dayton agree to end his shutdown now? This is pure speculation, but my guess is that he is looking at poll data that are not supportive of his position. Will the result of Minnesotas shutdown (assuming the Republicans agree to Daytons terms, or something very close to those terms) be a harbinger of what happens at the federal level? I hope so.The Rochester Post-Bulletins editorial board had a preview of Daytons decision. They write today: [D]uring a meeting with the Post-Bulletin Editorial Board, we asked him if hed officially given up his effort to raise income taxes on the wealthy. His answer was both pragmatic and revealing. Republicans are adamant that they wont support any tax increase, and theyre most adamant that they wont support an income tax increase, and I cant force the Legislature to do something, Dayton told us. Its a four-year term, and I still believe its right for most Minnesotans, and its fair for all Minnesotans. Just because I cant achieve it this legislative session, doesnt mean I dont think its the best course of action. ... Politics is the art of the possible, and if its not possible — well, difficult takes a while, and impossible just takes a little longer. Did you catch that, Sen. Amy Koch? How about you, Rep. Kurt Zellers? Gov. Dayton has conceded that, for this biennium at least, he will no longer ask the Republican-controlled Legislature to raise taxes on the wealthy. If the GOP wanted a victory, theyve got it. Minnesotas millionaires, those job-creators who apparently had their bags packed and were ready to flee to North Dakota or Wisconsin, can sleep soundly tonight. After just 13 days of closed state parks, idled state workers and blind people begging judges to reinstate their state assistance, Dayton has capitulated on one of his top priorities and most strongly-held beliefs.Elsewhere, Frederick Melo of the PiPress covered last nights Vikings stadium public meeting up in Arden Hills: The listening session was hosted by the county and organized by state Rep. Katie Knuth, DFL-New Brighton, who invited Aimee Gourley, a legal professor at Hamline Universitys Mediation Center, to lead the conversation. Stadium supporters said no other developer would touch the Twin Cities Army Ammunition Plant, a polluted federal Superfund site. They also said the suburbs have supported stadiums in the cities of St. Paul and Minneapolis for 30 years. And the projects, while inspiring controversy and opposition at the outset, have all been popular draws once built, they added. Knuth, however, said she had concerns about the proposed funding strategy for the stadium, which would rely on a half-cent countywide sales tax to raise Ramsey Countys contribution of $350 million. The state would pay an additional $300 million and the Vikings would put in at least $407 million, with the funding sources for road improvement costs still up in the air. Im actually leaning toward voting against the bill because of the half-cent sales tax, Knuth said. So if the no-new taxes obstacle is removed from the state budget impasse, the Legislature is free to get back to work voting for new taxes for a football stadium, right? Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Best-Buy-Cigarettes.Com Tobacco News    • CigarettesPro.com Tobacco News    • CigarettesOn.Com Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/has_dayton_caved.html 2011-07-10 23:54:00 When the statewide smoking cigarettes ban went into effect one year ago, there were considerable concerns among bar and restaurant ownersSome feared that business would drop off dramatically if customers were prohibited from lighting up. Others wondered if any loss of business would be countered by revenue from new customers. Still others were cautiously optimistic about the change, which eclipsed smoking cigarettes bans in individual communities and leveled the playing field for everyone.We were hoping for the best, said Brian Burr, bar manager at the Eagles Club on S. Commercial Street in Neenah. We hoped it wouldnt hurt our business.In Neenah-Menasha, the first year of the smoking cigarettes ban yielded mixed results. Many taverns retained customers with specially built outdoor smoking cigarettes venues, but some saw a decline in business because of those who preferred to smoke cigarettes at home.In terms of restaurants, the impact was lessened by the fact that Neenah has had a smoking cigarettes ban in dining establishments for a number of years, and several other eateries in the Menasha area went smoke-free on their own.Most of the establishments that removed the ash trays on July 5, 2010, didnt appear to be hit hard by the ban. In fact, there was a general feeling that any decline in business was due more to the economy than to the smoking cigarettes ban.We did think it would impact business, but I didnt see the impact we assumed would happen, said Kyle Danielski, kitchen manager at Sidelines Sports Bar & Grill in the Town of Menasha. Generally, our business has virtually stayed the same since the smoking cigarettes ban went into effect. If anything, the economy and people losing their jobs will affect us more than the smoking cigarettes ban.Before the ban, Sidelines offered dining areas for smokers and non-smokers. Most customers have accepted that the ban isnt going away, according to Danielski. He added that some previous customers who stopped going to Sidelines because of the smoking cigarettes returned after it was outlawed.At the Eagles Club on S. Commercial Street in Neenah, the restaurant portion of the business has remained solid, but the bar has taken a hit over the past year.Burr said tavern-related business has dropped by 30 percent. He said the less-than-stellar economy is a factor, but attributes the decline to the smoking cigarettes ban as well.Its tough to tell right now because of the economy, he said. But the smoking cigarettes ban has played a part.The Eagles Club spent $14,000 on its outdoor patio that caters to smokers. The patio was originally encased in plastic, but the city intervened and the club decided to install a plexi-glass structure.Its going to take awhile before we get that money back, Burr said. Were hoping it will pay dividends.Burr said the competition for bar patrons has heated up since last year. Whats happening now is bars are under-pricing each other on drinks, he said.He said some of the former bar customers are now smoking cigarettes in their own residences.They feel their rights are being violated, he said. Nobody can tell them where to smoke cigarettes at home.Burr said the smoking cigarettes ban wasnt thrust upon bar and restaurant owners, saying it was apparent the state was going in that direction.Now, its an even and level playing field for everybody, he said.Connie Olson, executive director of the Fox Cities-based Community Action for Healthy Living, said the smoking cigarettes ban has been an unqualified success.People are much healthier now that theyre not exposed to smoke cigarettes in the workplace, Olson said. And from what I have experienced, business has stayed the same for most places or gotten better.There are a couple of places where bar owners say it is worse. Many times, those are the same places that werent complaint with the law in the beginning.Olson believes the public has adjusted to the smoking cigarettes ban and have been very respectful of the law.Neenah-Menasha businesses have been compliant with the ban. There has not been a single warning or citation issued for failure to comply, according to law enforcement officials in Neenah, Menasha and the Town of Menasha.We met with license-holders (before the ban took effect) to clarify the law, said Aaron Zemlock, crime prevention officer with the Menasha Police Department. I think that helped stem potential problems.State Rep. Dean Kaufert, R-Neenah, said the public has largely accepted the workplace smoking cigarettes ban.For the most part, people are over it, he said.In terms of the tavern industry, some have felt the smoking cigarettes ban more than others, Kaufert said.I know some bars that really got hurt by it. They have a higher percentage of clientele who smoke, he said. It has impacted different places differently. Here in the Fox Valley, it has kind of blown over. The industry has adapted.Kaufert, owner of Under the Dome, a bar that serves food in Neenah, said customers also have adapted to the ban.I see a lot of nice outdoor decks and areas where people can go outside and smoke, he said. Ive received many comments from customers saying its so much nicer to not to have to deal with the (indoor) smoke. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • CigarettesHouse.Com Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/statewide_smoking_ban_gains_foothold.html 2011-07-09 23:53:00 The Salem City Council decided to continue a public hearing rather than vote on a smoking cigarettes ban in parks at Monday nights meeting.A total of four public hearings were scheduled for the meeting, and residents filled the council chambers for a chance to speak their mind.But the hearing did not begin until nearly 10:30 p.m. By that time, some of the residents who had signed up to address the council four hours earlier had gone home.Others, like Melinda Yost, felt a park experience free of second-hand smoke cigarettes was worth waiting for.I shouldnt have to fight my way through a cloud of smoke cigarettes to enjoy a fair, Yost said.Still, other residents — some non-smokers — felt the ruling would infringe on their right to make a choice and pointed to the possibility that the ordinance would be hard to enforce.I dont smoke. Im an asthmatic, but this effects our civil liberties, said Joshua Peterson. Public parks are for everyone to use whether you smoke cigarettes or not.As the council meeting pressed on toward midnight, city staffers recommended that the council continue deliberations at a public hearing scheduled for July 11. Other cigarettes news and tobacco market events you can find at links bellow:    • Cigarettes Online News    • Cheap Cigarettes & Tobacco News    • Discount Cigarettes Tobacco News http://www.cigaretteson.com/tobacco-news/salem_council_waits_to_decide_fate_of_smoking_in_parks.html