MPs campaign to relax smoking ban in pubs

Conservative Greg Knight, Lib Dem John Hemming and Labour's Roger Godsiff argue that the ban has had a devastating impact on the industry.

They want the law to be changed to allow pubs to create a separate room for smokers if they choose.

Thousands of UK pubs have closed in recent years and many have blamed the ban for the loss of business.

The smoking ban was introduced in England in July 2007. Scotland's ban was introduced in March 2006, followed by Wales and Northern Ireland in April 2007.

Ventilation
The Save Our Pubs and Clubs campaign says that after three years, Scotland had lost 467 pubs (7.1% of the total estate), Wales 274 (7.3%) and England 4,148 (7.6%).

Campaigners also say working-men's clubs have been hit hard and many have closed or are struggling to survive.

They are arguing that the existing law is excessive and should be reviewed and relaxed to allow proprietors more choice about how they manage smoking at their premises.

Mick McGlasham, general secretary of the Clubs and Institute Union, which represents more than 2,000 working-men's clubs, said: "The ban was passed because politicians wanted to protect staff and non-smokers, but there is no reason why we cannot have a separate smoking room in what are private premises, especially with modern ventilation."

An event promoting the campaign will be held at the Houses of Parliament on Wednesday with the aim of winning support from more MPs and peers.

Mr Knight, MP for East Yorkshire, said: "This is a unique opportunity for people to show how strongly they feel on this important issue.

"A modest change in the law, not a repeal of the smoking ban, is all we seek."

MPs are banned from smoking anywhere inside the House of Commons apart from on the terrace.

Obese, non-smoking women likely to die early

While established research has shown clearly that smoking is linked to premature death and health inequalities, it was not known which causes of death are related to the social position of women who have never smoked, said the paper.

To investigate this area further, the authors, led by Dr Laurence Gruer from NHS Health Scotland, reviewed the cases of 3,613 women who had never smoked.

The results showed that the women in the lower occupational groups were more likely to die of diseases of the heart and circulation, but not cancer. They were also more likely to be severely obese and those who were severely obese had the highest death rates.

The authors also found that, compared with the smokers in the overall study, the women who never smoked were much more likely to be overweight or obese.

This suggested that high smoking rates 35 years ago probably concealed the true extent of obesity in non-smoking women and that the decline in smoking rates in recent decades may have contributed to the increase in overweight and obesity, said the authors.

If you smoke, you can buy marlboro cigarettes online for cheapest price.

Winning anti-smoking designs put on display

McHenry County College student Jim Anderson’s winning media design can be seen at local gas stations, drive-ins and restrooms.

Chosen as one of the winners of the McHenry County Department of Health’s annual billboard design contest, Anderson’s design was titled “Smoking in your car is hazardous to your friends and family.” It depicts the damaging effects of second-hand smoke, Community Information Coordinator Debra Quackenbush said in a news release.

Other contest winners were seniors Megan Teresi, Woodstock High School, and Nate Prosser, Johnsburg High School.

The contest sought to highlight local talent while educating the community of the unhealthy effects of smoking. Open to all McHenry County teens, designs were received under the following categories: tobacco prevention, secondhand smoke and quit smoking.

Entries were judged on originality, peer appeal, and simple, colorful design. Making the final selection were teens from Reality Illinois Anti-Tobacco Advocacy groups, members of the McHenry County “Tobacco Free” Coalition, and the McHenry County Department of Health’s Health Promotion staff.

Is smoking the new gay marriage? The new intolerance

I was always taught that when you saw one of those people in the street, you were to cough pointedly and cross to the other side. Get them away from our children!

I’d vote for one for president, but only if he promised to stop it. I don’t think they should be allowed in public places. Sure, freedom of choice, and all that jazz, but really, this is a bit much. What if they get it on me?

When I learned that Oscar Wilde was one, I solemnly burned all his books.

They’re smokers, of course. Sometimes I see them in restaurants and pass them pamphlets with a disapproving stare. It is my duty. They are corrupting the youth.

“I can remember when the air was clean and sex was dirty,” George Burns once quipped.

A mere 40 years ago, you could smoke anywhere and marry your same-sex partner nowhere at all.

Now the tide is turning. Last week, New York state legalized gay marriage. And smoking? In May, Mayor Bloomberg banned it outdoors in New York City’s parks, beaches and public plazas.

These days, if you want to smoke in New York City, you can only do it in a 6-inch-square enclosure somewhere underground. It is dank and malarial and can only be found by people who already know where it is, or if you pay $8 in unmarked bills to a man in Times Square who asks to be addressed as Pumpkin the Rat.

And nationwide, the noose is tightening. The FDA has just emerged with new labels for cigarette packages that are harrowing to behold, with depictions of smoke-damaged children and smoking through tracheotomy holes.

Could it be any more official?

Gay marriage is the new smoking. You can do it anywhere in New York City you would like, and people won’t cough and indignantly cross the road.

And this is emblematic of a larger trend. We don’t care what you do in the bedroom so long as you don’t do it in the street and frighten the horses, as Mrs. Patrick Campbell once quipped — or on Twitter, where the photographic evidence can be saved and used to frighten horses later. We understand that you have little choice in the matter.

Sex is decreasingly immoral. There are entire magazines devoted to it, and to the proposition that “whatever you are doing, trying adding ice cubes.”

Smoking — that’s another story. Cigar enthusiasts get slurs like “cancer-monger” and “death eater” yelled at them as they walk through the street. Smoking, somehow, is too vile to be advertised on television or depicted in films. Since the MPAA adjusted its ratings system in 2007, smoking is more wrong, more perverse and more likely to garner an R-rating than murdering someone very sexily while you curse at him. I recently rewatched for the sixth time a movie set in the ’60s. And nobody smoked. Nobody!

Public morality has taken a turn. We are living in the bizarro ’60s, where you can get married to your same-sex partner while wearing mod-inspired suits but cannot celebrate with cigars.

I am not saying that smoking does not kill people. It does.

I understand that all this harassment of smokers is for our own good. Smoking is wrong and bad and et cetera, and if you steadily blow smoke at your child, it will damage him or her or “Storm.” But so many things are wrong. Driving, for instance. Talking on a cell phone while driving. Eating food. Drinking. Bear-hunting. Hunting bears while drunk. Climbing mountains. Rappelling. Being Grover Cleveland.

But it’s amazing how much vitriol we level against those who indulge in smoking.

Maybe we are delighted to be able to judge someone, for once. In general, we are tolerant of everything all the time. It’s something of a national hobby.

But that doesn’t diminish our fundamental, burning desire to leap to judgment. And we can no longer judge people for who they are. We can only judge them for what they do. Are you overweight? That’s okay. Eat unhealthily? Shame!

The category of Things We All Agree To Be Wrong is so small these days. Smoking has always been a vice. Before, it was a social vice. Now it’s limited to barely 20 percent of the population. They are a hard-bitten crew, sneaking around furtively and paying exorbitant taxes “It will kill you!” we shout. “You pervert! You need help!”

“Ah, but is not all of life a long and lovely suicide?” the smokers say wistfully.

“No!” we shout, delighted to be right. Health is the new standard. You are supposed to jog and abstain and inhale thick lungfuls of pure oxygen. Say what you will about people’s sexual habits, some of them might have health benefits. But smoking? Forget it.

By and large, it’s a good shift. Tolerance! Enlightenment! Onward! But sometimes we need to let our judgment leak out. And increasingly, it’s against those smokers. From here, one can almost glimpse a future where society encourages you to do anything you want in the bedroom or at the courthouse.

Virginia tobacco commission sending director, two state lawmakers to France

Days after an audit criticized Virginia’s tobacco commission for its spending priorities, the state is paying more than $20,000 to send its executive director and two state lawmakers to France to recruit businesses to Virginia.

Del. Daniel W. Marshall III (R-Danville) and Sen. Frank M. Ruff Jr. (R-Mecklenburg) arrived in Paris on Monday and will leave Friday. Executive director Neal Noyes arrived Sunday and will depart June 28 for Cologne, Germany, where he will meet with company executives in town for an automotive convention until July 1.
The estimated cost for airfare, hotel and food is expected to be $21,123, according to the Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission.

It is at least the second overseas trip by members of the commission since 2001, according to the Virginia Public Access Project, which tracks money in politics. Last year, two members and Noyes spent more than $8,000 on a trip to England.

Marshall, reached by phone before he left for France, first questioned how The Washington Post heard about the trip. He then explained that the goal was to recruit companies to Virginia’s most economically depressed areas in Southside and southwest — regions the tobacco commission tries to boost with $1 billion from a legal settlement with the nation’s largest tobacco companies.

“It’s all about jobs, jobs, jobs,” Marshall said.

The three men will join Gov. Robert F. McDonnell (R) on Wednesday; he will be in France for the Paris Air Show, an international trade fair for the aerospace business held every other year.

They will spend much of Wednesday in meetings with executives of companies they hope to lure to Virginia, visit the state’s booth at the show and attend a reception and dinner McDonnell is hosting at the Cercle de l’Union social club. On Thursday, they will fly to Toulouse in southwest France to meet with company executives.

Noyes will then travel to Germany to attend the Automotive News Europe Congress.

Noyes’s trip is estimated to cost $10,489, including $1,800 for registration to attend the convention in Germany. Marshall’s expenses are $5,364, and Ruff’s are $5,270.

House Minority Leader Ward L. Armstrong (D-Henry), whose district benefits from the tobacco settlement but has been critical of the commission’s past spending, said he will not know if the money for the trip is being well spent until he sees whether it results in any jobs, but he said it may look inappropriate.

“At this time, when you have double digit unemployment . . . it certainly has the appearance of being extravagant,” Armstrong said. “On the heels of this scathing report, it sends a bad message.”

Last week, the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission said the commission spent too much money on projects that did not generate jobs or boost salaries. In the past decade, 1,368 grants worth $756 million have been awarded for a variety of projects, including high-speed Internet access in rural areas, walking trails and improvements to the Martinsville Speedway. About $606 million is available for future grants.

Last weekend, after The Post reported that more than a dozen legislators were flying to France on unrelated trips paid by a company lobbying them to lift a ban on uranium mining in Virginia, Marshall criticized the lawmakers for taking “vacations” in his hometown newspaper, neglecting to say that he was going to the same country the same week.

Ruff did not return a phone call. Noyes defended the trip, saying he was flying coach and going to France because “that’s where the meetings are held.”

Last year, the chairman of the tobacco commission, Del. Terry G. Kilgore (R-Scott), Ruff and Noyes went to England in July at the same time McDonnell went on a trade mission to Europe. The trip cost $8,291.

Both trips were built around luring suppliers for aircraft-engine maker Rolls-Royce, which opened a manufacturing and research facility in Prince George County in May, and companies to the Commonwealth Center for Advanced Manufacturing, a research center set to open nearby next year.

McDonnell announced one deal after the Europe trip, according to his office. The Hornschuch Group, a producer and marketer of highly technical films, said it would invest $28.3 million to expand its O’Sullivan Films operation, creating 174 jobs, in Winchester, which is not in the tobacco commission’s region.

The cost of the trip for McDonnell; Jim Cheng, Virginia secretary of commerce and trade; and Vince Barnett, director of communications and promotions for the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, is $42,454, said McDonnell spokesman Jeff Caldwell.

Mandatory Graphic Cigarette Labels Visualize Dangers of Tobacco Use

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration has rolled out a new campaign to stop people from smoking. Instead of buying ad space and putting up billboards, the FDA is changing the packaging of cigarettes.

The standard pack of cigarettes has the Surgeon General warning on one side stating, "cigarettes cause cancer." Beginning on October 22, 2012 every pack will have graphic pictures covering a significant portion.

25 percent of those living in the Ozarks smoke. Smokers and non-smokers alike have opinions about the makeover.

"I know the pictures are a little grotesque, but it's not going to affect me in any way," shrugged Michael Winters, a smoker.
"I think it is a little too dramatic for people," said Abigail Bookout, a non-smoker. "We don't need a picture that's going to gross us out everytime we look at it."

If a picture is worth a thousand words, than the FDA is hoping the graphic warnings may influence people to kick the habit.

"There's been some strong market research that shows that this type of packaging can make a difference," said Carrie Reynolds, regional director of communications with the American Cancer Society. "So we are excited to see that start happening in the United States."

Although the United States was the first to detail the dangers of smoking on the package, America is now behind more than 30 countries who already display graphic warnings.

The American Cancer Society spent the last 10 years working on the legislation behind the new labels. Yet some experts say the fear tactic is not effective.

"Smoking cessation is very difficult, it's a very hard thing to do," said Ann Rost, health psychologist with Missouri State University. "The fear message in of itself tends to not really be that successful by itself to create change, but it does help in prevention."

Although it may not deter smokers, the grotesque pictures may scare kids.

"It definitely has an effect in deterring people who are considering taking up the habit," explained Reynolds. "And the largest age demographic that considers that habit is in the teenage years."

However some feel the campaign is a targeted attack for a legal substance.

"I think they are trying to discriminate against us," explained Antonetta Stoops, a smoker. "it's just, the rules are ridiculous."

Stoops referenced rules like the recently passed indoor smoking ban in Springfield requiring those who light up to go outside.

"The cigar bar, gone. Most bars, especially those owned by smaller businesses, gone," she said, shaking her head. "I mean, this is the perfect way to destroy the economy."

Yet representatives with the American Cancer Society say a third of all cancers are caused by tobacco use. For them, the campaign is another way to get people to say no.

"When you talk to smokers, about 70 percent of them want to quit, they want to stop the habit, " said Reynolds. "If it's being eliminated from happening inside their workplace and the packaging is coming along at the same time, it's...wonderful for this community."

For Winters, the graphics don't do much now, but they may have influenced him to avoid the smokes.

"It probably would have helped a lot, probably would have never started," he said.

Still, many feel smoking cessation education and a written warning are enough.

"You learn about all the hazards about smoking, how it causes cancer," said Bookout. "I don't think you need a picture to remind you of that."

Pre-emptive tobacco prevention

New smokeless tobacco products are flashy, somewhat disguised, and may appeal to young people, but tobacco prevention specialists in Montana are hoping to bring awareness before the products are readily available here.
Some tobacco products are becoming available in forms that mimic tea bags, breath mints and toothpicks, but they are not yet regulated the same as cigarettes. The products are dissolvable and, according to a “new products” document from the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program, “are made from finely milled tobacco and are held together by food-grade binders. They do not produce smoke, and they do not require spitting.”
The nicotine level in these dissolvable products is “unregulated and unpredictable,” the document states.
Katie Martin, tobacco prevention specialist with the City-County Health Department, made a presentation at the Youth Connections Coalition meeting Tuesday morning, sharing information about these new products that could soon hit the shelves in local stores.
Martin just returned from a national conference armed with information to share.
“The conference made it apparent to me how big of a problem this could be for our youth,” she said.
The new products are packaged to appeal to young people, Martin said.
“These products provide an opportunity for tobacco companies to get around policies,” she said. “They may seem less harmful, but they aren’t.”
Drenda Niemann, director of Youth Connections, says the health department has been a great partner in preventing substance abuse and this is another example.
Last year, 23.6 percent of eighth-, 10th- and 12th-graders surveyed in the Montana Prevention Needs Assessment reported using smokeless tobacco.
Niemann says the presentation was the first step in building awareness around these products.
“Smokeless tobacco is increasing and we want to be ahead of the game as much as possible,” she said.
More often than not, tobacco companies have already launched extensive marketing campaigns before the awareness is out there, but Niemann is hoping this time it’s a little different.
“We are hoping we are ahead of the game this time around,” she said.
Martin said it’s unclear when Montanans should expect to see these products.

Guard allegedly smuggled tobacco into Grafton prison

A North Coast Correctional Treatment Facility guard has been arrested for allegedly conspiring to smuggle tobacco into the prison.

Douglas Roberts, 26, is charged with bribery and dereliction of duty, according to Elyria Municipal Court records. He agreed during a court appearance Monday to have the case sent to a Lorain County grand jury.

The Ohio Highway Patrol, which investigates crimes in state prisons, said in a news release that Roberts was arrested after he accepted $200 and 1 pound of tobacco to bring into the prison. Tobacco is a prohibited item in all state prisons.

“We have a zero tolerance policy for tobacco,” said Carlo LoParo, a spokesman for the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction.

He referred additional questions to a spokeswoman for the privately operated prison. She did not return a call seeking comment Tuesday.

According to the initial report prepared by troopers investigating the case, an inmate at the prison reported that Roberts solicited him to help bring the tobacco into the prison and that Roberts wanted to be paid.

The release said that the plan called for the tobacco to be covertly sold to inmates.

Patrol Lt. Anne Ralston said the case remains under investigation and she couldn’t comment on whether others might be charged.

North Coast Correctional is owned by the state but operated by a private company. It is one of the facilities that Gov. John Kasich has suggested selling to generate revenue to help close the state’s budget gap.
Roberts, who lives in Sullivan, is free on bond.

He could get more than five years behind bars if convicted of the charges leveled against him.

CCAGW Supports Gov. Jindal in Tobacco Tax Fight

Today, Tom Schatz, President of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW), issued a letter to Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal in support of his pledge to veto HB 591. A successful veto would allow the Pelican State’s temporary tobacco tax to expire as scheduled in July 2012. The letter reads as follows:

“On behalf of the 13,342 members and supporters of the Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) in the state of Louisiana, I urge you to uphold your promise to veto HB 591, a bill that would extend the four-cent state tobacco tax increase that is set to expire in July 2012. Your position is especially courageous in light of House lawmakers’ veto override threats.

“Since fiscal year 2000, federal and state governments have increased cigarette excise taxes 110 times. Supporters of HB 591 argue that the revenue from the four-cent tax is needed to pay for rising health care obligations. However, history has shown that raising excises taxes does not produce projected revenue, as such tax increases drive purchases to untaxed or lower-tax venues, like Native American territories and the Internet. Of the 57 excise tax increases that states implemented between 2003 and 2007, only 16 met or exceeded revenue targets.

“Furthermore, the Congressional Budget Office has reported that cigarette excise taxes are the most regressive type of excise tax and disproportionately impact the poor and those living on fixed incomes. Any lawmaker who votes to override your veto will be asking Louisianans to hand over more of their hard-earned income, which is even more difficult given these rough economic times. The four-cent tobacco tax increase was meant to be temporary, and its expiration date has arrived.

“Governor Jindal, we applaud you for taking a hard line on this issue and upholding your promise not to increase taxes. CCAGW urges you to swiftly veto HB 591 and remind lawmakers that cutting taxes and wasteful spending, not raising state excise taxes, is the road to fiscal sanity.”

The Council for Citizens Against Government Waste (CCAGW) is the lobbying arm of Citizens Against Government Waste, the nation’s largest nonpartisan, nonprofit organization dedicated to eliminating waste, fraud, abuse, and mismanagement in government.

Jim Anile to open L'Uva at American Tobacco

Jim Anile, chef and owner of Durham's Revolution, has a new venture planned for the former space of Cafe Zen (410 Blackwell St., Durham) at the American Tobacco Campus in Durham. L'Uva, an Italian restaurant and wine bar, is set to open in July, after Independence Day. "I don't want to be there before July 4," he explains, alluding to American Tobacco's holiday baseball crowds. "I don't want to get off on those sort of feet."

Anile says the restaurant will feature "simple, straightforward Italian food, all handmade." Weekly menu changes that incorporate fresh, local options will be announced regularly on L'Uva's website.

The restaurant will feature outdoor seating. Inside, expect an environment and menu slightly more casual than that of Revolution (but much more elegant than the stadium next door).

Tobacco group issues raised in 2007

The Tobacco Indemnification and Community Revitalization Commission’s mission also ensured its failure, according to a former member.

Barnie Day of Patrick County, a former delegate who also served on the Tobacco Commission until 2010, said Wednesday the commission “did a lot of projects, and every one of them had merit, but when you ask the question, ‘Have we reinvented the economy in Southwest Virginia,’ the answer is ‘no,’” he said. “I don’t think we could have.”
Day said he detailed many of his concerns about the Tobacco Commission in a June 20, 2007, letter to the commission.
The “seeds of this inevitable failure were, I believe, sown in the beginning with our original charge of revitalizing or ‘re-inventing’ the ‘tobacco region’ economy,” he wrote. The task “simply cannot be done for one or two billion dollars. I doubt it can be done for a hundred billion.
“Laying aside our legislative mandate, we have fertilized and watered the seeds of our own failure,” he wrote.
The 31-member commission was created in 1999 to disburse Virginia’s share of the settlement from a national lawsuit against cigarette makers. The group was tasked with revitalizing and diversifying the economy in Virginia’s tobacco-growing region.
The commission has seven grant programs, each with different criteria, according to its website, www.tic.virginia.gov. Eligible applicants include local governments, economic development organizations and IRS-designated nonprofits, the website stated.
The commission staff reviews applications for feasibility and the potential to positively impact the regional economic base. The staff then makes recommendations to the commission committees, according to www.tic.virginia.gov.
Committee recommendations are made in public meetings and then forwarded to the full commission for final action at quarterly meetings, the website stated.
Since 2000, the commission has awarded $756 million in economic development and revitalization grants in 41 Virginia localities, including Henry and Patrick counties, according to the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), which recently evaluated the commission’s performance.
JLARC stated that the commission had signed off on millions of dollars in economic development projects with a sketchy understanding of them, and some yielded little or no benefit in the state’s poorest region.
The review, which was released Monday, found there was no way to measure outcomes for 89 percent of 1,368 project grants by the commission in the past 11 years.
Day said he “strongly supported” the review and was not surprised by its findings.
“For some time now, I have had a nagging undertow of doubt about the path we as a commission are following,” Day wrote in the 2007 letter. The doubt “has hardened to the point that I am now convinced that if we stay on our present course, we will fail.”
“A billion dollars is a lot of money and, simultaneously, not much. It will buy one tricked-out stealth bomber, or pick up our tab in Iraq Monday through Wednesday, or float the Commonwealth of Virginia’s annual budget for about 10 days,” he continued. However, “it will not, long-term, revitalize the economy of a distressed region.”
While every project had merit, Day asked, “‘Will any of them make a 100-year difference?’ ... I don’t know how you would answer that question ... but it seems to me that we must think bigger — a lot bigger,” he wrote.
He urged the commission to “focus the billion dollars we have remaining — not on hundreds of ‘be nice to haves’ — but on one or two moon-shot-equivalent projects.”
Day was “absolutely right,” according to Charles Hawkins, a former state senator from Chatham who also was long-time chairman of the tobacco commission.
But, some of those smaller projects “made a huge impact” in localities, Hawkins said. What is considered “waste in one person’s eye is considered a God-send in another’s,” he said.
Hawkins said he has no issue with JLARC’s review of the commission.
“We have nothing to hide. I think we have done remarkably well,” Hawkins said. There are many “things we can all look at with pride,” including broadband projects and education, he added.
“I think many people” from other areas “don’t understand what we went through, (and) what we are going through,” he said. “We had our teeth kicked in,” and the commission was tasked with reinventing a region.
“You can nitpick anything you want to nitpick, but” all factors must be considered, including the tobacco farmers who were losing their livelihood, he said.
The commission has tried to be as transparent as possible from its beginning, Hawkins said.
It now has been examined by two outside agencies, JLARC and a Blue Ribbon Panel chaired by former Gov. Gerald Baliles in 2008.
In the end, history will determine the success of the Tobacco Commission, Hawkins said, and “I think history will be very kind to us.”

Tobacco tax veto stands

Lawmakers' attempt to override Governor Jindal's veto of HB 591 failed to rally a 2/3rds majority vote in the House today. That means 4-cents of Louisiana's 36-cent tax on tobacco will expire next year.

In a statement from the American Cancer Society, Andrew Muhl, Government Relations in Louisiana said "The youth of Louisiana lost today. When cigarettes are cheaper, more kids smoke and pay the price with their health. It’s just that simple. "

Governor Jindal says he vetoed the bill because failing to block a tax reduction is the same as passing a new tax, something he has promised not to do.

Man Accused of Spanking a 4th Teen Victim for Tobacco

Lexington County, SC (WLTX) -- Deputies have charged a 50-year-old Lexington man again after they say he exchanged tobacco to a 15-year-old so he could spank the clothed teen.

On Tuesday, deputies announced that Terrence Everett Bryant of Turkey Creek Court in Lexington was charged with three counts of committing a lewd act upon a child under the age of 16.

Bryant now faces an additional count, after they say a 15-year-old male was spanked on or about May 28.

According to investigators, Bryant spanked the boy, who was wearing clothes, "with the intent of gratifying his sexual desires."

Deputies say the victims told them that it was a well-known fact among teenage boys that Bryant would give tobacco products in exchange for spanking the boys.

According to deputies, Bryant has victimized three 15-year-old males and a 12-year-old male. Investigators say Bryant spanked the boys in the parking lot of the Pitt Stop in Lexington, where Bryant worked as a cashier. Bryant was fired when he was arrested, and deputies say store managers and employees were not aware of Bryant's accused crimes.

Investigators say Bryant kept cigarettes and smokeless tobacco that he had previously purchased in a glove compartment of his 2002 Chevrolet Silverado pickup truck, which was often parked outside the convenience store. Inside the truck, deputies say Bryant would victimize the children, and then give them the tobacco products.

The father of the 12-year-old found his son with tobacco products, and after he found out that his son had traded a spanking for the products, he reported the crime to the Lexington County sheriff's deputies.

Bryant faces a total maximum penalty of 60 years in prison if he is convicted of all four counts. He is detained on a total bail of $105,000.

High School Rodeo paticipants wear red to show opposition to tobacco

The High School State Finals Rodeo in Bozeman made a crimson statement Friday.

Red was the color worn by participants and spectators to show opposition to big tobacco. The Montana High School Rodeo Association is now the first in the nation to adopt a tobacco free policy at events. Some of the teens say it seems to be making a difference.

"You see parents smoking once in a while, but actually it hasn't been as bad lately...We're dedicated and we understand it's not good for you and we don't need to be doing it," said Rodeo Participant Charley Yeager.

Of the 375 teens in the rodeo, 300 signed a pledge not to use any tobacco.

Tobacco board plans to bail out AP farmers

The Tobacco Board has asked traders to procure more tobacco at higher prices to save farmers in Andhra Pradesh. Farmers in the state launched an agitation this month, seeking higher prices for the produce. This has led to the suspension of trade on six auction platforms in Prakasam district . "Indian Tobacco Association has given it in writing that it would require 180 million kg tobacco this year before the commencement of plantation.

Accordingly , we fixed the crop size. Now traders are not willing to procure tobacco and prices are falling due to low export demand. But we told traders to procure tobacco as per their earlier target and the prices should be higher than the input prices," said G Kamalavardhan Rao, chairman of Tobacco Board. Input prices required to produce one kg tobacco is . 87. Though the current prices are above . 100 per kg for good quality (bright variety) tobacco, farmers expect high prices as productivity this year was lower than last year's .

This year, the crop size was fixed at 170 million kg in Andhra Pradesh. "We could produce only about 150 million kg this year due to heavy rains in November-December last year. Quality also suffered due to rains. So, we are getting only . 90-110 per kg compared to . 120-130 last year. Prices are falling as there is a dip in export demand," says G Jagannath Rao, farmer & Tobacco Board member. India is the third-largest producer and second-largest exporter of tobacco. According to the Tobacco Board estimates, the country exported 2,49,997 million tonne of unmanufactured tobacco and related products in 2010-11 , realising an export revenue of . 4,163 crore.

"Tobacco, like any other crop, goes through a five year cycle of price fluctuations. Every five year, prices will fall to the lowest level and then will slowly pick up to reach a peak. When prices go up, more farmers will shift to tobacco cultivation, expecting higher returns. But due to higher supply, prices will start falling. This year is no different. Export demand is low as Zimbabwe and Brazil have bumper crop. The quality is also good there besides it is cheaper. As a result, global players are procuring stock from there, leading to a drop in demand here," says an official of a leading tobacco product manufacturer .

This year, Brazil produced 750 million tonne tobacco, up by 150 million over last year, while Zimbabwe produced 50 million tonne extra, leading to a crop size of total 170 mt. Besides, there was an unsold stock of 300 million tonne internationally. "Average price of tobacco is still higher than last year's . The Andhra Pradesh government has sanctioned . 20 crore to an agricultural corporate on Ongole to procure 2 million kg tobacco. This kind of a market intervention is expected to boost demand," says Kamalavardhan Rao.

Auditor General, local experts agree on best use of tobacco settlement money

A month after listening to locals talk about the dangers of cutting the amount of tobacco settlement money that supports health programs, the state auditor general has issued a report supporting their stance.

On Thursday, Auditor General Jack Wagner released a special report with the results of five statewide public hearings about how the state should use money tobacco companies agreed to pay to settle a lawsuit brought by Pennsylvania and 45 other states to address health care costs associated with illnesses caused by tobacco use.

Mr. Wagner claims the General Assembly has diverted more than $1.34 billion in tobacco settlement money over the past few years to uses not allowed under 2001 legislation that lays out how the funds should be spent.

Among the uses of settlement money was about $121 million diverted to the state's teachers' pension fund, Mr. Wagner has said.

The report released Thursday summarizes testimony given in a public hearing held in Scranton on May 3, as well as at hearings held in Pittsburgh, Erie, Harrisburg and Philadelphia.

"The people who testified represent millions of Pennsylvanians, and they don't want settlement monies used to plug holds in the state budget as previously was done, or to fund a new loan program," Mr. Wagner said in a press release Thursday.

Robert Durkin, president of the Northeast Regional Cancer Institute, was one of several people who testified at Scranton's public hearing last month. He reiterated his concerns Thursday, saying that any cuts to health programs meant to address tobacco-related illnesses means a higher cost in the future.

"I think it's short-sighted not to spend money on prevention ... and cessation," he said, adding that putting money into those programs now "will pay dividends down the road."

Gary Drapek, president of United Way of Lackawanna and Wayne Counties, said he was not surprised by the auditor general's findings but said he does not know what effect the report may have on legislators and the governor.

"I'm optimistic that the Legislature will take a hard look at the report" and the testimony it summarizes, Mr. Drapek said. "The state might be in bad financial shape, but these cuts will only make things worse in the future."

Traffic Stop leads to Contraband Cigarettes Seizure

The London Customs & Excise Section of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) seized approximately 65,000 contraband cigarettes and a vehicle as a result of an Ontario Provincial Police (OPP) West Region Highway Patrol Traffic stop. The brands seized included Discount, Putter's Light, Canadian Light and Canadian Ultra Light.

On Wednesday, May 11th, 2011 the OPP stopped a vehicle on Highway 401 just west of Putnam Road for a Highway Traffic Act violation. During the course of the traffic stop, the vehicle was searched and the contraband tobacco was located in the vehicle. RCMP officers were contacted and attended the scene, seizing the contraband tobacco and the vehicle.

The two male occupants of the vehicle, both residents of the Windsor area, face charges under the Excise Act, 2001 for possession of a tobacco product not properly stamped.

If convicted, both men could face fines not exceeding $16,250 or imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years or both.

This investigation is still ongoing and charges are pending.

World No Tobacco Day, Putting Out Cigarettes One By One

The World Health Organization (WHO), as it does every year, celebrates World No Tobacco Day, a day where we remember and reignite the fight against tobacco use.
The WHO came out on Monday and stated that by the year 2030, 8 million people will die from tobacco products annually.
This is an absolutely astounding number and it served its purpose to get the attention of people around the world as we once again come together on this day.
This year, the focus is most certainly on increasing awareness and preventing the usage of tobacco products in new ways, specifically with the way in which warning labels are being used.
Graphic warning labels are believed to be things which can deter potential smokers from lighting up a cigarette, one after another.
Tobacco products such as cigarettes lead to the development of many diseases, including emphysema, lung cancer, as well as cardiovascular health problems.
We are seeing more and more cities in the U.S. banning smoking in public places, such as the new ban in New York City, as well as bans in countries around the world.
These efforts are what will be highlighted on World No Tobacco Day as we once again come together to remember and be aware of the dangers of tobacco-related products.

Madison's ban on e-cigarettes, hookahs begins Monday

Beginning Monday, Madison County will enforce an amended smoking ban that includes electronic cigarettes.
The Madison County Board of Health voted in April to include e-cigarettes and hookahs, or water pipes, in its indoor smoking restrictions, which have been in effect since 2007. The amended regulation also eliminates smoking in retail tobacco stores, a practice that was exempted in the original regulation.
The amended regulation continues to prohibit smoking in enclosed public places such as restaurants, bars and businesses. It also prohibits smoking in the workplace.
Electronic cigarettes are battery-operated devices that heat a liquid nicotine solution in a disposable cartridge, creating vapor that the smoker inhales. A tiny light on the tip glows like a cigarette.
Penalties for violation of the Madison County ordinance include a fee not to exceed $50 for individuals. For a business, there is a $100 fine for the first violation, $300 for a second violation and $250 for each additional violation. Continuous violations also might result in suspension of any permit or license related to the business.
Madison County joins Bardstown and Glasgow in prohibiting e-cigarettes. The Bullitt County Board of Health approved a similar regulation in late March; it takes effect Sept. 19.
A campus-wide tobacco-free policy that begins July 1 at St. Catharine College in Washington County also prohibits e-cigarettes and hookahs.
Lexington's smoke-free ordinance, passed in 2003 and implemented in 2004, does not include e-cigarettes.

Fruitvale butts out cigarettes from its parks

Fruitvale isn’t letting the issue of smoking in its parks burn for any longer.

The village decided to butt out cigarettes entirely from its parks at Monday night’s council meeting, just a day before World No Tobacco Day, which highlights the health risks associated with tobacco use and advocates for effective policies and practices to reduce tobacco consumption.

“It makes it much easier for one parent to say to another, ‘Are you aware there is no smoking in the park?’” said village administrator Lila Cresswell.

Council decided to ban people from smoking cigarettes, cigars, cigarillos or other forms of tobacco or combustible material after they received complaints from concerned parents.

“I don’t want to be a nanny state and order people how they live their lives but I don’t think there is really any question that smoking is not the best occupation for your health,” said Fruitvale Mayor Libby Nelson.

“And the cleanliness – smokers have tended to just drop their butts wherever they are and just stamp them out so you have the garbage aspect, too.”

Smokers are encouraged to leave the green space of a park before lighting up. Signs will be placed in a designated park area, reminding residents that it is a no smoking zone and should there be further complaints, the village’s bylaw officer will speak with those ignoring the new park rule.