MSMC campus store ceases sale of cigarettes

The campus store at Mount Saint Mary College in Newburgh is ending the sales of cigarettes permanently. The termination coincides with the Great American Smokeout today.
College Vice President for Student Development Harry Steinway said stopping the sales makes an important statement to students.
Removing the butts from the shelves may impact the store’s bottom line, Steinway acknowledged.
“There are a fair number of students, but not only students, there are employees who purchase tobacco products, so I think it will put a little dent in daily sales, but maybe candy bar sales or granola bars will pick it up and we’ll see what happens,” he said.
The health benefits far outweigh any potential economic costs to the store, Steinway said.
The college’s health Services and community health nursing students will be providing information to help students stop smoking during the Great American Smokeout.

Fewer minors purchasing cigarettes

A sales compliance survey shows a decrease in tobacco sales to Wisconsin minors, Gov. Jim Doyle announced Monday.
The 2009 Synar survey shows the number of retail outlets that sell tobacco illegally to minors went down by 20 percent. In 2008, roughly 7.2 percent of stores sold tobacco to minors; in 2009, only 5.7 percent did not comply with the law.
Doyle thanked retailers for their work against minor consumption and possession of tobacco products.
"In Wisconsin, we are working hard to protect our kids from the scourge of tobacco," Doyle said. "Our state has a long history of preventing youth tobacco sales and I'm pleased our efforts are paying off."
The Synar surveys randomly selected retail outlets throughout Wisconsin to try to get an accurate snapshot of statewide compliance.
2009 is the seventh straight year that Wisconsin has been below the target rate of 20 percent noncompliance.

Tobacco Quit line Helps First Half-Million Callers

A free telephone service that helps Californians kick the smoking habit – funded by tobacco taxes approved by California voters and operated by the University of California, San Diego – reached a milestone today as the 500,000th person called for service.
1-800-NO-BUTTS, also known as the California Smokers’ Helpline, has been helping callers since 1992, when it became the nation’s first statewide “quit line.” Today, all 50 states offer similar services as part of efforts to reduce tobacco’s toll on the public health.
“The fact that half a million Californians have called for help shows how badly people want to quit,” said Christopher Anderson, program director for the Helpline. “When you see a person who’s still smoking, despite all the information about negative health effects, you might think they don’t want to quit. But, more often than not, they just don’t know how to go about it or don’t feel confident in their ability to quit. We help them come up with a good plan and stick to it.”
The Helpline provides free, confidential service to more than 30,000 callers annually, including self-help materials, referral to local programs, and one-on-one telephone counseling. Callers who choose counseling receive up to two hours of tailored assistance spread out over five calls. Services are available in English, Spanish, Mandarin, Cantonese, Korean and Vietnamese.
“Reaching the milestone of half a million callers is remarkable, but we have a long way to go,” said Shu-Hong Zhu, PhD, principal investigator for the Helpline. He added that there are still about four million smokers in California, and tobacco use remains the leading cause of premature death and disease. “Concerted efforts are needed to encourage more quitting among smokers and tobacco chewers.”
According to the 2005 California Tobacco Survey, 62 percent of smokers were advised by a doctor to quit smoking, but only 33 percent of those were referred to a quit smoking program.
The Helpline has experienced a big increase in referrals by health care providers, from six percent of callers in 1992 to nearly 44 percent today. Still, the Helpline wants to see more intervention by medical personnel.
“We are asking health care professionals to get more involved and help spread the word about available cessation services,” said Kristin Harms, communications manager for the Helpline. “We recommend the ‘Ask, Advise, Refer’ approach: ask your patients if they smoke or use chewing tobacco, advise those who do to quit, and refer them to 1-800-NO-BUTTS for effective help.”
Research has shown that patients who are advised to quit are more likely to try, and that those who receive telephone counseling are twice as likely to be successful.

Man charged with stealing computer, cigarettes

An Iowa City man has been arrested on charges for participating in several thefts and burglaries, including stealing 350 packs of cigarettes from a Tiffin store.Eli James Vargason, 18, 1112 Hotz Ave., was charged with third-degree theft, possession of marijuana and drunken driving after he was pulled over for an expired registration about 8:30 p.m. Tuesday. According to the arrest reports, police found a computer case with a mini laptop computer inside that had been reported stolen from a Tiffin man and marijuana.
He was then considered a suspect in other ongoing burglary investigations, including an Oct. 31 break-in at the Casey's General Store in Tiffin in which Vargason allegedly smashed the front glass door and took about 350 packs of cigarettes, police said. He was charged with third-degree burglary for that break-in, police said.
Vargason remained Friday in the Johnson County Jail on a $16,000 cash bond.

Reynolds raising cigarette prices

A decline in demand is not keeping R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. from raising the list price on its cigarette brands by 6 cents or 8 cents a pack for wholesale customers.The price increase, announced yesterday, will take effect Monday. 
David Howard, a spokesman for Reynolds, said that the company doesn’t comment on its pricing strategy, but the decision comes five days after Philip Morris USA announced a price increase of 6 cents a pack, which went into effect yesterday.
Reynolds is raising list prices less than a week after reporting that its cigarette-shipment volume fell 11 percent in the third quarter to 20.6 billion cigarettes. Reynolds said that the industry decline was 12.6 percent.
Howard said that the list price is increasing 6 cents a pack for its growth brands - Camel and Pall Mall - and also for Doral, GPC, Kool, Misty, Salem and Winston. All but GPC are considered as support brands.
The list price is being raised 8 cents a pack for its other brands, which include Capri, Eclipse, Lucky Strike, More and Vantage. 
Charles Norton, the portfolio manager of the USA Mutuals Vice Fund, said that Reynolds is likely to be able to sustain the third price increase related to its cigarettes since September 2007. 
In March, Reynolds raised the list price in the range of 41 cents to 78 cents a pack for wholesale customers, including 41 cents to 44 cents for most of its growth and support brands. 
The increase was in response to Congress passing the 62-cent increase in the federal excise tax to pay for expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. That tax increase went into effect April 1.
In September 2007, Reynolds raised its cigarette prices by a range of 5 cents to 15 cents a pack, including 15 cents for Camel. 
“Strong pricing power is one of the underpinnings of our positive view of tobacco, which is a much more important driver of earnings than volume,“ Norton said.
Reynolds said in its third-quarter report that it had a slight market-share drop in cigarettes to 28.2 percent. The market share for Camel, the lead Reynolds cigarette brand, dipped slightly to 7.7 percent. Pall Mall’s market share was at 5 percent, up 2.3 percentage points from a year ago.
A temporary price discount in the spring on Pall Mall attracted smokers wanting to spend less on cigarettes in the recession. Even after the discount ended in May and prices were raised to counter the excise-tax increases, Pall Mall maintained a higher market share. The company began another discount promotion for Pall Mall on Oct. 5. 
Reynolds also raised its full-year earnings projections last week to a range of $4.60 to $4.70 a share - from $4.40 to $4.60 - as a sign of confidence in its strategies.

Officials bust two stores for selling cigarettes to minors

Employees at two stores were ticketed Tuesday for selling tobacco to minors after town and state officials conducted an undercover operation.
An employee from the Tobacconist of Greenwich, at 8 Havemeyer Place, and the Oriental Market, at 214 Sound Beach Avenue, were cited for sale of tobacco to a minor under 18, an infraction that comes with a $200 fine.
The employee cited at the Oriental Market was Linda Chan, 54, of 403155 Henry St., New York, N.Y. Michael Cafagno, 23, of 560 Locust Ave., Port Chester, N.Y., was cited for selling to a minor while working at the Tobacconist of Greenwich.
Nineteen other establishments were subject to announced visits Tuesday and passed, police said.
The operation was managed by the Department of Mental Health and Addiction Services Tobacco Prevention and Enforcement program, who utilized an underaged youth, employed by the program, to enter establishments and attempt to buy tobacco.It is against state law to sell tobacco products to minors.
It is also against the law for minors to possess, smoke or use tobacco products in public as of Oct. 2008.
The two stores that failed the test will also be subject to administrative sanctions from the Department of Revenue Services, the state agency that issues cigarette dealer licenses.
Police said these types of undercover checks take place periodically throughout the year in town.

No tobacco advertising at newspaper hawker stalls from November 1

Hong Kong (HKSAR) - The Tobacco Control Office (TCO) of the Department of Health reminded licensed newspaper hawkers that the exemption for display of tobacco advertisements at their stalls would be revoked on November 1. "There will be no exemption from the tobacco advertising ban thereafter," a spokesman said. Under the Smoking (Public Health) Ordinance, no person shall display, publish, distribute, broadcast, exhibit by film or place on the Internet any tobacco advertisement.
Offenders are liable to a fine of up to $50,000 and in case of a continuing offence, to a further penalty of $1,500 for each day the offence continues. "We have written to all licensed newspaper hawkers and their trade associations to remind them of the repeal of exemption, and to remove all tobacco advertisements before November 1," the spokesman said. He called for the co-operation of licensed newspaper hawkers to enable the smooth implementation of the ordinance.
To increase awareness of all licensed newspaper hawkers and the public of the revocation of exemption, the TCO has mounted a publicity programme comprising radio announcements, advertisements via Internet and pamphlet distribution to licensed newspaper hawkers during inspections. Up to September this year, the TCO had received 29 complaints about tobacco advertisements and took enforcement action in eight cases of illegal advertising. Some of the 2009 complaints are still under investigation.