Selling tobacco via vending machines means a big fine

The legislation means traders could face a fine of thousands of pounds or even a prison sentence if they sell directly to the public via machines.
It will also be illegal to display the tobacco advertising that would normally be present on a vending machine.
Although the law applies regardless of the age of the purchaser, Hertfordshire Trading Standards said the change was primarily to cut off a popular supply line of cigarettes to youngsters.
A survey of smoking among UK children revealed that 17 per cent of 11-15-year-olds who smoked regularly said that vending machines were their usual source of cigarettes.
Hertfordshire County Council’s executive member for community safety Cllr Richard Thake (Con, Knebworth and Codicote) said: “Young people take advantage of the fact that they are less likely to get asked about their age when buying cigarettes from a vending machine as opposed to over the counter.”
Trading standards found under-age test purchasers were able to buy cigarettes from 15 of 20 vending machines tested in Herts last year, with many of the remainder out of action.
Cllr Thake continued: “Businesses must comply with this new law. If a trading standards officer visits a premise and finds that cigarettes are still being sold to the public directly from a vending machine, the owner or manager could be fined up to £2,500.”
The penalty for displaying advertising on vending machines is up to £5,000 or imprisonment for up to two years.

Hoddle St killer against jail tobacco levy

Hoddle Street murderer Julian Knight is questioning the legality of a tobacco levy imposed on prisoners.

Knight was 19 when he shot dead seven people and injured 19 in the Hoddle Street massacre in Melbourne in 1987.

He was sentenced to a maximum of seven life sentences, with a minimum of 27 years, and will be eligible for parole in 2014.

Knight has been declared a vexatious litigant and is prohibited from starting legal proceedings without court permission.

He told the Victorian Supreme Court on Tuesday that Corrections Victoria did not have the power to impose the levy, in place since 1993.

Philip Morris says closes plant in Uruguay amid lawsuit

U.S. tobacco giant Philip Morris said on Friday it shut down its plant in Uruguay because the country's anti-smoking policies make business unprofitable.

Philip Morris' local unit sued Uruguay at the World Bank's International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID) in February 2010. The company seeks compensation for damages allegedly caused by the state's anti-tobacco measures.

Uruguay imposed a ban on smoking in public spaces in 2006, raised taxes on tobacco products and forced firms to include large warnings and graphic images including diseased lungs and rotting teeth on cigarette packages.

It also banned the use of the words "light" and "mild" from cigarette packs to try to dispel smokers' misbeliefs that the products are safer.

"Plant operations are no longer viable because of the broad availability and presence of illegal products in the market, combined with a reduction in demand and fiscal and regulatory measures that limit our capacity to commercialize our products profitably," the firm's Abal Hermanos local unit said in a statement.

Philip Morris' domestic subsidiary said it will now import cigarettes from Argentina. Abal Hermanos laid off 62 of the 90 workers employed at its plant located in the capital Montevideo and said the rest will work at sales and import offices.

Uruguay's Labor Minister Eduardo Brenta said he was concerned that the company had taken a rushed decision without consulting the government first.

"We're worried that this decision was taken all of a sudden," Brenta said. "We can't understand why (the company) did not make pre-announcement so we could take preventive measures."

Members of the country's tobacco union occupied the plant on Friday to protest the workers' dismissal.

"They breached all agreements between the union and the company," said Mario de Castro, union secretary at the country's Autonomous Tobacco Syndicate.

"What they claim is lies," de Castro said. "They blame it on the court case, on the regulatory measures, but they are shutting the plant to bring in production from Argentina."

The World Bank's investment dispute tribunal has yet to rule on the case.

Health boss backs illegal tobacco campaign

A NEW campaign launched this week by Tobacco Free Futures aimed at making smoking history for children has the full support of a health boss at NHS East Lancashire.

The campaign, called “Keep It Out”, encourages communities to take action against the dealers and aims to raise awareness of illegal tobacco and the harmful effect it has on the young people of East Lancashire.

Dr Sohail Bhatti, Interim Director of Public Health at NHS East Lancashire, said: “On average, over 500 people in East Lancashire die each year because of smoking-related diseases. We need to work together in our communities to stop illegal cigarettes being sold to children so they don’t become one of these terrible statistics in the future.”

New research has shown the availability of illegal tobacco is making it far too easy for children and young people to smoke. Half of the tobacco bought by 14 to 15-year-olds is illegal, a much higher percentage than the amount bought by adults, and research shows one in four young smokers regularly gets offered illegal tobacco, which is also far more than adults.

Dealers target children and young people by selling them single cigarettes, which makes it more affordable for them and gets them hooked so they come back for more. Illegal tobacco is also linked to low-level and large-scale organised crime, so it helps fund drugs and weapon smuggling, child exploitation and money laundering.

Dr Bhatti said: “It’s worrying that East Lancashire is a hotspot for illegal tobacco. I welcome this campaign and the very valuable work Trading Standards do to keep out illegal tobacco.”

2 special operations against cigarette smuggling carried out by customs officers in past 12 hours

Customs officers carried out two special operations against cigarette smuggling over the past 12 hours, the press office of the National Customs Agency announced.
The first operation started at 9:30 p.m. on Sunday in the region of Dragoman. Officers with the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department with the Customs Sofia detected and foiled the smuggling of some 1,978 boxes of cigarettes with Serbian and Kosovar excise stamps, as well as 190 boxes of cigarettes without excise stamp. The cigarettes were fund in the service carriage of a train transporting officers with the Bulgarian State Railways working at the Dimitrovgrad railway station in Serbia.
A total of 2,168 boxes of cigarettes were found carried by railway workers, in the empty carriages of the train, as well as outside the train – cigarettes thrown away by the railway workers.
The second operation started at 9:30 a.m. on Monday, carried out by the Customs Intelligence and Investigation Department with the Customs Sofia, in cooperation with Economic Police with the general Directorate of Criminal Police.
Authorities checked a site, used as a depot for illegal cigarette distribution. The cigarettes were without excise stamp. Authorities seized 10,820 boxes of cigarettes without excise stamps. Other 750 boxes if cigarettes were found in a car used by the two persons put under surveillance during the investigation. According to initial information, authorities have busted a well-organised scheme for illegal cigarette distribution.

Marijuana Use Increases Risk of Car Accidents

While there may be benefits from the use of marijuana, there are downsides to both medicinal therapy and illicit pot use. The latest study shows that there is a higher risk of car crashes amongst users, which may impact the current legalization push in states nationwide.
Marijuana acts on your central nervous system. While it can elicit feelings of euphoria, relaxation, and increased sensation, it may also lead to a decreased ability to perform tasks that require a lot of coordination (such as driving a car). Which is exactly what this research proves.
An online study, conducted by Epidemiologic Reviews, shows that smoking marijuana prior to getting behind the wheel increases the risk of car crashes by approximately double, over those who don’t light up.
Lead author Dr. Guohua Li, a professor of epidemiology at Columbia University Mailman School of Public Health, said that while alcohol use is down, pot smoking is up. A recent survey by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration found that 8.9 percent of the U.S. population or 22.6 million Americans aged 12 and older used illicit drugs in 2010, up from 8.7 percent in 2009 and 8 percent in 2008.
Using the data from nine prior studies to assess the risk of driving while under the influence of marijuana, Li and his colleagues found that driving in the three- to four-hour time range after smoking marijuana is the most dangerous, and overall makes driving 2.7 times riskier.
Ultimately this could have an effect on both current and pending legislation as well as insurance rates. Chuck Farmer, the director of statistics at the Insurance Institute of Highway Safety, wasn’t ready to jump on that bandwagon.
"We can't really say yet that marijuana increases the risk by two or three times," said Farmer. "Most of their studies pointed to a very strong bad effect of marijuana on driving, but there are other studies out there that actually go the other way."

City May Consider Ban On Smoking Outside Apartments

The San Diego City Attorney's Office is reviewing a draft of an ordinance that could ban smoking in the common areas of multi-family complexes. The draft was created by a task force assembled to examine the impact of second-hand smoke at apartment and condo properties. However, there are a lot of questions for the ordinance.

"Legally, can this be done? If so, what would it look like?" said San Diego City Councilwoman Marti Emerald, who is a part of the Public Safety and Neighborhood Services Committee.
Emerald has pushed the city attorney's office to review the ordinance so that it can be presented back to the committee and, eventually, the full City Council.
However, Emerald said she understands it may be hard where to draw the line and not impede on the rights of smokers.
"And while I may not be a smoker today, I have in the past, so I sympathize with the rights of smokers as well as non-smokers," she said.
Thirteen California municipalities currently have similar smoking bans for common areas in multi-family complexes.

Proposed smoking ban raises controversy at public hearing

The second public hearing regarding Richmond County's proposed smoking ban was a packed house. Very few seemed undecided; most either strongly support the ordinance...or outright hate it. Amy Lewis was one of the first speakers Monday night, expressing a concern that the law is unreasonably attempting to force everyone to live in a "plastic bubble." She concludes, "If you want to go crawl in your plastic bubble, you have the ultimate right. You go crawl into your little bubble. And while you're there--- zip it up."

Several doctors, nurses and health advocates spoke out, too, arguing that employees of bars have the right to work in a smoke-free environment. Cheryl Wheeler is the Advocacy Chair for the American Cancer Society. "I have the opportunity to work in a healthy environment, and everyone deserves that. A healthy environment." Cheryl says she is just as passionate about helping smokers quit. "I've seen the impact professionally and personally of the impact of both smoking and exposure to second hand smoke."

Lewis and several other protesters of the ban say "do-gooders" supporting the ordinance are infringing on their legal right to smoke. Bar owners are also concerned with infringement of right; for example, their right to run business however they please and appeal to whomever they desire, smoker or non-smoker. "If a person doesn't want to go in a bar that smokes, don't go there! They have plenty of bars in Augusta and Richmond County that have non-smoking already," insists R.W. McClellan. He's owned and worked in his bar for eighteen years. He is not a smoker, but smoking is allowed in his bar. McClellan points out, "I'm one who's being exposed to this second hand smoke they are talking about." But, he explains, he's invested in "smoke eaters," fans that suck in and purify air around the bar. "It comes out cleaner than the air outside around here," McClellan believes.

McClellan also says if the new ordinance is passed and enforced, bar finances will go up in smoke. "We'd all be out of business. Richmond County's gonna be in trouble because i will cost them millions of dollars over the years." He worries non-smoking laws will push customers elsewhere. Sheila Hernan agrees and summarizes her speech to the crowd in a quick seven seconds. "Smoking is legal; Drinking is legal; My business is legal. 98% of my customers smoke. This will probably shut us down."

Lora Hawk supports the ordinance and questions, "I have to ask you- where is the business going to go? Is it going to go to Columbia County? Because they already have an ordinance. Is it going to go to Aiken, South Carolina? Because they already have an ordinance, too. All your neighbors already have the ordinance." So do 500 other municipalities across the country, she says, in addition to 29 entire states with smoking ban laws.

Noah Garcia brings up his concerns with the language of the law. "If the ordinance is to prevent second-hand smoke, then why are electric cigarette devices listed, too?" He starts up his electric cigarette, showing a the minimal amount of smoke it produces. Garcia says he's used the nicotine-only device as a way to ween off of cigarettes. "There's no fire, no combustible plant matter, there's no trash. You don't litter, there's no nothing. And there's no smoke! You can't say that it's harmful to anybody else but me."

Chile Supreme Court OKs medical marijuana company

Chile's Supreme Court ruled Friday that the government unconstitutionally revoked a company's permit to grow medical marijuana.

But a lawyer for the government said Chile remains a long way from allowing the production and sale of marijuana for therapeutic purposes.

The court ruled unanimously that Chile's agriculture service unfairly canceled the permit it granted Agrofuturo in 2009 to cultivate marijuana for therapeutic products. The service based its cancellation last year on a health service prohibition against including marijuana in pharmaceutical products.

"We find ourselves very happy" with the ruling, Agrofuturo owner Alvaro Gomez told The Associated Press in a phone interview from the city of Los Angeles in Chile's southern Bio Bio region, where the marijuana would be grown.

Gomez declined to comment further.

The judges focused their decision on due process requirements, and didn't make broader statements inviting a medical marijuana boom in Chile. It is legal in Chile to consume marijuana alone on private property, but against the law to consume it in groups or grow it without a government permit.

When the company applied for its permit, it laid out plans to sell the marijuana to be drunk as infusions, in bags similar to tea, and said that whether its sale would require a doctor's prescription would be determined by Chile's Public Health Institute.

The institute, however, clarified this year that producing, transporting and distributing marijuana remains prohibited in Chile and that legal use would be permitted only as part of scientific research. Jorge Correa, a lawyer for the agricultural service, says the health institute still has the last word on marijuana production.

The Chilean courts in 2005 absolved a woman who grew and consumed marijuana inside her home to ease pain from arthritis and rheumatism, but that ruling also failed to set a precedent for a medicinal marijuana industry.

Figures show smoking decline in Tayside

Graeme Dey, MSP for Angus South, has expressed his delight at figures which show more than 14,000 people have attempted to stop smoking in the NHS Tayside area in the last three years. The figures cover the period April 2008 to March 2011.

Mr Dey said: “Leading a smoke-free life is one simple way to improve your health dramatically, and I am very pleased to see so many people in Angus South attempt to quit the habit.

“These figures show that right across Scotland people are determined and willing to stop smoking, which will go a long way to make us a fitter, healthier and happier nation, never mind the positive impact it will have on your wallet.

“The figures also show that we have a strong support network of health professionals across Angus and Tayside ready to provide help and advice, and NHS Tayside should be commended for this.

“There is always work that needs to be done to tackle the challenge smoking provides however, but the tough new display regulations for cigarettes and tobacco introduced by the Scottish Government will further improve matters.

“As we continue to try and be smoke-free, and with major sporting events such as the Ryder Cup and the Commonwealth Games heading to Scotland very shortly, I’ve no doubt people will be much keener to kick their habit into touch.”

Marijuana processing business planned for Albany

An Albany woman plans to open a marijuana processing business next month to convert the weed provided by medical cardholders into a smokeless substance.
Owner Rhea Graham, 50, who has a medical marijuana card, said she expects to be flooded with customers when she begins operating Albany’s Canna Kitchen & Research on Friday, Nov. 11, Veterans Day.
“I chose that day because I am a 20-year Air Force veteran, the power of 11/11/11, and I expect people will want to drop by after the parade,” she said.
At her business, Graham will wash the marijuana and then process it primarily into butter, oils, tinctures, salves and capsules.
Albany police Capt. Eric Carter said this about the new business in an email:
“This particular situation is a new twist on things; however, as far as marijuana dispensaries are concerned, we are in discussion with the district attorney’s office and conducting the research necessary to come to a conclusion as to the legality of what is being proposed.”
Graham, who has lived in Albany 13 years, wants to emphasize her operation is not a place where people will go to hang out. She is there only to conduct business.
She also wants people to know how important it is to wash their medical marijuana.
“You wash your lettuce, don’t you?” she said. “When the plants grow, people spray for mites and other things but they don’t want to clean the plants because they are afraid they will wash off the THC, the psychoactive part of marijuana, but that’s not the case.”
Graham said she expects to do well because no one else in the area provides the same service.
David Martineau, a planner with the city, said his department is reviewing Graham’s site plan application. So far, he has not seen any problems with it.
Her location is zoned light industrial, and Graham’s business meets the city’s code criteria for that site. Previously, the 2,075-square-foot space her business will occupy contained a grass seed packing operation.
“Anytime there’s a change in the use of a building, we look to see if any additional impacts will be created, such as whether there will be a need for more parking, if there will be more foot traffic, any number of things,” Martineau said. “From what we can tell, we think there will be just 10 members a day going to the business.”
Graham said her hours are still in flux. She will be open Tuesday through Saturday starting at 11 a.m. She does not know if she will close at 6 or 8 p.m.

UO to go tobacco-free in 2012

Starting in fall 2012, smoking will be banned on all University of Oregon property - including areas used by tailgaters outside Duck football games at Autzen Stadium.

Under the new smoke-free campus policy, smokers will literally have to leave campus to smoke a cigarette. The exact boundaries of the ban - and any penalties for violating the ban - have not yet been determined.

"With tighter tobacco control policy, that more people do quit and less people start, and that's an advantage to everybody," said Paula Staight with the UO Health Center, "And we know the majority of people do want to quit."

Students and staff will have free access to gum and patches to help quit. Will it work?

"I don't think it helps much honestly, because anybody who smokes will just walk off campus," said freshman Chris Richter.

Junior Wes Crosswhite smokes five to 10 cigarettes a day. A campus rule isn't going to make him give it up.

"I don't want to right away," he said, "so it's not fair to me. It will really suck, because U of O is a big campus. I'll have to smoke 15 minutes that way or 10 minutes that way before I can go to class. And in between classes I won't get any smoking time, either."

That means the hustle and bustle of campus will be smoke-free.

"I feel great about that," said Jojoe Nujoy, a UO grad student. "It's just really annoying when the smoke is blowing in your face."

"I don't mind if people are doing it in designated areas," said freshman Kim Ames, "but when i'm walking, I don't want to smell it."

Augusta Commissioners To Discuss Smoking Ban Proposal Cancelled

Augusta Commissioners will hold a public meeting Wednesday evening to talk about a proposed smoking ban in Augusta.

The Richmond County Board of Health's proposal would snuff out smoking in just about every public place in the city.

If you want to let your feelings be known about the proposed ban, you can take part in the meeting Wednesday night at 6:00 p.m. in the Augusta Commission Chambers at the Augusta Municipal Building.

Ruling on smoking ban looms

Proponents and opponents of Springfield's smoking ban could see a ruling on the disputed ordinance in about a week.

That's the estimate Associate Circuit Judge Jason Brown gave Wednesday at the end of a summary judgment hearing.

Jean Doublin, who owns Ruthie's Bar on Commercial Street and is suing the city over the ban, said she was satisfied with attorney Jonathan Sternberg's arguments during the hearing attended by several tavern owners.

"I hope he decides in our favor," Doublin said after the half-hour hearing .

Brown, who heard arguments from Sternberg and assistant city attorney Marianne Landers Banks, said he anticipates making a ruling soon.

"Hopefully, within the next week," he said.

Earlier this year, Brown refused to issue a restraining order to halt implementation of the ordinance.

There was no clear hint on how the judge might rule after hearing each attorney's arguments.

The judge's questions raised issues he'll consider.

He indicated a central question is whether the ordinance that's been in effect since June 11 is regulation or prohibition of smoking in what are considered public places.

Sternberg argued that Ruthie's is not a public place because it displays signs notifying customers that it has no accommodations for non-smokers.

That means state law overrules local ordinances, he contended.

"What the city has done here is outright prohibition of what the state allows," he said.

Banks argued a sign does no such thing and it does not prevent a tavern from being considered a public place and covered by the ban.

Before the hearing, Sternberg said the judge's ruling won't end the legal battle over smoking in Springfield.

That's because whoever loses, an appeal can be expected, he said.

Michigan Study Shows Positive Results for Smoking Ban

A new study released by the Michigan Department of Community Heath shows the positive health effects the Dr. Ron Davis Smoke Free Air Law is having on the state of Michigan. The study, measuring air quality in restaurants, confirmed a 93 percent reduction in the level of dangerous particulate matter in the air after the law went into effect.

The MDCH study was conducted in 77 restaurants that allowed smoking prior to the passage of the law. According to the study, 85 percent of those establishments registered poor to dangerous air quality prior to the law’s passage.

“A 93 percent drop in particulates is significant,” said Judy Stewart, campaign manager for the Michigan Campaign for Smokefree Air. “It shows that the law has leveled the playing field and given bar and restaurant workers the same right that most of us in Michigan enjoy—the right to work in a safe and clean environment.”

Michigan became the 38th state in the nation to implement a smokefree air law on May 1, 2010. This new study showing cleaner and healthier work environments complements other research showing the law has had no net negative economic impact on business in our state.

“Critics of the smokefree air law, to this day, pay little attention to the health benefits of the law and choose instead to turn it into a political and partisan issue,” said Stewart. “What they ignore is the fact that smokefree air laws make for healthier employees, help increase worker productivity, lower the burden on Medicaid and Medicare by reducing health care costs for tobacco-related diseases, and overall, save lives by reducing exposure to a dangerous carcinogen—secondhand smoke.”

The Michigan Campaign for Smokefree Air commends Michigan policymakers for following the lead of a majority of other states and making Michigan smokefree. The most current poll (May 2011) of Michigan voters shows that 74 percent support the law and 93 percent say they will frequent bars and restaurants as often, or more often, than before the law was passed. “There is no question that this law is good for Michigan,” said Stewart.

Smoking hits women harder than men in every which way

A new study has claimed that women who smokec cigarettes have heart attacks at younger ages and are more likely than men to suffer complications months after a cardiac arrest.

According to the study by the University of Michigan Cardiovascular Centre, although fewer women than men smoke in the United States, the gender gap is decreasing, suggesting the toll of smoking is greater on the health of women.

“Smoking is not good for men or women but our analysis shows that women who smoke do worse six months after a heart attack than men,” Elizabeth Jackson, senior author of the study, said.

“We were not able to look at the basic biological mechanisms that would account for this, but other studies can give us some ideas.

“The ideologies of acute coronary syndrome may be different and the atherosclerotic burden greater for women,” she stated.

Jackson and lead author of the study Michael Howe conducted a study to examine the smoking status of patients during and six months after an acute coronary syndrome event, such as a heart attack.

They used the U-M Health System’s acute coronary event registry which has data on 3,588 patients admitted to the U-M Medical Centre from 1st January 1999 to 31st December, 2006 with a diagnosis of ACS.

A reported 24 percent of patients were actively smoking and male smokers were nine years younger than non-smoking men when admitted for their cardiac event, whereas smokers were 13 years younger than non-smoking women when admitted.

Among smokers, gender was a significant factor for risk of complications after a heart attack as six months after their cardiac event, 13.5 percent of female smokers needed emergency treatment to restore blood flow compared to 4.4 percent of male smokers who needed an unscheduled revascularization.

“The differences in outcomes among women smokers may reflect inherent biological differences between genders, or possibly less aggressive medical management of women that’s been described by other investigators,” Howe said.

“Either way, it clearly emphasizes the need for increased physician awareness and vigilance, in women in particular, after an acute coronary event,” he added.

The study has been published in the American Journal of Cardiology.

Outdoor smoking ban coming to Victoria region, mayors say

The days of enjoying a leisurely smoke on a Greater Victoria park bench or at the beach could be numbered.

The capital region undoubtedly will follow other municipalities in considering a smoking ban in outdoor areas, such as parks, playgrounds, beaches and trails, local politicians say.

"It's a big issue for parents," said Victoria Mayor Dean Fortin, adding residents are often as much concerned about smokers tossing cigarette butts as they are about second-hand smoke.

"I've had several people raise it as an issue for them. It's something we should take a look at."

The trend for smoke-free parks, playgrounds, beaches and trails is picking up steam.

About 50 municipalities across the country have enacted bylaws restricting smoking in open areas, such as parks and playgrounds. Smoking will be banned in regional parks and trails in Metro Vancouver from Jan. 1. Nanaimo is poised to pass a similar ban.

Saanich Mayor Frank Leonard said the subject undoubtedly will come up before the Capital Regional District, sitting as a board of health.

"These things work their way around the province. What we're doing today was unthinkable 25 years ago. What we do going forward, I think, will be just as progressive. But we've learned you need to move with public will," Leonard said.

Items such as smoking bylaws are better handled regionally than by individual municipalities, Leonard said.

"I think these sorts of things are just too confusing if they are patchwork," he said.

Dr. Richard Stanwick, Vancouver Island's chief medical health officer, has identified smoking regulations in parks as one of his areas of interest, as well as underage tanning and underage tattooing.

He has said that he will monitor the issue of tobacco smoke in parks and near playing fields to gain a better understanding of the risks and track community support for regulation, as well as for smoke-free buffers around elementary schools.

CRD chairman Geoff Young said he has no doubt the issue of smoking restrictions in parks will be back before the board, but noted health effects of second-hand smoke in parks are not as clear-cut as they are indoors, on patios or around doorways.