Free Republic

Critics have leveled complaints against an anti-smoking commercial and its treatment of the young boy featured in it. A crying 3-year-old - the centerpiece of a heart-wrenching new anti-smoking commercial - has ignited a controversy stretching from Australia to New York City. TV talk shows and the Internet are burning up with debates about whether the tears were real - the producers say yes - and whether they went too far to get the little boy to cry on camera. "I think it's crossing the line a little bit to use a little kid like a prop," said Jersey City...

YOKOSUKA NAVAL BASE, Japan — Most U.S. Navy medical personnel in the Pacific — military and civilian — will be banned from smoking or chewing tobacco anywhere during duty hours and while in uniform, in accordance with a recent Navy instruction. Capt. Kevin Moore, commander of U.S. naval health care facilities in Japan, South Korea and Diego Garcia, said during a phone interview Friday that he and his staff are taking the instruction seriously and have begun enforcement. "I was once asked, ‘How can you call yourself a health care organization when you’re allowing people to kill themselves in front...

The House of Representatives votes 298-to-112 to approve sweeping legislation to bring tobacco under control of the Food and Drug Administration for the first time. http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2009/04/02/house-approves-plan-fda-regulatory-power-tobacco/

RALEIGH, N.C. (AP) — For more than a century, the Sharp family of eastern North Carolina has grown tobacco, nicknamed the "golden leaf" for reasons that went beyond the cured plant's rich color. `snip "There's nothing else we're doing that comes even close to yielding the profits that tobacco yields." For generations, tobacco growers were a protected class, as lawmakers across the South defended the golden leaf as stridently as politicians from Michigan and New York do automakers and Wall Street. It remains a huge business: The tobacco crop in North Carolina alone, where farmers produce nearly half the value...

The House of Representatives on Thursday approved sweeping legislation to bring tobacco under control of the Food and Drug Administration for the first time.

My schedule has been busy lately and I’ve been unable to stay on top of CSPAN, but I just viewed the House of Representatives debating Henry Waxman’s bill to place tobacco under the regulatory control of the FDA. Congressman Steve Buyer presented an alternative amendment after Waxman’s presentation, and I can’t believe what I have witnessed! Waxman followed Buyer by deriding his amendment, demonizing Big Tobacco as if they are worse than crack or heroin dealers, and stating that tobacco companies only target children and teens. He made it very clear he intends to put tobacco companies out of business....

STAFF REPORT It may be April Fools’ Day, but this is no joke. A 62-cent increase in cigarette tax begins today. President Barack Obama signed a bill in February to increase taxes on tobacco products in an effort to help expand a federal health-care program for children, according to philipmorrisusa.com. Philip Morris USA is the largest tobacco company in the U.S. The increase, which will raise taxes on cigarettes from 39 cents per pack to $1.01 per pack, is expected to raise $32.8 billion for the State Children’s Health Insurance Program. The extra tax will fund health care for about...

WASHINGTON, April 1 (Reuters) - President Barack Obama strongly supports legislation that would give the U.S. Food and Drug Administration the power to regulate cigarettes, the White House said on Wednesday. The U.S. House of Representatives is scheduled to vote later Wednesday on the bill, which would authorize the FDA to oversee the multibillion-dollar tobacco industry, including its advertisements and product designs. The measure will "yield major benefits to the public health," the Office of Management and Budget said in a statement. (Reporting by Lisa Richwine; Editing by Lisa Von Ahn)

In Switzerland pre-trial motions are proceeding in a case against several defendants tied to the Mafia who allegedly laundered over 1 billion in Swiss francs to finance an international contraband tobacco smuggling scheme involving the purchase of untaxed U.S. cigarettes. Organized crime also is involved in the contraband tobacco racket on the U.S.-Canada border. And advocates for changing the laws against marijuana and other drugs seriously contend that legalization will remove organized crime from the trade? The "tax it, regulate it" mantra rings hollow to the wise guys.

The feds are taxing tobacco yet again. They say this is about getting people to quit, but we all know better. If smokers quit smoking where would the money for all those liberal social experiments come from? Tell DC to puff off, and put out your stinky cigarette, cigar, or pipe. E-cigs, the future of nicotine addicts :) All the nicotine and none of the cancer causing tars and chemicals. Pick your flavor: apple, coffee, Red Bull, etc. "Smoke" anywhere! No ashtrays, no lighters, no stink! I ordered mine two days ago, and I can't WAIT to get it. I'll...

Is marijuana less dangerous than alcohol? (PhysOrg.com) -- It appears that when it comes to teen brain development, parents should be more worried about alcohol abuse than marijuana abuse. Two recent studies have been published showing that alcohol -- a legal substance (though not legal for teens in the U.S.) -- is considered more dangerous than marijuana, which is illegal in many countries. One study has been published in the U.S., in the journal Clinical EEG and neuroscience: official journal of the EEG and Clinical Neuroscience Society (ENCS), and shows that alcohol has a stronger effect on teen brain...

A federal tax hike on tobacco takes effect Wednesday, and it's no April Fool's joke. The federal excise tax on cigarettes will increase by 62 cents per pack, from 39 cents to $1.01 per pack. Additional increases will also affect roll-your-own cigarettes, cigars, and chewing and pipe tobacco, with revenues buttressing The State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP). Defenders of the tobacco tax increase say they're protecting children from tobacco products. However, this logic does not seem to apply to pipe and cigar smoking. The main demographic of those smoking cigars, for example, is not children. The National Cancer Institute...

The best-kept secret in the halls of Congress -- until today -- may have been the extent to which New York's new senator, Kirsten Gillibrand, helped cigarette maker Philip Morris during her former employment as an attorney with the global law firm Davis, Polk & Wardwell. Information about her relationship with the cigarette maker wasn't included in her official biography or her campaign materials, but on Friday, March 27, 2009, the New York Times published an article describing in detail how Gillibrand, under her maiden name Kirsten Rutnik, was involved at high levels in the legal affairs of Philip Morris....

The Philip Morris Company did not like to talk about what went on inside its lab in Cologne, Germany, where researchers secretly conducted experiments exploring the effects of cigarette smoking. So when the Justice Department tried to get its hands on that research in 1996 to prove that tobacco industry executives had lied about the dangers of smoking, the company moved to fend off the effort with the help of a highly regarded young lawyer named Kirsten Rutnik. Ms. Rutnik, who now goes by her married name, Gillibrand, threw herself into the work. She traveled to Germany at least twice,...

Gov. Beverly Perdue's budget proposal, released Tuesday, eliminates more than 20 programs and cuts more than 1,000 state jobs, but includes a 3 percent spending increase over current, reduced levels. < snip > A $1-per-pack increase in North Carolina's cigarette tax and an extra 5 percent surcharge on alcohol to raise an additional $508 million, along with quadrupling professional licensing fees to $200 each, would generate another $27 million, according to her projections. < snip> "To increase taxes and create an entirely new tax, as she proposes, will further damage our economy and cost jobs," Senate Minority Leader Phil Berger...

Tobacco connoisseurs can't catch a break. A new federal tax recently approved by President Obama has increased cigarette carton prices by more than $10 - about 75 cents a pack. The tax was passed in January as part of a multibillion dollar package to provide health care for children and certain legal immigrants. Local tobacco users and dealers admit the cause is admirable, but said the tax is unjust. “There is about zero common sense or logic in this whole tax,” said David Roth, owner of Tobacco Alley in Somerset. “It is a revenue stream that has been drying up...

Bloomberg - link and headline only due to copywrite complaint http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pid=20601109&sid=aXZiXY1MAoQ0&refer=exclusive

VIRGINIA BEACH, Va. - Governor Tim Kaine was joined by health advocates, legislative patrons and other stake holders in Virginia Beach Monday as he signed legislation banning smoking in restaurants and bars throughout Virginia. < snip > Kaine worked for years for a total ban of smoking in all restaurants. Generally, the bill requires any restaurant that allows smoking to limit it to an area separated from nonsmoking patrons by a wall and a door and a ventilation system that doesn't mix secondhand smoke with fresh air. The ban will take effect Dec. 1.

The trouble with Indian cigarettes By Tom Precious NEWS ALBANY BUREAU ALBANY — In Iroquois history, Seneca is a name of great pride, the Keepers of the Western Door. But to thousands of smokers, from California to Florida and from the Caribbean to Mexico and especially in upstate New York, Seneca is something entirely different: a cheap cigarette that has prompted grave health concerns and dozens of lawsuits. Billions of these Seneca brand cigarettes are made and trafficked within an hour’s drive of Buffalo and sold each year in a sophisticated distribution network. The Seneca brand is just one of...

Obama Signs SCHIP Law with Major Tobacco Tax Increase February 5, 2009 News Summary (excerpt:) Fulfilling a campaign promise, President Barack Obama signed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill into law this week; the measure will expand healthcare coverage for children using funds from a 62-cent-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax. The Detroit Free Press reported Feb. 4 that Obama approved the $74-billion SCHIP reauthorization legislation passed by the House of Representatives earlier in the day on a 290-135 vote. The Senate had previously approved the measure, which was vetoed twice last year by then-President George Bush. The measure...

A House panel is expected to approve today sweeping tobacco regulation that would put the bill on pace for House passage far earlier in the congressional session than in the last Congress. The House Energy and Commerce Committee vote, expected this afternoon or evening, would give the Food and Drug Administration the power to police the tobacco industry. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (H.R. 1256) is nearly identical to a bill the House passed by a wide margin last summer. The Senate did not take action last year. Health advocates -- comfortable their bill will pass the...

America needs you to smoke, but may pay you to quit. Mississippi needs you to smoke, but towns are putting more and more limits on where lighting up is allowed. In all history, there may be no single topic on which governments have been less single-minded than tobacco, which, by the way, remains a legal crop for which farmers will receive $18 million in subsidies this year. Consider this calculation by U.S. Sen. Tom Coburn, R-Okla., or someone on his staff: The renewal and expansion earlier this month of a federal-state program that pays for health care for children in...

_House Passes Senate SCHIP Bill;President Signs Bill_ On Wednesday, Feb. 4, the U.S. House passed by a margin of 290 to 135 the U.S. Senate version of the bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, (S.C.H.I.P.)... President has signed the legislation into law. Below are the final tax rates on cigarettes and tobacco products that will go into effect on April 1, 2009 :SCHIP Cigarette and Tobacco Tax RatesProduct Current Rates Through March 31, 2009 and Cigarette and Tobacco Tax Rate April, 1 2009 * Pack Cigarettes:39¢ per pack$1.0066 per pack * Large Cigars:20.719% of manufacturer's price;...

On February 16, the United States will celebrate the birth of one of its greatest—and least acknowledged—entrepreneurs: George Washington. Washington's political and military exploits are of course well-known: He was a member of colonial Virginia's House of Burgesses and a delegate to the Continental Congress; he led the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War and won a hard-fought victory for independence; and he served as the first president of these United States. Yet his business ventures are impressive in their own right. During America's time as an English colony, Washington ran a fishing operation that processed 1.5 million fish per...

Since I have to get to bed, I'm just going to paste what I placed into the coffinnails.com forum. There's relevant questions inclused that I'll place on this thread if they get answered. Day one -finally got my seeds! Them things are SMALL! Sheesh! I had to fuzzy up the end of a Q-Tip to place them into the trays. Before I screw things up, there's a few questions I must ask. The 200 seeds I got are Dark Virginia. I'm doing 16 at a time. Will the unused seeds keep for a while? I'd like to grow 'em in...

SCHIP Will Increase RYO Tax Over 2,200%! RYOrevolution.com was founded for the sole purpose of educating smokers about the higher quality Roll Your Own tobacco alternatives to overtaxed and overpriced pre-made cigarettes. Federal and State Tobacco Tax information was published for informational purposes only, political editorials were relegated to small sub-sections of the RYO Revolution Discussion Forums. Recent action by Congress however has forced me to speak out, I can no longer stand by silently and watch this affront against smokers, particularly those who enjoy Roll Your Own Tobacco or have been forced to switch to RYO due to limited...

HONG KONG: Cigarette consumption in Hong Kong is up almost 14 percent since a smoking ban was introduced in the city two years ago, a news report said on Saturday. Government figures quoted by the South China Morning Post show that 3.79 billion cigarettes were bought in 2008, compared to 3.33 billion the previous year. Anti-smoking campaigners quoted by the newspaper said they wanted taxes on cigarettes in the city of 6.9 million raised significantly in the government's annual budget in order to reverse the trend. A pack of cigarettes in Hong Kong costs an average of 30 Hong Kong...

JAKARTA: The Indonesian Ulamas Council (MUI) has issued an edict forbidding children, pregnant women and MUI members from smoking. The edict, which was issued in a meeting here last Sunday, also bans smoking in public places. Antara News Agency quoted the council’s Edict Commission chairman Amin Suma in West Sumatera Monday as saying that MUI decided in the meeting that smoking for Muslims was between haram (forbidden) and makruh (objectionable). He said that MUI would later formulate the form of sanctions against council members who smoked. Suma said that the MUI meeting agreed on two rulings, namely one which banned...

The Council of Independent Tobacco Manufacturers of Americareleased a news flash today that contains an interesting provision tucked into the S-CHIP legislation (children's health insurance): An increase the federal excise tax on roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco from $1 per pound of tobacco, to over $24 per pound: a staggering 2,100% increase.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Massive Tobacco Tax Increase by Congress Spells Even More Economic Disaster for Jobs and State Economies EDITOR'S NOTE: To see how much money your state stands to lose if the federal excise tax on cigarettes and tobacco products is increased, please go to the website, http://www.tobacco.org/news/277342.html MINNEAPOLIS, Jan. 12 /PRNewswire/ -- In an urgent message to Congress and President-Elect Barack Obama, the National Association of Tobacco Outlets (NATO) and two other national wholesale trade associations have taken out an ad warning of "economic disaster" for state economies and American jobs should tobacco taxes be raised to fund the expansion...

The House of Representatives has passed an expanded version of the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP), and made it easier for illegal aliens to access the program's benefits. HR 2, the new version of SCHIP, weakens verification requirements. Those who enroll will be required to show only an easily forged Social Security card -- not secure documents proving U.S. citizenship. The legislation also extends benefits to non-citizen children of legal immigrants. The SCHIP bill is designed to provide health coverage to low-income children, a laudable

BATTERY-powered cigarettes, sold as a "healthier alternative" and a way to beat smoking bans, will be outlawed in Victoria from Friday. Distributors say electronic cigarettes have been used by up to 10,000 Victorians since they hit the market a year ago. The Egar device works by heating up a small cartridge of liquid nicotine, releasing puffs of vapour resembling smoke that are inhaled by smokers. But because the lookalike product is not lit, it can be used in "no smoking" areas. It contains no tobacco, but Health Minister Daniel Andrews says its nicotine is no less toxic and addictive. From...

ARE YOU A FORMER TOBACCO USER??? 7th Grade Science Fair SURVEY 1. How old are you currently? 2. How many years have you smoked or chewed tobacco? 3. How old were you when you started smoking or chewing? 4. How long (mo./yrs.) have you been free from tobacco use? 5. Who/What influenced you to start smoking or chewing tobacco? 6. Are you currently using tobacco product(s) regularly? How often? 7. Have you tried to QUIT using tobacco products? How many attempts? 8. How many cigarettes or cans of chewing tobacco do/did you use per day? 9. Does anyone in your...

I feel sort of cheated - like discovering that your spouse has been sneaking out the back door with a pack of Pall Malls. It doesn't fit the character type either. McCain, yes. The guy was a two-pack-a-day smoker for 25 years and looks like a man desperately in need of a fix. But Obama? Mr. Coolunderfire? I guess part of it is the way we characterize smokers and smoking in this day and age. What was once accepted, if not encouraged - the Flintstones did a commercial for Winstons in the old black-and-white days of television - is now...

Tobacco companies suffered a defeat in the Supreme Court on Monday when the justices ruled that the companies can be sued by smokers who contend they were deceived by advertisements promoting “light” cigarettes. In its 5-to-4 ruling, the court did not state that such advertising is, in fact, misleading. Rather, it concluded that lawsuits accusing the cigarette-makers of fraudulent conduct can proceed. The ruling was a victory for a group of plaintiffs from Maine whose suit accused the tobacco companies of violating the Maine Unfair Trade Practices Act by fraudulently advertising that their “light” cigarettes delivered far less tar and...

Gov. David Paterson is heading near Indian Country to sign a bill that would call for the state to collect taxes on sales by Indian retailers. Despite urgings by the Seneca Nation for the governor to veto the measure, he is traveling to Oneida County to sign the legislation in Utica on Monday

New taxes, deep cuts to education and health care, and a restructuring of the state's economic development programs will be hallmarks of Gov. David Paterson's first budget plan to be released in two days, according to interviews of people briefed on components. The plan will come with a host of revenue raisers — increased taxes on hospitals and insurance policies, for instance — and at least one new assessment, a so-called obesity tax on non-diet soda to raise $404 million. The governor also is contemplating requiring new license plates to raise cash, reviving sales tax on clothing purchases, removing the...

It is still okay to discriminate against one group of Americans. This discrimination is not only legal, it is encouraged. You see members of this oppressed minority huddled outside in rain and snow, forbidden to seek refuge. No one feels sorry for them. And yet we may have just elected one of these pariahs as president. Smoking is a disgusting habit that can kill you and those around you. Barack Obama claims to have quit, but the evidence is ambiguous. And the media's lack of interest in this question supports the charge that Obama is enjoying a honeymoon with the...

In 2006, Alaska desperately needed cash to complete a museum featuring a mummified bison and other natural wonders of the frozen north. So the state dipped into its share of the landmark 1998 tobacco settlement. The billions that began flowing from cigarette makers to the states a decade ago also helped outfit the Niagara County, N.Y., golf course with new carts and sprinklers. And the money has gone toward college scholarships in Michigan, tax breaks in Illinois and Ohio, a dog catcher in Lincoln, Neb., and jails and schools elsewhere around the country.

Groups unveil plans for Cuyahoga County cigarette-tax grants to individual artists by Karen Sandstrom / Plain Dealer Reporter Wednesday November 12, 2008, 6:05 PM The diciest part of distributing Cuyahoga County's cigarette tax for the arts is about to start. Beginning in mid-February, individual artists will be able to apply for fellowships worth $20,000 each. The fellowship program -- details of which were hammered out this week by two nonprofit organizations involved in creating it -- is aimed at building a strong arts community in Northeast Ohio by helping individuals with their development as artists. Up to 20 fellowships will...

Tobacco giant Philip Morris struck out again in its attempts to kill San Francisco's new ban on cigarette sales at pharmacies such as Walgreens and Rite Aid. A federal court judge in Oakland rejected an unusual first amendment argument. Philip Morris argued that the sales ban effectively kills in-store tobacco advertisements, a violation of free speech. But Judge Claudia Wilken didn’t buy it. She said the company could still advertise in any store it liked. Philip Morris said 20-percent of its San Francisco sales took place at Walgreens and Rite Aid, the two chains affected by the ban. The first...

Vermont Attorney General William Sorrell says Shell Oil Products U.S. has agreed to take steps to reduce cigarette sales to minors at 13,000 gas stations, including 76 in Vermont.

Report: Cannabis Less Harmful Than Alcohol, Tobacco Friday, October 3, 2008 9:19 AM Cannabis is less harmful than alcohol or tobacco, according to a report by a research charity Thursday, which called for a "serious rethink" of drug policy. The Beckley Foundation, a charity which numbers senior experts and other academics among its advisors, said banning cannabis has no impact on supply and turns users into criminals. "Although cannabis can have a negative impact on health, including mental health, in terms of relative harms it is considerably less harmful than alcohol or tobacco," says the report by the Foundation's Global...

The chairman of the House Banking Committee called today for an investigation into the investment practices of Freddie Mac, the Congressional-chartered, shareholder-owned mortgage finance company, saying it had abused the preferential borrowing terms it enjoys through its ties to the Government. Representative Jim Leach, Republican of Iowa, said Freddie Mac -- short for the Federal Home Loan Mortgage Corporation -- had borrowed $125 million in the bond markets on Monday at 6.99 percent, an interest rate reflecting the market's belief that the Treasury had effectively guaranteed repayment. Freddie Mac, whose charter calls for it to invest primarily in mortgages and...

ActBlue $649,130 Altria Group $59,400 Verizon Communications $33,000 Northrop Grumman $32,800 HBK Capital Management $32,200 Covington & Burling $29,050 Columbia Capital $25,300 Hogan & Hartson $24,600 Norfolk Southern $24,200 Alion Science & Technology $22,900 Humana Inc $22,500 Patton Boggs LLP $21,300 Williams & Connolly $21,100 Time Warner $21,050 Dickstein, Shapiro & Morin $20,900 Dominion Resources $20,400 DLA Piper $19,850 SLM Corp $19,600 Friedman, Billings & Ramsey $19,400 McGuire, Woods et al $19,400

   Year  Output  Type  Cigarette Use (Adults) – BRFSS2007 State Current Cigarette Use (%) Alabama 22.5 Alaska 22.2 Arizona 19.8 Arkansas 22.4 California 14.3 Colorado 18.7 Connecticut 15.5 Delaware 19.0 District of Columbia 17.3 Florida 19.3 Georgia 19.3 Hawaii 17.0 Idaho 19.2 Illinois 20.2 Indiana 24.1 Iowa 19.8 Kansas 17.9 Kentucky 28.3 Louisiana 22.6 Maine 20.1 Maryland 17.1 Massachusetts 16.4 Michigan 21.2 Minnesota 16.5 Mississippi 24.0 Missouri 24.6 Montana 19.5 Nebraska 19.9 Nevada 21.5 New Hampshire 19.4 New Jersey 17.2 New Mexico 20.8 New York 18.9 North Carolina 22.9 North Dakota 21.0 Ohio 23.1 Oklahoma 25.8 Oregon 16.9 Pennsylvania 20.9...

This is still a free country, right? Last week, the U.S. House of Representatives passed legislation to more closely regulate the wages that firms pay workers and to more strictly regulate tobacco products by putting them under FDA supervision. The Los Angeles City Council also approved a one-year moratorium on new fast-food restaurants in a 32-square-mile low-income area in the city; the poor, after all, have “above-average rates of obesity” and must be protected from themselves. Perhaps the government may just want to ask people if they are poor before we let them enter certain restaurants. Barack Obama promises a...

Reactions from smokers ranged from stunned to furious -- and often unprintable. "Outside?" gasped Isaac Kim, who's about to start pre-pharmacy classes at the Silver Spring/Takoma Park campus. "Do they have the right to do that?" Welcome to the land of tolerance and freedom Mr. Kim. Your rights will be dictated to you in the Citizens Manual. Should you stray, they have a special police force to enforce your right not to smoke or chew tobacco. See if you can pick out the innocent-sounding, Stalinist name for the anti-smoking cops. And yes, employees could ultimately be fired or students kicked...

The House approved legislation yesterday that would for the first time empower the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the tobacco industry, a measure long sought by anti-smoking advocates. After about 40 minutes of sometimes passionate debate, the House voted 326 to 102 to approve the measure, which would give the agency broad authority over cigarette makers, including the power to ban marketing of cigarettes to children, require disclosure of tobacco ingredients and mandate larger, more specific health warnings. It would also enable the agency to require tobacco companies to reduce or eliminate harmful ingredients and ban candy- and fruit-flavored...

San Francisco lawmakers voted Tuesday to make the city the first in the nation to ban the sale of tobacco products at most pharmacies, a move that backers hope will lead to similar laws across the country. The ban has already attracted the attention of Marin County leaders, who may push forward with their own proposal. The ban passed the San Francisco Board of Supervisors on an 8-3 vote, with some supervisors predicting it would be a "first step" toward additional bans on the sale of tobacco in the city. "Whatever we can do to make this country a smoke-free...