Lisle police hold tobacco compliance check

On Monday, the Lisle Police Department conducted tobacco compliance checks on all 31 of the businesses within the village that are licensed to sell tobacco products.

One business, Lisle Mini Mart, 4730 Main St. was cited for selling a tobacco product to a minor. Assisting Lisle police were two underage volunteers.

The compliance checks are conducted three times a year to confirm that tobacco license holders are complying with the laws that prohibit the sale of tobacco to minors.

The Lisle Police Department has also been educating tobacco retailers on minimum-age tobacco laws and the importance of verifying the age of their customers. Funding for this program has come from a grant from the Illinois Liquor Control Commission’s “Kids Can’t Buy ‘Em Here” Tobacco Enforcement Program.

Tobacco thief wanted by Shreveport Police

A southeast Shreveport Circle K store is robbed early Thursday morning and police say the suspect got away with only a tub of tobacco products.

Now Shreveport Police need the public's help in identifying the suspect.

Police say the robbery happened a little after 3 a.m. at the 100 block of E. Bert Kouns Industrial Loop location.

A witness tells police that the male suspect tried to purchase beer, but was told that it was too late to sell alcoholic beverages.

The suspect reportedly left the store only to come back minutes later, walk behind the counter and scream at the clerk to not turn around and not look at him. Then police say he took a large red bin of tobacco products and fled the scene, possibly in a dark colored Chevrolet Tahoe with silver rims.

The suspect is described by police as a black male, approximately five feet six inches tall weighing about 200 lbs., wearing a black jacket, yellow shirt and tan pants. He was reportedly wearing black shoes with yellow laces.

Peruvian diggers find 2.5 million-year-old tobacco

Paleontologists in Peru have discovered fossilized tobacco in the northern Amazon that dates back to the Pleistocene Era 2.5 million years ago, the scientists said Friday.
The compact block of tobacco, about 30 square centimeters (4.5 square inches), was found by scientists from the Meyer-Honninger Paleontology Museum earlier this week in the Maranon river basin in northeastern Peru.
"This discovery allows us to establish that the plant dates back to the Pleistocene Era, and confirms that it originated in northern Peru," the museum said in a statement.
Tobacco was smoked and chewed by Native Americans long before the arrival of European explorers in the 15th century, the scientists said.
It was also used for therapeutic purposes -- in everything from eye drops to enemas -- and for rituals, such as blowing smoke into the faces of warriors before battle and on women prior to intercourse, they said.

His name says ‘tobacco’; His message: Don’t do it

Patrick Reynolds, grandson of tobacco mogul R.J. Reynolds, watched as his father was “dying from the thing that made our family wealthy,” Reynolds told 230 students at Calistoga Junior-Senior High School Wednesday morning.
His father, R. J. Reynolds II, died of emphysema at the age of 58. That’s why he turned his back on his family’s brands, such as Camel and Winston, Patrick Reynolds said.
With black-and-white slides of his parents, Reynolds shared his troubled past with students to grab their attention as part of a 45-minute lecture sponsored by Queen of the Valley Medical Center about the destructive effects of drugs and tobacco. His first takeaway message: Smoking is addictive.
“Nine out of ten smokers become addicted by age 19,” Reynolds said. “Once they get you hooked, you cannot stop.”
He used photos of actors such as Humphrey Bogart and Bette Davis, stylishly puffing, before fast-forwarding to modern celebrities with cigarettes such as singer Katy Perry and “Twilight” heartthrob Robert Pattinson.
“Bad vampire,” Reynolds said, eliciting a hearty laugh from the teenage crowd.
“One way of expressing who you are is smoking or drugs,” Reynolds said. “Find more original ways of showing who you are.”
Then, Reynolds played anti-smoking commercials that illustrated city blocks full of empty shoes and body bags heaped in front of tobacco company offices, and revealed a number: 1,200.
That’s the number of people who die in the U.S. every day from smoking-related illnesses.
Reynolds implored students to seek help if they’re feeling stressed or tempted by substance abuse, and to understand that “not everyone is on your side,” such as tobacco companies.
Some students said they were most shaken by the number of people who die every day of smoking-related diseases.
“There was a lot more people than I thought,” 9th grader Nayeli Maldonado, 15, said. “It can affect you in more ways than I thought...it can affect other people.”
Nicolas Ramirez, 12, in 7th grade, said he was touched by the body bag commercial.
“They were finally telling the company that what they’re doing kills lots of people,” Ramirez said.
The sponsors were pleased with students’ reactions. “He’s very passionate about making sure kids don’t start smoking,” said Leah Kuchta Waters, marketing coordinator for Queen of the Valley Medical Center.
Reynolds himself said the students seemed “captivated.”
“They were listening quietly, and that’s a sign there was some learning going on,” he said.

Tobacco price fixed at Rs 104.30 per kilogram

Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) on Monday announced Rs 104.30/per kilogram for tobacco crop of 2011 giving timely choice to farmers between the cultivation of tobacco or go for the sowing of wheat in the province.

The announcement was made by chairman, Pakistan Tobacco Board (PTB) Major Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid (Retd) in presence of the Crop Commissioner, Ministry of Food, Agriculture and Livestock (Minfal) and representatives of growers and tobacco companies here at PTB Headquarters in Hayatabad.

Briefing the participants, Secretary PTB, Noman Bashir said that the purpose of the prior announcement on minimum indicative price for FCV tobacco was aimed to make decision for growers to cultivate crop of their choice. The process, he said starts in last week of September through marketing wing through costing board comprising of the representatives Pakistan Tobacco Company (PTC), Lakson Tobacco Company (LTC), agriculture department, Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

For this fixation of the minimum tobacco price, the cost board visits six FCV tobacco producing districts of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa and Mianwali, district of Punjab and representatives of growers associations from six districts of Khyber Punjab. The minimum indicative price, he said fixed after hectic efforts and long series of debate between the growers and tobacco companies.

Speaking on the occasion, chairman, PTB, Major Sahibzada Mohammad Khalid (Retd) called for discouraging non-recommended varieties of tobacco and payment of better price of good quality tobacco. Crop Commissioner, Minfal, Inayatullah Khan said that the timely announcement of tobacco price give signal to the growers to decide about the cultivation or not cultivation of the crop. He said that the NRVs should be discouraged, saying the good quality tobacco would not only be exported, but would be used at the domestic level.

On this occasion, the representatives of growers Tufeeq Ahmad Khan called for fixation of the minimum price of tobacco at Rs 105 per kilogram, saying that the tobacco is high cost and sensitive crop as natural disasters or extra irrigation water also damaged it. The crop besides having high cost of production earned largest amount in head of excise duty for the country than all other crops.

Fazal Elahi, another representative of growers from district Swabi said that the new price has been fixed after increasing the price by Rs 10 per kilogram in keeping in view the current inflation rate and three percent profit for the growers would have proved better.

Summary Box: Higher cigarette prices help Reynolds

Reynolds American, the nation's second-largest tobacco company, said higher prices on cigarettes helped lift its third-quarter net income, even though it sold fewer smokes than a year earlier. It said it earned $381 million, compared with $362 million a year ago.

CIGARETTE VOLUMES: The maker of Camel, Pall Mall and other brands said the number of cigarettes shipped fell 2.6 percent to 20.1 billion sticks. Camel volumes grew 1.5 percent, and Pall Mall grew 45.1 percent in the quarter.

PALL MALL: Market share increased 2.8 points to 7.8 percent of the U.S. market during the quarter. The company's overall cigarette market share rose slightly to 28.2 percent.

One third of cigarettes in Bulgaria are 'illegal'

Every third cigarette smoked in Bulgaria is illegal, according to the tobacco industry, because no excise tax has been paid.

Officials from four international tobacco companies and the Bulgarian monopoly have handed interior minister Tsvetan Tsvetanov a report explaining that illegal cigarettes – normally smuggled into the country or manufactured in clandestine facilities – account for 34 percent of local tobacco consumption.


No tax has been paid on one third of cigarettes smoked in Bulgaria. (Photo: lanier67)

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The market research was presented by the local offices of Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International, Imperial Tobacco and the Bulgarian company Bulgartabac.

The treasury is expected to lose the equivalent of €350 million this year just to illegal cigarettes, according to the finance ministry.

The industry carried out its research in 21 Bulgarian cities. Illegal cigarettes amounted to 50 percent of total consumption in the western towns of Pernik and Kyustendil, the survey showed.

Bulgaria is the second heaviest smoking country in the EU after Greece and consumes 350 million illegal packs of cigarettes every year, according to the study.

Assembly's cigarette tax punishes use of legal item

The Anchorage Assembly lost its collective mind when it abandoned the notion of everybody paying equally their fair share of city taxes to provide services we all receive. It now believes it can single out select, small groups using legal products and tax them mercilessly because it is, after all, best for the children.

It is cynical, predatory government at its worst.

Eight Assembly members last week voted to increase the city cigarette tax by 75 cents a pack to bring in perhaps $6.2 million. That would make the city levy on flavor cigarettes $2.21 a pack. That is in addition to the $3-a-pack state and federal taxes already in place.

Of course, the hypocrites who want you to believe the increase is aimed at stopping people -- particularly children -- from smoking are hard at work trying to justify the tax. If they were telling the truth about wanting to protect people, tax proponents would be pushing for something more draconian. The tax increase, no matter what backers say, is about easy money.

Not surprisingly, the measure was introduced by Assembly Chairman Dick Traini, who told the Anchorage Daily News the Assembly "could figure out later whether to use the new tobacco tax revenue to offset property taxes, or to restore some services." Figure out later? No kidding. Tax first, ask questions later.

Traini is wrong. Instead of whittling away at property taxes and the city bureaucracy at a time of economic stagnation, budget deficits and government bloat, he is busy trying to boost taxes on individuals whose only sin is using a legal but politically incorrect product.
Why target smokers? They represent a small group, and it is tough to defend their smoking. It is a dirty, self-destructive addiction and smokers are easy targets. But all that is a distraction that blurs the truth. What we should be howling about is government targeting specific groups for onerous taxes. If the Assembly is free to hammer tobacco users, why not people who eat fast food, drink water from plastic bottles or who voted for Joe Miller, although it may soon be tough to find any of them?

The biggest surprise in the vote was that the only Assembly members to line up against the increase -- and it truly boggles the mind -- were Elvi Gray-Jackson, Harriet Drummond and Patrick Flynn. The Anchorage Daily News even had Gray-Jackson saying, "It's simply not the role of government to tax people out of a bad habit. ... It's simply not fair."

It was the "Twilight Zone," or maybe somebody spiked the Assembly's champagne, or maybe the three represent areas of working class folks of lower economic status who, most studies show, are the nation's prime smokers. These three Assembly members usually are dead wrong when it comes to taxes and fiscal matters, but they nailed it this time. Well, kinda. Gray-Jackson also blamed the push for the tobacco tax increase on Mayor Dan Sullivan's steadfast refusal to tax to the tax cap -- that mean guy -- and Flynn thought the increase was just too much. What could the rest of the Assembly members -- some who claim conservative credentials -- have been thinking?

Worse, the tax increase could lead to even more taxes. When city number crunchers huddle to figure next year's tax cap, revenue collected by the levy will be added to the calculations and eventually help raise the cap and your taxes.

Sullivan should veto this tax even if it did win eight votes, the magic number for an override. If the Assembly wants the tax, Sullivan should make it overcome his veto so voters may remember. If a tax veto actually is overridden, the revenue should be used only to offset property taxes -- and nothing else.

A targeted, specific tax such as the Assembly's tobacco levy is just another sign that our government is out of control. The increase speaks volumes about what Assembly members think of their constituents, and it mostly is this: We can do anything we want if you do not have the votes to hurt us at the next election. What a lousy way to run a government.

If the do-gooders were serious, if all this were about saving us from ourselves, they would push for an outright ban -- but they are not. They will never kill the tobacco cash cow, no matter the health implications.