West Virginia Cigarettes Priced Lowest

A list from a “discussion” website gauged the price of a pack of cigarettes in each state Thursday, and West Virginia’s pack was the cheapest.
A pack of Marlboro Reds, including tax, could run from $4.74 per pack all the way to $11.90 across the United States, and the rock-bottom price can be found in West Virginia.
TheAwl.com, a “discussion” website, published a list Thursday its writer compiled by calling a gas station in each state’s most populous city, then asking the clerk for the price of a pack of Marlboro Reds with tax.
Several debates at the Legislature each year discuss raising the tax West Virginia puts on a pack of cigarettes. The most recent hike was 17 cents in 2003, which one local health official said isn’t enough to dissuade most smokers.
“What they have found is that when they raise it by $1, a tremendous amount of benefit occurs, because people quit,” said Kanawha County Health Officer Rahul Gupta, MD. “In fact, those who can’t afford it tend to quit more, and those are the same folks who don’t have insurance.
The most expensive pack of cigarettes was $11.90 in New York. Ohio fell in the middle of the list at $6.22, Pennsylvania’s pack cost $6.80 and a pack in Virginia costs $5.55.

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Posted in: Marlboro Reds,price of a pack of cigarettes,smokers

Altria Loses Tender for End of U.S. Tobacco Sales

Tobacco companies including Altria Group Inc.’s Philip Morris USA unit lost a bid to dismiss the federal government’s 1999 racketeering case. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler in Washington ruled today that her authority over the case wasn’t ended by a 2009 law that empowered the U.S.

Food and Drug Administration to monitor the industry and establish restrictions on the sale Karelia, promotion and distribution of tobacco products.

The defendants, which also include Reynolds American Inc.’s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and Lorillard Inc.’s Lorillard Tobacco, argued that the FDA’s new role meant court oversight of the industry is no longer needed.

Kessler said the cigarette makers continue to challenge the law that created the FDA’s regulation of the industry and if they prevail, “it will be all the more necessary for them to be restrained by this court from any future violations” of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act.

In 2006, Kessler found that the companies violated the law by conspiring to hide the dangers of cigarettes. She ordered the companies to stop marketing cigarettes as “light” and “low- tar” and to make statements about the health effects of smoking in newspapers and magazines and on cigarette packages.

British American Tobacco Plc, Europe’s largest cigarette maker, was dropped from the lawsuit in March after Kessler said a 2010 ruling by the U.S. Supreme Court in a securities case restricts the U.S. from finding liability in “what is essentially foreign activity.”

Government ‘Pleased’

“At first blush, we’re pleased,” Charles Miller, a Justice Department spokesman, said of the ruling.

“We continue to believe that the FDA is the appropriate agency to regulate tobacco products and are considering our appellate options,” said Steven Callahan, a spokesman for Altria.

Greg Perry, a spokesman for Lorillard, declined to comment immediately. Representatives at Reynolds American’s public relations department didn’t immediately reply to a phone message seeking comment.

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Posted in: largest cigarette maker,Reynolds American Inc,tobacco companies

New Tobacco Store Sell Low-Priced Cigarettes

Owner Mike Lewis brought low-priced Bond cigarettes to Longview in April, opening Smoke for Less at 1429 15th Ave. Customers pay to rent a RYO Filling Station to make 200 cigarettes in a carton, which Lewis said allows him to avoid paying hefty manufacturing taxes.

It takes about eight minutes for customers to pour the tobacco into the machines, load the tubes then wait for the machine to stuff the finished cigarettes with tobacco.

A carton at Smoke For Less costs about $30, varying with the tobacco blend. The cigarettes are cleaner than most store-bought brands, which often contain other chemicals, and cost about half as much, Lewis said.

The RYO machine, which cost $33,000, is in the back of the store. Up front, customers can sit in a reception area around a big-screen TV. On the walls, Lewis has hung a half dozen framed pictures of classic smokers. Humphrety Bogart into the camera and takes a drag in one picture, and Dean Martin, Sammy Davis Jr. and Frank Sinatra in their Rat Pack years laugh with cigarettes in hand in another.

Lewis, a custom home builder by trade, said he came to run the cigarette store almost by accident. His original plan was to help bankroll someone else’s plan to open the store, he said. But when his partner backed out, Lewis said he decided to move forward on his own, though he has no retail experience.

“I find myself enjoying the interactions with people. I like joking with people and giving them a bad time,” said Lewis, 56, a Vancouver resident.

Lewis hired Vickie Hernandez to run the store three days a week. Smoke for Less also sells cigarette holders, lighters and other tobacco-related products.

The RYO (Roll Your Own) filling stations are a nationwide franchise, with more than 1,000 in 35 states, according to the Ohio-based company. Because of high local and state taxes, the cost to roll a cigarette averages about one-third less than the traditional pre-manufactured smokes, according to RYO’s website.

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Posted in: cigarettes,classic smokers,low-priced Bond cigarettes,tobacco-related products

British American Tobacco – collaborative effort sees more responsible growing

A landmark rural community project builds on work to identify and address the risks posed by British American Tobacco’s leaf-growing operations and to look at improvements beyond day-to-day business.

Tobacco leaf farming in Lombok, Indonesia, was not only contributing to deforestation but also to declining water supply on the island.
But a landmark restoration project is being developed which will benefit the whole rural community, thanks to a partnership between British American Tobacco (BAT), the Earthwatch Institute, Fauna & Flora International and the Tropical Biology Association.
This is one example of how the four-member British American Tobacco biodiversity partnership is working with stakeholders and communities across the world to study ecosystems and sustainability risks.
In 2007, the partnership developed a tool to identify, assess and address risks posed by BAT’s leaf-growing operations.
Called Broa (Biodiversity Risk and Opportunity Assessment), the tool encourages BAT staff to work with local experts to look carefully at supply chain operations from a much wider perspective than a simple day-to-day business viewpoint.
Following trials in Indonesia and Uganda in 2008, it was decided to make Broa mandatory across BAT’s global leaf-growing locations and by 2010 all 19 had completed assessments and agreed actions plans.
As far as the tobacco giant is aware, it is the only international company to have assessed biodiversity risks across all operations and so built a strategy to tackle key issues worldwide.
And those issues are wide-ranging – both business-specific in terms of the supply chain, and more generic in terms of agriculture and sustainability.
Tobacco is often grown alongside other crops and it soon became apparent that Broa would reveal just how dependent tobacco growing is on other systems – such as water supply.
Specific issues included reduced irrigation flow resulting from deforestation, reduced water quality, lower ground water tables, unsustainably-sourced fuel wood and problems of over-farming.
BAT describes Broa’s aims as “open-ended”, with an agenda for change and better engagement with a range of stakeholders, both global and local.
At a local level, working with stakeholders and conservation experts enables the company to carry out rigorous assessments. Equally, it helps build confidence among communities and encourages partnerships to work together on solutions.
In some cases, Broa is raising awareness of wider sustainability issues and stimulating projects that go far beyond the supply chain concerns of BAT.
Examples include a “green corridor” project in the Araucaria forest of southern Brazil; sustainable forest management and freshwater protection in Uganda; and research on returning eucalyptus plantations to native forests in Sri Lanka and Chile.
Another important outcome has been the raised awareness and understanding within BAT, involving Earthwatch employee fellowships and online training for managers.
The biodiversity partnership is working on a second version of Broa in 2011, having gained valuable feedback from external reviewers such as the World Wildlife Fund.
It has participated in the natural value initiative and was recognised in the Economics of ecosystems and biodiversity study in 2010. The next stage is to share Broa with all BAT tobacco suppliers and other agriculture-based businesses facing similar challenges.

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Posted in: British American Tobacco,tobacco giant,tobacco growing

Michigan’s smoking ban: one year later

Just over a year ago, Michigan followed in the footsteps of 37 states when it ditched the smoggy bar atmosphere for a smoke-free environment. Since then, restaurant and bar owners and patrons have had mixed reviews on the ban and its effects on business and lifestyle.

Michigan’s Smoke-Free Air Law, which was officially put into effect May 1, 2010, left the state up in arms about the implications that a smoking ban would have economically on those affected, from tobacco companies to casinos to small-business owners.

Those in support of the ban predicted it would reduce smoking anywhere from 5 to 20 percent. Michigan has already experienced a loss, according to the Michigan Department of Treasury’s estimates. Revenue from taxes fell 6.2 percent in the second half of the year. In the first eight months of the ban, the estimates showed that the state collected $35 million, or 4 percent, less in cigarette taxes than in the previous year.

Another correlation was found when comparing liquor sales in bars from 2009 to those after the smoking ban. Just four months after the ban, liquor sales fell 3.1 percent from the previous year.

Aside from sales, bars and restaurants that were once venues for smokers have lost customer traffic because of the smoking ban.

Tom Moore, manager of Lefty’s Lounge, located at 5440 Cass Ave. on Wayne State’s campus, said the smoking ban has affected his business in a similar way.

“We lost a lot of neighborhood regulars who don’t come in as much — if at all. They just stay home and drink,” Moore said. “It hasn’t affected our bottom line, but good customers and good people who used to come in here and who made it a better place don’t come in here anymore.”

Moore also said the continual movement of smokers from inside the bar to the outside has caused some unexpected problems.

“People think it’s OK to take a beer outside of the bar and smoke on the sidewalk,” Moore said. “And people walk out on their tabs saying they’re going to go smoke a cigarette, but in actuality, they’re going outside to run out on their tab. It’s something we fight a lot of.”

But what about the non-smokers who regularly eat and drink at the bars and restaurants? According to 36-year-old Dean Rovinelli, a non-smoker and a frequent customer at Lefty’s Lounge, it’s not the lack of smoke that bothers him; it’s the lack of freedom of choice.

“I prefer to be somewhere where there’s no smoke, but I also think those people (who smoke) have the right to smoke if they want to and they should have a place to do it,” Rovinelli said. “It doesn’t really affect me at all, but it affects them and I don’t think that’s right.”

For Rovinelli, who has friends who smoke, going out to bars with his friends hasn’t been much of a problem either.

“The guys that I go out with most, most of them don’t smoke, but the ones who do, I’ve never heard them complain,” Rovinelli said. “They just go outside and smoke.”

At Lefty’s, Moore said the smoke-free law has mixed reviews depending on the time of day and season that people stop in.

“The lunchtime crowd is university professors – a professional crowd. They love it. Ninety-nine percent of them don’t smoke,” Moore said. “My nighttime customers are students and neighborhood people who get off work, and there are a lot of smokers at night; they can’t stand it. Especially in the winter.”

Despite the negative repercussions of the restrictions, there is good news to come from the ban, according to Michigan Department of Community Health research.

According to the MDCH, the amount of secondhand smoke exposure to the waitresses’ and bartenders’ systems has decreased. The MDCH’s study was conducted four-to-six weeks before the ban was put into effect and conducted again six-to-ten weeks following the authorization.

The magnitude of secondhand smoke exposure in employees dropped from an average of 35.92 nanograms per milliliter in the time before the law to zero nanograms per milliliter following the law.

On the whole, Michigan has been good about abiding by the new law. Although there was a high compliance rate in Michigan with the ban, recent figures have risen to the surface. The MDCH reported that the law was violated at least 1,500 times within the last year, and two establishments were ordered to shut down until they met the standardized regulations.

It’s hard to tell if the ban has been well-received because of the different opinions. Smokers and non-smokers, along with bartenders and restaurant owners, are having trouble agreeing on the fairness of the law. But with the law having achieved its goal of cleaner environments for socializing patrons, the state remains steady in enforcing the smoking ban.

“I think people are kind of getting used to it because they have to,” Rovinelli said. “They’re forced to. But I still don’t think it’s right.”

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Posted in: cigarette taxes,smoking ban,tobacco companies

Parliament Cigarettes

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Parliament is a brand of cigarettes marketed by the company Philip Morris. The brand was introduced in 1931 year and is distinctive for its recessed paper filters. The Parliament brand holds a strong market position in Saudi Arabia, Japan, Argentina, Israel, Kazakhstan, Turkey, Russia, Montenegro, Ukraine and the United States. The Parliament Cigarettes always has a distinct odor of tobacco.

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Posted in: Buy Cheap Parliament Cigarettes Online,Buy parliament cigarettes now,Philip Morris

Menthol Cigarettes Taste Too Good to Be Legal

The report (PDF), issued in late March, concluded that “removal of menthol Kiss cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States” but cautioned that “a black market for menthol cheap cigarettes online could be created, criminal activity could ensue, and different methods might be used to supply such a black market.”
Boston University public health professor Michael Siegel criticizes the advisory committee for kicking the issue back to the FDA without “a clear and strongly stated recommendation that the FDA ban menthol cigarettes to protect the public’s health.”
Neal Benowitz and Jonathan Samet, two members of the committee, defend their work as responsive to their legislative mandate, which was to consider the impact of menthol cigarettes on smoking-related disease. They concluded that mentholation does not seem to make cigarettes more dangerous but that it encourages people (especially African Americans and teenagers, who disproportionately favor menthol brands) to start and continue smoking by making the smoke tastier and less irritating. The same argument, of course, could be made about any feature designed to make cigarettes more appealing.
Siegel argues that forcing Newport and Kool consumers to smoke harsher, fouler-tasting cigarettes would encourage them to quit. “There are 19.2 million menthol-cigarette smokers in the United States,” he writes, “and if even a fraction of them quit smoking in response to a menthol ban, it would have a profound effect on public health.” He adds that the absence of menthol brands would cut down on smoking initiation.
“Approximately half of people who are just starting to smoke usually smoke a menthol brand,” he says, “and if even a fraction of those people were to be deterred from initiating smoking, this, too, would have a profound public health benefit.” Siegel does not really address the black market issue, except to say that Lorillard, which makes Newports (the No. 1 menthol brand), pushed the same argument, which also was adopted by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids when it argued against a menthol ban as part of the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. He suggests the anti-smoking group’s main motive was appeasing Philip Morris, which makes several menthol brands and would not have backed a bill that banned them.
For both practical and moral reasons, I don’t agree that banning menthol cigarettes is a good idea, any more than banning cigarettes in general would be. But Siegel is on target when he notes the absurdity of banning rarely used cigarette flavors that supposedly appealed to children, as the tobacco control act did, while allowing the one flavor that is actually popular to stay on the market:
It is difficult to understand the rationale for a policy that bans every other type of cigarette flavoring — including chocolate, strawberry, banana, pineapple, cherry, and kiwi — yet exempts the one flavoring that is actually used extensively by tobacco companies to recruit and maintain smokers….Ironically, it is because removing menthol would actually improve the public’s health by reducing the consumption of cigarettes that we are not going to see such an action from the federal government.
There is no political risk in banning chocolate and strawberry cigarettes, since no companies are currently selling such products and they play no role in smoking initiation. Menthol, however, is a major contributor to smoking initiation and continued addiction, and for this reason, it will continue to enjoy the protection of a federal government that seems afraid to alienate any corporation, whether it’s part of Big Pharma, Big Insurance, or Big Tobacco.
It does seem to be the case that Philip Morris, the market leader and the one big company that backed the tobacco control law, saw it as a way to rig the rules in its favor. More on the controversy over cigarette flavoritism, including the question of whether it is racist, here and here.

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Posted in: cheap cigarettes online,Kiss cigarettes,tobacco control