After marijuana decriminalization, CT Senate tackles fake pot and hookah smoking

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Two days after approving a bill that decriminalizes the possession of small amounts of pot, the state Senate passed one bill that bans synthetic marijuana and another that calls for new regulations of hookah lounges.

The hookah bill was initially drafted to ban all new hookah lounges, but it was amended as part of an effort to improve its chances of passage. The compromise directs the state Department of Health to draft regulations overseeing hookah lounges. The department has to devise the new regulations by Jan. 1, 2013--in the meantime, no new hookah lounges can open in the state.

Hookah smoking is a centuries-old tradition in the Middle East. Patrons gather in lounges to talk, drink tea and puff on hoses connected to large water pipes whose bowls are filled with flavored tobacco. In recent years, several such businesses have opened in the state.

But some public health experts say hookah smoking is a risky endeavor. "People mistakenly believe that smoking a hookah...is not dangerous to your health and nothing could be further from the truth,'' said Sen. Gayle Slossberg, vice-chair of the legislature's public health committee. She cited research that links hookah smoking to tuberculosis, Legionnaire's disease and perhaps even cancer.

Sen. Rob Kane, a Republican from Watertown, had expressed strong opposition to an outright ban on new hookah lounges largely on philosophical grounds. "The government should not protect us from ourselves,'' he said. "If we chose to go to a hookah lounge, then that's your right, that's your choice. We as a legislative body should not control what activities people partake in."

But Kane helped work on the compromise measure, which he said "makes more sense.''

The bill was approved on a vote of 34 to 2--Senators Joe Markley and Anthony Musto voted no.

The state Senate also voted unanimously to ban synthetic marijuana and salvia divinorum. However some senators noted what they viewed as the inconsistency of prohibiting fake pot just days after decriminalizing the real thing.

"When you set a penalty for fake pot at any level of possession of $1,000 and a year in jail but then set a penalty for real pot at a fine or violation, people are going to scratch their heads,'' said Senate Republican Leader John McKinney. "Should we ban this?...it should be. For the life of me I don't know how I'm going to explain to my constituents one penalty for the fake pot and another for the real pot."

More Utah grocers snuff out tobacco products

Cigarettes and other tobacco products are flying off the shelves at some Utah grocery stores, but it’s not because sales are brisk.

Low profit margins associated with selling smokes and chew — combined with mountains of paperwork — are leading some retailers to decide the products are no longer worth stocking. Harmons is the latest retailer to join the trend, discontinuing sales at two of its stores in May.

“They’re just getting more and more cumbersome to deal with,” said Dave Davis, president of the Utah Food Industry Association. “And there seems to be less and less of a market for them in grocery stores as well.”

Tobacco products have to be stored in a locked cabinet away from the reach of children, Davis says, and store owners must spend hours educating staff on tobacco sales laws and face stiff fines for noncompliance. The products are also perishable, meaning grocers can lose big money on expired or unsold stock.

“Many grocers are saying, for the headaches, it’s just not worth it,” Davis said.

Smoke shops seem to be filling the void, according to the Utah State Tax Commission. Staffers have noticed an increase in the number of applications for smoke shop licenses, said spokesman Charlie Roberts, although those numbers aren’t available. Tobacco taxes more than doubled in July 2010, but it’s unclear how much that may have impacted sales.

In 2010, Utah tobacco tax revenue amounted to about $95 million, compared with about $55 million in 2009.

Harmons has stopped carrying tobacco at its Brickyard and Midvale Seventh Street stores, and its new Farmington store has never carried tobacco products, said spokeswoman Rhonda Greenwood. The grocer doesn’t have a defined strategy to eliminate tobacco from all its stores, Greenwood said, and is gauging customer response at those stores. The chain might return tobacco products to its shelves, or pull them from other stores.

FTSE smoulders with fire engines, oil and tobacco in focus

On the downside, household goods manufacturer Reckitt Benckiser (RB.L) shares fell 1.2% or 40p to £34.28 after analysts at Morgan Stanley downgraded it to equal weight from overweight. Citigroup analysts cut their target price to £38.00 from £42.00.

Imperial Tobacco (IMT.L) shares dropped 1% or 22p to £20.63 after publishing a statement on a price war in Spain saying it could dent profits by £110 million.

The biggest faller was Aggreko (AGK.L) which fell 3.6% or 69p to £18.66 after Hugh Osmond's Horizon Acquisition vehicle said it would spend $855 million on a 59% stake in major US rival APR Energy. Analysts at Numis cut Aggreko's rating to sell from hold.

Gainers elsewhere included AssetCo PLC (ASTO.L) which owns London’s fire engines. The company’s shares, which trade on AIM, fell more than 90% over the year during which it has been trying to raise cash. Today the company confirmed press speculation that it was in takeover talks that were now at a ‘developed stage’. Assetco shares jumped 37% or 1.4p to 5p.

Faroe Petroleum (FPM.L) shares fell after it reported that it would have to close a North Sea oil well. Its shares fell 12% or 20p to 150p. The company's chief executive Graham Stewart said: ‘Whilst the outcome of the well is a disappointment, the presence of hydrocarbons has however now been proven and offers encouragement to continue our deep water exploration plans in the region.’

Another oil exploration firm hit by bad news today was Sterling Energy (SEY.L) which reported on its Kurdistan operations. Angus MacAskill, chief executive of Sterling which is 20% owned by asset manager Invesco, said: 'We are disappointed that the open hole flow test has not demonstrated commercial hydrocarbon flow rates.’ Its shares fell 26% or 12p to 33.7p.

Anti-Contraband Tobacco Coalition Comments on Montreal-Area Police Raids

Today, the National Coalition Against Contraband Tobacco (NCACT) commended police services for the execution of search warrants at Akwesasne, Kanesatake, and in Oka. However, the NCACT believes that while it is critical for government to take action against drug trafficking, it is also important for government to similarly target illegal cigarette manufacturing facilities and smoke shacks operating on reserve.

"We are glad that the RCMP has demonstrated a willingness to take strong action on reserves to shut down illegal trafficking operations," said NCACT spokesperson Gary Grant. "However, as important as it is to target drug trafficking, it is also important to take similar action against the illegal tobacco manufacturing facilities and smoke shacks that operate there. In fact, the two are very often tied together."

There is a strong connection between drug trafficking and the manufacturing and sale of contraband cigarettes. Tobacco sold illegally is the cash cow of organized crime and finances the activities - including drug, gun, and human trafficking - of more than 175 organized criminal gangs. In Canada, there are more than 50 illegal cigarette manufacturing facilities and more than 300 smoke shacks operating outside of any government regulation.

"It's bad enough that criminals are allowed to profit by way of this illegal distribution system," said Grant. "But illegal cigarettes work directly against larger tobacco control efforts. They are a key source of youth smoking, and the high use of illegal tobacco by high school students was recently identified as a factor in keeping teen smoking rates from falling."

"All we are asking is that government enforce its existing laws," concluded Grant. "Only by targeting the supply of illegal cigarettes will we see a meaningful reduction to Canada's contraband tobacco problem."

Smoking ban changes take effect

The use of hookahs and electronic cigarettes will be banned from public places in Madison County starting Monday, when a controversial amendment to the county’s Clean Indoor Air Regulation takes effect.

The regulation, first enacted by the Madison County Board of Health 2007, also will no longer exempt retail tobacco stores from the public indoor smoking ban.

The original action included a few exceptions, such as retail tobacco shops.

Electronic cigarettes are battery powered and heat a nicotine-containing liquid, creating a vapor which users inhale.

When the board first proposed expanding the regulation, proponents of e-cigarettes protested, saying the devices are safe. Because no combustion takes place, they produce no airborne particulates, carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide or other harmful products of combustion.

Dr. Theresa Whitt, medical director for a group that calls itself Consumer Advocates for Smoke-free Alternatives, said in a press release to the Register sent in April that the group believes e-cigarrettes are potentially beneficial to the health of users because they offer an alternative to cigarettes that would reduce their risks of smoking -related diseases.

“Nicotine does not cause lung disease, heart disease or cancer — smoke does,” Whitt said.

But nicotine, which is used as a pesticide, is toxic and can damage organs, said Kelly Owens, the health board’s tobacco cessation and control coordinator, in an April interview with the Register.

Also, a variety of studies have concluded that e-cigarettes are not safe, including a study cited by the University of Kentucky College of Nursing’s Tobacco Policy Research Program that found that the vapors exhaled by e-cigarette users likely contain nicotine, propylene glycol and carcinogens. Also, a 2010 study by Sleiman that found that nicotine deposits react with elements in the air to form carcinogens.

The board also elected to include hookahs in the regulation after Ahmad Allatifeh and Bill Gibson asked the board in February, 2010, to allow them to open a hookah cafe in Richmond.

A motion to allow use in public places of the so-called “water pipes” popular in southern Asia and the Middle East failed for lack of a second.

Hookahs often use flavored tobacco.

Another change to the regulation is no longer allowing smoking in retail tobacco stores.

John Metzker, owner of Hall’s Tobacco Store in Richmond, said he was unaware that customer’s would not longer be allowed to sample tobacco products in his business.

“The law allowed us to because most of what I sell is tobacco products,” he said.

He doesn’t believe the ban will hurt business, although he knows customers like having the option of smoking there, he said.

With the amendment, the only areas now exempt are outdoor places of employment, no more than 25 percent of a hotel’s guest rooms, and private residences unless used as a childcare, adult-daycare or health-care facility, according to the regulation posted on the health department’s website.

Businesses are required to post “no smoking” signs, which are available for order on the health department’s website.

Businesses that violate the regulation can be fined from $100 to $300 for each violation. They also could lose health-department issued operating licenses.

BAT buys big Colombian cigarette maker

British American Tobacco has snapped up Protabaco, Colombia's second-largest cigarette maker, for $US452 million ($A429.49 million), strengthening its presence in the Latin American nation.

"BAT has agreed to acquire a 100 per cent interest in privately-owned Productora Tabacalera de Colombia, S.A.S. (Protabaco) for an enterprise value of US$452 million," it said on Thursday in an official statement.

"On completion, the acquisition will elevate BAT from third to second place in Colombia, Latin America's fourth largest cigarette market with total industry sales of around 17 billion cigarettes in 2010."
BAT is the second biggest cigarette maker in the world and its best-selling brands are Dunhill, Kent, Lucky Strike and Pall Mall.

Protobaco sold 5.5 billion cigarettes last year in Colombia, where its biggest product Mustang is the second best-selling cigarette brand.

"This investment will strengthen and complement our position in an important market and fill a strategic gap in our Americas region," said Mark Cobben, BAT's Director for the Americas.

Cigarette makers want fair tax on all brands

Tax should be levied proportionately on all brands of cigarettes, not only on the low-end items consumed by the poor, manufacturers said.

The National Board of Revenue (NBR) has proposed the wholesale price for low-cost brands at Tk 1,100 per thousand pieces for the upcoming fiscal year from Tk 850 this year. The tax rate for these brands has been recommended at 52 percent, up from 47 percent now.

The prices and taxes for medium and high-end brands should remain unchanged, the tax administrator said.

The NBR also proposed the price of per thousand pieces of medium-end brands should remain unchanged at Tk 1,840 and the tax rate at 65 percent. It wants the tax rate for costly cigarettes at 72 percent in the upcoming fiscal year.

Cigarette taxes are a key source of revenue for the government. Out of the Tk 72,000 crore NBR revenue target for the outgoing year, the government will get at least Tk 6,000 crore or 8.33 percent from cigarette taxes.

“I am not against higher tax and price on cigarettes. But tax and price must be raised proportionately across all brands,” said Nasiruddin Biswas, chairman of Nasir Group of Industries.

Another businessman, requesting not to be named, said the tax hike move has been taken to give some specific companies edge over others.

There are hundreds of cigarette brands in Bangladesh. Of which, Gold Leaf, Benson & Hedges, Marlboro and Pall Mall are treated as high-end brands, while Capstan, Star and Navy medium brands.

Marise, Sheikh, Pilot and Top 10 are some of the low-cost brands that are increasingly dominating the cigarette market in recent years. Now these brands account for 52 percent of the cigarette market from 25 percent five years ago.

The manufacturers attributed the rapid growth of low-end brands to urbanisation and modernisation of society.

Bidi (traditional hand-made cigarette) smokers have been shifting to low-priced cigarettes because of changing consumption pattern, said the manufacturers.

Over the years, bidi production has been going down. Now only 400 crore pieces of bidi are produced against three times higher production just a decade ago, according to industry people. On the other hand, consumption of low-end brands has doubled to 600 crore pieces a year.

An NBR official said the poor spend more on tobacco than the rich. “We want to discourage them (the poor),” said the official.

According to experts, tobacco-related illness and death cost people thousands of crores of taka every year. Bidi and cigarette smokers die 6 to 10 years earlier than their non-smoking counterparts.

Global Adult Tobacco Survey Report 2010 shows around four crore adults use tobacco in Bangladesh, of them 58 percent male and 28.7 percent female. According to World Health Organisation, some 57,000 people die annually in Bangladesh for tobacco use