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$2 per pack tobacco tax on fast track in California Legislature

fawd_user — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:30:22 +0000

A proposal to raise the tobacco tax by $2 per pack of cigarettes cleared its first two policy committees Wednesday, with Republicans unified in their opposition.

Sen. Kevin De Leon (D-Los Angeles) proposed the tax, which would move California’s tobacco taxes from 33rd-highest in the nation to fourth. The $1.5 billion raised each year would help pay for medical care for tobacco-related diseases, anti-tobacco education and enforcement of tobacco-related laws.

Do electronic cigarettes work?

fawd_user — Thu, 09 May 2013 13:27:34 +0000

Everyone knows that cigarettes are bad for you. Yet 45 million Americans smoke, a habit that shaves a decade off life expectancy and causes cancer as well as heart and lung diseases. Nearly 70 percent of smokers want to quit, but despite the deadly consequences, the vast majority of them fail.

Going cold turkey works for fewer than 10 percent of smokers. Even with counseling and the use of aids approved by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration, such as the nicotine patch and non-nicotine medicines, 75 percent of smokers light up again within a year. “We need better treatments because the current ones just aren’t working all that well,” says Jed Rose, director of the Duke Center for Smoking Cessation.

NYC cigarette tax fight hampered by low fines

fawd_user — Mon, 06 May 2013 14:08:04 +0000

High taxes have emerged as the No. 1 weapon in the war on smoking. The more cigarettes cost, research has shown, the fewer people buy them. That is one of the reasons six states are considering proposals to hike tobacco taxes.

But the effectiveness of that strategy is being undercut in the home of the nation’s highest tobacco taxes – New York City – by light penalties for merchants caught selling cheap cigarettes smuggled in from low-tax states.

New York City to Raise Age Limit on Tobacco Sales

fawd_user — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:13:08 +0000

New York City is planning to raise the legal age to purchase cigarettes and other tobacco products to 21 from 18, a proposal that would make New York the first major city in the nation to bring the minimum age above 19.

The proposal is the city’s latest effort to combat smoking in the five boroughs and marks a reversal for Mayor Michael Bloomberg, who previously opposed legislation that would have increased the minimum age to purchase tobacco products.

Analysis of Obama’s Budget Finds a Higher Tax Burden for most Americans

fawd_user — Tue, 23 Apr 2013 14:07:08 +0000

President Obama’s budget would raise taxes mainly on people earning more than $200,000 a year, although earners at nearly every income level would face a somewhat higher tax burden, according to a new nonpartisan analysis.

The study by the Tax Policy Center finds that in 2015, 86 percent of the increase in taxes would be borne by people earning $200,000 or more a year. That would largely be a result of dramatically scaling back tax breaks that disproportionately benefit the wealthy and establishing a minimum level of taxation for people who earn $1 million a year.

Bloomberg wants to ban tobacco on display

fawd_user — Wed, 20 Mar 2013 02:23:30 +0000

A new proposal would require New York City retailers to keep tobacco products out of sight under a first-in-the-nation proposal aimed at reducing the youth smoking rate, Mayor Michael Bloomberg said Monday.

The legislation would require stores to keep tobacco products in cabinets, drawers, under the counter, behind a curtain or in other concealed spots. They could only be visible when an adult is making a purchase or during restocking.

New Bill Could Double Florida’s Cigarette Tax

fawd_user — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 09:58:31 +0000

WEST PALM BEACH, Fla. — A new bill could double Florida’s cigarette tax, and this time smokers may not be the only ones fuming. While smoking rates for teenagers saw a decline, the state saw a billion dollar boost in funding from the last tax increase in 2009. CBS12′s Stephanie Watson has more on the impact of another tax increase and the dangerous consequence from the first tax hike.

Update: Wakulla County votes to repeal flavored tobacco ban

fawd_user — Wed, 30 Jan 2013 10:14:24 +0000

TALLAHASSEE, Fla. (WTXL)– Wakulla County commissioners voted 5-0 to repeal a ban on flavored-tobacco, a measure passed in November of last year.

The ban that would have went into effect by February 1st would prohibit the sell of “candy-flavored or fruit-flavored” tobacco in stores who serve residents under the age of 21.

The commissioners listened to public comment from residents all across the county. Business owners were there express their concerns about how the ban will impact them. One issue, they said are contracts they share have with tobacco companies. Some of the local stores have contracts that require them to sell certain products for a particular length of time. Commissioner Ralph Thomas says they believe there were unintended consequences, and also stores and the county’s revenue could potentially suffer if it were to go into effect.

Other counties like Gadsden have tried passing a measure like this one, the status of the county’s ordinance is currently unknown. Wakulla County would have been the first of the 67 counties in Florida to implement this ban.

Suit Challenges Break for Cigarette Makers in Appeals

fawd_user — Thu, 02 Jun 2011 13:03:14 +0000

By JIM SAUNDERS

THE NEWS SERVICE OF FLORIDA

THE CAPITAL, TALLAHASSEE, June 1, 2011…..Florida lawmakers last month extended a financial break for tobacco companies that face a crush of lawsuits because of smoking-related illnesses.
But the move — which drew little attention in the Legislature — came amid a legal challenge that argues the break is unconstitutional because it gives special treatment to cigarette makers.

The issue involves a state law that allows major tobacco companies to post smaller-than-usual bonds when they appeal judgments against them. That saves money for cigarette makers, which already have been hit with a series of multimillion-dollar verdicts in an initial wave of sick-smoker cases.

A key part of the law was scheduled to expire Dec. 31, 2012. But on the final day of this year’s legislative session, lawmakers approved a Medicaid-budget bill that eliminated the expiration date, allowing the financial breaks to continue for an indeterminate amount of time.

The bill, which was signed last week by Gov. Rick Scott, says the extension was needed because the state relies on money from a 1997 settlement agreement with major tobacco companies to help fund Medicaid and other health programs.

House Health Care Appropriations Chairman Matt Hudson, R-Naples, said the concern is that lawsuits could drive those tobacco companies into bankruptcy if the bond relief goes away. He said that would leave the state in a “no man’s land” in continuing to get money from the multibillion-dollar settlement to help pay for Medicaid and the other programs.

“From my standpoint, there are thousands of these cases (filed against tobacco companies), and we’re nowhere near being done,’’ Hudson said Wednesday.

But John S. Mills, an appellate attorney who is representing families in cases against tobacco companies, contends the smaller-than-usual bonds are unconstitutional.

Mills argues, in part, that the Florida Constitution bars special laws that benefit certain private companies. A three-judge panel of the 1st District Court of Appeal ruled against Mills in April, but he is asking for a rehearing or a hearing before the full appeals court.

“In sum, this is an extremely important constitutional issue … that is already arising in many appeals of multimillion-dollar judgments and will potentially arise in literally thousands of cases,’’ Mills wrote in a brief.

The onslaught of cases — and much of the debate about the bond amounts — stems from a 2006 Florida Supreme Court ruling in a class-action lawsuit against the tobacco industry.

That ruling required sick-smoker cases to be heard individually, but also established critical findings about the health dangers of smoking and past misrepresentations by cigarette makers.

While cases are taking time, tobacco companies already are getting hit with large verdicts. As an example, the
1st District Court of Appeal last month upheld a $15.75 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds in an Alachua County case.

Similarly, Mills raised the constitutional issues about bond amounts in an Escambia County case with total damages topping $20 million.

Bonds are important because they help ensure that judgments ultimately get paid when lawsuits are appealed. That is relevant in the smoking cases, because tobacco companies commonly appeal large judgments.

The state law applies to five companies that were part of the 1997 settlement agreement and caps the total amount of bonds that could be posted at $200 million. Also, it places a $5 million maximum bond amount on any individual judgment.

Ordinarily, Mills said parties appealing judgments have to post bonds that cover the full amounts plus interest.

Serve only healthy drinks in school, state education official says

fawd_user — Wed, 11 Nov 2009 13:07:03 +0000

State Board of Education member John Padget (the same person who wants to revamp school grades) said this afternoon that he thinks the state should look at removing all but “healthy” drinks from its public schools. Read More.