Tobacco News

Pinar del Río, Cuba, Jan 25 (Prensa Latina) Far from expressing any vanity, Hector Luis Prieto, the world’s youngest Habano Man (the Cuban cigar is called an “Habano), says he feels optimistic about the results of the tobacco harvest in his legendary plantation in western Cuba.

After concluding the picking of covered tobacco, he announced that the volumes exceed those of previous harvests, in spite of delays caused by the inclemency of the weather.
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The Mendocino County board of supervisors changed their ground breaking medical marijuana regulation, the 9.31 Ordinance, to thwart off threats from federal officials. The changes roll back the amount a medical marijuana grower can cultivate, from 99 marijuana plants per parcel, down to 25 and it eliminates the Sheriff’s Office from issuing permits to growers.

“I feel comfortable that by eliminating the 99 plant exemption and the permitting process the county is in a better position,” Mendocino County Counsel, Jeanine Nadel told The Independent.
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Governor Andrew Cuomo’s new budget plan will cut $5 million from the New York State tobacco control program cutting the budget in half in just three years.

“Currently the CDC recommends we be funded a certain amount and we’re only being funded at %16 of what the CDC recommends for New York State so to cut us even further is putting us behind those CDC recommendations,” said Broome-Tioga Reality Check Program Coordinator, Diana Chandler.
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I had the opportunity to speak with the Mesquite Local News editor, Kent Harper. I so appreciated the time he gave me to discuss his background and credentials. While I respect all that he brings to the table, I do understand that he feels obligated to his advertisers, their fears and is making outlandish statements based on an agenda that has no base in reality. His comments that second hand smoke, which effect every person who enters our local establishments to dine and game are the same as restaurants/fast food that serve high-fat food is totally misguided. Ream more »

When it comes to Tobacco Control 101, Montana earns a barely passing grade.
Last week, the American Lung Society released its State of Tobacco Control 2012 report that gave letter grades to every state, evaluating performance in four categories: smoke-free air, cigarette tax, cessation and tobacco prevention. The group has released a similar report each of the past 10 years.
Overall, the nation is losing ground in the fight against tobacco. States are doing less to keep kids from smoking, and the tobacco industry is taking advantage of state apathy to fight back, according to the study. Ream more »

The City Council is set to consider new regulations in city parks that include banning smoking and could require permits for “any games” played in the city’s 73 parks.
The smoking law would forbid smoking within 100 feet of parks and beaches and also ban the disposal of tobacco products. Groups could apply for smoking permits for their activities.

The law would also require trainers and instructors using parks for commercial classes to get permits. Ream more »

Illinois officials say the recession, which hit in December 2007 — and not just a statewide smoking ban implemented in 2008 — played a significant role in the decline of revenue that state’s gaming facilities.

But still, risking a decline in gaming revenues by enacting a comprehensive smoking ban that includes Casino Aztar may cause the Evansville City Council to shy away from including the riverboat in a proposed expansion of the city’s smoking ordinance.
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A hookah bar may run as a nightclub but shouldn’t sell alcohol on site, the planning commission recommended Tuesday.

Owners of Ali Baba Hookah Bar, 923 Berryville Ave., sought a conditional use permit for a nightclub to allow live music and karaoke.

The owners also sought to revise the original permit, approved in May, to remove a restriction on the sale of alcoholic beverages.
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A multi-agency fraud investigation resulted in arrests at two Daytona Beach shops on Tuesday, where authorities say clerks allowed customers to buy alcohol and cigarettes with food stamps.

Investigators say the fraud involved the improper use of plastic EBT cards issued as part of the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program, formerly known as the Food Stamp Program. The cards are supposed to be used for food and non-alcoholic beverages, but when authorities sent an informant into two Daytona Beach convenience stores, they were able to buy other goods. Ream more »

Government regulators and their enablers in Congress, always on the prowl to target industries for ever-more oppressive regulations and higher taxes, are now focusing on the venerable “good cigar” eloquently extolled by Rudyard Kipling and many other connoisseurs of a “good smoke.”

Since the mid-1960s, tobacco has been one of the big-government nannies’ favorite targets. While anti-tobacconists have scored only sporadic victories in the courts over the past few decades, that is partly due to the fact that until 2009, when Congress passed the “Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act,” tobacco was not lawfully regulated by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
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