Tobacco.org

• Relabeling Roll-Your-Own Tobacco as Pipe Tobacco Costing Feds, States $1.3 Billion in Lost Revenues  

Tobacco manufacturers that re-label roll-your-own cigarette tobacco as pipe tobacco are cheating federal and state authorities out of an estimated $1.3 billion in lost state and federal tax revenues, according to a report released Wednesday by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Last month, the Government Accountability Office found that cases of roll-your-own tobacco were being sold in packages labeled as pipe tobacco. The federal excise tax on loose tobacco used for roll-your-own cigarettes is $22 per pound higher than the excise tax on pipe tobacco.

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• EDITORIAL: State Grabs Money Meant For Quitting Smoking 

When it comes to tobacco addiction, Connecticut's state government has been nearly as exploitative and venal as the tobacco companies it went after more than a dozen years ago.

The state led the nation in suing Big Tobacco, with then-Attorney General Richard Blumenthal demanding compensation for the high cost of Medicaid patients who are prone to smoke. The idea was that tobacco companies would give states money to care for the ill — and prevent others from becoming addicted.

The argument won the day. Connecticut and 45 other states won billions of dollars in 1998 as part of the historic tobacco settlement. But hypocrisy soon followed.

This income stream of $100 million-plus annually will end in 11 more years. It has become little more than a slush fund to pay for practically everything but quitting smoking. . . .

Between 2000 and 2009, according to an excellent Yankee Institute study (bit.ly/tobaccoct), of the $1.3 billion sent to Connecticut from the settlement, only $134 million went to the Tobacco and Health Trust Fund. But it gets even worse: The state government raided that "trust fund" of all but $9.2 million for other goals.

Mr. Blumenthal, now U.S. senator, says, "We should be embarrassed and ashamed that one of the nation's leading states in public health is failing to use the money to help people quit. "

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Washington Report: Connecticut Seeks to Classify RYO Shops as Manufacturers 

Bristol Housing Authority Goes Smoke-Free July 1 

CURRIE: Thank You for Not Smoking 

• Guidance on CT Lung Cancer Screening 

Based on the NLST findings, the American Lung Association recommends lung cancer screening with low-dose CT scans for people who meet certain criteria, which include the following: current or former smokers (aged 55 to 74 years), with a smoking history of at least 30 pack-years (that is, an average of a pack a day for 30 years) and with no history of lung cancer.

The Lung Association emphasizes that only CT scans are recommended and that chest X-rays should not be used for lung cancer screening.

The Lung Association recognizes that while low dose CT scans may save lives, screening for lung cancer should not be recommended for everyone as many known and unknown risks may be associated with both the screening and subsequent medical evaluation.

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Roll-your-own smoke shop in Torrington a hit  

• Bill Would Require Roll-Your-Own Tobacco Shops To Obtain $5,000 Manufacturer's License, Pay State Cigarette Taxes  

The state Department of Revenue is banking on the passage of bill that would allow the agency to collect fees and cigarette taxes it's losing due to the proliferation of a dozen roll-your-own tobacco shops around the state.

The measure, proposed by the revenue department, was approved 33-17 by the General Assembly's finance, revenue and bonding committee April 3. The measure would require roll-your-own tobacco shops to pay $5,000 for an annual manufacturer's license.

More significantly, it would require roll-your-own shops to comply with all manufacturing rules and regulations related to cigarette manufacturing -- including paying Connecticut's cigarette tax, which adds about $3.40 to a pack of cigarettes. The added fees and taxes would bump up the price of roll-your-own cigarettes to the point where they could cost almost as much as a name brand pack, Department of Revenue CommissionerKevin B. Sullivansaid.

"They would be subject to the same rules as cigarette manufacturers and would have to meet health and safety standards and the state's tax obligations," Sullivan said.

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Roll-your-own smoke shop a hit in Torrington  

Fire danger prompts smoking ban in Norwalk parks, effective immediately 

Blumenthal Announces Historic Steps In Fight Against Big Tobacco, Calls For More To Be Done  

On Major League Baseball's opening day, U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) announced details of an historic rule restricting the use of smokeless tobacco by players, managers, and coaches on and off the field. He also called for more funding of new anti-tobacco ads, which began showing on March 19th as part of a national media campaign, which have doubled the numbers of people seeking help to quit smoking. He also urged parents to make sure their children see the ads.

"This opening day is truly historic because children will no longer see their heroes - baseball's stars, managers or coaches - with chewing tobacco products on or off the field," Blumenthal said. "Major League Baseball heeded our request to do the right thing and voluntarily stepped up to the plate, leading by example and assuring that fewer kids will succumb to lifetimes of addiction and disease. The fight against tobacco use also is advanced by the powerful ads shown by the CDC - which have doubled the numbers of people seeking to quit - showing that these ads really work effectively to prevent and stop smoking. I am calling on budget officials to increase funding amounts so these ads will be continued and expanded and I urge parents to make sure their children see them."

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• At Bella Vista, Losing The Battle With Smoke  

Nydia Canales has stuffed plastic bags into every crack around her door, caulked every gap in her walls, even put cling film over her light switches. She still can't escape the cigarette smoke that filters into her apartment, triggering an allergic reaction that wakes her up coughing every night.

Since moving into the Bella Vista high-rise elderly housing complex on the east end of town in January, Canales has been waging a losing battle against second-hand smoke. A lifelong New Havener, Canales is now considering moving as far as Portsmouth, N.H., where the housing authority has a smoke-free policy.

With the help of the New Haven Health Department, Canales has been released from her lease at Bella Vista--where tenants can smoke--due to "extenuating circumstances." But the 50-year-old said she can't find an apartment that will take her federal Section 8 rent-subsidy voucher in a neighborhood she feels safe in.

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Cigarette Most Likely Cause Of Taco Bell Fire  

Monday evening's fire at the Taco Bell on Division Street was probably caused by discarded cigarettes, Ansonia Fire Marshal Ray Tingley said Tuesday.

There were no injuries.

The fire started in a decorative column on the outside of the building in the back, Tingley said, in an area that was used by employees during smoking breaks. There was a container for discarded butts, but fire officials saw a large number of cigarette butts around the column.

The thought is that the discarded smoking material started the fire. . . .

It's the third fire caused by cigarettes in the lower Valley in less than a week.

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• At Bella Vista, Losing The Battle With Smoke  

Nydia Canales has stuffed plastic bags into every crack around her door, caulked every gap in her walls, even put cling film over her light switches. She still can't escape the cigarette smoke that filters into her apartment, triggering an allergic reaction that wakes her up coughing every night.

Since moving into the Bella Vista high-rise elderly housing complex on the east end of town in January, Canales has been waging a losing battle against second-hand smoke. A lifelong New Havener, Canales is now considering moving as far as Portsmouth, N.H., where the housing authority has a smoke-free policy.

With the help of the New Haven Health Department, Canales has been released from her lease at Bella Vista--where tenants can smoke--due to "extenuating circumstances." But the 50-year-old said she can't find an apartment that will take her federal Section 8 rent-subsidy voucher in a neighborhood she feels safe in.

"This is a very hard place to live for a non-smoker," Canales said. There should be a warning for new tenants: Not only is Bella Vista not smoke-free, it's actually smoke-full, she said.

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Anti-smoking efforts save lives