AG Eric Schneiderman Continues Crusade Against Small Tobacco

(Village Voice) New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman apparently is on a mission to rid the state of roll-your-own cigarette businesses, and today he's got another victim in his cross hairs.
Schneiderman has filed a federal lawsuit against a business near Syracuse that was running an operation similar to those of two New York City businesses the AG took down earlier this week -- basically, the businesses avoid paying hefty cigarette taxes by not selling tobacco, but selling access to equipment used to roll your own cigarettes.
The tobacco provided by the businesses, in most cases, is "free," so it can't be taxed. Continued

Maryland could have highest tax rates in US on certain tobacco products

(marylandreporter.com) The Senate Budget and Taxation Committee heard testimony Wednesday on a proposed tax hike on cigars and smokeless tobacco products that could reach as high as 95%, but would exempt premium cigars.
... Under the new tax rates, the tax would be 95% of the wholesale price for cigars and not exceed $3 per cigar. The tax on snuff would be of 95% of the wholesale price or $3 per tin container, whichever is greater. Loose tobacco, or roll-your-own, would be taxed at $3 for every .65 of an ounce.
The additional 6% retail sales tax would then kick in on top of these new taxes.
The tax on loose tobacco brought the strongest rebuke from Dan Doherty of the Cigar Association of America, who said the OTP tax on a pound of lose tobacco would run $74 before the 6% retail sales tax, bringing the retail price of a pound of loose tobacco to $110. Continued

Anti-Tobacco Groups Demonize Convenience Stores

(NACS) A supposed “new” report from Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and several affiliated groups claims that convenience stores are complicit in enticing underage tobacco use, among other claims. But, NACS spokesman Jeff Lenard countered, there is more – actually less – than meets the eye in the report.
“Calling it a ‘new report’ is a stretch with both words, because the supposed findings aren’t new and they aren’t findings,” he said. “What is true, and omitted from this report, is that convenience stores sell legal products in a lawful way, and that is true with all products.” Continued

Kathy Freston Compares Meat to Tobacco

(ecorazzi.com) Kathy Freston, author of “Veganist: Lose Weight, Get Healthy, Change the World,” has been educating the masses about the benefits of a vegan diet for years.
She has even helped big names like Oprah and Martha Stewart learn more about an animal-free diet.
In an article that’s bound to get some interesting conversations started, Freston is now comparing meat to tobacco. And she thinks that meat is worse. Continued

Navy and Marines to extinguish the smoking lamp aboard ship?

(chicagonow.com) The expression, "the smoking lamp is lighted," is older than the United States of America. It is the word that is "passed" when it is all right to light up a cigarette, pipe or stogie.
When it's time to stop smoking (e.g. during the loading of ammunition), the word is "the smoking lamp is out.
Now the Navy is moving to end the "epidemic" of smoking in the ranks of the Navy and Marine Corps. This makes the smoking police very happy... Continued

E-cigarettes draw fire from state legislatures

(Cspnet) A growing number of states are taking aim at electronic cigarettes in the absence of federal regulations, intensifying a public-health debate over the fast-growing alternative to traditional cigarettes, reported the Wall Street Journal.
Lawmakers in more than half a dozen states from Arizona to New York have introduced legislation this year that would prohibit the sale of e-cigarettes to minors. Bills in Alabama, Kentucky, Mississippi and Utah would extend smoking bans in public areas to include e-cigarettes, and politicians in other states have proposed special taxes and halting Internet sales. Continued

Tobacco health labels unconstitutional: U.S. judge

(Reuters) A U.S. judge sided with tobacco companies on Wednesday, ruling that regulations requiring large graphic health warnings on cigarette packaging and advertising violate free-speech rights under the U.S. Constitution.
... While educating the public about the dangers of smoking "might be compelling, an interest in simply advocating that the public not purchase a legal product is not," Leon wrote in a 19-page ruling. Continued

Courts Weigh in Favorably for RYO Cigarette Stores

(CSP) On February 24, 2012, two state courts ruled in favor of roll-your-own (RYO) tobacco retailers on cases brought to them by retailers offering rental of RYO cigarette machines.
In the two cases filed in Connecticut and Wisconsin, the retailers challenged their respective states' legal basis for classifying them as "manufacturers of tobacco products."
Such classification potentially carries with it regulatory and tax requirements that would put the shops out of business, said a statement release by RYO Machine LLC. Continued

Rocklin Considering Banning Residents From Smoking Outside Their Own Homes

ROCKLIN (CBS13) A Placer County town is considering a ban on smoking that some say goes way too far.
The Rocklin City Council is considering making it against the law for smokers to smoke anywhere outside on their property. Continued

Wis. judge issues injunction on tobacco crackdown

MADISON (AP) A Dane County judge has issued a temporary injunction blocking a state crackdown on roll-your-own cigarette machines.
Robert Petersen, owner of Rib Mountain Tobacco and Liquor, filed a lawsuit last year after the state Department of Revenue told machine owners they need manufacturing and distribution permits to operate. Petersen argues machine owners sell loose tobacco and leave the manufacturing to customers. Continued