Cigarette Makers and Retailers Sue to Block Rule Requiring Antismoking Posters

The nation’s three big tobacco companies, and trade associations representing hundreds of New York City bodegas and convenience stores, are challenging the city’s latest salvo in the antismoking wars: graphic images of diseased brains, lungs and teeth that are posted where cigarettes are sold.

The tobacco companies — Philip Morris, Lorillard and R. J. Reynolds which is the manufacturer of Camel cigarettes— joined with the New York State Association of Convenience Stores and retailers in filing a federal lawsuit against the city in an effort to remove the gruesome placards from about 11,500 establishments. Since late last year, the city has required the retailers to post them within three inches of cash registers or in each place where tobacco products are displayed.

The suit, filed on Wednesday in United States District Court in Manhattan, contends that the placard rule infringes on the federal government’s authority to regulate cigarette advertising and warnings and violates the First Amendment rights of store owners who disagree with their message, and that the placards are so disgusting that they hurt business by discouraging people from buying not only cigarettes but also more-wholesome merchandise like milk and sandwiches.

“This is not the city taking out a billboard, which it would have every right to do,” Floyd Abrams, a First Amendment lawyer who is representing the convenience stores, said Friday. “What it doesn’t have the right to do is to force other people to adopt its expression.”

The suit also complains that because of heavy restrictions on cigarette advertising, advertising space near the cash register is one of the last places where companies can promote their brands.

By putting ugly posters there instead, the suit says, the city is blocking tobacco companies from communicating with consumers, depriving retailers of coveted advertising revenue and pushing restrictions on tobacco-related speech “past the constitutional tipping point.”

In a statement, the city’s health department said that putting warnings where cigarettes were sold was one of the most effective ways to deter people from smoking and to discourage a new generation of smokers. “By trying to suppress this educational campaign,” the statement said, “the tobacco industry is signaling its desire to keep kids in the dark.”

The city has spent $80,000 to print and distribute the signs in the eight months since the law was adopted. They are based on research that shows pictures are much more effective at conveying the hazards of smoking than written text, according to the health department.

The suit received a mixed reception on Friday at the Corner News convenience store at 40th Street and Eighth Avenue in Manhattan.

Maria Roman, 35, a customer-service representative, barely glanced at the poster of a bloody tooth, stuck to the cash register, as she paid for a package of candy. To her, she said, the poster seemed perfectly factual. “It’s the truth,” she said, shrugging. “It’s just a visualization of what’s actually happening.”

John Pae, 58, a chef, said he generally resented government intrusions into his life but was even angrier about high cigarette taxes and a proposed soda tax, because they affected his wallet.

He said that he had called the city’s 311 hotline to help him quit smoking about two and a half months ago, but that the nicotine patches the city provided were so cheap that they had to be held on with duct tape. He has since bought patches at a drugstore.

“Everything pushed me to quit — taxes, getting older, the effect on my health,” Mr. Pae said. But he conceded that the city’s 311 smoking-cessation program, which he saw advertised on television, “made it easier.”

A clerk at the store, Saiful Islam, said a photograph on the cash register, of a diseased tooth, was so upsetting that some customers had switched from buying cigarettes to buying candy or gum. Many of them were spending as much on soda, candy and lottery tickets as they had on cigarettes, he said, so the store had not lost business.

He said the taxes that had pushed the price of a pack of cigarettes to $10 were worse for business than the posters, because they led people to buy cigarettes on the black market — which he said thrived on the sidewalk right outside the store.

Cigarettes and how they influence us

Imagine walking home one day to smell a thick scent of smoke. This isn’t the same smell left out, but of something burning. Suddenly, you think of all the possibilities. Maybe the stove was left on. ou ask him why he would make such a bad decision? He says he is under a lot of pressure and he friend told him that smoking would make him feel better. Let’s stop and think for a second, you can’t blame your child. There is a temptation and no one to stop him, wouldn’t it be better if did away with the temptation or illegalize it.

America alone has 46.2 million adults smoking cigarettes. Smoking nearly harms every organ in your body. It is the leading cause of cancer. It causes cancers of the lung, esophagus, larynx (voice box), mouth, throat, kidney, bladder, pancreas, stomach, and cervix, as well as acute myeloid leukemia. Every year 440,000 people die due to health conditions caused by smoking. Once you try one cigarette, it is hard to resist. Not only is it harmful, but it is also addictive. Because it posses nicotine that addicts, smoking and poverty go hand and hand. People will spend every last penny to buy a box of cigarettes.


Not only is smoking harmful for the smoker, but it can affect anyone inhaling the smoke. It is known as passive or second hand smoking, many people call the silent killer. Even though you might not smoke, you are still in danger. When you inhale the 4000 chemicals burning from a cigarette, you might suffer disease such as Lung cancer, asthma attacks, and breathing problems. There were 46,000 deaths from heart disease in non-smokers who live with smokers last year in American alone. Plus the 3,400 who died from lung cancer. I don’t think that is fair, there are innocent people dyeing. We as American citizens or just people on earth deserve clean air where we don’t have to worry about inhaling smoke that can endanger life.

Cigarette companies know all these facts and so does congress, then you wonder why cigarettes are legal. Why would something that can kill you be legal? There is a very simple answer, money. To stay alive cigarette companies pay money as well as allowing congress to put a special tax on cigarettes. Every year congress makes about 7.7 billion dollars and states make about 13 billion. Basically, the government’s priority is money over our health.

With all this being said, I think cigarettes should be illegalized. The world would be a safer place. We might even stop worrying that are children might take a wrong step by smoking, one less thing to worry about.

U.S. Postal Service to put curbs on the mailing of tobacco

The Post Office will shut down one of the main ways kids can get cigarettes and distributors can dodge taxes.
As of June 29, the U.S. Postal Service will stop accepting and carrying packages containing cigarettes or smokeless tobacco, the agency said yesterday in its latest internal bulletin.
The agency is taking the move to implement a new federal law meant to crack down on illegal trafficking in cigarettes.
The new rules about tobacco say the Post Office can refuse to accept packages if it has reasonable cause to believe they contain cigarettes or smokeless tobacco -- for instance, if the packages are shipped by companies or people with websites promising to mail cigarettes, smokeless tobacco or loose tobacco for roll-your-own cigarettes.
The rules apply to international and domestic shipments alike. They do not apply to cigars.
"Internet sales of cigarettes is a problem because they can sell to kids and they evade taxes," said Eric Lindblom, director of public policy research at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. "The Post Office was the No. 1 way illegal Internet sellers deliver cigarettes."
Major package delivery firms, such as FedEx, UPS and DHL, will not ship cigarettes, under agreements reached with state attorneys general seeking to enforce laws banning sale of tobacco to minors.
"These new requirements will put an end to tax-evading online sales and impose rigorous age-verification requirements for remote sellers of these products," said David Sutton, a spokesman for Altria Group Inc., the Henrico county-based tobacco giant.
He said Altria supported the new law, adding "it will help states recover millions of dollars in tax revenues they are losing to tax-evading online sales; help ensure that kids cannot purchase tobacco products online; and help combat illegal activity associated with the sale and distribution of tax-evading tobacco products."
Convenience store operators and law-enforcement agencies also supported the law.
The new law does allow some exceptions. For instance, a smoker can return defective cigarettes to manufacturers for a refund, or small amounts can be mailed as gifts.
But the Post Office said all such deliveries will be made face-to-face, and the recipient must show proof of age. Such shipments are limited to 10 ounces and no more than 10 a month.
There are also exceptions allowing licensed tobacco manufacturers, wholesalers, test laboratories and government agencies to mail cigarettes for business or regulatory purposes, if they win permission from the Post Office. The rules also allow for cigarettes or smokeless products to be mailed within Alaska and Hawaii.

Court backs Walgreens' objection to tobacco ban

San Francisco's first-in-the-nation ban on tobacco sales in drugstores appears to be unconstitutional because it exempts supermarkets and big-box stores that have pharmacies, a state appeals court said Tuesday.

But the First District Court of Appeal left open the possibility that the legal defect could be cured by extending the tobacco ban to all stores that sell prescription drugs, rather than repealing it. The court referred that question to a Superior Court judge.

The ruling is "a powerful condemnation of the legality of the ordinance," said Daniel Kolkey, a lawyer for Walgreens, which filed the suit.

Australia Senate Approves Cigarette Excise Hike

CANBERRA -(Dow Jones)- Lawmakers in Australia's upper house Senate on Tuesday approved a 25% increase in cigarette excise taxes.

The increase, which raised the price of a pack of 30 cigarettes by about A$ 2.16, was enacted with immediate effect on April 30 but needed legislative approval. It will raise around A$5 billion over the next four years.

Canberra is also working on a separate plan to ban brand labels and other marketing imagery on cigarette packaging by 2012. Cigarette companies have vowed to fight that measure.

Province's controls on teen access to tobacco 'second class' Read more: http://www.edmontonjournal.com/health/Province+controls+teen+access+tobacco+s

The provincial government must do more to curb teen access to tobacco products, an Edmonton-based anti-smoking group said this week.

"Alberta is the only province in Canada without specific provincial controls on sales to minors," said Les Hagen of Action on Smoking and Health. "We believe that Alberta kids deserve first-class protection from tobacco, and right now they're getting second-class protection."

Hagen's group is calling on the province to introduce stricter regulations to help prevent retailers from selling tobacco to teens. A Health Canada survey on retailer compliance released last month showed that 17 per cent of Alberta retailers were willing to sell tobacco to minors between the ages of 15 and 17, compared with about 10 per cent of retailers willing to do so in 2006.

Hagen's group wants to see Alberta build on existing federal legislation by introducing regulations similar to those currently controlling the sale of alcohol in the province.

He said Alberta should introduce a licensing policy and mandatory training for tobacco retailers, better point-of-sale signs, and a mandatory ID check for anyone 25 or under. The province should also introduce a minimum age of 18 for clerks who sell tobacco products, Hagen said.

"You could have a 14-year-old selling tobacco in Alberta," he said. "Not only is it an issue of controlling the sale, but tobacco products invite crime. It is a health issue and a safety issue."

Minister of Health and Wellness Gene Zwozdesky agreed that more action may be needed to lower youth smoking rates and said he was willing to listen to suggestions from anti-smoking advocates. But he said the province already has strict fines and guidelines in place regarding tobacco sales to minors.

"We haven't had that discussion, but I am prepared to listen to what the proponents are advocating," Zwozdesky said.

He said smoking rates among teens aged 15 to 19 now stand at about 16 per cent, a number he wants to see decline.

"Clearly, we have to do more work to continue reducing that number and eventually eliminating it if we can," he said.

Hagen said teens continue to take up smoking partly because of tobacco industry marketing campaigns designed to encourage them to buy their products.

"They will vigorously deny that they are doing anything to attract teenagers, but you have to look no further than candy flavours, price discounts and slim cigarettes," Hagen said. "It's obvious to everyone that the industry is targeting kids and continuing to entice them to use their deadly products."

Charlene Reese, 17, has been smoking for a few years.

"Maybe you have to be 18 to buy smokes, but anyone can get them. All you need is an older friend or something."

Kelly Allers, 23, is a clerk at a downtown tobacco shop. He regularly turns away minors trying to buy tobacco products.

"On average, I probably kick out two people a week because they don't have ID."

He said he usually asks for identification from anyone who looks under 23.

Noynoy says he will smoke even on no-tobacco day

Not even World No-Tobacco Day can stop president-apparent Sen. Benigno “Noynoy" Aquino III from indulging in one of his most controversial habits – smoking.

Aquino told reporters at the Senate Monday he is not inclined to take a break from puffing a cigarette on the occasion.

“Palagay ko po (I think)," he said smiling when asked if he would light a stick today.

The World Health Organization (WHO) has selected "Gender and tobacco with an emphasis on marketing to women" as the theme for the World No-Tobacco Day, which falls today.

According to WHO, more than 1.5 million women die from tobacco use annually, most of them in poor and middle-income countries. In addition, two-thirds of the 430,000 adults who die each year from second-hand smoke are women.

"We must turn back the global tobacco epidemic. On World No Tobacco Day, I urge all governments to address this public health threat. Tobacco use is not stylish or empowering. It is ugly and deadly," a statement from UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said.

Last week, Aquino said he was not inclined to stop smoking yet as kicking the habit might create pressure affecting his decisions.

He said he was not keen on being a poster boy for anti-smoking advocates, adding he would stop smoking at the "appropriate" time as there might be too much pressure on him if he kicks the habit at this time.

"Noong tumakbo ako, alam ng taumbayan [na] naninigarilyo ako. At the appropriate time na hihinto ako, titigil ako. So long as nako-control ako sa mga batas at wala akong naiistorbo baka parte ito ng kalayaan kong natitira," Aquino said.

(When I ran for the presidency, everyone knew I was a smoker. I will kick the habit at the appropriate time. As long as I follow the controls of the laws and I don't disturb other people, then maybe this is a part of what remains of my freedom.)

Pressures from the industry

As the world marks World No-Tobacco Day, anti-tobacco advocates advised Aquino not to be swayed by pressures from the tobacco industry once he assumes office next June 30.

The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control Alliance Philippines (FCAP) said that if Aquino thinks he is facing much pressure from well-meaning people to quit smoking, the more he would be pressed by the demands of tobacco companies.

“It is with the tobacco industry that he should be cautious about. This industry is bent on influencing the public sphere to ensure that it will continue to sell cigarettes while the government’s health agency deals with the increasing number of deaths due to smoking-related diseases," said Dr. Maricar Limpin, FCAP executive director, in an article posted on the Health Department website.

The president-apparent should keep his doors open to professional help, if he really wants to quit smoking, Limpin added.

A pulmonolgist, Limpin said programs on how to stop smoking are available in government and private hospitals

Kicking the habit is difficult because of the addiction to nicotine, according to her.

Trying to quit now would not add “stress" to Aquino’s life, as he claims, but he should exercise the willpower to stop, she said.

Young people as the target of tobacco companies these days have no idea about the harmful effects of smoking to their health, Limpin said.

"The tobacco industry does not want to stipulate clearly the fatal impact of tobacco on the consumers, lest they lose the profits they currently enjoy," she said.

How to quit

While the WHO's Tobacco-Free Initiative said Aquino could pick several options as a "patient" who needs to stop smoking, it reminded him that his parents had symptoms of exposure to cigarette smoke.

"(From) his public statements, it seems that Mr. Aquino is aware that he is not only damaging his own health but is setting a poor example to his fellow-countrymen and fellow-countrywomen and has expressed a desire to quit," WHO Tobacco-Free Initiative Western Pacific regional adviser Susan Mercado said in an article posted on the Department of Health website.

She noted that former Sen. Benigno "Ninoy" Aquino Jr. suffered a heart attack while the late President Corazon C. Aquino had colorectal cancer. "Both of these conditions have been linked to cigarette smoke exposure," she said.

Mercado said that with the coming into force of the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (WHO FCTC) in 2005, anti-smoking programs have changed dramatically.

"In the past, smoking and quitting were left to the individual smoker. Today, because of the WHO FCTC, it is also government's responsibility and mandate to control tobacco use," she said.

Unfinished agenda

Mercado said it took 17 years from 1987 for the first anti-smoking bill in the Philippines to get passed into law.

Now, she said there is a huge unfinished agenda for the Philippine government to comply with the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.

"Noynoy Aquino is a smoker like 17 million other Filipinos. Like others who were born in the 1960s, he grew up in an environment where smoking was the norm – even among role models like priests, doctors, businessmen, scientists, scholars, actors, athletes," she noted.

Women’s groups also scored the tobacco industry over deceptive marketing gimmicks to lure more women into smoking.

The groups representing the urban poor and farmers sectors said this puts the lives of Filipino women, especially the young, in danger.

“More young women will be convinced to embrace this addiction if the government fails to decisively act and prevent the tobacco industry from further victimizing our young children. The government cannot afford to stay at the sidelines while the industry continues to prey on our children," said WomanHealth Philippines national coordinator Ana Maria Nemenzo, in an article posted on the Department of Health website.

Women smokers

Meanwhile, the 2009 Global Adult Tobacco Survey reported that 2.8 million Filipino women 15 years and older were smokers.

“We urge Health Secretary Cabral to institute administrative measures to put more effective health information in cigarette packs to effectively counter the aggressive marketing strategies of the tobacco industry. The statistics on girls as young as 13 years becoming addicted to smoking is really alarming and increases the reproductive health risks for those who would become mothers some day," said Mercy Fabros, WomanHealth advocacy campaign coordinator.

Studies conducted by the Food and Nutrition Research Institute (FNRI) showed the risk of heart attack for women who smoke and use oral contraceptives was greater than for non-smokers.

The studies also found that pregnant women who smoke were twice as likely to have a miscarriage during pregnancy.