2009-04-24

Tobacco Trust

Natasha Davis-Carr wrote the Journal Gazette, because she wanted to know that the high incidence of cancer among their relatives and neighbors. Replying to a question of Health looked at cancer rates in your zip code and found high levels of lung cancer. Assessment of potential environmental causes, such as industrial contamination does not explain it.

When health care workers carefully examined the prevalence of cigarette smoking in the ZIP code, which covers the neighborhood, environmental hazards arise whether - about the dangers of living in poor, working class quarter in the intersection of hairs from the tobacco industry in marketing strategy. This makes it by a public health officials to target smoking cigarettes as they would target contaminated soil, contaminated a pond or a smokestack billowing noxious fumes.

Michael Schroeder, two of the investigation of cancer cases in the 46803 ZIP code shows almost undeniable link between poverty and lung cancer. Throughout the county, the poorest and least educated ZIP code areas had high rates of lung cancer, even if it is adjusted for age differences. And the link between smoking and lung cancer is not in doubt: Smoking accounts for 87 per cent of deaths from lung cancer, according to the Association of American light.

In the latest census figures show that more than 30 percent of residents in the region of 46,803 live below the poverty line, where the median household income of $ 23,974 was the lowest in Fort Wayne, and far below the state median income of $ 41,567. This working class demographic also describes favorite sector market cigarettes to persons under Karla Sneegas, executive director of Indiana Tobacco Prevention and cessation.

"This is particularly the demographic focus heavily on the tobacco industry with their marketing and promotion," she said Schroeder.

Journal of Tobacco Control reinforces its approval, Philip Morris, with reference to the documents relating to an advertising campaign aimed at women who earn less than $ 30,000 a year, and the RJ Reynolds campaign aimed at working class women.

This advertising campaign is extensive. Last year, the tobacco industry spent $ 13.1 billion - $ 36 million a day - in order to promote its deadly product, according to the report of the American Association of Light.

Fighting firepower that requires a strong public health policy. Fort Wayne in the smoking of cigarettes is an effective policy, and it should be retained. Dr. Deborah McMahan, Allen County Health Commissioner, proposes to make another cigarette smoking cessation program is available for residents with low incomes. Lutheran Hospital currently provides a successful program, but McMahan points out that access to such a program is critical.

She said she would like to request funds from the state tobacco program to stop the creation of a site at the Lafayette Medical Center, where he will be more accessible to residents of low-income neighborhoods.

"The success rate is great", McMahan said about the program, which combines group support, one-on-one counseling and pharmacological assistance.

"If we see high rates of cancer, it really is to us, as health officials to do everything we can to bring the program to those areas that need help," she said.

Public funds from Indiana share in multistate tobacco lawsuit settlement. That would be a wise and appropriate investments are aimed at resolving the money only when the tobacco companies have targeted their marketing dollars.

Small tobacco companies cry foul.

Latest article, "States tackle deep-discount cigarettes," says that "cheap cigarettes have undercut the major tobacco companies and their ability to make payments to states under the master settlement agreement." Nothing could be further from the truth.

Participating manufacturers decrease in sales volume due to the reduction in smoking rates, increased government taxes, excise taxes and their inability to compete with independent brands on price, not because the situation in the settlement.

Supporters of the law to block the nonparticipating manufacturers to obtain the release of their escrow deposits (allocable share of provisions) see this as a way to put independent producers out of business brands. Ironically, some small companies, mostly foreign manufacturers who do not have U.S. tax obligations, to support this legislation because it would eliminate their smaller competitors. These stamps will still be in business, and price their products lower than the big tobacco. Legislation to abolish the allocable share of the provisions would lead to the closure of small local producers.

This law is anticompetitive and anticonsumer. Unfortunately, the settlement payments blinded by some States of the basic concepts of free enterprise. Independent producers propose legislation to make payments directly to the states based on the distribution share, rather than a deposit account. Big tobacco has shown his true colors, working to block these attempts.

A number of States, had the courage and foresight to block legislation to abolish the distribution share. Lawsuits filed by now in other countries to eliminate these TAWS unconstitutional. As only one of them makes its way through the courts successfully, similar laws in other states would fall like dominoes.

Cross-border freedom called above the call to service.

The days when you can take the 200 free cheap cigarettes, each time you switched to the English Channel more. European Union agreed to a couple of years ago that the emergence of the single European market the concept of duty-free goods to travel between EU member states in the absurd.

Excise paid in the UK, should be recognized as an excise tax payable in France or Belgium, and vice versa. Thus, you can make purchases anywhere in the EU, irrespective of the quantity you want and bring it home, do not pay additional taxes - provided that it is intended for personal use.

This is what the single market funds. The smooth cross-border shopping for those with vehicles.

Who should make the duty-free shop at Calais, where you can drive a little further up the coast of Belgium, buy cheap cigarettes by 43 per cent of the price in the UK stores and bring in unlimited quantities, in the trunk of your car?

And here is the rub. Some excise tax may be paid in Belgium, when you buy a package of 20 premium brand of smokes at GBP1.97 (about HK $ 23,88). But this is not quite the equivalent of what you pay in the UK for a package of 20 at GBP4.51.

With funding for the 20 day habit, it makes sense to make the trip every six months or so, the package 4000 cheap cigarettes in the back of the van and save GBP508. Unfortunately, this is not simply an enterprising individual smoker who worked in this for themselves. Since organized crime. The tobacco industry asserts that approximately one in five cigarette smoked in Britain is smuggled, while 80 per cent of rolling tobacco as contraband.

British Customs smoked a bit about the traffic in cheap cigarettes and some have developed stringent methods of solutions - such as the confiscation of any suspicious van, the cheap cigarettes found within it, and everything else that could be it.

In one recent case, Customs officers at Dover imposed not only van worth GBP20, 000, 9000 cheap cigarettes and 20 bottles of spirits, but also preserve for six months in a wheelchair from the alleged smugglers in the 90-year-old mother-in-law.

Was whether Her Majesty's Customs and Excise, that the van had broken down to a question during a vacation in Spain and was repatriated to the automobile association? This, of course, do not cause any special sympathy. On the contrary, the owner may have a better chance of claiming the 9000 cheap cigarettes were for personal use, if he was driving at the time.

The Department has issued guidelines for its staff that is nothing more than cheap 800 cigarettes in one party can not be for personal use. Not surprisingly, the Customs and Excise seized more than 22,000 cars in the past three years.

The EU is not happy. This gave Britain two months to prove that the customs officials, without violating the right of consumers to freely buy anywhere in Europe. As the EU Internal Market Commissioner Frits Bolkestein put it recently: "Cross-border trade ... is a fundamental right in accordance with EU legislation, and should not be regarded as a form of tax evasion."

Despite Mr Bolkestein that difficult to consider cross-border buying cheap cigarettes, except as a form of tax evasion. As long as price differences between countries are a consequence of different levels of government, taxes, rather than a reflection of free competition, not a single market for cheap cigarettes. There are 15 separate markets.

Deliberately stockings in Belgium, where 79 percent of the recommended retail price is British and excise taxes, of course, looks like tax evasion, if not directly evasion.

But the fault can hardly be put on the smoker. It is up to EU governments to agree on their excise tax rates or face a determined effort to expand them for an indefinite period. Otherwise, there will always be both punters and criminal gangs are trying to get their hands on cheap cigarettes. If people could not travel abroad for cheap prices, it will most likely be very tempted by the temptation of low prices of smuggled goods.

As long as the EU insists that there is a single market for cheap cigarettes, and consumers have the right to make purchases as they like, as a policy exemption of private vehicles on the suspicion was inappropriate and possibly illegal under British and EU legislation.

Pounds 800k Docks cigarette carriage removed.

Cheap contraband cigarettes from the retail value of about 800,000 pounds had been recovered by HM Customs and Excise in Belfast.

In 3175400 counterfeit cigarettes were found on board a ship arriving in Belfast Docks from China during the week.

In cheap Superkings cigarettes were smuggled inside lead-lined boxes, which are used to transport a glass plate.

There have been no arrests, but the circumstances surrounding the party is currently being investigated.

HM Customs head of detection for Northern Ireland, Colin McAllister explained he was not only capture them in recent times.

"This was a well-organized and sophisticated smuggling attempt and demonstrates HMRC's commitment to fight tobacco smuggling," he said.

"A large amount of cheap cigarettes seized at Belfast Docks, which follows from the recent seizures of 400,000 cigarettes in Northern Ireland's airports since the beginning of December, shows that the smuggling of tobacco products, not on a small scale, victimless crime. It can be highly organized and profitable, and we are working to combat this menace. "

Mr. McAllister also encouraged smokers to buy cigarettes, they are not suspected of illegal.

"Smokers who think they are a bargain do not understand that this is fair trade losses of the company, the cost of billions of dollars of lost revenue and lines the pockets of criminals instead of funding public services," he explained.

"If smokers buy cigarettes, then there is a strong likelihood that they will buy cheap counterfeit cigarettes.

"So if you're tempted to buy cheap cigarettes on the street or in a bar - what you are doing is not only the financing of organized crime, it can be more dangerous for your health than cigarettes real cheap."