Below is a listing of the latest news on legislative issues and anti-smoking movements affecting your personal freedom and rights to enjoy cigars. Get Involved, Learn about the Issues, and Take Action!
Health groups want movie characters to put out their cigarettes -- or get an R rating
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| August 19th, 2010, 02:11 PM | Federal |
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VIDEO: The sultry Lauren Bacall asking Humphrey Bogart for a light in the iconic "To Have and Have Not" is a scene seared in movie lover's hearts. But if a new report on smoking in movies has any effect on the Motion Picture Association of America, no one will have a match in film anymore unless the film bears an R rating.
The US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention released a report, "Smoking in Top Grossing Movies -- United States, 1991-2009," tracking the times smoking showed up in cinema over 19 years. In 2009, theater audiences were exposed to 17 billion smoking impressions. Though it might sound like a lot, that's actually an improvement, according to the report. That year was also the first since the study began that the majority of films did not show smoking.
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FDA Announces Meeting Information and Voting Membership of the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee
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| March 1st, 2010, 01:11 PM | Federal |
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The U.S. Food and Drug Administration today announced membership and meeting information for the Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee (TPSAC). The Committee, required through the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act (Tobacco Control Act), will provide advice, information, and recommendations to FDA on a wide range of tobacco-related issues.
The first meeting of the Committee, scheduled for March 30-31, 2010, will focus on the health impacts of the use of menthol in cigarettes as it relates to the demographics of users, preferential use by persons initiating tobacco use, and the effects of menthol on addiction and cessation. In addition, consumer perceptions about menthol cigarettes, the sensory qualities of menthol cigarettes, and the effects of menthol on how cigarettes are smoked will be discussed at the Committee’s inaugural meeting.
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IOC to investigate Canadian women's hockey team for celebration with cigars
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| February 26th, 2010, 01:11 PM | Federal |
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The International Olympic Committee will investigate the actions of Canadian women's hockey players who celebrated their gold medal victory Thursday night by swigging beer and smoking cigars on the ice in Vancouver.
A number of players, including 18-year-old superstar Marie-Philip Poulin, were drinking alcohol on the ice following the team's 2-0 defeat of the United States. (The legal drinking age in British Columbia is 19.) Players lingered for more than 70 minutes after the awards ceremony reveling in the arena, which was empty except for media and arena staff.
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Our view on cigarettes and public health: Bans on outdoor smoking cross a line in the sand
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| September 18th, 2009, 06:22 AM | Federal |
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Times just keep getting tougher for the American smoker.
As recently as the early 1980s, smoking was considered chic and socially acceptable just about everywhere. Today, smokers are about as welcome in many places as someone with swine flu.
They often seem a forlorn lot, forced to huddle in specially designated areas outside buildings. Smoking bans continue to spread, most recently to rental cars from Budget and Avis.
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Avis Budget says smoking in its rental cars will set you back a whopping $250
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| September 14th, 2009, 06:22 AM | Federal |
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Nonsmokers who travel often find themselves frustrated once they unlock the car they've just rented at the airport. After a few hours of lounges, gates, and airborne cabins mercifully free of secondhand smoke, travelers slide behind the wheel and wonder how nobody at the rental agency has noticed that the interior smells like a Las Vegas casino.
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Occasional Smoker, 47, Signs Tobacco Bill
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| June 22nd, 2009, 09:13 AM | Federal |
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WASHINGTON, JUN 22 — President Obama does not discuss the fact that he still occasionally smokes, a habit he very publicly tried to kick during his race for the White House.
But there he was on Monday, talking about cigarettes. As he signed legislation bringing tobacco products under federal control for the first time, the president conceded that the new law, aimed at keeping children from starting to smoke, could have helped him three decades ago.
Mr. Obama noted that 90 percent of smokers began on or before their 18th birthday.
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Tobacco Regulation Is Expected to Face a Free-Speech Challenge
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| June 15th, 2009, 10:17 AM | Federal |
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JUN 15 - The marketing and advertising restrictions in the tobacco law that Congress passed last week are likely to be challenged in court on free-speech grounds. But supporters of the legislation say they drafted the law carefully to comply with the First Amendment.
The law's ban on outdoor advertising within 1,000 feet of schools and playgrounds would effectively outlaw legal advertising in many cities, critics of the prohibition said. And restricting stores and many forms of print advertising to black-and-white text, as the law specifies, would interfere with legitimate communication to adults, tobacco companies and advertising groups said in letters to Congress and interviews over the last week.
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Obama welcomes bill to regulate tobacco
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| June 12th, 2009, 02:43 PM | Federal |
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WASHINGTON (CNN), JUN 12 -- President Barack Obama said Friday he looked forward to signing a bill that would give the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco.
He said the bill was a "long time coming," and said he was pleased that the House of Representatives and Senate acted "swiftly" in passing it.
The Senate passed the bill on Thursday, and the House passed the Senate's version on Friday by a vote of 307-97.
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House Sends Tobacco Regulation Bill to President Obama
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| June 12th, 2009, 02:16 PM | Federal |
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JUN 12 - Legislation authorizing the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the nicotine content, marketing and labeling of cigarettes and other tobacco products was cleared by the House on Friday.
It represents the strongest government action in years to crack down on smoking, which health authorities have repeatedly identified as the No. 1 preventable cause of death in America.
The 307-97 vote to concur in the Senate's amendments sent the bill ( HR 1256 ) to President Obama, who has said he will sign it. The Senate passed its amended version of the measure Thursday by 79-17.
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FDA Tries to Smoke Out New Tobacco Czar
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| June 6th, 2009, 02:16 PM | Federal |
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JUL 6 - Just two weeks after the FDA was given duties to regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products , the agency is setting up a new Tobacco Division at its Maryland headquarters, our colleague Alicia Mundy reports on the Washington Wire blog.
To kick things off for the new division, the FDA recently posted a help-wanted ad for a tobacco center director. Applicants, it says, need substantial scientific expertise and experience in toxicology, epidemiology and public health.
The real test, Mundy says, will be knowing how
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FDA likely to get power over tobacco
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| April 20th, 2009, 04:38 PM | Federal |
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WASHINGTON, APR 20 -- Nearly a decade after the nation's highest court blocked expanded federal regulation of tobacco products, Congress is on the verge of reversing that decision and giving public health advocates a huge victory.
Earlier this month, the House overwhelmingly approved a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the way tobacco products are made, advertised and sold.
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House votes to put tobacco under FDA control
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| April 3rd, 2009, 06:08 PM | Federal |
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Reporting from Washington, APR 3 -- The House on Thursday voted to give the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented powers to regulate the tobacco industry.
The measure would allow the FDA to reject new tobacco products, restrict advertising and take other steps. It passed easily, 298 to 112, but may face a filibuster in the Senate.
Anti-smoking groups have clamored for years for the government to exert more control over the industry.
"This is truly a historic day in the fight against tobacco, and I am proud that we have taken such decisive action," said House Energy and Commerce Committee Chairman Henry A. Waxman (D-Beverly Hills) in a statement.
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House Passes Measure to Let FDA Regulate Tobacco
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| April 2nd, 2009, 05:18 PM | Federal |
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APR 2 - The House voted today to grant the Food and Drug Administration sweeping powers to regulate the production and marketing of tobacco products.
Under the bill ( HR 1256 ), which passed 298-112, the FDA would be able to regulate nicotine levels, and makers of tobacco products would face tough new marketing and advertising restrictions.
The bill now goes to the Senate, where lawmakers are expected to face intense lobbying from the White House to clear it.
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Obama's Poor Tax
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| April 1st, 2009, 12:08 PM | Federal |
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Why raising the tobacco levy will hurt the states.
APR 1 - "I can make a firm pledge . . . no family making less than $250,000 a year will see any form of tax increase." Remember that? It was Barack Obama, campaigning to become president last Sept. 12 in Dover, N.H.
Indeed, he promised repeatedly that 95% of American families would get a tax cut. So it's especially fitting that he chose April Fools Day to implement his first tax increase -- which will fall mostly on individuals and families who do not make anywhere near $250,000 per year.
Early in February, the president signed a law to triple the federal excise tax on cigarettes -- which will jump from 39 cents per pack to $1.01 today. His administration projects this tax hike will bring in at least $38 billion over the next five years.
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President Signs Final SCHIP Bill
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| February 4th, 2009, 12:49 PM | Federal |
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WASHINGTON, Feb. 4 -- President Barack Obama signed the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) bill into law this afternoon, expanding coverage to 4.1 million more kids and extending the program through 2013.
The House voted 290-135 earlier today to pass the bill and send it to the president.
This was the second time the chamber passed an SCHIP bill this month. But the Senate passed a slightly different version last week, and House leaders decided to ratify the Senate bill rather than delay the legislation further by sending it to a conference committee.
Notably absent from the final bill is a provision that would have blocked Medicare and Medicaid funds to new or expanded physician-owned hospitals.
That language was in the initial House version, but the Senate omitted the restriction in its bill.
Additionally, the legislation makes children of legal immigrants eligible for SCHIP as soon as their parents arrive in the U.S., instead of having to wait five years as was previously required.
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Despite smoking ban, D.C. Irish aim to toast St. Patrick with cigars
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| January 30th, 2009, 01:19 AM | Federal |
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JAN 29 - About a thousand members of D.C.'s Irish community may be exempted from the city's smoking ban so they can continue the annual rite of toasting St. Patrick with a tumbler in one hand and a cigar in the other.
Ward 2 D.C. Councilman Jack Evans has introduced legislation sparing the Friendly Sons of St. Patrick, a social organization that comprises much of Washington's elite Irishmen, from the ban for their 81st annual St. Patrick's Day dinner at the Capital Hilton on March 17.
The city's smoke-free law provides an economic hardship waiver for struggling bars and restaurants, Evans said, but it leaves no wiggle room for a single event, like the St. Patrick's Day gala or Fight Night at the Washington Hilton.
“Once a year, 1,000 plus people go there to drink Irish whiskey, smoke cigars and have dinner,” Evans said of the dinner. “Now they're not allowed to do that. From my reading of the law there's no other way to get an exemption but to legislate.”
Evans is a member of the Friendly Sons organization, though he claims not to partake in the cigar end of the toasting tradition. He said he was not approached by anyone to introduce the bill.
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Waxman Plans New Push for FDA Control of Tobacco
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| January 30th, 2009, 01:10 AM | Federal |
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WASHINGTON, Jan. 29 -- Democrats are planning a new initiative to give the FDA the power to regulate tobacco.
Rep. Henry Waxman (D-Calif.), chairman of the House Energy and Commerce Committee, said today he will introduce the legislation next month to give the agency regulatory control over tobacco.
Waxman revealed the plan during an interview with MedPage Today following a Families USA briefing on healthcare issues facing the new congress.
A bill authorizing the FDA to regulate labeling, marketing, transport, and sale of tobacco products breezed through the House last summer but stalled in the Senate.
If new legislation is modeled after last year's bill, which was sponsored by Waxman, the FDA would not have the authority to ban tobacco as a dangerous drug.
Even with that limitation, the legislation is likely to face furious lobbying by the tobacco industry, heretofore an insurmountable barrier for tobacco reformers.
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Child Health Bill Relies on Hefty Tobacco Tax Hikes
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| January 14th, 2009, 12:18 PM | Federal |
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WASHINGTON, JAN 14 -- The U.S. House on Wednesday approved a major expansion of federally funded health coverage for children – a measure that would slam cigar manufacturers in Tampa and across the country with a big tax increase.
The bill -- which passed on a mostly party-line 289-139 vote -- would authorize about $33 billion over the next 4 1/2 years to renew the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP).
The measure would also expand the coverage to an added 4.1 million children, on top of the current 7 million now enrolled.
The Democratic-controlled Senate is expected to pass a similar bill this week. Unlike President Bush, who vetoed the measure twice, incoming President Barack Obama has promised to sign the bill into law.
Supporters of the measure, including Tampa's Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor, say they hope the legislation will help make the 800,000 currently uninsured children in Florida eligible for coverage.
The measure would primarily be paid for through a 61-cent-per-pack increase in the federal cigarette tax.
But as much as $2.1 billion of the costs will come from a revised federal excise tax on cigar manufacturers, with a maximum of 40 cents on big cigars – an increase of 700 percent over the current cap of five cents.
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Obama HHS deputy has recent lobbyist past
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| January 14th, 2009, 01:28 AM | Federal |
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JAN 13 - President-elect Barack Obama's pick for deputy secretary of Health and Human Services was an anti-tobacco lobbyist as recently as September, a vocation that at least rides the fine line of Obama's ethics principles.
As a leader of the Obama HHS transition team, Bill Corr, who lobbied as executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, appeared to break an Obama transition rule that prevents lobbyists from serving in policy areas they have worked to influence within the past year.
Questioned about the apparent discrepancy in November, the transition team explained that Corr's work as a lobbyist didn't violate the restrictions, an example of how the tough-sounding rules can provide the president-elect with plenty of wiggle room.
And on Tuesday, a transition spokeswoman said that as deputy secretary, Corr would recuse himself from tobacco-related issues in compliance with the president-elect's ethics guidelines.
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SCHIP And Cigar Taxes - A Formula For Decline
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| January 11th, 2009, 06:28 PM | Federal |
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JAN 11 - This week, Congress is preparing to consider a bill to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program (SCHIP) by significantly increasing federal taxes, in part on cigars �possibly up to $3 a cigar. The fallout from the tax increases will include declining sales, employee layoffs, store closings and the potential for rising black market activity. In addition, there will be a severe economic impact on the cigar producing nations of the world, such as Honduras , Nicaragua , and the Dominican Republic . The ripple effect of this tax program has not been thought out in Congress, and you are needed to help oppose it.
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