The vast majority of people believe the price of cigarettes should be increased in a bid to reduce the numbers smoking, according to a survey.

International experts at a conference on tobacco control in Dublin were told taxes should be raised further to make the cost of the habit a major turn-off.

And one of the country’s leading anti-smoking campaigners Professor Luke Clancy called on the Government to hike prices by at least 50 cent every year. “Raising tobacco prices, removing tobacco signage from retail outlets, removing tobacco from our consumer price index and massively increasing the spend on educating our young people on the risks of tobacco use are all proven measures to combat smoking,” he said.

Hoping to curb smoking among teenagers and prevent a lifetime of nicotine dependence, Baltimore officials are proposing a citywide ban on the sale of individual small cigars, sometimes called “blunts” or “loosies,” in neighborhood shops.

If the public health proposal becomes law, Baltimore could be the first municipality in the country to attempt to improve residents’ overall health by limiting their access to the potentially cancer-causing cigars.

“Hopefully, we can look back and know that we protected young people from ever wanting to smoke,” said Mayor Sheila Dixon, who attended a news conference at City Hall yesterday to announce the proposal. The ban could be enacted relatively quickly by the Health Department, which has regulatory authority to protect citizens’ health and safety.

The cigars, which have been popularized by hip-hop stars, pack more tobacco than a cigarette and come in flavors such as cherry and grape that appeal to a young crowd. It is this dangerous mingling of status symbol, sweet taste and high tobacco content that has city officials worried.

GRAND RAPIDS — Days after a West Side Grand Rapids man died from a cigarette-ignited fire, a local legislator is pushing a law to mandate fire-safe cigarettes in Michigan.

“There’s technology in place presently that can dramatically reduce these types of tragedies from occurring, and we want to ensure that these types of cigarettes are distributed in the state of Michigan,” said state Rep. Michael Sak.

On Saturday, 84-year-old Rufus Parker died in an apartment fire caused by a cigarette.

Fire-safe cigarettes are equipped with two or three bands of less-porous paper, otherwise known as “speed bumps,” which slow down a burning cigarette. A cigarette left unattended will extinguish when the embers reaches a speed bump.

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ALBANY — New York State Department of Taxation and Finance Commissioner Robert L. Megna has announced that six people were recently arrested in three separate cases for possessing 315 cartons of illegal cigarettes purchased from local smoke shops in Salamanca and Irving.

In the first case, Eugene Cabral, 45, of 20 Yeaton Street, Coventry, RI, and John Gelsomino, 46, of 510 Davisville Road, North Kingston, RI, were arrested in Cattaraugus County on May 11 and found to be in possession of 123 cartons of unstamped cigarettes and $8,779 in cash.

They were arrested after Salamanca Police stopped Cabral for speeding and a large quantity of cigarettes were seen in the rear of the vehicle. Tax Department investigators were called and determined that the unstamped cigarettes were purchased from an Indian reservation smoke shop in Irving.

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CONCORD, N.H.—New Hampshire’s Senate isn’t so sure it likes the House’s plan to delay a cigarette tax hike.
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The House proposed delaying implementing the tax increase to attract smokers from other states to buy cigarettes at relatively bargain prices.

The Senate voted Wednesday to ask the House to negotiate a compromise over a bill that contains the tax.

The House version would delay a proposed 25-cent cigarette tax hike in hopes residents from other states, especially Massachusetts, will stock up on New Hampshire smokes. The House rejected a move to kill the tax increase altogether.

Under the House plan, New Hampshire’s cigarette tax revenues would have to fall below $50 million between July 1 and Oct. 1 for the state’s $1.08 tax to go up a quarter.

WASHINGTON-Whoever wins the White House in November, anti-tobacco advocates say, one thing is clear: The next president will be an improvement over the current one.

Over the last eight years, President Bush has often sided with tobacco companies against legislation to curb smoking, they say.

“This administration hasn’t been particularly positive on a tobacco-control agenda,” said Paul Billings, vice president of national policy advocacy for the American Lung Association.

With the lackluster economy, the Middle East and the extended Democratic primary battle dominating the presidential race, scant attention has been paid to the candidates’ views on key tobacco policy issues.

A review of Barack Obama’s, Hillary Clinton’s and John McCain’s voting records and proposals reveals that all three candidates have fought for stricter tobacco control measures than Bush.

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BATON ROUGE, La. (AP) - The House voted 62-19 today to bar use of tobacco products on the House floor or any area of the Capitol controlled by the House — including committee rooms and offices.

The legislation (House Resolution 69) by Representative Karen Carter Peterson, of New Orleans, was approved without going to a committee for debate.

The ban covers use of any tobacco product, including chewing tobacco. Peterson acknowledged the measure has no penalties but said sergeants-at-arms can enforce it by telling a member or a visitor not to light up or chew.

Some lawmakers noted that the Capitol’s fourth floor, which has offices for the governor and his staff, has some chewers. Timmy Teepell, Governor Bobby Jindal’s chief of staff, is a frequent visitor to the House chamber and sometimes chews tobacco from a seat in the rear of the House.

The change will go into effect when House Speaker Jim Tucker, a co-sponsor of the resolution, signs it.

FRAMINGHAM —

A Framingham man choked his niece into unconsciousness Wednesday because she didn’t give him her cigarettes when she quit smoking, police said.

James Bird, 45, is being held without bail after attacking the 20-year-old woman about 6:15 p.m. at 24 Wilson Ave., police spokesman Lt. Paul Shastany said.

On Wednesday, police went to 24 Wilson Ave. after a woman, whom police did not identify, called to report a problem between her daughter and her brother, Bird.

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A Lubbock County jury on Thursday sentenced Kenneth Devroe to 12 years in prison for burglarizing a Lubbock business.

Devroe, 40, broke into the Tobacco Express on West 19th Street on September 29, stealing several cartons of cigarettes and some lighters.

He also has two pending burglary charges against him.

Devroe pleaded guilty to the charge and accepted an enhancement based on four prior convictions, including two burglaries of a habitation, an unauthorized use of a motor vehicle and a theft.

The priors increase his penalty range from six months to two years in state jail to two to 20 years in prison.

Why does Congress think a cinnamon-flavored cigarette is a bad thing while a menthol-flavored one is perfectly acceptable?

The answer has everything to do with money, of course. A congressional choice to ban one flavor and approve another reveals a lot about what’s wrong with our political system.

Some time ago Congress took the major step of claiming it had a right to limit who can smoke cigarettes and how much they are taxed. After all, the thinking went, cigarettes cause disease.

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