Wisconsin - lawmakers defeat plan to eventually eliminate candy-flavored tobacco..

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January 20, 2010 - Wisconsin officials were willing to use $3 million from stimulus cash to prohibit sales of sweet-flavored dipping, chewing and loose tobacco, as well as cigars, which anti-smoking advocates claim are intended at teenagers. In case Public Health Department got the federal money and legislators adopt the bill, it would establish a statewide move to convince Wisconsin counties to outlaw sales of such products like candy-flavored moist snuff.

Lawmakers on Thursday morning, January 14th rejected a plan to use $3 million in federal stimulus funding to restrict the sale of candy-flavored tobacco products that critics say are aimed at youths.

The Legislature's Joint Finance Committee voted to send the request back to the state Department of Health Services. The department had proposed to use the money to fund a statewide campaign to persuade local communities around Wisconsin to ban sales of products like cherry-flavored chaw (chewing tobacco of the leaf variety, fine or long cut tobacco is called dip.)

A state official said the backdoor approach could eventually lead to a statewide prohibition just as local bans on smoking in bars and restaurants led to the statewide ban taking effect in July. But one Republican lawmaker said the idea makes a mockery of the federal stimulus bill's primary goal of creating jobs.

"This has nothing whatsoever to do with job creation," said Rep. Phil Montgomery, R-Ashwaubenon, who pledged to oppose the proposal. Montgomery said that any ban on flavored products was best left to the federal government and that the state shouldn't be paying groups to influence local governments or public opinion.

Health Services spokesman Seth Boffeli said the proposal would improve people's health and save money on health care costs from diseases linked to tobacco. "This candy-flavored smokeless tobacco is being marketed directly at kids in junior high and high school," Boffeli said. Boffeli acknowledged that lawmakers could simply pass a statewide ban on flavored tobacco if there is support for it but said it was better to build that support first.

New tobacco products range from mango-flavored cigars and apple snuff to snus packets, which are similar to tiny teabags filled with tobacco that users place in their mouth, and "dissolving" tobacco that can be put in candies similar to mints.

"Most parents I've talked to had no idea most of (these products) existed," Maureen Busalacchi, executive director of Smokefree Wisconsin, said. "It's important that teachers, coaches, mentors of kids all know what is out there and intervene early." Busalacchi, whose group won't receive money from the grant, said she believed any campaign would focus on informing the community, not direct lobbying of leaders.

The U.S. Food and Drug Administration reports that in 2004 a study found that 22.8 percent of 17-year-old smokers reported using flavored cigarettes over the past month - compared to just 6.7 percent of smokers over the age of 25.

A federal law signed by President Obama in June bans the sale of candy- and fruit-flavored cigarettes but doesn't extend that prohibition to other tobacco products. New York City passed a ban on most other flavored tobacco products in October.

Bill Phelps, a spokesman for Altria Group, which owns Phillip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, said federal law preempts local governments such as New York City from passing their own bans. "When you ban a product like this, it can have a significant effect on local businesses," Phelps said.

Reference: Lawmakers turn back plan to fight candy-flavored tobacco with stimulus dollars by JASON STEIN ( jstein@madison.com), Wisconsin State Journal, 1/14/2010.

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