As of July 2010, the tax on other tobacco products will go from 75 percent of the taxable sales price to 95 percent. There are exceptions for cigars. The levy on big cigars is not to exceed .65 cent per smoke. The state Legislature is adding $1 to the price of a pack of cigarettes. The House and Senate both passed a higher tobacco tax on Monday night, April 12th as lawmakers worked to wrap up their special legislative session.
Sen. Rodney Tom, D-Bellevue, said the increased taxes were intended to send a message about the hazards of smoking. "If you look at tobacco smoking - the actual medical costs of a pack of cigarettes is just over $8.50," he said. Tom said smoking-related medical expenses cost the state $2 billion a year.
But Sen. Cheryl Pflug, R-Maple Valley, said majority Democrats were being hypocritical. "Make speeches about how much we dislike people smoking, (but) what you'll notice here, we're not making it illegal..we're just raising the tax on it," she said. "Why don't we stop it? ...is it the millions of dollars the state of Washington makes on cigarettes? We have a budget that does not balance without cigarette and tobacco product taxes...If you want to know who's profiting on the human misery that we're talking about, it's government."
Lawmakers hope to bring in more than $100 million over the next two years from cigarette and tobacco taxes.
The Senate made a minor technical amendment to the bill that must be signed off on by the House.
Democrats said the measure would raise money and discourage smoking, while Republicans said it could just drive tobacco purchases to other state
References: Holy smokes: Lawmakers OK big tobacco tax hike by Chris Grygie, seattlepi.com, 4/12/2010; WA lawmakers OK $1-per-pack cigarette tax hike, The Associated Press - The Olympian, 4/12/2010; • Published April 12, 2010.
Washington State - some related new briefs:
Washington State - R.J. Reynolds found guilty of violating ban on cartoons..;
Weight-based taxation of moist snuff.,
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Washington State - increase in tax on all tobacco products..
India - increasing taxes on cigarettes and bidis to save lives..
The report Economics of Tobacco and Tobacco Taxation in India was released today at the India International Centre by two of its authors, Dr. Govinda Rao of the National Institute for Public Finance and Policy [NIPFP] in New Delhi and Dr. Prabhat Jha of the Centre for Global Health Research [CGHR] in Toronto. The work was funded by the Bloomberg Global initiative to reduce tobacco. (To view the report:
The Economics of Tobacco and
Tobacco Taxation in India)
India makes critical decision on education that will help convince children not to use tobacco. The government on Thursday, April 1st brought into force a new law that makes education free and compulsory for every child from age 6 to 14—the latest government initiative aimed at harnessing the economic potential of its young population. About a third of India's 1.2 billion people are under the age of 14, one of the highest ratios in the world. (Joining hands in the interest of children, Kapil Sibal, The Hindu, 1/31/2010)
"Consuming tobacco in any form is detrimental to an individual’s health, and has been shown to be a cause for many serious diseases,” says Dr. Rao, “Identifying measures to dissuade consumption should be a high priority.”
The report points out that by 2020 more than 38.4 million beedi smokers and 13.2 million cigarette smokers are likely to die prematurely due to smoking. “The recommendations include increasing taxes on beedis from Rs 14 to Rs 98 per 1,000 beedis that will increase the government revenue by Rs 36.9 billion while curbing 15.5 million premature deaths due to beedi smoking,” said Prakash C Gupta, director of Healis-Sekhsaria Institute of Public Health, quoting the research findings. The report says eliminating the small producer exemption or limiting it to truly small companies, prohibiting the sale of unbranded beedis, and mandated reporting of beedi sales and purchases will ensure higher tax compliance. India accounts for more than 85 percent of the world's beedi production.
Cigarette taxes currently account for less than 40 percent of the retail price of a package, far below the World Health Organization’s recommended levels of 65 percent to 80 percent. Raising cigarettes taxes to 78 percent of the retail price in India could avert 3.4 million premature tobacco-related deaths and raise about Rs 14,630 crore (Rs.146.3 billion) in new government revenue each year.
Reference: ‘Taxes can curb tobacco abuse’, Express News Service, 4/12/2010; Taxing beedis best way to curb tobacco abuse, says study, newKerala.com, 4/8/2010; Higher Tobacco Taxes will Save Millions of Indian Lives Curbing Consumption is a “High Priority”, Source: The Centre for Global Health Research (CGHR), BusinessWireIndia.com, 4/8/2010.
India - some related news briefs:
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*India - pictorial warning on cigarettes and tobacco products will be implemented from May 31 - no doubts about it..;
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Read more...
Cheyenne, Wyoming Frontier Days is pulling the plug on smokeless tobacco..
So instead of urging people to dip, the event will encourage them to stop.
Directly related news briefs:
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Dr. Brent Sherard, Wyoming Department of Health Director and State Health Officer, said Friday, April 9th the state’s $45,500 sponsorship will buy it an anti-tobacco banner on a bucking chute and other exposure at the famous rodeo. The event held the last week of July drew 192,000 people last year.
“This is one of those areas that seems to be a place where smokeless tobacco is used, as it is in many other parts and other cultures in Wyoming,” Sherard said. “And I think it’s just an opportunity to get the message out about the harmful effects of smokeless tobacco.”
David Sylvia, spokesman for U.S. Smokeless in Virginia, said Friday the company ended its support of rodeos nationwide last year. Sylvia said the company had already made a business decision to make the move, even before the federal government limited tobacco sponsorship of sporting events beginning this year.
The company believes it’s appropriate for Wyoming to try to reduce the level of tobacco use among kids, Sylvia said. He had no comment on the state picking up the Frontier Days sponsorship.
Rod Hottle, general chairman of Frontier Days in Cheyenne, said Friday the tobacco company had been a great sponsor for many years. “It was purely on our part a business decision to seek other sponsorship,” Hottle said. Hottle said the rodeo looks forward to putting out a message that people who attend should be healthy. The rodeo will continue to sell beer, he said.
Reference: Frontier Days pulls the plug on smokeless tobacco by The Associated Press, gillettenewsrecord.com, 4/11/2010.
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Muscat, Oman - no smoking in closed public areas..
Image Credit: Gulf News Archive..
The municipality’s decision No. 2/2009 to ban smoking in closed public areas will be imposed with the help of the Ministry of Health and other government departments. ‘Closed Public Places' include: shopping malls, restaurants, coffee shops, and industrial and commercial establishments, effectively become ‘no-smoking zones' under Muscat Municipality's new crackdown on tobacco use
What I love about the new law is that not only will the smoker be fined 100-300 rials but the establishment itself can be fined 100-300 rials if the law is not enforced. (Andy in Oman -
Smokers, BEWARE! Non-Smokers, REJOICE!!!, April 2, 2010)
“The ban is applicable to all enclosed and semi-enclosed public places such as workplaces, hotels, shopping malls, hospitals, educational institutions, and restaurants”, Qais bin Sulaiman al Kushri, Director, Health Affairs, Muscat Municipality, told the Observer.
Some of the shopping malls, restaurants and coffee shops in town have already placed “no smoking” boards and signages. “We are taking this ban seriously and we started implementing it a few weeks ago,” said Joseph Rodricks, assistant manager of The Golden Oryx restaurant chain. “A majority of our customers come to our restaurant with their families. Only a few of them smoke and we used to offer them some special areas. But now, we have removed the ash trays from the smoking corners,” he said. The restaurant, which used to sell cigarettes to customers at their request, is now planning to stop the sale.
Ibrahim Al Qassimi, General Manager, Muscat City Centre, believes the ban will have a positive effect on the visitors and the time they spend in the mall. The ban will also extend to chewing and sniffing all tobacco products and retailers could face tougher penalties for selling tobacco products to under 18s, including jail sentences, he said.
Many countries with a similar ban have managed to reduce number of smokers in their societies”. Dr Asya al Riyami, Director of Research & Studies, Ministry of Health said Oman’s government offices are already smoke-free zones. Since the risk is same everywhere, the current ban on commercial establishments in Muscat needs to be extended to other regions of the country as well”. The aim is to provide a healthy atmosphere at public places, she added.
References: Muscat Municipality’s ban on smoking in public places welcomed, Oman Daily Observer, 3/31/2010; Happy to be smoke-free Team OT feels the pulse of a city getting set for a ban on smoking in closed public areas, Inputs by Rejimon K and Anupama Arunkumar, Oman Tribune, 4/1/2010; Smokers face fines as Muscat city embraces new curbs on tobacco use, Staff Report, Gulfnews.com, 4/3/2010.
WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) Treaty as of June 27, 2007.
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Paraguay - no smoking law to be strictly enforced - we hope....
April 12, 2010 - Smoking in every closed public place, including business meetings held in private places has been banned in Paraguay. The order has been put to action with effect from Saturday, April 10th. President Fernando Lugo of Paraguay (see image above) made the announcement and issued a warning of serious legal action being taken against all those who violate the order.
Victor San Martin, the representative of the anti-smoking policy on behalf of the Paraguayan ministry issued the statement. Any individual or a public or private establishment that does not abide by the norms in the order will be held guilty under the Health Ministry of the country.
Hence, under the order, nobody inside a shopping area, or restaurant or bar can light up a cigarette or smoke. If he or she is caught doing so, it may result in severe punishment under the law. The decree was passed last Saturday in the town of Asuncion in Paraguay.
Although smoking has been banned in public places in countries across the world, the ban is not really followed strictly by anybody, especially by those who love to smoke. So it is yet to be seen whether the ministry in Paraguay is successful in tackling the malice of smoking or not. Cigarette or tobacco in any form comes with a statutory warning that warns the consumer about the possible medical repercussions of smoking a cigarette. However, it is a well know fact that neither legal restrictions nor educating the consumer has really curbed the practice of smoking.Argentina tops the list of countries that smoke the most in Latin America, consuming 1,014 cigarettes annually for every inhabitant over age 15, followed by Paraguay, with annual consumption of 968 cigarettes, and Chile, with 909, while Peru has the lowest cigarette consumption in the region at 129 annually per inhabitant. (Argentina - Latin America’s biggest smokers..)
Reference: Paraguay Bans Smoking by Gina Gomez, Thaindian News, 4/11/2010.
Paraquay is also one of the top producer of contraband tobacco..
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