As part of his budget plan, Gov. David Paterson wants to increase the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $1 and add a penny tax per fluid ounce of sugared drinks.
Local residents spending part of Saturday afternoon in downtown Elmira expressed mixed reactions to the governor's plan.
Some, like Peter Recktenwald, admit that the increase could coax them to change their consumer habits.
Recktenwald, who recently moved to Elmira, said he has already experienced higher taxes at his new home, and he intends to buy less sugared beverages and quit smoking as a result of the plan.
The taxes will only hurt the poor, he said, explaining that those who can still afford the products will continue to buy just as much.
Among those who would be unaffected by the new taxes is Matt Bryant, who said any increase in cost won't change his buying habits for soft drinks.
Bryant quit smoking a few months ago, just in time to escape the proposed tax hike on cigarettes.
Non-smokers Mike and Sue Harris also said the taxes wouldn't affect their buying habits, but added that they don't purchase enough sugared drinks to notice the change.
Jan 25, 2010
Jan 21, 2010
Jefferson City Considers Smoke Free Ordinance
Although several businesses in Jefferson City have banned smoking on their property, one anti-smoking coalition does not believe it's enough to keep the air clean.
The 'Smokefree Jefferson City' coalition gave the city council a report on Tuesday that showed how hazardous exposure to secondhand smoke is. The report contains results from a recent study the University of Missouri conducted. The coalition hopes the report will cause the city council to seriously consider an ordinance. Jefferson City is one of six remaining state capitals without a smoke-free ordinance.
The results showed places that allow smoking contain high levels of fine particulate matter (PM) pollution, which is harmful to the lungs. The study found the average PM level for public places that allowed smoking was almost sixteen times higher than the PM levels for smoke free places. Researchers also found that only two smoked cigarettes in a public place raises the PM levels to a hazardous level.
Coalition member Felicia Poettgen said a smoke-free ordinance not only cleans up the air, but it also helps decrease heart problems.
"The scientific evidence is consistent," said Poettgen. "There is a causal relationship between secondhand smoke and heart disease. We encourage our city council to consider a policy for smoke free workplaces and public places as a compelling, yet simple way to reduce heart attacks in our community."
One city council member said passing a smoke-free ordinance would not be an extreme decision but rather a logical step in the right direction.
"When you go to a restaurant, you expect clean water," said city councilwoman Carrie Carroll. "You expect your food to be safe to eat and cooked to a certain temperature. So when I look at clean water and food, clean air is just a part of that. It's part of the whole environment."
The report is only the first step in the process of presenting an ordinance. Poettgen said the coalition will officially present the ordinance sometime in the spring. Until then, city council members will hold meetings to more thoroughly discuss the issues surrounding an ordinance.
The 'Smokefree Jefferson City' coalition gave the city council a report on Tuesday that showed how hazardous exposure to secondhand smoke is. The report contains results from a recent study the University of Missouri conducted. The coalition hopes the report will cause the city council to seriously consider an ordinance. Jefferson City is one of six remaining state capitals without a smoke-free ordinance.
The results showed places that allow smoking contain high levels of fine particulate matter (PM) pollution, which is harmful to the lungs. The study found the average PM level for public places that allowed smoking was almost sixteen times higher than the PM levels for smoke free places. Researchers also found that only two smoked cigarettes in a public place raises the PM levels to a hazardous level.
Coalition member Felicia Poettgen said a smoke-free ordinance not only cleans up the air, but it also helps decrease heart problems.
"The scientific evidence is consistent," said Poettgen. "There is a causal relationship between secondhand smoke and heart disease. We encourage our city council to consider a policy for smoke free workplaces and public places as a compelling, yet simple way to reduce heart attacks in our community."
One city council member said passing a smoke-free ordinance would not be an extreme decision but rather a logical step in the right direction.
"When you go to a restaurant, you expect clean water," said city councilwoman Carrie Carroll. "You expect your food to be safe to eat and cooked to a certain temperature. So when I look at clean water and food, clean air is just a part of that. It's part of the whole environment."
The report is only the first step in the process of presenting an ordinance. Poettgen said the coalition will officially present the ordinance sometime in the spring. Until then, city council members will hold meetings to more thoroughly discuss the issues surrounding an ordinance.
Jan 18, 2010
Californian pleads guilty in Blue Stilly tobacco tax scheme
A California-based cigarette broker has admitted his part in a $20 million scheme to sell contraband cigarettes to the Blue Stilly Smoke Shop on the Stillaguamish Reservation.
Rick Conn pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. He admitted that he brokered a cigarette deal between Cowlitz Candy and Tobacco and the Arlington smoke shop.
Prosecutors allege that the Cowlitz Candy illegally sold untaxed cigarettes to the Blue Stilly.
The shop was owned by Ed and Linda Goodridge, their son Eddie Goodridge Jr., and a relative, Sara Schroedl.
Authorities believe the Goodridges were able to avoid paying more than $20 million in cigarette taxes by faking invoices and disguising the ownership of the shipments.
The Goodridges were on the tribal council when they took over operation of the shop.
They were sentenced to prison in March and were ordered to pay more than $25 million that should have gone to Washington state through tobacco taxes.
Conn and two other co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced April 16.
Rick Conn pleaded guilty Friday in U.S. District Court to conspiracy to traffic in contraband cigarettes and conspiracy to launder monetary instruments. He admitted that he brokered a cigarette deal between Cowlitz Candy and Tobacco and the Arlington smoke shop.
Prosecutors allege that the Cowlitz Candy illegally sold untaxed cigarettes to the Blue Stilly.
The shop was owned by Ed and Linda Goodridge, their son Eddie Goodridge Jr., and a relative, Sara Schroedl.
Authorities believe the Goodridges were able to avoid paying more than $20 million in cigarette taxes by faking invoices and disguising the ownership of the shipments.
The Goodridges were on the tribal council when they took over operation of the shop.
They were sentenced to prison in March and were ordered to pay more than $25 million that should have gone to Washington state through tobacco taxes.
Conn and two other co-conspirators are scheduled to be sentenced April 16.
Jan 11, 2010
Teacher sacked after handing cigarettes to pupils... who were being punished for smoking
A teacher lost her job after admitting giving cigarettes to pupils while supervising them in the ‘naughty room’ after they had been caught smoking.
Jane Eccles handed them to a boy, who could be as young as 13, and a girl of at least 15 years of age after claiming the ‘confrontational’ children had ‘bullied’ her.
But after bosses at the top secondary Sir Christopher Hatton School in Wellington, Northamptonshire found out, the 60-year-old was fired.However, Mrs Eccles, who smokes herself, avoided being struck from the national register after a disciplinary case was heard at the General Teaching Council (GTC) in Birmingham.
Colin Hinds, business manager at the foundation school, said: ‘This was an extraordinary and isolated case, the likes of which the school has never seen in its history.
‘Our parents rightly expect school staff to be the best possible role models for their children.
‘Parents should be reassured, not only by the swift and appropriate action the school has taken in this case, but also by the high standards of care and professionalism which our dedicated team of staff exhibit every day and which must be maintained.’
Mrs Eccles had been appointed supervisor of the School Exclusion (ISE) Room, where pupils caught smoking are taught in isolation for two days, in September 2007.
But less than year after landing the role, she succumbed to pressure by children sent there and handed out cigarettes.
She gave one to a boy in Year 9, which spans the ages of 13 and 14, and another, on a separate occasion, to a girl in year 11, in which pupils are aged between 15 and 16.Neither student was named nor any ages provided.
Mrs Eccles said that the male pupil involved had threatened her with violence unless she handed over a smoke.
‘The lad was very confrontational and I was frightened for my safety,’ she told the GTC panel.
‘I was on my own with this boy when he became threatening. He was a real handful, and I gave him the cigarette.
‘When he was caught smoking it, he told them he had got it from me.‘During a hearing with the school I did explain that the child had become confrontational, but I was still dismissed.’
The second incident, involving the Year 11 girl, also came to light during the investigations.
Mrs Eccles admitted: ‘The female pupil asked for a cigarette so I did give one to her. There was no threatening behaviour on her part.’
The teacher, who lives in Kettering, Northamptonshire, insisted that she had only given both students cigarettes on one occasion, despite the GTC committee finding that she had done so ‘at least half a dozen times’.
She added: ‘The whole ordeal has made me very ill and I have had to seek counselling.
‘As a result of this I joined MIND, the Mental Health organisation, and have since been working for it. I have given up teaching and wouldn’t like to set foot in a school again.’
A GTC statement said: ‘At an investigatory interview, Mrs Eccles admitted, and the Committee finds, that she had supplied to two pupils from Years 9 and 11 on approximately half a dozen occasions, with cigarettes and matches while on the school premises.
‘The Committee also finds that Mrs Eccles was aware of the law regarding the supply of cigarettes to minors and the terms of the School’s no-smoking policy.’
The GTC issued Mrs Eccles with a reprimand which will remain on the register for two years.
Jane Eccles handed them to a boy, who could be as young as 13, and a girl of at least 15 years of age after claiming the ‘confrontational’ children had ‘bullied’ her.
But after bosses at the top secondary Sir Christopher Hatton School in Wellington, Northamptonshire found out, the 60-year-old was fired.However, Mrs Eccles, who smokes herself, avoided being struck from the national register after a disciplinary case was heard at the General Teaching Council (GTC) in Birmingham.
Colin Hinds, business manager at the foundation school, said: ‘This was an extraordinary and isolated case, the likes of which the school has never seen in its history.
‘Our parents rightly expect school staff to be the best possible role models for their children.
‘Parents should be reassured, not only by the swift and appropriate action the school has taken in this case, but also by the high standards of care and professionalism which our dedicated team of staff exhibit every day and which must be maintained.’
Mrs Eccles had been appointed supervisor of the School Exclusion (ISE) Room, where pupils caught smoking are taught in isolation for two days, in September 2007.
But less than year after landing the role, she succumbed to pressure by children sent there and handed out cigarettes.
She gave one to a boy in Year 9, which spans the ages of 13 and 14, and another, on a separate occasion, to a girl in year 11, in which pupils are aged between 15 and 16.Neither student was named nor any ages provided.
Mrs Eccles said that the male pupil involved had threatened her with violence unless she handed over a smoke.
‘The lad was very confrontational and I was frightened for my safety,’ she told the GTC panel.
‘I was on my own with this boy when he became threatening. He was a real handful, and I gave him the cigarette.
‘When he was caught smoking it, he told them he had got it from me.‘During a hearing with the school I did explain that the child had become confrontational, but I was still dismissed.’
The second incident, involving the Year 11 girl, also came to light during the investigations.
Mrs Eccles admitted: ‘The female pupil asked for a cigarette so I did give one to her. There was no threatening behaviour on her part.’
The teacher, who lives in Kettering, Northamptonshire, insisted that she had only given both students cigarettes on one occasion, despite the GTC committee finding that she had done so ‘at least half a dozen times’.
She added: ‘The whole ordeal has made me very ill and I have had to seek counselling.
‘As a result of this I joined MIND, the Mental Health organisation, and have since been working for it. I have given up teaching and wouldn’t like to set foot in a school again.’
A GTC statement said: ‘At an investigatory interview, Mrs Eccles admitted, and the Committee finds, that she had supplied to two pupils from Years 9 and 11 on approximately half a dozen occasions, with cigarettes and matches while on the school premises.
‘The Committee also finds that Mrs Eccles was aware of the law regarding the supply of cigarettes to minors and the terms of the School’s no-smoking policy.’
The GTC issued Mrs Eccles with a reprimand which will remain on the register for two years.
Jan 5, 2010
Davao City seeking ways to discourage cigarette sales
The city council plans to amend its anti-smoking ordinance to make it more difficult for people to buy cigarettes.
Among the proposals is to ban retailing cigarettes per stick, as well as on selling these on the streets, Councilor Peter T. Lavina said. This, he added, should make it difficult especially for the poor to spend their money on so-called sin products.
But the councilor said the city council would also look for ways to cushion the impact of low cigarette sales on affected street vendors.
He said a hearing would be set with these vendors, among other affected parties, noting that big retailers have already stated opposing the proposal.
"We need to listen to everyone on the issue," he said, adding that retailers had opposed the city’s 2002 ordinance banning smoking in public places such as restaurants and popular venues for meetings and leisure.
Establishments that want to have smoking areas must provide for enclosed areas and must not expose employees to smoke.
Among the proposals is to ban retailing cigarettes per stick, as well as on selling these on the streets, Councilor Peter T. Lavina said. This, he added, should make it difficult especially for the poor to spend their money on so-called sin products.
But the councilor said the city council would also look for ways to cushion the impact of low cigarette sales on affected street vendors.
He said a hearing would be set with these vendors, among other affected parties, noting that big retailers have already stated opposing the proposal.
"We need to listen to everyone on the issue," he said, adding that retailers had opposed the city’s 2002 ordinance banning smoking in public places such as restaurants and popular venues for meetings and leisure.
Establishments that want to have smoking areas must provide for enclosed areas and must not expose employees to smoke.
Dec 29, 2009
Ballarat doctors support smoke price rise plan
SMOKERS could soon be sacrificing a lot more than their lungs if a new proposal by Victorian doctors to nearly double the price of cigarettes is given the go-ahead.
Sick of the enormous strain smoking-related illness places on the state's health system, the Australian Medical Association Victoria has put a world-first plan to Health Minister Daniel Andrews, proposing the price of a packet of smokes be boosted to $20.
AMA Victoria president Dr Harry Hemley said doctors believed hitting smokers in the hip pocket was the only effective way to see a marked decrease in smoking, the state's leading cause of preventable death.
"We think that given all that's been tried, this definitely will be the single most important thing to prevent people from smoking," he said.
"The unit of cost has proven over and over again the most discouraging thing to smokers."
Under the radical new proposal, Dr Hemley said tobacco vendors would have to be licensed to sell cigarettes, a move the AMA Victoria believes would significantly reduce sales to minors, and extra funds gained from cigarette sales would be poured back into the hospital system.
It would raise the cost of smokes by 10 cents a cigarette in July 2010, 15 cents in 2011 and another 20 cents in July 2012.
Dr Hemley said though AMA Victoria was not of the opinion it would drastically increase the numbers of smokers giving up, it would go a long way to stopping people taking up the highly addictive habit in the first place.
"Minors would be the ones most effected by the transaction levy, making them less likely to buy," he said.
"We want a new generation who don't smoke.
"The tobacco transaction levy would net the Government $3 billion over four years, which would more than fix a lot of problems with the state budget and the burden of disease associated with smoking."
Ballarat and District Division of General Practice chief executive officer Andrew McPherson said most doctors would welcome an push to cut smoking rates.
Sick of the enormous strain smoking-related illness places on the state's health system, the Australian Medical Association Victoria has put a world-first plan to Health Minister Daniel Andrews, proposing the price of a packet of smokes be boosted to $20.
AMA Victoria president Dr Harry Hemley said doctors believed hitting smokers in the hip pocket was the only effective way to see a marked decrease in smoking, the state's leading cause of preventable death.
"We think that given all that's been tried, this definitely will be the single most important thing to prevent people from smoking," he said.
"The unit of cost has proven over and over again the most discouraging thing to smokers."
Under the radical new proposal, Dr Hemley said tobacco vendors would have to be licensed to sell cigarettes, a move the AMA Victoria believes would significantly reduce sales to minors, and extra funds gained from cigarette sales would be poured back into the hospital system.
It would raise the cost of smokes by 10 cents a cigarette in July 2010, 15 cents in 2011 and another 20 cents in July 2012.
Dr Hemley said though AMA Victoria was not of the opinion it would drastically increase the numbers of smokers giving up, it would go a long way to stopping people taking up the highly addictive habit in the first place.
"Minors would be the ones most effected by the transaction levy, making them less likely to buy," he said.
"We want a new generation who don't smoke.
"The tobacco transaction levy would net the Government $3 billion over four years, which would more than fix a lot of problems with the state budget and the burden of disease associated with smoking."
Ballarat and District Division of General Practice chief executive officer Andrew McPherson said most doctors would welcome an push to cut smoking rates.
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