BAT-Imperial deal ‘likely’

Wells Fargo Securities believes a deal between British American Tobacco (BAT) and Imperial Tobacco Group (ITG) is “very probable,” based on a detailed market share and leverage analysis it performed.

The most likely scenario, according to the financial services firm, is that BAT acquires Imperial but divests its U.S. assets, ITG Brands, in a tax-free spin-off to shareholders, and sells some of the companies’ brands in certain markets to address anti-trust concerns.

Wells Fargo believes Philip Morris could play a key role in this transaction since it would likely be interested in brands such as Davidoff.

Neither PM nor JTI would be interested in buying ITG, according to Wells Fargo.

The firm believes ITG Brands could be valued at as much as $12 billion.

A BAT-Imperial deal would result in a stronger, more rational global competitive environment, according to the bank, ultimately driving better industry pricing.

Smoking Rates High in Lubbock and Amarillo Refions

Tobacco Prevention & Control Regional Coordinator for region 1 with the Texas Department of State Health Services Jennifer Hasty confesses that for several years she was starting a new day with a Winston Blue cigarette and a cup of coffee. She wanted to quit the habit but did not know how to do it. Soon

Kansas City Raised Tobacco Buying Age to 21

Kansas City and Wyandotte County decided to prohibit sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products to young people under 21. The change aims to curb youth smoking by keeping teens and kids from picking up the habit Kansas was a leading city in the metro area and it with the majority of votes approved a

Boston Mayor Aims to Raise Smoking Age to 21

Boston could become the latest in a string of large U.S. cities to ban smoking and tobacco use by people under the age of 21 under a measure proposed on Wednesday by Mayor Marty Walsh.

The move to raise the minimum smoking age from 18 follows similar steps taken by some 90 U.S. cities and counties including New York. Hawaii in June became the first state to ban tobacco use by people under the age of 21.

"We know the consequences of tobacco use are real and can be devastating," Walsh said in a statement. "These proposed changes send a strong message that Boston takes the issue of preventing tobacco addiction seriously, and I hope that message is heard throughout Boston and across the entire country."

The proposal is subject to the approval of the city's Board of Health. Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of preventable death in the United States, accounting for more than 480,000 deaths annually, according to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Smoking has been on the decline among Boston teens, with just 7.9 percent reporting cigarette use in 2013, down from 15.3 percent in 2005, Walsh said. But use of e-cigarettes and inexpensive cigars has risen among teens over the past few years. The proposed ban would apply to e-cigarettes, cigars, snuff and all other tobacco products.

Walsh, a recovered alcoholic, earlier this year banned the use of chewing tobacco in public spaces in Boston, including the historic Fenway Park ballpark. The ban also applies to professional ballplayers, both the Red Sox and visiting teams.

Walsh has also been one of the most outspoken Democratic opponents of proposed statewide ballot initiatives that would legalize recreational marijuana use in Massachusetts. Proponents of those measures aim to put them to a vote in November 2016.

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Bellingham Bans Smoking in City Parks

New smoking ban in Bellingham to be adopted and smokers will no longer be allowed to use their tobacco or electronic cigarettes in any city park. The ban includes also cigars. The Council took the decision on November 9 with six votes for and one against. However, it needs a final voting before the rule

Councillor Disappointed after Smoking Ban Trial Fails to Gain Support

 The man proposing a 12 month trial smoking ban in Wagga Wagga's CBD says the business lobby is wrong to think the ban would cost trade.

On Monday, Wagga Wagga City Council (WWCC) rejected the proposed trial, instead voting to implement the state's July 2015 policy on managing outdoor smoking.

The meeting received a petition opposing the trial.

Councillor Greg Conkey says there was strong support for the ban, but he doubts there will be a change in the vote when it comes back to council in a fortnight.

"I don't think so unfortunately," he said.

"I think the business lobby got to a number of the councillors and a number of business groups approached certain councillors, and I think they were swayed by their arguments, and their argument was they believe they would lose business which I dismiss.

"I don't believe that's a strong argument whatsoever."

Councillor Conkey does not believe the new policy managing outdoor smoking, will stop offenders.

"People cannot smoke within, I think it's four metres of an entrance to a shopping mall," he said.

"People are no longer allowed to smoke in alfresco dining areas associated with hotels, already there's a ban in place about smoking within 10 metres of alfresco dining areas within the main street of Wagga.

"Problem is that people are smoking cheapest Camel Full Flavour http://www.cigarettestime.com/camel/full-flavour, and they walk straight past these areas, certainly within 10 metres, certainly within one or two metres.

"That's an issue which would have been resolved with this motion."

Councillor Conkey says Wagga Wagga City Council's missed an opportunity to take a lead on the issue in New South Wales.

He says the smoking ban proposal was to make the city safer, especially in Wagga, which he dubs the asthma capital of Australia.

Councillor Conkey says it is likely Wagga will eventually be forced by the state to enact a ban on smoking, when it could have been first.

"Wagga led the charge some years ago, in 2007 when Wagga City Council banned smoking within 10 metres of children's playgrounds," he said.

"The state government subsequently picked that up.

"The City Council also banned smoking within council controlled alfresco dining areas, and again the state government picked that up."

Teen Users Start Smoking with Flavoured Tobacco

A newest survey reveals that teenage smokers younger than the legal smoking age.  are attracted by flavoured tobacco products. These include especially cigarettes with menthol flavour and hookah with sweet fruit flavours. The author of the study is Bridget K. Ambrose of the Center for Tobacco Products at the U.S. Food and Drug Administration in

Three Massachusetts Towns Increase Tobacco Purchase Age to 21

 The trio of Lee, Lenox and Stockbridge, Mass. have agreed to increase the minimum age to purchase tobacco products and electronic cigarettes to 21-years-old, as the Tri Town Boards of Health approved the proposal at its meeting on Monday night.

While each of the three towns maintains its own health department, they have had a collective organization since 1929 to oversee health-related issues within those communities. The TTBoH had considered two options for the increase, one that would gradually raise the age over three years and a second that would increase it in one fell swoop on Jan. 2, 2016.

After hearing testimony from several community members as well as Dr. Lester Hartman, noted pediatrician and advocate of raising the tobacco purchase age to 21, the board approved the latter option, according to the Berkshire Eagle.

In addition to the age increase, the TTBoH set new pricing minimums for cigars: $2.50 for a single cigar and $5 for any package containing multiple cigars. It also approved a cap on the number of tobacco retailer licenses in each town, with no new licenses to be issued other than what currently exists.

Lee has a population of nearly 6,000 people, while Lenox has a population of just over 5,000 people and Stockbridge is home to nearly 2,000 residents. All three towns are located in Berkshire County, approximately 130 miles west of Boston.

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Virginia Department of Health launches 31-day countdown to help tobacco users quit

The Virginia Department of Health is helping tobacco users get ready to quit by sharing tips and resources during Countdown to Quit Day. The countdown kicks off Oct. 20 and offers a different tip on VDH’s Facebook and Twitter platforms each day through Nov. 19.

Virginia Quit Day coincides with The Great American Smoke Out, Nov. 19, and celebrates the benefits of living tobacco free. “Quitting tobacco is difficult, but one of the best health decisions a person can make,” said State Health Commissioner Marissa J. Levine, MD, MPH, FAAFP. “The benefits of quitting begin almost immediately after a person quits and continue throughout life, not just for the tobacco user, but also for their family and friends.”

Tips cover topics such as preparing a quit plan, building social support, and understanding withdrawal symptoms. The Countdown is not just for people wanting to quit tobacco, but for their loved ones as well. The tips provided will help them support their loved ones when they decide to quit, making it more likely they will remain tobacco free.

One of the resources available year-round to tobacco users is the Virginia Quitline. This evidence-based model offers support for quitting, including free quit coaching, a free quit plan and free educational materials. Call 800-QUIT-NOW (800-784-8669). Deaf and hearing-impaired TTY is 800-332-8615.

“Last year during the Countdown, calls to the Quitline increased 70 percent over call volume the previous year,” said Jayne Flowers, Tobacco Use Control Program director. “Based on people’s feedback from last year’s Countdown we updated our tips and resources to encourage even more tobacco users to take this life-changing step this November.”

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New Anti-Smoking Legislation Proposed in Queensland

In Queensland, Australia, there were proposed new anti-smoking laws which will make it more difficult for smokers to light up. Cameron Dick,  Health Minister, told that there was proposed to prohibit smoking on city’s bas stations, children’s sporting events, in and around childcare centres and other public zones. The city already banned smoking in restaurants,

Smoking Ban Rises Debates in New Orleans

In New Orleans there was drafted a smoking ban which raised hot debates. According to proposal, smoking should be prohibited in Storyland and City Putt. However, park commissioners have different opinions on that — some want a 100% ban, and some do not want a ban at all. The proposal came from Susan Hess, the

Bluffton to Ban Smoking at Kids Playgrounds

Today smoking in parks in the town of Bluffton, South Carolina, is legal. However, things may change soon, because town council members are considering a law that would prohibit use of tobacco in public parks. In Bluffton, smoking is banned in all restaurants and now the ban is going to be expanded to more public

Smoking Ban in Cars with Children Campaign Launched

A campaign to raise awareness of a ban on smoking in cars carrying children has begun, in advance of the law coming into force in Wales on 1 October.

Billboards and posters will highlight the ban, intended to protect under 18-year olds from second-hand smoke. Parents buying Prefect cigarettes online say that the law is not needed because they do not light up in presence of kids.

Health Minister Mark Drakeford said the law was needed because "smoking in cars poisons children".

People breaking the ban, coming into force in England on the same day, will face a £50 on-the-spot fine.

Almost one child in 10 in Wales says smoking is allowed in their family car, according to recent research, although that proportion has halved since 2008.

"Children are particularly at risk from second-hand smoke, which has been linked to a range of health issues, from sudden infant death syndrome, lung and ear infections and asthma," Mr Drakeford said.

"This danger is heightened when they are in the confined space of a car and can't escape the fumes.

"There is evidence that even with windows open, the level of toxic chemicals remains high."

Jamie Matthews from Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) Wales said the ban was popular with the public.

"Together with the forthcoming regulations on standardised packaging these regulations will help to denormalise smoking and discourage children from taking up the deadly habit," he said.

The law does not apply to e-cigarettes or when an under-18-year old is the only person in the car.

It will be enforced by police and local authorities.

California Failed to Adopt Anti-Tobacco Laws

On their latest regular session, officials in California failed to adopt a package of anti-tobacco laws that aimed to restrict use of e-cigarettes, increase legal smoking age to 21 and raise the tobacco tax by $2 each pack. Officials told that there is no chance that this law will be voted till the end of

Smoke-free Workplace Laws May Decrease Youth Smoking

Although teens rarely spend time in offices, smoke-free laws affecting those venues may have a ripple effect that deters youth from taking up the habit, a new study suggests.

In an 11-year study, smoke-free workplace laws were tied to a decrease in the odds that adolescents and young adults would start to smoke, and smoke-free bar laws were tied to fewer days of smoking for youth who had already started. Young people prefer slim cigarettes and choose to buy Vogue Super Slims Arome online http://cigarette-deals.com/vogue-cheap-cigarettes/vogue-super-slims-arome

“There was an effect of both smoking restrictions and cigarette taxes, and independent and additive effects,” said senior author Stanton A. Glantz of the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education of the University of California, San Francisco.

Smoke-free workplace laws had an effect on smoking initiation equivalent to a $1.57 tax on cigarettes, according to the analysis.

“You often hear people say the most effective thing you can do is raise taxes,” Glantz told Reuters Health by phone. According to this study, big tax increases have a bigger effect on smoking restriction, but smaller tax increases will be equal to or lesser than smoke-free laws.

Researchers used data from the National Longitudinal Survey of Youth from 1997 to 2007, following about 4,000 of the people in that study who were 12 to 18 years old when it began.

In 1997, the youth were asked if they had ever smoked a cigarette, and in later years were asked if they had smoked since the previous interview. Those who were smokers reported on how many of the previous 30 days they had smoked.

The researchers compared these answers to state level cigarette taxes, as well as smoke-free laws, which can be statewide, county-wide or city-wide.

Smoke-free bar laws did not seem to affect whether or not the youth would begin smoking, but smoke-free workplace laws decreased the odds of smoking initiation by 30 percent.

“When you pass workplace laws it sends a strong message that smoking is out,” Glantz said. “Teenagers are looking to adults, and see adults rejecting smoking.”

UK Preparing for Stoptober 2015

Smokers in the UK are invited to join national Stoptober campaign aimed to help them quit the habit. The campaign is organized each year in October. Data demonstrates that 20.3% of adult people across Yorkshire and The Humber are smokers. Thus Public Health England is encouraging them to participate in Stoptober, the quit smoking campaign

Hartford City Passed a Smoking Ban

City Council in Hartford, Connecticut, on August 11 with the majority of votes (19-2) passed an ordinance prohibiting smoking in city’s parks and recreational areas. However, this may be not last word on the subject, because there do exist questions on the ordinance enforcement. Resident Ed Burdick considers that the ordinance is poorly drafted, because

A Smoking Ban in Pub Beer Gardens? Stop Persecuting Smokers

It should now be clear to anyone who still needs confirmation that secondhand smoke was only ever the excuse, rather than the reason, for the 2007 smoking ban. Its real objective, indeed the objective of all anti-smoking policies, was to harass, stigmatise and inconvenience smokers.

This is a system known as ‘denormalisation’ in the field of tobacco control and as ‘fat-shaming’ in the field of obesity. Since passive smoking was only ever a cover story, it should be no surprise that the smoke-free crusade has continued long after nonsmokers were given the whole of the country’s interior.

Anti-smoking campaigners get annoyed when people accuse them of being prohibitionists. They don’t want smoking banned completely, they will protest, and in a way this is true. There are only two places they want smoking banned: indoors and outdoors. Apart from that, smokers can do whatever they want.

It was in this spirit of tolerance and liberalism that the Royal Society for Public Health yesterday called for parks, beer gardens and other outdoor places to be turned into ‘smoking exclusion zones’. They made no claims about passive smoking and nonsmokers’ health to justify this quest for lebensraum, but they did describe smoking as an 'abnormal activity' that people shouldn’t engage in if another person might see them, ie. nearly anywhere.

This is a profoundly worrying rationale. If you have a belief in anything approaching a free society, you will understand that it is not the job of government to decide what is normal, nor is it the job of the police to arrest those who deviate from the norm.

With one in five people still smoking OK black online, it is debatable whether smokers are more ‘abnormal’ than any other minority, such as people who join anti-smoking groups, but even if they were, being a member of a harmless, if self-harming, minority does not justify state persecution.

The Royal Society for Public Health is suggesting that unusual, unhealthy or minority pursuits should be criminalised in order to set a good example to others. They want people to be arrested, fined and possibly even imprisoned for being poor role models. In a liberal society, the only appropriate response can be made with two words or two fingers.

87% Hookah Tweets are in Positive Context

Researchers found that daily young people mention 12,000  times hookah use in a positive context on Twitter. It means that hookah becomes more popular among teenagers due to belief that hookah is less harmful than cigarettes. However, researchers say that hookah is not safe. The author of the study is Melissa Krauss who is a

Smoking Rooms in Airport in Salt Lake City

Joshua Lewis is a smoker who buys Prima Non-Filter says when he is at Salt Lake City International Airport he normally smokers cigarettes in the smoking room. He says that sometimes air travel is hard and it is a real crack-up when there is no smoking room in the airport and there is no possibility