Tobacco.org

• Big Tobacco's Still Puffing 

With his arsenal of ad weaponry almost wholly confiscated, the cigarette marketer has got to be one of the most frustrated pitch people in the business, right?

Actually, no.

Ask Bob Elmer, who worked as marketing manager on Salem and Camel from 1995 until 2000. "We were told as young marketers coming into R.J. Reynolds that you're not going to be able to do TV or radio, but [if you] come here, we'll give you a lot of responsibilities," Elmer recalled, adding: "If you can sell tobacco and think of innovative ways to do it, you'll be able to sell anything." . . .

Since the MSA, marketing spending by major tobacco companies almost doubled from $6.7 billion to $13.1 billion in 2005, according to the latest report from the Federal Trade Commission. Spending on promotional allowances for retailers and wholesalers, coupons, direct mail, public entertainment and point of sale had grown fairly steadily between 1998 and 2001 before tapering off through 2005. FTC figures also show that, during 2001 through 2005, spending on price discounting increased 24% to $9.7 billion.

These dollar allotments clearly show the path that tobacco brands' marketing departments have beaten--away from traditional mass advertising to one-on-one communication strategies like experiential and direct marketing. . . .

Event-based marketing like this--be it inside or outside of bars--is another critical component of direct outreach. PM, for example, adds names to its smoker database via sweepstakes and promotions, including getaways to the Marlboro Ranch in Arizona or VIP seats to an Indy event through Marlboro Racing. The cigarette maker also activated "Flavor Chase," an online and text messaging sweepstakes that offered prizes every minute of every day during June and July. . . .

RJR had a four- or five-year head start on PM when it started building its database of smokers (an all-inclusive roster that includes those who use competitors' brands) during the early 1980s. The Reynolds American unit won't disclose how many names are in its database but, said RJR spokesman David Howard, "When it comes to direct marketing to consumers, we sort of are the gold standard in this area.

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Pub owners in low spirits  

BANGALORE: In Pub City, youths jostle for space as they guzzle draught beer, blow smoke rings and headbang to hard rock. But the spirits are low this weekend at many watering holes.

The ban on smoking was in ample evidence in pubs and bars across the city, with fewer patrons, and owners jittery about their weekend businesses. . . .

“Drinks are said to go hand in hand with the smoke. This ban is sure to affect our business,’’ said R S Dharmendhar. manager of Amoeba on Church Street. This place has placed ‘no smoking’ boards at the entrance as well as in the restaurant and bar lounge.

“We have a separate smoking zone. Those want to smoke can use this specific corner. Many customers smoked in their cars before entering the restaurants,’’ he said. The scene was similar in Java City.

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• Dedham moves to ban smoking at private clubs  

If you plan to light up a smoke at any of Dedham's five private clubs come December, you'd better keep a hat and coat handy. The only place to puff on cigarettes and cigars from then on will be the great outdoors.

Dedham's Board of Health voted unanimously last week to join 33 other Massachusetts communities that have banned smoking in private clubs. Since few objections were raised, the smooth sailing for this latest restriction was yet another example of the momentum that has built up behind the anti-smoking movement. . . .

While those controversies remain, the battle is all but over for indoor venues. Some smokers have tried to get around the smoking bans in bars and restaurants by patronizing private clubs to which they don't belong, officials said. And some clubs preferred to go smoke-free because longtime members didn't want their bar stools taken over by 24-year-olds, Wilson said.

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La Crosse County mulls smokefree workplace law  

La Crosse County could become the second county in Wisconsin to require smoke-free workplaces if a proposed ordinance introduced next week is approved.

The Smokefree Air for Everyone coalition for La Crosse County, or SAFE, has drafted a county ordinance banning smoking in all workplaces and public places, including bars and bowling alleys. The ordinance will be proposed at the La Crosse County Health and Human Services Board meeting at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Sue Lynch, a community organizer who works on ordinances for Smokefree Wisconsin, said Sharon Hampson, the board's chairwoman, will introduce the ordinance.

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Anything for a cigarette  

PUNE: The second day of the ban on smoking in public places and offices, saw restaurants, small hotels, pubs and bars across the city prominently displayed signboards proclaiming ‘No Smoking’ in their premises.

As confusion over the enforcement agency continued, restaurant owners opted to be safe than sorry. As this reporter went around checking ‘public places’ for implementation of the ban, it was noticed that most of the otherwise-crowded ‘smoking zones’ wore a deserted look.

From coffee shops to pubs, the ban on smoking seemed to have affected business in a big way. When our reporter tried to light a cigarette in a small hotel, he was politely requested not to smoke inside the premises. Most offices reported a similar scenario

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Smoke free law takes effect Friday 

A new smoke-free ordinance will take effect Friday in the city of Portland. The law prohibits smoking before 10 p.m. within the outdoor areas of restaurants and bars that serve food.

Mayor Ed Suslovic will be joined by members of the Health and Recreation Committee and local health organizations in a 3 p.m. kickoff ceremony at the Porthole Restaurant on Custom House Wharf.

Earlier this year, the City Council enacted an ordinance prohibiting smoking within 20 feet of city-owned beaches, playgrounds, or athletic facilities.

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Maine city tightens smoking ban  

PORTLAND, Maine (AP) -- A new law taking effect Friday in Maine's largest city will prohibit smoking within the outdoor areas of restaurants and bars where beverage or dining service is available, but smokers will be allowed to light up after 10 p.m.

Portland City Council enacted the ordinance to decrease the public's exposure to second hand smoke. Maximum fines for violators are $100.

"Second hand smoke is a dangerous toxin, and employees and patrons of restaurants and bars should be able to work or enjoy a meal without exposure to such a serious health hazard," said Mayor Ed Suslovic.

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Cripple Creek casino fined in smoking case 

Teller County judged ruled today that the Midnight Rose Hotel and Casino was in violation of the Colorado Clean Indoor Air Act by continuing to let customers light up.

County Court Judge Jackson Peters Jr., ordered casino manager, Donald Rosen to pay a $100 fine plus court costs.

Peters could have fined the casino a maximum of $200.

"It is scandalous that these Colorado casinos did not and do not take the law seriously," Stephanie Steinberg, chairwoman of Smoke-Free Gaming of Colorado, said in a statement. . . .

The casino had claimed it was a cigar bar and, thus, exempt from the state law that took effect in January, banning smoking in casinos.Cigar bars are defined as those that receive 5 percent, or at least $50,000, of their gross revenue from tobacco sales.

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WILLIAMS: Time for smokers to be ostracised 

The smoking ban comes into effect on Thursday, and not a moment too soon. Now, I say this as one who has sucked (and still does) on cancer stick for two decades, not as a member of the unwashed, mineral water-carrying, tofu-eating, hug-a-tree brigade. . . .

Smokers all across the city are whining that they're being stripped of their rights. All this is, of course, in between coughing up bits of their lungs. But what rights are they referring to: The right to kill oneself? The right to kill others?

As far as I know, euthanasia is not legal (although I support it), and neither is murder (my mental jury is still out on that one). So all this talk of 'rights', is nothing more than poppycock of Palinian proportions. . . .

Make no mistake, nine out of 10 smokers will die horrifically in a Niagara of phlegm and blood and rib-cracking paroxysms. But naturally, every smoker believes he will be that one lucky sod, who manages to go through life blowing smoke in people's eyes and up the establishment's arse.

Mumbai must take this law very seriously. And smokers must be ostracised, not from this hopelessly redundant society we live in, but from the congregation of humanists that pride themselves on living a life based on science and ratiocinate.

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Supreme Court lights up debate 

CENTRAL Coast clubs were stunned by the Supreme Court decision last week on partially-covered outdoor smoking areas.

The court found Dubbo RSL was in breach of the NSW Health Department guidelines for the partial roof covering at its outdoor smoking area.

The department has warned that other clubs also did not comply.

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• Geneva smoking reprieve could last until 2011: minister 

The health minister for Switzerland's Geneva canton said Wednesday that it could take until 2011 to reinstate a smoking ban overturned by a federal tribunal.

Switzerland's highest court overturned a three-month-old ban on smoking in public places in Geneva on Tuesday, saying the move failed to follow proper procedures.

As a result, smokers have been lighting up in restaurants and bars since Tuesday night -- despite smoking being prohibited since July 1.

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• It's all smoke, no fire on Day One 

The Day One of the Union health ministry's ban on smoking in public places turned out to be an anti-climax. Though Delhiites scrambled to roads and balconies to sneak in a drag, the anti-smoking squads were nowhere to be seen -- Thursday being a national holiday.

Dr R P Vashisht, head of the State Tobacco Control Cell, said: "Most public spaces were shut, so we didn't challan anyone. But people will have to be careful from tomorrow." . . .

While the city was divided over the blanket ban, most pubs and restaurants have switched to the no-smoking mode. “We used to have a smoking section at our cafe earlier. But from today, we have made the entire place a no-smoking zone. Smokers are however allowed to go to the terrace,” said a spokesperson at Market Cafe in Khan Market.

Thursday being a dry day, most restaurants are yet to feel the pinch.

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• No smoking at public places all over the country from today 

The much talked about ban on smoking at public places all over the country comes into effect from today. Violation of the ban, imposed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and Distribution) Act, 2003, will attract a fine of up to Rs.200.

Smoking will be prohibited at all places to which the public has access, including auditoriums, health institutions, government buildings, restaurants, courts, public conveyances, public transport, stadiums, railway stations, bus stops, workplaces, shopping malls, refreshment rooms, discotheques, pubs and airport lounges. The ban will not cover open spaces.

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• Appeals court reverses smoking ban on Phoenix cigar shop 

The Arizona Court of Appeals on Sept. 30 delivered a blow against the regulatory powers of the Arizona Department of Health Services by declaring that a luxury Phoenix tobacco shop and bar is exempt from the statewide smoking ban in public places.

The ruling overturns a Maricopa County Superior Court judge's decision in March that validated the department's argument that constructing a bar within Magnum's Cigar, Wine and Liquor Emporium nullified its exclusion from 2006 voter-approved Smoke-Free Act.

The act included several exceptions to the smoking ban, including retail tobacco shops that generate a majority of their sales from tobacco and related accessories. Under the law, retail tobacco shops also must have physical separations to prevent smoke from drifting into areas where smoking is prohibited.

The appeals court found no basis for the department's interpretation of the 2006 act that would forbid smoking in a tobacco shop that sells alcohol or also operates as a bar. . . .

"Although the act specifies that the majority of a retail tobacco store's sales must be from tobacco products and accessories, it places no restrictions on the source of the other 49.9 percent sales," wrote Judge John Gemmill.

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Greg Sellnow: How's the smoking ban rank with you?  

Wednesday is the one-year anniversary of the statewide smoking ban, and a new survey conducted by ClearWay Minnesota indicates that 77 percent of Minnesota's residents support it.

The percentage of those who back the Freedom to Breathe Act here in southern Minnesota is even higher: 79 percent. The survey results show strong support for the ban among all demographic groups.

Still, some candidates for the Legislature and others have made passage of the smoking ban a campaign issue, saying it's just another example of government overstepping its bounds. . . .

I believe in the free-market system. But one reason our form of government has worked so well for more than 230 years is that the people who represent us in Congress and on city councils and county boards have done a pretty good job balancing the need for businesses and individuals to make decisions for themselves with the need for the government to protect and serve its citizens.

So when multiple studies concluded that second-hand smoke is a danger to those who work in bars, restaurants and other public establishments, a statewide smoking ban became a no-brainer for the Legislature.

To me, this law is no different than those requiring inspections of restaurants . . .

So, tobacco use is costing all of us in the form of higher health insurance premiums, and in increased taxes to foot the bill for those suffering from tobacco-related disease and illness who are on Medicare, Minnesota Care or who don't have insurance. . . .

I don't plan to write any more columns on the smoking ban. It's obvious that the vast majority of Minnesotans support it and that helped make us a healthier state. It's a done deal.

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