Tobacco.org

• Democrats Plan an Early Push Against Tobacco  

The new Congress plans to move aggressively against the tobacco industry in coming months by regulating cigarettes, raising per-pack sales taxes and ratifying an international antitobacco treaty, according to aides for key lawmakers and experts who expect the Obama administration to break a logjam on smoking issues.

The measures, which even tobacco executives acknowledge as nearly inevitable, are ones that the Bush administration opposed, vetoed or declined to act upon but that President-elect Barack Obama, himself an intermittent smoker, supported as a senator.

The steps include legislation giving the Food and Drug Administration broad authority over cigarettes for the first time. . . .

In the House, Henry A. Waxman of California, a Democrat and chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, plans to move quickly with the F.D.A. legislation

"We hope for early action on the bill in the new Congress," Melissa Wagoner, a spokeswoman for Senator Edward M. Kennedy of Massachusetts, said of the landmark legislation, which Mr. Kennedy has promoted for years.

Robert Gibbs, Mr. Obama's spokesman and incoming press secretary, said by e-mail on Sunday that Mr. Obama supported the measures when he was in Congress but had not made any decisions yet about actions on them in the White House.

Matthew L. Myers, the head of a nonprofit antismoking group, said on Monday, "The election of Barack Obama changes everything." . . .

Democratic leaders in both houses of Congress, whose new members will be sworn in on Tuesday, have also said they hope to pass legislation to raise federal cigarette taxes by 61 cents, to $1 a pack. That may even be among the economic measures awaiting Mr. Obama's signature as soon as he takes office Jan. 20, according to Congressional aides and antismoking lobbyists. . . .

As a third step against smoking, Congressional aides and lobbyists on both sides expect the new president to submit an international tobacco control treaty to the Senate for ratification. . . .

In this country, an estimated 45 million people smoke. That number is unchanged since 1990, the American Lung Association says, although the number of cigarettes smoked has declined by one-third. . . .

The Democrats who are expected to help reinforce the efforts against tobacco include Tom Daschle, the president-elect's choice for health and human services secretary, who has been an ardent opponent of the cigarette industry.

And among those whose names are being circulated as candidates to head the F.D.A. is Dr. Joshua M. Sharfstein, the antismoking health commissioner for Baltimore and a former investigator for Representative Waxman. It was Mr. Waxman who convened the memorable 1994 hearing where seven tobacco executives swore under oath that nicotine was not addictive.

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The election of Barack Obama changes everything. . . . I think that 2009 has the potential to be the most historic year in making progress on tobacco at the federal level since the first surgeon general's report in 1964.
Matthew L. Myers, "the head of a nonprofit antismoking group" (sez the Times). Quick action is expected on FDA regulation, a federal tax increase and ratification of the Framework Convention

EDITORIAL: Give FDA tobacco role 

If you're selling a product known to kill people, you face a knotty marketing problem: You must somehow persuade your customers to keep paying for it, and often pay more, but never exactly admit just how deadly it is. If you're the tobacco companies, the solution is simple: You lie.

Now that the U.S. Supreme Court has dealt a sharp legal blow to the nicotine fibmasters, clearing the way for a bunch of potentially costly lawsuits, the next logical step is up to Congress: It must finally pass a bill that lets the Food and Drug Administration regulate tobacco products and the marketing practices that sell them.

This month the Supreme Court held that smokers can use state consumer protection laws to sue over deceptive marketing. . . .

But wouldn't it be better if we had a more effective cop on the tobacco beat, preventing companies from issuing lethal lies in the first place? That's the purpose of the FDA bill, which passed the House overwhelmingly on July 30 and has a large number of sponsors in the Senate. (Before he resigned his seat, President-elect Barack Obama, who admits that quitting smoking has been tough, was among them.)

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• A Brief History Of The Cigar  

Castro's regime (and American attempts to eliminated it) prompted the Bay of Pigs debacle, closed off a beautiful country with a vibrant music culture, and -- possibly worst of all -- triggered a 46-year-old trade embargo that has deprived Americans of Cuba's most prized export: its vaunted cigars.

Though Cuban cigars are perhaps the world's most revered, the stogie probably didn't originate on the island. Cigar smoking first took hold elsewhere in the Americas--exactly where and when remains uncertain. . . .

Ulysses S. Grant's cigar habit proved his undoing, saddling him with the throat cancer that killed him. And Freud was a chimney: Patients on his couch had to endure not only running commentary about their suppressed Oedipal complexes but the acrid stench from his 20-a-day cigar habit (which ultimately killed him too).

Despite the obvious health risks, cigars remain a fixture of pop culture. An episode of Seinfeld centered around a box of Cubans, while the stogie's famous champions include Michael Jordan, Rush Limbaugh and Lil' Wayne. Politicians dabble too . . .

Yet Washington is where cigar-lovers looking to enjoy a smooth Cohiba or Romeo y Julieta -- without skirting the law -- can look for hope. President-elect Barack Obama has indicated a willingness to discuss with Raul Castro the repeal of bans on Cuban-American travel and remittances--gestures that could ultimately lead to scrapping the trade embargo. For aficionados, that would be a welcome tonic for the grim times ahead. As Evelyn Waugh said, "The most futile and disastrous day seems well spent when it is reviewed through the blue, fragrant smoke of a Havana cigar."

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• Uncle Sam to Smoking Employees: Quit, Leave or Take the Bus 

A short time ago, the American Lung Association set up a petition asking the Obama administration to ban interior smoking in federal buildings and protect all federal employees from second-hand smoke.

It may be a coincidence. But, effective on December 22, 2008 the General Services Administration, the agency that used to ensure every federal agency had an ample supply of light brown, heavy ashtrays in every building, has issued a new bulletin.

Entitled "Protecting Federal Employees and the Public From Exposure to Tobacco Smoke in the Federal Workplace," this new edict (FMR Bulletin 2009-B1) says that "cigarette smoking is the number one preventable cause of morbidity and premature mortality worldwide. Studies also have shown that the harmful effects of smoking are not confined solely to the smoker, but extend to co-workers and members of the general public who are exposed to secondhand smoke as well."

The bureaucracy does not move quickly. For example, the new GSA issuance cites the 11-year old Clinton Executive Order which "encourages the heads of executive agencies to evaluate the need to further restrict smoking at doorways and in courtyards under executive branch control and authorizes the agency heads to restrict smoking in these areas in light of this evaluation."

After long and careful consideration over the past eleven years, the agency has decided to implement this remnant of the Clinton administration's policies. The new bulletin highlights its new policy as: "smoking is prohibited in courtyards and within 25 feet of doorways and air intake ducts on outdoor space under the jurisdiction, custody or control of GSA."

And, as part of the new policy, all interior smoking areas will be closed as well.

The new policy is already effective as a government policy but agencies have six months to implement it. Some astute readers may be wondering why, if second-hand smoke is such a dire problem, there is a six-month delay.

The reason for the delay is to give federal employee unions a chance to negotiate on the implementation of the change. . . .

The new policy may test the ingenuity of some agencies and unions. In any event, the GSA bulletin does not provide a solution other than to stop smoking. "The heads of executive agencies are encouraged to use existing authority to establish programs designed to help employees stop smoking. Cessation program materials for agencies interested in establishing a smoking cessation program for their employees are available from the Department of Health and Human Services, Centers for Disease Control and Prevention...."

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EDITORIAL: Congress should make the fire-safe cigarettes mandatory in all states 

Few people realize just how long the effort to put fire-safe cigarettes on the market has been going on. Federal legislation was first proposed in 1974 and has been fought tooth and nail ever since by the tobacco industry. During that time, thousands died from fires started by dropped or misplaced cigarettes.

When supporters of fire-safe cigarettes realized the heavy lobbying effort was thwarting federal legislation, they started going to the states for relief. New York enacted the first state law in 2004, 30 years after the first attempt in Congress.

Delaware's new law went into effect Jan. 1, although Phillip Morris USA started shipping the new cigarettes -- marked on the side as FSC -- last summer. . . .

For those who insist on continuing their smoking habits, at least now their cigarettes are a bit more safe in Delaware, and that's a good thing.

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EDITORIAL: President-elect Obama should make an effort to quit smoking  

Obama's example could help others kick the habit. He has the bully pulpit and can use it to draw attention to the perils of tobacco use. . . .

''It takes the average smoker eight to 10 times before he is able to quit successfully,'' said Dr. Steven A. Schroeder, director of the Smoking Cessation Leadership Center at the University of California.

Obama should start the new year with a new effort to quit smoking.

And he should take the nation on the journey with him. It would be good for his - and the country's - health.

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• Some Conservatives Fear Obama Advisers Lean Too Far Left 

But some government experts argue that in this particular transition, a wider-than-usual ideological gap separates the outgoing Bush administration and the incoming Obama team and that both sides are likely to view the other as extreme.

"The incoming Bush people were all about stopping regulation. The Obama people will do their best to accelerate regulation that they think protects the environment, workers, airline safety, et cetera," said Paul Light, a New York University professor of government who has served as a consultant on the transition to The Washington Post. "That's not barbarians at the gate. It's a difference of philosophy." . . .

Besides Achtenberg and Lee, other transition advisers' past positions are sending off flares in the ultra-conservative wing of the Republican Party. None of them responded to requests for comment.

William V. Corr, a vocal tobacco-control activist at the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, publicly attacked the Bush administration in 2006 for weakening the government's prosecution of tobacco companies and its chances for regulating tobacco. Now he is making recommendations for strengthening the Food and Drug Administration's regulation of millions of other grocery and drugstore products, though he has recused himself from discussing tobacco.

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CQ Profile: Henry Waxman, Savvy Operator with New Power Base 

Rep. Henry A. Waxman , D-Calif., is one of Washington’s shrewdest operators. Friends and enemies describe him — with varying degrees of admiration — as dogged and tenacious, and he has extensive knowledge of a broad policy portfolio and the ability to be both partisan and patient.

In the 111th Congress (2009-10), he will get a chance to draw on those skills as the new chairman of the Energy and Commerce Committee, where he will be a major player on several of President-elect Obama’s chief priorities: energy, global warming and health care. Waxman also will have purview over telecommunications policy and is likely to push for institutional change at the Federal Communications Commission. . . .

Waxman has been a leading congressional crusader against tobacco. In a 1994 hearing, Waxman — a former smoker who had a tough time quitting — grilled the chief executives of the nation’s seven largest tobacco companies. All testified under oath that they did not believe nicotine was addictive. The hearing helped lay the groundwork for multibillion-dollar lawsuits against the industry.

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• New Policy to Tighten Smoking Ban in Federal Buildings  

Government workers at federal buildings who want a cigarette break will have to take a stroll before they light up, according to a new federal policy.

A regulation published last week in the Federal Register by the General Services Administration prohibits smoking in the courtyards of federal buildings, or within 25 feet of doorways and air intake ducts. It also bans designated smoking rooms in federal buildings. The policy is to be implemented within six months.

The regulation replaces an executive order signed by President Bill Clinton in 1997 that prohibited smoking in federal buildings but allowed smoking in designated rooms or outdoor areas. Anti-smoking advocates viewed the exceptions as significant loopholes that exposed co-workers and passersby to secondhand smoke, and they welcomed the new regulation.

"We see this as a major victory," said Heather Grzelka, director of media relations at the American Lung Association. "This is going to go a long way to protecting workers from exposure to secondhand smoke."

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• SMOKE2U 

There's something odd about PO Box 365, Irving, New York. Located on the Seneca Nation -- nestled just at the Empire State's southwestern tip -- the box is the mailing address for at least 10 online vendors registered in far-flung locations, from New York City to Ankara, Turkey. Boasting names like BigChiefCigarettes.com, Smoke2U.com, and EZTobacco.com, the sites bear no apparent affiliation to one another, except that they all sell one product: untaxed cigarettes. . . .

Over the past decade, as cigarette taxes have soared throughout the United States -- rising an average of nearly 90 percent between 1998 and 2002 alone -- websites catering to tax-dodging smokers have proliferated. In 2006, an estimated 772 sites were selling to U.S. consumers, up from just 88 in 2000. According to Jeff Cohen, associate chief counsel for the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives' (ATF) Northeast division, it's common for entrepreneurs to maintain five or six differently branded websites to drive traffic, "even though they're just shipping from one address."

Some sites are based in low-tax states such as the Carolinas; others sell duty-free packs from overseas. Increasingly, overseas cigarette vendors drive traffic: The number of sites based overseas jumped from at least 10 percent in 2003 to over 45 percent by 2006, according to Kurt Ribisl, an associate professor at the University of North Carolina's Gillings School of Global Public Health, who has extensively studied online sale patterns.

In the United States, the real action is taking place on Indian reservations. . . .

Thus, even with states' best diligence, cigarettes continue to slip through. "They [the Internet sellers] are resourceful," said California Deputy Attorney General Laura Kaplan. "They always seem to be one step ahead of us." In the latest development, she said, California secured an agreement with First Regional Bank to stop processing unlawful cigarette purchases -- to her knowledge, the first of its kind in the nation. But as Kaplan notes, there are thousands of other banks out there who have yet to sign on.

Online sites are also moving offshore, beyond the reach of effective U.S. law enforcement. In one high-profile 2004 case, the ATF raided a cargo plane that touched down at John F. Kennedy Airport bearing 60 million duty-free cigarettes from a Switzerland-based company, Otamedia. The company's original URL Yesmoke.com was shut down, but its operators simply packed up shop and today continue to do business from Italy. . . .

But given how one site can pop up as quickly as another is shuttered, suppressing the trade has become something of a global game of "whack-a-mole." "We see a lot of sites operating outside the country: Moldova, Israel, Russia, Ukraine," Kaplan said. Despite states' best efforts, she said, "We haven't noticed a real reduction in sales." . . .

To that end, advocates such as Representative Anthony Weiner, Democrat of New York, and the National Association of Attorneys General are actively pushing the optimistically titled Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking (PACT) Act

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• Legislators rolling in tobacco money ALTRIA DONATIONS TOBACCO DONATIONS 

When Gov. Tim Kaine proposed last week to double the tax on cigarettes, he took on a large contributor to state politicians.

Tobacco companies have over the years given millions of dollars to Virginia candidates--including to Kaine himself.

According to the Virginia Public Access Project, a database of campaign finance donations in Virginia, tobacco companies, executives and farmers have given state politicians nearly $6 million since 1996.

By contrast, anti-tobacco groups seem to donate much less . . .

Think of a big name in state politics--former Gov. Jim Gilmore, former Lt. Gov. John Hager, former Gov. Mark Warner, former state Sen. John Chichester, former House Speaker Vance Wilkins, former GOP gubernatorial candidate Jerry Kilgore, current Democratic Party Chairman Dick Cranwell, House Speaker Bill Howell, Gov. Tim Kaine--they're all on the list of tobacco donations.

Local lawmakers on the list, in addition to Howell and Chichester, include Sens. Edd Houck and Richard Stuart and Dels. Mark Cole, Bobby Orrock and Albert Pollard.

The largest donor by far is Altria, the Richmond-based parent company of Philip Morris, maker of the Marlboro brand of cigarettes.

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Christopher Caldwell - No smoke without ire 

About a week ago, the New York Post published a portfolio of photographs of Barack Obama that had been taken on the campus of Occidental College in 1980. . . .

It is less than self-evident why Mr Obama’s forgoing the cigarette he sneaks every few weeks should be a matter of national importance. There is no consistent relationship between smoking and performance of official duties. It is true, according to the historian Michael Oren, that Yitzhak Rabin, the Israeli chief of staff, was taken to hospital with nicotine poisoning at the height of the six-day war, but he was on 100 a day. Cigars buoyed Churchill in the second world war. Whether or not smoking makes you think more clearly, the former German chancellor, Helmut Schmidt, who celebrated his 90th birthday last week, must count as one of the sharpest thinkers and heaviest smokers among world leaders of the last half-century.

Although smoking does not pose any obvious risks to good government, stopping smoking might. . . .

One assumes it is scientific knowledge that has caused the rate of smokers in the US to fall below 20 per cent, and not any rite of self-abnegation carried out by elected officials. But perhaps one assumes wrong. It is not the orderly running of government that is endangered by Mr Obama’s smoking but the quasi-religious role that a confused electorate has grafted on to the presidency. The president not only must do something, he must embody something. He must be a “role model”. He must offer “moral leadership”.

We would do well to remember that moral leadership is not in the constitution. Also that the US has just had eight years of a president who made moral leadership the obsessive focus of his administration. Voters did not seem to like that much, either.

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A plan to get all U.S. smokers to quit by 2020  

All smokers should have access to tobacco cessation treatment by 2020, according to a plan released this week by business and health heavyweights.

Most tobacco users want to quit but need help through medication, counseling and telephone hotlines, said the plan's backers, a coalition of nearly two dozen including two former U.S. surgeons general and three former secretaries of the Department of Health and Human Services.

Advocates say it's a no-brainer for your lungs: boost access to treatment and Americans will lay down their lighters.

"The lowest of the low-hanging fruit is smoking and tobacco cessation," said Ron Finch of the National Business Group on Health, a health policy nonprofit.

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• LETTER: ZELLER: The F.D.A. and Smoking 

Martin Lindstrom alleges that a "key component of the Food and Drug Administration's approach to smoking prevention is to warn about health dangers."

The Bush administration has had absolutely no commitment to smoking prevention, and actively opposed legislation to restore regulatory authority over tobacco products to the F.D.A. There was neither an F.D.A. "approach" nor any "components."

The proposed legislation to put the F.D.A. in the business of regulating tobacco products is comprehensive. It addresses every element of tobacco control, from preventing youth from taking up smoking to encouraging the F.D.A. to do all that it can to help more addicted adult smokers quit.

The public health community looks forward to the day when, in an enlightened administration, the F.D.A. is actually doing something about the marketing of tobacco products that are deliberately designed by their manufacturers to addict and shorten the lives of their customers.

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Altria is on Sale for 15 Bucks 

The upshot is this: If the bill becomes law - and there's reason to think it will, since President-elect Obama was a co-sponsor - Altria's already safe dividend (current yield: 8.5%) will become even safer. So, too, will its earnings growth, which analysts are pegging at 8% for 2009. Throw in the fact that vice stocks are usually recession stalwarts - they've outperformed the S&P by an average of 12 percentage points during the past six recessions, according to Merrill Lynch - and you've got a defensive stock with generous upside. "Given the current environment, both in terms of interest rates and overall uncertainty for almost every company in the market," Citigroup tobacco analyst Adam Spielman writes of Altria, "we think this is worth seizing."

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