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Saturday, March 05, 2005
Court date delayed for man charged in B.C. forest fire
CBC News Last Updated Mon, 21 Feb 2005 15:56:35 EST
KAMLOOPS, B.C. - A lawyer for a former firefighter appeared in provincial court in Kamloops Monday, after his client was charged with dropping a burning substance within a kilometre of a forest.
The accused man, Mike Barre, will be in court on March 7 for an arraignment hearing.
The charge against Barre stems from the McLure-Barriere fire that began in the summer of 2003 and burned thousands of hectares of forest.
The fire destroyed 65 homes and forced 8,500 people from McLure north to Barriere to flee.
It also flattened a local sawmill, which provided jobs for more than 200 people.
Investigators allege that a discarded cigarette started the blaze.
If found guilty, Barre could be fined $1 million and face jail time.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/02/21/bc-fire050221.html
'Rural revolution' takes to the road -ON
Lanark farmers joined counterparts from southwestern Ontario in a blockade of Highway 401 to bring attention to growing anger at a host of issues affecting rural life. Andy Lloyd reports.
Andy Lloyd The Ottawa Citizen Saturday, January 22, 2005
TILLSONBURG, Ont. - It was 5:30 a.m. when the bus came to an abrupt stop outside the darkened windows of the Putnam Community Centre, just east of Ingersoll, Ont.
A golden sliver of light was growing on the horizon, silhouetting the grain silos that dot the landscape. A regiment of 36 people, some farmers and some rural residents, disembarked from the bus they had boarded in Carleton Place exactly eight hours earlier. They had travelled through the night on a cramped coach to take part in the latest incarnation of the "rural revolution," a cause championed by the Lanark Land Owners' Association to which they belong.
Yesterday, more than 250 farm tractors blockaded Highway 401, shutting down both the eastbound and westbound lanes for hours at a time between Putnam and Ingersoll. The protest was initiated by area tobacco growers who feel the provincial government's anti-smoking legislation is hurting their business. Impressed with the Lanark association's previous demonstrations, Tillsonburg area tobacco farmers asked the organization for help. And the Lanark group answered the call. These self-appointed rural revolutionaries carried placards reading, "This land is our land. Governments back off."
Their message was clear: Governments and bureaucrats are killing rural Canada with excessive regulations and intrusive legislation.
According to the organizers, the protest was a sign of things to come.
"I think you're going to see a very strong, united rural movement throughout Ontario and across Canada," Randy Hillier, president of the Lanark association, said after the blockade. "People are recognizing they can make a difference if they just step up to the plate."
Mr. Hillier says the bureaucracy in this province is bullying farmers and rural people. "Bullies count on people to be fearful. We don't have fear."
Rural Ontario is a diverse expanse of pastoral landscapes, ancient stone farm houses, rusty wire fences that run along lonely roads, quiet villages where everyone knows everyone else, grazing cattle and sprawling fields. Coffee shops and corner stores. It may seem idyllic, but beneath it all tensions are simmering. There's a growing sense that rural Ontario, and indeed the rest of rural Canada, is under attack.
Increasingly stringent government regulations are provoking unrest among farmers and their neighbours. Some accuse politicians of pandering to big-city interests, leaving their rural counterparts in the dust.
The Lanark Landowners' Association says it's tired of waiting for action from governments and interest groups.
The association's emphatic president, Randy Hillier, is leading what he calls the "rural revolution." Ruthless in its accusations and emboldened by a large following, Mr. Hillier and his organization have launched a campaign of civil disobedience to bring attention to the plight of rural Ontario. It's not a strategy everyone favours, but it's one the Lanark group says is necessary. Despite critics who say inconveniencing the public won't garner support for the cause, the Rural Revolution is pushing forward
It started last March when 800 people blockaded a busy Ottawa intersection with farm equipment. Then in April, thousands of farmers and rural residents converged on Parliament Hill, with their livestock and tractors in tow, grinding traffic to a halt. In June, the association staged an illegal deer hunt to protest regulations that prevent farmers from killing nuisance animals on their property. In the fall, it held two food strikes in Pakenham, accompanied by more road blocks. The association even staged a mock trial in Perth, acquitting farmers who sell unregulated meat, produce and dairy products, and convicting government bureaucrats of impeding their freedom.It seems the protests have the attention of at least one high-profile politician. Ottawa Mayor Bob Chiarelli has called for a special summit this spring to address the discontent that has been festering in the city's rural sections since amalgamation in 2001.Yet yesterday's massive blockade of Highway 401 was the first in a series of threats, made directly to federal and provincial politicians, including Prime Minister Paul Martin and Ontario Premier Dalton McGuinty.The Lanark farmers set Jan. 14 as a deadline for the politicians to respond to demands. Evidently those demands weren't addressed, and the protest went ahead. Along with yesterday's blockade, the association is threatening to block international border crossings and major highways every Friday, culminating with a demonstration at Queen's Park in Toronto on March 9.It's not exactly clear just what would pacify the rural revolution. The Lanark group has asked for an amendment that would enshrine rural lifestyle and property rights in the Canadian Constitution. But that's hardly a short-term goal.It also cites grievances with a variety of legislation, including the Nutrient Management Act, the Safe Drinking Water Act, the Amalgamation Act, the Environmental Protection Act and the Fish and Wildlife Act. Certainly all of this legislation has a major impact on rural communities. In particular, after the Walkerton water tragedy, the Ontario government began developing a litany of stringent regulations to safeguard the province's water. Yet many farmers and rural businesses say they're paying for these regulations, suffering financially and emotionally. Calling bureaucrats and politicians incompetent, ignorant and cowardly, Mr. Hillier and the Lanark association say civil disobedience is the only option left.Yesterday, followers echoed that sentiment. Among them were Bert and Marion Timmins from Almonte. They run a small beef cattle operation. But when they talk about their life's work, they speak with an air of sadness, of resignation." I like to think of farmers as a visible minority," Mr. Timmins said. "We just don't get as much attention as the other ones." When the BSE crisis hit, their livelihood fell through the floor. The Timmins are still holding on to 45 cattle, unwilling to give in just yet. Even as he approaches age 70, Mr. Timmins dreams of better days ahead for the farm.
Like his friends, he's frustrated that governments aren't interested in addressing rural issues. "They think they can ignore it and it'll just go away. Well, it's not going to go away. "Mr. Timmins' cattle are virtually worthless as long as the American border remains closed to Canadian beef. It costs him more to feed them than he'd get for selling them. And he's hardly seen any of the much-anticipated government assistance packages for beef farmers. The Black family of Stittsville shared Mr. Timmins' concerns at yesterday's protest. Laura Black came home after four years of university to find things very changed. "The family farm was not the same as I left it," she said. Her family's steers that once sold for $1,200 a head were only worth $40 after the BSE crisis." You get a nice steak for that price in a restaurant. But you can buy the whole steer for the same price," she said, baffled by the absurdity of the situation. She thinks most urbanites don't have any understanding of the issues facing rural Ontario. And she hopes high-profile protests, like yesterday's, will change that, even if it inconveniences the public."We hope people can see we wouldn't be doing this if we didn't have to," Ms. Black said. "I think we need to have these rural strikes just to let people know we're completely up against a wall. Imagine being told you no longer make $50,000 a year. You now make $10,000 a year. Don't you think there'd be a strike the next day?" And beef farmers weren't the only ones with grievances yesterday. Sawmill owners complained of being shut down because the Ministry of Environment deemed large quantities of sawdust to be toxic. So they are angered when they see sawdust used in Ottawa's public gardens in the summer. A landfill employee from Lanark Highlands said he no longer recycles glass because the same ministry decreed his simple sorting system wasn't up to code. But without sufficient resources, he had to abandon glass recycling altogether. Others are upset about smoking bylaws. Some say they're treated rudely by Ottawa city officials. And the list goes on and on. Yesterday's protest was about rural Ontarians coming together to express their discontent. Decked out in jumpsuits and balaclavas to combat the frigid temperatures, they formed a convoy of tractors several kilometres long on Highway 401. The OPP diverted vehicles onto detour routes, out of sight from the protesters. But the rural revolution did command a heavy media presence.So, do these high profile protests work? The Ontario Federation of Agriculture decided not to participate in yesterday's protest, but rather to take a neutral position. Like most established organizations in the agriculture sector, the OFA advocates dialogue and negotiations with governments, not radical protests. "We appreciate some of their concerns, but this type of activity is against the law to begin with," Gary Struthers, a spokesman for the OFA, said.
"We're encouraging our members to contact their MPs and MPPs, the people responsible for the legislation that is causing us problems. ... If they don't listen to some of what's being said, they might not be re-elected." But Doug Clark, the editor of the Free Press Advocate newspaper, isn't so quick to question the Lanark association's methods." The fact that they keep getting people out speaks for itself. If they were totally without basis, you wouldn't get so many people going out on a cold day to make a statement like this," Mr. Clark said." If I was the government of Ontario, I'd be looking at this very carefully. I think anything that draws attention to the rural plight, that harms no one, is acceptable dissidence. We have the right to dissent, and they're exercising the right to dissent."
http://www.ruralrevolution.com/website/index.php?option=com_content&task=section&id=105&Itemid=158
Sarnia Area Facilities Rank High in Ontario's Top 10 List of Respiratory Polluters
List compiled by Pollution Watch released March 1/05
SARNIA, ON, March 1 /CNW/ - Three Sarnia area companies rank in the Top 10 facilities in Ontario for releasing air pollutants linked to respiratory illnesses, such as asthma and bronchitis. Ontario Power Generation's Lambton facility is at No. 3, Imperial Oil's Sarnia Refinery plant makes the list at No. 5, while Shell Canada Limited's Sarnia Manufacturing Centre ranks No. 8.
A Top 10 Ontario Respiratory Polluters list was released today by Environmental Defence and the Canadian Environmental Law Association. The groups developed the list from their web site, www.PollutionWatch.org, which uses the most recent finalized federal government data to rank facilities reporting releases and transfers of pollutants across Canada. The Top 10 list is based on 2002 data provided by industries to the federal government's National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI).
"This list shows that coal power plants, chemical manufacturing and petroleum refining are responsible for much of the poor air quality across this province, and industries in Sarnia are significant contributors," said Dr. Rick Smith, Executive Director, Environmental Defence.
The three Sarnia area facilities together contribute more than 16% of the over 605 million kilograms of suspected respiratory toxicants released by the Top 10 Ontario facilities.
Top 10 Ontario Facilities Reporting Air Releases of Respiratory Toxicants
2002 (NPRI)
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Rank Companies Facilities City Air
Releases of
Respiratory
Toxicants
(kg) (NPRI)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 Inco Limited Copper Cliff Smelter Copper Cliff 243,097,522
Complex
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
2 Ontario Power Nanticoke Generating Haldimand 144,122,635
Generation Station
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3 Ontario Power Lambton Generating Courtright 52,878,144
Generation Station
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4 Falconbridge Smelter Complex Falconbridge 42,720,942
Limited
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
5 Imperial Oil Sarnia Refinery Plant Sarnia 30,732,325
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
6 Stelco Inc. Stelco Hamilton Hamilton 26,005,065
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
7 Ontario Power Lakeview GS Mississauga 22,078,858
Generation
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8 Shell Canada Sarnia Manufacturing Corunna 15,737,839
Limited Centre
-------------------------------------------------------------------------
9 Imperial Oil Nanticoke Refinery Haldimand 15,277,175
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10 St. Marys Cement Bowmanville Bowmanville 13,281,723
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(*) These pollutants are suspected respiratory toxicants; the list is derived from www.scorecard.org
In addition to air pollution linked to smog and asthma, facilities in Sarnia are releasing other pollutants to the air that may affect children's health and the environment, including lead, mercury, benzene and nickel. Some, like lead and mercury, can be harmful to children's development. Others, like nickel and benzene, are associated with cancer.
"Many of these toxic substances polluting our air pose a serious threat, particularly to children, young people, pregnant women and the elderly," said Dr. James Brophy, Executive Director, Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers/Sarnia. "The community will require the active involvement of the provincial and federal governments to force the reduction of pollutants and ensure the protection of public health."
2002 was the first year that facilities had to report their releases of air pollutants known to cause smog, acid rain and respiratory illnesses. The Sarnia facilities in the Top 10 Ontario Respiratory Polluters list reported releases of sulphur dioxide (associated with acid rain and a respiratory irritant), oxides of nitrogen and Particulate Matter (associated with smog, respiratory and cardiovascular illnesses), and carbon monoxide (harmful to children's development and linked to respiratory illnesses). Many of these chemicals are classified as toxic under the Canadian Environmental Protection Act.
"The Aamjiwnaang First Nation is exposed on a daily basis from all sides to chemical emissions from surrounding industry. We are very concerned about the air pollution list released today which includes three area facilities near our community," said Darren Henry, chair of the Aamjiwnaang First Nation Environmental Committee.
The PollutionWatch partners are calling on the Sarnia-based industries and the Ontario and federal governments to focus more attention on measures to prevent pollution, in keeping with a key requirement of Canada's national Pollution Prevention Strategy and the national environmental law the Canadian Environmental Protection Act. "While industry has invested in improving technology to reduce emissions to the environment, more resources and commitment are needed to promote cleaner technology, including a shift from end of pipe controls to looking at the source of the pollution," said Smith.
The groups are also recommending that governments put strong environmental laws in place to address sources of pollution with an effective enforcement component to ensure accountability. One step in the right direction is the Ontario government's Bill 133, which aims to levy penalties against companies that allow spills into the environment.
"The data shows that there's still work to be done. By reducing pollution, facilities will help the environment, the community and the economic bottom line," said Paul Muldoon, Executive Director, Canadian Environmental Law Association. "Both federal and provincial governments will have to work harder to prevent pollution. The federal law, CEPA, needs more teeth to implement pollution prevention. And while Bill 133 is a great first step in Ontario, the province needs a clear strategy for pollution prevention."
About PollutionWatch (www.PollutionWatch.org) is a collaborative project of Environmental Defence and the Canadian Environmental Law Association. The web site tracks pollution across Canada based on data collected by Environment Canada through the National Pollutant Release Inventory (NPRI). NPRI does not include pollution data from all chemicals or sources. Visitors to the PollutionWatch web site can identify polluters in their home towns by searching by postal code, access "quick lists" of the largest polluters in the country, get pollution trends from 1995-2002, or create their own ranked lists of polluters by province, industrial sector, or corporation.
For further information: or to arrange an interview, please contact:
Jennifer Foulds, Environmental Defence, (416) 323-9521 ext. 232, (647) 280-9521 (cell); Fe de Leon, Canadian Environmental Law Association,
(416) 960-2284 ext. 223; Dr. James Brophy, Occupational Health Clinic for Ontario Workers/Sarnia, (519) 331-7558 (cell); Darren Henry, Aamjiwnaang First Nation, (519) 336-8410
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/March2005/01/c9817.html
Smoke clearing today -ON
But city's enforcement of new tabacco bylaw won't start right away
By Ian McCallum Tuesday March 01, 2005
Times-Journal Staff
While St. Thomas is not quite 100 per cent smoke-free today, proponents anticipate “a positive response” to the city’s bylaw to regulate smoking in public places and work places.
But as city businesses began adapting to a new smoke-free environment, one popular licensed establishment told the Times-Journal it is already counting its losses.
Yet in spite of the vanishing business, the president of Lord Elgin Branch 41, Royal Canadian Legion, assured “we’re not going to be defiant.”
Although the bylaw takes effect today, full enforcement is still several days away, advised Kathy Daniel, tobacco education and compliance officer for the Elgin-St. Thomas Health Unit.
Contracts between the health unit and Iron Rail Security, who will assist the city with enforcement of the bylaw until May 31, have not been finalized, explained Daniel.
“They likely will be completed in the next day or so and I’m not anticipating any difficulties. Probably 90 per cent or better of places will be compliant without any enforcement.”
At the expiration of the three-month term, city council has the option to review the enforcement process.
“You revisit it at the end of that time,” said Daniel. “Most other places with bylaws have found that after the first three months it’s generally not that much of an issue. In other places they find that it’s
maybe five or six per cent of the premises that won’t comply on their own. It’s very low.”
The enforcement process is driven through complaints, explained Daniel.
Those with complaints are encouraged to contact city hall at 631-1680 where they will be prompted through an automated message.
“There are some other site inspections that are going to be done as well,” added Daniel. “And there will be an educational component.”
In the meantime, Lord Elgin Branch 41 president Bill Adams said he has lost patrons to a branch outside the city.
“We’ve already lost Thursday night darts to Port Stanley,” advised Adams. “They’ve already told us they left because of the non-smoking. So it’s already started. They smoke, so they left. About 45 to 50 people who used to patronize our place are gone now.”
One week ago, Adams warned city council his members will have difficulty raising funds for charitable and youth organizations in the city if it is not exempted from the bylaw.
He estimated the St. Thomas branch contributes between $30,000 and $40,000 each year.
“It’s frustrating,” admitted Adams. “You feel like saying. ‘Why don’t you call city hall when you want money next time?’ If we’re not able to raise money, then we’re not able to give it away.”
But, Adams assured the branch will be in full compliance of the smoke-free bylaw.
“We’re not going to do anything silly. We’ll take the ashtrays away and tell people they can’t smoke. The (smoking bylaw) signs are up.”
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=146015
Smoking ban unfair
Monday February 28, 2005
Editor:
I disagree with St. Thomas’s implemented smoking ban which comes into effect March 1.
I believe our council should have waited for the government to pass Bill 164 and implement it in 2006.
The city did not go 100 per cent smoke free by exemption of St. Thomas Bingo Country.
I’m a smoker and have been for 30 years now and am in good health. I feel now that one of my civil liberties has been taken away from me by being told that I no longer can go out to my favourite bar and have a smoke and a beer but I have the right to play bingo and light up. This is not right.
The Royal Canadian Legion should have been exempt, after all if it weren’t for our veterans we might not have some of the liberties that we have today.
And is our council going to help some of our restaurant and bar owners when they start losing their customers because they can’t compete with the bigger bars that have patios?
Council should have looked at smoke hogs or smoke eaters which would have solved the smoking problems in bars.
Smoking areas were already in play in most work places and working fine.
I can’t help but wonder if the St. Thomas Health Unit hadn’t said they would take care of the policing of the ban, if council’s decision would have been different since the city would then would be responsible for the $1,000 to $2,000 cost of policing.
I feel this council is not acting on what our residents want. They should have held more public debates before making these decisions. This bylaw is not fair and is a serious issue. And I for one will look forward to my day in court, because this is not a fair playing field that we have been given in this City of St. Thomas
Don Parker St. Thomas
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=145719
Butt ban kills, hotelier warns -MB
Causes murder rate to rise
By FRANK LANDRY, LEGISLATURE REPORTER Wed, March 2, 2005
Apparently, there are a lot of people dying for a smoke. Gary Desrosiers, a rural hotel owner who's leading a charge against Manitoba's indoor smoking ban, said yesterday he has extensive research that proves there's a direct correlation between butt bans and higher murder rates.
But the province has called into question the reliability of the data, which was gathered by Desrosiers and his brother Guy.
"This is all carefully researched stuff," said Desrosiers, owner of the Brunkild Bar and Grill. "We've known this for a long time but we wanted to make sure we had all our ducks in a row before we said anything."
Desrosiers said murders have shot up in cities that have introduced indoor smoking bans. For example, there were no murders in Fredericton, N.B., between 2000 and 2002. A smoking ban was introduced in 2003, and there were two homicides that year, according to the Desrosiers brothers.
They have similar figures for several other North American cities. The data is posted on their website, which is dedicated to convincing the province to reverse its ban on smoking in indoor public and work places.
A STRETCH
Healthy Living Minister Theresa Oswald said Desrosiers' conclusion may be a bit of a stretch.
"Certainly, I can understand why people who are very anxious about the smoking ban ... might really wish to see a connection between such things," Oswald said. "I have some personal difficulty seeing the cause-and-effect relationship."
In their research, the brothers note there were 18 homicides in Winnipeg two years ago -- when the citywide smoking ban kicked in. The number of homicides jumped to 34 last year.
According to police statistics, there were 19 homicides in 2003, not the 18 claimed by the Desrosiers.
The Desrosiers also claim to have found a correlation between butt bans and incidents of rape.
"Is voluntary exposure to second-hand smoke worth an increased workload on police, longer response times for police in an emergency, more unregulated drinking and an increase in murder and rape?" reads a portion of the website.
Desrosiers said he believes smoke bans drive people to drink more at home and at house parties. Without the supervision of sober bar staff, violence is more likely to escalate, he said.
Oswald said scientists would probably conclude the research methodology isn't very sound.
"What do you want for scientific evidence?" Desrosiers said. "I don't know what more we can do."
- On the web: www.smokeouthypocrisy.com
I am at a state of incomprehension. In the last few weeks I have witnessed media control, beyond belief. I have tried to cover all sides of this issue. So that the public can be aware, of the methods used. I hope Canadians and people around the world will start to realize that the control of media is a very strong force in the enabling of an advocacy agenda. If you read the newspapers only, you would think there is only one view from scientists and legislatures.
I have witnessed how a government broadcaster (CBC) neglected to mention any support for a person who made one lapse in judgment. If you read the CBC article you will notice that they left out the fact that the public were behind Mike Barre. They don't mention a throng of supporters who turned out to the court date. It took an American newspaper to pick up the amount of support in the court. This is the control they want you to think they have. What I would like to see is people being being the news so that they are the news, not a reaction to the news.
In Ontario the press had one article about the Rural revolution. It has shut down two expressway's for hours. The news reported where you should avoid and who it was by, not the fact suffering that the tobacco and other farmers were enduring. This from the policies that government has pushed through! In Saskatchewan, there were over 500 protestors to the smoking ban, during a court hearing. They took the opportunity to let the judge know, by making noise, enough to distract the judge. In the National papers nothing. You would think there's a love fest for the Saskatchewan nonsmoking legislation.
I am asking all readers to make the editors bring balance to this issue. Instead of saying, "oh it's them again", be the news. Gather friends and ask for a reporter to come from your local paper. they can't ignore you for ever. We are making ground and editors are beginning to realize, they aren't serving the public, just a few anti smoking advocates. The editors are the innocents, according to Michael McFadden's book "dissecting Anti Smoking Brains" They don't think there is any opposition. Make them aware of the opposition!
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/03/02/947301-sun.html
New law closes cigarette 'loophole'-VA
Tobacco giants say it will end the unfair advantage for smaller rivals
BY JOHN REID BLACKWELL TIMES-DISPATCH STAFF WRITER Feb 26, 2005
Virginia this week became the 38th state to pass legislation that Philip Morris USA and other cigarette companies say will end an unfair advantage for some of their competitors.
Gov. Mark R. Warner on Wednesday signed the bill supported by tobacco giants Philip Morris and Reynolds American Inc., ending a lengthy lobbying battle that had pitted those companies against some smaller, regional cigarette manufacturers -- notably Keysville-based S&M Brands Inc., the maker of Bailey's cigarettes.
The smaller companies say consumers could be hurt under the change, since their cigarette prices may rise. They also see the legislation as being aimed at quashing their sales.
However, the General Assembly also passed legislation intended to help smaller Virginia cigarette makers that buy a large amount of U.S.-grown tobacco.
The dispute between large and small cigarette companies arose from the impact on cigarette prices caused by the 1998 national tobacco settlement. Under that landmark legal agreement, the nation's top cigarette makers agreed to pay $206 billion to 46 states, including Virginia, over 25 years to cover smoking-related health-care costs. The settlement also imposed some marketing and advertising restrictions on the companies.
Philip Morris and other companies increased cigarette prices to pay for the settlement. That resulted in discount-cigarette companies grabbing market share from the major manufacturers.
After the settlement, Virginia and other states passed laws requiring so-called nonparticipating manufacturers -- mostly regional cigarette companies that didn't join the settlement, such as S&M Brands -- to put a portion of their annual cigarette sales into escrow accounts in the states where they do business.
The escrow requirement was meant to cover any future legal claims against those companies, but some nonparticipating companies say the law punishes them for wrongs they never committed.
The law also allowed those companies to obtain early refunds under certain circumstances. Philip Morris, Reynolds and the National Association of Attorneys General argued that a "loophole" in the law gave those cigarette makers such large refunds that they were able to cut prices and unfairly grab market share from the major companies, whose declining sales translated into smaller tobacco-settlement payments to the states. The National Association of Attorneys General said the declining sales cost Virginia about $13 million in settlement payments in 2003.
The bills closing the so-called loophole, sponsored by Del. David B. Albo, R-Fairfax, and Sen. Walter A. Stosch, R-Henrico, passed both houses of the assembly by wide margins, a major turnaround from the 2004 session when similar legislation stalled in committee after opponents fought it.
Jamie Drogin, a spokeswoman for Richmond-based Philip Morris USA, said the company is "extremely pleased" that the legislation passed this year.
"The enactment of this legislation will help ensure that the commonwealth continues to receive all of the financial and public-health benefits of the master settlement agreement," she said.
S&M Brands and other nonparticipating companies have argued that no loophole exists, and that attempts to change the law were merely an effort by the dominant cigarette companies to protect their market share by forcing competitors to raise prices.
A spokesman for S&M Brands could not be reached for comment. The family owned company proposed legislation that supporters said was more equitable. It would have placed an excise tax of $4 per carton on all cigarettes sold in Virginia, and companies would have received a credit on that tax for any settlement or escrow payments made to the state.
Instead, lawmakers passed legislation sponsored by Del. Clarke N. Hogan, R-Halifax, aimed at providing a soft landing for nonparticipating manufacturers that agree to give their escrowed money to the state and surrender rights to any refunds.
The legislation allows those companies to declare a tax deduction for the money, and it provides tax incentives for small manufacturers whose cigarettes contain at least 75 percent U.S.-grown tobacco.
The total amount of incentives is capped at $9 million the first year and decreases through 2012, when the incentives will end.
Any ideas? Staff writer John Reid Blackwell can be reached at (804) 775-8123 or jblackwell@timesdispatch.com
http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=RTD%2FMGArticle%2FRTD_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031781252
239&path=!business&s=1045855934855&tacodalogin=no
La. litterbug campaign has zero tolerance -LA
By AMY WOLD Advocate staff writer
Think twice before throwing that cigarette butt or fast food wrapper out the window next weekend. Law enforcement across the state will be watching for you.
Starting March 4 and running through March 6, the state will be running it's first "Zero Tolerance for Litter" campaign to raise awareness about the cost of littering and to educate people that not littering not only helps the environment, but it saves taxpayers' money.
Coordinated by Keep Louisiana Beautiful, the event involves local law enforcement as well as Louisiana State Police, the Department of Corrections, the Department of Transportation and Development and the state Department of Wildlife and Fisheries Law Enforcement Division.
"The program's main focus is to raise the awareness of people about littering," said Major Jeff Mayne, with Wildlife and Fisheries Law Enforcement Division. "We need to get to where people look down on people who litter. We need to get that kind of feeling in the public."
Mayne said litter can hurt fish breeding grounds and cause other problems in the environment. It's also costly.
According to a fact sheet from Keep Louisiana Beautiful, litter costs Louisiana taxpayers more than $15 million a year, discourages tourism, decreases property values and attracts more littering.
"The whole community has to be educated about the cost of litter," said Leigh Harris, executive director of Keep Louisiana Beautiful. "Neighborhood decline starts with one broken window or one piece of trash. It's an indication of a lack of respect and lack of pride."
Of course, there's also the possibility of legal action against someone who litters.
According to a news release from Wildlife and Fisheries, littering in Louisiana could result in fines from $50 to $5,000 and from four to 100 hours of community service, suspension of driver's license for one year, and possible jail time of up to 30 days.
Although part of the effort is public awareness through press conferences and events, another part requires help from residents in Louisiana.
"Law enforcement can't do all the work all the time," Mayne said. "We need the eyes and ears of the public to let law enforcement know what's going on."
Anyone seen littering can be reported through the Department of Environmental Quality's 24-hour litter hot-line at (888) LITRBUG -- (888) 548-7284.
Callers can remain anonymous, but should give as much information about what they saw, including the car's license plate and the date, time and location of the littering, said Karen Fisher-Brasher, environmental scientist supervisor with DEQ.
On Cingular phones, the call can be made by dialing *LITTER.
Fisher-Brasher said that people already use the hotline and they have calls on the answering machine every morning.
"Most frequently, people are throwing trash out the windows, and most frequently it's cigarette butts," Fisher-Brasher said. "Most people don't think of cigarette butts as trash."
License plate numbers are used to find the owner of the car, and DEQ then sends a letter to the registered address advising that someone in that car on a certain date was seen littering.
"People are increasingly aware that it's not the right thing to do," Fisher-Brasher said.
Public education is important because many people think that if they throw something into their pickup bed or in their boat, that they've taken care of the trash, without realizing that the trash eventually blows out onto the road or water.
"A lot of them are oblivious. They think that the trash fairy came and took it away," Fisher-Brasher said.
http://www.2theadvocate.com/stories/022605/new_litter001.shtml
Avoided cigarette taxes spur mailings
Increase of 45 cents aims to help budget, hinder smoking
by Nicole Bonomini
Staff Writer
In response to residents of Ohio attempting to avoid taxes on cigarettes by ordering them on the Internet, the government is sending out letters asking for more than $5,000 in tax money. Gov. Bob Taft has also recently proposed a 45-cent tax increase on each package of cigarettes.
"The state has sent 25 letters out to Ohioans asking for about $5,000 in tax dollars. Another 1,000 letters will be going out soon," said Gary Gudmundson, an Ohio Department of Taxation employee.
The Jenkins Act of 1949 requires that cigarette venders provide each state with customers' names and purchase amounts, Gudmundson said. The government then sends out letters to customers who have not paid their state taxes.
If there is no response from the letters, the department will then send out a bill and try to collect the taxes that are due.
"The Internet is not a tax-free zone. Whether it's cigarettes or other items purchased over the Internet, if the retailer that you're buying from does not collect tax, it doesn't mean you don't owe it," he said.
Gudmundson said collecting taxes is essential because it generates revenue and is a matter of fairness to other taxpayers.
"These people are trying to escape the tax and are dumping the burden back on the other tax payers who are following the law," he said.
The cigarette tax, currently at 55 cents per pack, would rise to $1 per pack if the proposal is accepted.
Ohio Rep. Jimmy Stewart, R-Athens, said he has mixed feelings about the cigarette tax, but has to keep in mind that the proposal is part of the larger budget, which includes things he agrees and disagrees with.
"On one hand, discouraging people to smoke cigarettes is certainly positive; the illnesses that are caused by long-term use of cigarettes ultimately costs the state millions of dollars in Medicaid expenses, which are paid for by taxpayers," Stewart said.
But he added that cigarette smokers tend to be people with lower incomes, so the tax would affect the poor disproportionately. He also does not agree with the Medicaid cuts the budget proposes.
Taft submitted the proposal in an effort to improve the economy, said spokesman Mark Rickel. "This is the governor's plan to unleash our economic potential and reinvent the base of which the state's revenues will be generated," he said.
The tax system is antiquated and leaves little incentive for businesses to remain in Ohio, he said. "It adds costs and makes Ohio unattractive to talented workers that would stay or work here because their income is taxed at a high rate."
Ohio House Minority Leader Chris Redfern, D-Port Clinton, said he opposes the tax.
"You have got to remember, two years this governor ran for re-election saying that he was not going to increase taxes. Then he did the exact thing he said he would not do. I'm opposed to the tax because the revenue from the tax goes into the state budget instead of health care and Medicaid," he said.
Though the Tax Reform Plan is in the House, the budget has to be in place by July 1. Rickel expects the proposal to be passed by early spring.
Ohio University freshman David Debol said he disagrees with the cigarette tax.
"It doesn't make sense to place the burden of the taxation on one group of people," he said.
OU sophomore Brittany Boyer said although she is a smoker, the tax might be a good idea because it could encourage people to stop smoking. Boyer said if the government is increasing the tax as a way to decrease smoking, people should be fairly accepting of it.
The governor's top priority is to reform Ohio's tax code, which includes an income tax reduction of 20 percent across the board by five years time; eliminate the physical personal property tax; and increases tobacco products taxation, Rickel said.
http://thepost.baker.ohiou.edu/show_news.php?article=N2&date=022805
Smokers Could Pay $1 More Per Pack -WI
Rep. Hines: 'It's Not About Money, It's About Getting People To Quit'
UPDATED: 2:39 pm CST February 28, 2005
MADISON, Wis. -- A controversial cigarette tax bill could bring in up to $340 million in state revenue. Supporters will circulate the proposed cigarette tax bill around the Capitol soon, but it's already drawing criticism.
Smokers now pay a 77-cent tax on every pack. If the proposed cigarette tax passes, the cost will jump to a $1.77 per pack.
State Rep. J.A. Hines, R-Oxford, is spearheading the tax increase as a way to get people to stop smoking. Opponents say the proposed tax is a political move against Gov. Jim Doyle's budget.
"It doesn't really matter if you're dealing with the property tax increase, cigarette increase or a beer increase or a fee to drive a car -- it's all the same," said state Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Middleton. "It's an increased revenue that the state's generating, bringing in, that's coming from someone's pocket."
Hines said it's not about the money.
"It isn't about how much money we can raise," Hines said. "We would just have people quit smoking. They wouldn't start smoking."
Hines said the money earned by the tax would go into a medical assistance budget for programs already funded by the state.
Doyle does not support the increase. Since 1997, the cigarette tax has increased 33 cents. Over the years, Wisconsin has steadily raised the cigarette tax.
Survey results
Smokers now pay a 77-cent tax on every pack. If the proposed cigarette tax passes, tax would jump $1 to $1.77 per pack. What do you think? 9:54 feb28/05
Choice Votes Percentage of 740 Votes Yes, increase it -- the state needs the money. 119  16% Yes, increase it -- it will encourage people to quit. 259 35% No, do not increase it. 322 44% I don't care. 28 4% Other. 12 2% Thanks for participating. Please check back for results. http://www.themilwaukeechannel.com/health/4239487/detail.html
Cigarette sales decline for some retailers -OK
TULSA, Okla. (AP) -- Oklahoma's new cigarette tax may be contributing to a decline in sales for some Oklahoma retailers and an increase for tribal smoke shops.
According to a story in Tulsa World, convenience store chain QuikTrip saw a 25 percent decline in cigarette sales and a 30 percent decline in overall profits in January. Other retailers such as Kum-and-Go and Albertson's also report decreases in their tobacco sales.
QuikTrip spokesman Mike Thornbrugh says the tax is killing the store's tobacco sales and may result in fewer stores opening this year.
The tobacco tax increase eliminated the sales tax on cigarettes but raised the state tobacco excise tax from 23 cents to one-dollar and three-cents per pack of cigarettes.
According to Oklahoma Tax Commission data, 62 percent of the tobacco tax stamps were sold to nontribal retailers and 38 percent to the tribes in January 2004. Last month, 51 percent were sold to nontribal retailers compared with 49 percent to the tribes.
Creek, Cherokee and Osage tribes officials said they aren't seeing growth in tobacco sales.
http://www.kokh25.com/uploads/local/oklahoma_ok/20229385.shtml
GOP: Budget built on fluffed numbers Lawmakers skeptical of Lynch's plan
By NORMA LOVE The Associated PressFebruary 27. 2005 8:00AM
Many in House and Senate say spending cuts are more realistic than governor's revenue projections.
During the campaign, Gov. John Lynch insisted he could produce a balanced budget without tax increases despite a projected $300 million revenue shortfall.
He criticized the Republican he unseated for using gimmicks that created the budget hole and vowed not to do the same.
Now, Lynch has filled the hole with optimistic revenue estimates from predictions of a robust economy and from a yet-to-be enacted cigarette tax hike.
Not surprisingly, Republicans are skeptical and say he's using gimmicks of his own.
"They fluffed the revenue numbers so they wouldn't have to do any cuts," Senate Majority Leader Bob Clegg said of Lynch and his budget team.
Not so, insists John Dolan, Lynch's budget adviser. Lynch's estimates are reasonable, prudent and draw on the experience of a much-respected retired state revenue commissioner who helped lawmakers forecast revenues for years, he says.
The dispute over the estimates is important because they determine how much the state can spend. As much an art as a science, the estimates aren't exact because they are predicting tax receipts two years into the future.
Last week, the House committee that sets the House spending limit settled on much more conservative estimates than Lynch. Soon after, House and Senate budget committee chairmen sent agency chiefs a letter telling them to prepare for a 10 percent spending cut to the budget Lynch released Feb. 15.
The gap between the House and Lynch is sizable - just under $300 million, including $87 million from Lynch's proposed 28-cent per pack cigarette tax hike.
Not just smokers should care about what happens next.
Everyone affected by state spending could feel the effect if programs are cut to close the revenue gap - from the mentally ill in peer support groups to children getting subsidized health insurance.
The House gets the first crack at modifying Lynch's budget. House Speaker Douglas Scamman believes his budget committee can find $100 million a year to cut once it begins its intense scrutiny of proposed spending next month.
The House will begin with its lower spending limit and only increase spending if it feels March's tax receipts reflect a rosier economic future. The House has until mid-April to pass a budget to the Senate.
The Senate will come up with its own estimates. The spending limit will be revised repeatedly as it gets closer to June, more tax receipts are analyzed and a final budget deal is negotiated with the House.
In the meantime, agency chiefs told budget writers this month that Lynch was not overly generous with them. If anything, the freshman governor's budget simply maintains existing programs and restores spending in some areas cut from the current budget, they said.
For example, this year's budget pays about 70 percent of what the state owed towns for catastrophic special-education cases. Lynch recommends adding $9 million to the account next year so the state pays its full share.
Scamman and other Republican leaders may prefer deep spending cuts to accepting Lynch's revenue predictions or a cigarette tax hike, but they may not get their way.
Two years ago, House budget writers defied a threatened veto from Republican Gov. Craig Benson and proposed a 39-cent cigarette tax hike to pay for spending.
House Republican leaders rejected the committee's budget proposal and muscled one through the House with cuts instead of the tax.
Scamman won his job in large part due to his pledge to support decisions made by his committees. A coalition of moderate Republicans and Democrats backed him -two groups that don't usually favor deep budget cuts.
Asked if he would back a budget committee decision to raise taxes, Scamman hedged:
"I think the committee will cut the budget as much as it needs to . . . I see no reason to think about a tax increase at this point."
If Lynch is right about the future health of New Hampshire's economy, the finished budget in June may be closer to the one he presented lawmakers this month than will leave the House in April.
Lynch spokeswoman Pam Walsh - a veteran of the last Democratic administration - knows a final budget won't be finished until June and not until after much more is said by both sides about spending and revenue estimates.
"When Governor Lynch presented his budget, he made it clear he didn't consider his work done," she said. "It's not an overnight process."
Dolan believes time will prove Lynch's revenue estimates are no gimmick.
"Right now, we're talking about everybody's guess. In the next few months we'll know," he said.
http://www.concordmonitor.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050227/REPOSITORY/502270388/1037/NEWS04
Cigarette smokers have an increased risk of experiencing rotator cuff tears
Medical Study News Published: Sunday, 27-Feb-2005
Cigarette smokers have an increased risk of experiencing rotator cuff tears in their shoulders than their tobacco-free counterparts, according to study results presented today at the 72nd Annual Meeting of the American Academy of Orthopaedic Surgeons. Previous studies analyzed the correlation between tobacco use and musculoskeletal injuries, but did not focus specifically on the impact smoking has on this unilateral shoulder injury.
A team of researchers from the Washington University School of Medicine - Barnes Jewish Hospital interviewed 586 patients ages 18 years and older who had a diagnostic shoulder ultrasound for shoulder pain with no prior history of shoulder surgery. Of this group, 375 patients had a rotator cuff tear and 211 patients did not.
Lead author of the study, Keith M. Baumgarten, MD, orthopaedic surgeon at the Hospital for Special Surgery, New York City, and his team from Washington University developed a standardized questionnaire that was administered to all 586 patients to determine the demographic, medical, pharmaceutical and lifestyle factors that may pose an increased risk for rotator cuff tears. Patients who did, indeed, have rotator cuff tears were compared to patients without this injury to determine if there was any correlation between rotator cuff tears and demographic risk factors.
"Our questionnaire data show that significantly more patients with rotator cuff tears had a history of daily tobacco smoking compared to patients without rotator cuff tears," said Dr. Baumgarten. "Patients with rotator cuff tears were also more likely to have smoked regularly within the ten years before arriving at our clinic for evaluation of their shoulder pain. This data clearly suggests that tobacco use increases the risk for rotator cuff tears."
The study demonstrated a dose-dependent relationship between tobacco use and rotator cuff tears, since patients with rotator cuff tears had a statistically significant increase in 1) the average number of packs of tobacco consumed per day; 2) the duration of smoking history; and 3) the average number of pack-years of tobacco use.
According to Dr. Baumgarten, the results of this study are biologically plausible because smoking has been shown to impair healing of other biologic tissues, specifically bone and skin. Nicotine has been shown in previous studies to decrease production of fibroblasts (the main cells responsible for tissue repair). In addition, the carbon monoxide found in tobacco smoke reduces cellular oxygen tension levels, which are vital for cellular metabolism and tissue healing.
Taking into consideration medical conditions, the study also found that there was a statistically significant increase in rotator cuff tears among patients with rheumatoid arthritis.
Between the two groups, there were no significant differences found in frequency of exercise or weightlifting. While manual labor has been previously been associated with shoulder tendonitis, there was no difference between the two groups when comparing sedentary work environments to occupations requiring manual labor in regards to the impact on rotator cuff tears.
"Advanced age, tobacco use and rheumatoid arthritis are risk factors that increase a person's chances of experiencing a rotator cuff tear," said Dr. Baumgarten.
An orthopaedic surgeon is a physician with extensive training in the diagnosis and non-surgical as well as surgical treatment of the musculoskeletal system, including bones, joints, ligaments, tendons, muscles and nerves.
http://www.aaos.org/
Doctor who spoke out on public health issue is sued -AU
Sydney Christopher Zinn
A doctor who claims he was doing his job according to the tenets of the Hippocratic oath when he spoke out about risks to health from the operations of a major logging company in Tasmania is being sued for causing alleged damage to the company’s business activities.
Dr Frank Nicklason, a staff specialist physician at the Royal Hobart Hospital, is one of 20 defendants, including prominent environmentalists and another doctor, named in the writ by Gunns Ltd, which is seeking almost $A6.3m (£2.6m; $5m; €3.8m) in damages.
Dr Nicklason said the case may stop doctors raising legitimate health concerns because of fear of being involved in prolonged and expensive legal action. He said that although the case would not silence him it had already affected the forestry deba Posted at 1:46 am by looped_ca
Saturday, February 26, 2005
Another Gas Bar robbed of smokes -MB
Winnipeg Free Press- Feb 22/05
Gas bar robbed
POLICE made a quick arrest after a Domo gas bar at 177 St. Anne's Rd. was robbed Sunday morning.
A man, disguised in a hoodie and indicating he had a weapon, demanded cash and cigarettes from an attendant and then fled in a vehicle with the stolen items. No one was injured.
Richard Karpenko, 23, faces a number of charges. He was detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Motion calls for taxation of legal marijuana
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005
OTTAWA -- Delegates to the Liberal party convention next month will debate a motion to legalize and tax marijuana sales, saying it would bring in billions in new tax revenue.
Parliament is already debating legislation to decriminalize marijuana, but a resolution by Alberta Liberals would go much further. It would tax the proceeds of legalized pot sales, which the resolution says would bring in $3 billion in revenue each year.
"Legalizing marijuana would be a serious blow to drug dealers and organized crime financially," says the resolution for the March 5-6 gathering.
"Resolved that a portion of these tax revenues be used to educate youth against drug use and to provide treatment for those who are adversely affected by use of marijuana."
It's just one of dozens of policy proposals obtained by The Canadian Press that will be debated by delegates to the Ottawa convention.
Another resolution, from British Columbia, asks for stiffer sentences for those involved in marijuana grow-ops.
Meanwhile, a party group called the Senior Liberals Commission is asking delegates to urge the government to enact legislation to respect "alternative forms of social lifestyle," but to not alter the definition of marriage.
But Liberal youth activists are working on a campaign called "It's the Charter, Stupid," with rallies and demonstrations to lobby delegates to support the government's same-sex marriage legislation before Parliament.
Some resolutions will be chosen as priority issues and will automatically be included for a vote by all delegates. Others must make it through debate in a workshop in order to be presented for approval or defeat by all delegates.
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Vehicles pollute -MB
Letter to the editor Feb 22/05
Re: the Feb. 19 letter Which is easier?
The potential harm from second-hand smoke is minimal compared to the very real illnesses caused by industrial and environmental pollution.
If, as the letter writer states, he is concerned about his health his question should more accurately read: "Is it easier for people to stop driving their vehicles or for me to stop breathing"?
He may not like the answers.
ADELINE SHOUP, Winnipeg
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Can we not implement common sense laws in regards to smoking ? -AB
Letter to the editor- Calgary Sun - Feb 22/05
("Cafe banking on smokin' resistance," Feb. 12.) It makes sense to ban smoking in public places. It also makes sense to allow private business owners the right to make their own decisions, which will reflect the demand of the market. If statistics are correct, most establishments will become smoke-free. This allows choice of work place for adult bar employees. By taking a lead and offering choices in our city we may even increase our tourism.
Sharon Thomson
(Businesses should not be left in the lurch.)
http://www.canoe.ca/CalgarySun/editorial.html#letters
RE: Which is easier? Feb. 19 letters. -AB
Letter to the editor - Edmonton Sun - Feb 22/05
It is a lot easier for me that you stop breathing than it is for me to stop smoking.
Thomas Laprade
(Sucks to be him, then.)
http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Letters/( published in Calgary sun, Winnepeg Free press, Edmonton Sun)
SWAT attack on Hollywood -MB
Student anti-smoking group organizes Black Lung Award
By DEAN PRITCHARD, STAFF REPORTER Wed, February 23, 2005
Students at Kildonan Collegiate are putting Tinseltown puffers on notice -- they are kicking butts and taking names. As Hollywood's elite await this year's Oscars, members of the school's SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) team are planning to hand out a statue of their own -- the Black Lung Award to the movie or performer guilty of the most flagrant example of glamourizing smoking.
"In the movies, no one ever gets sick. In the real world smoking kills," said SWAT team member Blair Molinski at a press conference yesterday announcing the award.
During the next three months, the SWAT team's 30 members will be hunkering down at the cineplex with popcorn, pens and pads.
On their movie checklist, students will note how many times a person is seen smoking, what kind of smoking is done and whether the smoking is glamourized.
The worst offenders will be announced at an "award" ceremony in May.
Team members say they want to see smoking banned from movies targeted at children and teenagers.
"You see your favourite actor, they are your role models, so you want to be like them in any way that you can," Molinski said.
'NO DOUBT'
"If they smoke you might start smoking because you want to be like them so much."
The Manitoba Medical Association is a partner in the project and helped purchase 100 movie passes for students.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Hollywood is complicit with the tobacco industry in trying to influence kids to smoke," said Dr. Mark Taylor, chairman of the MMA's public health issues committee.
"(Students) told us what they planned to do and we said 'We want to help you.' "
Some research shows that movies are responsible for recruiting as much as 52% of new teen smokers, Taylor said.
In Canada, where tobacco advertising is illegal, smoking in movies is a way around the law, he said.
"The tobacco industry knows that if they don't get kids to smoke they are out of business. Ninety per cent of smokers start when it is illegal for them to purchase cigarettes and the industry knows that."
Team member Lori Beach has been smoking for more than two years. While she blames peer pressure for her habit, Beach says there is no question movies have a strong influence on teen smoking.
"When people come back from school the first thing they want to do is watch TV or movies.
"You watch movies, and it's right there."
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/23/939355-sun.html
Neighbours support man charged with blaze that destroyed town
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/213038_canadafires22.html
Ad in my Local Paper -AB
My local paper, the Edson Leader, had a special this month on one page ads for only $299.00. (Small Paper.) The local anti group bought an ad. So I bought an ad. I have attached a link to it:
ftp://www.bbdsedson.com/anti-hitler.pdf
23 February 2005
TORONTO - The federal budget announcement of $300 million over five years for an integrated strategy to encourage healthy living and to prevent and control chronic diseases is welcomed by the Canadian Cancer Society.
“We are disappointed, however, that the federal budget didn’t specifically include funding for the Canadian Strategy for Cancer Control,” says Dr. Barbara Whylie, CEO, Canadian Cancer Society. “Cancer causes immeasurable suffering. It is already straining our healthcare system and it’s going to get worse as the population grows and the risk of getting and dying from cancer increases for aging baby boomers.”
The World Health Organization and international best practices show that comprehensive, integrated national cancer control strategies are necessary to effectively reduce the burden of the disease.
“Canada can’t wait any longer to take action to fight cancer in a coordinated way coast to coast,” says Whylie. “We look forward to working with the federal government to ensure that the funding and implementation of a national cancer control strategy moves forward.”
Implementing a national strategy to control cancer would mean, over the next 30 years:
- preventing over 1.2 million Canadians from developing cancer;
- saving the lives of more than 420,000 Canadians;
- preventing the loss of more than $101 billion in wage-based productivity;
- preventing the loss of more than $34 billion in total government tax revenues.
http://www.cancer.ca/ccs/internet/mediareleaselist/0,3208,3172_343093094_375048881_langId-en,00.html
The Canadian Cancer Society is a national community-based organization of volunteers whose mission is to eradicate cancer and to enhance the quality of life of people living with cancer. When you want to know more about cancer, visit our website www.cancer.ca or call our toll-free, bilingual Cancer Information Service at 1 888 939-3333.
-30-
For more information, please contact:
Kerstin Ring
Senior Manager, Communications
Canadian Cancer Society
(416) 934-5664
Gov't targets eating habits In remote areas -MB
By FRANK LANDRY, LEGISLATURE REPORTER Thu, February 24, 2005
The NDP government wants to improve the eating habits of Manitobans living in remote communities. Aboriginal and Northern Affairs Minister Oscar Lathlin said yesterday he's rolling out a pilot project that will encourage aboriginals in isolated areas to stop consuming so much junk food and instead return to traditional foods like moose and rabbit meat.
HUNTING, FISHING
"Most people there, they know how to hunt, they know how to fish, it's just that people have been so programmed to depend on potato chips and soft drinks," Lathlin told The Sun.
Lathlin said the high price of food in the north is also a concern.
Details of the $250,000 pilot project are still being worked out, but the idea is to get more members of the community out hunting and fishing. The food could be shared with others in the area, he said.
"This funding will be used to assist northern communities to do things like harvest traditional foods -- moose meat, fish, birds, rabbit, beaver and so on," Lathlin said. "Hopefully they'll also get into community gardens."
Four or five communities are expected to be selected to participate. Already Red Sucker Lake First Nation is on board.
David McDougall, chief of the St. Theresa Point First Nation, located about 440 kilometres northeast of Winnipeg, said he likes Lathlin's idea. Aboriginal people have been slowly moving away from traditional foods, he said.
"To try to get back to a healthy lifestyle will be a challenge," McDougall said.
The chief noted food is also very expensive on isolated First Nations like St. Theresa Point
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/24/940628-sun.html
Go after screen drunks
February 24, 2005
So, the students from Kildonan Collegiate are monitoring smoking in films and want to give out a "Black Lung Award" (SWAT attack on Hollywood by Dean Pritchard). Good for them. But how about also monitoring alcohol consumption? For some reason this is far more socially acceptable than smoking despite the health risks (not only physical, but also mental). And yes, I do realize that breathing in alcoholic fumes is not a health risk to the general public, but what about all the other risks to the public's safety such as drunk drivers, violent behaviour not to mention fetal alcohol syndrome and cirrhosis of the liver?
I am not a party-pooper and do not believe that alcohol consumption should be banned in any way shape or form (but then, neither should smoking). However, if you are going to expose smoking as the potential health risk that it is, then you should look at all hazardous addictions, particularly alcohol, as it too is legal and comparatively cheap.
So how about awarding an "Obnoxious Drunk Award" to make people aware that alcohol consumption is not to be treated lightly?
C. D. McLeod Winnipeg
(Fine, but we still miss Dean Martin.)
http://www.winnipegsun.com/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/Letters/
Province being urged to crack down on smokers
Last Updated Feb 24 2005 02:13 PM EST
MONTREAL – The Quebec government is being asked to consider a set of hard-hitting smoking laws.
Nine lobby groups have been working to revise provincial smoking policies.
Louis Gauvin of the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control, one of the groups advising the government on updating its smoking laws, wants corner stores to no longer put cigarettes on display.
"You're a customer, you're a smoker and you want to know what kind of cigarettes are sold. Well, you have a document with the name of cigarettes and the prices," Gauvin explains.
Eliminating cigarette advertising is only one of a long list of recommendations being delivered to the government.
The most obvious will be a complete smoking ban in all public places, including outdoor patios.
François Damphousse says although the recommendations may seem heavy-handed, Quebec could catch up with other provinces and some countries by implementing them.
"We even have countries now, Norway, has banned smoking now completely. Ireland! In Ireland pubs, smoking is banned. So a lot of jurisdictions have moved a lot quicker than Quebec," Damphousse said Thursday.
The province has already said it will introduce a bill than bans smoking in restaurants, and then, in bars.
The recommendations will be handed to the government on Friday.
http://montreal.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=qc-smoke20050224
Groups urge Quebec gov't to ban cigarette ads
Canadian Press
MONTREAL — A coalition of anti-smoking groups urged the Quebec government Thursday to ban all forms of cigarette advertising when it passes amendments to tobacco laws.
"If it's a problem to enforce the legislation as it is right now, we believe that the government should go ahead with a total ban on indirect or direct types of advertising," said Francois Damphousse, a spokesman for the provincial non-smokers' rights association and a member of the coalition.
He said Quebec would be catching up with other provinces and jurisdictions with such a ban.
While supporting already announced amendments to Quebec's 1998 tobacco law, the coalition of anti-smoking and health groups said Quebec should crack down on the promotion and availability of cigarettes.
Damphousse noted that Quebec Superior Court had recently supported the federal law banning tobacco sponsorship advertising and the court said in a recent ruling that Ottawa could have gone further.
He said the Quebec government should go ahead with a total ban because of "the misbehaviour of the tobacco industry."
"They do not want to respect the legislation. The only thing they want to do is attach imagery to their products and we say that's unacceptable."
The coalition did note the Quebec law has had some effect since it has been in force, pointing out that 25.9 per cent of Quebecers now smoke. When the law was passed in 1998, 34 per cent of Quebecers said they smoked.
The coalition was asked by the provincial government to give its opinion on how the new law should be shaped. There has been no specific date set for a vote on the legislation.
The coalition's demand comes less than a week after a judge in Montreal gave the green light to two class-action suits against a trio of Canadian tobacco companies.
No date has been set for a judge to hear the suits against Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans, Benson and Hedges, and JTI-MacDonald.
The plaintiffs are suing on behalf of an estimated 45,000 Quebecers who have suffered emphysema or cancer of the lungs, larynx or throat between 1995 and 1998.
Earlier this month, the B.C. Supreme Court also certified a class-action suit against Imperial Tobacco over its marketing of cigarettes labelled "mild" or "light."
The anti-smoking also coalition decried such activities as cigarette company involvement in tobacco parties in bars and at sporting events, where the company trademark is displayed on posters and so-called "cigarette girls" circulate selling tobacco.
The use of what are known as "power walls," which are massive displays of tobacco products in stores, was also criticized.
The group said the tobacco parties violate federal law which has banned sponsorship advertising since October 2003. The power walls have already been banned in other provinces.
"What we want in Quebec is the same kind of initiative we saw in Saskatchewan," Damphousse said.
"Saskatchewan has banned those power walls. All tobacco products cannot be seen by customers that go into a corner store.
"That measure was so important in Saskatchewan, the tobacco industry has challenged that in court. They've recently lost in the Supreme Court of Canada."
Louis Gauvin, co-ordinator of the Quebec coalition on tobacco control, said large cigarette displays and advertising downplays the dangers of smoking and puts tobacco in the same league as gum or candy.
"The visibility and accessibility of tobacco runs contrary to the efforts to fight smoking," he said. "The multiple points of sale are windows to promote tobacco.
"The new law should prevent all promotion in points of sale and limit their number."
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1109270812577_5/?hub=Canada
Anti-tobacco groups want Quebec ban on all cigarette ads -QC
Nelson Wyatt Canadian Press February 24, 2005
MONTREAL (CP) -- A coalition of anti-smoking groups urged the Quebec government Thursday to ban all forms of cigarette advertising when it passes amendments to tobacco laws.
"If it's a problem to enforce the legislation as it is right now, we believe that the government should go ahead with a total ban on indirect or direct types of advertising,'' said Francois Damphousse, a spokesman for the provincial non-smokers' rights association and a member of the coalition.
He said Quebec would be catching up with other provinces and jurisdictions with such a ban.
While supporting already announced amendments to Quebec's 1998 tobacco law, the coalition of anti-smoking and health groups said Quebec should crack down on the promotion and availability of cigarettes.
Damphousse noted that Quebec Superior Court had recently supported the federal law banning tobacco sponsorship advertising and the court said in a recent ruling that Ottawa could have gone further.
He said the Quebec government should go ahead with a total ban because of ``the misbehaviour of the tobacco industry.''
"They do not want to respect the legislation. The only thing they want to do is attach imagery to their products and we say that's unacceptable.''
The coalition did note the Quebec law has had some effect since it has been in force, pointing out that 25.9 per cent of Quebecers now smoke. When the law was passed in 1998, 34 per cent of Quebecers said they smoked.
The coalition was asked by the provincial government to give its opinion on how the new law should be shaped. There has been no specific date set for a vote on the legislation.
The coalition's demand comes less than a week after a judge in Montreal gave the green light to two class-action suits against a trio of Canadian tobacco companies.
No date has been set for a judge to hear the suits against Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans, Benson and Hedges, and JTI-MacDonald.
The plaintiffs are suing on behalf of an estimated 45,000 Quebecers who have suffered emphysema or cancer of the lungs, larynx or throat between 1995 and 1998.
Earlier this month, the B.C. Supreme Court also certified a class-action suit against Imperial Tobacco over its marketing of cigarettes labelled "mild'' or "light.''
The anti-smoking also coalition decried such activities as cigarette company involvement in tobacco parties in bars and at sporting events, where the company trademark is displayed on posters and so-called "cigarette girls'' circulate selling tobacco.
The use of what are known as "power walls,'' which are massive displays of tobacco products in stores, was also criticized.
The group said the tobacco parties violate federal law which has banned sponsorship advertising since October 2003. The power walls have already been banned in other provinces.
"What we want in Quebec is the same kind of initiative we saw in Saskatchewan,'' Damphousse said. "Saskatchewan has banned those power walls. All tobacco products cannot be seen by customers that go into a corner store.
"That measure was so important in Saskatchewan, the tobacco industry has challenged that in court. They've recently lost in the Supreme Court of Canada.''
Louis Gauvin, co-ordinator of the Quebec coalition on tobacco control, said large cigarette displays and advertising downplays the dangers of smoking and puts tobacco in the same league as gum or candy.
"The visibility and accessibility of tobacco runs contrary to the efforts to fight smoking,'' he said. "The multiple points of sale are windows to promote tobacco.
"The new law should prevent all promotion in points of sale and limit their number.''
http://www.canada.com/montreal/montrealgazette/news/story.html?id=3c82eda9-b9cb-4dbd-b009-d1edf5e7b561
It's time for Canada to legalize cannabis
Feb. 25, 2005. 01:00 AM
The use of cannabis is widespread and there is intermittent talk from the government of Canada regarding "decriminalizing," but not about legalizing, it. Cannabis has much in common with both alcohol and tobacco products. Each at various times has been demonized, banned, criminalized and targeted as a health risk. We can learn from these experiences.
What can we learn from alcohol? First, banning doesn't work. As attempts at prohibition proves, it turns this area of the economy over to criminals and gives ordinary citizens criminal records.
Second, although there are definite health hazards for some, there are also putative benefits and people for millennia have ignored any claimed risks. Accordingly, we have decided that such a large group has a right to make its own decision.
Third, the system the Liquor Control Board of Ontario uses to control alcohol distribution is effective. Alcohol is available to adults, its purity is assured, there is a minimal black market and the province gets considerable revenue.
We also know there is a downside to alcohol and assistance is given to problem drinkers. There are protections against drunk drivers, for example. Controlled distribution is an effective compromise for this product.
What can we learn from tobacco products?
All the evidence from the last 30 years indicates that tobacco is dangerous for the health of both smokers and anyone who regularly inhales second-hand smoke. Despite these risks, some will still smoke and we have decided adults have the right to make their own decisions.
Accordingly, tobacco products remain legal for adults. Tobacco products are also extremely addictive, so we put many controls on them. Smoking in public places has been restricted, tobacco products are taxed heavily to reduce the demand and promotion has been virtually eliminated in an effort to reduce the number of new smokers, especially among the young.
We are reaching an effective compromise that protects smokers, non-smokers, and minors.
What lessons can we draw from these experiences for cannabis? Concerning health, as far back as 1972 the LeDain Royal Commission on the Non-Medical Use of Drugs reported that "the physical and mental effects of cannabis would appear to be much less serious than those which may result from excessive use of alcohol."
This statement appears true 30 years later. More recently, there are claimed health benefits, especially to some who suffer from certain illnesses. All in all, this is a situation that calls for personal choice, but with appropriate controls.
So what should be the preferred path?
First, the federal government should make the use of cannabis products legal: Decriminalization is not sufficient.
Second, a safe, regulated supply should be made available, perhaps through a CCBO or Cannabis Control Board of Ontario.
These steps would guarantee product purity, take criminals out of this area of the economy, provide tax revenues, allow police to concentrate on more serious crime and stop the harassment of ordinary citizens.
Existing R.I.D.E. programs can be used to help control irresponsible drivers, and the use of designated drivers can be adopted from our experience with alcohol.
One of the major benefits will be to reduce the availability of pot to minors. If this seems counterintuitive, just ask any teenager which is more available to them, alcohol or cannabis? Drug dealers don't ask for proof-of-age.
Cannabis use is so pervasive that its use may go almost unnoticed if it were legalized. It will have benefits all around, not the least of which will be the capture of money that now goes to criminals.
Naturally, moralists will object to this "sin" being legalized and wish to impose their beliefs on others. Surely, we can overcome this attitude in modern Canada.
The other issue is the reaction of the United States, whose absurd, counterproductive "war on drugs" is opposed to any tolerance for recreational drugs. Controlled distribution in Canada should minimize the amount of legal cannabis that goes to the U.S., as it does with alcohol. Perhaps, in time, Americans will learn from our experience and soften their attitude.
Most arguments against cannabis legalization are moralistic, whereas the arguments in favour are pragmatic and would help to protect minors, users, and society.
The time has come to legalize cannabis.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Articl
e_Type1&c=Article&cid=1109285421877&call_pageid=968256290204&col=968350116795
Big Tobacco battle -MB
Province joins fight for health-care bucks
By FRANK LANDRY, LEGISLATURE REPORTER Fri, February 25, 2005
The Manitoba government is joining a legal battle to recoup what could amount to billions of dollars in legal damages from Big Tobacco, The Winnipeg Sun has learned. Healthy Living Minister Theresa Oswald will announce today Manitoba is backing British Columbia in its court fight to recover health-care costs from the country's largest tobacco companies.
"We're going to go for it," Oswald said yesterday. "Cigarettes are one product that if used exactly as directed cause death. We think it's time for Big Tobacco to step up and start paying for these things that are ultimately their responsibility."
Today is the cutoff for Manitoba to file notice with the Supreme Court of Canada that it will intervene in the case.
Tobacco companies and industry groups have challenged a piece of B.C. legislation known as the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act that targets cigarette companies. B.C.'s Liberal government is trying to recover $10 billion from Big Tobacco.
The decision of the country's highest court will determine whether provinces like Manitoba can claim damages against tobacco manufacturers.
New Brunswick, Saskatchewan and Alberta have also said they would join B.C. Other provinces may sign on before the end of the day.
"What we hope is in very short order all Canadians will recognize the use of tobacco is just not worth the cost to their long-term health care," Oswald said.
Tory health critic Heather Stefanson said the NDP government is hypocritical for joining this legal battle. The New Democrats want money from Big Tobacco and yet are afraid to extend the provincewide smoking ban to workplaces on First Nations, she said.
HYPOCRITICAL
"How can the NDP condone one aspect of smoking and condemn the other?" Stefanson said. "It's hypocritical, but that's the way this government does business."
Oswald refused to speculate on how much Manitoba would seek from tobacco companies if the Supreme Court rules in favour of the provinces. However, she noted a 2001 Manitoba Health analysis estimated it costs the province about $128 million a year to treat tobacco-related illnesses. That represents about 4% of Manitoba's $3.2 billion annual health budget.
"This is now 2005," Oswald said. "There's no question those costs have risen."
Oswald said there have been significant payouts in the United States. In the late 1990s, 46 states struck a landmark, $206-billion settlement with the tobacco industry.
The B.C. Court of Appeal has unanimously ruled the tobacco legislation is constitutionally valid.
The appeal of that decision to the Supreme Court was launched by Imperial Tobacco Canada, Rothmans, Benson and Hedges, JTI-Macdonald, the Canadian Tobacco Manufacturers' Council and several foreign tobacco companies.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/25/941762-sun.html
Community Stories
Cross-border partying: the City of Windsor plans for prevention
The City of Windsor is located immediately to the southwest of Detroit. It has a population of 250,000. Another 5 million people live in the surrounding suburban municipalities.
The geographic location of Windsor and differing alcohol policies on both sides of the border are creating problems. Large numbers of young Windsorites cross the border for entertainment at US bars where cheaper drinks are served. Similarly, large numbers of young Americans under 21 years of age crossing the border to Windsor to take advantage of the lower drinking age.
The tremendous amount of cross-border "partying" has resulted in the development of an entertainment strip in the downtown area of Windsor with at least six bars catering to a young U.S. clientele. Noise and anti-social behaviour by intoxicated patrons in this retail strip has disrupted the lives of apartment dwellers-many of them seniors-and occupants of residences on adjacent streets.
Numerous neighbourhood complaints prompted Mayor Mike Hurst of Windsor to strike a committee comprised of bar owners, area residents, municipal departments and agencies responsible for local regulation. Group members developed a voluntary Code of Conduct calling for minimum security, restrictions on patio operations, supervision of waiting lines and additional late-night policing funded by the bar owners. According the Windsor City Clerk, Thomas Lynd, adherence to the Code has improved the situation dramatically.
The City of Windsor is now examining the possibility of introducing a special class of business licences for establishments which serve food and liquor. This will not only assist in the regulation of the City's smoking by-law, but will also have a secondary benefit of requiring all businesses serving alcohol to ensure all their service staff complete the SmartServe training program offered by the provincial hospitality training association.
For more information on Windsor's initiatives call Thomas Lynd, City Clerk, 519-255-6212.
http://www.apolnet.org/actpacks/co_pol2.html
Landmark Tobacco Treaty Takes Effect on February 27th
OTTAWA, Feb. 25 /CNW Telbec/ - Sunday, February 27th 2005 is an historic moment for global public health. On this day, the world's first modern health treaty, the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), comes into force.
"This is a day to celebrate the achievement of the first modern public health treaty and the leadership of Canada in its development," said Ken Kyle of the Canadian Cancer Society. The FCTC requires a comprehensive tobacco ad ban (except in countries with constitutional impediments), large package warnings and protection against second-hand smoke, among other measures.
The World Health Organization states that tobacco is, with HIV/AIDS, the fastest growing cause of death in the developing world and predicts that the number of tobacco-caused deaths will double from 5 million to 10 million a year by the year 2020. Seventy per cent of those deaths will be in developing countries. The FCTC comes into force three months after it has been ratified by 40 countries. Canada ratified the treaty on November 26, 2004, shortly before the 40th ratification occurred. Currently, 168 countries have signed and 57 have ratified.
"Canada was a leader in the development of the treaty," said Dr. Atul Kapur of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada. "The Government of Canada was an early supporter of the treaty, pioneered many of the treaty measures (like picture health warnings), and promoted effective measures during treaty negotiations."
"This is a day to look forward to a time when one in six of the world's population is no longer addicted to tobacco industry products and one-in-ten is no longer killed by them," said Sally Brown, CEO of the Heart and Stroke Foundation of Canada.
"The treaty will help countries put in place the comprehensive policy measures which have been proven effective at reducing smoking," Brown said. Apart from ad curbs and health warnings, the Convention requires ratifying countries to end misleading packaging and advertising. Other FCTC measures include protecting the public from second-hand smoke, using taxes to reduce consumption, curbing cigarette smuggling and supporting smokers who want to quit.
The Convention also aims to increase research collaboration and support to developing countries for implementing effective tobacco control measures. "Because the treaty establishes minimum standards in a number of areas, and encourages countries to go even further than their treaty commitments, it will provide for continuing progress against this global public health problem," Arango added.
"This is a day to ask, what more can Canada do to make this treaty work?", said Francis Thompson of the Non-Smokers' Rights Association.
"The Framework Convention offers great promise that the spread of tobacco use can be contained," said Thompson. "But the treaty will be less effective if countries with both expertise and resources - like Canada - fail to support and assist the developing world in implementing the treaty provisions."
"It has only recently become widely recognized that tobacco is a major health problem for developing countries, and a major financial drain, particularly for the poorest of the poor. Having played a major role in convincing developing country governments of the need to tackle this issue, Canada now has a moral obligation to 'walk the talk' and supply meaningful assistance," said Thompson.
For further information: Ken Kyle, (613) 565-2522 extension 301; Cynthia Callard, (613) 233-4878 or cell (613) 850-5594; Manuel Arango, (613) 569-4361, extension 328; Francis Thompson, Non-Smokers' Rights Association, (613) 230-4211 or cell (613) 355-6532
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/25/c8707.html
NOTICE TO THE MEDIA - Health Canada
OTTAWA, Feb. 25 /CNW Telbec/ - Parliamentary Secretary Mr. Robert G. Thibault will speak on behalf of Minister Dosanjh, at the National Forum on Youth and Young Adult Tobacco Control Issues.
Mr. Thibault will be available to answer questions from the media following the event.
Date Saturday, February 26, 2005
Time TBC
Location Crowne Plaza Hotel 101 Lyon Street Ottawa (ON)
For further information: Media Inquiries: Adele Blanchard, Office of the Minister of Health, (613) 954-4971
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/25/c8712.html
Media Advisory - Media itinerary for Ontario PC Party AGM
QUEEN'S PARK, ON, Feb. 25 /CNW/ - The Ontario PC Party will hold its Annual General Meeting in Ottawa. Please note that media planning to attend must pre-register.
Registration forms are available upon request. Times are subject to change.
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/25/c8617.html
Canadian Association of Journalists Code of Silence Award
OTTAWA, Feb. 25 /CNW/ - The Canadian Association of Journalists is requesting nominations for its fifth annual Code of Silence Award recognizing the most secretive government department in Canada.
"The far-from-coveted Code of Silence award honours, or should I say dishonours, Canada's rich bureaucratic culture of secrecy," said Paul Schneidereit, CAJ president. "Governments and their agencies, at all levels, exhibit mind-numbing, determined resourcefulness when it comes to hiding vital information, stalling or denying access to information requests, destroying documents and persecuting whistleblowers.
"This award strives to ensure that those who work hardest to uphold a strict code of silence in dealing with journalists and the public receive appropriate recognition.
"The Code of Silence Award is handed out annually at the CAJ's gala award ceremonies which take place during the association's annual conferences. This year, the conference is being held May 13-15 in Winnipeg.
Last year, Health Canada won for denying any meaningful access to a database of prescription drugs that could harm or even kill Canadians. The department refused to release information on adverse drug reactions in a format that would allow researchers to study the records electronically in order to spot trends and identify which drugs are causing problems, despite similar information being readily available in the U.S. through the Food and Drug Administration. A parliamentary all-party standing committee on health eventually slammed the department for failing to effectively protect Canadians who take prescription drugs. Health Canada finally relented more than five years after it was challenged.
Previous winners include the entire Nova Scotia government for a pattern of secrecy, including instituting the highest fees in the country for access to information requests, the federal Department of Justice for giving itself the power, under Bill C-36, to override the Access to Information Act on some documents, and the Ontario Ministry of the Environment for withholding information about the Walkerton water tragedy that claimed seven lives and sickened hundreds.
Nominees can include municipal, provincial or federal government departments as well as public agencies that work in the public interest with public money. Nominations can be submitted to the CAJ in the following ways:
E-mail: caj@igs.net (write "Code of Silence" in subject line)
Phone: 613-526-8061
Nominations close May 1, 2005.
The Canadian Association of Journalists is a professional organization with more than 1,400 members across Canada. The CAJ's primary role is to provide public-interest advocacy and quality professional development for its members.
For further information: Paul Schneidereit, CAJ president, (902) 426-1124; John Dickins, CAJ executive director, (613) 526-8061, Cell phone (613) 290-2903
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/25/c8818.html
Posted at 10:13 am by looped_ca
Wednesday, February 23, 2005
UFO sightings soar, researchers puzzled
By PAUL TURENNE, STAFF REPORTER, Mon, February 21, 2005
Either aliens are visiting Manitoban airspace more frequently, or the smoking ban has forced people to spend more time staring at the sky. Whatever the reason, a report released yesterday by Ufology Research of Manitoba states that there were 112 UFO sightings in Manitoba last year, which more than doubles the previous record for sightings and is more than four times as many as in 2003.
In fact, the 882 sightings across the country last year also constituted a record, but UFO researchers are baffled as to why.
"It is puzzling. We know things are up all over Canada. In fact several provinces saw all-time records last year," said Chris Rutkowski, the research co-ordinator for Ufology Research of Manitoba, a group of about a dozen people who compile UFO sighting statistics for all of Canada.
"We're way past X-Files now and there aren't a lot of UFO-type movies out there so we can't blame media," said Rutkowski. "It could be something as simple or obvious as there are more objects in the sky to be seen."
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/21/937545-sun.html
Smoking showdown -ON
Both sides set to ignite council chambers tonight
By Ian McCallum Times-Journal Staff Monday February 21, 2005
City hall is bracing for a tobacco tempest tonight as both sides in the smoking debate plan to pack the public gallery as council deals with St. Thomas’s smoke-free bylaw.
And with just one week remaining until the implementation date, members will hear deputations for and against the granting of exemptions to the bylaw to regulate smoking in public places and work places.
In its presentation to council, Smoke-Free St. Thomas-Elgin Coalition chairman Laura Wall says her organization will reiterate the smoking bylaw is strictly “about health.”
Now, Bill Adams says Lord Elgin Branch 41, Royal Canadian Legion will have “a bit of trouble” continuing to raise funds for charitable and youth organizations in the city if it is not exempted from the bylaw, scheduled to take effect March 1.
And the Times-Journal has learned at least two members of the St. Thomas Police Service will be at city hall to maintain order as council wrestles with the emotion-charged issue.
“This is only about health,” stressed Wall. “It is first and foremost a health policy.”
Two weeks ago council handed an exemption from the bylaw to St. Thomas Bingo Country.
That exemption stands until provincial smoke-free legislation comes into effect May 31, 2006 or should the Municipality of Central Elgin (home to a recently re-opened bingo facility) pass a smoking bylaw prior to that enactment.
In arguing for the bingo hall exemption, Jordan Gnat, president of Boardwalk Gaming and Entertainment Inc., warned council the hall could lose $2.5 million in revenue over the next 16 months.
Further, Gnat said 44 jobs would be jeopardized.
But Wall notes there are 170 Ontario municipalities which have not exempted bingo halls from their smoking regulations.
“Our contention all along is if you do provide an exemption to one type of business that’s where you create an uneven playing field and it will open up the whole bylaw.”
Wall told the T-J she has had no response from Mayor Jeff Kohler following her letter of Feb. 11 expressing the coalition’s disappointment at “your decision to approve a motion to allow Bingo Country an exemption from the 100 per cent smoke-free bylaw.”
She said she expects members of the coalition, along with family and friends, in the gallery tonight because “the politicians need to hear from the voters.”
“Our focus has been to tell the public this is not the time to be the silent majority.”
Meantime Adams says Lord Elgin Branch 41 should be exempt from the bylaw for the same reasons cited by Bingo Country.
“We’re a charitable organization. And the money that we raise within the legion stays entirely within the city of St. Thomas from the veterans to youth organizations to the hospital,” he explained.
“I think we’ll definitely have a bit of trouble raising those funds if we’re not exempted.”
Without an exemption, Adams added his branch will face competition from legions in neighbouring communities.
“If you want a parallel, there’s a legion in Aylmer and a Legion in Port Stanley which aren’t affected by it (a municipal smoking bylaw). So as far as I’m concerned it’s quite similar. The only difference is we’ve been there longer and a charitable organization a lot longer.”
Adams says other communities in the province have excluded Royal Canadian Legion branches from municipal smoking bylaws.
Legion branches were exempted from Toronto’s smoking ban when it was implemented because they are considered private clubs.
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=144367
Hundreds rally to support hotelier -SK
Veronica Rhodes, Leader-Post, Tuesday, February 22, 2005
WEYBURN -- A local bar owner took his fight against the provincial government's smoking ban to court Monday, with the boisterous support of hundreds of Saskatchewan proprietors.
Rob Joyal's appearance in a Weyburn courtroom Monday morning was preceded by a lively demonstration when roughly 500 business owners and supporters marched to the courthouse.
"I think we're sending a message out, hopefully to this government, that you have to listen to us. Negotiate with us. There are two groups involved in this whole situation, not only the FSIN but the hoteliers of Saskatchewan," said Joyal, the owner of the Royal Hotel.
Joyal pleaded not guilty to eight charges of violating the province's Tobacco Control Amendment Act. Since the ban on smoking in enclosed public places took effect Jan. 1, Joyal has repeatedly stated the need for a level playing field, which he feels doesn't exist as long as First Nations-run casinos can allow smoking in designated areas.
If Joyal and his lawyer decide to make a Charter application, Joyal's case will return to court June 13, with written briefs to be submitted by May 31. His trial is set for Aug. 22.
"Discrimination reigns in Saskatchewan" and "Butt out of business" were just a few of the signs raised by Joyal's supporters during the march.
The procession to the courthouse was led by four men carrying a make-shift coffin with a three-foot nail sticking out of the top and a sign on the side that read "the year the hotels died 2005."
The rally was organized by the Hotels Association of Saskatchewan, which has lobbied the government for months to allow ventilated smoking rooms for bars. Following the court appearance, demonstrators packed a hall to continue the rally inside, often bursting into cheers and applause during speeches.
"We're revved, no question about it ... This rally has just been fantastic. It's beyond our biggest dreams for the turnout. It just goes to show you it is the most important issue to the hotels association and the hospitality industry," said Tom Mullin, executive vice-president of the association.
Packed buses and vehicles brought supporters from around the province to the rally.
Restaurant owner Scott Krienke made the six-and-a-half hour drive south from La Ronge to take part.
"We believe that we should have our right to decide what we want to do in our own businesses," said Krienke.
"I think we're getting a raw deal, business owners, especially hotels. If (the government) figures that we shouldn't have smoking allowed in bars and wherever, then they shouldn't sell the cigarettes," said Dodsland Hotel owner David Hogg, who left his home at 3:30 a.m. to make it to the morning rally.
Not everyone who attended Joyal's court appearance sided with the defendant. Lynn Greaves, chair of the Saskatchewan Coalition for Tobacco Reduction, travelled to Weyburn to monitor the rally and the efforts of the hotels association.
"They have spent a large amount of money promoting designated smoking rooms, and it is quite odd that they would create an uneven playing field, which is the opposite of what they say they are going to do. Rich businesses can afford them, poor businesses can't," said Greaves, on the steps of the courthouse.
The hotels association has retained the services of lawyer Alan McIntyre, who said he hopes to facilitate discussions with the provincial government.
If it goes to court, McIntyre said they will launch a challenge under the Charter of Rights, claiming it is an unequal application of the law.
"Some kind of resolution by agreement or conciliation or whatever we wish to call it would, in my view, be the most appropriate disposition because then everyone is equally happy or unhappy.
"That's what we'd wish to try now. If we don't get a response and can't get things sorted out, we will resort to the courts," said McIntyre.
http://www.canada.com/regina/leaderpost/news/story.html?id=5de1d15e-b063-48d0-b6cb-af8d30d01ac3
Tackling “selective reporting” of randomised controlled trials
As part of its ongoing endeavours to improve the reporting of medical science, BioMed Central now requires authors of randomised controlled trials to register their trial in a publicly accessible registry before submitting their manuscript.
We believe that this will help to reduce “selective reporting” of trials. Traditionally, trials are more likely to be published if they show that a new treatment has a large effect, or if two approaches are equivalent; trials are less likely to be published if the new treatment is shown to be inferior, or if they are inconclusive. This selective reporting leads to “selective awareness”, making it impossible for researchers to be aware of the full body of evidence needed for clinical decision-making.
To combat this, BioMed Central will now only consider protocols or reports of randomised controlled trials if they are registered in a publicly accessible trial registry. The trial number must also be included in the title of the manuscript. We plan to make this part of our manuscript submission system by 1st June 2005, but the policy is in force as of now.
One such registry is the International Standard Randomised Controlled Trial Number (ISRCTN) Register, which registers a trial and assigns an ISRCTN. An ISRCTN can be obtained by completing the online application form.
http://www.biomedcentral.com/info/update
Liquor sag puts cork in December retailing
NHL lockout, Quebec strike play roll in drop Still, sales had solid gain for the full year
Feb. 22, 2005. 01:00 AM
OTTAWA—Two labour disputes took the "spirit" out of holiday retail sales in December.
"Sales plunged 2.7 per cent in the food and beverage sector in December, as ongoing labour disputes at the Société des alcools du Québec and in the National Hockey League contributed to a 12.1 per cent sales drop in beer, wine and liquor stores," Statistics Canada said yesterday.
"Sales in this trade group also include alcoholic beverage sales to other retail establishments, such as bars, restaurants and supermarkets."
The agency also said the increasing popularity of gift cards, which are considered as sales only when they are redeemed, may have played a role in December's weak retail sales.
The cards are usually used in January.
Consumers also backed off buying cars in December.
Overall, shoppers reduced their spending by 1.4 per cent to $29.2 billion in December, after essentially no change in November.
"Nonetheless, December's retail sales were 6.6 per cent higher compared with the same month of 2003," the agency reported.
It added that in 2004, retailers experienced their fifth best annual sales gain of the last 10 years.
Sales advanced 5 per cent compared with 2003, when sales rose 3.8 per cent.
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=1109027
411756&call_pageid=968350072197&col=969048863851&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Butt out -ON
Smoking ban a go for March 1
Times-Journal Staff By Ian McCallum, Tuesday February 22, 2005
The city’s bylaw to regulate smoking in public places and work places will be implemented one week from today.
But the city will not be 100 per cent smoke free as council Monday upheld an amendment to exempt St. Thomas Bingo Country from municipal regulation.
The bylaw survived a friendly amendment tabled by Ald. Cliff Barwick calling for suspension of the legislation until May 30, 2006 to coincide with the planned introduction of province-wide regulations.
That motion was defeated 5-3 with Barwick, Ald. Bill Aarts and Ald. Terry Shackelton in favour of a 15-month suspension.
Council’s decision earlier this month to exempt Bingo Country from the bylaw is going to result in court cases, warned Barwick.
“This is a very serious issue,” he noted. “It’s an issue of fairness.”
The priority of the Elgin-St. Thomas Health Unit, argued Barwick, should have been a county-wide regulation to ensure a level playing field for bingo halls, licensed establishments and branches of the Royal Canadian Legion.
“I fully support the Elgin-St. Thomas Health Unit. But they fluffed up. Elgin is not smoke-free.”
“The issue before us tonight is where people can smoke,” countered Ald. David Warden who first proposed the bylaw one year ago.
“I have always respected the other side. But this is for the good of the whole of St. Thomas.”
The motion to uphold the Bingo Country exemption was approved 5-3 with support from Mayor Jeff Kohler, Ald. Heather Jackson-Chapman, Ald. Terry Shackelton, Barwick and Warden.
The votes followed impassioned presentations from both sides of the smoking debate.
Paul Lovelock, representing the Smoke-Free St. Thomas-Elgin Coalition, warned council “a proactive, forward thinking bylaw will be weakened by any exemption.”
And he urged members not to bow to pressure from a “narrow interest group.”
Bill Adams, president of Lord Elgin Branch 41, Royal Canadian Legion, noted members will have difficulty raising funds for charitable and youth organizations in the city if the Legion is not exempt from the bylaw.
The Branch 41 contributes $3,000 annually to air and army cadet programs in the city and last year supported St. Thomas-Elgin General Hospital with a $6,000 donation, said Adams.
“Is the (Smoke-Free St. Thomas-Elgin) Coalition willing to spend thousands of dollars to help veterans and sports teams? It’s something we’ve been doing for decades.”
Council took no action on the Legion’s exemption request.
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/story.php?id=144568
Butt out, francophones told
By Lara Bradley/The Sudbury Star Local News - Saturday, February 19, 2005 @ 11:00
Francophones tend to smoke more than other people in Ontario
Celine Poitras, 19, has been smoking for five years and although she’s never tried to quit, one day she hopes to.
“It’s expensive when you smoke one pack a day,” said the College Boreal student.
Looking over an advertisement created by young francophones for young francophones aged 19-24, she gives it a favourable review.
“I think it’s good,” she said.
The print advertisement, which will be mounted on billboards, appear in youth-oriented publications and on buses throughout Northern Ontario, mimics a “for sale by owner” car ad, the kind you’d find pinned to a laundromat bulletin board.
It says (in French) that the car needs to be sold so that the owner can buy cigarettes. The excellent price for this good-looking car includes burn marks and a yellowed interior.
At the bottom are two hands breaking a cigarette with the slogan, “Enrichis ta vie et ton portefeuille” (enrich your life and your wallet), linking smoking cessation with both financial and health benefits.
Radio ads based on this theme will also play throughout Northern Ontario.
The Program and Training Consultation Centre, in conjunction with College Boreal and Northern Ontario’s four public health units, designed the media campaign.
They relied on the input of 37 young francophones who participated in focus groups, said Anne Meloche, project officer.
Their advice was for the advertisement to “give us a positive message to encourage us,” she said.
That’s why the campaign has a financial focus rather than one that stresses the dire health impacts of smoking.
This is the first time an anti-smoking media campaign has been designed by Franco-Ontarians. While ads have been in French in the past, they’ve just been translated versions of English ads.
“It’s never been done before,” she said.
There is an “urgent” need to address the problem of young francophones smoking.
More francophones smoke and they start at a younger age, said Isabelle Michel, manager of professional practice and development at the Sudbury and District Health Unit.
Of all the age groups, the 20-40 year-old category has the highest number of smokers. Francophones top the charts for smokers at 32 per cent of this age range, compared to 26 per cent of non-francophones who smoke in Ontario.
Numbers of francophones smoking are also higher in the north of the province than in the south, she said.
http://www.thesudburystar.com/webapp/sitepages/content.asp?contentid=98733&catname=Local+News
Teens invited to create anti-smoking message
Teens who have had enough of the messages sent out by the tobacco industry have the opportunity to speak out and win prizes by making a video or a radio ad and entering it in the second-annual Youth Stomp Out Tobacco Media Project.
"Kids know that the tobacco industry targets them, so this contest gives them a chance to answer back and be creative with their own anti-tobacco media messages," says Dr. Mike Gaspar, chairperson of the Simcoe County Action on Tobacco and Health (SCASH). "We had great response from youth last year and we know that this year will bring an even better response."
This year, in addition to the commercials, the project has been expanded to include the creation of radio ads. As part of this category, local youth bands and musicians will be invited to craft songs to be part of the messages. Last year 17 commercials were entered in the contest from youth from eight local high schools.
The community initiative is modeled on the highly successful Truth Campaign in the state of Florida that had a significant impact in reducing the incidence of teen smoking through the production and broadcast of youth generated anti tobacco commercials. Several of these television commercials are being aired nationally on prime time television.
The preregistration deadline is Feb. 28, with the entries due on May 20. A screening party at a local theatre showcasing the work of youth will be held as part of World No Tobacco Day on May 31. More than $1,000 in cash and prizes will be awarded to the best advertisements. In addition to SCASH and the Simcoe County District Health Unit, the contest is sponsored by the Barrie Community Health Centre, Health Canada, Centre for Advancement of Video Excellence, (radio station) and the New VR.
http://www.simcoe.com/sc/barrie/v-scv2/story/2581063p-2992685c.html
Nighbours support man charged with blaze that destroyed town
http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/local/213038_canadafires22.html
Another Gas Bar robbed of smokes -MB
Winnipeg Free Press- Feb 22/05
Gas bar robbed
POLICE made a quick arrest after a Domo gas bar at 177 St. Anne's Rd. was robbed Sunday morning.
A man, disguised in a hoodie and indicating he had a weapon, demanded cash and cigarettes from an attendant and then fled in a vehicle with the stolen items. No one was injured.
Richard Karpenko, 23, faces a number of charges. He was detained at the Winnipeg Remand Centre
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Motion calls for taxation of legal marijuana
Tuesday, February 22nd, 2005
OTTAWA -- Delegates to the Liberal party convention next month will debate a motion to legalize and tax marijuana sales, saying it would bring in billions in new tax revenue.
Parliament is already debating legislation to decriminalize marijuana, but a resolution by Alberta Liberals would go much further. It would tax the proceeds of legalized pot sales, which the resolution says would bring in $3 billion in revenue each year.
"Legalizing marijuana would be a serious blow to drug dealers and organized crime financially," says the resolution for the March 5-6 gathering.
"Resolved that a portion of these tax revenues be used to educate youth against drug use and to provide treatment for those who are adversely affected by use of marijuana."
It's just one of dozens of policy proposals obtained by The Canadian Press that will be debated by delegates to the Ottawa convention.
Another resolution, from British Columbia, asks for stiffer sentences for those involved in marijuana grow-ops.
Meanwhile, a party group called the Senior Liberals Commission is asking delegates to urge the government to enact legislation to respect "alternative forms of social lifestyle," but to not alter the definition of marriage.
But Liberal youth activists are working on a campaign called "It's the Charter, Stupid," with rallies and demonstrations to lobby delegates to support the government's same-sex marriage legislation before Parliament.
Some resolutions will be chosen as priority issues and will automatically be included for a vote by all delegates. Others must make it through debate in a workshop in order to be presented for approval or defeat by all delegates.
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Vehicles pollute -MB
Letter to the editor Feb 22/05
Re: the Feb. 19 letter Which is easier?
The potential harm from second-hand smoke is minimal compared to the very real illnesses caused by industrial and environmental pollution.
If, as the letter writer states, he is concerned about his health his question should more accurately read: "Is it easier for people to stop driving their vehicles or for me to stop breathing"?
He may not like the answers.
ADELINE SHOUP, Winnipeg
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Can we not implement common sense laws in regards to smoking ? -AB
Letter to the editor- Calgary Sun - Feb 22/05
("Cafe banking on smokin' resistance," Feb. 12.) It makes sense to ban smoking in public places. It also makes sense to allow private business owners the right to make their own decisions, which will reflect the demand of the market. If statistics are correct, most establishments will become smoke-free. This allows choice of work place for adult bar employees. By taking a lead and offering choices in our city we may even increase our tourism.
Sharon Thomson
(Businesses should not be left in the lurch.)
http://www.canoe.ca/CalgarySun/editorial.html#letters
RE: Which is easier? Feb. 19 letters. -AB
Letter to the editor - Edmonton Sun - Feb 22/05
It is a lot easier for me that you stop breathing than it is for me to stop smoking.
Thomas Laprade
(Sucks to be him, then.)
http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Letters/( published in Calgary sun, Winnepeg Free press, Edmonton Sun)
SWAT attack on Hollywood -MB
Student anti-smoking group organizes Black Lung Award
By DEAN PRITCHARD, STAFF REPORTER Wed, February 23, 2005
Students at Kildonan Collegiate are putting Tinseltown puffers on notice -- they are kicking butts and taking names. As Hollywood's elite await this year's Oscars, members of the school's SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) team are planning to hand out a statue of their own -- the Black Lung Award to the movie or performer guilty of the most flagrant example of glamourizing smoking.
"In the movies, no one ever gets sick. In the real world smoking kills," said SWAT team member Blair Molinski at a press conference yesterday announcing the award.
During the next three months, the SWAT team's 30 members will be hunkering down at the cineplex with popcorn, pens and pads.
On their movie checklist, students will note how many times a person is seen smoking, what kind of smoking is done and whether the smoking is glamourized.
The worst offenders will be announced at an "award" ceremony in May.
Team members say they want to see smoking banned from movies targeted at children and teenagers.
"You see your favourite actor, they are your role models, so you want to be like them in any way that you can," Molinski said.
'NO DOUBT'
"If they smoke you might start smoking because you want to be like them so much."
The Manitoba Medical Association is a partner in the project and helped purchase 100 movie passes for students.
"There is absolutely no doubt that Hollywood is complicit with the tobacco industry in trying to influence kids to smoke," said Dr. Mark Taylor, chairman of the MMA's public health issues committee.
"(Students) told us what they planned to do and we said 'We want to help you.' "
Some research shows that movies are responsible for recruiting as much as 52% of new teen smokers, Taylor said.
In Canada, where tobacco advertising is illegal, smoking in movies is a way around the law, he said.
"The tobacco industry knows that if they don't get kids to smoke they are out of business. Ninety per cent of smokers start when it is illegal for them to purchase cigarettes and the industry knows that."
Team member Lori Beach has been smoking for more than two years. While she blames peer pressure for her habit, Beach says there is no question movies have a strong influence on teen smoking.
"When people come back from school the first thing they want to do is watch TV or movies.
"You watch movies, and it's right there." http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/WinnipegSun/News/2005/02/23/939355-sun.html
House committee signs off on cigarette-tax hike -MN
Updated: 02-22-2005 07:02:29 PM
ST. PAUL (AP) - A House committee has signed off on legislation that would increase Minnesota's cigarette tax 99 cents a pack.
The bill also would cut three health-care taxes for small businesses.
The House Health Policy and Finance Committee sent the bill on to another committee.
Supporters say the proposal would deter 60,000 youth from smoking and more fairly spread the costs of insuring high-risk patients.
The bill would increase the cigarette tax from 48 cents to $1.47 a pack. The money would be used to eliminate an assessment for the Minnesota Comprehensive Health Association and two health care premium taxes.
MCHA insures patients who have been turned down by other insurers because of pre-existing conditions.
http://www.kaaltv.com/article/view/85565/
Smoking ban bill squeaks through Senate committee -MN
Updated: 02-22-2005 09:35:58 AM
ST. PAUL (AP) - A Senate committee approved legislation today that would create a statewide smoking ban in restaurants, bars and private clubs.
The ban survived the Commerce Committee on a 9-to-7 vote after cigar lounges were excluded, and an attempt to exempt veterans clubs failed on a tie vote. The committee also turned down an amendment that would have allowed smoking in bars.
The next stop is the Senate floor, where both sides say the outcome could be too close to call and that more attempts to narrow the ban are likely.
Even if the complete ban survives the Senate floor intact, the Senate and House versions of the bill have to be reconciled. The House version was already narrowed to prohibit smoking only in restaurants, while permitting it in bars and private clubs.
http://www.kaaltv.com/article/view/85546/
Study: Anti-smoking "truth" campaign helped slash youth smoking rates
WASHINGTON Smoking among young people is at a 28-year low -- and a new survey credits a nationwide ad campaign for a big drop over a recent two-year period.
The American Legacy Foundation's "truth" campaign has been funded largely by tobacco money from the industry's 246 (b) billion-dollar legal settlement with the states. The new study credits the campaign with preventing 300-thousand youths from becoming smokers between 2000 and 2002.
But the foundation says campaign money is drying up because the settlement allowed the tobacco companies to stop paying after five years if their market share was below 99 percent. And small manufacturers are making inroads.
In addition, some state legislatures are diverting the settlement money to other programs.
The study, in the March edition of the American Journal of Public Health, looked at surveys of teens conducted annually.
http://www.ktvotv3.com/Global/story.asp?S=2983563
Gaming briefs for February 22, 2005 -MT
House approves exempting casinos from smoking bans
HELENA -- The Montana House on Monday reiterated its desire to exempt casinos from any local smoking bans.
By the same 58-42 margin used to pass a similar measure two years ago, representatives endorsed a bill exempting any business with a gambling license from being subject to local ordinances more strict than the state laws governing indoor air.
The vote was a victory for the casino industry, which has pushed for the exclusion since Helena imposed a sweeping smoking ban on all public places in 2002. Various legal challenges have left that ban in limbo, but casino owners have contended that outlawing smokers would cripple their business.
The 2003 Legislature passed an exemption for casinos, but the Montana Supreme Court overturned it in December because it failed to specifically forbid such bans when it comes to casinos.
Familiar arguments over the bill Monday pitted private property rights against the dangers from secondhand smoke.
http://www.lasvegassun.com/sunbin/stories/gaming/2005/feb/22/518331527.html
State Senate to Vote on Smoking Ban
Reported By: Denis O'Hayer Web Editor:Manav Tanneeru Last Modified: 2/22/2005 7:19:10 PM
The state Senate is expected to vote Wednesday on a bill that would ban smoking in nearly all public places in the state.
The ban would even apply to some outdoor smoking spots.
Willie and Alyson Brown couldn't believe their outdoor table could become a no-smoking zone because it's within 25 feet of the door. “To tell me that I can‘t smoke in front of where I work – that’s ridiculous,” Alyson Brown said.
The bill's author, who is a doctor, said the idea's not as crazy as they might think. “The people that are going into the buildings, they’re inhaling the smoke and we’re getting a tremendous number of complaints,” said Republican Senator Don Thomas of Dalton, Georgia.
On a big patio like the one at the Brewhouse restaurant in Little Five Points, the bill would still allow smoking at tables farther from the door. But indoors, even at bars and restaurants, the ban would be total.
No-smoking signs would also go up at retail stores and shopping mall, public transportation facilities, including ticketing and waiting areas, and aquariums, galleries, libraries and museums.
The sponsor said his ban is so sweeping because of the dangers of secondhand smoke.
“We all know it causes asthmatic attacks, but it also causes cancer in non-smokers, it causes heart attacks, it causes strokes and in children that are exposed to secondhand smoke, they’re 3.6 times as likely to get cancer as adults,” Thomas said.
The ban is expected to easily pass the state Senate, but may run into opposition in the state House.
Several other states have banned smoking at indoor public places, including bars. Those states include California, Delaware, Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, and New York. Maryland's general assembly is considering a similar ban
http://www.11alive.com/news/news_article.aspx?storyid=59363
Kids and Taxpayers Will Win if North Carolina Increases Cigarette Tax, Says Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids
2/22/2005 4:44:00 PM
To: State Desk
Contact: Jennifer Friedman of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, 202-296-5469
WASHINGTON, Feb. 22 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The following is a statement by William V. Corr, executive director, Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids:
Governor Easley's proposal to increase the state cigarette tax by a "significant" amount is an important step toward protecting North Carolina's kids and taxpayers from the devastating toll of tobacco. Increasing the cigarette tax is a win-win-win solution for North Carolina. It is a public health win that will reduce smoking and save lives, a fiscal win that will raise much-needed revenue and reduce smoking-caused health care costs, and a political win because cigarette taxes have the strong support of the public. North Carolina currently ranks next to last in the nation with a cigarette tax of just five cents a pack. To make the most of this opportunity, we call on North Carolina's leaders to pass a 75-cent cigarette tax increase, which will bring significant health and revenue benefits and raise the state's cigarette tax close to the national average, which is currently 84 cents a pack. We are encouraged that State Representatives Larry Womble (D-Forsyth), Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake) and others have introduced a bill that would increase North Carolina's cigarette tax by 75 cents per pack.
North Carolina can expect a 75-cent cigarette tax increase to prevent some 101,000 kids alive today from becoming smokers; spur 70,000 current adult smokers to quit; save 47,700 North Carolina residents from premature, smoking-caused deaths; produce $1.8 billion in long-term health care savings; and raise $347 million in new revenue each year. Studies show every 10 percent increase in the price of cigarettes reduces youth smoking by about seven percent and overall cigarette consumption by about four percent. In recent years, every state that has significantly increased its cigarette tax has enjoyed significant increases in revenue even while reducing cigarette sales. A Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Fact Sheet listing all the projected benefits for North Carolina from a 75-cent cigarette tax increase is attached.
A cigarette tax increase is also popular with North Carolina residents, with 63 percent expressing support, according to a poll released last week by Elon University's Institute for Politics and Public Affairs.
North Carolina can achieve even greater reductions in smoking and even greater health and financial benefits by dedicating a small portion of the new cigarette tax revenue to tobacco prevention. North Carolina has made significant progress in funding tobacco programs over the past two years by increasing prevention funding from $6.2 million to $15 million. Still, North Carolina currently spends just 35.2 percent of the minimum amount of $42.6 million recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). It would take just a small percentage of the new cigarette tax revenue to increase funding for tobacco prevention, leaving plenty for other purposes.
Tobacco use is the leading preventable cause of death in North Carolina, claiming more than 11,500 lives each year and costing the state $2.3 billion annually in health care bills, including $708 million in Medicaid payments alone. Government expenditures related to tobacco amount to a hidden tax of $556 on every North Carolina household. In addition, 24.8 percent of North Carolina high school students currently smoke, and 23,700 more kids become regular smokers every year. By increasing the cigarette tax, North Carolina can protect its kids from tobacco, save lives and save money. By properly funding tobacco prevention, it can achieve even greater benefits.
---
BENEFITS FROM A CIGARETTE TAX INCREASE IN NORTH CAROLINA
Current State Cigarette Tax: 5 Cents Per Pack (50th among all states)
Smoking-caused costs in state per taxed pack sold: $6.59
Average retail price per pack: $3.33 (state share from excise and sales taxes: $0.27)
Annual health care expenditures in the North Carolina directly caused by tobacco use: $2.26 billion
Total state Medicaid program smoking costs each year: $707.8 million
State cigarette tax revenue each year: $38.8 million (2003)
Last North Carolina Cigarette Tax Increase: 8/1/1991
---
Projected Benefits From Increasing the State Cigarette Tax By 75 Cents Per Pack
-- New state cigarette tax revenues each year: $346.5 million
-- Pack sales decline in state: -316.5 million
-- Percent decrease in youth smoking: 15.7 percent
-- Increase in total number of kids alive today who will not become smokers: 101,000
-- Number of current adult smokers in the state who would quit: 70,000
-- Number of smoking-affected births avoided over next five years: 13,100
-- Number of current adult smokers saved from smoking-caused death: 15,400
-- Number of kids alive today saved from premature smoking- caused death: 32,300
-- 5-Year healthcare savings from fewer smoking-affected pregnancies & births: $15.0 million
-- 5-year healthcare savings from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks & strokes: $31.7 million
-- Long-term healthcare savings in state from adult & youth smoking declines: $1.79 billion
These projections are fiscally conservative because they include a generous adjustment for lost state pack sales (and tax revenues) from new tax avoidance efforts after the tax increase by continuing in-state smokers, fewer sales to smokers from other states, and fewer sales to supply informal smugglers, criminal smuggling organizations, or multistate internet sellers. The projections are based on research findings that a 10 percent cigarette price increase reduces youth smoking rates by 6.5 percent, adult rates by 2 percent, and total consumption by 4 percent (but adjusted down to account for tax evasion effects), and assume that the state tax will keep up with inflation. Nevertheless, the tax increase will both reduce smoking levels and increase state revenues because the higher tax per pack brings in more new revenue than is lost from the drop in the number of packs sold. Sales tax is 7.0 percent. Because of the generous assumptions re lost state pack sales to smugglers and tax avoiders, cigarette-related sales tax revenues are projected to decline despite the fact that the cigarette tax increase will increase state sales tax revenue per pack sold (the state sales tax percentage applies to the total retail price of a cigarette pack, including the cigarette-tax portion of the price). Kids stopped from smoking and dying are from all kids alive today. Long-term savings accrue over lifetimes of persons who stop smoking or never start because of tax increase.
Sources. Chaloupka, F, "Macro-Social Influences: Effects of Prices and Tobacco Control Policies on the Demand for Tobacco Products," Nicotine & Tobacco Research, 1999, and other price studies at http://tigger.uic.edu/ 7/8fjc and www.uic.edu/orgs/impacteen. Orzechowski & Walker, Tax Burden on Tobacco, 2003. USDA Economic Research Service, www.ers.usda.gov/Briefing/tobacco. State tax offices. Farrelly, M. et al., "Cigarette Smuggling Revisited," U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC), in press. CDC, State Highlights 2004: Sustaining State Programs for Tobacco Control, 2004, http://www.cdc.gov/tobacco/datahighlights/index.htm. Miller, P., et al., "Birth and First-Year Costs for Mothers and Infants Attributable to Maternal Smoking," Nicotine & Tobacco Research 3(1): 25-35, February 2001. Lightwood, J. & S. Glantz, "Short-Term Economic and Health Benefits of Smoking Cessation - Myocardial Infarction and Stroke," Circulation 96(4): 1089-1096, August 19, 1997, http://circ.ahajournals.org/cgi/content/full/96/4/1089. Hodgsen, T., "Cigarette Smoking and Lifetime Medical Expenditures," The Millbank Quarterly 70(1), 1992. U.S. Census. Nat'l Center for Health Statistics.
For more information, see the Campaign fact sheets -- including Raising State Tobacco Taxes Always Reduces Tobacco Use (& Always Increases State Revenues) - at http://tobaccofreekids.org/research/factsheets/index.php?Category ID=18 and http://tobaccofreekids.org/reports/prices.
Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids 1.7.05 / Eric Lindblom, January 31, 2005
http://releases.usnewswire.com/GetRelease.asp?id=43420
Anti-smoking group submits petition to strengthen ordinance
By: News 8 Austin Staff 2/22/2005 3:19 PM
A group called Onward Austin is asking the city to tighten its anti-smoking ordinance.
They submitted a petition Tuesday with 4,000 signatures, in addition to 36,000 they turned in earlier.
Onward Austin wants a referendum in May to strengthen the smoking ordinance and set penalties for breaking the rules.
As of June 2004, bars and restaurants must get a special permit that restricts the hours of smoking and provide its own specially designated smoking area with a ventilation system.
The city clerk said it will take about a week to verify the latest batch of signatures.
Onward Austin needs support from 10 percent - or about 37,000 - of the city's registered voters to get the issue on the ballot for May.
The American Cancer Society backs the petition effort.
http://www.news8austin.com/content/your_news/default.asp?ArID=131776
Study: Parents mellowing over drug use
Tuesday, February 22, 2005
NEW YORK (AP) -- While today's parents were more likely to have used drugs than in previous generations, they see less risk in drug experimentation and are less likely to speak with their children about it, according to a survey released Tuesday.
The study of parental attitudes toward teen drug use, conducted by The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, found that barely half of the parents would be upset if their children experimented with marijuana.
The number of parents who have never spoken with their children about drugs was 12 percent, double what it was just six years ago, the survey found.
While most parents no longer use drugs -- 11 percent reported marijuana use in the last year -- they still carry attitudes fostered during their teen years, researchers found. This is particularly true about parents who were teenagers in the late '70s and early '80s, when teen drug use was at a high point.
"While the vast majority of parents have left old habits behind, they're carrying old attitudes and beliefs forward," said Steve Pasierb, president and CEO of the Partnership. "If old habits die hard, the data suggests lax attitudes about drugs die even harder."
Among other findings in the survey:
While parents believe it's important to discuss drugs with their children, only about three in 10 children say they've learned a lot about drug risks at home
Only 18 percent of parents believe their children have smoked marijuana, but the number of teens experimenting with it is 39 percent.
Just 21 percent of parents believe friends of their teen are smoking marijuana, but 62 percent of teens report friends who use the drug.
The study was conducted among 1,205 parents nationwide, with a margin of error of plus or minus 2.8 percentage points. The survey was conducted in households with children under the age of 18.
The Partnership for a Drug-Free America, launched in 1987, is a coalition of communications professionals aimed at reducing the demand for illegal drugs.
http://www.cnn.com/2005/HEALTH/parenting/02/22/drug.survey.ap/
Cigarette Tax Poll -WI
Madison Feb 21, 2005
A newspaper says that a new poll of state residents shows more than three-quarters support a major increase in cigarette taxes.
The Capital Times says the poll will be released this week. Several legislators are aiming to raise the tobacco tax, which is now 77 cents per pack. According to the non-partisan state Legislative Fiscal Bureau, that's about average. State cigarette taxes range from three cents a pack in Kentucky to ($2.46) in Rhode Island.
Republican representative J-A Hines is promoting a measure to increase the tax by one-dollar a pack. Hines' bill estimates that would raise an extra 250 to 340 million dollars. He says that for every 10 percent increase in cigarette taxes, seven percent fewer children begin to smoke.
http://www.wxow.com/news/publish/articles/article_1513.shtml
Cigarette Makers Object to U.S. Penalties
By HILARY ROXE Wednesday February 23, 2005 12:46 AM
Associated Press Writer
WASHINGTON (AP) - Cigarette makers on Tuesday objected to penalties the Justice Department is seeking against the tobacco industry in a civil racketeering trial, saying they fail to meet the standards set by an appeals court ruling.
The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit barred the government from seeking $280 billion in a lawsuit alleging the industry engaged in a five-decade conspiracy to deceive the public about the health hazards of cigarettes.
The panel ruled this month that the 1970 civil racketeering statute under which the government filed its case required forward-looking remedies, which did not include ``disgorgement,'' or the pursuit of the $280 billion the government claims the industry earned through fraudulent activities.
In a brief ordered by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, defendants argued that other penalties the government is seeking are not forward-looking and are ``strikingly in conflict with the Court of Appeals' unambiguous holding.''
The government last week outlined other potential remedies that Kessler could impose on the industry, including requiring tobacco companies to pay for smoking cessation programs, a public education campaign about the dangers of smoking, and a long-term campaign to prevent youth smoking.
``Like disgorgement, these anti-smoking efforts will have no effect on whether defendants 'act unlawfully in the future,''' defendants wrote in the brief filed Tuesday.
The Justice Department had no comment on the tobacco companies' brief, department spokeswoman Kimberly Smith said.
The government has said it intends to appeal the disgorgement decision to a full panel of the appeals court. It has until March 21 to do so.
The defendants in the lawsuit are: Philip Morris USA Inc. and its parent, Altria Group Inc.; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Brown & Williamson Tobacco Co.; British American Tobacco Ltd.; Lorillard Tobacco Co.; Liggett Group Inc.; Counsel for Tobacco Research-U.S.A.; and the Tobacco Institute.
---
On the Net:
Justice Department tobacco litigation: http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/tobacco2/
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-4819301,00.html
Brewers' profits lose their fizz -UK
Heineken and Carlsberg, two of the world's largest brewers, have reported falling profits after beer sales in western Europe fell flat.
Dutch firm Heineken saw its annual profits drop 33% and warned that earnings in 2005 may also slide.
Danish brewer Carlsberg suffered a 3% fall in profits due to waning demand and increased marketing costs.
Both are looking to Russia and China to provide future growth as western European markets are largely mature.
Currency moves
Heineken's net income fell to 537m euros ($701m; £371m) during 2004, from 798m euro a year ago. It blamed weak demand in western Europe and currency losses.
It had warned in September that the weakening US dollar, which has cut the value of foreign sales, would knock 125m euros off its operating profits.
Despite the dip in profits, Heineken's sales have been improving and total revenue for the year was 10bn euros, up 8.1% from 9.26bn euros in 2003.
Heineken said it now plans to invest 100m euros in "aggressive" and "high-impact" marketing in Europe and the US in 2005.
Heineken, which also owns the Amstel and Murphy's stout brands, said it would also seek to cut costs. This may involve closing down breweries.
Heineken increased its dividend payment by 25% to 40 euro cents, but warned that the continued impact of a weaker dollar and an increased marketing spend may lead to a drop in 2005 net profit.
Smoking gun
Carlsberg, the world's fifth-largest brewer, saw annual pre-tax profits fall to 3.4bn Danish kroner (456m euros).
Its beer sales have been affected by the sluggish </F Posted at 11:56 pm by looped_ca
Monday, February 21, 2005
Province seeks new deal on gaming profits -ON
Talks begin with First Nations
Peterson heading negotiations
RICHARD BRENNAN QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU February 19, 2005
PETERBOROUGH—Former Liberal premier David Peterson is being paid $1,000 a day to lead negotiations on a new deal between the province and Ontario First Nations on sharing gaming profits.
The First Nations have been receiving proceeds from gaming at Casino Rama, near Orillia, since it opened in the summer of 1996, and the arrangement expires in 2011. Indian bands have received about $500 million in net proceeds, according to local newspaper reports.
But negotiations are now under way between the Ontario Lottery and Gaming Corp. and the First Nations to share proceeds from gaming sources across the province, not just Casino Rama.
Finance Minister Greg Sorbara said in a statement yesterday: "It's important we work closely with Ontario's First Nations to build a stable source of funding for community, economic and cultural development, health and education."
But a source told the Toronto Star that while divvying up proceeds from all gaming sites " sounds good, they (government officials) really want to give the natives less money."
Premier Dalton McGuinty, who was here to make an education funding announcement, told reporters yesterday "these discussions have been going on for quite some time ... I'm not familiar with the details."
Conservative MPP Tim Hudak (Erie-Lincoln) said Ontario native bands are not going to fall "for this bait and switch."
"When the McGuinty government should be turning its mind to improving health care and education, why they would dive into this complex issue is beyond me," he said.
Peterson served as Liberal premier between 1985 and 1990. He was elected as a member of the Legislature in 1975 and became the Ontario Liberal Party leader in 1982. He is now a senior partner and chairman of Cassels Brock, where he practises corporate and commercial law.
With files from Canadian Press
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&c=Article&cid=110876821180
2&call_pageid=968256289824&col=968342212737&DPL=IvsNDS%2f7ChAX&tacodalogin=yes
Tobacco Company Disappointed by Ruling, Claims Lawyers the Main Winners with this Decision
MONTREAL, Feb. 21 /CNW Telbec/ - Imperial Tobacco Canada is extremely disappointed with the Québec Superior Court's decision to certify two class actions against the three major tobacco companies in Québec.
The decision will give rise to years of litigation as the classes include potentially more than two million members. Tobacco companies have indicated that it will result in as many individual trials in order to determine such things as the health history, lifestyle choices and smoking history of each individual who claims to be part of the class.
"The real winners in this class action will be the legions of lawyers who will be employed for years to come trying to deal with the individual issues that are inevitable in this type of class action," said company's head of Public Affairs, Yves-Thomas Dorval.
The tobacco company argued against certification, citing that each class member would have to separately pursue their own claim. This is because numerous individual issues are involved and each individual claim would have to be adjudicated on its own merits.
The company also argued that the health risks of smoking have been publicized, debated and promoted for half a century in Canada, over which period millions of people have chosen to quit smoking. Virtually the only tobacco advertising in Canada since the 1980s has been that conducted by governments, health groups and others to promote health warnings and non-smoking.
A previous hearing in Canada resulted in the Honourable Justice Warren Winkler of the Ontario Superior Court of Justice denying the class action certification request of four plaintiffs, on February 4, 2004. He ruled that the class action did not raise "common issues" as it must in order to obtain certification as a class action. Also, courts in the United States have repeatedly refused to certify class actions against tobacco manufacturers precisely because there are many individual issues, making individual actions the only realistic option for those who wish to pursue a claim.
For further information: Yves-Thomas Dorval, Imperial Tobacco Canada, (514) 932-6161, ext. 2113
http://www.newswire.ca/en/releases/archive/February2005/21/c6766.html
Hundreds turn out to protest smoke ban -SK
CBC News Last Updated Feb 21 2005 03:46 PM CST
WEYBURN – The debate over the province's smoking ban was heating up again in Weyburn Monday.
At least 500 people rallied in support of a local hotel owner who is facing thousands of dollars in fines for violating the ban on smoking in public places.
Royal Hotel owner Rob Joyal, who was in court Monday, said he will plead not guilty to the offences. His case was adjourned to August.
"People in Saskatchewan don't think this legislation is fair," Joyal said outside the courthouse. "It's not being handled right."
Joyal and some of his supporters believe the law that went into effect Jan. 1 is unconstitutional because it's applied unequally – it's enforced in most Saskatchewan venues, but does not apply to casinos owned by First Nations.
The province has been in talks with First Nations, urging them to comply with the law, but it has said little about the status of those negotiations.
The hospitality industry has suggested a possible solution would be for the government to allow separate smoking rooms in their establishments, but so far the province has rejected the idea.
The Saskatchewan Hotels Association has hired a lawyer and is trying to start mediation talks with the province and Indian-run casinos
http://sask.cbc.ca/regional/servlet/View?filename=weyburn-bar050221
Weyburn smokers rally as ban tested in court -SK
CBC NewsLast Updated Mon, 21 Feb 2005 15:55:53 EST
WEYBURN, SASK. - Where there's no smokes there's fired-up protestors, at least in Saskatchewan.
Hundreds of people chanted and waved signs in front of a courthouse in Weyburn on Monday, complaining about the province's smoking ban.
They were there to support Weyburn bar owner Rob Joyal, who faces nine charges of violating the ban at the Royal Hotel.
Joyal pleaded not guilty to all the charges.
The noise of the protesters outside was so loud that it distracted the judge.
Joyal says the law is driving business away from the hotel's bar.
Organizers of the rally also say the law is unfair because some First Nation casinos have been given an exemption from the smoking ban.
The province has been in talks with First Nations, urging them to comply with the law, but officials have said little about the status of those talks.
The hospitality industry has suggested that the law could be improved by allowing separate smoking rooms, but the province has rejected that idea.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/canada/national/2005/02/21/smoking-040221.html
Quebec court certifies class action suits against 3 tobacco companies -QC
CBC NewsLast Updated Mon, 21 Feb 2005 16:23:19 EST
MONTREAL - The Quebec Superior Court on Monday certified two class action lawsuits seeking billions of dollars in damages against three tobacco companies operating in Quebec.
The defendants are Rothmans and its subsidiary Benson & Hedges, Imperial Tobacco, and JTI-Macdonald.
The lawsuits allege damages on the part of millions of Quebecers as a result of addiction to tobacco products and smoking-related illnesses. The suits seek damages on the part of each class member.
One suit seeks $5,000 for each of the estimated two million Quebecers addicted to smoking.
A second suit, filed by a smoker who lost a lung to cancer, is asking for up to $100,000 for each Quebecer who suffered emphysema or cancer of the lungs, larynx or throat between 1995 and 1998.
The tobacco companies were quick to criticize the "class action" status awarded by the court.
"The real winners in this class action will be the legions of lawyers who will be employed for years to come trying to deal with the individual issues that are inevitable in this type of class action," said Imperial Tobacco's head of public affairs, Yves-Thomas Dorval.
Imperial Tobacco said the Ontario Superior Court denied a similar class action certification request last year, saying the class action did not raise "common issues", a requirement for class action certification.
"Courts in the United States have repeatedly refused to certify class actions against tobacco manufacturers precisely because there are many individual issues, making individual actions the only realistic option for those who wish to pursue a claim," an Imperial Tobacco statement said.
A statement from Rothmans said the company "intends to vigorously defend itself."
Rothmans shares fell $4.28 to $43.70, a drop of almost 9 per cent. The plunge occurred right after news of the class action certification was released.
http://www.cbc.ca/story/business/national/2005/02/21/tobacco-050221.html
Smitherman makes Tory a campaign promise -ON
Health Minister George Smitherman is itching to campaign in the Dufferin-Peel-Wellington-Grey by-election, given that a prominent resident of his riding is running.
"I can't wait to get up there to introduce my constituent, John Tory," says Smitherman (Toronto Centre-Rosedale).
Tory, of course, is the Conservative leader hoping to win the March 17 vote and secure a seat in the Legislature.
It won't be Smitherman's first foray into the riding. He campaigned against former Conservative premier Ernie Eves in a 2002 by-election, used to play hockey in Bolton and worked for a buddy who twice ran for mayor of Caledon. "It's fair to say I've travelled more of the dusty back roads of that riding than John Tory ever will."
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1108942809818
Thompson Said Not One to Die in Hospital -CO
By ROBERT WELLER Associated Press Writer Monday, February 21, 2005 6:16 p.m. ET
ASPEN, Colo. (AP) -- While Hunter S. Thompson's suicide shocked many in his out-of-the-way neighborhood, one of his closest friends said Monday the writer had been in a lot of pain after a broken leg and hip surgery.
"I wasn't surprised," said George Stranahan, a former owner of the Woody Creek Tavern, one of Thompson's favorite hangouts. "I never expected Hunter to die in a hospital bed with tubes coming out of him."
Thompson was found dead in his home Sunday night from a gunshot wound that appeared to be self-inflicted, said Joe DiSalvo, a spokesman for the Pitkin County Sheriff's Department.
Authorities refused to say whether a note was found, but a family statement said Thompson had taken his own life. His adult son, Juan, found his body Sunday evening.
Investigators recovered the weapon, a .45-caliber handgun. An autopsy was planned. DiSalvo said the investigation was continuing but declined to elaborate.
Neighbors in Thompson's Woody Creek neighborhood said a broken leg had kept him from getting out as often as in the past, including to the tavern.
But Shep Harris, who now owns the tavern, said Thompson would sometimes slip in for a drink and a smoke if no one else was there.
Patrons normally are not allowed to light up because the tavern does not have a separate smoking area, but if Thompson were the only customer, he got a waiver.
"We called it the Hunter Rule," Harris said.
Mike Cleverly, a neighbor and longtime friend, spent Friday night watching a basketball game on TV with Thompson. He said Thompson was clearly hobbled by the broken leg. "Medically speaking, he's had a rotten year," he said.
But he added that "he's the last person in the world I would have expected to kill himself. I would have been less surprised if he had shot me."
Thompson was legendary for his love of firearms.
"He had a thing about guns," said Mary Eshbaugh Hayes, an acquaintance and a former editor of the Aspen Times. "I was always very worried he was going to shoot someone."
He did, at least once. In 2000, he accidentally slightly wounded his assistant trying to chase a bear off his property.
Hayes said she was present when a drunken Thompson fired three shots into a copy of one of his books and gave it to a friend, saying, "This is your autographed copy."
Despite the gunfire and the wild, drug-addled image he projected in his writing, Thompson was on good terms with the sheriff's department and was friends with Sheriff Bob Braudis and with DiSalvo, the sheriff's director of investigations.
"I would definitely call him a friend," DiSalvo said. "This was not the way I expected Hunter to die."
http://wireservice.wired.com/wired/story.asp?section=Breaking&storyId=993959&tw=wn_wire_story
* Hunter S. Thompson, gonzo journalist creator
Smoking ban heads for Senate floor vote -MN
by Tim Pugmire, Minnesota Public Radio February 21, 2005
A proposed indoor smoking ban for Minnesota bars and restaurants has cleared another legislative hurdle. The Senate Commerce Committee approved the measure Monday on a 9-to-7 vote. The issue is now headed for a vote by the full Senate.
St. Paul, Minn. — The legislation would prevent smoking inside public places throughout the state. The debate has pitted clean indoor air advocates against bar and restaurant owners. It's also raised numerous concerns about government's role in restricting personal behavior.
Sen. Scott Dibble, DFL-Minneapolis, says he's out to protect waiters and waitresses who have to work in smokey environments.
"Secondhand smoke is classified as a Type A toxin, which is the worst by the EPA. And most recently, we've learned that the health consequences are even more immediate, quite rapid with compromised health situations," according to Dibble.
To stress that point, Dibble brought along physicians, researchers and hospitality workers to testify in support of the smoking ban.
Zachary Barnes, 11, from Virginia, also wants an end to smoking in bars and restaurants. Barnes, who suffers from cystic fibrosis, says secondhand smoke makes it hard to breathe.
"I look forward to the day that I can walk into any restaurant, hotel, bowling alley, grocery store and any other establishment and not have to worry about secondhand smoke and how it will affect my health. I'll be able to work in four years, and I'd like to choose my job based on what I'm good at, not whether a place is smoke free," he said.
But the owners of the kind of businesses affected by the proposed ban see the issue as an attack on their rights. Tom Day of the group Hospitality Minnesota says many bars and restaurants have already gone smoke-free on their own. He says a government mandate will only hurt small business owners.
"We can all agree that as a result of this legislation, some restaurants will close, some employees will lose their jobs. So, while concern is shown in the area of employees not having a choice of where they work, I'd be more concerned that they even have a place to work after their employer closes the doors," Day said.
A smoking ban bill is also moving through the Minnesota House, but it exempts bars that sell more drinks than meals. Restaurants could construct separate smoking rooms.
Sen. Daniel Sparks, R-Austin, tried unsuccessfully to amend Dibble's bill to more closely match the House version.
"I do agree with Senator Dibble, and I commend his hard work when it comes to smoking ban in restaurants. But I also agree with small-business owners and constituents in my district that want bars and places not serving food to have a choice on this issue. If they want to have their establishment smoke free, they should be able to do so, and I respect their right to decide," Sparks said.
The committee approved one amendment which would exempt tobacco shops that allow product sampling on the premises. This was the second Senate panel to approve the bill. The measure now moves to the full Senate, where numerous amendments are expected to surface during the floor debate.
http://news.minnesota.publicradio.org/features/2005/02/21_pugmiret_smokingban/
Group aims to win anti-smoking grant -LA
BOGALUSA — A public forum on the hazards of second-hand tobacco smoke will be held Tuesday from 9-10 a.m. at the YWCA. The public is invited to stop by and sign a Petition of Support sponsored by Prevention Connection, which is seeking a $10,000 community grant from The Louisiana Campaign for Tobacco-Free Living program.
Meeting organizers said Danielle Magee, prevention educator, will present her proposal and encourage comments from our local citizens. Several local schools will send student leaders to form a Youth Advocacy Council.
The American Cancer Association, Louisiana Pubic Health Institute and Louisiana Health 2010 will be present to assist with the presentation.
The forum is supported by the Washington Parish Commission on Human Services officers Merlin Duke, Marilyn Baily-Crews, Betty Bienvenu, Aleta J. Spears and Leon Sampere; officers of ADAPT, Inc. Sandy Bloom, Dorothy Young, Patsy Ritchie, Michelle Knight, Jane Rester and Charlette Fornea; Prevention Connection steering committee members Drew Lehmann, Cheryl Klein, Sue Kennedy, the Rev. Atwood Luter, Barbara Brown, Eddie Ratcliff and Pat Sullivan along with Across Ages mentors Laura Davis, Clemintine Morris and Robert Taylor.
http://www.edailynews.info/articles/2005/02/21/news/news12.txt
Smoking ban hurts casino -NZ
By SUE ALLEN 22 February 2005
Shares in Sky City Entertainment group fell by nearly 3 per cent on news that last year's smoking ban had led to a reining in of net profit growth to 4 per cent in the six months to December.
Managing director Evan Davies said yesterday that last December's ban on smoking and other legal changes had significantly affected the results.
Sky City had estimated the ban would knock $10 million off revenue in the 2005 financial year.
A $20-note limit on pokie machines had also reduced revenues in Auckland from gaming machines by 1.2 per cent on the same period a year earlier.
"We accept that those impacts will continue through the second half of the current year, but we are of the view that growth will resume in the 2006 financial year," Mr Davies said.
Sky City shares finished down 6 cents at $5.17, having traded as low as $5.08.
Sky City Group now has casinos in Auckland, Queenstown and Hamilton and a 40 per cent stake in the Christchurch casino.
It also has operations in Adelaide and Darwin in Australia.
Mr Davies said it was now hoping to target "higher-value customers" from New Zealand and overseas.
"We have some customers who have shown a real loyalty over the years and we know they have alternative destinations and some of those destinations are extremely grand."
Though Sky City could not compete with gambling venues such as Las Vegas, it could improve the environment and make it more welcoming, he said.
Net profits for the first half of the year were up 4 per cent to $57.1 million from $55.1 million a year earlier.
Group revenues for the half year rose 19 per cent to $351.1 million, from $295.8 million.
New Zealand operations contributed 71 per cent of total revenues, and Australian operations 29 per cent.
Sky City's biggest New Zealand property, Sky City Auckland, increased revenues by 4 per cent to $206 million.
Mr Davies said he was comfortable with analyst expectations of a full-year profit of $114 million to $119 million, provided the pre-December predictions for the impact of smoking bans in New Zealand were accurate.
ABN Amro analyst James Miller said the results were as expected.
"You really aren't going to talk growth this year. My view is that this stock gets to be quite interesting in 2006 from an earnings perspective."
That was when the benefits of projects such as the Auckland convention centre would be felt, and the negative effects of the smoking ban and harmonisation would dissipate.
"Sky is doing all it can do," he said.
"It's had a pretty aggressive acquisition programme and has been active in the consolidation of the industry, particularly with peripheral players."
The group announced the reintroduction of a dividend reinvestment plan, which will apply to the interim dividend announced yesterday.
http://www.stuff.co.nz/stuff/0,2106,3195011a13,00.html
Inventories: Drinking more, smoking more -NZ
21-Feb-2005
There's more alchohol on hand in New Zealand these days, and more tobacco -- but fewer cigarettes.
According to Statistics New Zealand -- which measures amounts of alcohol and tobacco "available for consumption" rather than volumes actually consumed -- inventories of beer decreased by 0.2 per cent compared with 2003, while wine increased by 5.9 per cent and spirits increased by 9.4 per cent.
Cigarette supplies were down 2 per cent from the previous year but loose tobacco supplies ballooned.
Have a tipple
SNZ said overall alcohol inventories grew by 1.9 per cent in the December 2004 year.
Beer declined substantially as a share of the liquor cabinet, as well.
While it provided 70 per cent of the alcoholic beverages available for consumption in the December 2004 year, that was down from 83 per cent in the December 1994 year.
It was small beer, as well.
Beer with a strength of 4.35 per cent or less, the most common strength of beer available in New Zealand, accounted for 74 per cent of the beer available, down from 92 per cent in the December 1994 year.
Bottled beer made up nearly half of domestically produced beer in 2004, returning to a level last seen in 1982, from which it had fallen to a low of 21 per cent in 1992.
Tap beer accounted for almost half of the beer produced in 1991 but now accounts for less than a third.
Canned beer has fallen from a peak of 32 per cent of domestic production in 1992 to 21 per cent in the 2004 year.
And no matter how it gets packaged, almost all of it is locally brewed -- domestic production provided 93 per cent of the beer available for consumption in New Zealand.
The softness in the beer inventory is offset by other types of spirit inventories.
It might be the finding that a few tipples a day have such beneficial side effects -- or that we just need something stiffer than a beer -- but inventories of wine have grown five per cent in the last decade (up to 19 per cent of the alcohol available in 2004 from 14 per cent in 1994) and spirit inventories jumped by an astonishing16.9 per cent in the December 2004 year.
SNZ said that this reversed a slowing growth rate in spirits consumption and was the the largest increase in spirits inventories since 1995.
The demand for spirit-based drinks has risen every year since 1995, SNZ said, but the rate of growth had been slowing since 2000 -- until last year.
Spirits and spirit-based drinks represented 11 per cent of the beverage available for consumption in 2004. The share of spirits and spirit-based drinks has increased steadily from 3 per cent in 1996.
But Jim Anderton's poisonous tax on the fortified wines favoured by retired tipplers has almost killed that niche product.
Consumption of fortified wines like sherries and ports dropped from nearly 20 per cent of the wine supply in 1984 to 1.3 per cent in 2004.
Domestic production provided 73 percent of the wine available in New Zealand in 2004, a tribute to the supply and price -- if not always the quality -- of New Zealand wines.
Wine provided 19 per cent of the alcohol available in 2004, up from 14 per cent in 1994.
Roll 'em if you've got 'em
During the December 2004 year, the number of cigarettes available for consumption was 2,320 million, down 2 per cent from the previous year.
The number of cigarettes available for consumption peaked at 6,346 million in 1977, and levels were generally above 6,000 million until 1984.
Since then, as taxes increased, cigarette consumption has generally been decreasing, and for the past four years the number of cigarettes available for consumption has remained below 3,000 million.
But smokers may simply be turning away from heavily taxed cigarettes to other forms of tobacco consumption.
Tobacco available for consumption rose to 841 tonnes in the 2004 year, up 5.8 per cent from 2003.
Loose tobacco for pipe or cigarette smoking made up approximately 27 per cent of the cigarette and tobacco products available for consumption.
http://www.nbr.co.nz/home/column_article.asp?id=11401&cid=4&cname=Business+Today
*98 results since 2001 , seems to archive
 Smoking ban would light up my life -PA
By MARY SHAW Posted on Mon, Feb. 21, 2005
I LIKE TO visit New York City.
I enjoy the hustle and bustle, the interesting people, the sights, the food, the night life.
Philadelphia offers a similar degree of fun, excitement, good food and intrigue, but with one notable difference:
I can't hang out at a Philly bar without leaving there smelling like a dirty ashtray.
The smoking ban in New York was introduced in March 2003. It affects bars, restaurants and other establishments such as pool halls and bingo parlors.
Now Philly is considering a similar ban. I say let's go for it.
Let me hang out at the Copabanana on South Street with my friends on a Saturday night, or hear a live band at the North Star Bar in Fairmount, without having to shower as soon as I get home to remove the stench from my hair and skin.
Let me enjoy an evening out in the City of Brotherly Love without the scratchy throat and the itching eyes. Give me a break from the exorbitant dry-cleaning bills that I pay to get the smoke odors out of my suits, sweaters and coats.
But enough about me.
After all, I'm just a customer, and I can choose to stay away from smoky bars. But consider the plight of restaurant and bar workers who have to endure a smoke-filled environment for every shift.
If a factory had the air quality of a Philadelphia bar on a Saturday night, OSHA would shut it down in an instant - and rightly so.
Isn't it unethical to expose employees to such an unhealthy environment? We see class-action lawsuits being filed all the time on behalf of employees whose health has suffered from working in asbestos-laden buildings. When will hospitality workers be similarly compensated for their forced exposure to dangerous cigarette, cigar and pipe smoke? Better yet, let's just give them a break.
Smokers who oppose the ban often claim that they have a right to smoke. Excuse me, but their rights end where the next person's rights begin. Smokers have every right to smell bad if they want to. They have a right to destroy their own lungs, and they have a right to yellow fingers and teeth.
But they do not have a right to force me to ingest their smoke, and they do not have the right to endanger the health of the bartenders and waiters who serve them. It is rude at best, perhaps reckless endangerment at worst.
Local bar and restaurant owners who oppose the ban fear that they'll lose customers if their patrons are not allowed to smoke. However, similar fears by their New York counterparts have proven to be unfounded.
An analysis of the New York smoking ban by that city's health department showed that business and tax receipts in bars and restaurants were up by almost 9 percent after the first year of the ban. In addition, it showed that employment in such establishments had increased by over 10,000 jobs (the highest such increase in more than 10 years), along with an increase in on-premises alcohol licenses. This is undeniably great economic news for New York's hospitality industry.
The study also found that New Yorkers are now breathing significantly cleaner air. One year after the ban took effect, levels of cotinine, a by-product of nicotine used to determine exposure to second-hand smoke, had decreased by 85 percent in nonsmoking bars and restaurants.
A Philadelphia smoking ban is vitally important in terms of our health. Also, as demonstrated by the New York study, it will likely also boost business by attracting customers who, like me, prefer to avoid smoke-filled venues.
And, perhaps best of all, it will give smokers another incentive to kick the habit and improve their own lives.
Come on, City Hall - let's give it a try. What do we have to lose but the soot in our lungs?
Mary Shaw is a local writer and activist. E-mail maryATmaryshawonline.com.
http://www.philly.com/mld/dailynews/news/opinion/10953526.htm?1c
*doesn't archive
Posted at 11:02 pm by looped_ca
Liberals violating ad ban, PCs say
By ANTONELLA ARTUSO, QUEEN'S PARK BUREAU CHIEF Fri, February 18, 2005
BROCHURE UNDER ATTACK
PROVINCIAL TORIES are accusing the Liberal government of violating its own ban on partisan advertising even before it has become law. PC interim leader Bob Runciman said a government brochure with a message from Health Minister George Smitherman flies in the face of the ban which has already passed in the legislature.
"They're clearly violating their own law," Runciman said. "The Act hasn't been proclaimed (into law) so I guess that's their out in terms of legality."
Tory MPPs caused a ruckus in the legislature yesterday when they brought in boxes of the brochures and placed them on Liberal MPPs' desks.
The brochure, Highlights of Ontario's Health System Performance Report, includes a message from Smitherman which says, "We have laid out a bold vision for Ontario's health system ... we have a plan of action to get there by 2007."
Runciman said it reads like a Liberal election document and contravenes the ban on self-promotional material.
But Smitherman said the report provides valuable health information to Ontarians, and is required under a health accord reached with the federal government. He said his document was approved by the provincial auditor.
The Liberals spent $130,000 to produce 765,000 copies of the report in English and 135,000 copies in French.
The Liberals brought in the partisan advertising ban after accusing the previous Tory government of using tax dollars for advertising campaigns promoting their own political spin.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/02/18/934877-sun.html
Supreme Court to rule on host liability ON
Canadian Press Thursday, February 17, 2005
Ottawa — The country's highest court has agreed to decide whether an Ottawa-area woman can sue the hosts of a New Year's Eve party after a drunken guest left her paralyzed in a car crash.
Zoë Childs was a passenger in a car that was rammed head-on Jan. 1, 1999, by a vehicle driven by Desmond Desormeaux, a self-described alcoholic who had been convicted twice before of impaired driving.
Ms. Childs, then 18, was rendered a paraplegic and her 17-year-old boyfriend Derek Dupré was killed. Mr. Desormeaux was found guilty of several charges, including impaired driving causing death, and sentenced to 10 years in prison.
Ms. Childs, of Kemptville, Ont., filed a $6-million civil suit against the party hosts, Julie Zimmerman and Dwight Courrier, saying they were partly liable for the crash because they let Mr. Desormeaux get behind the wheel to drive home.
The suit was rejected by the lower courts, but the Supreme Court of Canada, in a decision released without comment Thursday, agreed to review the matter.
No date has been set for a hearing.
There was conflicting evidence at trial about how drunk Mr. Desormeaux appeared to be when he left the party, whether the hosts offered to let him stay the night, and other key facts.
Also at issue was whether judges or legislators should decide to what extent party hosts should be responsible for the actions of their guests.
The Ontario Superior Court judge who heard the civil suit in 2002 dismissed the damage claim by Ms. Childs. He said it should be up to the province to determine whether so-called social hosts – as opposed to commercial hosts such as bar owners – are liable for damages.
Ontario Court of Appeal turned Ms. Childs down in 2004 on different legal grounds, saying the hosts were not liable in this case but that others could be held responsible in different circumstances.
“This judgment should not be interpreted to mean that social hosts are immune from liability,” Justice Karen Weiler wrote then for the appeal court.
She suggested that the key questions were whether the hosts knew an obviously intoxicated guest was going to drive home and whether they did nothing to prevent it.
http://www.theglobeandmail.com/servlet/story/RTGAM.20050217.wscoc0217/BNStory/National/
Fight lung cancer, insult a smoker
By G.E. mortimore Wednesday, Feb 16, 2005
Maybe I should apologize for this. I steer clear of smokers. Whenever I see cigarette-smoke rising from a group of tobacco refugees who have slipped out for a nicotine interlude, I take evasive action.
I swing away in a 20-foot arc, to avoid coming near them. An urgent throat-tickle forces me to cough out loud.
Yes, I used to be a smoker. When I dodge people on a tobacco break, I am really escaping from my old self. That's the reason I should apologize for the avoidance manoeuvre, if the tobacco refugees cared.
In that bygone smoking phase of my life, I was scared into quitting by yellow-stained fingers from slovenly cigarette-handling habits, plus a genuine cough and maybe some help from blackened-lung propaganda.
With reverse nostalgia, I look back to a now-extinguished tobacco habit that took a bizarre form for a while, because addiction was blended with a desire to keep expenses down.
Those sidewalk smokers would sneer at my occasional practice of carrying a one-pound tin of tobacco to the pub and rolling cigarettes with Zig Zag papers above the crowded glasses of suds - another habit now luckily abandoned.
And today's sneak-a-smoke people would guffaw out loud at the strange cigarette-rolling machine I used during one part of my career as an addict. If I ever find it in some forgotten storage cupboard, I will take it to the Antiques Road Show.
This machine produced a cigarette 18 inches long, which I sliced into five smaller cigarettes with a sharp blade - booking myself for future lung cancer at a bargain price. The date with lung cancer was retracted, I hope, when I took the no-tobacco pledge. Experts thought I still had some time.
Long-term benefits often are not enough to psych people into laying off an activity that hooks them with present-day compulsive pleasure. To a teenaged puffer, delighting in the added joy of doing something his elders advise him not to do, freedom from lung cancer in old age has only a dim and abstract meaning - if the advice conveys any message beyond defiance of the adult world, and membership in the Young Contrarian club.
So the standard political strategy is to offer both short-term and long-term rewards. The hope is that today's carrot will taste good like a carrot should, even though the long-term threat of disease and death may fail to frighten and impress.
I was long past teen years when I quit smoking, driven by both the short-term satisfactions and the visualized postponement of death. Those short-term non-smoking improvements were real. They included the ability to trot or swim a short distance without panting, and a recovered sense of smell.
Since then, time has done worse olefactory damage than tobacco used to do. My sense of smell has about 75 per cent faded, unless an inventor should produce a set of nostril-glasses that would bring back smell-power, with all the memories a fully operational nose can invoke.
Among the lost odours is the fragrance of my dad's pipe as he sat in his armchair scanning the paper and reaching into his memories of life in far corners of the world.
Smoking was considered an OK grown-up thing to do in those days, although the young were discouraged from taking it up. My dad told me how his father had tried to use aversion therapy to immunize him against smoking after he was caught as a prep-school boy taking illicit puffs. As I remember it, my grandfather pressured my father to pull on a cigar. He recovered and later became a smoker.
My dad was too kind and gentle a fellow to administer the same treatment, but he left the impression that an ugly sick-making smoke was a rite of passage, a ritual that every lad must go through. Once it was over, and a sufficient time had elapsed, there was no problem. You had joined the nicotine brotherhood.
Former U.S. Surgeon-General David Satcher, in a paper published in year 2000, told how the smoking norm - the rule of social approval for tobacco - had stayed fixed in place for a time and had then melted away under a variety of pressures.
The early minority attacks on the smoking norm were moral and sanitary, without much hard evidence or much success. Then circumstances began to undermine the norm, and the attackers brought up some heavier guns. Science showed a statistical link between tobacco and lung cancer, heart disease and other ills. More precise number-keeping strengthened the message. Louder mass communication carried it faster and wider.
Moral exhortation melted into awareness of cost control and social and fleshly benefit. As the smoking norm began to collapse, then-Surgeon-General C. Everett Koop delivered a knockout blow with a memorable report and propaganda campaign.
Later science found tissue damage at the molecular level. Tobacco control took off from the stage of trusting to accidental market forces, and flew into the realm of management by the method that old-fashioned Liberal-Conservatives hate so much - calculated social action.
Yet deterrrence didn't always work. Satcher pointed out that no single program or measure could succeed on its own. A combination of measures was required.
These might include soft-sell in-school anti-tobacco persuasion and contests with prizes, anti-tobacco advertising, medical help, a ban on tobacco ads, dramatic warnings on packages, extra taxation, lawsuits against tobacco companies, possible help to diversify companies out of tobacco, aggressive speeches and examples, anti-tobacco chats by athletes and showbiz celebrities, possible ways to bonus farmers for moving into non-tobacco crops.
Even such "free-market" disciples as the followers of Gordon Campbell (after cutbacks that arguably cost some smokers' lives) agreed to nearly full-scale co-ordinated pressure against tobacco.
Satcher's evidence suggests that government is the only agency that can do an all-out job on smoke-prevention and on health care in general. Maybe my kind of walk-around avoidance of smokers does help, but I'm not sure.
http://www.goldstreamgazette.com/
Smoking ban? -BC
Jan, 17 2005 - 6:00 PM
VICTORIA(CKNW/AM980) -- BC's Minister Responsible for Addiction Services is considering a call for more restrictions on smoking in BC and the closure of all ventilated smoking rooms in pubs and restaurants.
Minister of State for Addiction Services Brenda Locke says she's not ruling anything out but she's also making no promises.
Locke says there will need to be a lot of discussion around the call by the Canadian Cancer Society for a provincial ban on smoking in public places and eliminating smoking rooms in bars and restaurants.
Locke says she is concerned about the possibility that smoking room ventilation systems do not adequately protect workers and patrons from second-hand smoke.
http://www.cknw.com/news/news_local.cfm?cat=7428327912&rem=1036&red=80132723aPBIny&wids=410&gi=1&gm=news_local.cfm
Two men nabbed in tobacco bust -NB
Broadcast NewsFebruary 18, 2005
TRACADIE-SHEILA, N.B. -- Two men will appear in court Friday to face Excise Act charges after a contraband tobacco bust on New Brunswick's Acadian Peninsula.
The suspects were arrested Thursday in the Brantville area.
The Mounties say they seized 133 cartons of cigarettes.
Both accused are from Quebec and are in their early 30's
http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=77696456-3192-4313-b4ad-fd9bec199b07
Ontario tobacco farmers claim they’re “protecting health” -ON
TOM SpearsOttawa Citizen Thursday, February 17, 2005
First, my bias. Two of my family members have had lung cancer. Both were in their forties. Both smoked. And I don't admire anyone who sells lethal, addictive drugs.
With that in the open, let’s head into the strangest press release of the week, from a group in Simcoe, Ontario, that represents family-owned tobacco farms.
This area near Lake Erie is the heart of the tobacco industry in Canada. It’s warm and has the right kind of soil for tobacco, though I understand it’s not great for a lot of other types of farming.
The farm families - and I went to school with two members of one such family - work hard. Many were Dutch immigrants after World War II. They established a livelihood in a new country, and then, a couple of decades or even generations later, everyone finds out that this stuff is killing tens of thousands of Canadians a year. (The current Canadian Medical Association figure is 46,000 annual deaths in Canada from tobacco.) Hot news in the 1960s, but no longer today.
The market for their crop has shrunk as smoking numbers decline. Now the farmers are condemning the Ontario government, saying it’s supporting foreign or smuggled tobacco over Ontario’s legal crop. They say the farm families are in crisis.
Maybe they’re right, maybe not. Dark Matter won’t judge the economics here. But the farmers are now arguing, astonishingly, that protecting their farms against foreign competition would protect public health.
What on Earth...?
“There is an inextricable linkage between protecting the family tobacco farmer and protecting health,” they say. And they ask to let farmers be “an integral part of a truly comprehensive and successful tobacco control strategy.” Tobacco farmers, they add “are not the culprits.”
It’s sad all around. These folks probably are stuck in financial ruination. But trying to shift blame never changes this single central fact: Their product kills people, including my family and friends. Which doesn’t sound like protecting anyone’s health to me.
http://www.canada.com/ottawa/ottawacitizen/news/story.html?id=741185be-0dcc-44fe-907c-e1cc5428e450
Lack of hockey hurting bars, wages -ON
By KEVIN CONNOR, TORONTO SUN, Sat, February 19, 2005
THE CANCELLATION of the hockey season will cause a landslide of bankruptcies, trustees say. Businesses and individuals are already jamming debt hotlines and the official end of the season isn't even a week old, said Douglas Hoyes, a bankruptcy trustee with Hoyes, Michalos and Associates.
"Calls to our debt hotline are up significantly this year and unless employees in the NHL-dependent jobs find other employment, those people will suffer some hardship in 2005," Hoyes said.
BEER SALES DRY UP
"We are starting to hear stories from our clients who work in the service industry that hours are being cut and income is dropping.
"If you work as a bartender at a sports bar, a significant part of your income may depend on Saturday night beer sales, which are drying up with no NHL hockey."
Consumer bankruptcy filings are expected to increase 5% to 8% this year because of the lockout, said Benny Mendlowitz, another bankruptcy trustee.
"In February, March and April, trustee receivers will see a lot of people who can't get out from under their debt load," he said.
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/TorontoSun/News/2005/02/19/935787-sun.html
Pro-smokers use same tired old arguments-ON
JIM TAYLOR, For the London Free Press 2005-02-19
ST. THOMAS - If there was ever an argument for a provincewide ban on smoking in public places, look no farther than St. Thomas.
The battle over the butt has almost pushed even same-sex marriage aside as those who want to feed their habit and those who want to feed their bank accounts blow smoke over a proposed smoking smack-down.
That would be no surprise to Londoners, of course, who have already gone through such a war of words. But it may be just a little more intense in this Elgin County city, which at one time counted tobacco farms among its closest neighbours.
For those who have been through it, the arguments are just as tired, just as empty and just as dangerous.
You have the usual bar and restaurant owners who claim they will be left on welfare rolls if the law is passed. As if that were worse than a person dying from rotting lungs.
In St. Thomas you have the mandatory bar owner, a spokesperson for other bar owners no less, who says the law is wrong and he simply wouldn't obey it.
It's kind of like: "Whatya mean 250 is too fast on the 401, officer? I'm a great driver; I'm not hurting anyone. I don't have to obey that stupid limit."
So what price do you put on a citizen's health?
St. Thomas Ald. Cliff Barwick has an answer. He wants bingo halls to be exempt from the butt ban. He apparently feels people who play bingo and those who work in bingo halls should be able to risk their lives or charities will suffer.
Makes you wonder: If illegal drug pushers donated a percentage of their profits to charity, should we let them keep dealing?
Barwick's proposed exemption could derail the city's smoking ban when it comes up for a vote on Monday.
To be fair to Barwick -- fairer than he's being to the lungs of the citizens of St. Thomas -- he insists he's taking his stand because smoking should be a provincial and not a local issue.
He's right. Queen's Park should have stepped in long ago with a provincewide ban; a ban the province finally promised would be introduced in May 2006.
Why the delay? A case of addiction to tax dollars trumping the fight against addiction to smoking, perhaps?
And yet, Health Canada estimates that social costs attributed to smoking in 1993 were about $11 billion, with $3 billion of that going to direct health-care costs and the rest to lost productivity. At the same time it was estimated tax revenue from cigarettes was $2.6 billion.
Do the math.
These empty debates are getting as tiresome as the debates between the "wets" and "drys" back in the '50s and '60s, when we were told allowing the sale of booze in bars would destroy our society. We're still waiting on that one.
But it seems Canadians are catching on. A Health Canada website notes that in 2003, more than five million, or 21 per cent, of Canadians were smokers and the number is dropping. It was 38 per cent 20 years ago.
There are currently anti-smoking laws in many parts of Canada, including New Brunswick, Manitoba, the Northwest Territories, Nunavut, Ottawa, Victoria and London . . . the list keeps growing. Not to mention various bans in countries such as Ireland, Israel, Egypt and Italy, among many others.
In other words, we have long since reached the point where most of us see arguments against anti-smoking bylaws as self-serving at best and downright deceitful at worst.
The owner of two busy local bars agreed anti-smoking laws would see some bars go under, but said they are generally bars that were operating on a razor-thin margin in the first place. He said well-run bars and restaurants would survive. He's been proven right.
Don't forget the bylaws don't stop anyone from smoking, they stop them from smoking in places where their addiction is a threat to everyone in a room, smokers and non-smokers alike.
Let's hope St. Thomas doesn't pass the buck to the provincial government and wait another 15 months as Central Elgin council has already done.
What's that old saying . . . it's a matter of life and breath?
http://www.canoe.ca/NewsStand/Columnists/London/Across_County_Lines/Jim_Taylor/2005/02/19/935571.html
Which is easier? -MB
Letter to the Editor, February 19/05
I agree with smokers who argue that their human rights are infringed by laws that ban smoking.
I also feel that my human rights are infringed when I am compelled to breathe second-hand smoke that has the potential to affect my health.
So it boils down to: Which makes more sense?
Is it easier for smokers to stop smoking or for me to stop breathing?
WILLIAM DASCAVICH
Vegreville, Alta
www.winnepegfreepress.com
Bingo player believes smokers will adapt to bylaw
Saturday February 19, 2005
Editor:
I enjoy an occasional game of bingo. I go a few times a month. My sister, on the other hand, is a weekly regular. We are both ex-smokers.
While I realize that the bingo hall in St. Thomas has a non-smoking section, I rarely use it. That may sound strange, but I’ve always felt as if I’m being shut away in a small quiet room of the library when I sit in there. It doesn’t feel as if I’m part of the action. Besides, I have to enter the smoke-filled room when I first enter the hall or to visit the snackbar or use the washroom anyway.
A few of our friends and family still smoke, so most of the time, I sit on the main smoking floor with them. I have noticed other groups of people in the smoking area also have non-smokers among them. It seems I’m not the only non-smoker who has conceded defeat to the smokers of the world. There was a time when I believed it would never change.
Then I visited my chain smoking friends in North Bay. I used to be just like them. If I couldn’t go to a public place and smoke, I just wouldn’t go. Period.
So, it was no surprise to me that when I suggested to my friends that we should all go to the bingo hall in North Bay, I heard them exclaim, “But they went smoke-free!”
After some persuasive coaxing, I finally convinced them that it wouldn’t be so hard to go a few hours without smoking! We were soon sitting in a fully smoke-free bingo establishment!
My friends went outside during break to smoke and again, during a special game while I played their cards for them. At first, I didn’t notice a difference in the atmosphere of the hall. Same crowds, noise level and snackbar odours. But slowly, as the night progressed, I noticed I wasn’t sneezing or clearing my throat or feeling stuffed up. My eyes weren’t burning. I felt great! My friends, (and other smokers) simply went outside to smoke every hour or so; a big step for people who normally light up every 20 minutes! What a sacrifice they made! For a change, the non-smokers were the majority!
It didn’t seem to me that the bingo hall in North Bay was lacking customers. As a matter of fact, it was hard to find a table. St. Thomas city council and those in the bingo hall business would do well to consider the number of non-smokers who have never gone to bingo because they can’t stand the smoke, or the ones who do go to bingo and suffer through it for the sake of family or friends who still smoke, or the ones like me, who sit through the smoke anyway because they don’t like being corralled into a small quiet room in the corner and made to feel separated from the whole experience.
Sixteen more months of smoking isn’t going to change the finality of the fact that smoking is on its way out. Why not be brave enough to face it head on and show some initiative? Come up with some mini-breaks during the program to allow smokers to step outside for a puff. I think bingo hall operators might find that their loyal, addicted smoking customers are also addicted to bingo and they will adapt. Just as surely as North Bay and many other Ontario communities already have.
Cathy Dadson
Talbotville
http://www.stthomastimesjournal.com/index.php?id=850
Bars face stiffer smoking penalties
Province says breaking ban could mean losing licence
BY KATHY KAUFIELD Telegraph-Journal
New Brunswick bars and restaurants that openly defy the province's new anti-smoking law will soon risk losing their liquor licences and their video lottery terminals.
Acting Public Safety Minister Rose May Poirier announced Friday new measures to crack down on bar owners that allow people to smoke in defiance the the Smoke-Free Places Act that bans smoking in public places.
Ms. Poirier said the province will introduce legislative amendments this spring to ensure compliance with the anti-smoking law, including changes to the Liquor Control Act that would allow the province to revoke the liquor licences of bar owners who allow smoking on their premises.
Since bar or restaurant owners can't have VLTs without a liquor licence, bar owners who fail to comply with the anti-smoking law also run the risk of losing their VLT machines.
The minister also announced that all existing liquor licences, which expire on March 31, will not be renewed automatically. She said the department will review each licence application on a case-by-case basis and each establishment's record on compliance with the Smoke Free Places Act will be taken into account in determining if the licence will be renewed.
"We are sending a very clear message to bar owners," Ms. Poirier said. "If bar owners want to stay in business, they need to comply with the Smoke Free Places Act."
The new act, which came into force Oct. 1, bans smoking in all public places, including bars, restaurants, nightclubs,
pubs and most workplaces. Bar owners around the province fought against the law, saying it had the potential to drive away customers. Under the legislation, a person found smoking in a public place or workplace can be fined between $140 and $570 for a first offence. An employer or owner who doesn't ensure their premises are smoke-free can be fined between $240 to $2,620 for a first offence.
Ms. Poirier said that while most bar owners are complying with the law, a small number - about six - are failing to comply. She said over the past few weeks, Public Safety officials have inspected a number of establishments and issued compliance orders. She said charges will be laid next week against a number of establishments.
She added that compliance inspectors will continue to visit liquor establishments to ensure the law is being enforced.
Both she and Premier Bernard Lord said Friday that the smoking ban applies to First Nations communities and establishments on reserves will run the risk - like all other licensed establishments - of losing their liquor licence if they fail to comply with the law.
"Unless they get an exemption from the federal government, the law applies in New Brunswick," Premier Lord said.
Details of the legislative changes won't be unveiled until they are introduced in the legislature this spring but a bar owner would have to be convicted of contravening the smoking law before the liquor license could be pulled, said the premier.
To date, no one has been convicted of failing to comply with the anti-smoking law but the health department's smoke-free hot-line has received 111 complaints of violations.
Mr. Lord said the existing legislation has teeth in it but "it's clear that some bar owners have decided that they don't want to respect the law."
"We want to make sure the signal is clear: This law must be respected, will be enforced by the government," he said.
Mr. Lord added that he has heard from bar owners who are respecting the law that they are being placed at a disadvantage because some establishments are allowing smoking.
Kim Hunter, vice-president of Saint John's Three Mile Entertainment Complex and spokeswoman for the 1,500-member New Brunswick Licensees'Association, welcomed tougher enforcement of the smoking ban.
Ms. Hunter, who wasn't familiar with the details of Friday's announcement when reached by phone, said her association has been pushing government to enforce the smoking ban since it came into effect. She said a lack of enforcement has caused "tremendous frustration" for law-abiding owners.
"What has developed over the last four months is a very unlevel playing field across the province because some bars were enforcing the bylaw, trying to be law-abiding, and other bars were flagrantly ignoring the bylaw," she said. "This whole unlevel playing field has been making a mockery of the smoking bylaw."
She said she hoped a bar would only lose its licence as a last resort.
"We hate to see anyone lose their licence without a warning system in place. We hope all business owners would be given an opportunity to comply first," she said.
Heather Campbell, manager of Callahan's Sports Bar in Saint John, also applauded tougher enforcement, although she said removing liquor licences might be a little excessive.
"It's good they're finally going after the people who have been breaking the law, at the expense of those of us who aren't. We're losing business to them," she said. "You either have the law or you don't.
Ms. Campbell said business has been down significantly since the ban came into effect. She admitted that on at least one occasion, customers have been allowed to smoke inside her bar since the ban.
Gerry Lingley, owner of the Twenty/20 Club/The Right Spot in Fredericton, said it seems like the province is determined to put all clubs and bars out of business.
"(The initial law) put half the bars out of business, they might as well put them all out of business," Mr. Lingley said, pointing out he has not seen the new regulations and is only offering his initial reaction.
Mr. Lingley, who said his bar strictly enforces the anti-smoking law, said bars in the Saint John-Fredericton-Moncton region are reporting a 35 to 40 per cent drop in sales since the smoking bylaw took effect last fall.
Mr. Lingley said the new regulations seem overly strict and he wondered how they will be enforced. As an example, he said he has a 500-seat club and 15 to 18 staff on a Friday night, who regularly tell patrons to smoke outside if they light up.
"Where do you draw the line?" he asked.
Kenneth Maybee, executive director of the New Brunswick Lung Association, welcomed the new measures but said they are more of a threat mechanism.
"I think the majority of the business establishments, the restaurants and bars have really taken it to heart and have already complied," he said. "There is always a few renegades and I think that their bluff is being called . . .They have tested the system and the government is standing firm and they are just putting the necessary next steps in place in the event that one or two need to be disciplined because of their lack of cooperation."
http://www.canadaeast.com/apps/pbcs.dll/article?AID=/20050219/TPEBRIEF/302190162
N.B. to deny licences to bars that allow smoking -NB
Canadian Press Friday, February 18, 2005
FREDERICTON (CP) -- Licence renewals will be denied to bars that continue to openly ignore the province's Smoke-free Places Act, the New Brunswick government announced Friday.
The Tory government said it will make changes to its Liquor Control Act so that any establishment in violation will be denied its license renewal on April 1 if they allow smoking.
A number of licensed establishments have been refusing to abide by the province's Smoke-free Places Act, which came into effect last October.
It outlaws smoking in public places.
Provincial officials said they're prepared to take a number of licensed bars and restaurants to court as well if they don't obey the law.
Having a liquor license is a requirement for any establishment with video lottery terminals.
http://www.canada.com/search/story.html?id=c829d049-d0bd-472e-95d0-d1f615de6b54
Preem hire OK -ON
Antolla Artusso Queens Park Chief, February 19, 2005
Premier Dolton McGuinty yesterday defended his government's decision to appoint former Liberal Premier David Peterson to a $1,000-a-day position, pointing out he's hired other Ex Peems.
If you take at a look at who I have deployed - I have got Bill Davis working for m, I've had Bob Rae working for me," McGuinty said.
I happen to have David Petterson doing something for us at the present time. We tend to avail ourselves of expertise, regardless of political stripe."
Rae and Davis produced a report on post-secondary education.
Peterson has been appointed for an unspecified period as the province's representative in discussions with First nations on a new shared gaming revenue framework.
McGuinty said he was not familiar with the details of the discussions.
Sean Hamilton, a spoke person for the Finance Minister Greg Sorbara, said the province's 133 First Nations bands, currently share the revenue from Casino Rama.
Under the proposed framework, they would share a portion of all casino revenues in the province. Hamilton said the idea is to provide stable and secure funding to First Nations.
It is unclear if the First Nations Bands would end up with a bigger share of the revenue.
* In print version only
Needing answers to a variety of questions
I'VE BEEN trying to come up with the answers to a few questions for a while now, to no avail! Perhaps someone can supply the answers for me, so that I might sleep better! What is the point of "Baby On Board" signs? Aren't we all supposed to follow the same laws regardless of who is on-board? Why do I have to help pay for others post-secondary education? I had to pay for my own. What, besides the bill, do I get out of this deal? Are all of these same people who are trying to save me from myself by banning smoking going to go along with being saved from the ravages of alcohol? Alcohol is far more dangerous and has caused more death, grief and heartache than tobacco ever could. Alcoholic spirits cannot be used safely, either! Why can't drivers be banned from using cellphones in a moving vehicle? How come nothing is being done about bicycles being ridden on sidewalks? Aren't bike riders supposed to follow the same laws that apply to motor vehicles? What day is the government going to set aside for "straight pride day"?
Neil A. MacDonald
(Are those rhetorical questions?)
http://canoe.ca/NewsStand/EdmontonSun/Letters/
Famous Players cuts same-sex ads after threats
CTV.ca News Staff
Canada's largest movie-theatre chain will no longer run ads supporting same-sex marriage after opposing groups boycotted its theatres.
Famous Players will no longer run any "issue-driven advertising" in its 79 theatres, The Globe and Mail reported, after staff received death threats and movements against same-sex unions boycotted theatres for running ads in support of same-sex marriage.
The two pre-film 15-second ads that were sponsored by Canadians for Equal Marriage will not be running as of this weekend, said Nuria Bronfman, the Toronto-based vice-president of corporate affairs for Famous Players.
"We were starting to get e-mails that were threatening to our staff," Bronfman told The Globe.
"The phone calls were starting to get abusive," explained Bronfman, "so we thought it's not fair for our staff to have to go through that sort of thing."
Famous Players Media President Salah Bachir paid for the ads as an individual, which cost close to $15,000.
One ad says: "'I do' means the same thing, whether you're straight or gay. Let your MP know you support our Charter of Rights and Freedoms."
The other says: "Marriage is a fundamental human right, whether you're straight or gay ... ."
But Calgary-based Canadian Family Action Coalition is threatening a continued boycott unless the chain runs a similar anti-same-sex marriage ad.
Brian Rushfeldt, the coalition's executive director, told The Globe that the chain only dropped the ads when they were set to run out anyway.
Bronfman says the chain is not succumbing to threats or boycotts from the opposing groups but that "we've definitely had some learnings from this situation and others," she said.
She noting that anti-smoking messages and ads for furriers have also incited complaints from patrons.
"We've definitely learned that people have definite opinions about their movie-going experience and what they want and don't want and we've heard it loud and clear."
From now on, advertising shown before screenings "will focus on consumer products and services and stay out of issue-driven advertising altogether," she said.
Some of the opposing groups believed the ads were free public service notices at first, and asked for free airtime to air their own positions, Bronfman said.
But when they found out the advertising was paid-for, "but no one pulled out a chequebook" she said.
Bachir told The Globe he would not have done any thing differently.
"That kind of reaction the ad got only serves to strengthen me further. In fact, I sent a cheque yesterday to Egale (a national organization supporting gay, lesbian, bisexual and trans-identified people)."
http://www.ctv.ca/servlet/ArticleNews/story/CTVNews/1108830692002_6?hub=Entertainment
Discussin of the science called epidemiology
http://www.facsnet.org/tools/ref_tutor/risk/ch4epidem.php3
Detectives Bust Crew Of Criminals Blamed For 27 Store Burglaries -FL
February 8, 2005
ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. -- Detectives say a crew of criminals was after cigarettes and cigars to sell on the black market. At least 27 businesses across Central Florida were targeted. The group of eight men was called The International Crew.
Orange County detectives say the thieves, from all over the world, spent hours planning and rehearsing the crimes. Detectives say the Discount Tobacco Outlet is just one of the businesses the criminals are responsible for hitting. At the Goldenrod Road business, they stole $55,000 worth of cigarettes.
They made their way in after cutting the telephone lines and alarm systems and then cut right through the roof. In one of the more elaborate burglary rings seen locally, the burglar dropped in through the ceiling.
The group of suspects would use skill saws, picks and sledgehammers to break through the roofs of local businesses and then steal as many cigars and cigarettes as possible, often so many, detectives say, they'd bring along U-Haul trucks to carry it all off and sell on the black market.
"It's an extensive organization. They were well organized, but I guess we were a little better than they were, at least, this time," says Chief Ron Stucker, Orange County Sheriff's Office.
Detectives labeled them The International Crew because the eight members are from all over, including Lebanon, Mexico, California and Israel, where one of the men has since been deported to. They would use disguises, two-way radios, listen to police frequencies and plan and rehearse the burglaries with detail.
In all, detectives say the group was responsible for at least 27 burglaries, resulting in $600,000 in theft and $180,000 in damage, and, in most cases these arrests, it was hardly their first.
The cigarettes were sold to convenience stores in Tampa and Miami.
http://www.wftv.com/news/4177811/detail.html
Shops clear shelves after dye warning -UK
SUPERMARKET shelves nationwide were today short of more than 350 food products after a full-scale alert over the discovery of a potentially cancer-causing dye.
The Food Standards Agency (FSA) raised the alarm when the dye - called Sudan 1 - was found to have illegally contaminated a batch of chilli powder.
By then the powder had already been used to make a large consignment of Crosse and Blackwell Worcester Sauce which, in turn, was added as an ingredients in a host of other products.
Sudan 1 is a red dye normally used as a colouring in solvents, oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe polish.
Experts warn it could contribute to an increased risk of cancer although they add there is unlikely to be an immediate risk to health.
The product at the centre of the alert is entirely separate from the better known Lea and Perrins Worcestershire Sauce.
The FSA published a list of 359 ready-made meals, sauces or other processed foods which may have used the sauce in question and advised the public not to eat them.
http://business.scotsman.com/agriculture.cfm?id=190772005
Sudan 1 Q & A -UK
February 18/05
By Graham Hiscott, PA Consumer Affairs Correspondent
Food chiefs today issued an alert over a forbidden dye in products. Here the Food Standards Agency outlines the facts:
. What is Sudan I ?
A. Sudan I is a red dye that is used for colouring solvents, oils, waxes, petrol, and shoe and floor polishes. It is not allowed to be added to food in the UK and the rest of the EU.
However, inadvertent contamination of some food products has been uncovered.
Q. What is being done to tackle the problem ?
A. The Food Standards Agency is working with the food industry and local authorities to make sure that all the affected products are removed from the shelves and is tracing any foods that may be contaminated.
Q. What is the health risk of Sudan 1?
A. Sudan 1 could contribute to an increased risk of cancer and it is not possible to identify a safe level or to quantify the risk.
However, at the levels present in these food products the risk is likely to be very small.
Q. If I have eaten an affected product, has my health been damaged ?
A. There is no risk of immediate illness. If you have eaten these products the risk is likely to be very small, and not eating them any more is a sensible thing to do.
Being exposed to a substance that could contribute to the development of cancer does not necessarily mean that you will develop cancer. There are many causes of cancer, including lifestyle and environment.
Q. If the risk is very small why remove the foods ?
A. Sudan 1 is thought to contribute to cancer, and consumers should not be exposed to it unnecessarily.
Experts advise that exposure should be as low as practical. It is also illegal in foods.
Q. Could restaurant meals or takeaways be affected?
A. Some restaurants and takeaways have been using products containing Sudan 1. These products are being withdrawn.
Q. What measures are in place to stop this happening again?
A. All dried and crushed or ground chilli coming into any EU Member State must be accompanied by a certificate showing it has been tested and found to be free of Sudan 1. Any consignment that does not have a certificate is detained for sampling and analysis
http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm?id=4150076
* the 117 links that relate to this topic! http://news.google.ca/news?hl=en&lr=&output=search&ie=UTF-8&ncl=http://news.scotsman.com/latest.cfm%3Fid%3D4150076
Indians and taxes: Many Native Americans do pay property, payroll and sales taxes
2005-02-20
by RAUL VASQUEZ
One of the criticisms Native American leaders on the North Olympic Peninsula say they often hear from non-Natives is that they don't pay any taxes.
But they do.
Dennis ``Sully'' Sullivan, vice chairman of the Lower Elwha Klallam tribe, says that's something the public should know.
``It's just disturbing when you read that all tribes are labeled as tax-free -- that we never pay taxes and everything is given to us for free,'' Sullivan said.
He was reacting recently to statements he's read in newspapers and heard publicly from critics, most notably linked to the former state graving yard project in Port Angeles.
``Those statements are humiliating and degrading,'' Sullivan said.
Ron Allen, chairman of the Jamestown S'Klallam tribe, agrees that a lot of people apparently aren't aware that Native Americans pay taxes.
``There's a common misunderstanding by the general public regarding what tribes and [tribal] individuals do and don't pay,'' Allen said.
``Our individual tribe members definitely pay federal income taxes, and a majority of Indian people who live off of reservations pay property taxes and all the other taxes associated with non-Indian citizens.''
While a sometimes-complex maze of regulations governs when and whether Native American tribes and members are required to pay taxes, some practices are fairly simple to follow.
Payroll, income taxes
Almost all tribal businesses and their employees are required to pay federal payroll and income taxes that pay into funds like Social Security and Medicare, tribal representatives said.
``We pay all of our income tax for wages,'' said Ben Johnson, chairman of the Makah tribe.
``We do that for all our employees.''
Native Americans employed by non-treaty tribal businesses -- which include tribal casinos, gas stations and general stores -- pay federal income taxes regardless of whether the labor is done on or off of reservation land.
In addition, almost all tribal members who don't live on a reservation are required to pay property taxes, including local school district tax levy rates.
Native American tribes that purchase non-reservation land and use it for commercial purposes must pay property taxes on that land.
``The statement that `Indians don't pay taxes' is flat false,'' said Gabriel Galanda, a Native American lawyer based in Seattle who was born and raised in Port Angeles.
Galanda said that in addition to payroll and property taxes, all Native Americans pay sales taxes when buying from a business not on reservation land.
``Tribal members pay state retail taxes for off-reservation purchases, which is where the overwhelming majority of their buying occurs,'' he said.
What they do, don't pay
Mike Gowrylow, spokesman for the state Department of Revenue, said the public is sometimes confused about what taxes Native Americans are required to pay.
He said the state's 29 registered tribes do enjoy certain tax exemptions that stem from the 19th century treaties they signed with the federal government.
Thanks to the tribes' sovereign-nation status, members of the Makah, Quileute, Lower Elwha Klallam and Jamestown S'Klallam tribes are exempt from paying some taxes that non-tribal citizens must ante up.
But most of those tax exemptions work only when a tribal member works, buys or lives on reservation land.
Native Americans who live on tribal reservations, for example, don't pay state or federal property taxes, Gowrylow said.
They also don't pay sales taxes on goods or services purchased on tribal reservation land -- or when what they buy is delivered to the reservation, Gowrylow added.
Also exempt from taxation are profits produced by tribal businesses on reservation land -- including casinos.
Tax base for reservations
According to Allen of Jamestown S'Klallam, the reason these exemptions are fair is that most tribes rely on their tribal businesses to produce their only real tax base.
``Tribal businesses don't produce profit in the normal sense of profit,'' Allen said.
``They are essentially producing a tribe's tax base, because tribes generally don't have a tax base.''
Allen said while a few tribes tax their members, it's still a small percentage.
Even though tribal business and casino profits can't be taxed, several tribal officials said they contribute back to nontribal society by providing jobs and by offering voluntary donations to the state.
According to figures provided Linda Ruffcorn of Jamestown S'Klallam's 7 Cedars Casino, the casino has paid out more than $46 million to employees -- most of them nontribal workers -- since opening nine years ago.
Federal income taxes were taken out of all these wages pa Posted at 11:43 am by looped_ca
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