Cigarette tax hike? Idea is smoldering back to life in Legislature

After their bid for a tobacco tax hike went up in smoke last session, crusaders for the cause are coming back again, confident that Utahns will soon be paying more for their cigarette fix.
"It's 100 percent," said Sen. Allen Christensen, R-North Ogden, who has unsuccessfully sponsored the bill for the past several years.
Christensen said he plans to push to raise the 69.5-cent per-pack tax up to $2. It would make Utah's tax on par with Arizona's and give the state the 11th-highest cigarette tax in the country. Earlier this year, Congress raised the federal cigarette tax 62 cents per pack to $1.01.
Advocates for the tobacco tax hike, like the American Cancer Society and American Heart Association, hope the higher tax would motivate 3,000 teens and 10,000 adult smokers to kick the habit and thousands more to never pick up the habit.
The tobacco companies and Utah Food Industry Association have argued that a higher Utah tax would just force sales into neighboring states or onto Indian reservations or military bases.
Utah already has the lowest rate of smokers in the country, and its cigarette sales have been falling since the 1980s, meaning it could be a diminishing source of revenue.
Legislative leaders said earlier this year that a tobacco tax increase was likely.
"I think it will happen," Senate President Michael Waddoups, R-Taylorsville, said in May. "The question is the amount. Will it be a buck? Will itbe more?"
The estimated $76 million the tobacco tax increase could generate could help cover part of the state's budget shortfall, Waddoups said. The state is expected to have a budget shortfall as high as $850 million.
But it may be premature to start counting those tobacco dollars just yet. While supporters had former Gov. Jon Huntsman Jr.'s support for a tobacco tax increase last year, Gov. Gary Herbert says he won't recommend a tobacco tax hike in his budget proposal due out in December.
"I'm not proposing or pushing any tax increases," he said in an interview last week.
And now legislative leaders are waffling on their seeming endorsement of the tobacco tax hike.
It boils down to a well-choreographed dance: Herbert won't propose a tax hike, passing the buck to the Legislature. The Legislature, calling Herbert's bluff, is challenging him to show how he will balance the budget without gutting state programs.
Waddoups said this week that he has told the governor he will support him in trying to pass a budget without new taxes, but the tobacco tax remains an option if legislators can't get the budget balanced.
If it comes to that, the tobacco tax battle will likely draw another swarm of lobbying from big tobacco companies and could pit members of the dominant Republican Party against each other.
House Majority Leader Kevin Garn, R-Layton, says tax hikes may be a nonstarter next year.
"I don't think anyone is eager to raise taxes right now in this environment we're in," said Garn. "I think we'd have a tough time raising taxes in the economy we're in right now. ... I don't think there's a lot of support for it."
And leading conservative legislators say they will fight any effort to increase the tobacco tax.
"As I've discussed this budget with my conservative colleagues, we have pretty much been in agreement that now is probably the worst time to consider tax increases when we're hoping to see this economy recover," said Rep. Greg Hughes, R-Draper, co-chairman of the House Conservative Caucus, which includes about 30 House members.
He said there is also concern that allowing a tobacco tax increase could open the door to other "sin taxes" such as soda and fatty food. Hughes said that between the cuts made last year and use of at least half of the $518 million held back in the state's Rainy Day Fund and Education Growth Fund, the budget can be balanced without a tax hike.
House Speaker David Clark, R-Santa Clara, suggested last session that the tobacco tax be kept in reserve in case it's needed in the coming year, and he thinks it might prove to be useful.
"As the financial pressure builds on the state more and more, I think that improves the likelihood of [the tobacco tax] passing," Clark said. "As the pain of the cuts become closer to reality, there may be more of an appetite to look at some of those revenue enhancements and tobacco has been one of them."

E-Cigarette Battle Continues

PHOENIX – Despite concerns by public health officials as to their safety, electronic cigarettes are gaining ground in the United States, USA Today reports. The battery-powered device uses nicotine, flavoring and chemicals in a cartridge, which turns the nicotine into a vapor to be inhaled by the user.
State and local lawmakers are considering ways to restrict the smokeless product, which some use to get around smoking bans. The Electronic Cigarette Association (ECA) says at least 500,000 Americans use e-cigarettes. “People who smoke ought to have better alternatives because some can’t quit,” said Matt Salmon, who leads the ECA.
The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) tested e-cigarettes and found the devices to have carcinogens. In a lawsuit, electronic cigarette distributors are challenging the FDA’s authority to regulate the products.
Across the country, several states are trying to restrict access to the products. “We’re actively investigating these companies and their products,” said Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal.
California banned the sale of e-cigarettes but Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger vetoed the bill. In Oregon, the state attorney general reached an agreement with retailers and distributors to keep the products off shelves.
A New Hampshire state representative is proposing a bill to make it illegal to sell the devices to minors, while in New Jersey, an assemblywoman will be submitting a bill to put e-cigarettes under the same restrictions as cigarettes.

Suspects Sought In Antioch Tobacco Store Robbery

Police are seeking help from the public in identifying four armed suspects who took over and robbed a tobacco store in Antioch Tuesday afternoon.
Units responded to reports of an armed robbery at Tobaccoville located at 2717 Contra Loma Blvd. at around 2:15 p.m., according to Antioch police.
Four men armed with handguns stormed the business and forced a sales clerk to the ground at gunpoint, according to police.
The four men, described only as black men in their 20s with medium to large builds, stole tobacco products and an undisclosed amount of money.
The robbery was captured on closed-circuit security surveillance, and police on Tuesday released suspect photographs from the footage.

More than $100,000 worth of cigarettes, Bacardi liquor and pharmaceuticals stolen

LOXAHATCHEE -- A 48-year-old man was arrested Wednesday on charges he stole more than $100,000 worth of cigarettes, Bacardi liquor, and pharmaceuticals and was storing the goods at his house in Loxahatchee.
Servando Gomez has been charged with grand theft over $100,000 and is in the Palm Beach county jail on $15,000 bond.
Investigators said they traced Gomez back to a home off Okeechobee Boulevard, where they discovered pharmaceuticals stacked floor to ceiling, according to an arrest report.
The cancer-fighting pharmaceuticals were reported stolen by a company in Tennessee.

Somonauk retailers pass tobacco compliance check

All four Somonauk retailers checked for compliance with state tobacco laws passed, according to Somonauk police.
"It is very rewarding to see that our local businesses are adhering to the laws that have been created to safeguard our local children against the purchase of tobacco products," Chief Richard A. Smith said in a press release.
Tobacco retailers were inspected as the first of three rounds of compliance checks. An underage agent of the police department was sent to each establishment and attempted to purchase cigarettes. None of the businesses sold tobacco to the minor.
The compliance checks are paid for, in part, with a grand awarded by the Illinois Liquor Control Commission. The police department has been educating retailers on the minimum-age tobacco laws and the importance of verifying the age of their customers while conducting the compliance checks.

MAILBAG: Hard-drug use is worse than ever

A recent article (“How to say no to drugs,” Sept. 24) focuses on the proliferation of the possession of hard drugs such as ecstasy, heroin and LSD by students in Glendale, and primarily in La Crescenta. It draws attention to the lack of fear students feel when being confronted with such dangerous substances.
In September, a Rosemont Middle School student was arrested for the ownership of ecstasy, and a Crescenta Valley High School student was caught with two tablets of LSD. Such fearlessness toward experiencing hazardous drugs has never before been apparent in any other generation. The fear and knowledge preventing students from wanting to experiment with these drugs should be returned and enforced by drug classes in schools. School officials and law enforcement should work together to eliminate any such possibility of these illegal substances being brought onto campus.
In previous years, the main problem drugs were tobacco and marijuana. These days, students are going a step further in the world of drug experience. Rather than affecting one’s lungs or heart, hard drugs such as LSD and ecstasy pinpoint regions in the user’s brain and gradually disintegrate those vital connections. Lately, detailed research of present and previous ecstasy and heroin users demonstrates severe memory loss and progressing brain damage.
Users in elementary and middle school are particularly at risk, given that their brains aren’t nearly as developed as they should be to contain the damage and handle the effects of these substances. Banning and preventing possession of these drugs should be one of the main focuses and priorities of school laws and organizations. Frequent and unannounced drug dog and police searches should be made a norm at schools in our area.
It is extremely vital to educate students on how risky it is to even try these high-level drugs, and to minimize greatly the exposure to these substances.

Wine And Cigarette Smuggler Fined $2,080

Bandar Seri Begawan - A Man who tried to smuggle several bottles of wine and packets of cigarettes into Brunei Darussalam ended up paying a fine of $2,080 or one-month imprisonment in default after he admitted to committing the offence three days ago.
The defendant, Khaw Chin Hock, 51, who appeared before the Bandar Seri Begawan Magistrate's Court yesterday pleaded guilty to concealing 15 bottles of white wine and 80 packets of 'Era' cigarettes in his employer's car.
The Royal Customs and Excise Department Prosecuting Officer said all the uncustomed goods were found concealed by the defendant who is a Malaysian in various parts of the car by customs officers who detained the defendant's car at the Kuala Lurah Customs checkpoint upon his arrival from Limbang.
The wine and the cigarettes estimated to be worth $122 were ordered to be forfeited to the state for destroyal. The defendant paid the fine.
In Brunei Darussalam, in the case of unexcisable goods, such goods being dutiable goods, a fine of not less than six times the amount of the excise duty or $40,000, whichever is the lesser amount, and of not more than 20 times the amount of excise duty or $40,000, whichever is the greater amount, and for a second or any subsequent conviction, to such fine, to imprisonment for a term not exceeding two years or both could be imposed if the defendant is convicted.

Cigarettes stolen from gas station

A man broke into the McTeer Food and Fuel at 4150 Windsor Spring Road in Hephzibah early Monday and stole cigarettes and cigars.
A Richmond County sheriff’s report says that a newspaper deliveryman arrived at the gas station and found the front glass door broken and a large rock on the floor inside. The burglar had stolen an unknown amount of cigarettes and cigars from the business.
Video surveillance footage showed that the burglar was black, 35 to 40 years old, about 6 feet 2 inches tall and weighed about 185 pounds.

Revenue & Customs had to review 4,000 smuggling cases

An urgent review has begun of 4,000 cases in which the wrong legislation was used to confiscate cash and assets from people convicted of tobacco smuggling.
More than £88 million has been seized from people found guilty of counterfeiting tobacco brands since 2005. But an appeal by one man, William Chambers, revealed that Customs officers and prosecutors obtained a confiscation order against him under 1992 excise duty regulations, amended in 2001 to exclude tobacco products.
The case forced the Revenue & Customs Prosecution Office (RCPO) to track back through 4,000 case files. Dozens of similar errors have been unearthed, with many more files still to be examined. The RCPO faces repaying millions and being sued by people who had to sell their homes to meet the confiscation demands.
Among those appealing is John Rowbotham, who was arrested in 2003 in possession of two million contraband cigarettes and stopped a year later on the M6 driving a van containing 420,000 cigarettes for which no duty had been paid.Rowbotham was jailed for two years in 2004 and a confiscation order of £249,252 was imposed on him with three years’ jail in default of payment. He had an appeal dismissed in 2006 but applied to the Criminal Cases Review Commission for a further appeal after being informed of the Chambers Review. The commission said: “There is a real possibility that the Court of Appeal will quash the confiscation order.”
The issue goes to the heart of a key legal concern over confiscation proceedings which are said to punish people twice for the same offence. Rowbotham, for example, was jailed and then faced a confiscation order which threatened further imprisonment if he did not pay up.
In a statement on its website, the RCPO says: “For a period of some time textbook authors, HM Revenue & Customs investigators, solicitors, counsel and courts had not appreciated that the regulations no longer applied to tobacco products.”

Training is smoking hot for firefighters

Last week, fire departments from around north Okaloosa County gave a helping hand for the fourth annual Northwest Florida Volunteer Firefighter Weekend.
The event at Northwest Florida State College ran Sept. 18 – 20 and provided volunteer firefighters from across the state with free training and class instruction.
Without the help of many of the local departments, this event, which boasted 205 participants, would not have been nearly as successful as it was, organizers said.
The first day of the event began with a demonstration of vehicle extrication. Crews from Almarante and Dorcas provided water, lighting and equipment support, as firefighters cut away at the four vehicles set out.
With the help of some nationally known companies, both newcomers and veterans, fire personnel were able to play with some new tools of the trade, and learn or refresh their skills.
The second morning dawned with the burn tower. Crews from Crestview, North Okaloosa, Laurel Hill and Holt fire departments provided apparatus, equipment, water and medical support, as new recruits experienced their first structure fire.
Without this training firefighters cannot enter a structure and the drill is a critical component of their training.
For those who had already achieved the certification, this was a controlled practice environment not occurring during actual firefighting. Inside of the burn tower, temperatures were controlled at around 800 degrees. At times, the fire spiked up to 1000 degrees, allowing the firefighters to safely experience the grueling heat they will encounter during future fires.
During the exercise, the crew, consisting of an instructor and six firefighters, would enter the structure and extinguish the fire, which was composed of wooden pallets and hay to simulate furniture.
While working the blaze, firefighters are taught about fire and thermal currents with the use of a thermal imaging camera.
In addition to continued training in the burn tower, the afternoon events included several other training sessions, including but not limited to, department vehicle and apparatus operations, search and rescue techniques, pump operations and a foam-based fire attack.
The first fire consisted of wooden pallets and hay, your typical brush fire. The attack truck was used to spray foam out of a small nozzle, extinguishing the fire within 30 seconds.
The second fire was much more intense; an alcohol fire. This alcohol wasn't your typical store brand, but rather 100 percent pure alcohol.
A “pool” of alcohol was lit with a large “whoof” sound. Alcohol burns with very light and hazy white smoke at around 800 degrees and the base of the fire is invisible, making this fire very dangerous.
Water was first applied with no success; the water evaporated before it even reached the fire due to the intense heat.
Next the attack truck was used and foam sprayed out with force, but the wind currents caused by the spraying foam just spread the fire and made it more intense. The final attempt was with a small hand-held device reminiscent of a super-sized gas can.
At the back of this “gas can,” a small water supply hose was connected. The front had a 15-foot rubber hose with a large funnel-type nozzle like that found on an industrial-size fire extinguisher.
The final fire was a dangerous mix of alcohol and gasoline. The smoke was dark black and the fire intense.
On this fire, only the portable foam device was used. Despite the fire burning hot and strong, the firefighters were able to cover and extinguish the fire within 15 seconds.
By the end of the third day, all of the firefighters, from new recruits and volunteers to well-seasoned veterans, were displaying their newly acquired skills and techniques.