Proposals to double the price of cigarettes in the UAE may not be enough to make people kick the habit. The UAE is considering imposing a health tax on cigarettes that would see a 100 per cent price rise on a packet. Smokers told 7DAYS that if proposals to double the price of cigarettes, which are being considered by the government, were given the go-ahead it would not put them off lighting up. Shamsuden Mukhtar, who has been a smoker for 25 years, said: “Cigarette smoking is an addiction and people with a stable income would be more than willing to pay any amount to have a smoke.

The best way to deal with it is to enrol people into programmes to help them quit.”

However, tobacco dealers said they were worried about the business impact on the new proposal so they would consider absorbing a percentage of the new tax to maintain sales.

“Previously, any additional costs have been transferred to the consumer. But in the event where we feel that extra costs are threatening the flow of business, we would explore options of absorbing some of the additional costs in order to keep our business running,” said a cigarette importer in Dubai. However Head of the Tobacco Control Committee, Dr Wedad Al Maidor, is optimistic a severe price hike would work.

“Experience shows that the best way to force people to quit smoking is by making cigarettes more expensive for them,” she said.

The Marshalltown Police Department is launching its annual tobacco education and enforcement effort in partnership with the Iowa Alcoholic Beverages Division. The goals is to educate local retailers and enforce Iowa’s tobacco laws, said Sgt. Thomas Watson, of the Marshalltown Police Department. The dual approach of the Iowa Pledge Program – education and enforcement – has helped increase statewide tobacco compliance to a rate of 92.7 percent since it began in 2000.

“By partnering with the Iowa ABD, the Marshalltown Police Department will look to do its part in continuing the upward trend,” Watson said.

Clerks who successfully complete an online training program and pass an exam will be Iowa Pledge Certified.

“If they sell to an underage person they get a one time allowance,” he said. “They won’t get fined that one time if they’ve take the course.”

Meanwhile, officers will be conducting compliance checks on local establishments.

Underage customers, from ages 15 to 17, go to a business that sells tobacco in Marshalltown. Under the supervision of a law enforcement officer, and with their own ID, they attempt to buy tobacco products, Watson said.

“We aren’t out to trick retail businesses,” he said. “They are not to say they are a different age, they are supposed to give them the ID card if asked and if the retailer asks them how old they are, they have to tell the truth.”

Clerks who make an illegal sale will be cited on the spot. If any business sells to an underage person, a follow up check on that business is performed a few months later, he said.

Criminal penalties for selling tobacco to a minor include a $100 fine for the first offense, a $250 fine for the second offense and a $500 fine for the third and subsequent offenses. Handing out citations, however, is not the intent of the Iowa Pledge Program, Watson said.

“We hope to educate clerks and maintain a compliant retail environment in our community,” he said.

LIBERTY, MO – It has only been one day after Liberty voters agreed to beef up the town’s existing smoking ban and already there are two big questions: will it drive smoking customers away, and how long will it be before smokers have no where to go?

Tuesday’s vote is a very big deal for two Liberty establishments. One is a bar and the other is a bowling alley, but one of the business may be more hurt by the ban than the other.

Liberty’s Corner Bar was exempt under Liberty’s first smoking ban but that all changes now as the corner bar will also go smoke free on November 23. However, Tuesday’s vote still has those who work at the bar confident that things won’t change all that much.

“I think it would have been different if it didn’t affect everyone across the board, where there was one place that was smoking and the rest were not. I was a little afraid of that, because there might be a monopoly where everybody goes where they can smoke. But since it affects everyone evenly I think we’ll be able to deal,” said employee Megan Garrison.

But that’s not the case for the Liberty Retro Bowl where up to 40% of their regular league bowlers are smokers, and this ban may lead them to try the lanes in nearby Grandview, Blue Springs, and Kearney, where there are no smoking bans.

“I wish everybody would get together and understand that if you want to do something like this, and you’re that driven, then do it on a statewide basis. Do it so that it’s fair,” said Bob Stambersky, Retro Bowl owner.

Greg Quinn of Blue Springs Bowl doesn’t agree with city enforced smoking bans, but he does agree that he’ll likely see more business because of it. Quinn said he gained new customers after a similar ban was imposed by the city of Independence.

“We noticed the open play, it picked up quite a bit for open bowlers that come in. First thing when they came through the door, they asked, can you smoke in here?” said Greg Quinn.

Quinn said that extra business could be short lived because he thinks soon enough his business will be in the anti-smoking crosshairs.

By Dave Froehlich
November 4, 2009

After 34 years of hosting cigarette-smoking customers, the Reno Club was closed earlier this week for three days of deep cleaning.
When the Billings tavern reopens Thursday – the first day of a comprehensive statewide smoking ban – it will have new carpet, new paint and, its owner hopes, a new attractiveness to nonsmokers.

“It’s a wonderful opportunity during a recession to invite people to your business,” club owner John Blair said of the Montana Clean Indoor Air Act, which prohibits smoking in all public buildings beginning Oct. 1. “I’m excited for the opportunity because of the growth factor for my business.”

As a member of the Montana Tavern Association, Blair strongly opposed the legislation that enacted the ban, and he still thinks that business owners should be able to decide whether to allow smoking in their establishments.

But he said he is embracing the change. As he prepared the Reno Club for what he hopes will be an influx of new customers, he also tried to make arrangements to keep his smoking patrons happy.

Blair spent $2,000 on what he’s calling a “smoking shed.” The wood structure sits outside the Reno Club’s front door and will give smokers a place to light up that is out of the elements.

“We’ve had a flurry of these things in the last few months,” said Nicole Cromwell, a planner for the city of Billings. “It’s like Oct. 1 crept up on everyone.”

The Montana Legislature passed the Clean Indoor Air Act in 2005. It took effect in two stages, with bars and casinos exempt from the ban until this year.

Montana is the 18th state to enact a comprehensive smoking ban. Another 14 states ban smoking in some public places.

About 16 percent of Montanans are smokers, compared with 20 percent of Americans.

Outlawing smoking in public places improves the health of entire communities, said Linda Lee, a supervisor of the Montana Tobacco Use Prevention Program. At least 13 studies conducted around the world, including one in Helena, have shown that heart attack rates drop significantly – between 17 percent and 26 percent over two years – after smoking is banned, she said.

“If one drug company developed a drug that reduced heart attacks by 20 percent, they would make a lot of money,” Lee said. “All we have to do is end smoking in the workplace.”

“We have more and more scientific evidence showing this is absolutely the right thing to do to protect the public.”

Businesses that violate the Clean Indoor Air Act can be fined up to $500, but public-health officials said they expect to issue few citations.

“We want to educate them,” said Hillary Harris, director of population health at RiverStone Health. “People are just going to need reminders.”

There are no plans for compliance checks. Instead, it will be up to consumers to complain about businesses that violate the new law.

But before filing a complaint, consider talking to a business owner about the violation, Harris said. “And thank them if they are complying,” she said.

Most local casinos and bars are ready for the change, said Vicki Holgard, a preventive health specialist at RiverStone. “They’ve been pretty receptive,” Holgard said. “They want to stay within the law.”

The state Department of Public Health and Human Services sent informational packages to every bar and casino in the state, including materials that explain the law for employees to give to customers.

“There will be instances where they lose a couple of customers because they’re mad about it,” Holgard said. “But they need to know they will gain customers.”

Contact Diane Cochran at dcochran@billingsgazette.com or 657-1287.

Contact Diane Cochran at dcochran@billingsgazette.com or 657-1287.