I am a casual collector of vintage paper goods and assorted ephemera. My stash includes vintage dictionaries and encyclopedias, postcards, baby scrapbooks, and handwritten recipe files. Recently, at a Saturday morning yard sale, I scored a different type of collectible—a Wills’s Cigarette Picture Card Album filled with 50 “Household Hints” trading cards.

I was curious about my $2 find and thus launched a Google rampage. I learned that “cartophily” is the hobby of collecting cigarette cards, and so that makes me a very part-time cartophilist. Cards, originally used to simply fortify packages of cigarettes, later became vehicles for advertising and artful trading cards. W.D. & H.O Wills, a division of Imperial Tobacco, was the first tobacco company to issue sets of cards. In 1895 “Ships & Sailors” inaugurated the card craze which lasted until the early 1940s.

These miniature cards measure 2 5/8 by 1 3/8”. They are numbered and each card features a colorful printed letterpress image on the front and a directive or explanation on the reverse. The first series appealed to men who were the majority smokers, and sporting themes like cricket and baseball were very popular. Soon enough, sets featuring garden flowers, movie stars, birds, and British butterflies would appeal to either gender. According to Colin Fawcett, Membership Secretary for The Cartophilic Society of Great Britain, a group of nearly 1,000 members devoted to propagating, enhancing, and preserving the hobby of cigarette card and trade card collecting, “Household Hints” was first issued in 1927 and there were several other incarnations up until 1936.

The rarest cards, if in very good condition, can fetch a handsome price. A top-rated eBay seller known as Cigarette Cards is presently selling a 1901 set of 50 locomotive cards for $571 and a set of 32 Drum Horses from 1901 for $233. Household Hints, which Colin informed me was quite common, has a starting bid of just one cent. Alas, I will not make a mint from reselling it!

I am perfectly happy with my purchase nonetheless. I love the quaint illustrations, the 115-word DIY tips, and the diligence of the smoke.

The Asia division of tobacco producer Philip Morris International Ltd. has begun multibillion-dollar arbitration proceedings against the Australian government over legislation passed Friday that requires tobacco products to be sold without company branding. In addition, the new law also requires the packaging to be dull brown except for a full-color health warning.

The best cigarettes you can order at famous tobacco shop: camel, marlboro, pall mall, vogue.

Philip Morris, which makes leading cigarette brands including Marlboro and Virginia Slims, said the new law breaches two articles of a 1993 Australia-Hong Kong bilateral investment treaty, alleging that the law fails to protect the company’s intellectual property and amounts to unfair treatment. The legal action follows a mandatory three-month negotiation period after the company first raised its concerns in June.

Allens Arthur Robinson is representing Philip Morris, but did not respond to a request for details. The firm previously represented the company in its defense of Australia’s first class action, filed in 1999. David Bernick is Philip Morris’ general counsel. The Australian government did not supply the names of its legal advisers.

Hong Kong-based Philip Morris Asia Ltd. has a subsidiary in Australia under which it makes and distributes tobacco products. The company is seeking suspension of the legislation and damages amounting to “billions of dollars,” according to its statement.

Philip Morris said it prefers arbitration under UNCITRAL rules — the preferred dispute resolution method stated in the treaty — and will recommend Singapore as the forum for the dispute, which it estimates will take two to three years. It also plans to pursue domestic litigation in Australia’s High Court, it added.

“We are left with no option,” said Philip Morris spokeswoman Anne Edwards in a statement about its legal action. “The Government has passed this legislation despite being unable to demonstrate that it will be effective at reducing smoking and has ignored the widespread concerns raised in Australia and internationally regarding the serious legal issues associated with plain packaging.”

Australia’s health minister, Nicola Roxon, said in an emailed statement: “Big tobacco is ignoring the will of the Australian Parliament and is prioritising their profits over the lives of everyday Australians with this action.”

She added: “[The] Government has received comprehensive legal advice about this matter and are confident with our position.”

Philip Morris is also among tobacco companies that claim the plain-packaging legislation will encourage counterfeiting when it comes into force in December 2012, since it believes the new packages will be easy to copy.

Roxon claimed in a press conference in Canberra Monday that those objections were based on inaccurate figures.

Philip Morris International is the result of a 2008 spin-off from Altria Group Inc. Altria continues to own Philip Morris USA, which is distinct from the spun-off company.

An addiction that kills thousands of Americans each year is under fire. And now, the government is stepping up to help people quit smoking. We first told you about the Food and Drug Administration’s new graphic warning labels earlier this week. It’s the first warning change to a cigarette box in some 20 years. Now, we are learning about the effect it could have in western Colorado. Convenience stores are packed with them and cigarette sales are steady. But, come next year, customers will have something else to think about.

“I don’t think it will affect us much anyway due to the simple fact that the ones who smoke here buy cigarettes already,” Paul Campbell, a clerk at a Western Convenience store in Grand Junction, said.
In October of 2012, at least half of every pack of cigarettes will be covered with pictures showing the dangers of smoking. Nine new graphics will be randomly printed on the packaging. And, it’s a message meant for at least 20% of Americans.
“Prevention and education efforts are key,” Karen Martsolf with the Mesa County Health Department said.
In Mesa County, a little bit more than 21% of adults smoke. Local groups hope to lower that number to 12% with the help of these new labels.
Similar warnings are working in 40 other countries across the globe. Those labels are even more graphic abroad. Some depict dead fetuses and foot Gangrene.
But, just because it works in other parts of the world, does that mean it’ll work here? The FDA sure thinks so.
“People need to be aware of the risks associated with their behavior,” Martsolf said. “Cigarette smoking is the leading cause of premature death in the United States.”
So we asked some smokers what their opinion is. Many say they know what they are getting themselves into.
“I’ve seen pictures of Cirrhosis of the liver and I’ve seen pictures of a bad lung and it hasn’t stopped me,” Jason Turner explained. “I mean, I want to quit. It’s addictive. I’ll quit when I have the will power to do so.”
Christopher Casto who has smoked for 22 years feels the same way. “A picture on a cigarette box ain’t going to do crap.”
These men think that the government can spend its money in better ways. But, some people have personal reasons they’re rooting for the campaign. “I think it’s a good idea. Maybe it will get people to quit spending money on that,” Sharon Guzman said. “My mom died of cancer, so I don’t like cigarettes.”
Some people, though, fear these labels will become more of a collectible than a deterrent.

Smoking these days can be lonely business, what with smoking now banned in many bars and other traditional smokers’ hangouts. But a new hand-held device is designed to help smokers find each other – and it might even help them kick the habit. Meet the “blu Smart Pack,” the world’s first social networking cigarette package. The rechargeable package – scheduled to go on sale in June for $80 – connects wirelessly to social networking sites and even flashes a blue light and vibrates if it detects other packages nearby.

“You’ll meet more people than ever, just because of the wow factor,” Jason Healy, the company’s founder told the New York Times.

Not everyone’s as convinced it’s such a great idea.

Adam Alfandary, 24, a smoker from Brooklyn, N.Y., called it one of the dumbest thing he’s ever heard. “And I’m saying that in full acknowledgment that smoking is one of the dumbest things I can do,” he told the Times.

Smoking cessation experts aren’t sure the device, which is designed for use not with traditional cigarettes but with so-called “e-cigarettes,” which delivers nicotine-laced water vapor instead of tobacco smoke, is anything more than a gimmick.

Dr. Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, told CBS News the idea of a social network is “wonderful.” Blum points to a 2008 “New England Journal of Medicine” study that showed smokers who joined others in trying to stop smoking were more likely to succeed than smokers who tried kicking the habit on their own.

“But I really don’t understand how this e-pack signal is going to do anything other than help you pick up girls.”

Almost 50 million Americans are regular smokers. Smoking can cause heart attacks, stroke, and many forms of cancer, in addition to other health problems.

Smoking these days can be lonely business, what with smoking now banned in many bars and other traditional smokers’ hangouts. But a new handheld device is designed to help smokers find each other–and it might even help them kick the habit. Meet the “blu Smart Pack,” the world’s first social-networking cigarette package.
The rechargeable package–scheduled to go on sale in June for $80–connects wirelessly to social-networking sites and even flashes a blue light and vibrates if it detects other packages within 50 feet.

“You’ll meet more people than ever, just because of the wow factor,” Jason Healy, the company’s founder, told The New York Times.
Not everyone’s as convinced it’s such a great idea.
Adam Alfandary, 24, a smoker from Brooklyn, N.Y., called the pack one of the dumbest ideas he’s ever heard. “And I’m saying that in full acknowledgment that smoking is one of the dumbest things I can do,” he told the Times.
Smoking cessation experts aren’t sure the device–which is designed for use not with traditional cigarettes but with so-called “e-cigarettes,” which deliver nicotine-laced water vapor instead of tobacco smoke–is anything more than a gimmick.
Dr. Alan Blum, director of the University of Alabama Center for the Study of Tobacco and Society, told CBS News the idea of a social network is “wonderful.” Blum points to a 2008 New England Journal of Medicine study (PDF) that showed smokers who joined others in trying to stop smoking were more likely to succeed than smokers who tried kicking the habit on their own.
“But I really don’t understand how this e-pack signal is going to do anything other than help you pick up girls.”
Almost 50 million Americans are regular smokers. Smoking can cause heart attacks, strokes, and many forms of cancer, in addition to other health problems.

A major tobacco-industry funded advertising blitz has backfired, with new research revealing the “It won’t work, so why do it” campaign persuaded more people to support the plain packaging of cigarettes than oppose it. The Cancer Council Victoria survey of 2,101 Victorians who recalled the ad campaign found has found that more than eight out of ten (86.2%) respondents said the ad didn’t affect their view of plain packaging 8.4% of respondents said the ad actually increased their support of plain packaging.

Only 3.9% of respondents felt the ad reduced their support of plain packaging.

Additionally, just over half of those surveyed (56.5%) recognised the ads, under the moniker of the ‘Alliance of Australian Retailers’, were funded by the tobacco industry.

Quit Executive Director Fiona Sharkie said the study showed the public wasn’t falling for the industry’s dirty tricks.

“The fact that more people actually supported plain packaging after seeing an ad that was

meant to turn them against it really shows how laughable this multi-million dollar campaign is. The public isn’t buying it. Plain packaging will not cause mass job losses or make the jobs of

retailers incredibly hard. Research shows plain packaging will stop young people taking up

smoking. That’s why it’s being implemented and has the industry running scared,” she said.

Ms Sharkie said although the public wasn’t falling for the ads, it was concerning that just over

half of respondents knew the ads were funded by the tobacco industry.

“Alarmingly it’s only a small majority of people who know who’s behind this campaign, and

that’s exactly what the tobacco-industry wants. It knows people don’t trust it, but hope it will

trust this sham front group the ‘Alliance of Australian Retailers’,” Ms Sharkie said.

“It’s vital more Australians realise who’s orchestrating this campaign: it’s not shopkeepers, but

big tobacco putting profits over saving lives.”

Cigarette companies have been criticised for cutting back on the number they put in packets but continue to charge smokers the same price. They have started putting 19 cigarettes into each packet rather than the usual 20. The industry is the latest one to cut sizes without cutting prices following penguin chocolate biscuits, Yeo Valley yogurts and KP nuts.

He added: ‘Companies are not being honest.’

The practice is well known in the U.S. where it is called the ‘Grocery Shrink Ray.’

A couple of years ago Cadbury admitted to downsizing its Family share bar from 250g to 230g with the same £1.38 price.

Strongbow packs were reduced from 18 cans to 15 but cost the same, Birds eye put fewer garden peas in their bags and Pampers put four less nappies into their Baby Dry nappies.

Pall Mall reduced the number of cigarettes they put into their packets from 19 to 20, according to The Sun, a cut of five per cent, and although they did reduce the price, from £4.25 to £4.22, this is just a saving of one per cent.

‘Shrinking size but not price could damage trust in brands,’ Lucy Yates, of Consumer Focus, told the newspaper.

The makers of the cigarettes, British American Tobacco, claimed consumers prefer stable prices over size.

South Carolina once boasted the lowest cigarette excise tax in the U.S., but that distinction now goes to Missouri. A pack of cigarettes in the Show Me State costs about $5.14 a pack — a strong contrast to about $13 a pack in say, New York City. Perhaps you can call Missouri the last state standing. Efforts to raise the cigarette tax have been repeatedly shut down at the polls and in the Legislature. And at 17 cents per pack, Missouri “remains determined to keep its cigarette taxes (and beer taxes too) at permanently low levels,” reports Time magazine.

Missouri state Rep. Mary Still isn’t giving up; she’s drafting a bill to increase the state’s cigarette excise tax by 12 cents each year for eight years. However, she’s got her work cut out for her: Gov. Jay Nixon, a Democrat, is maintaining a no-new-taxes pledge.

And according to the state’s constitution, any major tax increase has to go before voters. “In 2006, a proposal to raise the cigarette tax to 97 cents a pack lost a hard-fought referendum, 51% to 49%. Hospitals and health advocates poured millions into the campaign for the tax; opposition came from the tobacco lobby, gas stations and convenience stores. Posters at minimarts and filling stations across the state called for voters to ‘Stop Tax Abuse’ and vote down a ‘470%’ tax increase,” writes Time.

The magazine continues that opponents of the tax increase maintain higher taxes on tobacco are regressive and hit the lower-class residents the hardest. Also, Missouri’s low taxes benefit the state because of cross-border sales coming from eight neighboring states.

“The anti-tobacco zealots are not trying to reasonably regulate,” Ron Leone, executive director of the Missouri Petroleum Marketers & Convenience Store Association, told Time. “Their goal is prohibition. It’s hard to negotiate with these people. They can’t prohibit it, so they’re trying to kill it by a thousand cuts.”

Leone explains that the federal cigarette tax is $1.01 per pack, and combined with state and local taxes, Missouri smokers pay 46% in taxes on a pack of popular budget brands, while brand names are taxed at more than 30%. “There is no other product on the market that’s overtaxed like that,” said Leone.

The Health Ministry will intensify its efforts next year to stop the sale of cigarettes below the minimum price fixed by the government. Its director-general Tan Sri Dr Ismail Merican said retailers who sold a pack of 20 cigarettes below the RM7 (S$3) minimum price were deemed to have violated the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2009, which came into effect on Jan 1 this year.

They face a maximum fine of RM5,000 (S$2,100).

“The widespread prevalence of retailers who sell below the minimum set price will jeopardise the ministry’s fight against smoking. We are aware of the complaints received and are serious in curbing the problem.”

He said since the enforcement of the cigarette price control, two nationwide enforcement activities had been carried out.

“A total of 266 retailers were booked, mostly for selling illicit cigarettes.”

The ministry is also enlisting the help of the Domestic Trade, Cooperatives and Consumerism Ministry, the Royal Malaysian Customs Department and other government agencies to inform it of such violations.

Anyone with information regarding the matter can call the ministry’s infoline at 03-88834400 or report the activities to the nearest district health office.

The ministry, in an effort to make cigarettes less affordable to meet its public health objective, introduced the Minimum Cigarette Price (MCP) by passing the Control of Tobacco Product Regulations 2004 early this year.

At the time of implementation, the MCP was set at RM6.40 (S$2.7) for a 20-stick pack of cigarettes.

The MCP was subsequently adjusted upwards, following the cigarette excise duty increase on Oct 1 to RM7 for a 20-stick cigarette pack.

It is understood that as many as 140 retail outlets nationwide are now selling cigarettes below the MCP.