Updated March, 11 2010 10:14:38

HA NOI — An increase in the tobacco tax will help reduce the number of smokers in Viet Nam, according to an overview survey on tobacco tax in Viet Nam conducted by the Public Health University on Tuesday in Ha Noi.

“The low price of tobacco is one of the reasons for the increasing number of smokers in Viet Nam,” said a member of the survey group, Nguyen Tuan Lam.

“The tax on tobacco was set at 45 per cent of the retail price, lower than the 65-80 per cent recommended by the World Health Organisation (WHO),” Lam said.

According to statistics from the National Tobacco Prevention Programme, Viet Nam is burdened with uncontaminated diseases, including those relating to tobacco. Health authorities estimate that there were about 40,000 smoking fatalities in 2008, and the number would increase to 50,000 per year by 2023.

“In Viet Nam, a 10 cent increase in the tobacco tax would reduce consumption by at least 5 per cent, stop 300,000 smokers, save 100,000 from dying and make nearly VND1.9 trillion (US$100 million) in taxes to the Government budget,” said Lam.

In Viet Nam, nearly 50 per cent of men smoke, 65 per cent of them aged 25-45. Medical spending relating to cancer and heart and lung diseases reached over $75 million in 2005.

“Tobacco prevention measures have been applied in Viet Nam before. However, they’ve mostly been ineffective,” said the rector of the Public Health University, Le Vu Anh.

Researchers said that money spent on food instead of tobacco could help 11.2 per cent of poor families move above the poverty line. A reduction in tobacco consumption would also help improve health conditions, which in turn would help reduce tobacco- and smoking-related diseases.

The survey also recommended raising the tax on thuoc lao (a kind of Vietnamese tobacco smoked via a bamboo pipe) to VND1,000 /100 gram. The item is currently tax-free.

Research from the World Bank said that a 10 per cent increase in the tobacco tax would reduce 4 per cent of the demand in high-income countries and 8 per cent in medium- and low-income countries, though sales would still increase about 7 per cent. Money saved by people giving up cigarettes would be spent on other goods and help create jobs and increase taxes for governments. — VNS

Yesterday was No Smoking Day, so I lit up my pipe in protest.

I remember when First Minister Jack McConnell, cheered on enthusiastically by Nicola Sturgeon, told us how our brave new world, this modern Scotland, would ban smoking in enclosed public spaces, de-normalising smoking so that fewer people would inhale tobacco.

I myself had no problem with extending smoking bans in enclosed public places, except that I objected to the tone of the approach – the abuse of smokers by making them pariahs would not have been allowed if they were another minority such as homosexuals, Jews or Pakistanis – and nor did I agree that private businesses such as pubs, restaurants and especially clubs were public places. They were private domains where the licensee had the authority to refuse entry.

The defenders of lifestyle management and social engineering – the Liberal Democrats, Labour and the Scottish Nationalists – told us to ignore the economic threats that the hospitality trade feared would engulf them. The fall in smoking and an improvement in the nation’s health would be worth it.

Before the ban was debated, I attended a one-day seminar at a hotel right next door to the Holyrood parliament hosted by the Scottish licensed trade. All 129 MSPs were invited to come and meet publicans and hoteliers from their constituencies. I was the only MSP to turn up.

The Health Bill was passed with great celebration by the bullies and their hangers on. After a year from the introduction of the ban in March 2006, a seminar was organised in Edinburgh to tell the world how Scotland was leading the way in tobacco control – more trumpets blared when an unbelievable drop in heart attacks by 17 per cent was proclaimed.

It was unbelievable because it was a lie, and it wasn’t the first to be told.

In fact, the truth can be found on Chris Snowdon’s website velvetgloveiron fist.com, but it’s rather long and complex so, to put it simply, the health statistics were distorted and did not compare lemons in 2006 with lemons in 2007 – they compared lemons in 2006 with cucumbers in 2007.

Similar claims about a fall in smoking rates were exposed last month. Rather than the big fall that was claimed, the Office of National Statistics has revealed the number of smokers in Scotland fell from 25 per cent before the ban to 24 per cent after it. As smoking has been falling for the last 20 years, this change is of no statistical significance and cannot be attributed to the ban.

Now the truth about the effect on our licensed trade is out in the open, too – on Monday, we were told that three Scottish pubs are closing every week and it is the community-based pubs that are closing the most.

I’m not going to try and claim that all of the problems that our pubs face are due to the smoking ban. They face new and complex legislation that was meant to make licensing simple but it has ended up more complicated and more costly.

They have been banned from having any drinks promotions such as happy hours or a half and a nip for pensioners on quiet afternoons, and let’s not forget people have less in their pockets to spend. Any one of these would be a burden, but all three and the smoking ban? It’s just too much for some and they are closing.

The reason is simple – booze in supermarkets is cheap, can be promoted legally with discounts and people can still smoke and drink at home. I remember warning this would cause far more fires at home – scaremongering I was accused of – but the sad fact is that deaths from fires caused at home by cigarettes have doubled.

Politicians remain in denial, they will not accept the smoking ban as a contributory factor to pub closures, nor do they admit that the health gains have been exaggerated and they go all quiet when you mention that the number of smokers refuses to fall or the deaths from fires.

Instead, they become more extreme in their reactions – banning cigarettes out of sight in newsagents, urging more tax hikes and thinking of how to ban it in cars and at home, using the presence of children as the excuse.

Not content with demonising smoking tobacco, they now demonise drinking alcohol, consuming fatty foods and other behaviours they think they know better about. Without a doubt, we will end up with more alcoholics and more fatties as every descent into prohibition has shown.

The smoking ban has given us some nicer pubs with clean air by pushing smokers out into the streets. It could have been achieved without a ban by asking pubs to meet clean air standards.

We would then have fewer pubs closing, fewer deaths from home fires and still have achieved a slow but falling rate of smokers. I’m away to enjoy my pipe.

Tony Potts
03-10-2010

The Georgia House of Representatives is moving to increase state excise taxes on cigarettes by 270 percent and pipe and smokeless tobacco by 150 percent that the International Premium Cigar & Pipe Retailers Association and Americans for Tax Reform are having none of. The group of close to 100 people held a protest on Tuesday on the state Capitol`s steps.

House Bill 39 aims to increase state cigarette taxes from the current $.37 per pack to $1.37 per pack and state taxes on loose and smokeless tobacco would go up 150 percent from 10 percent of wholesale value to 25 percent of wholesale cost.

In a letter to Georgia House and Senate Taxpayer Protection Pledge signers, the ATR said, `A vote in favor of this tax hike would be a violation of the, commitment you made to your constituents to oppose any and all tax increases.`

The letter also pointed out that Georgia’s nearby states have an average cigarette tax of $.36 per pack. If the tax hike is passed, Georgians will have to pay $1.37 in state taxes per pack, nearly quadruple that of their neighbors. In a similar situation, Maryland raised the state’s tobacco tax last year to cover a projected budget shortfall. However, the problem was only made worse when tobacco sales fell 25% after consumers drove to nearby states with lower tax rates to make their tobacco purchases.

Chris McCalla, legislative director of the Columbus, Georgia-based IPCPR, agreed with the ATR’s position that, “It is critical to revitalize Georgia’s economy with tax cuts, not tax increases. We must lift the burden of larger government from the backs of hardworking taxpayers and consumers instead of further depressing economic activity.”

Although premium cigars are not included in the proposed tax hike, McCalla said the IPCPR’s position was preemptive and aimed at attempting to protect the long-range business interests of its members and the rights of Georgia consumers.

McCalla recounted a story told to him by Brett Chastain, owner of the Sweetbriar Smoke Shop in Columbus, Georgia. Chastain’s location serves the Ft. Benning area and many of his pipe tobacco customers are retired military on fixed income.

“These people, our heroes, are very sensitive to tax increases. The proposed state tax increase on pipe tobacco would further exacerbate the pricing issues brought on earlier this year by a 158 percent increase in the federal tax on pipe tobacco. It went from $1.10 per pound to $2.83 per pound. And Georgia wants to add to that an increase of 150 percent in state taxes? What are they thinking?” McCalla asked.

10:40am Wednesday 10th March 2010

John Bailey learns about the amount of toxins in tobacco smoke.

THE Black Country Living Museum has joined forces with Dudley NHS to make smoking a thing of the past.

The Tipton Road museum, which is setting up a tobacconist shop is hoping to find smoking memorabilia dating between 1935 and 1939 to deck out its shelves in time for the opening later this year and Dudley NHS is hoping smokers will stub out and consign their habit to the museum’s history.

Stephen Howard, assistant curator, displays said: “The museum is hoping to find pipe smoking paraphernalia, cigar boxes, snuff boxes, vintage tobacco tins in good condition and cigarette packets of the era such as Du Maurier, Passing Clouds, Woodbine, Park Drive, Cinderella, and Senior Service.

“There was little awareness of the health risks associated with smoking at the time. Indeed smoking was considered glamorous with over 75 per cent of the population partaking.”

And to coincide with national No Smoking Day, which falls today, (March 10) and carries the theme ‘Break Free’, Dudley NHS are urging smokers to kick the habit once and for all.

Joy Boyes from Dudley NHS said: “Going smoke free is the one single thing people can do to not only to improve their health but also increase their chances of living longer.

“Tobacco smoke contains over 4,000 chemicals, including more than 50 known cancercausing substances, and is responsible for many serious and fatal diseases.”

I have to preface this review by saying that I don’t smoke a pipe. Well, I don’t smoke this kind of pipe… Wait, I may want to run for political office someday. OK, I don’t smoke, but I made an exception for this coverage. Fortunately, I was guided through the process by Olie Sylvester, owner and artist over at OomPaul.com.

Each pipe, or Monstrosity as they’re called over at the OomPaul website, is a hand-carved work of art, available in extremely limited quantities. The Monstrosities are treated like living beings, each with its own gruesome tale printed on its adoption notice. It’s like a Cabbage Patch Kid for adults, just not as flammable.

Sylvester set me up with Trunkulosis (pictured). He’s a short stubby thing that fits smoothly into your hand (that’s Trunkulosis, not Sylvester). At fir st, it looked like someone just stuck a stem into a hunk of wood they found in their back yard and called it a pipe, but a closer look revealed the fine detail and carving that went into giving Trunkulosis a scary “face” and personality. It is, in every good sense of the word, a monstrosity, a brilliant bit of gruesome craftsmanship.

As for the smoking, Sylvester also sent along a very nice Black Aromatic tobacco. I don’t know much about the stuff, but I can only guess that this is the good shit. My first attempt was not the gasping-and-choking affair I thought it would be. With Trunkulosis’ help, I was puffing away like a pro. It was a nice experience without a single bit of wayward ash, tobacco or burning ember, just smooth smoking. But be warned: These are heavy, so make sure to always hold on with at least one hand. I almost lost several years of expensive dental work trying to keep a grip with just my teeth.

Cyclopsy

At first glance, you may think about building a shire and helping out a few hobbits, but make no mistake about it: This is a rock star’s pipe, a true piece of heavy metal, albeit carved from wood. These horror-themed pipes are hardcore items that take the sophistication and snobbery out of pipe smoking, combining Gothic carvings with reptilian features; it’s easy to see why some fans call Sylvester the “Stephen King of the pipe world.” He hosts a weekly podcast at the OomPaul site for pipe aficionados (no, I didn’t know they existed either), and stands behind his work with a lifetime guarantee (who does that anymore?!). So now, thanks to my Monstrosity, I am an occasional pipe smoker indoctrinated by a great pipe.

Published on 8 Mar 2010

Oh, and I’d usually not include hookah smoking, but for some reason, this caught my eye. Must be that clock in the background or something.

U.S. Ingenuity on Display: See the “network of gadgets” found inside David Delagrange’s pants after he was picked up for allegedly taking upskirt photos in Castleton Mall in Indianapolis. (Bonus: Upskirts are not illegal in Indiana because Delagrange took them in a public place.) WANE-TV (Fort Wayne)

Wow. Think about how low-tech shining your shoes to a mirror  finish was. Er, not that I ever did that. But I do have a story about a topless shoeshine I’ll tell you about someday…

…I have absolutely no idea of what she’s saying, but she’s easy on the eyes.