17 juillet 2009
ESTIMATED IMPACT ON STATE, LOCAL, AND TRIBAL GOVERNMENTS
CBO estimates that
the costs of those mandates to state, local, and tribal governments would be small and
would not exceed the threshold established in UMRA ($69 million in 2009, adjusted
annually for inflation).
The bill would preempt state laws governing tobacco products that are different from or
in addition to the federal regulations authorized by the bill, including laws governing:
• Product standards,
• Premarket review,
• Adulteration,
• Misbranding,
• Labeling,
• Registration,
• Good manufacturing standards, or
• Modified-risk tobacco products.
That preemption would be an intergovernmental mandate as defined in UMRA.
However, because the preemption would simply limit the application of state and local
laws, CBO estimates that it would not impose significant costs on state or local
governments.
04 août 2008
The Art of Joe Camel
Joe Camel was the brilliantly successful advertising campaign used to market Camel Cigarettes manufactured by RJ Reynolds. The Campaign began in 1987 and was unfortunately stopped in 1997.
For the first time this cigarette mascot was introduced by a British artist Nicholas Price in 1974 that was used by a French magazine. Maybe, if there weren't cigarettes, this mascot disappeared in near time.
In 1987, at 75th anniversary of Camel tobacco “Old Joe's” and this year was year of appearance of legendary Joe Camel. It was an illustrious event. After a few years Joe Camel developed into most recognizable character. It was a real rival of such veteran characters as Mickey Mouse, Fred Flintstone, Barbie or Bugs Bunny. This confirmation was stated as result of survey done by Journal of the American Medical Association.
Who was looked Joe Camel? It was born as a cartoon mascot. As his name suggests, Joe was a camel that was represent with human-looking appearance that used to smoke cigarettes, and he was cool in style and often with sunglasses. Often meted representation were playing billiards, or a saxophone, or on the beach, in a nightclub, or just hanging out while looking cool.
Creator of Joe Camel once said in an interview, “I was just trying to make this stupid head have some kind of expression I could change from ad to ad, and I remembered how Sean Connery as James Bond could move his eyebrows so expressively. So I ripped off his eyes and eyebrows and Don Johnson's hair... how I personally feel about being known for this piece of crap that people think is great advertising. It's a pretty shitty piece of art.”
With such characteristics mascot of cigarettes was represented in many different sceneries and places, but one thing was common: he was nifty, attractive, stylish and handsome. Examining advertisement illustrated on bills, posters and placards of those times it can be easily observed all this distinctiveness that assured its world eminence.
14 juillet 2008
Higher tax brings lower cigarette sales
Local retailers are already feeling the effects of the state’s recent cigarette tax hike, with some businesses seeing tobacco sales decline by as much as 35 percent.
Justin Le, owner of B & K Liquors at 1212 Washington St. in Weymouth, said weekly cigarette sales in his store have dropped by as much as 20 percent compared to a typical week since the $1-per-pack tax increase went into effect on July 1.
Le said some customers have told him they will go to New Hampshire to purchase cigarettes. Others have said they will buy cigarettes on the Internet and others yet are promising themselves they will quit or cut down – or at least switch to a cheaper brand – from Marlboro to USA Gold or Sonoma, saving $1.25 a pack.
“The first week was very bad, but now they’re getting used to it,” Le said.
Le also said because the bill was signed late in the day, many customers were not aware of the increase and complained when he tried to collect the extra dollar tax – so he sold them cigarettes at the old price. But now he will have to pay the additional $1 tax on each pack he sold at the old price – even though he didn’t collect it.
Before the tax went into effect, Gary Patel, of Brennan’s on Hancock Street in Quincy, said he would sell a couple of cartons of Marlboros a week. Now he said that judging from traffic in his store, a lot of people have quit – or at least quit coming in. He said his weekly cigarette sales have fallen by as much as 35 percent from a typical week.
Brian Tenore, owner of Beale Street News in Quincy’s Wollaston section, said many of his younger customers are teaming up and going across the state line.
“They’re getting their buddies together and one guy will take a list and money and drive up to New Hampshire,” Tenore said.
Cross-border sales and Internet traffic are both issues that retailers have to deal with when facing a tax increase such as this, said Bill Rennie, vice president at the Retailers Association of Massachusetts.
The organization opposed the tax and sent out a grass roots call-to-action urging its members to contact their legislator and voice their opinions, Rennie said.
While Rennie said he expects retailers on and around the border to feel the sting more sharply, he said, it’s not tough for most Massachusetts residents to drive across the state line to shop.
“Many people live within an hour’s drive of any border,” he said.
Pravin Patel, who owns Butts and Bets on North Main Street in Randolph, said while he has only seen a slight drop in business so far, he expects it go down further still.
“Business is still hard to figure out right now but I think it is going to go down 20 to 30 percent,” Patel said. “People are coming in and saying it is going to be their last pack or that they are going to switch to a cheaper brand.”
The state Department of Revenue traditionally sets a minimum price for cigarettes. The new tax, at $2.51 per pack, has pushed the state’s minimum price of Marlboros up to $6.35 a pack for chain retail stores and $6.44 a pack for non-chain stores.
The New Hampshire revenue department, meanwhile, doesn’t set minimums. That, along with New Hampshire’s comparatively low cigarette tax – $1.08 per pack – and the state’s lack of a sales tax, makes it tough for Massachusetts retailers to compete.
Philip Blatsos, commissioner of the New Hampshire Department of Revenue Administration, said each time Massachusetts increased its cigarette tax and New Hampshire didn’t, his state saw a corresponding increase in its sales of cigarettes.
Blatsos said past studies have shown that 40
percent of New Hampshire’s tobacco revenue comes from nonresidents. The
majority of those are from Massachusetts. New Hampshire also draws tobacco
sales from residents of Vermont, Maine, New York and, to a smaller degree,
Connecticut and Rhode Island.
Cigarette sales have been on the decline nationwide for about eight years. But this year, New Hampshire officials expect to see an increase in its tobacco revenue because of the $1-per-pack tax hike in Massachusetts.
Leo Vercollone, president of Duxbury’s Verc Enterprises chain of 20 gas station and convenience stores, said 40 percent of his retail store income is derived from the sales of tobacco products – excluding gasoline and lottery sales. Vercollone said before the new tax took effect, sales of cigarettes in his company were on the decline.
“When the cost of a product goes up 20 percent, in this economy, it’s going to have an effect,” Vercollone said. “But, from my perspective, if people are going to stop using it (tobacco), I look at it as a plus. If they are driving to other states to purchase it, I look at it as a negative.”
04 juillet 2008
Kenya: Beer, Cigarettes Prop Up Economy
Consumption of beer and cigarettes kept the economy going in the first quarter of 2008 as post-poll violence took its toll on the country's wellbeing.
Food, beverages, and the tobacco sub-sectors increased by 3.1 per cent in the January to March.
"The key contributions to this increase were the production of beer, cigarettes and maize meal," an analysis by the Kenya National Bureau of Statistics indicated.
Overall, the country's economic growth, as measured by the Gross Domestic Product (GDP) slowed in the first quarter to record the lowest growth rate in the last six years at negative 1.3 per cent.
Robust growth
Government projections put full year economic growth at 4.5 per cent down from 7.1 per cent recorded in 2007, mostly driven by a robust growth in second half of 2008.
All other manufacturing sectors whose key indicators include cement production (normally relied on as an indicator of the level of activities in the construction industry), manufacture of textiles, clothing and footwear, throughput of crude petroleum among others, declined by 0.9 per cent in the first quarter of 2008.
"The economic implication of the post-election violence and the loss incurred was the main cause of the decline in some key sectors of the economy," the bureau said in its quarterly economic review.
Worst hit were the hotel and restaurant industries estimated to have declined by 60.2 per cent in the first quarter of 2008 compared to a growth of 10.1 per cent in the same period of 2007.