Brussels - The European Commission wants to increase and harmonize taxes on cigarettes across the European Union in a bid to cut smoking and reduce tobacco smuggling. According to a proposal presented on Wednesday by the EU’s executive arm, the minimum percentage of excise duties applied on the price of cigarettes should be gradually increased - from today’s 57 per cent, to 63 per cent by 2014. ‘Today’s proposal supports the EU policy to reduce tobacco consumption and narrow the differences in price levels of tobacco products within the EU,’ said Laszlo Kovacs, the EU’s commissioner for taxation and customs union. More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products

Canada - Smokers who toss lit cigarette butts on the ground could face a $1,000 fine after a city committee voted to toughen proposed littering penalties further than recommended. Saying she believed the proposed fines didn’t go far enough, Ald. Druh Farrell introduced an amendment Wednesday to stiffen the penalties, including a $500 ticket for littering. “I think everyone who litters should be thrown in the clink,” said Farrell. “These (recommended) fines are too modest.”  More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Online

Nasty smells left by sweaty summer beer drinkers have left some Dutch bar owners pining for the aroma of cigarette and cigar smoke two weeks after a smoking ban came into force. Rain Showtechniek, a Dutch company that specialises in lighting, special stage effects and sound systems, has developed a machine that reproduces the traditional smell of bars and cafes. More… Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products

COUNCIL BLUFFS, Iowa – A Council Bluffs man has been charged with child endangerment after he allegedly let his son light fireworks with a cigarette. According to police, an officer saw an 8-year-old boy lighting fireworks in an alley Saturday night. He noticed the child was using a cigarette. Police say the boy’s father, Lewis Coleman, told the officer he gave his son the cigarette because he couldn’t get a lighter to work and didn’t have a punk, a special wick for lighting fireworks. More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products

Tobacco companies could no longer imply government approval when they advertise cigarettes as “light” or “low-tar” under a proposal announced Tuesday. The Federal Trade Commission wants to bar manufacturers from using a test known as the “FTC method” to claim a cigarette is low in tar or nicotine. Its proposal says the FTC no longer believes that measurement accurately gauges risk and does not want smokers to think some cigarettes are safe. More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products

OLYMPIA, Washington - Washington state officially terminated a cigarette tax agreement with the Yakama Indian Nation on Monday, citing complaints that cigarettes had been sold to non-Indians without proper tax stamps. The terminated tax compact dates to 2004, and has been the subject of a dispute between the state and tribe for months. The state Revenue Department began termination actions last year, and said it recently prevailed in mediation. In the meantime, a new tax agreement meant to replace the terminated one is tied up in tribal court. That lawsuit, from an owner of a tobacco company in White Swan, alleges that the newer tax compact should have been sent to tribal members for final approval.  More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products

TOKYO - Most Japanese smokers would quit if the price of cigarettes were to triple, as could happen under a proposed tax scheme, the chief executive of Japan Tobacco told Reuters in an interview on Monday.

Japan Tobacco, the world’s third-largest cigarette maker and half-owned by the government, is facing the threat of potential tax hikes, which could more than triple cigarette prices to 1,000 yen ($9.34) a pack.

Chief Executive Hiroshi Kimura also said other price hikes would be difficult given the current business climate. More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Online

In the past 24 hours, Gov. Deval Patrick, also known as “Friend Of The Little Man,” has signed two pieces of legislation that will make it even harder for low-income locals to remain in the Bay State. One is the new energy law, which will add at least $100 million to the cost of electricity in Massachusetts - one more bit of “good news” for low-income families struggling with $4 a gallon gasoline and $5 heating oil. The other low blow to low-income residents is the cigarette tax increase that, in an “only in Massachusetts” moment, took effect 24 hours before it become law, so as not to miss a single cent of sin tax.  More…  Buy Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Online

 LONDON - Tobacco giant British American Tobacco PLC has denied claims made by a BBC investigation that it is breaking its code regarding the sale of single cigarettes, seen as more attractive to child smokers. In a BBC This World programme to be broadcast Tuesday, British businessman Duncan Bannatyne says he discovered special pots in Mauritius which BAT has distributed to shops to make it easier for them to sell single cigarettes.  More…  Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Online

WEST LEBANON, N.H. - Cigarette taxes are on the rise in Vermont and may be in New Hampshire, too, though the Granite State will remain a relative bargain compared with states around it. Vermont’s cigarette tax rate climbs by 20 cents to $1.99 per pack effective tomorrow, a jump that follows a 60-cents-per-pack increase in 2006. Both of the increases were pegged to pay for the state’s new Catamount Health insurance program. New Hampshire’s cigarette tax, now $1.08 per pack, is slated to jump to $1.33 in October if it doesn’t generate at least $48 million in revenues between July and October.  More…  Buy Discount Cigarettes and Tobacco Products Online