Chinese to Smoke Cigarettes from Prilep

Production of two cigarette brands for the Chinese market will start in two weeks, announced the head of tobacco company Tutunski kombinat Prilep, Aleksandar Dermendziev. The Macedonian company signed an agreement with Chinese company Konge-Konge in July. This is very good news for the Macedonian tobacco industry. "We expect to increase the production by three times. We have already received orders for 20,000 bags, which is some 200 tons. In this way,the use of capacities, which is at 20 percent now, will increase," Dermendziev said. He also revealed that a container with cigarettes has already been sent to the UAE. Export of cigarettes to this country is expected to grow.

Tobacco has a Lifetime Consequences for Kids

In my job at the Summit Community Care Clinic, parents every day tell me they feel alone in their fight to protect kids from tobacco and other substance abuse. And the fight becomes even harder when the big tobacco companies come into our county targeting children with their colorful, trendy products designed to entice kids to buy. It's not just about cigarettes anymore, either. Now, tobacco companies like R.J. Reynolds are test-marketing dissolvable tobacco products that come in the form of orbs, sticks and strips — including right here in Summit County. I am very worried about kids using these products at a younger and younger age. These products look like candy and are very colorful and attractive. They are intended for children and youth consumption.

New Anoka Store Sells Only E-Cigarettes

Electronic cigarettes didn't seem to catch on after their Twin Cities debut two years ago. But an Anoka man is betting they will now, thanks to improved technology and falling prices. Steven Ryan opened the eCigs Shop in Anoka last month. The store specializes in and only sells electronic cigarettes. Electronic cigarettes are tobacco-free. They don't emit an offensive odor and according to Ryan cost about one-tenth the price of the real thing. Ryan first tried electronic cigarettes because after trying everything from acupuncture to the nicotine patch to stop smoking, he was still a two-packs-a-day smoker. Ryan said, "This is for those people who have tried everything and they are basically stuck on cigarettes." Newer devices come in a variety of shapes and styles. Some look like cigarettes, some like cigars, some even resemble cell phones. They are customizable, unlike Ryan says, the versions that first hit the Twin Cities a couple years ago.

Cigarettes Paid for with Tax Dollars

Tax dollars are paying for discount Viceroy cigarettes in Missouri. A Schnucks checker contacted News 4 after selling a pack of cigarettes to a customer who paid with EBT cash. The purchase was only six dollars and three cents, but James Mason says, "that's upsetting to me. It's taxpayer money and we are buying cigarettes for people on EBT." Cigarette and alcohol transactions are blocked when a customer tries to pay with food stamps, but the transactions are not blocked when the customer pays with EBT cash. EBT cash comes from the Temporary Assistance to Needy Families (T.A.N.F) program. In Missouri TANF payments totaled $119,458,224 this fiscal year. In Illinois TANF payments totaled $148,653,866 during the same time period. The money is loaded on the same cards that are used to for food stamps.

Smoking Ban Still Divisive

One year after South Dakota voters banned smoking in bars, restaurants and casinos -- 65 percent to 35 percent -- few dispute that the smoking ban has left a major mark on the state. The state budget has seen video-lottery and cigarette-tax revenue plummet by 10 percent to 20 percent. On the other hand, doctors say the health of the state's residents has improved in immediate as well as long-lasting ways. Businesses that allowed smoking in the past, meanwhile, say the new law has driven away customers and hurt the bottom line. Among the most wide-ranging effects of the ban appears to be that fewer people are smoking. In 2010, only 15.4 percent of South Dakotans smoked, down from 22.7 percent in 2003. Smoking data for 2011 isn't yet available, but from July 2010 to June 2011, South Dakotans bought 75 million fewer cigarettes -- a 9 percent decline and the first decline in three years, according to data from the state Department of Health. "We know from many other states that the fewer places available to smoke, the more people will want to quit," said Dr. Allen Nord, a Rapid City physician and anti-smoking advocate.