Clear the Air

The following tobacco-related bills were introduced today, Wednesday, January 13th, in the West Virginia Legislature:

SB 24 - Forbidding tobacco products’ sale in pharmacies

SB 55 - Granting municipal courts jurisdiction over juveniles violating tobacco use laws

SB 56 - Increasing penalties for underage use or possession of tobacco

HB 2681 - Eliminating the food tax, increasing the tax on nonintoxicating beer, increasing the cigarette tax, increasing the noncigarette tobacco products tax..etc..

HB 2746 - Raising the excise tax on cigarettes and all other tobacco products

HB 2773 - Increasing the monetary penalties for selling tobacco products to minors

HB 2808 - Providing a procedure for removal of county, district or municipal officers

HB 2855 - Permitting the holder of a license to sell nonintoxicating liquors to determine the use or nonuse of tobacco products on the licensees’ premises

HB 2932 - Requiring the approval of board of health rules relating to tobacco use in public or private places

HB 3078 - Reduced Cigarette Ignition Propensity Standard and Fire Prevention Act

All House legislation on this list are carryover bills from the 2009 session. HB 3078, while introduced today, was actually passed in 2009 as a Senate bill.

Bills are listed here for informational purposes only and no endorsement is to be implied. Clear the Air will review bills more in depth as they begin to move. To track these bills yourself visit the West Virginia Legislative website Bill Status page.

Tags: 2009 Session, bills introduced, clean indoor air, tobacco control, tobacco excise tax, West Virigina Legislature

Today the West Virginia House of Delegates passed out Committee Substitute for HB2360 which prohibits the sale of cigarettes in anything other than its original factory wrapped packaging and only in packs of no fewer than twenty.

This bill previously had been amended by the House Judiciary Committee to remove all tobacco products other than cigarettes. While the bill has merit by addressing the issue of single cigarette sales the exclusion of other tobacco products from coverage under this legislation is disappointing. This is particularly true as the tobacco industry works to establish new products.

The bill now goes to the West Virginia Senate for consideration.

Tags: tobacco control, West Virginia Legislature, youth access

Percent decrease in youth smoking ~ 10.7%
Kids in West Virginia kept from becoming addicted adult smokers ~ 13,200
Current adult smokers in the state who would quit ~ 9,200
Smoking-affected births avoided over next five years ~ 2,700
West Virginia residents saved from premature smoking-caused death ~ 6,600
5-year health savings from fewer smoking-affected pregnancies & births ~ $4.6 million
5-year health savings from fewer smoking-caused heart attacks & strokes ~ $6.1 million
Long-term health savings in state from adult & youth smoking declines ~ $318.4 million

Projections are based on research findings that each 10% cigarette price increase reduces youth smoking rates by 6.5%, adult rates by 2%, and total consumption by 4% (but adjusted down to account for tax evasion effects). Revenues still increase because the higher tax rate per pack will bring in more new revenue than is lost from the tax-related drop in total pack sales. These projections are fiscally conservative because they include a generous adjustment for lost state pack sales (and lower net new revenues) from new smuggling and tax evasion after the rate increase and from fewer sales to smokers or smugglers from other states. Kids stopped from smoking and dying are from all kids alive today. Long-term savings accrue over the lifetimes of persons who stop smoking or never start because of the rate increase. All cost and savings amounts are in 2004 dollars.

Tags: tobacco control, tobacco tax, West Virginia

This morning the House Judiciary Committee took up HB2360 and through a tobacco industry supported strike and insert amendment weakened the provisions of the bill.

The bill, as amended, now only prohibits the sale of cigarettes in anything other than its original factory wrapped packaging and only in packs of no fewer than twenty.

Stricken from the legislation was all references to any other tobacco products.

While the bill still has merit by addressing the issue of single cigarette sales the exclusion of other tobacco products from coverage under this legislation is disappointing. This is particularly true as the tobacco industry works to establish new products.

The bill now goes to the full House of Delegates for approval before it moves to the Senate.

Tags: tobacco control, West Virginia Legislature, youth access

On Friday, February 20th at 9:00 the House Judiciary Committee will take up consideration of H.B.2360 - Insuring that tobacco products are not sold in any packaging other than the original.

The purpose of this bill is to insure that tobacco products are not sold in any packaging other than the original factory wrapped package and to insure that cigarettes are not sold individually.

Delegates Patti Eagloski Schoen & Don Perdue

This legislation was introduced by Delegate Schoen and Delegate Perdue and would prohibit the sale of tobacco products in any form other than an original factory wrapped package; require that cigarette packages shall not contain fewer than twenty cigarettes, and; prohibit any person or business entity from selling single cigarettes (”loosies’) or packages of cigarettes that do not display the federally mandated health warnings.

Any person or business found guilty of any of these provision would be charged with a misdemeanor and, upon conviction thereof, shall be fined $250.

Some of these provisions had been contained in the original Master Settlement Agreement but have since expired.

The Coalition for a Tobacco-Free West Virginia has endorsed this legislation and is urging its passage.

Tags: tobacco control, West Virginia Legislature, youth access

Updates to this blog, tobacco-related news items and a wide variety of tobacco control information can be at your fingerips by following us on Twitter.

Twitter is a social networking and micro-blogging service that allows its users to send and read other users’ updates (otherwise known as tweets), which are text-based posts of up to 140 characters in length.

Updates are displayed on the user’s profile page and delivered to other users who have signed up to receive them. Senders can restrict delivery to those in their circle of friends. Users can receive updates via the Twitter website, SMS, RSS, or through third-party applications - many of which are designed for smart phones like Blackberry or iPhone.

If you don’t yet have a Twitter account signing up is a fast process and will take just a couple of minutes.

After you get your account just pay us a visit at TobaccoFreeWV and click “Follow”.

Tags: grassroots, tobacco control, Twitter

Governor Manchin’s budget proposal to the West Virginia Legislature contains current level funding for tobacco prevention and education programming of $5,687,358. The budget was presented in last night’s State of the State address.

While encouraging that this important area of public health funding is remaining stable in the Governor’s proposed budget it falls very short of the $27.8 million recommended by the Center’s for Disease Control and Prevention in Best Practices for Comprehensive Tobacco Control Programs—2007. West Virginia has made great strides in tobacco control, with very limited resources, but an investment closer to CDC’s recommended funding level would enable statewide implementation of the full range and scope of prevention, education, cessation and enforcement programs which have been proven effective.

Tags: CDC, funding, tobacco control, West Virginia Legislature

This license to sell tobacco products, issued in 1919, cost $10 ($118.92 in 2009 dollars) and a license was required in West Virginia to sell tobacco products.

Tobacco retailers today pay no license fee. The “license” they receive is bundled with their business license and simply requires checking a box that tobacco products are sold. Also, unlike beer and alcohol licenses, there are no legal provisions to suspend or revoke the license of a retailer which sells tobacco products to minors.

Any wonder we have one of highest youth smoking rates in nation?

Tags: tobacco control, West Virginia, youth access

Tobacco control policy is in the forefront of the efforts to make West Virginia healthy place to live, work and play. 

Communities throughout the state are taking a stand in support of clean indoor air and enacting comprehensive smoking regulation at the local level.

State policymakers, business leaders and elected officials are struggling with the overwhelming cost of health care and have come to understand the huge drain tobacco use is on our health care systems and economy.

Youth groups have gotten involved and scores of young people have organized to work together to protect their generation from the perils of tobacco addiction.

The goal of Clear the Air is to provide a forum to stay abreast of the changing landscape of tobacco control efforts in West Virginia from local regulations and ordinances to the impact of state and federal laws. The timing of our start, just before the 2009 Legislative Session, is not by accident. As the legislature meets this year there will be both opportunities and challenges for people wanting to reduce the burden of tobacco in our society. It is the hope of this site  the information presented here will serve to get more people involved in that process, to speak out, and help build a healthier West Virginia.

Your comments are welcome; however abusive, threatening, profane or repetitive comments will not be published. Are we biased at this site - sure. We believe tobacco kills and measures which boldly address that fact need to be enacted. On this point we are unyielding, and the body of scientific knowledge agrees, so we will choose not to debate those who ignore this overwhelming fact.

Thank you for visiting Clear the Air, we hope you visit us again soon.

Tags: Clear the Air, public policy, tobacco control, West Virginia