State Update
Uncle Sam, Smuggler
May 27 2009
By Michael J. McFadden
Q:? Mirror, Mirror, on the wall; Who’s the biggest Smuggler of them all?
A:?? Uncle Sam.
May 27 2009
By Michael J. McFadden
Q:? Mirror, Mirror, on the wall; Who’s the biggest Smuggler of them all?
A:?? Uncle Sam.
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News Story:
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A New Jersey man has pleaded guilty to smuggling more than 16 million cigarettes he bought from undercover federal agents in Virginia to sell in New York and New Jersey.
Mark A. Frondelli of Parlin, New Jersey admitted in federal court Tuesday that he paid more than $2.3 million in cash in 46 separate transactions with undercover agents between November 2007 and August 2008.
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Read
http://www.whsv.com/virginiaap/headlines/46238637.html
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Forgive me if I seem a bit dense…
But doesn’t there seem to be something wrong with this picture?? The FEDERAL AGENTS sold this guy 16 million “illegal” cigarettes over the course of FORTY SIX SEPARATE TRANSACTIONS over an entire year, all of which were then sold illegally on the streets of NY, with a significant number of them probably sold to teens.
Shouldn’t the GOVERNMENT be going to jail for this????
Sheesh!
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Read
http://www.whsv.com/virginiaap/headlines/46238637.html
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Forgive me if I seem a bit dense…
But doesn’t there seem to be something wrong with this picture?? The FEDERAL AGENTS sold this guy 16 million “illegal” cigarettes over the course of FORTY SIX SEPARATE TRANSACTIONS over an entire year, all of which were then sold illegally on the streets of NY, with a significant number of them probably sold to teens.
Shouldn’t the GOVERNMENT be going to jail for this????
Sheesh!
Ex-health chief: NJ anti-smoking program faces cut
Mar. 20, 2009
ELI SEGALL
TRENTON, N.J. – New Jersey may soon have a burst of smokers trying to quit, but a state program aimed at helping them could have less money and fewer resources.
Rising cigarette prices would bring in smokers trying to quit. A new federal cigarette tax will kick in next month, and Gov. Jon S. Corzine recently proposed increasing the state’s tax, bringing the combined charges to nearly 75 cents a pack. Health advocates say smoking rates normally go down when prices go up, but most smokers need outside help to quit.
Meanwhile, a source of that help in New Jersey could have its smallest budget in years.
The Comprehensive Tobacco Control Program, run by the state Department of Health and Senior Services, will have $840,000 sucked from its budget for the fiscal year starting July 1, according to former health commissioner Fred Jacobs.
Jacobs, who left his post in December 2007, told the AP he learned the figure from current Commissioner Heather Howard’s office.
Department spokeswoman Donna Leusner would neither confirm nor deny the figure, saying the proposed budget numbers “are still being compiled.”
“I was fearful (the cut) would be greater than that,” Jacobs said. “That doesn’t mean it doesn’t hurt; it hurts a lot.”
The program wouldn’t be the only one with less money. Corzine, citing the recession and its related woes, proposed hacking a range of services in his nearly $30 billion spending plan.
But the tobacco control program has already been battered by budget cuts. This fiscal year’s $8.6 million allotment was a shadow of the $30 million it got just six years ago.
New Jersey’s smoking rates dropped when the program was fat with cash, said Russ Sciandra, New York and New Jersey advocacy director for the American Cancer Society.
But since 2004, when its budget plunged , part of broader spending cuts across the government , smoking rates have stagnated, he said.
Along the way, Sciandra said the program has closed some offices where smokers can meet with a counselor for a small fee.
He also said the state does little, if any, promotions for its services, including Quitline, which offers free counseling over the phone.
One reason people turn to these programs is higher cigarette prices. For every 10 percent jump in the cost of a retail pack, there’s a 4 percent drop in consumption, according to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a Washington-based advocacy.
Meanwhile, roughly 75 percent of New Jersey’s 1.15 million smokers want to quit, but only 3 percent can do so without help, according to the state.
That help, Sciandra said, has been watered down by budget cuts.
“New Jersey doesn’t have the resources to do any of those things well,” he said.
Bill Would Ban Flavored Cigarettes
By Scott Goldstein
5/27/2008
The sale of flavored cigarettes would be banned in New Jersey under a bill approved by an Assembly committee. Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee voted 10 to 0 with 1 abstention to pass the bill (S-613) and it now heads to the full Assembly. It was approved by the state Senate in March.
“Flavored cigarettes are a clear and apparent marketing ploy to attract younger generations to tobacco,” said Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), a sponsor of the bill.
The bill prohibits cigarettes which either as a whole or in part are flavored with natural or artificial flavors to produce fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice flavors. The bill exempts menthol or clove cigarettes from the prohibition and does not apply to cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco or smokeless tobacco.
Violators would face fines of at least $250 for the first offense, at least $500 for the second offense, and $1,000 for the third and subsequent offenses, according to the bill.
By Scott Goldstein
5/27/2008
The sale of flavored cigarettes would be banned in New Jersey under a bill approved by an Assembly committee. Assembly Health and Senior Services Committee voted 10 to 0 with 1 abstention to pass the bill (S-613) and it now heads to the full Assembly. It was approved by the state Senate in March.
“Flavored cigarettes are a clear and apparent marketing ploy to attract younger generations to tobacco,” said Sen. Joseph Vitale (D-Middlesex), a sponsor of the bill.
The bill prohibits cigarettes which either as a whole or in part are flavored with natural or artificial flavors to produce fruit, chocolate, vanilla, honey, alcoholic beverage, herb or spice flavors. The bill exempts menthol or clove cigarettes from the prohibition and does not apply to cigars, cigarillos, pipe tobacco or smokeless tobacco.
Violators would face fines of at least $250 for the first offense, at least $500 for the second offense, and $1,000 for the third and subsequent offenses, according to the bill.
New Jersey to mandate electronic health records
January 8th, 2008
by Dana Blankenhorn
by Dana Blankenhorn
New Jersey will become the first state to mandate a move toward electronic health records under a bill now before Gov. Jon Corzine.
A. 4044 establishes a 19-member commission to oversee the transition from paper.
The commission’s job will be to promote the use of national standards in “security, privacy, data content, format, vocabulary and information transfer standards.”
This would be nice, if such standards existed.
The commission would also oversee a state-wide health information technology plan under an “Office for e-HIT.” Given that the Department of Banking and Insurance is supposed to help, under the bill, it will be interesting to see who runs this office.
The plan has been under review for 6 months, and passed the Senate unanimously last Thursday. The final version passed the Assembly with just 3 dissents.
Under state law Gov. Corzine can sign it, veto it, or modify it in the form of a conditional veto.
The plan’s main sponsor is Rep. Herb Conaway of Delran, who is a doctor, a lawyer, an Air Force veteran, a Princeton graduate and (perhaps most important) a former deputy speaker of the Assembly.
Teaming Up to Combat Obesity, Secondhand Smoke
September 5, 2007
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)? — New Jersey’s health, food and education commissioners are teaming up to fight what they called the biggest threats to children, obesity and secondhand smoke.
TRENTON, N.J. (AP)? — New Jersey’s health, food and education commissioners are teaming up to fight what they called the biggest threats to children, obesity and secondhand smoke.
The unusual joint campaign, announced Wednesday, aims to raise awareness about the top preventable causes of death, tobacco use and poor diet along with physical inactivity.
Health Commissioner Dr. Fred Jacobs, Agriculture Secretary Charles Kuperus and Education Commissioner Lucille Davy will travel across the state in the next three months to discuss prevention strategies with dozens of groups, from schoolchildren, teachers and parents to doctors, medical students and community groups.
For the effort to work, Jacobs said, those groups and government agencies have to follow through by finding ways to foster more physical activity, portion control, healthier food choices and even breast-feeding, which is linked to a lower risk of obesity.
“Fifty percent of kids in the United States will be overweight by the year 2010,” he said. “It threatens, I don’t want to overstate this, our very way of life.”
Jacobs said the resulting health problems, from heart disease and diabetes to certain cancers and sleep apnea, will make today’s children the first generation not to live longer than their parents and that resulting medical costs and lost productivity will disrupt the U.S. economy.
Meanwhile, he said, secondhand smoke around children can cause asthma, slowed lung growth, ear infections, higher risk of sudden infant death syndrome and bronchitis.
“We need to change the social norms about smoking around children,” particularly in homes and cars, said Jacobs.
He was a driving force behind New Jersey’s April 2006 indoor smoking ban and supports a pending state bill to ban smoking with children in cars, where the smoke concentration is 23 times more toxic than at home. Jacobs said he doesn’t support outlawing smoking in homes with children but hopes parents will learn more about the dangers and won’t do it.
New Jersey is among a dozen states that bar smoking in workplaces, restaurants and bars, and is a leader in fighting obesity.
It is one of only two states, with Illinois, to require physical education in every grade. In May, the health department started what is considered the only state agency devoted to anti-obesity efforts. And the agriculture department this fall instituted the country’s most comprehensive school nutrition policy.
It requires public schools to ban candy and other foods of minimal nutritional value, drastically limit sugary drinks, and push fresh fruit and vegetables, whole grains and low-fat milk. Kuperus expects all schools to comply by an end-of-September deadline.
“We’re going to see more fruits and vegetables in our school and we’re going to see more local (farm) products,” Kuperus said.
Jacobs said it is particularly challenging in New Jersey to address obesity among minorities and recent immigrants, who are more likely to have problems with weight and poor nutrition, and language barriers keeping them from learning how to improve. About 100 languages are spoken in New Jersey and 2 million residents speak a language other than English at home, he said.
Whiplash Whelan Flip Flops on Smoking Ban Again
August 17, 2007
“A person could get whiplash watching Assemblyman Jim Whelan’s abrupt changes of position on banning smoking in Atlantic City’s casinos,” according to Atlantic County Republican Chairman Keith A. Davis.
“Jim Whelan has been on every conceivable side of this issue and has utterly failed to accomplish anything to resolve it,” Davis said. “He’s gone from support for a total ban on smoking, to support for a partial ban, back to support for a complete ban, back once more to a partial ban, and yesterday he bounced back to supporting a full prohibition.”
“The evidence is overwhelming and irrefutable that second hand smoke is dangerous to others,” Davis said. “The argument has been settled convincingly by health experts and by a mountain of medical evidence. There’s nothing left to debate.”
The GOP leader said Whelan pledged to support a total smoking ban when he entered the Assembly in January of 2006.
“He boasted that the ban would be enacted, but less than six months later changed and introduced legislation to permit smoking in specific areas of the casino floor,” he said. “But, a month after that he withdrew support for his own bill and said a total ban would be best. A few months later, he switched yet again and supported the partial ban ordinance enacted by the Atlantic City Council. Then, yesterday in a spat with casino owner Donald Trump who wants the partial ban lifted, Whelan threatened to push once more for a total prohibition.”
“Why can’t he take a position and stick to it?” Davis asked. “The health of casino workers is at risk each and every day smoking is permitted, but Whiplash Whelan continues to fiddle while the tobacco burns.”
The chairman pointed out that Democrat Assembly Speaker Joe Roberts, the Camden County leader who directed millions of dollars into Whelan’s 2005 campaign, opposed legislative action to impose a total ban on smoking in the casinos.
“Clearly, in Whelan’s view, Roberts’ money talks much louder than casino employees’ health,” he said.
Atlantic City gambling revenue dives 10%
May 11, 2007?
JUDY DeHAVEN
As if horrible weather, one less Saturday night, competition from neighboring states and a partial smoking ban weren’t bad enough, many of the Atlantic City casinos hit a streak of bad luck at the tables last month.
JUDY DeHAVEN
As if horrible weather, one less Saturday night, competition from neighboring states and a partial smoking ban weren’t bad enough, many of the Atlantic City casinos hit a streak of bad luck at the tables last month.
And that created a recipe for disaster. Revenue at the 11 gambling parlors plunged nearly 10 percent in April, with all but two casinos reporting decreases.
In all, the Atlantic City casinos won $396.8 million from gamblers last month. That includes $284.4million from slot machines, down 12.3 percent, and $112.4million from table games, a decrease of 3.1 percent.
Bally’s, Tropicana and the three Trump casinos — the Marina, Plaza and Taj Mahal — reported double-digit decreases. The Taj was especially hard hit at the tables, where revenue fell 27 percent.
The two gambling parlors that reported gains were Harrah’s, up 1.9 percent, and Caesars, which increased 15.3 percent. Caesars was the one casino in April that got lucky. Table revenues soared 52.5 percent.
A.C. has been struggling in the face of competition from Pennsylvania and New York slot parlors, which have opened in the last six months. And industry experts expect 2007 will be the first time revenue will decline in A.C.’s history. For the first four months of the year, revenue has fallen 4.1 percent.
Still, a 10 percent drop in a single month was more than most expected.
“This is a number that is going to cause some serious, near-term concern in the investment community,” said Joe Weinert, vice president of Spectrum Gaming Group. “When the best properties in slot operations are flat, that’s a discouraging sign.”
Also last month, the city had to contend with a partial smoking ban. On April 15, casinos had to post signs making 75 percent of their gambling floors smoke free. Ultimately, the casinos will have to wall off permanent smoking areas.
But Weinert said it was hard to tell how much of an effect the partial ban had on revenues.
The bigger problem, he said, were the Pennsylvania slot parlors.
“Clearly the culprits lie just across the Delaware River,” he said.
Smokers Lose More Rights in the Casinos
Atlantic City Casinos Have the Noose Tightened Even More
Atlantic City Casinos Have the Noose Tightened Even More
4/16/07
By Brant McLaughlin
By Brant McLaughlin
Well, the Smoking Police have infiltrated the floor of the Atlantic City casinos at last.
As someone who has never taken a single puff even once in his life, I feel for the people who are smokers in the state of New Jersey. I feel for the business owners who run businesses of a type that tend to attract smokers to their establishments. To me, it’s not a matter of health but a matter of civil rights.
As someone who has never taken a single puff even once in his life, I feel for the people who are smokers in the state of New Jersey. I feel for the business owners who run businesses of a type that tend to attract smokers to their establishments. To me, it’s not a matter of health but a matter of civil rights.
New Jersey is one of 11 states to have bans on most public indoor smoking. Restaurants, businesses, clubs, and on cannot permit smokers to light up inside their walls. For businesses, this even extends to not being permitted to set up a closed off, private smoking lounge indoors for their smoking employees.
What this writer really finds ridiculous about this curbing of individual rights is the fact that the state hypocritically pretends that it is concerned about the health of its citizenry while it places a tax of 100% or more on every pack of cigarettes sold in New Jersey. This tax, as you might imagine, does not deter very many people from smoking; but at the same time, it does put lots of money into the state’s coffers.
The public outcry over second-hand smoke is nothing but a thin sham for wanting to impose one’s will on others. Public establishments’ and business’ owners have always been allowed to enforce their rights to not allow smoking within their walls or limit it to certain sections. But a year and a day ago, Big Brother stepped in to squelch yet more individual rights and take away the rights of smokers in almost all public places in New Jersey.
Two exceptions were cigar bars (where obviously no non-smoker belongs, period) and the Atlantic City Casinos, due to the fact that both businesses have a smoker clientele of at least 35%. But a new ruling passed by the Atlantic City council in February of 2007 put the strictures even on the casinos now. As of yesterday, April 15th 2007, only 25% of a casino’s floor space can be permitted to allow smoking. This is merely a forerunner to forcing the casinos to have enclosed, private smoking areas by the middle of September.
The smokers who visit the casinos generally say that they feel ostracized and are treated like “second class citizens”. There are some employees who say they are happy for the smoking bans as they feel healthier now, but others remark that the smoking never bothered them as long as smoke was not blown right in their faces.
As one New Jersey resident puts it, “If smoking is so bad for you then why not just ban it outright?” She is a smoker.
Well, the state would lose a lot of revenue that way-that’s why.
Read More:? NJ State Update Page 2
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