Exclusive: Dangers Of E-Cigs, Don’t Get Burned Again

MIAMI (CBSMiami) — E-cigarettes have become extremely popular as an alternative to smoking tobacco. But in some cases, taking a puff of an e-cig has become even more dangerous than the long-term effects of smoking tobacco.

Evan Spahlinger is still shaken up over what happened.

“I didn’t feel any heat in my hand at all before it happened. But when it happened it was basically like a pipe bomb. Just exploded,” he recalls.

The young man looks a lot better today than he did four months ago. After a series of surgeries, he has his face back and he can breathe on his own.

“I literally thought I was going to die,” Spahlinger said.

October 26th, he woke up and reached for something called a “mod” — a heavy duty, customized e-cigarette.

“Went to take a drag and nothing happened. I just didn’t hear anything. So I did a little hand check to see what was going on. You know flipping it around, checking it out. And when I did that motion and as soon as I picked it back up towards me, it ignited,” he said.

The device spewed battery acid all over his face and into his mouth. He struggled to the bathroom to wash it off and then went outside.

“As I consumed oxygen it just got depleted. My body wasn’t getting air,” he explains.

His sister dialed 9-1-1. Paramedics rushed him to nearby Naples Community Hospital.

“About ten minutes after I got there is when I realized this is serious. Because they told me they have to incubate. Which is when they put a big tube down your throat and the machine breathes for you… because they told me my airwaves were closing up. I had burns in my entire esophagus, and my lungs. And battery acid in my lungs, which no one has ever dealt with before,” he said.

Spahlinger blacked out and woke up four days later at Kendall Regional Hospital.

“I had third degree burns to my entire face. I thought I was going to be, if I didn’t have great plastic surgeons and doctors than I was going to lose half my face. I was scared.”

Months later, he’s getting back to being himself and he’s talking about what happened in hopes of saving lives.

“I mean it was an alternative to smoking cigarettes. Supposed to be a safer and a healthy way of doing it. If I would have known that there is a risk of me fighting for my life and being in a hospital, I would have never picked it up,” said Spahlinger.

We wondered if this is a thing. Do e-cigarettes explode?

“Yes. Yes. Absolutely,” said Spahlinger’s attorney, Catherine Darlson of Kelley/Uustal Trial Attorneys. She claims an unregulated industry is putting you at risk.

“These devices are not safer alternatives to cigarettes. They are not safe devices when there is no regulation and the manufacturers and the designers are not held accountable for making products that aren’t safe,” Darlson said.

A quick search online and you will find dozens of cases involving e-cigarettes exploding. In many cases, the battery overheats and explodes.

Darson alleges Spahlinger’s mod, made by Vaping American Made Products, has a design flaw.

“This device didn’t have proper ventilation. It was allowed to overheat in a manner that created all the pressure, something called thermal runaway, something that happens with batteries frequently. It overheats and it explodes. It’s like a pipe bomb,” she said. “So basically, they are saying the heat has nowhere to go.”

Darlson continued, “Evan’s wasn’t manufactured in a way that was going to let any heat out. The only way it was going to get out was for it just to explode out. And unfortunately it happened in a manner that resulted in him almost dying.”

Darlson has filed a lawsuit against the manufacturer of the vapor device, the battery, and the vaping shop that sold him the device. None of them agreed to comment for our story.

The Smoke-Free Alternatives Trade Association (SFATA), the largest trade group dedicated to advocacy, awareness and education for the vapor products industry, did issue a statement. It says, in part:

“While these incidents are taken very seriously, millions of former smokers across the United States and overseas continue to use these products as intended and have found vaping to be a significant alternative to combustible cigarettes. Proper care and safety dictate that people use the correct type of charger and follow manufacturer guidelines when recharging their devices.”

We asked Spahlinger if perhaps he did something wrong, as many critics on the web have suggested.

“I did everything exactly like I was instructed. Everything worked fine for a year. I had different mods, different vapes, and different batteries. Everything worked fine,” Spahlinger says.

And to those who still doubt it could happen to them?

“All I can say to the people who are in denial, it’s not if it’s going to happen, it’s when,” he said.

Lawsuits involving e-cigs are really just getting started. However, a California woman recently won $2 million when an e-cig exploded in her car.

Spahlinger says he no longer smokes or vapes.

The Smoke Free Alternatives Trade Association provided the following safety tips for e-cig users.

Proper care and safety dictate that people use the correct type of charger and follow manufacturer guidelines when recharging their devices.

• Do not use incompatible batteries and chargers.

• Follow battery usage, storage and charging guidelines found in the user’s guide.

• For modified devices, in particular, consumers should consult with established resellers to ensure proper configuration.

• Avoid dropping the device and battery contact with metal objects such as coins, keys or jewelry.

• Keep device away from extreme temperatures such as excessive heat or cold.

• Do not damage the battery or get the unit wet.

Resource:  http://miami.cbslocal.com/2016/02/04/exclusive-dangers-of-e-cig-dont-get-burned-again/

Heart Docs: Never Expose Kids to Cigarette Smoke

MONDAY, Sept. 12, 2016 (HealthDay News) -- A new American Heart Association statement recommends a "zero tolerance" approach for children's exposure to secondhand smoke.

"Parents should consider making their children's environment smoke-free because cigarette smoke exposure is harmful to children's long-term heart health and may shorten life expectancy," statement panel chair Dr. Geetha Raghuveer, a pediatric cardiologist, said in an AHA news release.

"Children exposed to cigarette smoke may develop early heart disease as adults, due to poorly functioning, stiffer blood vessels. Some babies who were exposed to cigarette smoke while still in the womb may be at risk for sudden death during infancy," Raghuveer said.

Along with damaging arteries, secondhand smoke has been linked to other heart disease risk factors such as obesity, high cholesterol, and insulin resistance, which is associated with type 2 diabetes, the panel noted.

Also, children of smokers are more likely to become smokers themselves, the researchers said.

An estimated 24 million nonsmoking children and teens are exposed to secondhand smoke in the United States. That exposure is largely from parents who smoke, the panel said.

"Encouraging adults to quit smoking is a cost-effective and health-enhancing strategy that could benefit both adults and children," said Raghuveer. She's also a professor of pediatrics at Children's Mercy Hospital and Clinics in Kansas City, Mo.

"Raising cigarette taxes to discourage smoking could also decrease childhood exposure," she added.

The statement also offers suggestions for health care providers. One idea is using electronic medical records to alert doctors that a child is exposed to cigarette smoke. Doctors should also be trained in counseling and early outreach to help families protect children from secondhand smoke, the statement said.

The new statement was published Sept. 12 in the journal Circulation.

More information

The American Academy of Pediatrics has more on the dangers of secondhand smoke.

SOURCE: American Heart Association, news release, Sept. 12, 2016

-- Robert Preidt

Last Updated: Sep 12, 2016
Resource: https://consumer.healthday.com/cancer-information-5/cigarette-smoking-tobacco-health-news-665/american-heart-association-advises-zero-tolerance-for-secondhand-smoke-around-kids-714699.html

Graduate adults more likely use e-cigs to quit smoking: Study

Through a survey of more than 1,200 smokers, researchers found those who did not have college degrees were less likely to use ENDS in addition to smoking regular cigarettes.
A recent study showed that the intent on quitting tobacco, be it electronic nicotine delivery systems (ENDS) or cigarettes, seems to drop off among less educated smokers.

Through a survey of more than 1,200 smokers, researchers found those who did not have college degrees were less likely to use ENDS in addition to smoking regular cigarettes.

But smokers, who did use ENDS, such as e-cigarettes, were more likely to have attempted to quit in the past year.

Author of the study Michael Eriksen said, “Among dual users, having a college degree was associated with high intention to quit smoking and attempting to quit in the past year. This study highlights patterns in ENDS use that may increase the socioeconomic gap in smoking prevalence.”

The study used data from the 2014 Tobacco Products and Risk Perceptions Survey. The data also illustrate lower dual END and regular cigarette use among racial minorities.

“We found that current smokers used ENDS with an intention to quit smoking cigarettes or reduce the use of combustible cigarettes. If ENDS use proves to be helpful for smoking cessation among long-term smokers, then interventions to improve access to ENDS among minority smokers and those with low levels of education may be needed,” Eriksen said.

The study was published in the journal Addictive Behaviors.
Resource: http://indianexpress.com/article/lifestyle/life-style/graduate-adults-more-likely-use-e-cigs-to-quit-smoking-study-3027778/

Underage drinking, smoking continue dramatic decline, survey shows

A recent survey from the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration shows that alcohol and cigarette use has steadily decreased among teens and young adults.
Rates of underage drinking and smoking are on a steady decline, according to a recent report by the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration (SAMHSA).


Just over 4 percent of teens aged 12 to 17 had smoked a cigarette in the past month, jumping to nearly 27 percent of young adults aged 18 to 25. But when compared with numbers from 2002, those numbers show dramatic decreases: In 2002, 13 percent of teens and 40 percent of young adults said they had smoked in the past month.

But SAMHSA's 2015 National Survey on Drug Use and Health shows that while alcohol and cigarette use has decreased among adolescents ages 12 to 17, rates of mental illness and other types of substance abuse have not. Furthermore, experts worry that the rising popularity of e-cigarettes could undo some of the progress made in curbing teen smoking. SAMHSA's survey does not ask respondents about e-cigarette use.
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"We have more to do to help protect Americans from the dangers of tobacco and nicotine, especially our youth," said Health and Human Services Secretary Sylvia Burwell earlier this year. "As cigarette smoking among those under 18 has fallen, the use of other nicotine products, including e-cigarettes, has taken a drastic leap. All of this is creating a new generation of Americans who are at risk of addiction."

The relationship between teenagers and e-cigarettes has been studied by a number of researchers in recent years, as "vaping" grows in popularity. In April, a study by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention suggested that teenagers were particularly susceptible to advertising for e-cigarettes, which relies on many of the same strategies and themes as advertising for regular cigarettes in decades past. 

Shortly afterward, researchers conducted a survey of high school students and found that teens who tried vaping were six times more likely to take up smoking than their non-vaping counterparts, though the study did not provide any evidence that vaping directly led to the students taking up smoking.

Concerns that teens may become addicted to nicotine through e-cigarettes were quelled to some degree in August, when another study found that the majority of teens surveyed reported using nicotine-free vaping solutions for "just flavoring" reasons.


But experts say teen vaping is still far from harmless. And e-cigarette use rose from 1.5 percent to 16 percent among high school students from 2011 to 2015, making them the most commonly used tobacco product among young people.
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In May, the FDA banned the sales of electronic cigarettes in the US to anyone under the age of 18. A number of cities and two states, Hawaii and California, have also raised the minimum age to purchase tobacco cigarettes in recent years, making it illegal to sell to those under the age of 21.

Experts attribute much of the decline in teen cigarette use to changes within the cigarette industry, as The Christian Science Monitor's Stacy Teicher Khadaroo reported in 2014:

    Experts on teen smoking attribute the progress to several factors in the late 1990s: the removal of Joe Camel as a marketing image and the settlement agreement with tobacco companies in 1998 after many state attorneys general sued. The agreement stopped other marketing directed at kids and resulted in a hike in cigarette prices, because the companies had to pay for health costs attributed to addiction. States also enhanced enforcement of laws against selling cigarettes to minors.

"In the past, people always said,... 'Kids will always smoke. You can't do anything about it.' But now we see you can," Joseph DiFranza, a professor at the University of Massachusetts Medical School in Worcester, told the Monitor at the time. "It’s not natural to smoke, and if you remove those things like cartoon advertising ... and make it difficult for kids to buy it, you can discourage 75 to 80 percent of would-be smokers from starting."

Resource: http://www.csmonitor.com/USA/2016/0912/Underage-drinking-smoking-continue-dramatic-decline-survey-shows

E-cigarette use linked to success in quitting

The finding, published in The BMJ today, goes against concerns e-cigarettes undermine motivation and quit attempts.

The observational study estimates the use of e-cigarettes last year may have resulted in an additional 18,000 long-term ex-smokers in England.

“Although these numbers are relatively small, they are clinically significant because of the huge health gains from stopping smoking,” the authors said.
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They say a 40-year-old smoker who quits can expect to gain nine life years, compared with continuing smokers.

Nevertheless, as with any observational study, firm conclusions about cause and effect could not be drawn, they said.

The researchers from University College London assessed data from the Smoking Toolkit Study which involves household surveys of individuals aged 16 and older in England.

They found a positive association between changes in the prevalence of e-cigarette use in England and the success rates of quit attempts.

However, e-cigarettes in quit attempts was negatively associated with the use of nicotine replacement therapy on prescription.

The authors suggest that patients using e-cigarettes may have tried nicotine replacement therapy already but that more research would be needed to confirm this.

Anti-smoking lobby Ash Ireland welcomed the study on e-cigarettes that provided additional information on the “possible use and potential” of the devices.

However, chairman of Ash Ireland Patrick Doorley said as e-cigarettes were still new to the market it was not possible to decide on the ‘risk versus benefit’ that might apply in the medium- to longer term.

Ash Ireland is keeping the e-cigarette market and related studies under continuing review.

Dr Doorley said e-cigarettes were commonly regarded as being safer than smoking tobacco products but there were some concerns regarding their safety, not least the unknown long-term health effects of using the product.

“Ash Ireland urges caution when using e-cigarettes until more information becomes available and there is more stringent regulation,” he said.

“We acknowledge that many people are now turning to e-cigarettes to help them quit smoking. It is important that these smokers are aware that even those authorities who recommend e-cigarettes acknowledge that they may cause harm and that nicotine replacement products available in pharmacies have been shown to be effective and safe.”

Ash Ireland advises those who choose to use e-cigarettes do so solely with the intention of quitting smoking completely as the single best thing smokers can do to improve their health is to give up smoking entirely.

Dr Doorley urged people wanting to quit to contact the National Quitline at www.quit.ie or 1800 201203.

Resource: http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/e-cigarette-use-linked-to-success-in-quitting-420664.html

Gurgaon Police Commissioner presses on ban on public smoking

GURGAON: Gurgaon Police Commissioner Sandeep Khirwar today pressed upon the ban use if tobacco in public places. He was seen addressing all the SHO of Police station on COTPA (Cigarette and Other Tobacco Product act 2003).

Khirwar further said that for effective ban on tobacco, police and general public has to come together on one platform and raise the voices against it. Only then we will be able to achieve clean and Healthy city.


The commissioner has instructed all the Inspector to continue very strict enforcement on cotpa in their jurisdiction, so that we can Gurgaon become cotpa compliance, especially around school


On this occasion Khirwar also inaugurated the "No smoking posters" which will be displayed in all police station and public places, prepared by Sambandh health foundation.


Police commissioner said all police 23 police station are enforcing the cotpa act but sector 29,DLF Phase 2,Sector 56 and sector 10 have been the most active. Hence they were presented mementos and were appreciated for the work they carried out.


He said that in Haryana 14800 die due to tobacco use and 23.7%, 43 lakh people uses tobacco in some form or the other. He was speaking at an event organised by Sambandh Health foundation and Fortis Memorial Research Institute.
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Resource: http://timesofindia.indiatimes.com/city/gurgaon/Gurgaon-Police-Commissioner-presses-on-ban-on-public-smoking/articleshow/54295138.cms

What Hookahs Can Teach Us About 3-D Printing and Copyright

The caterpillar from Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland taught generations of children a simple message: When you need to do some deep thinking about the world, a hookah is a great place to start.  A case decided earlier this year in California brings comfort that, whatever future technology holds, the ability of the hookah to reveal inner truths about the world around us remains.

Inhale Inc. vs. Starbuzz Tobacco Inc. doesn’t just provide us with a window into the competitive world of hookah manufacturing. It offers a template for many of the 3-D printing copyright cases we are likely to see in the coming years.

One of the often-overlooked aspects of 3-D printing is of the way it demonstrates the limits of copyright. Unlike the articles, photos, movies, and Facebook postings that make up much of our online world, only some physical things are eligible for copyright protection. An easy copyright-or-not test is to divide things into two categories: artistic objects and useful objects. If an object is purely artistic—say, an abstract sculpture—it is eligible for copyright protection. But if an object is purely functional—say, a hinge—it is not eligible for copyright protection. (It may be eligible for patent protection, but for various reasons related to the process of getting a patent and how long they last, the number of patent-eligible things that are protected by patent is much smaller than the number of copyright-eligible things that are protected by copyright.)

While these categories are all well and good, in the real world many things aren’t just artistic or just functional. Instead, they are a mixture of the two. A hookah, to pick a not at all random example, illustrates this nicely.

Inhale was manufacturing and distributing a hookah with what, for the purposes of this article, were two distinct elements. The first was the shape of the hookah itself. The second was a series of skull-and-crossbones images that adorned the outside of the hookah. In 2011, Starbuzz Tobacco started selling a hookah that—according to Inhale, at least—was shaped exactly like the Inhale hookah. Importantly, the Starbuzz hookah did not include the skull-and-crossbones images.

Inhale sued Starbuzz for copyright infringement, claiming that Starbuzz was infringing on the copyrighted shape of the original hookah. But, in a twist that we are likely to see more of if 3-D printing-related litigation starts to spread, it turned out that even if Inhale was right about Starbuzz’s copying, it didn’t matter.

That is because copyright can only protect nonuseful objects. And a big part of any hookah’s design is to provide a useful function—a function the court described as “to hold the contents within its shape.”

In this case the court found that even though the Inhale hookah had a distinctive shape, “the shape of the alleged ‘artistic features’ and of the useful article are one in the same.” In other words, even the distinctive shape is still doing important functional work. That means it is not protected by copyright. Thus, even literal copying (if that’s what actually happened here) is not copyright infringement.

In contrast, the skull-and-crossbones design on the outside of the hookah serves no functional purpose (looking like a badass to college freshmen probably doesn’t qualify), so it probably would be protected by copyright. But since Starbuzz only copied the non-copyrightable shape of the hookah and not the non-functional decorations of the hookah, that didn’t really matter.

So what does this have to do with 3-D printing? The future of 3-D printing is going to bring us all sorts of objects. For better or worse, it will probably also bring us all sorts of claims related to copying objects from house spiders to citrus juicers and everything in between. This case serves as a concrete reminder that in the physical world copying does not always equal infringement. If a functional item isn’t patented, copyright won’t prevent it from being copied.

While this has always been the case, 3-D printers make it easier than ever to reproduce physical things. That will force everyone to remember that the “copyright on just about everything” world of the screen does not directly translate to the physical world.

But not everyone will remember. Some people are going to respond to the ability to reproduce physical things by trying to bring more infringement lawsuits. As you see those lawsuits, try your best to remember the lesson of Starbuzz: Copying isn’t infringement unless there is a copyright involved.

Future Tense is a partnership of Slate, New America, and Arizona State University.


Resource:http://www.slate.com/blogs/future_tense/2014/03/05/inhale_inc_vs_starbuzz_tobacco_inc_what_hookahs_can_teach_us_about_3_d_printing.html

Making Hay With Cigarette Alternatives

Brought to you by Inter-Continental Trading Co.

At Winsight’s Total Nicotine Conference, held in August in Chicago, many attendees seemed interested in alternative tobacco products—and we’re not talking about vaping.

Challenged with low profit margins and rising taxes—putting a strain on the traditional tobacco set—convenience stores are among a growing number of retailers exploring other tobacco products as a way of boosting sagging numbers. Mass merchants, club and dollar stores, as well as a few chains, have found that these products offer a solution beyond the challenges of traditional cigarettes. And in most cases, for that same reason, they’re also more affordable for consumers. Still, these retailers continue to be few and far between, meaning the opportunity for OTP product sales in c-stores remains wide open.

Here’s a look at two alternatives that can lead to higher profit margins and increased store-traffic alongside traditional combustible and e-cigarettes.
Filtered Cigars

At the Total Nicotine Conference, speakers pointed out the potential “over-SKUing” of products such as traditional cigars. According to Management Science Associates research cited at the conference, 57% of mass-market cigar SKUs account for 80% of that segment’s sales.

This means that as traditional cigars continue to outweigh supply over demand, there’s room for growth in the filtered cigar category. These products, which look like thin cigars, offer a smoke experience similar to that of cigarettes and the added advantage of a wide range of flavors. But the biggest benefit is their low cost, which translates to increased traffic and higher profit margins per sale.

The challenge with filtered cigars is that they are not as well known to the general consumer and are underpromoted by some retailers according to Tom Burns, sales and marketing executive for Inter-Continental Trading Co. “With a little education, smart promotion and marketing, though, there’s a huge opportunity for boosting sales,” he said.
Pipe Tobacco

Another OTP category gaining popularity at the mass-market level, but overlooked by c-stores, is pipe tobacco.

These retailers have found that in many cases, one bag of pipe tobacco actually brings in a higher return than multiple packs of cigarettes. And by adding rolling papers and tubes to the product selection, there is the additional bonus of increasing the average sale per visit.

But there is one thing mass-market retailers and smoke shops lack: fuel.

“If a customer is able to buy other tobacco products at the same place they are going for gas, and often at a cheaper price than a traditional smoke shop, it's a win-win for both the customer and the c-store,” Burns said.

And while this sounds like a no-brainer, the challenge at the c-store level with these alternative tobacco products is space and labor. First, the tobacco itself and corresponding paraphernalia often require a different display set that can be prominently and effectively presented to encourage sales.

Second, most c-stores do not have the kind of dedicated labor as in a smoke shop, where sales associates typically walk shoppers through the different products. Companies such as Inter-Continental Trading USA, however, offer c-stores solutions to the headache of rethinking the category. With effective point-of-sale marketing materials, alternative displays and customized in-store training, entry into the OTP segment can be much less daunting.

The tobacco world is changing. Declining margins, rising taxes and new FDA regulations on vape and e-cigarettes have c-stores scrambling to figure out ways to boost profit margins for a product consumers nonetheless expect. But with a little supplier partnership, innovation and smart marketing, revitalizing tobacco product sales can be a great opportunity for new, added sales and profits.

Resource:http://www.cspdailynews.com/category-news/tobacco/articles/making-hay-cigarette-alternatives

Starbuzz Tobacco Fights TTB On $3.5M Excise Tax, Levy

Law360, New York (April 2, 2015, 4:02 PM ET) -- Starbuzz Tobacco Inc. asked a California federal court Thursday to remove a levy imposed by the Alcohol and Tobacco Tax and Trade Bureau over $3.5 million in allegedly unpaid excise taxes, saying the misunderstanding is from a failure to report tax-exempt exports to the agency.
The TTB never gave Starbuzz a chance to explain the discrepancy before slapping a levy on the company’s assets and wiping out more than $1 million from one of its bank accounts, the complaint says. The agency also claimed that Starbuzz’ tax payments were in jeopardy because the company was close to insolvency, which allowed the TTB to place the levy without giving Starbuzz a chance to dispute it, according to the complaint. However, the company’s financial solvency is not threatened, Starbuzz says.

“TTB made the assessment at issue based on an alleged discrepancy between Starbuzz’s imports of pipe tobacco and the tax-paid tobacco removed from Starbuzz’s factory for domestic consumption,” the complaint states. “Had Starbuzz been given the usual opportunity to address TTB’s claims, Starbuzz would have promptly resolved the issue by showing that the discrepancy was caused by Starbuzz’s exports, which are exempt from federal excise taxes.”

Starbuzz says it had no indication there was a problem until it received a TTB notice in January saying the company had underreported nearly 1 million pounds of tobacco removed from its factory and owed $3.5 million in excise taxes.

The company says the TTB arrived at that figure by looking at the amounts of tobacco Starbuzz imported and manufactured, and assumed that the difference was for domestic sale. From January 2012 through July 2014, Starbuzz exported about the same amount of tobacco as the TTB claimed Starbuzz didn’t pay excise taxes on, so that probably accounts for the discrepancy, the suit says.

Immediately after receiving the notice, Starbuzz contacted the TTB to try to explain the alleged misunderstanding, but the agency levied Starbuzz’ accounts at two banks, emptying one account with more than $1 million, before responding to Starbuzz, the complaint says. The levies seriously compromised Starbuzz’ ability to do business, including paying its ongoing taxes, according to the suit.

The TTB also claimed that Starbuzz’ excise taxes were in jeopardy of not being paid because of Starbuzz's imminent insolvency, but there was no basis for that determination, according to the suit. The complaint claims the TTB provided evidence in a February letter, saying Starbuzz’ sole shareholder “appeared to be designing quickly to place Starbuzz’ property beyond the reach of the government.” But the TTB identified the wrong person as Starbuzz’s sole shareholder, and Salim Elhalwani, the true sole shareholder, has not transferred assets outside the U.S., is not exploring a sale and has no intention of filing for bankruptcy, the suit states.

Starbuzz obtained a bond to cover the allegedly tax liabilities and stay the levies, but the levied funds have not been returned to the company in accordance with the law, the complaint says.

Starbuzz is represented by Bryan M. Haynes of Troutman Sanders LLP and Natu J. Patel of The Patel Law Firm PC.

Counsel information for the U.S. was not immediately available.

The case is Starbuzz Tobacco Inc. v. U.S., case number 8:15-cv-00505, in the U.S. District Court for the Central District of California.

--Editing by Edrienne Su.

Resource : http://www.law360.com/articles/638710/starbuzz-tobacco-fights-ttb-on-3-5m-excise-tax-levy

Cigarette companies to pay hefty levy for tobacco effects

Smokers will pay an additional Sh650 million in taxes a year following the enactment of new laws seeking to discourage cigarette consumption.

It is expected the newest charges will raise the cost of cigarettes across the various brands, which is already at record levels, with the most premium brand selling at Sh15 per stick and close to Sh300 per packet. The new levies, which are pegged at two per cent of annual sales estimated at Sh32 billion, will be compounded with graphic images warning users of the harmful effects of tobacco smoking. Scary images Images showing undesired effects of impotence and barrenness will be affixed on cigarette packets starting tomorrow, September 1. A public notice issued by Health Cabinet Secretary Cleopha Mailu indicates the manufacturers will be required to pay the charges to the State as compensation paid for damages for injury. “You are expected to pay at the end of every financial year a Solatium Compensation Contribution, which shall be the sum of two per cent of tobacco products manufactured or imported,” reads Mr Mailu’s notice in part.

The regulations follow an unsuccessful fight staged by tobacco makers that dragged to the courts. Among the biggest losers of the new law are companies such as British American Tobacco (BAT), which produces three out of every four cigarettes smoked in Kenya. From September 26, all wholesalers and retailers of tobacco and related products are expected to ensure there are pictorial health warnings prescribed by the regulation in their cigarettes new packaging. Warnings In the regulation, Mr Mailu said the Health ministry had released the digital device containing the first batch of the pictorial warning that will run from September 26 for three months in cigarettes which will from then be strictly be sold in packets and not per stick. “The second batch of pictorials, which will begin from January 1 to December 31, will be dispatched to you in due course,” said Mailu’s public Notice. Among the pictorials expected to be carried on the cigarettes packets are the photos of the comparison between a clean and soot-laden lungs, to show the health impact of smoking.

Others in the legal notice number 169 of 2014 are a picture of tobacco causing impotence, premature births, causing gum disease, infertility in women, cancer and a graphical photo of a coffin.

It also warns that the use of shisha was equally harmful. In the public notice pursuant to section 53 of the Tobacco Control Act 2007, managers and owners of premises categorised as public places will be required to have a standardised signage displayed at public places in forming people that their businesses are ‘smoking free’ zone and penalty that applies. Those who are caught smoking in what is designated as public areas will be forced to pay a penalty of Sh50,000 or face six months’ imprisonment. 

Both the wholesalers, retailers and managers and owners of premises will collect standardised signages from the county public health offices. Tobacco firms had gone to court to challenge the implementation of the new regulations under the Tobacco Control Act 2007 but a High Court judgement on March 24 this year declared the regulation valid and gave an order for the regulations to come into force six months from the date of the ruling.

Resource :http://www.standardmedia.co.ke/business/article/2000214042/cigarette-companies-to-pay-hefty-levy-for-tobacco-effects/?