by Charity Vogel, Buffalo News

It’s been a cultural tradition in Middle Eastern societies for centuries. Now, smoking tobacco in waterpipes — fueled by trendy flavored additives and sweeteners — is becoming common in the United States, including among young people in high school and college, according to a University at Buffalo research scientist.
That’s a cause for concern, said Dr. Elie A. Akl, an associate professor in UB’s School of Medicine and Biomedical Sciences and School of Public Health and Health Professions.
(more…)

Kick Butts Day Tobacco-Free Celebration & News Conference

Sweet Home High School

Main Gymnasium Foyer

1901 Sweet Home Road, Amherst, NY 14228

Enter Through door #47

Email or  Call 845-4919 for more information

SWEET HOME HIGH SCHOOL STUDENTS TACKLE TOBACCO-PROMOTION TACTICS

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WNY CBS affiliate coverage of the Great American Smokeout

Great American Smokeout 2010 coverage from NBC affliliate WGRZ-TV Buffalo

WNY Time Warner Cable coverage of the Great American Smokeout

;

 
Great American Smokeout from the Western New York ABC affiliate.

Lawmakers ‘on the verge’ of adopting tough

rules on tobacco ads

By Brian Meyer

By Dan Herbeck

NEWS STAFF REPORTER

The legal battle over the state’s effort to tax Native American cigarette sales continued on two fronts on Tuesday.

In Rochester, a state appeals court lifted a temporary order blocking the state from collecting taxes on cigarettes sold by Native American stores to non-Indian customers.

On Sept. 1, Appellate Judge Samuel L. Green restored a restraining order that barred the state from collecting the $4.35-per-pack tax. But the court’s five-judge panel, which took up the case last week, ruled on Tuesday that the state properly approved regulations for the levy.

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By Jerry Zremski

News Washington Bureau Chief

Published:September 13, 2010, 8:00 AM

WASHINGTON — Gov. David A. Paterson warned of possible “violence and death” if the State of New York actually tries collecting taxes on cigarettes sold from Seneca Nation of Indians territory, but lawyers in the know think that “appeals and amicus briefs” are more likely.

Rather than a rage of tire-burning along the Thruway, years of litigation are the more likely result of the state’s latest attempt to collect taxes on cigarettes sold on reservations to non-Indians, legal experts say.

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Trade group targets cigarette tax hike

By by Matt Glynn

NEWS BUSINESS REPORTER

Published:September 03 2010, 8:09 AM

A statewide trade group of convenience stores wants Gov. David A. Paterson to suspend a sharp increase in the sales tax on cigarettes, as the state and Native American retailers tussle over tax collections.

The New York Association of Convenience Stores contends that Paterson made a “double-edged bargain” with the State Legislature this year: raising excise taxes on cigarettes to $4.35 per pack, from $2.75 per pack, starting July 1, while mitigating the impact by starting to capture taxes on Native American sales of cigarettes to non-Native Americans on Wednesday.

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Buffalo News: Letter to Editor – Non-smokers foot the bill for tax-free tobacco sales

Published:September 02 2010, 12:00 AM

There has been a lot of discussion in regard to the collection of taxes on tobacco sales. People feel it is important to protect these tax-free sales. After all, who wants to pay taxes?

I think it is critical to understand that there is not a tax-free sale occurring. The billion-dollar tax bill that goes uncollected is simply picked up by the remainder of New York State citizens. So if you do not smoke, you are helping to pay for someone else’s cigarettes; you are subsidizing that sale. Every New Yorker pays a cost to cover these cigarette sales.

The state budget does not change because these taxes go uncollected. New York State just raises all other residents’ taxes or reduces services to cover that shortfall. The taxes are simply reassessed to all state residents to cover these untaxed sales.

This is a difficult issue because it leaves me looking like an advocate for higher taxes. I am not. I believe all New Yorkers are overtaxed, but I am in favor of fairness.

We did not volunteer to collect taxes for the state; we were told we had to. The state should not allow for retailers to be penalized simply because they are following the law and doing what they are told.

The next time someone tells you to protect the tax-free sales, remember that what you are being told is “thank you for buying my smokes!”

Michael F. Newman

Executive Vice-President Noco Express

Carolyn Thompson • The Associated Press •
September 2, 2010

The latest in a series of state and federal court  decisions has halted New York’s plan to collect  taxes on cigarettes sold by Native American retailers to non-Indian customers.

A state appellate judge in western New York on Wednesday issued an order stopping the collections. The Seneca and Cayuga nations had won a separate federal court order Tuesday temporarily barring collections involving them. But the state had said it would start imposing the $4.35-per-pack levy on other reservations. Now it can’t do that, either.

“We are disappointed that the appellate division has stayed the implementation of our statute and regulations,” said Jessica Bassett, a spokeswoman for Gov. David Paterson. “Despite this ruling, we believe the state’s legal arguments are sound and we believe that ultimately the state will prevail in this
matter.”

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OBSERVER Staff Report

POSTED: September 2, 2010

High temperatures had an effect on some supporters of the Seneca Nation during a rally Wednesday.

If the United States court system fails to uphold the Canandaigua Treaty of 1794, which dictates a sovereign Seneca Nation, the next step could be a trip to the United Nations.

J.C. Seneca, businessman and tribal council member, said during a rally Wednesday morning at Native Pride in Irving that the Nation is already exploring other venues after a federal judge’s ruling Tuesday and a state Appeals Court ruling Wednesday that delays New York state from collecting taxes from reservation cigarette sales to non-Indians.

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