When an individual who smokes cigarettes decides that he or she wants to quit, he or she can expect to go through nicotine

withdrawal. There are various stages of nicotine withdrawal, which some people believe start as early as 30 minutes after a person has had his or her last cigarette. Symptoms might start that soon and can peak about three to five days later before mellowing out about two weeks after the last cigarette. Among the many symptoms experienced during the various stages are anxiety, headaches, cravings, irritability and nausea. It might take several months before a person feels completely comfortable with his or her new smoke-free lifestyle. The first stage of withdrawal begins soon after the last cigarette has been smoked. Symptoms experienced during this stage are both physical and mental and might include sweating,cramps, headache, nausea, sore throat, confusion and anxiety. A person might wish to treat some of these with over-the-counter medication. Many people view this stage to be the most difficult one to endure. After the initial onslaught, symptoms continue and intensify during the second stage, which usually lasts a couple of weeks. It involves many of the same symptoms as seen during the earlier stage, but the person's cravings, irritability, tension and other symptoms intensify. Ads by Google

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The longest of all is the final phase, during which an individual has endured the weeks it usually takes to eliminate nicotine from the system, but he or she might still have a desire for a cigarette during certain situations. Being around friends who smoke, doing activities that used to be done while smoking and smelling cigarette smoke are all things that might cause a craving for a cigarette. After several months, most people find that most of the withdrawal symptoms have passed. Some people feel that using a nicotine supplement of some sort helps them endure nicotine withdrawal. There are many products available, including gum, patches and pills. Using these products is a personal choice and might be made after consulting with a medical professional. Whether an individual chooses to use these items, understanding the stages of nicotine withdrawal, preparing for them and having a support group are all great ways to quit smoking. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-are-the-stages-of-nicotine-withdrawal.htm

moking & tobacco

Quitting smoking

Why do I smoke? Am I ready to quit? Why it's hard to quit smoking Benefits of quitting smoking How to quit smoking Medication to help you quit smoking Withdrawal symptoms and how to cope Help a friend quit Get help

Withdrawal symptoms and how to cope

Withdrawal is your body's response to being without the drug nicotine. Everyone who quits smoking should expect some withdrawal symptoms as they quit smoking. Each person will have their own set of withdrawal symptoms. For some people, withdrawal wont feel so bad. For others, it will feel horrible. Its different for each person. It depends on many things, including how much you smoke. In general, people notice symptoms within a few hours of quitting. Their symptoms may be worse in the evening. Withdrawals symptoms dont last forever. They usually become less noticeable after the first 4 -5 days.

Withdrawal symptoms and how to cope

Withdrawal sign or symptom Youre irritable (in a bad mood)

Why youre feeling it

How long it lasts

What you can do

Your body craves nicotine

2- 4 weeks

Take a walk or do some other kind of exercise. Try to relax: take a hot bath, listen to soft music, stretch, go for a massage. Take a nap if you're tired. Don't push yourself, and

You feel tired and you have low energy

Nicotine is a stimulant - it keeps your body and brain

2 - 4 weeks

alert. Your body is now learning how to stay alert without nicotine. You have trouble sleeping Nicotine has affected your brain waves and sleep patterns. Your brain is adjusting to new sleep patterns. When you first quit, you might notice a lot of coughing and phlegm. This is a good sign. Your lungs are trying to clear out the tar and other dirt trapped inside your airways. Help your lungs by allowing yourself to cough and spit this stuff out. 1 week

dont take on any extra work.

Avoid caffeine (coffee, cola).

Youve got a

A few days

dry throat cough, and/or youre coughing up phlegm. You have post-nasal drip - mucus that drips from the back of your nose into your throat.

Drink lots of water to thin out the mucus and make it easier to bring up. Cough it up or swallow it.

You feel dizzy

Your body is getting more oxygen now that youve quit smoking. This is a good thing! But your body needs a little time to adjust. Your brain is used to getting a buzz (stimulation) from nicotine. Now its learning to stay alert without nicotine. You may have sore muscles from coughing, or tense muscles from nicotine cravings. While youre in withdrawal, your bowels may move less often than before. This constipation wont last forever its just a part of withdrawal. Give your body a chance to adjust, and your bowel movements will be regular again. Your brain is confusing a nicotine craving with a

1 or 2 days

When you get up from sitting or lying down, get up slowly.

You have trouble concentrating

A few weeks

If you can, work a little less. Take lots of breaks.

Your chest is tight

A few weeks

Take some deep, slow breaths.

You have gas stomach pain constipation

Drink lots of water and eat high-fibre foods like fruits and vegetables.

You feel hungry

2-4 weeks

Eat healthy, balanced meals and snacks. Try

craving for food (hunger). Your mouth isnt busy smoking, so you have the urge to eat to keep it busy.

crunchy, low calorie snacks like raw veggies, pretzels, popcorn, and fruit. Drink lots of water. You may also want to chew gum.

You crave another cigarette

Your brain is begging for another hit of nicotine, a highly addictive drug.

For most people, cravings are strongest in the first few days after quitting. Some people have cravings occasionally for months or years.

Wait it out. Your strong craving will probably last just a few minutes. Try another activity - have a drink of water, take a walk, call a friend or use a nicotine replacement product (for example, NRT gum). Also see the 4_d solution for handling cravings, below

Coping with cravings: the 4-D Solution

When you have the urge to smoke try the 4-D Solution: 1. Drink water Drink lots of water. This flushes the nicotine and other chemicals out of your system faster. It can help to keep your mouth busy. 2. Deep breaths Take a deep breath break instead of a smoke break. Take a few deep breaths. Hold the last one. Breathe out slowly. 3. Delay As a smoker you were not always in control. You smoked when your body wanted nicotine. By delaying or holding off, you are calling the shots. Your craving for a cigarette will probably pass in a few minutes. Just wait and you can get through this. 4. Do something different When a craving hits, it helps to change what you're doing. Step outside. Call a friend. Read a book. Do something different. Some people find it helpful to do something with their hands when a craving strikes like picking up their knitting project or squeezing a stress ball.

Nicotine Withdrawal Symptoms & Recovery

The first few weeks after quitting smoking are usually the most difficult and it's safe to say that it normally takes at least 8-12 weeks before a person starts to feel comfortable with their new lifestyle change of being an ex-smoker. Withdrawal from nicotine, an addictive drug found in tobacco, is characterized by symptoms that include headache, anxiety, nausea and a craving for more tobacco. Nicotine creates a chemical dependency, so that the body develops a need for a certain level of nicotine at all times.

Unless that level is maintained, the body will begin to go through withdrawal. For tobacco users trying to quit, symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine are unpleasant and stressful, but only temporary. Most withdrawal symptoms peak 48 hours after you quit and are completely gone in six months. When you are experiencing symptoms of recovery (withdrawal), remind yourself of why you are quitting; write your reasons on a card and keep it with you. Remind yourself that whatever discomfort you are experiencing is only a tiny fraction of the probable discomfort associated with continued smoking (i.e. Painful diseases like cancer, surgery, chemotherapy, emphysema etc.).

Please take the time to sign up for our very supportive and informative Quit Smoking Newsletter. We send them out to your inbox every 2 weeks.

Withdrawal in the First Two Weeks Because the first two weeks are so critical in determining quitting failure rates, smokers should not be shy about seeking all the help they can during this period. Withdrawal symptoms begin as soon as four hours after the last cigarette, generally peak in intensity at three to five days, and disappear after two weeks. They include both physical and mental symptoms. Physical Symptoms. During the quitting process people should consider the following physical symptoms of withdrawal as they were recuperating from a disease and treat them accordingly as they would any physical symptoms: Tingling in the hands and feet Sweating Intestinal disorders (cramps, nausea) Headache Cold symptoms as the lungs begin to clear (sore throats, coughing, and other signs of colds and respiratory problem)

The first few weeks after quitting smoking are usually the most difficult and it's safe to say that it normally takes at least 8-12 weeks before a person starts to feel comfortable with their new lifestyle change of being an ex-smoker. Withdrawal from nicotine, an addictive drug found in tobacco, is characterized by symptoms that include headache, anxiety, nausea and a craving for more tobacco. Nicotine creates a chemical dependency, so that the body develops a need for a certain level of nicotine at all times. Unless that level is maintained, the body will begin to go through withdrawal similar to alcohol addiction withdrawal. For tobacco users trying to quit, symptoms of withdrawal from nicotine are unpleasant and stressful, but only temporary. Most withdrawal symptoms peak 48 hours after you quit and are completely gone in six months. Mental and Emotional Symptoms. Tension and craving build up during periods of withdrawal, sometimes to a nearly intolerable point. One European study found that the incidence of workplace accidents increases on No Smoking Day, a day in which up to 2 million smokers either reduce the amount they smoke or abstain altogether. Nearly every moderate to heavy smoker experiences more than one of the following strong emotional and mental responses to withdrawal. Feelings of being an infant: temper tantrums, intense needs, feelings of dependency, a state of near paralysis. Insomnia Mental confusion Vagueness Irritability Anxiety Depression is common in the short and long term. In the short term it may mimic the feelings of grief felt when a loved one is lost. As foolish as it sounds, a smoker should plan on a period of actual mourning in order to get through the early withdrawal depression.

Most people who smoke first light up a cigarette when they're teenagers. In fact, 80% of smokers began the habit before they turned 18. Here are a few quick facts about cigarette smoking, nicotine and tobacco that you may not have heard before. Even if you have, they're facts that are worth keeping in mind when your friends and relatives light up a cigarette.

1. 2. 3. 4. 5. 6. 7. 8. 9.

Nearly 70% of people who smoke say they wish they could quit. Teens who smoke cough and wheeze three times more than teens who don't smoke. Smoking causes cancer, heart disease, lung disease and strokes. Smokers as young as 18 years old have shown evidence of developing heart disease. More than 70% of young people who smoke said they wish they hadn't started doing it. Smoking a pack of cigarettes each day costs about $1,500 per year -- enough money to buy a new computer or Xbox. Studies show that 43% of people who smoke three or fewer cigarettes a day become addicted to nicotine. More than 434,000 Americans die each year from smoking-related diseases. One-third of all new smokers will eventually die from a smoking-related disease.

10. Nicotine -- one of the main ingredients in cigarettes -- is a poison. 11. Nicotine is as addictive as heroin and cocaine.

12. All tobacco products -- that includes cigarettes, cigars and chewing tobacco -- have nicotine in them. 13. Smoking makes you feel weaker and more tired because it prevents oxygen from reaching your heart. 14. Smoking decreases your sense of taste and smell, making you enjoy things like flowers and ice cream a little bit less. 15. Smoking hurts the people around you: More than 53,000 people die each year from secondhand smoke. 16. Cigarettes have tons of harmful chemicals in them, including ammonia (found in toilet cleaner), carbon monoxide (found in car exhaust) and arsenic (found in rat poison). 17. Quitting smoking is one of the best things you can do for your health. 18. Just days after quitting smoking, a person's sense of taste and smell returns to normal. 19. Ten years after quiting smoking, a person's risk of lung cancer and heart disease returns to that of a non-smoker. 20. Most teens (about 70%) don't smoke. Plus, if you make it through your teen years without becoming a smoker, chances are you'll never become a smoker. http://teenadvice.about.com/od/drugsalcohol/a/facts_smoking.htm

Teenage Smoking Behavior Influenced by Friends' and Parents' Smoking Habits

Apr. 12, 2013 The company you keep in junior high school may have more influence on your smoking behavior than your high school friends, according to newly published research from the University of Southern California (USC).
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The study, which appears in the April 12 issue of the Journal of Adolescent Health, identifies how friends' and parental influence on cigarette smoking changes from junior high to high school. The research indicates that intervention targets to counteract friends' influence may have more of an effect in junior high than in high school, and that parents remain influential on smoking behavior through high school, indicating another possible intervention target, the researchers said. "Based on social developmental model research, we thought friends would have more influence on cigarette use during high school than junior high school," said first author Yue Liao, M.P.H., Ph.D., a student in the department of preventive medicine's Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Prevention Research (IPR) at the Keck School of Medicine of USC. "But what we found was friends have greater influence during junior high school than high school. We think the reason may be that friends' cigarette use behavior may have a stronger influence on youth who start smoking at a younger age. During high school, cigarette use might represent the maintenance of behavior rather than a result of peer influence." Researchers analyzed the first seven waves of longitudinal data from 1,001 adolescents who participated in the Midwestern Prevention Project (MPP), a community-based substance abuse prevention program. Mary Ann Pentz, Ph.D., professor of preventive medicine and director of the Institute for Health Promotion and Disease Promotion, is the primary investigator of that trial, and a co-author of the current study. MPP is the longest running substance use prevention, randomized controlled trial in the U.S.; its multicomponent community-based program is listed on several national registries for evidence-based substance use prevention. The full trial followed adolescents from age 11 to adulthood, specifically age 37. Participants were first observed in the seventh grade -- during junior high school -- and then again after six months, and then annually through the 12th grade, during high school. Students were asked to indicate the number of close friends and parents, or two important adults, who smoked cigarettes. They were also asked how many cigarettes they had smoked in the last month. The effects of friends' and parents' cigarette use on self-use were assessed from early to late adolescence in order to identify changes in trends and magnitude. Results confirmed that overall, both friends' and parental cigarette use had significant effects on adolescents' cigarette use during both junior high school and high school. However, while friends' influence was generally higher in junior high school than in high school, parental influence remained relatively stable between these two periods, with a decreasing trend from 10th to 12th grade. This finding

confirms previous research that suggests social units, such as school or community, may exert more influence on youth behavior than parents in high school. The researchers also observed gender differences in friends' and parental influence. Friends' influence on cigarette smoking was greater for girls than boys during ninth and 10th grade. However, there was an increasing trend in friends' influence from ninth to 11th among boys whereas friends and parents had less influence on girls from 10th to 12th grade. "Boys tend to foster friendship by engaging in shared behaviors, whereas girls are more focused on emotional sharing. So, it is possible that boys are adopting their friends' risky behaviors, like smoking, as the groups grow together over time," Liao said. The observations from this study present opportunities for intervention and may help to guide the implementation of adolescent smoking prevention programs, Liao said. "We observed a big dip in friends' effect on smoking behavior from eighth to ninth grade. Thus, the first year of high school represents an opportunity for interventions to counteract peer influence and to continue to target parents as their behavior remains influential through the end of high school," Liao said. "In addition, teaching students refusal skills during junior high school could be effective in decreasing cigarette use at the beginning of high school. Programs could also promote positive parenting skills to protect children from deviant peer influence." Liao suggests future research on sibling effects for a more complete picture of familial influence. The current study assessed sibling behavior only during junior high school.

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2013/04/130412132401.htm

Health effects of smoking among young people

Among young people, the short-term health consequences of smoking include respiratory and non respiratory effects, addiction to nicotine, and the associated risk of other drug use. Long-term health consequences of youth smoking are reinforced by the fact that most young people who smoke regularly continue to smoke throughout adulthood.(1) Cigarette smokers have a lower level of lung function than those persons who have never smoked.(1) Smoking reduces the rate of lung growth.(1) In adults, cigarette smoking causes heart disease and stroke. Studies have shown that early signs of these diseases can be found in adolescents who smoke.(1) Smoking hurts young people's physical fitness in terms of both performance and endurance even among young people trained in competitive running.(1) On average, someone who smokes a pack or more of cigarettes each day lives 7 years less than someone who never smoked.(2) The resting heart rates of young adult smokers are two to three beats per minute faster than nonsmokers.(1) Smoking at an early age increases the risk of lung cancer. For most smoking-related cancers, the risk rises as the individual continues to smoke.(1) Teenage smokers suffer from shortness of breath almost three times as often as teens who don't smoke, and produce phlegm more than twice as often as teens who don't smoke.(3) Teenage smokers are more likely to have seen a doctor or other health professionals for an emotional or psychological complaint.(3) Teens who smoke are three times more likely than nonsmokers to use alcohol, eight times more likely to use marijuana, and 22 times more likely to use cocaine. Smoking is associated with a host of other risky behaviors, such as fighting and engaging in unprotected sex.(1)

References
1.CDC, Preventing Tobacco Use Among Young PeopleA Report of the Surgeon General, 1994 2. Lew EA, Garfinkel L. Differences in Mortality and Longevity by Sex, Smoking Habits and Health Status, Society of Actuaries Transactions, 1987. 3. AJHP, Arday DR, Giovino GA, Schulman J, Nelson DE, Mowery P, Samet JM, et al. Cigarette smoking and selfreported health problems among U.S. high school seniors, 1982-1989, p. 111-116.

http://www.who.int/tobacco/research/youth/health_effects/en/

ey points from the article: Sin taxes have the potential to generate substantial revenue. Nearly $80 billion could be generated over the next 10 years by increasing the tobacco tax by 50 cents per pack. The alcohol tax as a percentage of the total cost of various forms of alcoholic beverages is much lower than it was in 1980. If the alcohol tax were increased to 30 percent of the pretax value of the beverage (it is currently about 10 percent), federal revenues would increase by $25 billion per year ($250 billion over 10 years). The effects of a 1 cent per ounce tax on sugary beverages would raise approximately $15 billion to $20 billion per year ($150 billion to $200 billion over 10 years). Ideally, these resources could also be used to subsidize care for the uninsured, buffer the fiscal pressures associated with Medicare and Medicaid, promote increased physical activity and better nutrition in the population, build public health infrastructure or perhaps increase federal funding for biomedical research. One of the major arguments raised against sin taxes is that they fall disproportionately on the poor, who typically engage in unhealthy behaviors at higher rates than other segments of the population. The authors raise the counterargument that the positive behavioral changes associated with these taxes would disproportionately benefit the poor in terms of both improved health over time and more money to spend on other things. Sin taxes have bipartisan appeal. Those concerned about disparities in health associated with socioeconomic status and other demographic factors should like them because promotion of healthy behavior may reduce these disparities. They should appeal to those who prefer policies that promote personal responsibility, because such taxes can positively affect individual health behaviors, the physicians say.

"Although consideration of such policies would (and has) engendered vigorous debate, sin taxes have the potential to rapidly benefit the physical, social, and fiscal health of the nation and should be seriously considered by policymakers and our political leaders," Dr. Joyner says.

Taxes on alcohol and cigarettes dont discourage consumption and hit the poor hardest
Sin taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are designed to boost revenue, not improve public health Minimum alcohol pricing will exacerbate poverty and entrench inequality without discouraging binge drinking Most of the costs of drinking and smoking fall on individual consumers, not the public. There is no economic justification for increasing taxes on smokers and drinkers. In a report released today, The Wages of Sin Taxes, the Adam Smith Institute condemns the governments decision to increase taxes on cigarettes and alcohol this year and to introduce minimum alcohol pricing. The report argues that sin taxes (taxes on commodities seen as harmful to health) are ineffective in reducing consumption and are not necessary for recouping lost revenue. The taxes are highly regressive and force the poor to pay for the governments mishandling of public finances. The taxes dont work Cigarette taxes are now so high that increases drive smokers to the black market instead of discouraging consumption or raising more revenue. Sin taxes are more likely to deter moderate users than heavy users, whose demand for cigarettes and alcohol is relatively inelastic. A heavy smoker or an alcoholic is unlikely to reduce consumption because of a price rise, making sin taxes an unreliable way of reducing consumption or improving public health. The victims of cigarette and alcohol duty Sin taxes hit moderate and heavy users alike. Research has shown that previous rises in cigarette tax have made only 2.3% of smokers quit, with the other 97.7% just paying more in tax. Taxes on cigarettes and alcohol are regressive and hit the poor hardest. The average smoker spends 1660 a year on cigarettes 20% of the bottom 10%s income. Sin taxes are the most regressive indirect taxes, as they tend to target products that are disproportionately consumed by the poor.

Minimum alcohol pricing is also deeply regressive, only affecting the cheaper drinks consumed by the poor. Punishing poor people for enjoying a drink or a cigarette exacerbates poverty and treats the poor like children who need to be controlled by the state. The public cost of smoking and drinking Taxes on cigarettes and alcohol have often been justified by studies that claim to estimate the social cost of these vices. These studies include intangible costs borne by individual consumers, such as emotional distress, lost years of life, and individual expenditures on cigarettes and alcohol. These are personal costs, not social costs. They also fail to include the economic benefits the alcohol and cigarette industry gives to the UK in terms of employment and government revenue. Most of these studies should be relegated to the bin of junk statistics. In fact, smokers and heavy drinkers do not cost the state more. Though smokers may cost more during their working lives, but non-smokers require greater expenditure in pensions, nursing care and welfare payments. Chronic diseases associated with old age are far more expensive than the lethal diseases associated with smoking and alcoholism. Smokers and drinkers are not a burden on the state, and the myth of saints subsidising sinners should not be used to justify tax rises. The appeal of sin taxes Despite the fact they hurt the poor and do not change consumer consumption, sin taxes have always been popular with governments as a source of revenue. Sin taxes and minimum alcohol pricing should be recognised for what they really are - stealth taxes and paternalism designed to control the poor. Chris Snowdon, author of the report and Adam Smith Institute fellow, says: Campaigners for sin taxes and minimum pricing often claim that healthy citizens are forced to bear the cost of other peoples lifestyles. In fact, the evidence shows that smokers take less from the communal pot than the average Briton and the money raised from alcohol duty comfortably pays for any burden drinking places on public services. If the aim of policy is to make individuals pay their way, the government should slash the beer tax and subsidise cigarettes. We are not seriously suggesting the government does this, but if politicians insist on increasing taxes on these products, they should admit that the purpose is to raise revenue. Essentially the government is forcing the people who are least likely to live to extreme old age to pay for the escalating costs of an ageing population. As we show in the report, amongst EU countries there is no relationship between alcohol prices and alcohol related harm, nor is there an association between cigarette prices and smoking rates. The only significant effects that sin taxes have are to make the poor poorer and black marketeers richer.

http://www.adamsmith.org/news/press-releases/taxes-on-alcohol-and-cigarettes-don%E2%80%99tdiscourage-consumption-and-hit-the-poor

he sin tax reform law has been bringing in expected increased revenues from the sale of heavily taxed cigarettes but has yet to make a dent in lowering the incidence of smoking in the country. Sen. Franklin Drilon, the sponsor of the Aquino administrations increased taxes on alcohol and tobacco products, said he would push for a measure requiring the printing on cigarette packs of gory photos showing the harmful effects of smoking. Contrary to the claims of cigarette manufacturers that we will suffer because of smuggling and tax evasion, the records will show that the excise tax collection is meeting the schedule that we predicted when we fought for this sin tax law, Drilon told reporters on Tuesday. The first year increment for the excise tax (law) is about P33 billion and P21 billion or P22 billion of which will come from tobacco taxes. Right now, we are meeting targets. Whether or not that is good depends on what side you are looking at, he added. The law took effect in January. Drilon said that while the administration was happy with developments on the finance side of the sin tax reforms, it wasnt satisfied with how the law was faring in helping curb smoking. Shift to cheaper brands He said smokers just shifted to cheaper cigarette brands. If you are looking at the health side, we are not so happy because the cigarette consumption has not gone down. I understand there is a lot of downgrading because of the higher taxes. There is shift to cheaper brands, Drilon said. But in the future, there will be a unitary tax, therefore there will be a one -tax rate for all kinds of cigarette, and so, this phenomenon will no longer happen, he added. Graphic warnings on the harmful effects of smoking could do the trick, Drilon believes. I will be pushing for the legislation that requires a graphic health warning packaging for tobacco and cigarettes, Drilon said. He said that in other countries, there is a picture warning on each pack of cigarettes which is a demo of what smoking can do to peoples health. Such legislation is being opposed in our country at the moment, so we intend to push this legislation together with Sen. Pia Cayetano in the 16th Congress, Drilon said. We believe that this legislation is essential for us to push our health programs particularly in relation to the campaign against tobacco smoking in our country, added Drilon, a former smoker.

Read more: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/437255/sin-tax-law-ups-revenues-but-has-not-cut-downsmoking#ixzz2eQXPxc7a Follow us: @inquirerdotnet on Twitter | inquirerdotnet on Facebook

http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/437255/sin-tax-law-ups-revenues-but-has-not-cut-down-smoking

Prices of local and foreign tobacco brands in the Philippines remain among the lowest in the Southeast Asian Region despite the approval of the Sin Tax Law. Citing the first edition of the ASEAN Tobacco Atlas, Emer Rojas, president of New Vois Association of the Philippines, said the country continues to have among the lowest prices of tobacco products in the Southeast Asian Region, and even the world.

The ASEAN Tobacco Atlas is the first ever publication that details the tobacco epidemic in Southeast Asia. It contains information on smoking prevalence, prices, deaths, health burden, and tobacco control policies, among others. Released this month by the Bangkok-based Southeast Asia Tobacco Control Alliance (SEATCA), the report identifies the Philippines as having one of the lowest prices of local and foreign tobacco products across the region and in the world. "For example, local brand Fortune is pegged at $0.58 cents and Marlboro at $1.16 a pack. But in Singapore, which is one of the ASEAN countries with good tobacco control policies, a pack of Malboro is sold at nine US dollars," said Rojas. Rojas said the Philippines has long been lagging far behind its ASEAN neighbors in terms of tobacco control policies. Even with the Sin Tax Law approved last year, the resulting increases have still not made tobacco prices catch up with prices in other parts of the region. "Because the revised sin tax law was pending in Congress for 15 years, we were only able to achieve a tax burden of 53% of the retail price imposed on the tobacco industry. This is still short of the recommended 70% tax burden of the World Health Organization," said Rojas. So far only Singapore has complied with this WHO recommendation while Thailand's tobacco tax rate is at 69%. Ten percent of the world's tobacco consumers, or around 127 million adults, are found in the ASEAN region with the majority coming from Indonesia (65 million). The Philippines follows Indonesia with 17.3 million smokers. An estimated 9.25 billion cigarette sticks are consumed by ASEAN smokers on a daily basis, according to SEATCA.

http://www.interaksyon.com/article/69760/philippine-cigarettes-still-among-worlds-cheapest-despitesin-tax-law

Sin tax wou ld burn cigar-smoking lawmakers

July 19, 2013 By Katy Grimes

Tobacco taxes are relatively easy for lawmakers to pass because they are a tax on a hated and sinful habit smoking. But the smoking tax proposed in SB 768 would extend to cigars, a favorite vice of many lawmakers and Capitol elites. There are several chichi cigar lounges within walking distance of the Capitol, where in many cases the real political business of the state takes place.

A sin tax is a state-mandated tax added to products or activities seen as vices, such as alcohol, tobacco and gambling. These taxes are levied by governments ostensibly to discourage use without making the products illegal, while raking off taxes to pay for government programs.

Smoke tax
SB 768 is by Sen. Kevin DeLeon, D-Los Angeles. It would boost cigarette taxes $2 per pack. As I wroteearlier, the bill likely would promote cigarette smuggling. But this bill is more than just a $2 per pack tax on cigarettes. SB 768 also targets cigar and pipe tobacco by creating a disproportionate tax increase on these products. Because of how the state excise tax works, there is no cap on the amount of tax that can be charged on cigars or pipe tobacco. If SB 768 passes, the state excise tax applied to cigars would go from 31 percent per cigar, to 75 percent. On top of that, the state and local sales tax as high as 10 percent in some cities would be charged. Plus the recently enacted federal excise tax of 52.4 percent on cigars. Total: California consumers would pay a total tax rate of 137.4 percent per cigar. This translates into nearly $1.40 in taxes for every $1 of product. This tax reminds me of a car I rented while on a visit to Seattle: The city taxes cost me more than the actual cost to rent the car.

Tobacco products
Tobacco products are an important source of revenue for the nearly 34,000 retailers in California. According to the National Association of Convenience Stores, tobacco sales account for 35 percent of all in-store sales. Many of these retailers are small mom and pop stores that specifically cater to the cigar and pipe market. SB 768 will irreparably harm these retailers and small businesses by forcing them to cut jobs or even close their business altogether. Weve already seen this happen. After Proposition 10 was passed in 1999 and the tobacco tax rose by 50 cents, there was a 26 percent decrease in the taxable sales of tobacco within two years, forcing many retailers out of business. Because of the federal excise tax, the maximum tax rate on large cigars has surged more than 700 percent and has already resulted in significant layoffs within the cigar industry, according to Stogie News. States with high tobacco taxes open the door to smuggling and black market sales. This illegal activity puts a strain on law enforcement and results in a loss of revenue to businesses, as well as to the state. According to a January study by the Tax Foundation, 60 percent of the cigarettes sold in New York state are smuggled from other states or Indian reservations with lower tobacco taxes.

According to a CNN summary of the study, The report said that tobacco smuggling and the tax rate have risen practically in tandem since 2006. The New York State tax on cigarettes has risen 190% since that time, as the rate of smuggling increased 170%.

Tax hit
The State Board of Equalization has found that California will actually lose hundreds of millions of dollars in revenue if SB 768 passes. Even legislators have become weary of funding programs using tobacco tax revenue because of its instability. Californians arent the biggest fans of tobacco taxes anyway. In 2006, voters rejected a $2 tax on tobacco and more recently, in 2012, a $1 tax on tobacco. What makes politicians think Californians will be supportive now? Smokers have always been easy targets, but theres a bigger picture here. SB 768 will negatively affect our economy, jobs and the livelihood of millions of Californians.

By Katy Grimes - See more at: http://calwatchdog.com/2013/07/19/sin-tax-would-burn-cigar-smokinglawmakers/#sthashhttp://calwatchdog.com/2013/07/19/sin-tax-would-burn-cigar-smokinglawmakers/.GE9IAp6k.dpuf