Tobacco news and articles!

Some researchers say an age-old cash crop long the focus of public health debate could be used to help solve America's energy crisis, by genetically modifying the tobacco leaf for use as a biofuel.

The golden leaf is the latest in a series of possible biofuels like switchgrass and algae that are being floated as Congress and President Barack Obama stress the importance of securing alternative energy sources.

Scientists believe using tobacco would be beneficial because it would not affect a major U.S. food source, unlike other biofuels made from corn, soybeans and other crops.

But there's no worry here about second-hand smoke for commuters stuck in traffic: the tobacco wouldn't be burned to power vehicles, merely used to extract its oils and sugars.

Tobacco is an attractive "energy plant" because it can generate a large amount of oil and sugar more efficiently than other crops, said Vyacheslav Andrianov, a researcher at the Biotechnology Foundation Laboratories at Thomas Jefferson University in Philadelphia.

Andrianov recently co-wrote a paper on how researchers have found a way to genetically engineer tobacco to boost the oil in the plant's leaves. Researchers found that modifying the plant produced as much as 20 times more oil, according to the report published online in December and featured in a special biofuels edition of the Plant Biotechnology Journal.

"Certainly tobacco could work; any plant is a potential source of biofuel," said Matt Hartwig, a spokesman for the Renewable Fuels Association. "I know tobacco farms have been hit hard in recent years and this may be an opportunity for some of those tobacco farmers."

Commercial use for tobacco as a biofuel may be more than five years away, but tobacco farmers look forward to the possibilities, said Andrianov, an assistant professor of cancer biology at the university's Jefferson Medical College.

"There are other crops that can be used and the idea of tobacco is that it's not a food crop," Andrianov said. "I got a lot of response from farmers that would like to grow tobacco in fields that are not being used right now."

According to the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, tobacco production has dropped about 1.5 percent worldwide over the past 10 years. Production has decreased by nearly 39 percent in the U.S. during that same period in part due to the federal buyout program that provided an incentive for tobacco farmers to switch to other crops.

The decrease is largely due to the slump in cigarette demand, which has been hurt by tax hikes, health concerns, smoking bans and social stigma. Industry estimates show that the number of cigarettes sold in the U.S. declined about 8 percent in 2009 compared with a year earlier.

But some farmers say they'd have to look at the economics and processes used to grow tobacco for biofuel to see whether it is viable.

"We tend to get excited when we hear about tobacco getting used for something else but so far it's just been on a very limited, niche-type basis," said Roger Quarles, a Kentucky burley tobacco grower and president of the International Tobacco Growers Association.

In Allen Wooten's corner of tobacco country there used to be nearly 50 farms. Only four growers remain.

"There's definitely a decline," said Wooten, who grows about 150 acres of flue-cured tobacco on his Burgaw, North Carolina, farm. "Domestically ... it's going down every week, every month. There's all these smoking bans and smoking restrictions."

Wooten said higher costs and lower profits have forced some tobacco farmers to switch to other crops or shut down.

While farming tobacco is an expensive task when high-quality leaf is needed for cigarettes, Andrianov said there is real potential in the golden leaf's future. "You can grow tobacco like a weed" when it's being grown for biofuels, he said.

The illegal sale of tobacco products to minors increased in certain areas of Santa Barbara County, prompting officials to suggest strengthening tobacco retail licensing laws and penalties.

While the overall number of violations actually decreased — from 34 in 2008 to 32 in 2009 — a spike in North County areas had some county officials concerned.

“The valley looks really bad, and it’s never looked bad before,” said Dawn Dunn, administrator of the county’s Tobacco Prevention Settlement Program.

Of four stores tested during undercover buys in Solvang, two stores sold to minors last year. In Buellton, five of 12 stores sold to minors. Both cities had much lower rates in 2008 — zero sales in Solvang and only two sales in Buellton.

Unincorporated areas in North County also had 11 illegal sales last year, compared to just one in unincorporated South County regions.

“It was a really huge shift,” Dunn said. “Most of the sales happened in the North County — not that we want to paint the North County as the bad guys, but the data doesn’t look very good.”

Illegal sales dropped in most cities along the South Coast, including a drop from seven violations in Santa Barbara in 2008 to just one last year. The only area with no violations was Guadalupe.

Four stores in Goleta, one store in Isla Vista and nine stores in the North County received letters of warning for their first violation in two years. Another store in Goleta and two others in the Santa Ynez Valley are facing 30-day suspensions for their second violation.

For the clerks that sold to minors, fees start at $150 for a first violation and increase to $500 and $1,000 fines for additional violations.

Dunn said she is concerned that storeowners don’t take letters of warning as seriously as in previous years, and noted that other communities throughout the state have seen success in lowering the rate of illegal tobacco sales to minors by strengthening their regulations.

“The real thing that seems to work is the threat of enforcement or actual enforcement,” she said.

Other municipalities jump straight to a 30-day suspension for a first violation, during which the store cannot sell nor advertise tobacco products to any customers. Fees for obtaining a tobacco retail license are also much higher — from $150 to $400 in other regions compared to the $30 fee charged in Santa Barbara County.

The county passed its current tobacco retail licensing law in 2001, and while Dunn said it was considered strong at the time, it has since become outdated.

“Nine years later, it’s not considered strong anymore,” she said. “It’s weak by today’s standards.”

She would like to see stricter penalties and enforcement coupled with a longer timeframe in which to examine past violations. Most licensing laws require officials to review a five-year span for previous illegal sales at a particular store, while local jurisdictions only review two years.

“The prevailing message is we think it should be hard for kids to buy tobacco,” Dunn said. “It is an age-restricted product, and if one in five or one in four kids can go in without lying or tricking or manipulating the situation and buy tobacco products, we can do better.”

County Supervisor Salud Carbajal indicated he plans to bring a proposal to the full board of supervisors soon that would set limits on tobacco sales near schools throughout the county, and said he would be open to setting stricter tobacco retail regulations.

Each year, the Tobacco Prevention Settlement Program holds decoy operations with minors throughout the county and typically visit about 75 percent of all tobacco retailers. Minors — typically 15 or 16 years old — enter each store with a valid driver’s license or identification and attempt to buy cigarettes.

If the effort is successful, undercover law enforcement officers issue a citation to the clerk, although some stores are not subject to enforcement efforts in areas governed by their own local retail licensing laws, including Santa Barbara, Santa Maria, Lompoc and Guadalupe.

With the state facing a $7.4 billion deficit and pressure mounting from anti-Indian sovereignty legislators, Gov. David Paterson has instructed the state’s tax department to issue draft regulations on a law to force the collection of state sales taxes on tobacco products sold in Indian country.
At the same time, however, the governor said he would continue to negotiate a resolution with the nations.
Indian leaders responded swiftly, saying the governor was sending mixed messages and that they will continue to oppose any encroachment on their sovereignty.
Paterson announced the new scheme during his budget presentation Jan. 12. He said it is a matter of fairness to non-Indian stores who do charge the taxes, especially now that he has proposed adding $1 to the $2.75 excise tax per pack as of April 1.
Seneca Nation President Barry E. Snyder Sr. reminded state officials that the 1794 Canandaigua Treaty provides the Haudenosaunee nations the “free use and enjoyment” of their lands.
“This means that no other government has the right to interfere in how we use our lands without our consent. It is for this reason that New York state has no authority over us, our lands, or the commerce taking place on our lands. We have fought hard to recover from the dispossession of our traditional economy due to the loss of our lands over 200 years ago. We will not be the state’s tax collectors and we will defend our freedom regardless of the cost.”
J.C. Seneca, a Seneca Nation of Indians council member and tobacco wholesaler, dismissed the governor’s statements. “The governor is speaking out of both sides of his mouth.”
The law, which Paterson signed in December 2008, would prevent stamping agents from selling unstamped cigarettes to Indian retailers. Retailers would be forced to raise their prices, losing their competitive edge. They also would have to front to the state the taxes collected on untaxable sales to Indians.
Last January, a State Supreme Court justice slapped an injunction against the law’s implementation until the state’s tax and finance department devised a viable system to distribute tax exempt coupons for sales to tribal members.
The draft regulations that will be put out for public comment for six months will presumably include a viable coupon system.
A high level official in the administration, who asked not to be named, said the governor does not “embrace” the longstanding “forbearance policy” of not collecting taxes from Indian nations, but the current situation in which tax free cigarettes are sold on reservations will not change – for now.
“His announcement of the promulgation of these regulations in no way changes that tone and our desire to resolve these issues as amicably as possible respecting the sovereign rights and dealing in a government-to-government relationship over these next several months. But his desire to enforce the law is there and the way to get there is to put out these regulations and have some public comment and, meanwhile, continue negotiations and watch closely as litigation unfolds,” he said, referring to a number of current lawsuits involving the state’s perpetual attempt to force the nations to collect cigarette taxes.
Morgan Hook, a spokesman for the governor, said details about the proposed coupon system would be available in the draft regulations.
“The coupon system is a system we’re not necessarily in agreement with. But we don’t believe the nations should be tax collectors for the state. We understand how that would impose on their sovereignty,” Hook said.
He noted the proposed budget does not include any anticipated revenues from the new regulations. He also said the increased cigarette taxes are in line with the state’s overall goal of reducing cigarette smoking for health reasons.
The Oneida Indian Nation, said the governor’s proposal would mean more litigation.
“The state is facing a budgetary crisis and is again looking for Indian nations to become the state’s tax collector to solve that crisis. Attempting to impose New York state tax collection on the Oneida Nation and other Indian nations just means more costly litigation,” Oneida spokesman Mark Emery said in a statement.
He said Oneida continues to support government-to-government discussions as “thebest way for Indian nations and states to solve the complex issues confronting them.”
The Paterson government is also floating the concept of “parity” – a system in which the nations would voluntarily price their cigarettes at around the same price as off reservation retailers.
“However, we’re not saying the money collected by the tribe has to come to the state of New York. What we’d like to see is some way for that price differential or the tax differential be dedicated to some sort of fund to be used for governmental purposes in services that are going to benefit the nations, but also surrounding communities – bridge projects, road projects. That concept hasn’t been outright rejected by some of the nations we’ve talked to,” the official said.
Seneca is one nation citizen who does outright reject it.
“We would never do that,” Seneca said. “Parity would just kill our businesses. And certainly we wouldn’t trust the state with regard to putting money in their hands that they would put back through the local community.”
Seneca said he stated his position at a meeting with Paterson’s staff on Jan. 27.
“I was very clear that we don’t trust them. History has taught us not to. Our ancestors fought hard to get us to where we are today as Indian people, as Seneca people. We’ll continue to fight for what we have, for our treaties to be honored and for our people’s right so they’ll be able to enjoy the same things we have for seven generations from today”
As a counterpart to the state’s six month comment period on its cigarette tax proposal, Seneca said he had considered proposing to the council a six-month comment period on whether the nation should allow traffic to go through Seneca territory on the New York Thruway. The nation withdrew the state’s right of way a few years ago.
“We started charging for every vehicle that travels across our territory. We use the thruway authority’s own figures. We started charging $1 and then it went up to $2 and now I’m proposing to the council to raise it to $3,” Seneca said.
According to the nation’s tally, the state now owes the Seneca Nation of Indians around $50 million. Bills are sent to the state periodically, but the state has not responded, Seneca said.
“We’re going to have to start charging interest.”