The state Tax Commission has found that increasing the cigarette tax to $1 a pack and cutting the food tax in half could create a small gain in revenue for the state. Supporters of the cigarette and grocery "tax swap" believe raising the cigarette tax would help reduce smoking, which costs the state millions of dollars a year for health care. Mississippi has the third-lowest cigarette excise tax - 18 cents a pack - and the highest state grocery tax in the nation. Haley Barbour said...

End of quota system, decline of small farmers cited as causes By CLAY CAREY Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD For generations, a large metal arch over the main highway into this town boasted that it was home to the World s Finest Dark Fired Tobacco. Tobacco warehouses dotted the landscape around Springfield s public square, symbols of the big business that tobacco was. End of quota system, decline of small farmers cited as causes By CLAY CAREY Staff Writer SPRINGFIELD For generations, a large metal...

The payment came at the same time several tobacco companies again refused to pay their entire annual payments required by the agreement, Cooper said. Under the agreement, all major tobacco companies must make annual payments to 46 states, including Tennessee and six other jurisdictions. The Attorney General's Office last year filed suit against a number of tobacco companies that are parties to the landmark 1998 agreement to collect the full payment Cooper said Tennessee is owed. In...

However, the prices of tobacco have remained stable because of decreased demand for beedi as a major part of the tobacco grown in Gujarat is used in beedis. In Andhra Pradesh and surrounding places naxalites have posed a great threat to tobacco farming as they have created labour unions resulting in an ugly labour issue. The area under tobacco shrunk substantially during the last five years due to various reasons in Gujarat. Disrupted power supply is taking its toll on tobacco farming. The...

House Bill 2163 makes Oregon the ninth state to limit cigarette sales to fire-safe cigarettes. Fire-safe cigarette requirement becomes law. Similar legislation had been blocked in past years by cigarette makers, so supporters such as State Fire Marshal Nancy Orr greeted the new law with smiles. Kulongoski and others credited retired firefighters Tim Birr and Tom Whelan with getting the legislation passed, noting that they had pushed for it for years. Nickname (Don't Have a Nickname? Sign...

Altadis said in a statement that its first-quarter results were "the fruit of solid performances in the cigarette sector in Spain and Morocco, sales of Cuban cigars and tobacco distribution in Spain. Sales of Cuban cigars rose 7.0 percent to 35 million euros, with good results recorded in traditional markets Spain, Germany and Italy. Altadis, which markets the Gauloise and Gitane brands of cigarettes, is currently a takeover target for the investment funds CVC and PAI Partners as well as...