ADAM NAGOURNEY June 3, 2012 New York Times LOS ANGELES — California has some of the toughest antismoking laws in the country — it is illegal, in some places, to smoke in your own apartment — and boasts the second-lowest per capita smoking rate in the 50 states. But for all the disdain toward smoking here, it has been 14 years since California raised its cigarette tax, a tribute to the power of the tobacco industry here and the waning of this state’s antitobacco dominance. That may be about to change. An array of health and anticancer groups has rallied behind a ballot initiative to impose a $1-a-pack cigarette tax to finance cancer research. And that has provoked a $47 million storm of advertisements, overwhelmingly financed by the tobacco industry, which is outspending proponents by nearly four to one to defeat the biggest threat it has faced in over a…

John Masanauskas Herald Sun June 04, 2012 COUNCILS are forcing supermarkets to fit shopping trolleys with special hi-tech sensors to stop them being dumped. And retailers face fines for failing to retrieve abandoned trolleys within a given time. While most councils prosecute people who dump trolleys, some are now also holding supermarkets accountable for the problem. Boroondara Council has fines of up to $2500 for supermarkets that breach the new laws. The council is demanding retailers fit trolleys with a device that stops them being taken outside a designated area. Coles is testing a system at up to 30 stores where sensors force a computerised caster to lock the trolley wheel when it crosses a certain boundary. Boroondara requires trolleys to carry a plate identifying retailers’ contact details. A council report found there were growing safety concerns over abandoned shopping trolleys.

Jun 01, 2012 CSNews DALLAS — 7-Eleven is one of the top 10 best-perceived grocery chains in the eyes of consumers who consider themselves healthy, coinciding with the May launch of the Fanta Sugar-Free Mango Slurpee Lite, reported YouGov BrandIndex, the daily consumer perception research service of brands. 7-Eleven is ranked No. 9 on the list, beating out chains such as Winn-Dixie, Wild Oats, A&P, and Stop and Shop. Chains were measured using YouGov BrandIndex’s Impression score, which asks respondents whether they have a general positive feeling about the brand. Results were filtered for adults 18 years and older who consider their health good or excellent. The BrandIndex measurement score range runs from 100 to -100 and is compiled by subtracting negative feedback from positive. A zero score means equal positive and negative feedback. 7-Eleven’s impression score was a 2 on May 3, 2012, and jumped to 13 three weeks…

May 28, 2012 The Age Don’t start with a whimper – create loyal customers from the get-go. After waiting 30 minutes for my meal at a new Japanese café last week, the owner belatedly apologised for the delay, confessed they had run out of cooked rice, and asked if I would choose a noodle dish. Sayonara to that, or recommending the café to friends. Yes, it’s hard to believe a Japanese café could run out of rice. But the owner told me they never expected so many customers within a week of launch. They were badly short-staffed, had only one person cooking meals, and a roomful of patrons wondering if they would ever be fed. The café made a terrible first impression, precisely when it should have wowed customers. It is far from alone: many small businesses muff their first 90 days and alienate new visitors. Poor word-of-mouth recommendations spread…

Correspondents in London AFP May 29, 2012 THE British government is ditching plans to introduce a tax on Cornish pasties and other hot snacks after critics accused it of targeting working families. The government has been embroiled in the row since it announced in March plans to close a loophole which allows bakeries in Britain to serve hot takeaway food without incurring 20 per cent value-added tax (VAT). The items include pies, sausage rolls and pasties – a traditional delicacy reputedly invented by miners in the southwestern English county of Cornwall – which consists of meat and vegetables in a pastry crust. But the government has now amended the definition of what constitutes a “hot” pasty, allowing it to perform the U-turn, the BBC reported today. Under the revised plans, food which is cooling down rather than being kept warm in a heated display cabinet will not be liable for…