Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, is a well-known “chaw-er” and dipper in the Legislature. Last session, he was not too happy when colleagues raised taxes on smokeless tobacco products. On Monday, Ritter vented to fellow members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. It seems the 2009 law — designed to make the generic brands of snuff pay on weight, not price — had the unintended effect of nearly quadrupling th ... Jump to full article >>

It was an innocuous beginning to one of the most acrimonious municipal debates ever held in the nation’s capital, a precursor of sorts to all the emotionally charged debates — LRT, Lansdowne redevelopment, zero means zero — that were to follow. None of the follow-up acts, though, could match the city’s smoking bylaw for its furor and take-no-prisoners rancor. Before it was over, the city’s medical officer of health would need a bodygu ... Jump to full article >>

MSU President Waded Cruzado says she will be looking for input from university employees before deciding on a campus wide ban on tobacco. This follows an opinion poll conducted last week showing 61 percent of students in favor of a ban with 39 percent against. Yet, only 20 percent of the student body participated in the vote. We wanted to find some campus opinions of our own. Spring break is not an ideal time for this, but it’s not totally ... Jump to full article >>

CHICAGO (AP) — Sounding every bit the presidential candidate, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour used President Barack Obama’s hometown as a backdrop Monday to blame the Democrat for enacting policies that “created economic uncertainty or directly hurt the economy” — and argue that he could do better. “The policies embraced by this White House show little understanding of how our economy actually works,” Barbour tol ... Jump to full article >>

With great fanfare and flatulence, Speaker of the U.S. House John Boehner announced that the newly elected Republican majority would be the “people’s house.” With great fanfare and flatulence, Speaker of the U.S. House John Boehner announced that the newly elected Republican majority would be the “people’s house.” This from the man who you can watch on video admitting that he passed out campaign contributions from the tobacco lobby o ... Jump to full article >>

OLYMPIA, Wash. – Business owners battled public health officials at the Capitol Thursday over a bill to change the state’s smoking ban. The proposed law would create an exemption for cigar smokers by allowing smoking lounges in bars, restaurants and tobacco shops. The exemption would not allow cigarette smoking in any of the lounges. Tobacco shop owners would have to pay $5,000 for a license; restaurant or bar owners would be charge ... Jump to full article >>

NEWPORT, Ky. – The smoking ban adopted last year for Campbell County is under review and could be repealed before it ever takes effect depending on an upcoming vote. Campbell County commissioners will decide whether to repeal the ban at a meeting at 7 p.m. Wednesday, Feb. 16 at the fiscal court building in Newport. The original smoking ban ordinance in Campbell County passed in December 2010. It is set to take effect in April 2011. The bi ... Jump to full article >>

Big news: President Barack Obama has finally quit smoking. It’s about time. What a terrible image from our country’s role-model­in-chief. But now we have a new smoker-in­chief — it’s the new Speaker of the House, John Boehner. He’s known for spending time in “Smoker’s Alley” outside the lobby of the Speaker of the House. And he’s un­apologetic about the image he proj­ects to our nation’s youth. He’s fine with smoking. A ... Jump to full article >>

With his political opponents making huge gains and the economy still faltering, it’s been a difficult time for Barack Obama. But the President has won one major battle – he has given up smoking, according to his wife Michelle. The First Lady says her husband has not smoked in almost a year, adding that she is very proud. Mrs Obama made the comments in an interview at the White House Tuesday, adding that the President has always wante ... Jump to full article >>

We applauded back in December when the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives announced that it was seeking an emergency rule requiring gun dealers near the Mexican border to report multiple purchases of high-power semiautomatic rifles that use a detachable magazine. It looked as if the Obama administration was finally awakening to the urgent need to combat the illegal trafficking of AK-47s and other assault weapons across the borde ... Jump to full article >>