Tweet A majority of Americans now support legalizing marijuana use — the first time public support has crossed the 50 percent threshold, according to new polling from the Pew Research Center. Pew found that 52 percent of Americans said marijuana use should be legal, compared to just 45 percent who said it should be illegal. The level of support has jumped 11 percentage points in the last three years. Support is even higher among younger Americ ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Tomorrow will be a monumental day as North Dakota’s new smoke-free law takes effect, after two-thirds of North Dakotans voted in the general election Nov. 6 in support, making all public places smoke free. The law, initiated by an independent grassroots organization — Smoke-Free North Dakota — now protects people from exposure to secondhand smoke in all enclosed public places and places of employment, including restaurants, ba ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Did you read last week’s news about women and smoking and how if you quit now, even after years of smoking, you could dramatically reduce your risk of premature death and all kinds of awful debilitating diseases that are attributed to smoking? It should be good news for smokers to see this well-publicized study, which said that if you quit before age 30, you could avoid as much as 97 percent of the risk, and if you quit before 40, you cou ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet BATON ROUGE, La. — The Louisiana House has agreed to prohibit smoking within 25 feet of the entrance to any building where smoking already is banned. Republican Rep. Frank Hoffmann, of West Monroe, says he’s pushing the proposal because of the dangers of secondhand cigarette smoke. Louisiana prohibits smoking in restaurants, public places, public buildings and many places of employment. Hoffmann’s proposal would extend the ban ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet As unpleasant as a ban on smoking outside state office buildings will be for some Delawareans, the twofold benefit is irresistible. The rise in residents’ quitting a dangerous health habit directly linked to their tobacco addiction will continue. And the residual benefits of slowing the growth of a $1 billion health care tab — almost 40 percent of the state’s budget — created by smoking workers, retirees and Medicaid ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet The idea that businesses should not hire tobacco users may look good on paper, but it doesn’t provide a solution to the larger issue: ending addiction to a deadly substance. A Jan. 12 article in The Tennessean, “More employers refuse to hire tobacco users,” reported on the growing trend of companies, especially among hospitals, refusing to hire individuals who use tobacco. The story mentioned the Cookeville Regional Medical Center con ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Mount Clemens— A judge Monday denied a Warren bar owner’s request to declare the state’s smoking ban unconstitutional but did toss out a fine the man incurred, agreeing some elements of the law are confusing. Boyd Cottrell, owner of Sporty O’Toole’s, likens his Mound Road bar to a “small-scale casino” and has said the smoking law, which took effect May 1, is unfairly restricting his establishment, while ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Citizens for a Smoke-Free Cape on Monday reported total contributions of nearly $83,000, almost all of which came from the American Cancer Society, to persuade voters to pass a citywide smoking ban next week. That figure left leaders of the opposition, which reported a relatively meager $3,070, aghast. Meanwhile, Smoke-Free Cape contends the opposition rhetoric is meant to put a smoke-screen over the health hazards of secondhand smoke. R ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet OTTAWA – Health Canada released larger and more graphic health warnings for cigarette packages last week, part of draft regulations that would require labels and warning to be included on the inside and outside of packs, the Montreal Gazette reports. Twelve new images to cover 75 percent of the outside of cigarette packages were introduced along with eight new health message that will appear on the inside in full color, distinguishing Ca ... Jump to full article >>

Tweet Smokers actually do have a shaky foothold in the City Council – not that it helps much. After the Council voted, 36 to 12, last week to ban smoking in city parks, beaches and public plazas, the Daily News reported Sunday that one reason could be the lack of smokers on the Council. More than a dozen Council members and staffers said they hadn’t seen a member regularly lighting up in years – though some enjoy the occasional ... Jump to full article >>