SALT LAKE CITY — A bill before the 2011 Legislature would outlaw flavored tobacco products targeted at children, but at least one shop owner says the measure could inadvertently ban certain types of pipe tobacco as well. Rep. Paul Ray, R-Clearfield, said his bill, HB170, is an attempt to stop the sale of flavored tobacco products, which are similarly packaged like candy and gum. “They’re really targeting children with their ma ... Jump to full article >>

Public health advocates have squared off against retail business owners over a Senate bill that would ban the sale of some flavored tobacco products. Advocates say flavored tobacco is a means of hooking young smokers. Washington tobacco retailers argue that they have enough regulations to cope with and that the state should focus on existing laws that prohibit anyone under the age of 18 from buying tobacco. They say a ban on flavored tobacco wi ... Jump to full article >>

Utah public health officials anticipate more childhood poisonings if flavored tobacco products that look like mints and candy are sold in Utah. They aren’t in Utah yet — tobacco companies are testing them in other markets — and they may never be on the market here. Lawmakers will consider a ban of “flavored tobacco products” other than cigarettes and cigars. HB170 hasn’t been assigned to a committee. In a news conference Thu ... Jump to full article >>

You wouldn’t think peach-flavored cigarillos would cause such a ruckus. Legislation to ban sales of kid-friendly tobacco products inspired fervent testimony from both supporters and opponents at a recent legislative hearing in Olympia. Public-health officials maintained that the brightly colored, flavored products start teens down a dark road to lifetime nicotine addiction. But critics countered that banning the popular products would bank ... Jump to full article >>

WASHINGTON (Dow Jones)– Major tobacco makers urged a federal advisory panel against banning menthol cigarettes, arguing such a ban would likely create an unregulated black market. The Food and Drug Administration was given the authority to regulate tobacco products in 2009. As part of the tobacco law, all tobacco flavorings except for menthol were banned on concerns the flavors enticed children and adolescents to start smoking. [caption id ... Jump to full article >>

Lorillard Inc., maker of the U.S.’s leading menthol cigarette brand, is engaged in a fierce battle to prevent the Food and Drug Administration from banning a product that accounts for roughly 90% of its sales. Among the company’s tactics: buying up a host of menthol-bashing Internet domain names, including MentholKillsMinorities.com, MentholAddictsYouth.com and FDAMustBanMenthol.com. Keeping those names out of the hands of critics is ... Jump to full article >>

A proposed Utah bill banning the sale of flavored tobacco products and novelty nicotine candies could lead to a lawsuit. A similar ban passed in New York City is being contested by several subsidiaries of Altria. Spokesman David Sutton says the lawsuit against the ban passed in the Big Apple argues regulating tobacco flavors is the purview of the federal government. “The Food and Drug Administration has overall authority for tobacco product re ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco companies are squeezing through loopholes in a new federal law banning candy-flavoured cigarillos so they can continue to sell smokes that appeal to kids, QMI Agency has learned. The Tories pledged to get rid of the cigarettesize cigars — in flavours like grape, tangerine and vanilla — because they target children. But with the legislation set to kick in July 5, tobacco companies have found plenty of ways to get around it  ... Jump to full article >>

Massachusetts high school nurses say they have noticed fewer students smoking cigarettes. But, they can’t be sure if more are switching to smokeless tobacco as a substitute. “(There is) definitely less smoking that we can detect on their clothes,” said Marlborough High’s Virginia Gadbois, a school nurse since 1986, following the release earlier this month of survey that indicates teens have switched from cigarettes to oth ... Jump to full article >>

A legal assault against the city’s upcoming ban on flavored smokeless tobacco got chewed up in court. Manhattan federal Judge Colleen McMahon refused to block the law — slated to go into effect in April — on grounds that local governments can regulate tobacco products not covered by federal law. “Congress expressed a clear and unmistakable preference for limiting the federal government’s role to setting a floor belo ... Jump to full article >>