Herter 227 lecture hall was filled to the breaking point with occupants, as one student after another voiced their staunch opposition to the “Tobacco-Free UMass Amherst” policy. Regardless, the Faculty Senate has proven yet again its blatant disregard for the will of the student body, endorsing the policy with a vote of 14-to-7. Not one single student, smoker or non-smoker, spoke in favor of the policy. Generally, the University of Massachu ... Jump to full article >>

Members of the University of Massachusetts Faculty Senate yesterday passed a proposition that aims to ban the use of all tobacco products on campus beginning in 2013. The Senate approved of the proposal in a 14-7 vote, after several students spoke against it and some faculty members spoke in favor of it. The policy – which won’t go into effect until July 1, 2013 – was brought forward to the Senate by the University Health Council. It calls ... Jump to full article >>

Teenagers who use tobacco in Bellefonte could be facing a hefty fine the next time they light up. Borough Council unanimously voted Monday night to approve an ordinance that makes it illegal for anyone younger than 18 to use or possess tobacco, in any form, within the borough limits. That includes cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and any other product containing tobacco leaf. The ordinance is based on one in place in Hollidaysburg. Bellefo ... Jump to full article >>

Australia seems to have found ways to cut back on teen smoking, researchers from there report. Higher taxes on cigarettes, expanded no-smoking rules, and well-funded tobacco control programs all helped lower rates of smoking among teenagers during the study. “What this really shows is that we know ways to reduce smoking among youth,” Dr. Michael Siegel from the Boston University School of Public Health told Reuters Health. “We ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco usage by students not only creates health hazards but also develops criminal instincts in them. The Delhi high court said this on Wednesday, asking all educational institutions in the capital to check the sale of tobacco in their vicinity. The division bench of chief justice Dipak Misra and Justice Sanjiv Khanna said passive smoking is as dangerous as active smoking and can cause serious health hazards among children. The court also aske ... Jump to full article >>

School districts should broaden bans on tobacco products to include electronic cigarettes. Young people shouldn’t smoke cigarettes or battery-operated nicotine-soaked cartridges. MOUNTING public dialogue about the safety of electronic cigarettes appropriately spurs school districts to broaden bans on tobacco products to prohibit them. The battery-operated devices the size of pens use nicotine-soaked replaceable cartridges to simulate smoki ... Jump to full article >>

Kids across DeSoto County will encourage others to kick butts today as part of an annual awareness event to fight tobacco use. Hundreds of events are planned across the nation, including in DeSoto County and elsewhere in Mississippi, for the 16th annual Kick Butts Day. Sponsored by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, the event encourages tobacco companies to stop targeting youth with marketing for cigarettes and other tobacco products. Organizer ... Jump to full article >>

Bandar Seri Begawan – Tobacco-related deaths are increasing in developed and developing countries with 2.4 million deaths in 2000, according to The Tobacco Atlas, World Health Organisation. Unless young people do not take up smoking and current users quit, tobacco may kill one billion people in the 21st century. This was highlighted by speaker Dr Sallehuddin bin Abu Bakar, Director of City Hall, Kuala Lumpur, Health Department Malaysia, in ... Jump to full article >>

Is the new animated flick Rango a public health hazard or a harmless cartoon? The fact that some of the characters smoke has angered anti-tobacco activists and made some parents wonder if they should go to Mars Needs Moms instead. Tangled, How to Train Your Dragon and Gnomeo and Juliet were all hits for the Toronto mom’s boys, aged 4 and 7, but Ms. Katz is drawing the line at Rango. The flick stars Johnny Depp as a hapless lizard thrust into a ... Jump to full article >>

The following rules are taken word for word from each school’s student athlete handbook: Danbury High School Mood altering chemical use — tobacco, alcohol, drugs (illegal and non-prescription): There will be absolutely no use or possession of any quantity of tobacco (including smokeless), alcohol, or illegal/non-prescription drugs, including steroids and performance enhancing substances or supplements, by a Danbury athlete. [caption ... Jump to full article >>