BOZEMAN, Mont. — Montana State University President Waded Cruzado says she wants to give school employees a chance to voice their opinions before deciding on whether to make the Bozeman campus tobacco free. Cruzado’s decision follows a vote by students on Wednesday who 61 to 39 percent recommended making MSU tobacco-free within two years. Cruzado tells the Bozeman Daily Chronicle that she has asked students to present more information ab ... Jump to full article >>

HELENA — University of Montana sophomore Bambi Erving says the state’s anti-tobacco programs not only convinced her to quit smoking but also helped turn her life around at age 15. Erving, of Plains, had left her family’s troubled home to move into a trailer house with other teenagers and young adults, where she said drug, alcohol and tobacco use was the norm. A high school counselor suggested that she get involved with reACT, a youth toba ... Jump to full article >>

BUFFALO, N.Y. — For years the tobacco industry has argued that efforts to ban tobacco advertising near schools would constitute a total ban on tobacco advertising in urban areas. But public health researchers at the University at Buffalo and Roswell Park Cancer Institute have presented research that shows this is not the case in Buffalo and Niagara Falls, N.Y. The UB and RPCI researchers presented their study results in a poster session on ... Jump to full article >>

The lawyer for a teenage mother accused of photographing her baby apparently smoking a marijuana bong has claimed it wasn’t a pot pipe at all. Steven Whittington, representing 19-year-old Rachel Stieringer, from Keystone Heights, Florida, said: ‘No bong was ever seized or even seen by law enforcement. ‘No evidence exists that the device was, in fact, a bong.’ But his motion to dismiss the case in Jacksonville was rejected ... Jump to full article >>

WASECA — Tobacco companies appear to be getting a hold on students in Waseca County, as the number of students smoking cigarettes are holding steady, and in some cases, tobacco consumption by high school seniors is growing. Students in public schools across Waseca County reported a number of fluctuations in their tendencies toward tobacco use when they responded to the Minnesota Student Survey last year. In 2007, 40 percent of 12th grade male ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco sales to minors in Indiana reached an all-time low last year, according to a report released Monday by the Tobacco Retailer Inspection Program, known as TRIP. Store clerks sold tobacco products to those 17 and under 3.8 percent of the time during more than 8,400 inspections in 2010. TRIP — a joint venture by the Prevention Resource Center at Indiana University Bloomington and the Indiana State Excise Police — began inspections in 200 ... Jump to full article >>

When the FDA proposed new rules restricting outdoor tobacco advertising near schools and playgrounds in 2009, the tobacco industry argued that such rules would lead to a near complete ban on tobacco advertising in urban areas. When the FDA proposed new rules restricting outdoor tobacco advertising near schools and playgrounds in 2009, the tobacco industry argued that such rules would lead to a near complete ban on tobacco advertising in urban ar ... Jump to full article >>

A Republican senator is looking to stiffen penalties for youths trying to use fake identification to buy tobacco products. The measure, sponsored by Sen. Michele Reagan, R-Scottsdale, would upgrade buying tobacco products from a petty offense to a Class 3 misdemeanor if the buyer uses a fake ID, taking the fine from a maximum of $300 to a maximum of $500 with a possible 30 days jail time. Several lobbyists said that the punishment when children ... Jump to full article >>

Last week the American Lung Association released a scathing report card for state tobacco prevention programs. It’s the sort of thing that most self-respecting students would hide from their parents: 40 states got an F; three more picked up a D. Texas is among the states relegated to the back of the class. The association gave Texas failing grades for tobacco prevention, smoke-free air and cessation programs. Its tobacco tax of $1.41 per p ... Jump to full article >>

We’re nearly a month into 2011, but smoking bans have already taken center stage. Although South Dakota’s statewide smoking ban went into effect late last year, the debate has now moved to college campuses. Two universities implemented smoking bans on January 1st, but it’s not that easy to put out the light. The air in Marshall, Minnesota is bitterly cold this time of year. But for some students at Southwest Minnesota State, ... Jump to full article >>