Smokeless tobacco use is on the rise – according to national statistics, but also according to anecdotes from Ridgewood High School (RHS) Principal Jack Lorenz. At a presentation Tuesday night given by a prevention specialist with The Center for Alcohol and Drug Resources, a program of Children’s Aid and Family Services, a handful of Ridgewood parents listened and learned about the dangers of smokeless tobacco and why it is growing i ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco advertisements really do prompt teenagers to smoke, say the authors of a new study that calls for a ban on cigarette ads. In research involving more than 2,100 public school students in Germany, 277 young people who had never smoked before took up the habit after viewing tobacco advertising. Those who saw the most ads were 46 percent more likely to try cigarettes than those who saw no tobacco ads, the study found. This “just adds ... Jump to full article >>

Cigarette packet branding is the tobacco industry’s “silent salesman” helping hook children and young people, a group of industry experts have warned. Speaking on Wednesday at a discussion of several studies on the impact of introducing plain cigarette packaging, marketing expert Crawford Moodie said there was a definite link between smokers and tobacco branding. He told participants in the Brussels event that cigarette packag ... Jump to full article >>

NAGPUR: It took many years to act for the Food and Drugs Administration (FDA) to implement the ban imposed on smoking at public places as the authorities here caught 19 persons on Tuesday. The FDA also penalised six kiosk owners for selling tobacco-related products near restricted areas. The ban was imposed under the Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products (Prohibition of Advertisement and regulation of Trade and Commerce, Production, Supply and D ... Jump to full article >>

Texas youths will have to be at least 19 to buy tobacco products, if a state senator has his way. Sen. Carlos Uresti, D-San Antonio, has filed a bill for the upcoming legislative session that would require Texans to be 19, one year older than the current minimum, to use and buy tobacco products. “Raising the smoking age would limit availability to the vast majority of high school students, most of whom have graduated by the time they turn ... Jump to full article >>

It continues to get harder for minors to purchase tobacco products in Winnebago County. Ninety-four businesses licensed to sell tobacco products were checked in 2010 to see if they would sell products to people under the age of 18. Only five of the businesses sold tobacco to minors, for a non-compliance rate of 5.3 percent — a 20 percent drop from the 25.2 percent countywide non-compliance rate in 2009. “That’s a huge drop,” said Emily D ... Jump to full article >>

The Snohomish County Health District is ramping up efforts to cut down on teen smoking. So this week, it’s seeking out stores that are selling tobacco products to minors. The process is more like fishing. Health officials send a 17-year-old into a store to ask for cigarettes or chewing tobacco. About 1 in 10 stores make the sale. The current compliance rate is 88.7 percent, up from 84 percent in the previous year. The all-time low rate fo ... Jump to full article >>

More illegal sales of cigarettes were made to minors in Marathon County during state-sponsored stings than in any other county this year. According to the state program Wisconsin Wins, which has organized statewide tobacco compliance checks since 2002, 23 illegal sales were made during 99 checks performed in Marathon County from June through October. Marathon edged Milwaukee County, which performed 406 checks, by one sale. All of the 45 Lincoln ... Jump to full article >>

Just say no. I’m not talking about the anti-drug program that took off in the 1980s, although that campaign clearly is an important one even today. But in the new millennium the “Just say no” movement needs to be redirected toward parents. Yes, you, me, our neighbors and our friends. We need to stop trying to blame others for not taking up the mantle we as parents are required to do. The blame game has got to end. [caption id="attachment_7 ... Jump to full article >>

After nearly a decade in decline, marijuana is making a strong comeback among teens, with more high school seniors reporting that they had recently smoked pot than cigarettes, according to a government survey issued Tuesday. This year, 21.4% of high school seniors said they had used marijuana in the last 30 days, while 19.2% reported smoking cigarettes in the same time period, according to the annual “Monitoring the Future” survey fr ... Jump to full article >>