This afternoon, city officials want to hear what business owners, residents and other stakeholders think about a proposed indoor smoking ban for restaurants, bars and offices. Crestview Hills economic development and zoning committee will hold at public forum on the issue at 4 p.m. at the city building, 50 Town Center Boulevard. No decision will be made today. Council Member Dave Kramer, who chairs the economic development and zoning committee, ... Jump to full article >>

Congressional leaders yesterday slammed the deal for a stamp tax technology on cigarettes and alcohol products being worked out between the Switzerland-based SICPA Product Security SA (SICPA) and the Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR), saying it is heavily in favor of the Swiss proponent. Antique Rep. Exequiel Javier, House ways and means chair, also said the BIR could not implement the SICPA proposal through the build-operate-transfer (BOT) schem ... Jump to full article >>

KATE Hudson says she quit smoking because it made her smell. The Bride Wars star admits she hated her hair, car and clothes stinking of cigarettes. “It was starting to drive me crazy!” Hudson said. “I didn’t like the way the car smelt, or my hair and clothes. “It takes you away from the family and the things you’re doing. You don’t realize it at the time. Then when you’re done, you go, ‘Wow, I do so much more in a day – inclu ... Jump to full article >>

The number of tobacco smokers currently in Thailand has reached 14.3 million, the latest Global Adult Tobacco Survey revealed yesterday. Meanwhile, the Public Health Ministry is considering a proposal to the Finance Ministry to increase the tax level on hand-rolled cigarette products after finding over 7.4 million people smoke this style of cigarette. The remainder smoke manufactured cigarettes. The Global Adult Tobacco Survey is a national hous ... Jump to full article >>

West St. Louis County townships provided more votes last Tuesday in St. Louis County for banning smoking in indoor public places, but the strongest sentiment for the ban came from townships in the central part of the county. The St. Louis County Election Board on Friday made public township-by-township results on the smoking ban and on a 0.1-cent sales tax for a countywide emergency communications system. The breakdown was from unofficial final ... Jump to full article >>

As more cities ban smoking in restaurants and bars, there is a newer product to the United States that makers claim you can still smoke indoors. It’s under fire from cities across the country, the Food and Drug Administration and a metro parent. If you’ve been to the mall lately, you may have seen a kiosk selling electronic cigarettes. We’ve found the kiosks at Independence Center and Oak Park mall. If you walk past the kiosk ... Jump to full article >>

CAPE GIRARDEAU, MO (KFVS) – Voters in St. Louis County recently passed a ban on smoking in most public places, and that has folks pushing for a similar ban in Cape Girardeau excited. The folks Heartland News talked to believe they can work with city leaders to pass a similar ordinance down the road to ban smoking in most public places. It’s a proposal that’s so controversial it gets people fired up no matter how they feel. You ... Jump to full article >>

MOHAWK NATION OF AKWESASNE — The NYPD has gone on the reservation — sending its drug czar upstate to try to help cut off a massive pipeline of pot and ecstasy to the city run by Mohawk Indian smugglers on the Canadian border. “I was astounded at how lenient the border is,” said Chief Joseph Resnick, head of the NYPD’s narcotics division. He spoke after a trip six weeks ago to the Akwesasne reservation, which straddl ... Jump to full article >>

PHILIPPINE and Thai negotiators late last week resumed their second hearing on an ongoing trade dispute over cigarette duties, the Manila delegation said in a statement over the weekend. The dispute process had been held up when the World Trade Organization (WTO), which arbitrates the case, had to make way for the resumption of talks seeking to forge a global trade pact. The Philippines, at the hearing last Nov. 4-6, reiterated claims that Thai ... Jump to full article >>

No smoking around your daughter. That was a Warren County court’s order to a mother last December – and now an appeals court has sided with that ruling, taking the unusual step of using “judicial notice” to conclude that second-hand smoke is a danger to a child. In a decision that could apply to many other child-custody and visitation cases, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown upheld the Warren courtR ... Jump to full article >>