THE GOVERNMENT must put anti-smoking services under a central body and provide training for all healthcare professionals, anti-smoking campaigner Prof Luke Clancy said. Prof Clancy, a leading advocate of the 2004 workplace smoking ban, said Ireland had underachieved in relation to tobacco addiction since the ban. He accused the last government of a misplaced concern for exchequer revenue in not increasing the price of cigarettes. He also critici ... Jump to full article >>

SANTA CRUZ – The Santa Cruz County Board of Supervisors this afternoon voted 4-1 to require retailers to obtain a license to sell tobacco, joining dozens of other communities statewide. The effort is aimed at keeping cigarettes out of the hands of minors. Supervisor Mark Stone was the lone dissenter. The county says a recent survey demonstrated county retailers’ poor compliance with laws prohibiting sales to those under 18 years of a ... Jump to full article >>

A Food and Drug Administration advisory panel urged a ban on menthol cigarettes because they believe a ban would be beneficial to public health. With their enticing cool and minty flavor, menthol cigarettes have emerged as one of the most controversial products made by the tobacco industry. Kids are particularly drawn to them, with nearly 45% of smokers aged 12 to 17 using menthol cigarettes, according to a 2009 National Survey on Drug Use and ... 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 >>

Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland, is a well-known “chaw-er” and dipper in the Legislature. Last session, he was not too happy when colleagues raised taxes on smokeless tobacco products. On Monday, Ritter vented to fellow members of the tax-writing House Ways and Means Committee. It seems the 2009 law — designed to make the generic brands of snuff pay on weight, not price — had the unintended effect of nearly quadrupling th ... Jump to full article >>

If you’ve ever wondered how much cigarette smoke your kids are really exposed to – you’re not alone. A new study led by the Center for Child and Adolescent Health has found that a majority of parents would support testing children for tobacco smoke exposure as part of their primary care visit. Researchers surveyed nearly 500 parents – both smoking and non-smoking – and asked them how they felt about the idea of testing children for tob ... Jump to full article >>

Almost four fifths of Irish smokers want to quit according to research released today. According to the Europe Quitting: Progress and Pathways Report Irish smokers come second only Luxembourg in their desire to give up. Some 79 per cent of smokers who were surveyed here claimed they wanted to quit compared with 83 per cent in Luxembourg. The figures are well above the European average of 67 per cent. The research among 2,482 healthcare professio ... Jump to full article >>

TOBACCO GIANT Lorillard crows as the FDA cowers. Last week, an advisory panel of the Food and Drug Administration found that removal of menthol cigarettes would benefit public health. But the panel stopped short of recommending a ban, prompting stocks of Lorillard, the king of menthol cigarettes, to shoot up from roughly $79 a share to roughly $90. The panel report comes three months after a Suffolk Superior Court jury awarded the family of Mari ... Jump to full article >>

The Singapore Customs recently realised that that has been an influx of illegal cigarettes in the black market. They also pointed out that ccigarettes bearing the brand “Moon Mountain” are currently not supplied by any local tobacco importer or wholesaler licensed by the Health Sciences Authority (HSA). The customs believe that these cigarettes are being smuggled into Singapore by syndicates. The cigarettes resemble legitimate cigar ... Jump to full article >>

DELAND — The case to decide the first of more than 130 local cigarette smoker lawsuits will begin — for the second time — this week. The first trial in Koballa v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ended in a mistrial in October after jurors said they couldn’t agree on the word addiction, which was required to determine whether the company should be held liable for Stella Koballa’s smoking-related illness. Attorneys represen ... Jump to full article >>