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 >>

Thousands of jobs have been lost through pub closures, with 25 shutting their doors for good every week, according to a report today. Around 1,300 pubs closed across Britain last year, with the loss of 13,000 jobs, said the British Beer & Pub Association (BBPA). A ban on smoking in public places alongside cheaper alcohol being sold in supermarkets have been reasons for the decline. The number of pub closures has fallen from 40 a week last ... Jump to full article >>

R.J. Reynolds is asking the Florida Supreme Court to overturn a $30 million award to the widow of a long-time smoker of Lucky Strikes. The cigarette maker is appealing a December appeals court decision upholding the verdict awarding $30 million – the highest award since the historic Engle decision -to Matilde Martin. The appeal was filed in the Florida Supreme Court today. Martin, whose husband Benny died of lung cancer after smoking for more ... Jump to full article >>

Raleigh, NC — Two North Carolina lawmakers have filed a bill that, if passed, would increase the state’s cigarette tax by $1. Rep. Jennifer Weiss (D-Wake) and Sen. William Purcell (D-Scotland) said the tax could generate about $300 million in new revenue for North Carolina, which is the nation’s top tobacco-producing state. But Purcell told WFMY News 2 money isn’t his main goal. He wants to prevent teens from smoking. If ... Jump to full article >>

WARSAW, POLAND : Polish Police on Tuesday arrested 32 people after raiding a huge illegal cigarette factory near Warsaw, Poland, disrupting plans by an international criminal gang to enter the European Union (EU) market with millions of illegal cigarettes During the operation, authorities also seized cigarette making machinery and materials, including over 50 tons of cut tobacco and a consignment of nearly 5 million cigarettes, which had already ... Jump to full article >>

When Pueblo, Colo., decided in 2003 to become smoke free inside all workplaces, the hope was that the move would help with the city’s poor health conditions. Pueblo was a community much like our own. Smoking rates were high. Heart attacks and other smoking-caused illnesses were costing residents millions in lost productivity and medical expenses. The results were dramatic. Just 18 months later, heart attack hospitalizations declined by 41 ... Jump to full article >>

A new ad has appeared on the CBS SuperScreen in Times Square telling smokers they have a choice. National Vapers Club has furnished this ad and accompanying website in order to raise awareness about electronic cigarettes (e-cigarettes). E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that vaporize a liquid — similar to that found in fog machines –that sometimes contains nicotine. They are in danger of being banned in many jurisdictions acr ... Jump to full article >>

The retail display of cigarettes in a shop, with the packs often arrayed on shelves right behind the counter, is the last bastion of visual marketing, once, as is the case in many countries, media advertising is banned or severely restricted. Iceland was the first country in the world to implement a display ban, in August 2001. Tobacco products are kept in drawers or under the counter. Ireland was the first country in the EU to ban display, with ... Jump to full article >>

The use of menthol cigarettes is rising among adolescents and is “very high” among minority youth, a Food and Drug Administration advisory panel said in partial draft report released Monday. The Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee could make a recommendation about whether menthol flavoring should be banned. The panel’s report is due next week. Menthol cigarettes account for about 30% of total cigarette sales in the ... Jump to full article >>

CHICAGO (AP) — Sounding every bit the presidential candidate, Mississippi Gov. Haley Barbour used President Barack Obama’s hometown as a backdrop Monday to blame the Democrat for enacting policies that “created economic uncertainty or directly hurt the economy” — and argue that he could do better. “The policies embraced by this White House show little understanding of how our economy actually works,” Barbour tol ... Jump to full article >>