Some Massachusetts towns have given up enforcing a law that decriminalized the possession of small amounts of marijuana, saying the law is written with too many loopholes to be effective. The law established a civil fine of $100 for those caught with an ounce or less of marijuana. That replaced what had been a criminal offense carrying a maximum penalty of six months in jail and a $500 fine, also for possession of an ounce or less of the drug. Bu ... Jump to full article >>

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LAST week it was announced that Michael Douglas has cancer. Lesley-Ann Jones believes his greatest allies as he fights the disease are his feisty wife Catherine and tough-guy father Kirk However good the Hollywood superstar’s cancer prognosis, however optimistic his specialists that he has what it takes to survive, what Michael Douglas has felt every day since his throat tumour diagnosis are the most basic of human instincts: fear and dread. De ... Jump to full article >>

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Nicotine addicts intimidated by the warnings and unsightly pictures on cigarette packages have new options available to them. The warning packages, produced due to government rules and regulations, are meant to deter consumers from smoking. Most of the pictures on cigarette packages belong to unhealthy people who claim they lost their health because of their addiction to cigarettes. The visual warnings, however, have allegedly caused problems, ac ... Jump to full article >>

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The number of U.S. movies showing people smoking has declined since 2005, but cigarettes still feature in far too many films and could be influencing young people to take up the habit, according to a report released Thursday. The report’s authors recommended that movie ratings also consider whether the film depicts smoking and suggested that strong advertisements about the dangers of smoking precede movies that show tobacco use. “The ... Jump to full article >>

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Representatives from all six nations of the Iroquois Confederacy emerged from a daylong conference here Wednesday to say they are forming a united front to resist state encroachment on their treaty rights. The participants offered no specifics about the options they might employ to counter state attempts to tax cigarettes sold on reservation land and restrict their commerce in other ways—aside from the lawsuits the nations already have filed on ... Jump to full article >>

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Three-quarters of Britons want smoking in cars carrying children to be banned, according to a poll. Many doctors already support such a ban. Professor Steve Field, chairman of the Royal College of General Practitioners, last week caused controversy when he said that parents who smoked in front of their young children were “committing a form of child abuse”. A YouGov poll for the UK Faculty of Public Health (FPH) found 74% support for ... Jump to full article >>

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