Fighting tobacco in the political arena has proven to be a tough battle for those countries attempting it. As cigarettes and tobacco products are not actually illegal, governments that have wished to reduce smoking through regulation have been forced to seek alternative measures, such as heavy taxes and requiring tobacco companies to label their products with warnings of the addictive properties and dangerous health effects of tobacco use. Re ... Jump to full article >>

The New Hampshire Supreme Court is weighing the question, “What is a cigarette?” Retailer North of the Border Tobacco drew the attention of state investigators in 2009, when it installed machines that can roll 200 cigarettes in 10 minutes. Customers buy loose tobacco and rolling tubes from the retailer’s store and then pay to use the machines. State lawyers argue customers leave with cigarettes that didn’t exist when the ... Jump to full article >>

St. Cloud State University students approved a plan that could make their campus tobacco free by August 2012. The issue passed with 63 percent approving and 37 percent voting against the plan. The students voted Monday through Wednesday, and the results were announced today at a Student Government meeting. The approval of the tobacco-free campus plan essentially is a recommendation to President Earl H. Potter III, who has final say over whether ... Jump to full article >>

A Commonwealth Court judge on Thursday denied a petition to freeze millions in tobacco-settlement money that had been paying for a health-insurance program but that Gov. Tom Corbett is now directing to the state’s general fund. Pennsylvania is expected to get an estimated $370 million in tobacco-settlement funds, and a portion of it was to help pay for adultBasic, which provided health insurance for people who do not qualify for Medicaid b ... Jump to full article >>

Their efforts to be healthier hit them in the bank account! The Better Business Bureau warns that complaints are rolling in across the country against Direct E-Cig smokelss cigarettes. This warning just out–and how you can file a complaint: Consumers who tried to take advantage of “free” Internet offers for smokeless cigarettes say they were burned by unexpected charges that totaled $100 or more, the Better Business Bureau (BBB) warns ... Jump to full article >>

Herter 227 lecture hall was filled to the breaking point with occupants, as one student after another voiced their staunch opposition to the “Tobacco-Free UMass Amherst” policy. Regardless, the Faculty Senate has proven yet again its blatant disregard for the will of the student body, endorsing the policy with a vote of 14-to-7. Not one single student, smoker or non-smoker, spoke in favor of the policy. Generally, the University of Massachu ... Jump to full article >>

Worcester is close to becoming the ninth city in the state to ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products in pharmacies and drug stores. After weeks of debate, Tuesday city council members voted to give initial approval on some controversial changes. One would ban the sale of so called ‘blunt wrappers’ in the city. Another would prohibit tobacco advertising in any store window that is in public view. The other amendments w ... Jump to full article >>

WEST PALM BEACH — Mary Tullo was convinced her husband’s life was cut short by the greed of cigarette-makers. On Wednesday, a Palm Beach County jury agreed, ordering three tobacco giants to pay the 87-year-old Lake Worth widow $2.47 million for causing the 1998 death of her husband from lung cancer. A stunned Mary Tullo hugged her attorneys and cried. “My children,” she said of why she pursued the case. “I wanted to gi ... Jump to full article >>

BELLINGHAM — An inmate in the Whatcom County Jail was charged Monday, April 11, for allegedly breaking out a window in his cell in March to smuggle in marijuana and tobacco. Daniel J. Faix, 26, allegedly broke a 4-inch by 4-foot hole in the window, which is on the jail’s second floor 23 feet above ground. He then fashioned bed sheets into a rope, which he used to bring the contraband into his cell, according to charging documents filed in Wh ... Jump to full article >>

Senate budget writers voted Thursday afternoon to liquidate an endowment containing more than $400 million of Texas’ tobacco-settlement money and give the money to 10 academic health science centers, including the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center at Dallas. The centers would take a 15 percent cut in their state funding in the proposed two-year budget, said Senate Finance Committee Chairman Steve Ogden, R-Bryan. He said the ... Jump to full article >>