The end of a 15-year annual decline in the U.S. adult smoking rate proved disturbing to federal officials and anti-tobacco advocates. The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention estimated yesterday that 20.6 percent of adults — or 46 million Americans — smoked in 2008. The data came from the 2008 National Health interview survey of almost 22,000 adults. The peak of U.S. adult smokers was 53.5 million in 1983, or at 32.1 percent, a ... Jump to full article >>

Where do its millions go? Less to ads and grants, more to aggressive investments, big salaries … and the CEO’s house. The American Legacy Foundation is a rare example of a public charity being born with a silver spoon. Even before it began operating in 1999, the foundation was bequeathed more than $1 billion from the settlement of a massive lawsuit brought by the attorneys general of 46 states against the country’s major tobacco companies ... Jump to full article >>