A tobacco tax loophole in President Barack Obama’s children’s health insurance program cost the government more than $250 million in its first year, public health officials say. The loophole allowed companies to avoid huge tax increases on loose rolling tobacco by relabeling their product as pipe tobacco. The simple marketing twist lets companies pay $2.83 per pound, rather than the $24.78 per pound levied on rolling tobacco. That pr ... Jump to full article >>

Children who sleep badly are more likely to take drugs and binge drink when they grow up, according to a study. Poor sleeping patterns in youth could also lead to drink driving, smoking and blackouts, researchers claim. They found that children who had trouble sleeping between the ages of three and five were more likely to sleep badly between the ages of 11 and 17. This in turn was linked to higher drug use between the ages of 18 and 21, the stu ... Jump to full article >>

No smoking around your daughter. That was a Warren County court’s order to a mother last December – and now an appeals court has sided with that ruling, taking the unusual step of using “judicial notice” to conclude that second-hand smoke is a danger to a child. In a decision that could apply to many other child-custody and visitation cases, the Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals in Middletown upheld the Warren courtR ... Jump to full article >>