More than two years after the start of a natural gas drilling boom, Pennsylvania is making public a complete list of the chemicals used to extract the gas from deep underground amid rising public fears of potential water contamination and increased scrutiny of the fast-growing industry. Compounds associated with neurological problems, cancer and other serious health effects are among the chemicals being used to drill the wells, although state a ... Jump to full article >>

Pennsylvania remains the only state in the nation that doesn’t tax smokeless tobacco and one of only two that doesn’t tax cigars. Two Democratic lawmakers think it’s time for the state to surrender its membership in that exclusive club. Rep. Eugene DePasquale, D-York, has introduced House Bill 2405 to impose a tax on tobacco products not subject to the state’s tax on cigarettes and cigarillos. His bill would direct about ... Jump to full article >>

In Pennsylvania, it’s been more than a year since a smoking ban took effect in most businesses and public places and the law’s supporters welcome evidence that it will result in better health conditions. A major report, released by the Institute of Medicine last month, confirmed what health officials long have believed: Bans on smoking in restaurants, bars and other gathering spots reduce the risk of heart attacks among nonsmokers. & ... Jump to full article >>

Pennsylvania Governor Edward Rendell signed a $27.8 billion budget more than three months into the state’s fiscal year, ending the longest-running financing delay of any U.S. state. The plan, which the Senate approved yesterday and the House passed Oct. 7, raises cigarette taxes and permits gambling on poker, blackjack and other so-called table games at casinos, which were previously limited to slot machines. Lawmakers continue debating how mu ... Jump to full article >>

When it came to raising new sources of desperately needed revenue, stogies and chaw appeared to be the lowest-hanging fruit. Every other state imposes excise taxes on smokeless tobacco, and all but one other – Florida – do so on cigars. And the idea was widely popular in the Keystone State, public-opinion polls showed. So how did the ripe-for-the-picking products avoid being affected by the cornucopia of taxes that top lawmakers anno ... Jump to full article >>

Two Eastern Shore men were sentenced to probation Monday after pleading guilty in federal court to trafficking thousands of cartons of contraband cigarettes. Senel Cuce, 29, co-owner of the Sunrise Family Market and Pizzeria in Exmore, and his manager, Ali Riza Zulam, were placed on five months of home detention with electronic monitoring. Both immigrated here from Turkey. Zulam, 41, of Poc omoke City, Md., obtained permanent residency and is ma ... Jump to full article >>