Almost half of Victoria’s cigarette smokers still light up around children, despite an increase over the last decade in the number of homes that enforce a no-smoking policy. New research released today by the Cancer Council Victoria found significant improvement in the efforts of parents to keep tobacco smoke away from their kids. In 1998 just over half of surveyed households had home smoking bans, but in the latest survey just under three ... Jump to full article >>

Connecticut and other states are taking aim at electronic cigarettes, a battery-powered device with vaporized nicotine, officials said. “We’re actively investigating these companies and their products,” Connecticut Attorney General Richard Blumenthal told USA Today in a story published Monday. Public health officials in California, Oregon, New Hampshire and New Jersey said the smokeless devices are the latest thing in the toba ... Jump to full article >>

“I LOVE matches.” That’s how Dona Savitsky, a former smoker, accounted for the dainty tray of insignia matchboxes at the entrance to Flora, the restaurant she and a partner opened in Oakland, Calif., two years ago. The objects of her specific adoration are blue-and-silver boxes, shaped like a lipstick (also known in the trade as an ascot), each of which contains 22 blue-tipped wooden strikes. Bearing Flora’s Art Deco logo, the matchboxes ... Jump to full article >>

Two recent reports on the health impacts of public smoking bans reinforce the sound policy decision local elected officials made when they limited indoor smoking here in Beaufort County. Two separate analyses released last week found that the rate of heart attacks fell within a year after public smoking bans were put in place. In one analysis, the average rate of heart attacks fell 17 percent after one year. After three years, the rate fell abou ... Jump to full article >>

A study released Tuesday shows smoking bans have been linked to a drop in heart attacks. A poll shows more than 60 percent of the 400 registered voters who participated are in favor of a smoking ban. Topeka, KS (WIBW) – The odds seem to be stacking up for those in favor of a smoking ban in Topeka. A study was released Tuesday that links smoking bans to a drop in heart attacks. The study found a 26 percent drop after one year and a 36 perce ... Jump to full article >>

Pushing smokers outside drives down hospitalizations for heart attacks by about 17 percent in the first year and 36 percent after three years, according to an analysis of 13 studies looking at heart-attack rates after smoking bans. The analysis strengthens the studies’ individual findings, said coauthor James M. Lightwood. It also provides further support for government-mandated elimination of smoking in bars, restaurants and other public ... Jump to full article >>

THE two largest tobacco companies in the United States voluntarily stopped advertising cigarettes in magazines, with Philip Morris, whose brands include Marlboro cigarettes, ceasing in 2005 and R. J. Reynolds, whose brands include Camel, at the beginning of 2008. Now the Camel logo is back prominently in major glossies, including Rolling Stone, Sports Illustrated and Maxim — but not to advertise cigarettes. R. J. Reynolds is advertising Camel ... Jump to full article >>

COLUMBUS, Ohio — The state’s draconian enforcement of a two-year-old smoking ban is requiring bars to exercise near total control over the actionsof customers or risk fines during an already punishing economic climate, a conservative policy organization argues in a lawsuit. The outcome of the lawsuit, now before a state appeals court, could have ramifications for bars across the state, which have received more than 44,000 complaints from ... Jump to full article >>

OTTAWA — Fewer women are lighting up, but Canada’s smoking rate has flatlined in the last three years — a trend some blame on cheap illegal butts. New figures from Statistics Canada show 18% of Canadians reported smoking either every day or occasionally last year — about the same level as in 2005. “The rate of decline has slowed, and that’s because of the widespread inexpensive contraband cigarettes,” said Rob Cunningham, a policy ... Jump to full article >>

Most Definitive Study to Date Refutes Conclusions of Many Earlier Studies and Demonstrates Why These Studies Obtained Positive Findings A new study by researchers from the RAND Corporation, Congressional Budget Office, University of Wisconsin, and Stanford University is the first to examine the relationship between smoking bans and heart attack admissions and mortality trends in the entire nation, using national data. All previous U.S. studies o ... Jump to full article >>