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WELLINGTON:The New Zealand Medical Association (NZMA) warned on Saturday that smoking could cut your life short by 15 years. NZMA Acting Chairman Paul Ockelford said an international study on mortality from smoking estimates that worldwide, long-term smokers who die from a smoking-related illness, die an average of 15 years early. "What is often forgotten is the impact these deaths have on the people left behind. If you continue to smoke, your grandchildren might never get to know you, and you'll...  click here for full article>>>

Boston, MA As President Obama prepares to sign a bill giving the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) oversight of the tobacco industry, a new study from Harvard School of Public Health (HSPH) researchers shows that tobacco manufacturers have continually changed the ingredients and the design of their cigarettes over time, even if those changes have exceeded acceptable product variance guidelines. The result, say the researchers, is that consumers who buy the same brand of product are not made aware of...  click here for full article>>>

Youth, Health Groups to Take Studios to Task Online and on the Streets for Smoking in This Summer's Youth-Rated Films How many children will be exposed to smoking in G, PG and PG-13 movies this summer and start smoking because of it? Which studios will produce the most youth-rated films with tobacco imagery? These are questions that will be answered by a campaign this summer from the American Medical Association (AMA) Alliance, Los Angeles County Department of Public Health, and the California Youth...  click here for full article>>>

A study by Irish doctors claims passive smoking in vehicles gives rise to significant respiratory symptoms in children Irish doctors claim they have found evidence that exposure to “second-hand smoke” in cars is damaging children’s health. Their study isolated the effects of passive smoking in cars and found it gives rise to significant respiratory symptoms in children. Those exposed to cigarette smoke had a 35% increased risk of having wheeze symptoms and a 30% higher risk of hay fever. “This...  click here for full article>>>

Indianapolis - Youth from an Indiana anti-tobacco coalition will congregate in Downtown Indianapolis today to protest the depiction of smoking in movies as part of nationwide initiative. The “Don’t Glam Tobacco” demonstration will be at 6 p.m. on the corner of Illinois and Maryland streets, where kids will hold up signs and wear gas masks to show their opposition to smoking in G, PG and PG-13 movies. Advertisement Text alerts: Want to be instantly in the know when big local news breaks? Click here to get free...  click here for full article>>>

NY - Posted by Alaina Potrikus / The Post-Standard March 02, 2009 12:42PM Categories: Madison County A group of Madison County students is hoping to change the way Hollywood makes its movies. Members of Tobacco-Free Madison County and Reality Check have been visiting county officials this month, asking them to pass a resolution that calls on the movie industry to require an "R" rating for movies that depict smoking. The students make their calls armed with the following statistics: • Each year an...  click here for full article>>>

Secondhand smoke, once considered a mere nuisance, has proved to be far more harmful. It can lead to lung cancer and heart disease, exacerbate asthma and cause pneumonia and bronchitis in babies. Now, a new study links it to another serious condition: dementia in adults. A study published Feb. 13 in the British Medical Journal found a significant increase in the risk of dementia and other forms of cognitive impairment in people over 50 who have been exposed to high levels of secondhand smoke. (See...  click here for full article>>>

ScienceDaily (Jan. 29, 2009) — Tobacco marketing in South Korea has been deliberately aimed at girls and young women. New research has shown that transnational tobacco companies (TTCs) are using tactics long used with devastating effect in Western countries to snare new female smokers in Asia. Kelley Lee from the London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine led a team of researchers who studied internal documents from the tobacco industry that reveal the scheme to seduce a generation of girls. She...  click here for full article>>>

London, CA - New law aimed at fighting effects of second-hand smoke Smoking's harm goes straight to the heart, lungs and loved ones Cops won't rush to enforce ban  A Sarnia-area woman is charged under a new law banning smoking in cars with children under 16-years-old on board. Lambton OPP said a van was stopped last Saturday at a R.I.D.E. checkpoint and an officer spotted a 29-year-old woman from Camlachie and a 19-year-old woman smoking inside with the windows closed, despite carrying five young...  click here for full article>>>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - Adolescents whose parents smoke are more likely to pick up the habit themselves, new research confirms. The effect was particularly strong if young people were exposed to a parent's tobacco use before their teen years, Dr. Stephen E. Gilman of the Harvard School of Public Health in Boston and his colleagues found. But they also found that in children of ex-smokers "that risk goes away if parents quit," Gilman explained in an interview. While there is mounting evidence that...  click here for full article>>>

Kodiak - The Kodiak Walmart has had its license to sell tobacco suspended for about a month, because it illegally sold tobacco to a minor. As a result, Walmart plans to implement an I.D.-all policy statewide for all tobacco and alcohol sales, and retrain Walmart employees at the Kodiak store.   Jennifer Spall, Walmart's public affairs officer for Alaska, said the Kodiak incident was a result of human error on the part of a Walmart cashier. Kodiak resident and Walmart shopper Ashley McClusky, who is not a...  click here for full article>>>

NY - For New York Governor David Paterson, there was no good option. Faced with a crushing state deficit, angry American Indians, and uncooperative tobacco companies, Paterson on December 15 signed into law a bill designed to take on one of America’s most lucrative black markets: the underground trade in cigarettes flowing through the state’s 10 Indian reservations. Tobacco Underground HomeNew York’s 70-year-old tobacco black market exploded after 2002, as cigarette tax hikes encouraged smuggling from out...  click here for full article>>>

IT used to be that smoking was seen as basically a male habit, and that women who smoked were generally frowned upon. Not anymore, as the tobacco industry’s aggressive marketing and communication strategy had, by the 1920s, focused its attention on women taking on the habit, making a pitch for the then-rising clamor for equality with men as the linchpin of a campaign that made women equally vulnerable to the dangers of smoking. Smoking can and does kill. The World Health Organization estimates...  click here for full article>>>

Fairmont (WV) - FAIRMONT,WVa -  November 23, 2008 01:47 am  - A smokeless tobacco product being test marketed in all Sheetz stores, including those in North Central West Virginia, can give a consumer at least as much nicotine as a cigarette and is targeted toward a wider range of tobacco users, including women. That does not please state anti-smoking officials, who are already worried about smokeless tobacco habits that can begin as young as age 13 or 14, usually in boys. West Virginia has the highest rate of...  click here for full article>>>

The less-hooked may have already quit, leaving 'hard-core' group behind, experts sayBy Steven ReinbergHealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Oct. 28 (HealthDay News) Almost 75 percent of current smokers trying to kick the habit are now highly nicotine-dependent, which is a 15-year high, a new study finds. In fact, nicotine dependence has risen 12 percent from 1989 to 2006, and the number of highly nicotine-dependent people has gone up 32 percent, according to research expected to be presented Tuesday at the...  click here for full article>>>

Geneva - The World Health Organisation and anti-smoking activists on Monday unveiled a "death clock" tracking how many people will die from tobacco use to mark a new campaign against the illicit tobacco trade. The "death clock," which shows the number of tobacco-related deaths since the WHO Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) negotiations began in October 1999, stood at just under the 40 million mark at the unveiling. The WHO said it expects tobacco to kill more than 5 million people this year ...  click here for full article>>>

The New York Times - People who remember when tobacco advertising was a prominent part of the media landscape — and others who recall what they learned in Marketing 101 — probably recollect that actors like Barbara Stanwyck and athletes like Mickey Mantle routinely endorsed cigarettes. But how about doctors and other medical professionals, proclaiming the merits of various cigarette brands? Or politicians? What about cartoon characters in cigarette ads? Or children? Babies? Even Santa Claus? Those images — some...  click here for full article>>>

By Kristi HeimSeattle Times staff reporterBEIJING — Chinese fans are watching the Olympics on TV, puffing on cigarettes in a smoke-filled bar. Suddenly, when the Chinese team scores, they crush out their cigarettes and jump up to cheer."Love China," says a message on the screen. "Increase patriotism even more. Love a smoke-free Olympics."That public-service advertisement was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, targeting TV viewers in China during the Olympics. It's part of a new initiative...  click here for full article>>>

Advocates Say School Air Quality and Tobacco Bans Should Be as Standardized as MathBy LAUREN COXABC News Medical UnitAug. 15, 2008 Most state school rankings tout the schools that offer the best education or college sports or low cost. But one health group advocate thinks that asthma and allergies should get a state ranking list too. After years of taking calls from concerned parents or school administrators, the Asthma and Allergy Foundation of America or AAFA noticed that "some states are just better...  click here for full article>>>

By Eric EyreStaff writerWest Virginia's youngest and poorest children are twice as likely to be exposed to secondhand smoke in their homes as other low-income kids in the United States, according to a report released Tuesday. More than 23 percent of West Virginia infants and toddlers enrolled in the Women, Infants and Children (WIC) supplemental nutrition program lived in homes where parents or caregivers smoked last year, the state's Office of Nutritional Services reported. The national average for WIC...  click here for full article>>>

Newswise — Parents who enforce no-smoking rules at home are less likely to have teens who experiment with cigarettes, a new study finds.“This basic intervention — implementing a household smoking ban — has the potential to promote antismoking norms and to prevent adolescent smoking,” said lead study author Alison Albers, Ph.D., an assistant professor at Boston University School of Public Health.Albers and colleagues interviewed 2,217 Massachusetts adolescents ages 12 to 17, and followed them for four...  click here for full article>>>

By RICARDO ALONSO-ZALDIVAR Associated Press Writer A loophole in a sweeping tobacco regulation bill would give the industry a 21-month window to introduce certain new products without first getting federal approval.The House last month overwhelmingly passed the legislation, which for the first time would empower federal public health authorities to regulate tobacco. Some tobacco foes say the bill's 21-month escape clause would let companies start marketing cigarettes and other products in the...  click here for full article>>>

By MELISSA MOODYAs more cities in Southern Indiana and Kentucky go smoke-free, Clarksville is becoming an island for smokers and establishments that cater to them. But a new study conducted by the University of Kentucky College of nursing shows that it may not be in the best interest for Clarksville businesses and residents.Indoor air pollution was found to be nearly 10 times higher in four Clarksville restaurants and one bar than across the river in comparable eateries that are now smoke-free. The...  click here for full article>>>

By MIREYA NAVARROOVER the last 10 years, Jamey Heath, a songwriter and producer, has adjusted to an increasingly nonsmoking world and put up with the indignities.Smokers like him have become outnumbered in the music industry. He has seen restaurants shut down their smoking sections and cities shun him as persona non grata, even in the open air. These days he is reduced to smoking his Salem Lights in his car or on his front porch, in deference to his nonsmoking wife and two children.But a governmental ban...  click here for full article>>>

The Gear Store is up and running! It's on the Raze Room page. Get Active. Earn points. Get stuff!  click here for full article>>>

Raze News - Write some stellar lyrics.Win some serious cash. Write a catchy tune about the evils of Big Tobacco and you could win up to $500 in cash. Here’s how it works:· Write a song that fits the theme “Tear Down Tobacco Lies.”· Record that song and send us an mp3 or CD, along with the text of the lyrics (see contact info below)· Our judges will sort through the entries and pick a winner and a runner-up· The winner will receive $500—runner-up gets $250 Here’s what you need to know:• We WON...  click here for full article>>>

The U.S. government's new tobacco regulations spell out the words, size and color of new cigarette warning labels but despite much publicity about tough new warnings, don't expect to see any for three years. Some public-health advocates worry it's a sign that federal action to cut smoking will come only slowly and cautiously a concern they'd had ever since the nation's No. 1 cigarette-maker, Henrico County-based Philip Morris USA, came out for regulation nearly a decade ago. The new law requires...  click here for full article>>>

Have you ever wanted to make a difference? I have and I do. I have been an active participant in Reality Check for the past two years. Reality Check is a movement made up of teens from every county in New York State who want to tell the tobacco industry that if they think they can keep targeting New York teens without any resistance, then they are the ones that need a reality check. Reality Check conducts activities and projects to help teens make more informed decisions about tobacco use. The...  click here for full article>>>

BILLINGS (AP) — A dog named after a popular brand of smokeless tobacco alerted its owner to a weekend fire started by discarded cigarettes. Channing Leibrand, who lives in a trailer in the Casa Village neighborhood, says he awoke early Sunday afternoon to the sounds of barking from his dog, named Copenhagen. Smelling smoke, he broke down a roommate’s locked bedroom door to urge him to leave the burning structure. The roommate suffered second- and third-degree burns after trying to re-enter the...  click here for full article>>>

...Quit trying to hook our teens on smoking - President Barack Obama's signature on a bill to grant the FDA authority to regulate tobacco was a historic step that could eliminate tobacco use in the US by 2047. To save themselves, tobacco companies are still trying desperately to hook teens on smoking. They know that major genetic risk for lifelong nicotine dependence can be suppressed if young people avoid daily smoking before age 17. The tobacco industry knows exactly what makes social smokers...  click here for full article>>>

ATHENS - Greece, Europe’s heaviest smoking nation, will try to kick the habit by banning tobacco in indoor public places beginning July 1, but many doubt the ban will work. Greece breaks all European records with more than 40 percent of the population smoking and six out of 10 being exposed to smoking at work, according to a European Union poll. “We can’t take it anymore. Where I work there are so many smokers,’’ said Elisavet Vasileiadou, 55, a shoe-store employee in central Athens. “I hope the...  click here for full article>>>

Smokers are putting off quitting because they are stressed out by the economic downturn, according to a report. With British people worrying about their job security, paying their bills and putting food on the table, almost a quarter of smokers (23%) said they are delaying plans to kick the habit, and 28% of them believe they have been too stressed to make a successful attempt to quit in the last six months. Jennifer Percival, Tobacco Policy Advisor at the Royal College of Nursing, London, said: ...  click here for full article>>>

Tianjin, China - At only two-and-a-half years old, this toddler has been smoking for more than a year and says he enjoys the feeling of blowing smoke, the Bohai Morning Post reports. Tong Liangliang, who is from Shandong Province and is now living with his parents in Tianjin, smokes at least a pack of cigarettes every day. Liangliang was born with a hernia, which is caused by a piece of tissue or organ squeezing through a hole in the muscle or membrane in which it was normally contained. Liangliang is too young to...  click here for full article>>>

Charleston - CHARLESTON, W.Va. A new tobacco control law that requires more disclosure of ingredients, restricts advertising and regulates fruit and candy flavors in products is an essential move toward improving health in West Virginia, state tobacco prevention officials say. "Tobacco use kills more than 3,800 West Virginians every year, and so many more are ill or sick because of their addiction to nicotine," said Bruce Adkins, director of the state Division of Tobacco Prevention. "This bill is going to help...  click here for full article>>>

Charleston - CHARLESTON, W.Va. Illegal tobacco sales to underage customers have increased in West Virginia, a situation tobacco foes say could eventually cost the state millions in federal grant money. The latest Synar Report submitted to the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services shows that about 17.9 percent of 458 retailers subject to random inspections sold tobacco products to minors. That's up from about 14.2 percent the previous year. The Synar reports, named for an Oklahoma congressman, are part...  click here for full article>>>

A local teenager was a witness to history today. He stood beside President Obama when he signs a new bill governing tobacco products. This isn't 18 year old Kyle Peavley's first trip to Washington D.C.. but it will likely be he most memorable. Peavley has been an anti-tobacco activist for seven years. The Edgewood High School graduate tells our partners at the Middletown Journal, the occasion is payoff for many years of hard work. The Trenton resident started his fight against tobacco at age 11...  click here for full article>>>

Research led by scientists in India suggests there is a direct link between smoking and brain damage whereby a compound in tobacco that turns into a cancer-causing chemical once it has been through the body's metabolism, triggers white blood cells in the brain's immune system to attack healthy brain cells. The study is the work of lead investigators Debapriya Ghosh and Dr Anirban Basu from the Indian National Brain Research Center (NBRC) and was published online on 2 June in the Journal of...  click here for full article>>>

Santa Monica - Not so long ago, pitches for cigarettes were practically everywhere. It was difficult to miss or avoid radio and television commercials, print advertisements, billboards, signs in stores, direct mail and other blandishments for brands peddled by American Tobacco, Liggett & Myers, Lorillard, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds. Today, restrictions have significantly reduced that flood of ads, and a new federal law will limit them further. What are far more common nowadays are campaigns that...  click here for full article>>>

President Obama knows all too well how difficult it is to quit smoking, and today he addressed his struggle to kick the habit just before signing a law he hopes will help other people put out their cigarettes too. The president signs an anti-smoking bill, giving FDA more authority to regulate. "Each day, 1,000 young people under the age of 18 become new, regular, daily smokers, and almost 90 percent of all smokers began at or before their 18th birthday," Obama said today. "I know. I was one of these...  click here for full article>>>

Reporting from Washington Invoking his own personal experience as a teenage smoker, President Obama today predicted that a tough new law cracking down on cigarette marketers will help young people make the choice not to take up the habit with which he has struggled for years. As he signed the measure into law in a Rose Garden ceremony this afternoon, Obama said it would help stem the "constant and insidious barrage of advertising" that draws millions of teenagers every year into a lifelong struggle...  click here for full article>>>

(CNN) In the 1960s and 1970s, Big Tobacco was widely viewed as the model for effective special-interest lobbying. "My own view is that in many ways, the tobacco industry invented the kind of special-interest lobbying that has become so characteristic of the late 20th- and earlier 21st-century American politics," said Allan Brandt, dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The industry was known for its giant spending on political campaigns and effective lobbyists. The industry's...  click here for full article>>>

BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - State Farm Insurance's locations around the country will become smoke-free at the start of 2010, but not its agents' offices. Spokesman Jeff McCollum says the Bloomington-based insurer wants to both protect workers and increase productivity. The new policy will mean employees and others also won't be able to light up in company parking lots or other outdoor areas. Workers will have to leave company property altogether. McCollum says State Farm agents and independent...  click here for full article>>>

Andrea Scott says she would never throw a candy wrapper on the ground. “Littering is one of my pet peeves, and I always told my kids they’d be in big trouble if I catch them doing it,” said Ms. Scott, a 43-year-old financial executive, as she sat outside an office tower on Michigan Avenue in Chicago on a recent sunny afternoon. “I see people throw stuff out their car windows, and I cringe.” Yet she confesses that she routinely discards cigarette butts on the sidewalk. For her and countless other...  click here for full article>>>

Washington - Former tobacco industry researcher teaches kids about nicotine dangers GRANGER, Wash. Next time you warn kids to not smoke, try holding a frozen human brain in your hand. That's what Victor DeNoble did Tuesday while speaking to Granger Middle School students about the dangers of smoking. In fact, with a mad-scientist grin, the former researcher for the Philip Morris Tobacco Co., brought out three brains one from a rat, one from a chimpanzee and one from a person as he described the addictive...  click here for full article>>>

LA - LOS ANGELES, California (CNN) Smoking in youth-rated movies has not declined despite a pledge two years ago by Hollywood studios to encourage producers to show less "gratuitous smoking," according to an anti-smoking group. The American Medical Association Alliance has been trying to get movie studios to make smoking-free films. The American Medical Association Alliance, pointing to research that big-screen smoking leads teens to pick up the tobacco habit, called for an R rating for any movie with...  click here for full article>>>

A group of Vernon Hills High School students is urging the Vernon Hills Park District to consider a tobacco-free ordinance for local parks. Several Vernon Hills students who are members of the Lake County chapter of the Reality Illinois tobacco prevention group made a presentation to the Vernon Hills Park District Board regarding their desire to see a smoking ban in outdoor public parks. Vernon Hills Park Board President David Doerhoefer called the youth presentation "phenomenal" and said the board...  click here for full article>>>

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) – High school students who smoke cigarettes and try to quit often fail, health officials warn. "Despite their relatively short smoking histories, many adolescents who smoke are nicotine dependent, and such dependence can lead to daily smoking," investigators with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) write in the agency's weekly bulletin on illnesses and deaths. The new findings come from the Youth Risk Behavior Survey, an initiative of the CDC that...  click here for full article>>>

Washington A tobacco-packed mint being test-marketed in Ohio is firing up congressional calls for tobacco industry regulation. Joe Camel's inventors are selling Camel Orbs in Columbus and several other test markets. Made of ground tobacco, they're the size of small breath mints and are packaged in metal tins that look like mint containers. They dissolve in the mouth, like candy, but pack a nicotine punch. Tobacco companies say "Orbs" and other newly introduced tobacco products are sold only to adults,...  click here for full article>>>

MARTINSBURG - Fans attending the West Virginia University vs. DePaul men's basketball game not only experienced fun and a game, they also saw some RAZE crews talking about tobacco. Hedgesville Middle School and Hedgesville, Martinsburg and Keyser high school students educated the audience by displaying a number of signs showing tobacco facts during a timeout. The students are members of the schools' teen-oriented RAZE group. RAZE is a statewide led youth movement for tearing down the lies of big tobacco....  click here for full article>>>

Charleston - CHARLESTON The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department is stepping up it's game when it comes to the Clean Indoor Air Regulation. During Tuesday's board of health meeting, the board discussed two separate incidents back on April 13 where sanatarians doing rounds were verbally threatened at establishments. The Executive Director will now seek assistance from both Charleston Police and the Sheriff's Office to be accompanied on evening rounds. Last year, the Kanawha-Charleston Health Department...  click here for full article>>>

I Quit Program begins April 15 in Partnership with the American Lung Association, www.smokefreesandiego.org and the 1-800-NO-BUTTS California Smokers' Helpline SAN DIEGO, April 14 /PRNewswire/ With the largest federal tax on tobacco in American history taking affect April 1 this year, many San Diegans may have an extra incentive to finally quit smoking. BODY WORLDS, in partnership with the American Lung Association's www.smokefreesandiego.org website, launches I Quita smoking cessation program...  click here for full article>>>

ScienceDaily (Feb. 6, 2009) — Teenagers who smoke could be setting themselves up for depression later in life, according to a groundbreaking new Florida State University study. Psychology Professor Carlos Bolanos and a team of researchers found that nicotine given to adolescent rats induced a depression-like state characterized by a lack of pleasure and heightened sensitivity to stress in their adult lives. The findings suggest that the same may be true for humans. "This study is unique because...  click here for full article>>>

Taken from E! News Seems like uncleanliness isn't the only vice going on up in Vancouver. We're told by one of the New Moon castmembers that their bonding sesh's not only include homemade dinners, but also group chain smoking. But guess what they're all so busy puffing away on? "Just plain ol' cigarettes," said a Twilight hanger-on. "But, like, tons of them." As for the human-chimney thing the cast has goin' down (or up): Look, don't you think these kids are a tad young to be blazing it up...  click here for full article>>>

Wooden crosses filled the front lawn at E.C. Glass High School on Wednesday, part of a vivid display against tobacco use to mark the 14th annual Kick Butts Day. The crosses, along with tombstones and a casket, represented the number of people who die each day in the U.S. from tobacco and secondhand smoke. The display, part of a statewide and nationwide effort by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, included a proclamation by Lynchburg Mayor Joan Foster at an afternoon news conference that also...  click here for full article>>>

by Karl Greenberg,    Late this month, the youth-focused, anti-smoking program of the American Legacy Foundation, "Truth," will air five video vignettes on MTV that show the dangers of tobacco use and castigate the marketing tactics of the tobacco industry. The ads, with an "Infects 2009" theme, extend the foundation's nine-year-old campaign. This is also the first in a series of campaigns this year by the Washington, D.C., organization. The videos are executed with an impromptu...  click here for full article>>>

By Kathleen M. Register Introduction Every beach-goer has seen them—cigarette butts littering the shore. Beyond being unsightly, does cigarette litter present a threat to organisms? This article summarizes research conducted to determine if the compounds in discarded cigarette butts (the filters and remnant tobacco) are biohazards to the water flea (Daphnia magna). Short-term bioassays (48 hours) using the water flea as the test organism were conducted. The results indicate that the chemicals released...  click here for full article>>>

If you thought stained, dirty cigarette butts weren’t good for much of anything, you’ll be surprised to see how Chile-based designer Guerrero Mantis transformed them into colorful and sassy clothing and accessories. Developed as a part of a graduate thesis, this project uses dyed cigarette butts collected from bars, streets and restaurants. From Green Upgrader: Cigarette butts present a threat to wildlife. Cigarette filters have been found in the stomachs of fish, birds, whales and other marine...  click here for full article>>>

Each week, EarthFirst.com will be featuring a new ‘Change Agent’ from Changents.com, a social media site that connects people who are doing good in the world with a support system of advocates, donors, publicity generators and fans. This week we’re putting the spotlight on Mike Davis, a change agent who’s fighting to turn millions of chemical-filled discarded cigarette butts into cigarette collection bins. That’s right, he’s pushing the ‘Responsible Smokers Act’, which seeks to educate the public...  click here for full article>>>

Cigarettes are bad, mmkay? Of course, you already know that. You’re bombarded with it practically every day due to the last decade or so of efforts to educate the public about how harmful cigarettes are. That doesn’t stop most of you from doing it, though. Chances are, if you’re a smoker, you choose to ignore it and go about your daily cigarette-smoking life – because it’s your life, right? Sound familiar? Well, if you care about the environment, perhaps you should rethink your ‘it’s my decision’ stance....  click here for full article>>>

Wrinkly skin, breathlessness and a chesty cough are regularly associated with heavy smoking. They can belie a person's age by making someone seem older than they actually are. But until now, scientists have known little about the biological mechanisms that appear to accelerate the ageing process. Professor William MacNee from the University of Edinburgh has been investigating chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD) that is usually caused by smoking and other environmental pollutants. COPD...  click here for full article>>>

Long before the Heartland Institute was in the business of organizing events like the "International Climate Change Conference"being held next week in New York, they were hard at work trying to minimize the negative public perception that second-hand tobacco smoke was bad for your health. With that kind of past how could the media take the Heartland Institute and their upcoming climate conference seriously? Heartland could have easily played the role of the "Academy of Tobacco Studies" in the movie...  click here for full article>>>

Nicotine patches and gum, designed to help smokers quit, may be hazardous to your health. The finding is reported in the March 27 print issue of the Journal of the American Chemical Society, a peer-reviewed publication of the American Chemical Society, the worlds largest scientific society. The article was published initially March 8 on the journals Web site. Widely believed to be safe, the patches and gum deliver nicotine to the system to quell the bodys craving for it. But researchers at The...  click here for full article>>>

Yasumasa Kanasugi / Yomiuri Shimbun Staff Writer An increasing number of famous temples that attract large numbers of visitors have banned smoking throughout their premises, echoing antismoking measures adopted by public facilities in recent years. While some people welcome the bans, saying they are a sign of the times, others insist they are not in keeping with Buddha's teachings. No-smoking signs are conspicuous at the Sotoshu sect's Koganji templepopularly known as Toge-nuki Jizo-sonin the...  click here for full article>>>

Author: Will Dunham, 996-2006 Use of snuff and chewing tobacco by U.S. adolescent boys, particularly in rural areas, has surged this decade, a federal agency said in a report on Thursday that raised concern among tobacco control advocates. The use of such smokeless tobacco products increases the risk of oral cancer as well as heart disease and stroke. It leads to nicotine addiction just like cigarette smoking. The report by the U.S. Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services...  click here for full article>>>

By Marilyn Elias, USA TODAY Secondhand smoke not only can irritate your lungs, it also apparently can blacken your mood as well, a large study reports today. Non-smokers exposed to cigarette smoke at home or work are more than twice as likely as those not exposed to have major depression, according to a report at the American Psychosomatic Society meeting in Chicago. It's believed to be the first U.S. study tying secondhand smoke to depression; another in Japan came up with a similar conclusion....  click here for full article>>>

Charleston - CHARLESTON, W.Va. (AP) West Virginia's tax on cigarettes would more than double and restaurant patrons would know exactly how many calories are in their meals under a pair of proposals billed as the first step toward a major reorganization of health care in the state. A bill introduced in the Senate on Tuesday would raise the tax on cigarettes from 55 cents to $1.20 a pack, with half the revenue going toward treatment and prevention of chronic illnesses. Its companion would require chain...  click here for full article>>>

By Jacqui Goddard Last updated at 6:24 PM on 03rd March 2009 A male model who became the iconic face of Winston cigarettes has died of lung cancer. Alan Landers, who was known as the Winston Man, lost his battle with the disease just one month before he was due to testify in court against cigarette manufacturer RJ Reynolds. The 68-year-old had led a multi-million dollar crusade against the tobacco industry, four decades after he first appeared on billboards and in magazine adverts across the U...  click here for full article>>>

Nicotine Pills Packaged As Breath Mints PORTLAND, Ore. Some critics in Portland are up in arms over a new tobacco product that they say looks too much like a mint, and that packs more nicotine than most cigarettes. Orbs Dissolvable Tobacco is being test marketed in Portland and several other cities by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco. It began to appear in some Portland area convenience stores last month, along with promotional materials. The pellets of what Reynolds calls dissolvable tobacco look...  click here for full article>>>

Concord tobacco plant to close in 2010; Cabarrus County as eager as company to find suitor for 2,100 acres. Philip Morris USA continues to move ahead with plans to sell its 2,100 Concord acres, once its plant closes in 2010. That sale could be a pivotal moment for Cabarrus County's economy. “We think it is one of the keys to the Cabarrus County economic recovery,” said John Cox, CEO of the Cabarrus Regional Chamber and of Cabarrus Economic Development. “We are really hoping that this can turn...  click here for full article>>>

Fires and burn injuries often result A woman smoking a cigarette while hooked up to an oxygen supply set herself on fire early Friday and badly burned her lower body, Middletown fire officials said. Advertisement It was the third such fire in Middletown this year, and a frightening illustration of the power of nicotine, experts say. "To me, it's a sign of how incredibly addictive tobacco smoke is," said Robert Anthenelli, director of the Tristate Tobacco and Alcohol Research Center at the...  click here for full article>>>

Youths prefer living quarters without puffers once they move on, study finds FRIDAY, Feb. 27 (HealthDay News) Teens who live in homes with smoking bans are apt to choose a similar living arrangement when they move into their own place, a new study has found. Researchers from the Boston University School of Public Health tracked 693 adolescents, 12 to 17 years old at the start of the study. Eventually, all the youths moved out of their parents' houses and lived independently, some at colleges or...  click here for full article>>>

State Rep. Tyrone Yates of Cincinnati has proposed increasing taxes on non-cigarette tobacco products as an attempt to help the state during tough economic times. During a budget hearing on Wednesday, Yates proposed making the tax on non-cigarette products equal to that of the tax on cigarettes. Cigarettes are currently taxed at 55% of the wholesale price, while smokeless tobacco is taxed at just 17%. Ohio Gov. Ted Strickland's budget director said his administration would be willing to give the...  click here for full article>>>

Charleston - CHARLESTON, W.Va. (WSAZ) A Kanawha County Magistrate found a bar owner guilty of violating the county's smoking ban. Kerry Ellison, the owner of the Blackhawk Saloon was in court Wednesday. He's accused of blatantly defying Kanawha County's smoking ban. "I wish I had customers that came in as frequently as (the health department)," Ellison told the magistrate during opening statements. Ellison pleaded not guilty. He didn't have a lawyer with him at the hearing so he presented opening statements...  click here for full article>>>

LOS ANGELES — Angry at Warner Brothers over images of cigarettes in the comedy “He’s Just Not That Into You,” an arm of the American Medical Association is demanding that the studio step up its policing of tobacco images on screen. The American Medical Association Alliance said it intends to lodge an official complaint on Thursday with Warner Brothers and its corporate parent, Time Warner, over “disturbing images of specific cigarette brands in this youth-rated movie,” said Melissa Walthers, director...  click here for full article>>>

Smokers are more likely to quit smoking for the sake of their pets' health than they are for their own, suggests research published ahead of print in Tobacco Control. The published evidence shows that second hand tobacco smoke can be as dangerous for pets as it is for the non-smoking partners of smokers. Exposure to it has been associated with lymph gland, nasal, and lung cancers; allergies; eye and skin diseases; as well as respiratory problems in cats and dogs. But few smokers realise what impact...  click here for full article>>>

OLYMPIA ¾ The number of Washington retailers illegally selling tobacco to minors has tripled since 2006, according to a new report. The annual rate of illegal sales was about 15 percent in 2008. That’s up from nine percent in 2007 and five percent in 2006. The state Department of Health (www.doh.wa.gov) is working with other state and local agencies to expand the effort to make sure retailers know what’s expected of them — along with the penalties they face for violating the law. “This is...  click here for full article>>>

A Charleston bar that has openly defied Kanawha County's expanded smoking ban won't face any disciplinary action until later this month, state and county officials said today. The Blackhawk Saloon faces two misdemeanor charges for smoking ban violations in Kanawha County Magistrate Court on Feb. 25. The Kanawha-Charleston Health Department and state Alcohol Beverage Control Administration are awaiting the outcome of that hearing before deciding whether to suspend the bar's health permit and liquor...  click here for full article>>>

Salem - SALEM — Lawmakers heard testimony this week from a coalition of state health organizations asking the Legislature to ban the distribution of free tobacco samples. Tobacco companies that are not allowed to give away cigarettes have, instead, taken to handing out samples of chewing tobacco and flavored mini-cigars. The issue is not a widespread problem, but health organizations have asked legislators to address the practice before it becomes one. Washington already has a ban prohibiting companies from...  click here for full article>>>

Smoking opponents who pushed for Minnesota's statewide ban on smoking in bars and restaurants are now taking their fight to a new level. Legislation expected to be introduced today would ban smoking in vehicles when children are riding along. Rep. Nora Slawik, a Maplewood Democrat, is the bill's author in the House. She said versions of it have passed in California, Arkansas, Louisiana and Maine. She says she's concerned about the children. The bill would make smoking while driving with children a moving...  click here for full article>>>

NY - The city's buy-and-bust program targeting stores that sell cigarettes to minors lacks a vital ingredient - teenage ingenuity. An enterprising teen who questioned the city's claim last year that only 11 percent of bodegas sold tobacco to kids under 18 has produced a study that shows the figure as being five times as high. Bronx HS of Science senior Hayden Miller said the city's undercover Teen Tobacco Enforcement Program, which is run out of the Department of Consumer Affairs, lacks real-world...  click here for full article>>>

Latest Campaign Continues Successful Web Presence Washington, DC; January 22, 2009 – This month, truth®, the nation’s largest youth smoking prevention campaign, rolls out new elements designed to educate teens on the health and social consequences of smoking and to make it easy for them to share that important information with their peers; to “infect” them with the truth. The “Infect 2009” campaign features three of the most popular truth® television spots from the past. “Combining three...  click here for full article>>>

A bill now making its way through the Wyoming House would encourage our youth to chew tobacco and reduce state tobacco tax revenues at a time when our state is already being forced to deal with lower mineral tax revenue. The bill, HB 67, would reduce dramatically the tax on "moist snuff" a form of chewing tobacco. Chew doesn't just cause the user to become addicted to nicotine (ensuring repeat sales and often leading him or her to smoke). It also causes devastating cancers of the mouth, esophagus, and...  click here for full article>>>

DE - On Jan. 15, the Delaware Valley High School chapter of Teens Against Tobacco Use (TATU) visited Delaware Valley Elementary School. The teens spoke to students in grades 2 through 6 about the dangers of tobacco use, including a discussion about smokeless tobacco and secondhand smoke. The TATU kids also spoke to the students about a new cigarette hazard: “Third-Hand Smoke.” This is a term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers’ hair and clothing, not...  click here for full article>>>

By Susan Jones, Senior Editor The American Lung Association sees an "unprecedented opportunity to change the direction of public health" by regulating tobacco products. (AP Photo) (CNSNews.com) - The American Lung Association says political leaders “have a duty to reduce death and disease caused by tobacco use.” And the group is optimistic that the Obama administration will be more sympathetic to its demands than the Bush administration was. In a year 2008 report released Tuesday, the...  click here for full article>>>

Lung Association report says feds and most states neglect preventing tobacco-caused illness By Steven Reinberg HealthDay Reporter TUESDAY, Jan. 13 (HealthDay News) A new report card gives the U.S. government consistently failing grades for not protecting Americans from illnesses caused by tobacco. According to the American Lung Association's State of Tobacco Control 2008, the federal government as well as most states failed to enact critical policy measures, such as higher taxes on...  click here for full article>>>

NY - Parents who smoke often open a window or turn on a fan to clear the air for their children, but experts now have identified a related threat to children's health that isn't as easy to get rid of: third-hand smoke. That's the term being used to describe the invisible yet toxic brew of gases and particles clinging to smokers' hair and clothing, not to mention cushions and carpeting, that lingers long after second-hand smoke has cleared from a room. The residue includes heavy metals, carcinogens...  click here for full article>>>

BISMARCK - BISMARCK — When former Attorney General Heidi Heitkamp was helping to draft a ballot measure to increase state support for anti-tobacco projects, she insisted someone younger than 21 be included on the initiative’s oversight board. That person is Nathan Marion, a junior at Bismarck St. Mary’s High School, who is one of nine people whom Gov. John Hoeven named to a state tobacco prevention advisory panel created when North Dakotans OK’d Measure 3 last month. “I have a lot of time that I can invest in...  click here for full article>>>

Rocky Mountain News - Two men who exchanged a lit cigarette in a National Forest are on the hook for $300,000 in costs for a wildfire that scorched 120 acres south of Telluride, according to a settlement reached Tuesday with federal officials. However, the two men - John D. Wesson and Matthew D. Allen - will have the those costs covered by their homeowners insurance through State Farm. The fire, known as the 2003 Alta Fire in the Grand Mesa-Uncompahgre-Gunnison National Forest, started in July when the two men allegedly...  click here for full article>>>

By VICKI SMITH The Associated Press Sunday, November 23, 2008; 3:31 PM MORGANTOWN, W.Va. They're discreet, flavorful and come in cute tin boxes with names like "frost" and "spice." And the folks who created Joe Camel are hoping Camel Snus will become a hit with tobacco lovers tired of being forced outside for a smoke. But convincing health officials and smokers like Ethan Flint that they're worth a try may take some work. Snus- Swedish for tobacco, rhymes with "noose" - is a tiny, tea bag-like pouch...  click here for full article>>>

In West Virginia, which has the nation's highest rate of tobacco use, officials are spitting mad about R.J. Reynolds test-marketing a new smokeless product in two college towns. The Winston-Salem, N.C., tobacco company is testing Camel Snus in Morgantown and Charleston with plans to market it nationwide early next year as a product that can be used where smoking is prohibited. The product is designed to be placed between the upper lip and gum. "We feel the primary market for snus is college kids,"...  click here for full article>>>

Jacksonville - The Great American Smokeout is not until Thursday, but area residents have already joined with Tobacco Prevention of Raleigh to show that smoking areas in restaurants cause a decreased air quality level. Two teams of observers visited nine area restaurants - both smoke free and with smoking areas - on Sept. 27 and recently received the results of their tests, said Gary Miner, director of the Tobacco Awareness Program. Smoke-free restaurants averaged a 2.9 percent air quality index which, according to...  click here for full article>>>

FAIRFAX COUNTY, Virginia (CNN) It was just after 7 a.m. and Cassie Graham was lighting up her second cigarette of the morning. Cassie Graham, a 17-year-old high school senior, joined a school support group to help her quit smoking. A school bus passed her parked car, a sign that that it was time for the 17-year-old high school senior from Fairfax County, Virginia, to stop smoking and head to class. If Graham has her way, that will be the last time she ever lights up. "It's getting pretty bad," said...  click here for full article>>>

MORGANTOWN - MORGANTOWN Smoking and a proposed smoking ban have been a topic of conversation in Monongalia County for months. Those issues came up again Thursday at the county's Board of Health meeting. Board members met in executive session for about an hour. Then, a public comment period started. The president of a new West Virginia University student organization called "Tobacco Free Mountaineers", made a presentation. Chris Roberts says he wore an air quality device on Saturday to test four Morgantown bars...  click here for full article>>>

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Study to assess whether Quitline help is effective during pregnancy MORGANTOWN, W.Va. – Pregnant women in north central West Virginia may receive a boost in their efforts to quit smoking under a pilot program created by West Virginia University researchers called Fax to Quit. Under a $100,000 grant from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, doctors will connect patients who’d like to kick the habit with the state’s Quitline, which boasts a success rate of 27 percent in helping people...  click here for full article>>>

MORGANTOWN, W.Va. - Camel Snus spitless tobacco called ‘highly addicting’ MORGANTOWN, W.Va. –  New research at West Virginia University is examining whether a smokeless, spitless tobacco product aimed at young adults is catching on. And the researchers have found that RJ Reynolds’ Camel Snus – touted as a socially acceptable way to satisfy addiction – contains surprisingly high levels of nicotine. “Camel Snus contains more nicotine than most other snuff products,” said Bruce Adkins of the state Division of Tobacco...  click here for full article>>>

ScienceDaily (Sep. 13, 2000) — The first symptoms of nicotine addiction can start within a few days of starting to smoke and after just a few cigarettes, shows a study in Tobacco Control. The research explodes the commonly held belief that nicotine dependence is a gradual process which occurs after prolonged daily cigarette smoking. The research team monitored almost 700 teenagers between the ages of 12 and 13 from seven schools in central Massachusetts throughout 1998. The teenagers were interviewed in...  click here for full article>>>

ScienceDaily (Sep. 30, 2008) — Parents who smoke cigarettes around their kids in cars and homes beware – second-hand smoke may trigger symptoms of nicotine dependence in children. The findings are published in the September edition of the journal Addictive Behaviors in a joint study from nine Canadian institutions. "Increased exposure to second-hand smoke, both in cars and homes, was associated with an increased likelihood of children reporting nicotine dependence symptoms, even though these children...  click here for full article>>>

ScienceDaily (Nov. 2, 2008) — Adolescents may have more in common with their smoking parents than previously thought, a new study conducted by researchers at Nationwide Children’s Hospital finds. These adolescents may also share a tendency to act impulsively, a trait that could be linked to a decision to become a smoker. The study, slated for print publication in the January issue of Drug and Alcohol Dependence and currently available online at ScienceDirect, may help identify behavioral risk factors...  click here for full article>>>

UVA Study Uses Innovative Method to Better Analyze Multiple Genetic Factors CHARLOTTESVILLE, Va., October 13, 2008 - Could an aversion to bitter substances or an overall heightened sense of taste help protect some people from becoming addicted to nicotine? That's what researchers at UVA have found using an innovative new method they've developed to analyze the interactions of multiple genetic and environmental factors.  Their findings one day may be key in identifying people at risk for nicotine...  click here for full article>>>

Charleston, WV - R.J. Reynolds disputes study of smokeless, spitless product available in West Virginia A refrigerated smokeless tobacco product available in West Virginia convenience stores has twice the nicotine content of an earlier version of the same product sold elsewhere in the United States, according to a new study from West Virginia University researchers. By Eric Eyre Staff writer CHARLESTON, W.Va. A refrigerated smokeless tobacco product available in West Virginia convenience stores has...  click here for full article>>>

Survey finds nearly two-thirds of Americans believe so, even though most victims don't smoke at diagnosis By Ed Edelson HealthDay Reporter FRIDAY, Nov. 14 (HealthDay News) A majority of Americans, including many health-care workers, believe that people who have lung cancer are at least partly to blame for their disease, a new survey finds. In the poll of nearly 1,500 American adults, researchers found 59 percent of respondents agreeing with the notion that lung cancer patients helped bring on their...  click here for full article>>>

Every former smoker saves $20,000 in health costs, American Lung Association reports THURSDAY, Nov. 13 (HealthDay News) Lives and money are being wasted because most states aren't doing enough to make it easy for smokers to access comprehensive anti-tobacco treatments, according to an American Lung Association report released Thursday. Comprehensive coverage includes open access to seven smoking-cessation medications and three forms of counseling that are recommended to treat nicotine addiction by the...  click here for full article>>>

Washington - U.S. smoking rate under 20 percent for 1st time Cigarettes still kill nearly half a million people a year, CDC report reveals   WASHINGTON - The number of U.S. adults who smoke has dropped below 20 percent for the first time on record but cigarettes still kill almost half a million people a year, health officials said on Thursday. About 19.8 percent of U.S. adults 43.4 million people were smokers in 2007. That was a percentage point below the 2006 figure and followed three years of little...  click here for full article>>>

Effective treatment for smokeless tobacco addiction is available on the Internet thanks to a research study funded by the National Cancer Institute. Chewing tobacco and snuff users from 14 to 25 years old can register with MyLastDip.com to take part in a free, self-help quitting program. Participants are asked to complete research questionnaires online to help evaluate the quitting program. “Many people mistakenly believe that chewing tobacco and snuff are safe alternatives to smoking,” said Dr. Herb...  click here for full article>>>

United Kingdom - A soft drink claiming to offer the same nicotine fix as a cigarette is to launch in the UK. Cans of Liquid Smoking, which look strikingly similar to red and white cigarette cartons, offer smokers an alternative to shivering outside bars and restaurants. "We've got a product that has the same effects as nicotine, but which you can drink in restaurants and on flights," said Martin Hartman of the United Drink and Beauty Corporation. However, anti-smoking groups are concerned the product, which...  click here for full article>>>

Harvard - A pair of studies by researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health has found that the ban on marketing cigarettes to children has proved ineffective at curbing tobacco advertisements in non-print media, and that tobacco companies are adding nicotine to chewing tobacco in order to make smokeless tobacco more addictive. The studies—by School of Public Health professors Howard K. Koh and Gregory N. Connolly, and researcher Hillel R. Alpert—examine the state of the American tobacco industry in the...  click here for full article>>>

University of Pennsylvania School of Medicine - Smokers with attention deficit hyperactivity disorder are more likely to become seriously addicted to nicotine, researchers reported here. Current smokers with ADHD had significantly higher rates of severe nicotine addiction, even after controlling for conduct disorders (P=0.01), Timothy E. Wilens, M.D., of Harvard and Massachusetts General Hospital, and colleagues reported in the September issue of the Journal of Pediatrics. In their controlled longitudinal family studies of ADHD, the researchers also...  click here for full article>>>

United Kingdom - Tobacco firms target teenage girls with 'super slim' products cigarettes Charities accuse companies of exploiting young women's fears about weight Tobacco companies are increasingly targeting teenage girls, using cynical marketing ploys that tap into young women's fears about their weight, and introducing "female-friendly" packaging, campaign groups warned yesterday. Silk Cut will next month launch a range of "Superslims", which will be sold in "perfume-shaped" boxes designed to appeal to image...  click here for full article>>>

Pittsburgh - For all his adult life, if Lee Baumann wanted to smoke a cigarette in his house, he could whenever he pleased. That's not the case anymore for Mr. Baumann or any other foster parent like him in the state. Now the pack-a-day Salem smoker is not allowed to light up anywhere in his house or car when his 9-year-old foster son is around for the simple fact that it is illegal. A little-publicized portion of the state's new Clean Indoor Air Act which prohibits smoking in numerous public places like bars...  click here for full article>>>

Medical New Today - When compared to non-smokers, researchers found that smokers scored lower in global cognitive function, speed, and flexibility at middle age. The sample consisted of 1,964 men and women in the Netherlands aged 43 to 70 years. Researchers examined them for cognitive function twice, at the baseline and five years later. Researchers found at the baseline smokers scored lower than never smokers in global cognitive function, speed, and flexibility; at the five-year follow-up, decline among smokers was 1.9...  click here for full article>>>

Along with a vodka Martini, an immaculate tuxedo and a glamorous companion, a cigarette has often completed James Bond's image. And 007 actors have been expected to adopt the habit of Ian Fleming's character, who was depicted in the spy novels as smoking 60 a day. But it seems the incumbent Bond, Daniel Craig, values his health too much to light up. No smoking: Bond (Daniel Craig, pictured with new girl Gemma Arterton) switches to his second favourite habit in a bid to protect his lungs He...  click here for full article>>>

Washington Post - Even if you only sneak an occasional smoke, you are still doing damage to your arteries, a new study shows. University of Georgia researchers using ultrasound found that the arteries of otherwise young, healthy adults who smoked less than a pack a week were 36 percent less responsive to changes in blood flow than nonsmokers, even if it had been days since their last cigarette. This lack of responsiveness, known as impaired flow-mediated dilation, is an early sign of the arterial damage that...  click here for full article>>>

More than 140 campuses now are completely smoke-free, more than triple the number that had banned smoking as recently as March 2007, said Frieda Edgette, of the lobbying group Americans for Nonsmokers' Rights. An additional 30 campuses are smoke-free with a few exceptions, such as designated smoking outdoor areas, and at least 500 campuses have smoke-free policies in residential housing, she said. The most recent major development came last month, when the Pennsylvania State System of Higher Education ...  click here for full article>>>

Chicago - Publicity surrounding the link to cancer has left US tobacco firms so desperate to recruit new customers they have started giving their products away. Tobacco firms are giving away cigarettes in trendy bars to attract new smokers I was "hit up" by one of Chicago's "cigarette fairies" - a promotional vendor who has routes throughout urban bars and clubs. "So what brand do you smoke?" she asked. "You seen the British Camel Lights? They call them Blues because some legislation said it was deceptive to...  click here for full article>>>

Winston-Salem - Dissolvable tobacco offered as smoking bans proliferate; critics say it looks like candy R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. is introducing three dissolvable smokeless products in its latest bid to make its tobacco more accessible within a society that's clamping down on smoking. The dissolvable products a pellet (Camel Orbs), a twisted stick the size of a toothpick (Camel Sticks) and a film strip for the tongue (Camel Strips) had their debut at this week's National Association of Convenience Stores convention...  click here for full article>>>

Boston - The country's largest cigarette maker, Philip Morris USA, sued San Francisco in federal court Wednesday, hoping to block that city's pending ban on drugstore tobacco sales. In a statement, the company described the ban, set to go into effect Tuesday, as "unjust to manufacturers, retailers, and adult consumers because it bars - without legitimate reason - certain retailers from offering legal tobacco products to adult consumer who wish to buy them." Boston is also attempting to ban cigarette sales in...  click here for full article>>>

Los Angelas Times - The Hollywood A-listers of the 1930s and 1940s helped pave the way for smoking in the movies that continues today, according to a study of endorsement contracts between the studios and tobacco companies and advertisements from that era. Researchers at Stanford and at the Center for Tobacco Control Research and Education at UC San Francisco examined records from the UCSF Legacy Tobacco Documents Library and the Jackler advertising collection at Stanford. During the '30s and '40s, two-thirds of the top 50...  click here for full article>>>

The Xbox360 Anti-Gravity Tour takes off this week on a national high school tour to support the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. Five professional skateboarding and BMX athletes are on the tour to perform stunts on a half-pipe festooned with Xbox360 and anti-tobacco messaging. The idea is to draw students’ attention to the issue, and engage them one-on-one in autograph and Q&A sessions. “Xbox was looking to reach the high school demographic,” said Gabby Roe, president of ASA Entertainment, which...  click here for full article>>>

The New York Times - In yet another step in a campaign to scare smokers into quitting — a campaign that has included a man who breathes through a hole in his throat, a woman who is missing four fingers because of smoking, and operations to remove fatty deposits from the brain and amputate a gangrenous foot — the city is now giving out matchbooks. Yes, matchbooks. Skip to next paragraph New York City Department of Health A warning on one of the free matchbooks being given out in certain sections of the city. Readers’...  click here for full article>>>

Morgantown, W.Va. - West Virginia University researchers say teens believe quitting smoking is a good idea but the teens aren't fully confident they can quit.   Lead author Kimberly Horn said that in addition, teens who volunteer to get help to quit smoking are 60 percent more likely to use smokeless tobacco and more than 200 percent more likely to smoke cigars when compared with teen smokers nationally.   Horn analyzed data involving almost 6,000 teen smokers who enrolled in the Not On Tobacco program between...  click here for full article>>>

CLEVELAND, Tenn. - Billboards with pictures of animals on them are being used to spread anti-smoking messages. With a grant from the Tennessee Department of Health, billboards featuring a chimpanzee, pig, duck, collie and fawn with cigarettes hanging from their lips or beak are going up in four Cleveland locations. The headline above them reads, "It looks just as stupid when you do it." It's just part of an anti-tobacco campaign in a state where burley tobacco was once a top cash crop. "We have...  click here for full article>>>