Group urges smokeless-tobacco ban for MLB teams

Televisions on Thursday will broadcast the usual iconic images of baseball's opening day: fans cheering from the stands, umpires making close calls at the plate, and players in the thick of the game, spitting tobacco juice.

With smokeless tobacco use spiking among high school boys - a reported 36% increase since 2003 - public health officials are targeting their role models to set a healthy example, and calling for a ban on tobacco at major league ballparks.

Children at risk from cigarette smoke in cars 'up to an hour' after parents light up

Drivers who smoke could be putting fellow passengers at risk for up to an hour after smoking.

Parents who light up in their cars could be putting their children at prolonged risk.

With the debate on smoking in vehicles garnering considerable attention, researchers have fuelled the concern that smoking in a car can put passengers at risk.

Young children are particularly vulnerable when it comes to smoke in such a confined space and research has suggested that they could be at risk for ‘up to an hour’ after their parent or guardian has lit a cigarette.

BAT aims for new markets as smuggling dents growth

BRITISH American Tobacco (BAT) yesterday said a rise in cigarette smuggling and the wider decline in smoking across the developed world continue to press down on growth.

Group sales by volume fell three per cent during 2010, though price rises more than offset the decline to deliver a five per cent revenue rise to £14.9bn, BAT said in its annual report.

Lance Armstrong Tobacco Tax: Cyclist Endorses Measure To Fund Research

LOS ANGELES — Cycling champ and cancer survivor Lance Armstrong said Monday is backing a proposed tax on tobacco in California to fund research on cancer and tobacco-related illnesses.

The seven-time Tour de France winner joined Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa to urge support for the California Cancer Research Act that would increase taxes on cigarettes by $1 a pack to raise more than $500 million a year.

Wearing a yellow bracelet made popular through Livestrong, the advocacy group that Armstrong founded after battling testicular cancer in 1997, the Texas resident said he had good reasons for co-chairing the California campaign.

China maps out tobacco control plan

Following China's Health Ministry announcement of a smoking ban in most public places, which will come into effect on May 1, prominent tobacco control expert and reputed health activist Yang Gonghuan has mapped out a detailed plan for the next five years that aims to "fully ban smoking in public locations" yesterday.

She noted that to achieve the aim as a workable national plan, it is essential to legislate at a national level as well as to operate the guarantee mechanism and run the tobacco control programs at a local level, including building up a supervising and evaluating system over the control efficiency.

Budget 2011: Tobacco industry furious at tax rises

The tobacco industry has reacted with fury at tax increases that have heralded the arrival of the £7 packet of cigarettes in the UK.

From 6pm Wednesday night, duty on tobacco rose by 2pc above inflation. On top of this, a wider restructuring of duty added 50p to the price of a packet of "economy" cigarettes and 33p to "premium" cigarettes, meaning that poorer smokers will be disproportionately affected.

Kansas House gives preliminary OK to extending smoking ban to casinos

TOPEKA — The House preliminarily agreed Tuesday to take the smoking ban passed into law last year a step further by prohibiting smoking in casinos.

Substitute House Bill 2340 revokes the section of the Kansas Indoor Clean Air Act that permits smoking in state-owned casinos.

A final vote is set for tdoay.

Many bar owners have protested that the law hurts their businesses.

As amendments were debated, many legislators argued that the effects of secondhand smoke merit government-imposed restrictions. Others contended that the state should not involve itself in peoples' private lives.

Vote expected on tobacco sales measure

Bill would keep pharmacies from selling cigarettes.

FALL RIVER, Mass. (WPRI) - Cigarette sales may soon be banned in Fall River pharmacies.

City councilors are scheduled to vote on a measure Tuesday night that would prohibit pharmacies in the city from selling cigarettes and other tobacco products.

The measure won initial approval two weeks ago, but it goes before the council for a second reading and possible ratification.

Supporters of the measure say pharmacies should not be selling harmful tobacco products alongside helpful medicines.

Smoking Rates: Pack-A-Day Smoking Is Down Dramatically

Over the last 40 years, the number of people who smoke a pack a day has dropped significantly, a new study finds. And California -- with its comprehensive anti-smoking efforts -- has led the charge.

The report, published yesterday in JAMA, tracked the prevalence of heavy smokers (defined as people who smoke 20 cigarettes or more, per day) among more than a million-and-a-half respondents between 1965 and 2007.

Researchers from the University of California San Diego found that in 1965 -- the year after the first-ever surgeon general's report on smoking and health -- 56 percent of people who identified as smokers were heavy, or pack-a-day, smokers. By 2007, that percentage dropped dramatically, to only 40 percent.

Tobacco War Brewing

A battle between the nation’s largest cigarette makers and a Florida company is heating up at the state Capitol. Price is the issue. Dosal Tobacco was left out of the states settlement with cigarette makers and is able to sell more cheaply, which has given them market share and upset traditional tobacco companies.

Florida made 305 brand cigarettes are popular. Chris Askey smokes them because the are as much as three dollars a pack cheaper than some of the traditional brands.

“ Five dollars a pack….Six dollars a pack….that is just too high for me,” he said.

Major Tobacco Companies Back Bulgaria's Excise Policies

Leading international companies - Philip Morris, Bulgartabac Holding, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco - have expressed their support for Bulgarian government's excise policies.

The general managers of Philip Morris Bulgaria, Bulgartabac Holding, British American Tobacco Bulgaria, Japan Tobacco International Bulgaria and Imperial Tobacco Bulgaria met Wednesday with Prime Minister Boyko Borisov, Finance Minister Simeon Djankov, and Customs Agency head Vanyo Tanov, and Angel Antonov, head of the Criminal Police Directorate.

Kate Middleton's cannabis-smoking uncle gets an invite to the Royal wedding

Kate Middleton's cannabis-smoking, tattooed uncle is on the provisional guest list for her Royal Wedding to Prince William this year.

Gary Goldsmith, the younger brother of Kate’s mother Carole, has been welcomed back into the family fold ahead of the Royal event of the decade despite bringing shame on the family when he was secretly filmed at his Ibiza villa smoking cannabis, arranging drug deals, organising call girls and bragging about his Royal connections.

Goldsmith has apparently quit his wild life and moved back to London.

Menthol cigarette use on the rise among young people

Teen smokers are increasingly choosing menthol cigarettes over ordinary brands - and 80 per cent of black adolescent smokers buy minty versions.

Brands like Lorillard's Newport account for nearly one-third of America's $83billion annual cigarette sales, and more and more of those come from minority youth smokers.

A draft report by the Food and Drug Administration in Washington found more than half of Hispanic teenage smokers use menthols, and there is a 'significant increase' in white youths smoking them, too.

The draft chapter, released today, is a blow to cigarette manufacturers who are fighting FDA proposals to ban or limit the sale and manufacture of menthol cigarettes.

Anti-smoking campaigners argue they are dangerous because the mint flavouring hides the harsh taste of tobacco, making them more appealing to young smokers.

Joel A. Spivak, radio personality and anti-smoking spokesman, dies at 75

Joel A. Spivak, 75, who was a popular Washington radio personality before becoming press secretary for the nonprofit Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, died March 4 at his home in Alexandria.

Mr. Spivak had metastatic cancer, the result of a decades-long smoking habit.

The son of the 1940s big-band leader Charlie Spivak, the younger Spivak got his start in radio as a disc jockey and talk-show host in some of the country’s biggest markets.

In 1996, after a long radio career — and after he had quit smoking — he joined the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids and helped direct media coverage for the nonprofit group.

Bills to loosen smoking restrictions to be considered by Illinois House

Two exemptions to Illinois' indoor smoking ban are going before the Illinois House.

One would allow smoking in the state's casinos. The other would allow local governments to issue smoking licenses to bars and other establishments.

The House Executive Committee approved both bills Wednesday and sent them to the full House.

"Since the ban went into effect, casino revenues are down over 31 percent," said Tom Swoik, executive director of the Illinois Casino Gaming Association. "It is very clear the majority of the drop was because of the smoking ban."

Tobacco tax hike talk stubbed out

HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon has moved to extinguish any suggestion Labor could increase the tobacco excise in the May budget.

Ms Roxon was forced to stub out the speculation after the government's indigenous smoking coordinator, Tom Calma, said another tax hike had been "mooted".

Labor increased the excise by 25 per cent in April 2010, adding $2.16 to the price of a pack of 30 smokes.

The government's preventative health taskforce had recommended a 68 per cent increase in the excise.

But in responding to the taskforce's findings in May the government argued that while hiking prices could cause some smokers to quit "it can also induce financial stress among people who continue to smoke".

Oklahoma board OKs use of tobacco tax to abolish smoking rooms

The Oklahoma Board of Health cleared the way Tuesday for tobacco taxes to reimburse restaurants that eliminate smoking by Jan. 1.

The state Health Board cleared the way Tuesday for tobacco taxes to reimburse restaurants that clean up their smoking rooms and eliminate smoking throughout the restaurant by Jan. 1.

About 100 to 150 smoking rooms with special ventilation systems were built to comply with a 2003 state law. Last year, former Gov. Brad Henry signed the reimbursement measure into law.

About $1.2 million in tobacco taxes each year would be available to help pay for the room dismantling, with the rebate calculated at 50 percent of the cost of building smoking rooms, minus depreciation on those capital costs. But how many restaurants will apply for the rebate and eliminate smoking is unknown.

PM to be grilled over tobacco firm role

The Pheu Thai Party plans to grill Prime Minister Abhisit Vejjajiva for allegedly meddling in an effort to help an international tobacco company evade Bt68 billion in import tariffs between 2003 and 2007.

"One of the censure and impeachment charges against Abhisit is his inteference in the legal proceedings in a tax evasion case involving Philip Morris (Thailand) Limited," party deputy spokesman Yuthapong Jarassathian said yesterday.

Yuthapong alleged that Abhisit intervened in the prosecution review, resulting in the dropping of charges against the company.

Lawmaker Proposes Tobacco Sales Bans around Schools

A Chinese lawmaker has said tobacco sales bans around the nation's schools should be imposed, noting that cigarettes are currently too easy for youngsters to obtain.

Jin Changrong, councilor for Shanghai municipal government and also a judge, said the current laws banning tobacco sales to youngsters were too general and hard to enforce, during the ongoing parliamentary session.

According to law, tobacco can not be sold to people under 18 years old but they can buy it even so, Jin added.

He said there should be a national regulation of a 500-meter radius ban of tobacco from schools, although some local governments have imposed the 50 or 100-meter radius ban from elementary and middle schools.

Tobacco Fund Diverted for Supporting Other State Issues

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner discovered how revenues have been diverted from health care savings to fund pensions and other state budget issues.

In regard to this, he urged Governor Tom Corbett and other state lawmakers to stop prowling the state's Tobacco Settlement Fund for balancing the else budget areas.

In a special report, the Democrat exhaustively mentioned how the $300 million-plus payments have been abstracted. According to him, since last 5-6 years, more than $1.3 billion has been taken from this fund.

Therefore while urging legislators to change the trend; he questioned "Are we going to squander it? Are we going to just let it be used for a wide variety of purposes? Is it going to patch potholes? Is it going to fill budgets for various departments, including the Department of Auditor General and others? What is our priority”?

Female 'Empowerment' Is Great — Except When it Comes to Smoking

What does "empowerment" mean for women around the globe? More smoking deaths, for one. The United Nations Development Program (UNDP) reports that in countries where more women work in government office, have equal voting rights and relative parity to men in terms of income, women also smoke more.

The UNDP measured levels of national female empowerment in 74 countries. In countries with poor female empowerment scores, like China, Pakistan, Uganda and Saudi Arabia, men were five times more likely to smoke than women. By contrast, in countries like Australia, Canada, Sweden and the U.S., where women have made great strides toward gender equality, the unfortunate side effect is a parity of a different kind: women smoke almost as much as men do.

Hampton police seek three men in business robbery

Police are looking for three men who robbed a business in the first block of West Mercury Boulevard Saturday night.

About 11 p.m., the armed men went into Hampton Pipe and Tobacco and demanded money from a clerk, police wrote in a news release. After the robbery, the men fled the store and headed toward Doolittle Road.

One of the men is described as black, 5 feet 10 or 11 inches tall with a thin build. He was wearing dark pants, a dark jacket, light-colored sweatshirt with a hood, gloves and a dark bandana on his face.

Delegate tried to ban smoking in legislators' offices

One member of the House of Delegates tried this year to do for his colleagues what they've done for others: ban smoking.

Despite broadened prohibitions in recent years on lighting up around the commonwealth, smoking is allowed in state lawmakers' offices.

An executive order signed in 2006 by then-Gov. Timothy M. Kaine prohibits lighting up in offices occupied by executive branch agencies, including colleges and universities, and state-owned vehicles.

But the executive branch does not dictate the affairs of the legislative branch, which controls the General Assembly Building.