Amid fiscal turmoil, House votes to cut tax on loose-leaf tobacco

As many places across the country raise tobacco taxes — in an effort to reduce usage and save on public health costs down the road — the Texas House has gone in the other direction.

Members of the Texas House on Wednesday approved a bill to lower a tax on Red Man and other brands of loose-leaf chewing tobacco.

When Rep. Allan Ritter, R-Nederland , laid out House Bill 2599, one freshman House member from Central Texas couldn't believe his ears.

"I just had to clarify. It's cutting taxes to chewing tobacco?" a shocked Rep. Jason Isaac, R-Dripping Springs, asked from the floor.

'Learn English, get a job and stop smoking cannabis': What judge said to immigrant drug dealer on benefits

A judge gave an immigrant drug dealer a verbal dressing-down by telling him to 'get a job, learn English and stop smoking cannabis'.

Pakistani-born Mohammed Ramzan, 32, had been spending £20 a day on cannabis, paid for by his benefits from the taxpayer.

After admitting three drug possession counts following raids police raids on his home in Derby, he faced a verbal tirade from a Crown Court judge.

Rush Limbaugh should just shutup and send the president a cigar

While Rush Limbaugh used snide sarcasm to praise President Obama for getting Osama bin Laden, conservative talk-radio host Sean Hannity bit his lip yesterday and actually credited the president on the air.

Of course Hannity qualified it by saying that it was George Bush's policy on torture that made it possible. He was referring to intelligence extracted from Khalid Sheikh Mohammed and Abu Faraj al-Libi while in CIA custody that he claims led to one of bin Laden’s couriers in turn leading to Osama bin Laden. Hannity was only partially right.

Charlie Sheen unveiled as the face of new electronic cigarette

In a remarkably health conscious lifestyle turn, Charlie Sheen has been revealed as the face of a new anti-smoking device, aptly named NicoSheen.

The former Two and a Half Men star has partnered with a line of electronic cigarettes that claim to aid struggling smokers who want to kick the habit for good.

The device is being advertised as the ‘The Winning E-Cigarette Sheen Safe Smoke’ and it is understood Sheen has also become one of several partners in the E-Cigarette company.

SGA to vote on tobacco-free resolution

The Student Government Association will vote this Tuesday about whether it supports WKU as a tobacco-free campus.

A recent survey conducted by Madisonville senior Jack Jackson, a political science major, determined for SGA that 47.82 percent of students are in support of a tobacco-free campus, said Kaylee Egerer, campus improvements chairperson.

Egerer said 23.47 percent were opposed to the ban, and 28.71 percent polled were neutral on the issue.

Because the poll showed a majority of students support a ban, Egerer will write up a resolution for Tuesday’s meeting to support a tobacco-free campus.

FDA to Regulate E-Cigarettes Just Like Tobacco

Agency Will Not Regulate E-Cigarettes Under the Stricter Rules That Apply to Medical Products

The FDA has decided to oversee electronic cigarettes the same way it does tobacco products. The agency will not regulate the vapor-producing devices under the stricter federal rules that apply to medical products.

The FDA says it decided not to appeal a federal appeals court ruling asserting that e-cigarettes could be regulated as tobacco products and “are not drugs or devices” unless specifically marketed for therapeutic purposes, such as purporting to help people quit smoking.

The decision not to appeal was announced in a letter to the public and stakeholders from Lawrence R. Deyton, MD, MSPH, director of the FDA's Center for Tobacco Products, and Janet Woodcock, MD, director of the agency’s Drug Evaluation and Research.

Most buildings fail to comply with smoking ban

A majority of buildings in the capital have failed to comply with a gubernatorial decree banning smoking inside buildings, a city agency says.

The Jakarta Environmental Management Agency (BPLHD) found that out of 249 buildings monitored for their implementation of the smoking ban, only 21 buildings, or eight percent, could be categorized as “very good” in complying with the regulation.

Most of the buildings failed to comply with orders to remove smoking sections and mandate that smokers light up outside.

Heart link to chewing tobacco

Indian cardiologists have produced what they say is the first evidence to show that chewing tobacco can constrict the blood vessels of the heart within minutes and possibly raise the risk of heart attacks.

Their study on men who volunteered to chew a single gram of tobacco while having their hearts monitored has revealed significant reductions in the diameters of coronary arteries within 10 minutes after they began chewing.

The cardiologists from the All India Institute of Medical Sciences (AIIMS), New Delhi, say their findings highlight the rapidity with which a habit long associated with mouth cancer can also put the heart in danger by constricting coronary arteries.

Minicab cigarette 'adbins' in Westminster unlawful

Westminster Council wants a London minicab firm to remove its sponsored cigarette bins, after a court ruling.

Addison Lee provides 19,000 free 'adbins' bearing its logo outside businesses across the capital.

But a judge decided that 21 of the bins in Westminster were in violation of planning laws, fining Addison Lee and making it pay £20,000 in costs.

The firm accused the council of "hypocrisy", saying other bins in the borough were sponsored by Coca-Cola.

Reynolds American 1Q Profit Soars But Volumes Continue To Fall

Reynolds American Inc.'s (RAI) first-quarter earnings more than quadrupled from a year-ago period weighed by a settlement with the Canadian government, and higher product pricing and operational cost cuts continued to offset cigarette volume declines.

Revenue missed analyst expectations, but earnings came in ahead.

Reynolds, whose brands include Camel cigarettes and Grizzly moist snuff, has shifted its focus in the face of changing demand for cigarettes. The company has diversified into smokeless tobacco, cut production costs by shutting plants and put its energy into a few key brands. Last month, the company sold its Lane Ltd. roll-your-own and pipe tobacco unit to Denmark's Scandinavian Tobacco Group AS for $205 million.

Bismarck Bars Going Smoke Free

Bismarck voters have approved the city ordinance that will prohibit smoking in bars, truck stops and tobacco stores. They also said no to allowing smoking shelters outside of bars and no to using sales tax dollars to pay for the special election.

Election officials locked the doors at 7:00 p.m., and those inside the Civic Center and VFW Sports Arena were allowed to cast their votes. Voters numbers were strong today. More than 8,800 cast their ballots.

Bismarck resident Matthew Kronberger said, "It`s everyone`s right, you know to vote in North Dakota and for the smoking bill. I myself don`t smoke, and I don`t like being around smoke at all."

I know it’s bad but love it anyway, say teenagers

ABU DHABI: Even during extreme hot weather in the country, business at shisha outlets in the capital never runs dry.

Haris Abdul Kader from the Brazilian Trading Establishment, Abu Dhabi, said that the shisha or hookah is very much “in vogue” in the UAE and is a popular cultural practice. “Because of its social aspects, hookah or shisha will continue to gain loyal smokers because it is also traditional.”

Senate panel, Shumlin at odds over cigarette tax hike

MONTPELIER -- The Senate Finance Committee set up a potential showdown with the Shumlin administration Friday when the panel voted to support a $24 million tax package that included a $1 increase in the tax on cigarettes.

Gov. Peter Shumlin objects to any increase in the cigarette tax because he predicts sales and, thus, tax revenues would drop if Vermont's tax rate exceeds that in neighboring states. Lawmakers expect a $1 increase would raise $9 million in new revenue.

The Shumlin administration also argues the cigarette tax is regressive, meaning it has a higher impact on low-income Vermonters.

Health care institutions' lawsuit against big tobacco nears an end

After about three months of trial in St. Louis, a case in which more than two dozen health care providers sued big tobacco companies is wrapping up.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 29 plaintiffs representing 37 health institutions, mostly local and regional operations in Missouri, are seeking more than $455 million from six tobacco companies for losses treating smokers. Closing arguments were expected to conclude Thursday, then jurors will be off until Monday, when they will begin deliberation.

Tobacco Business Owner Pleads Guilty To Structuring Financial Transactions

An owner of a Rockholds, Ky. tobacco business admitted in federal court Wednesday that her company illegally conducted financial transactions to avoid reporting them to the federal government.

Dennise Crawford, 44, pleaded guilty in London, Ky. before U.S. District Judge Gregory Van Tatenhove to one count of willfully causing a financial institution to fail to comply with record keeping and reporting regulations.

Cig sale ban closer

WORCESTER — The city is one step away from becoming the ninth municipality in the state to ban the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products by local health-care providers, including chain pharmacies and other drugstores.

The ban was one of four amendments to the city’s tobacco control ordinance given initial approval by the City Council last night.

The other amendments will also ban the sale of tobacco products at local institutions of higher education and the citywide sale of so-called “blunt wraps” — a cigarette-like rolling paper that is usually made from tobacco leaves.

What does smoking cost?

People who smoke don’t usually want to count the cost of a pack or more of cigarettes a day. And those who suffer cancer, emphysema or other smoking-related diseases surely do not like to think of what their habit costs in terms of doctor and hospital visits.

But really, in individual terms, the worst “cost” is not monetary: It involves health and quality of life.

Costs matter, though, and with Medicaid in Arizona running short of cash, there reportedly is consideration there of levying an annual $50 “tax” on those who smoke, are overweight or suffer diabetes.

Oklahoma measure proposes tax hike on smokeless tobacco to fund health programs

A proposal to increase the state tax on some forms of smokeless tobacco — moist snuff — to fund programs to recruit doctors to rural and underserved parts of the state is working its way through the Legislature.

Senate Bill 233 is expected to raise $8 million to $9 million a year for recruitment programs of the Physician Manpower Training Commission.

It would eliminate the current 20 percent tax on moist snuff and replace it with a $1.20 per ounce tax. A typical can of moist snuff contains a little more than one ounce. The tax hike would not apply to dry snuff, chewing tobacco, smoking tobacco, cigarettes or cigars.

More teens on drugs: After 10 year decline marijuana and ecstasy use rises among U.S. teens and attitudes to alcohol relax

Drug abuse among American teenagers has jumped dramatically over the past three years, according to a startling new study.

While teenage use of drugs and alcohol declined from 1998 to 2008, the use of ecstasy and marijuana has risen.

Australian Tobacco Companies Forced Into Unappealing Cigarette Packaging

Tobacco companies in Australia have some surprises coming, as well as some demands by the Australian government under legislation revealed Thursday that probably won’t make the Tobacco industry very happy.

This move, according to the government, will make Australia the toughest country worldwide on tobacco advertising.