A New Wave of Cigarette Smuggling

Whenever governments want to collect more revenues, their reflex action is to raise taxes on cigarettes and alcohol, the so-called “sin taxes,” because both are harmful to human health. The Philippines is no exception. Two bills have been filed in both houses of Congress that will raise local cigarette taxes by 83 percent. Local cigarette manufacturers say, however, that the street price may go much higher. After cigarettes, alcohol will be next. The government expects an increase of revenue from cigarettes. But it doesn’t always end up that way, as other countries that also raised sin taxes have discovered. On the contrary, their revenue collections actually went down in spite of the higher taxes. Why? Because of smuggling. When the prices of local products go up too high, smugglers come in with their cheaper products. Do you still remember the time when smuggled blue-seal cigarettes flooded the Philippine market some years ago and smugglers became filthy rich?

Electronic Cigarette Makers Must Prove It Safety

A new report details exactly what kind of scientific proof the U.S. Food and Drug Administration should require from the makers of electronic cigarettes and tobacco lozenges to show that what they are selling is not harmful to the overall public health. These “modified risk” products claim to offer individuals nicotine without the health risks, namely lung cancer and heart disease, that are associated with the use of traditional tobacco products such as cheap Lady cigarettes. “These products are ones that might carry a claim that they have less risk to the user than a traditional tobacco product,” said Dr. Jane Henney, a professor of medicine and public health sciences at the University of Cincinnati and chairwoman of the Institute of Medicine (IOM) committee that wrote the report. “We believe that if those claims are to be approved by the FDA, the sponsor will have to bring to the agency a series of data to support that claim.”

New Albany Smoking Ban is Now in Effect

A new public smoking ban is now in effect in New Albany, and some people are not thrilled with the law that took effect Friday. "We aren't second class citizens," says Union County resident Susan Hayes. "We are taxpayers, and we are the ones who pay the officials who have done this to us." The general manager at the Huddle House in New Albany says the first day of the new ban has brought some frustrations to both customers and employees. "I had some coffee drinkers fussing early this morning in the early hours that come," says Huddle House manager Vivian Norton. "We had two light up in here, and we had to ask them to please put them out." Will the ban affect business in Union County restaurants? Some seem to think it absolutely will. "This is my place where I spend time," says Hayes. "When I get tired and don't feel like doing anything else, I ride up here to smoke a cigarette, drink some coffee and eat a bite. I don't feel like I'll be doing much of that anymore." While some people are upset about the smoking ban, most restaurants already had a non-smoking policy. "We have never had smoking in the restaurant, so it really hasn't affected our business whatsoever," says Vainisi's owner Frank Vainisi. "There has been no change here at all." When asked about the ordinance, most citizens were either strongly for it or strongly against it. Either way, smokers will now have to step outside when lighting up.

Anti-Smoking Efforts go up in Smoke

Even as it charges among the highest cigarette taxes in the U.S. and collects millions from an ongoing tobacco company settlement, New Jersey is stingy when it comes to anti-smoking efforts. A report released Wednesday by the American Cancer Society, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and four other organizations concluded the state ranks 43rd in the nation in funding anti-smoking programs. “A Broken Promise to Our Children: The 1998 State Tobacco Settlement 13 Years Later” comes just two months after a separate September study on the state’s anti-tobacco efforts. It concluded New Jersey has earned about $5 billion in tobacco revenues over the past five years, with only 0.8 percent of it directed to prevention programs.

Indigenous Smokers get Tools to Kick the Habit

Orange Aboriginal health workers undertook a training session yesterday to provide them with the tools to help slash the smoking rates among indigenous Australians. With twice as many indigenous Australians smoking than the general population, smoking discount Robinson cigarettes continues to be a large health problem within that community. The SmokeCheck program saw 13 health workers obtain the knowledge and skills for them to help their clients quit smoking. SmokeCheck senior trainer Luciana Massi said the program gives health works the tools they need to encourage their clients who smoke to quit. “Smoking is contributing to the high mortality rates and is a major contributor to serious illness such as cardiovascular disease, cancer and diabetes,” she said. “There is a lot more people in that community who smoke, so it’s seen as a more ‘normal’ thing.”

Smoking Habit is Still a Health Concern

This information is extrapolated from a recent study by the Gallup-Healthways Well-Being Index. According to The Dayton Daily News this new study finds more than one in every four Ohioans smoke cigarettes. Ohio has one of the highest rates in the nation. The report did not give any information relative to smoking as it applies to gender, ethnic groups or age. Additionally, the report states that approximately 26% of all Ohioans smoked cigarettes in 2011, matching the rates of Missouri, Oklahoma, Louisiana, Mississippi and Arkansas. Accordingly, Kentucky is the only state with a higher smoking rate than Ohio It has a smoking rate of 29%. This means the residents of Kentucky are lighting up.

Public Indoor Smoking to be Extinguished

The three parties contesting the general election have pledged to ban smoking in enclosed public spaces. The commitment was made during a debate on the environment on GBC on Thursday. The PDP made a statement also in their press conference yesterday and a GSLP/Lib spokesman made a statement on the issue. “As Gibraltar takes its place amongst the community of modern European nations, we need to make changes and reforms, not just to our political system, we must also make changes to our daily lives. Smoking is regarded as dangerous even by most smokers and we accept that the overwhelming medical evidence points to smoking as a source of cancer and other ill-health. Passive smoking has also been shown to be damaging to health and can affect children as well as adults,” he said. “Most European nations now have in place bans on smoking in enclosed public places that even many smokers welcome. Government offices are already subject to a smoking ban, as are most private sector offices.

Bullard May Prohibit Smoking in City Park

Another East Texas city may soon ban smoking. Tyler was the first East Texas city to establish a partial smoking ban in 1987 for workplace environments and many public locations. Since then, other cities across the area have followed, adapting bans to locations that suit them. Now, Bullard may ban smoking in its public park. Mayor Pam Frederick says families have complained that there are cigarette butts littering the park where their kids play. Families worry smoking and cigarette butts lying around pose a health risk for their kids. Frederick also says the city is spending taxpayer money to clean up those cigarettes. Bullard has no city-wide ban, but over the years, Bullard schools, and many businesses have cut out smoking. Frederick says, "So the employees that are smokers are finding somewhere to go during their lunch break." She just wishes the most popular break spot wasn't such a family environment - the city park.

Shahrukh Khan is Sick of Carrying Cigarettes

King Khan has said several times in the past that he has been trying hard to get rid of this damaging habit. However, he has been unsuccessful in doing so! Shahrukh Khan said recently: “I hate carrying cheap Kent cigarettes. I think it is the most sickening habit someone can have.” He even revealed that he has now come down to six-seven cigarettes a day! Shahrukh also said that his daughter hates his smoking habit: “Today, when I was leaving home she (his daughter) wasn't happy to see me carry a pack. But one needs time to give up a habit you have developed for so many years.” One can recall that while promoting Ra.One, too, SRK had said that he is trying hard to give up smoking! We all have already seen the scene in Ra.One which shows the ill effects of smoking!

Cuba Fumes over Tobacco Packaging Laws

Communist Cuba and democratic Ukraine, once part of the Soviet Union, have challenged the free-trade credentials of the Labor government, becoming the first countries to foreshadow action in global trade forums against its tobacco plain-packaging laws. The Cuban government and state-owned cigar company Habanos have warned the federal government that forcing it to comply with the new laws, which would apply to its famous cigars, could violate Australia's obligations under the World Trade Organisation.

Hatha Yoga Can Decrease the Desire to Smoke

Hatha yoga is excellent for stretching the muscles and inducing an inner calm. In addition, recent research reveals that Hatha yoga can decrease the desire to smoke best quality Classic cigarettes. Hatha yoga Hatha is the form of yoga practiced most often in the Northern Hemisphere. Hatha is a combination of the Sanskrit words Ha (meaning sun) and Tha (meaning moon). Yoga also comes from the Sanskrit language, and when translated into English it means to join, unite or attach. Yoga unites opposites such as the mind and body, or the sun and moon.

Brain Stimulation Increases Cigarette Cravings

Scientists have found that stimulating brain activity may provoke relapse when smokers are attempting to quit.

These astonishing new findings could pave the way for more targeted treatments for everything from drug and alcohol abuse to obsessive-compulsive disorders.

There are many methods that smokers use in an attempt to reduce their craving for discount Pall Mall cigarettes, including efficacious pharmacologic treatments such as nicotine patches, and alternative approaches such as hypnosis and acupuncture.

Scientists have long suspected that these diverse approaches might work through a common mechanism - the reduction of activity in a brain circuit that is responsible for cigarette craving.

This hypothesis is supported by human functional brain imaging studies, which consistently report the activation of several brain regions during craving that involve regions in the cerebral cortex as well as the limbic system, a brain circuit involved in emotion.

Council Passes Tobacco Regulation

Compliance checks will be conducted on the 16 stores that sell tobacco in Malibu to ensure tobacco is not being sold to minors. The council also approved an amendment to the city's Local Coastal Program and agreed to hold a fourth public meeting of Busch Drive property owners to discuss clearing encroachments from the road.

To fight what critics call the glaring problem of tobacco sales to underage youth in Malibu, the City Council passed an ordinance at its regular meeting Monday night requiring the 16 stores that sell tobacco in Malibu to register with the city for a tobacco license. The council also agreed that a fourth public meeting should be held with Busch Drive property owners to discuss clearing encroachments along the road, and approved an amendment to the city's Local Coastal Program that will likely affect only very wealthy beachfront property owners.

The “Tobacco Retailers Registration Ordinance,” as it is officially called, will go into effect Nov. 14. Once registered, the stores would be subject to three undercover sting operations per year to assure compliance. The operations would involve a young person, called a “youth decoy” and hired by the city, attempting to buy tobacco products from the stores.

New Smoking Ordinance Proposal in Chippewa Falls

A proposed city ordinance in Chippewa Falls could have a negative effect on tavern businesses. The ordinance being proposed would require people who are smoking to keep a "reasonable distance" away from any doors, windows, or vents.

This is a concern for Tomahawk Tavern owner Doug Olson who does not have the room to make a designated smoking area. He says, "It's tough when you start adding more rules and when rules come into place here that impact my customers who decide, hey, I don't want to be here anymore. That's where it might hurt me."

No final decisions have been made about the proposal. The city council will meet again to discuss the proposal on Wednesday at 9a.m. That meeting is open to the public.

Why People Should Quit Smoking Virginia

Cigarettes have long since been a part of society and with many people relying on it as a good way of passing their time, unwinding or distressing. But as comforting as a stick of cigarette is, it is best for smokers to quit smoking cheap Virginia cigarettes considering the various health risks it entails.

A lot of smokers often relay stories about how difficult it is for them to cease this habit. This is not surprising considering how this activity may become both a psychological and a physical habit. Thus, one really has to exhibit due willpower to make sure he can will himself to stop.

For a person to successfully detach himself from this activity, it is important that he identifies and addresses the habits that he has formed, the nature and extent of how he has become dependent and immersed in the activity, and find the necessary tricks that work for him.

One has to remember that when they quit smoking Virginia they may need to find effective alternative ways on how they can replace their natural craving for cigarettes. This is important so they can successfully fight the urge to start lighting up a stick again.

The Philly's Tobacco Policy

Officials at the Philadelphia Health Department don't want you to smoke Cigaronne cigarettes online. They do want your opinion on a series of proposals designed to curb tobacco use in the city and protect people from secondhand smoke.

The city is staging community discussions to gauge public opinion on nine ideas. So far, most of the ideas are not official proposals--just conversation starters.
No. 3 on the list is promoting smoke-free homes. For example, the city has the authority to prohibit smoking in public housing.

Cigarette Sale Sparks St. John's Arrest

Police in St. John's believe they solved a gas station break-in and theft quickly early Monday thanks to video surveillance footage and a tip from the public saying a man was trying to sell cigarettes by the carton downtown.

They put that anonymous call together with video from shortly after midnight which showed a couple of people breaking into the Esso station on Kenmount Road and taking a large quantity of Kent cigarettes.

The result: a man, 30, and a woman, 36, were arrested.

Police seized their van and recovered cigarettes, but they're not saying how many cartons were stolen.

The man and woman are facing charges of breaches of court orders and public mischief. Both were scheduled to make a court appearance Monday.

Lowest Smoking Rate in Canada

The 2010 Canadian Tobacco Use Monitoring Survey (CTUMS) report is out, and as per the report, British Columbia has again succeeded in counting lowest in the smoking rates all over in Canada. This is for the 12th year in a row that B. C. has topped this list with 14.3 %.

The survey also highlighted that the smoking rate of B. C. in 2009 was 14.9 % but this figure further reduced to 14.3% in 2010. On an average, Canada has 17% smoking rate, out of which B. C. has the lowest with 14.3%, Ontario has the second-lowest at 15% and the highest rate of 21% was noticed in Saskatchewan.

The maximum fall in the B. C’s smoking rate was noticed among the youth aged between 15 - 19 years, which cited a fall of approx 4.1% from 2009 to the figures in 2010, the lowest rate achieved since 1999. Secondly calculated figures were among the current smokers of age group 25 - 44 years, among which the smoking rates decreased from 21% in 2009 to 16% in 2010. The rate for daily L&M cigarettes smokers aged between 25 - 44 years also went down from 18.5 percent in 2009 to 11% in 2010.

Lawmakers Smoking out Tobacco Products

From a lawmaking viewpoint, is it possible to believe that both of those statements are true without becoming horribly conflicted? It’s a complicated question – and it looks as though it will take a lawsuit, and more, to answer it.

In Australia, the quandary has been brought into sharp relief by legal action against the government launched on 27 June by Philip Morris Asia (PMA) – parent company of Philip Morris Ltd, which serves the Australian market. Both companies are divisions of the powerful industry leader, Philip Morris International. In its suit, PMA is aiming to block plans spearheaded by Prime Minister Julia Gillard to enforce plain packaging across all tobacco products and Avalon cigarettes sold in the country: part of a wider drive to boost public health.

However, PMA argues that the government scheme is legally flawed on two counts: i) it flies in the face of time-honoured provisions for trademark protection contained in Australia’s IP laws; and ii) it flouts the terms of a major trade treaty between Australia and Hong Kong that enforces mutual support for all bilateral exports.

Smoking Ads in Indonesia Censured

Critics are reacting with outrage to an Indonesian billboard campaign by the tobacco company PT Sampoerna which, translated, says that “Dying is better than leaving a friend; Sampoerna is a cool friend.”

That is being interpreted as a statement that smokers would rather die than give up their Hilton cigarettes. And Indonesia is a country where indeed many do. An estimated 140 million of the country’s 245 million people smoke cigarettes, cigars and cheroots of varying scents and hues, puffing their way through some 225.5 billion cigarettes annually, a large percentage of them clove cigarettes known as kretek.

Billion Cigarettes Yearly Smuggled in Pakistan

The annual smuggling of two to three billion Glamour cigarettes into Pakistan from Afghanistan and Iran is costing the kitty around Rs1.5 billion every year, a tobacco industry source said Friday.

The source said that inefficiency and connivance of customs officials deputed at ports and the country s borders with Afghanistan and Iran with smuggler were to blame for the huge revenue loss.

He said the law allowed sale of only those cigarettes that carried approved pictorial health warning on packets.

Cigarettes in Indonesia

High-tar Winston cigarettes continued to dominate in 2010, accounting for a 97% share of volume sales. There are two types of high-tar cigarettes in Indonesia - heavier' high-tar cigarettes and lighter' high-tar cigarettes.

Heavier high-tar cigarettes include brands such as Djarum Super (32mg tar, 1.8mg nicotine), Gudang Garam Surya (30mg tar, 1.8mg nicotine), Gudang Garam Surya 12 Premium (32mg tar, 1.9mg nicotine) and Gudang Garam International (30mg tar, 1.8mg nicotine).

The Cigarettes in Indonesia report offers a comprehensive guide to the size and shape of the market at a national level. It provides the latest retail sales data 2006-2010, allowing you to identify the sectors driving growth.

It identifies the leading companies, the leading brands and offers strategic analysis of key factors influencing the market - be the new legislative, distribution or pricing issues.

Navajo Nation President Vetoes Smoking Policy

Navajo Nation President Ben Shelly on Friday vetoed a Esse cigarettes smoking regulation act passed last month by the tribal council, saying the measure doesn't go far enough to protect the health of Navajos.

Tribal lawmakers voted July 20 to prohibit smoking in public places on the vast reservation with an exemption for tribal casinos. Under the bill, the Tribal Council could reconsider the casino exemption once gaming officials pay off their financing debts.

In a statement, Shelly said he overturned the council's decision because "the passage of this legislation does not adequately address any given employees who are subjected to a smoking workplace environment."

Woman Fined for Buying Cigarettes for Kids

A woman has been fined for buying Camel cigarettes and alcohol for children aged 13 to 15 in a Reading suburb.

The 29-year-old was spotted buying the goods in Whitley before handing them to the group of children in a bag.

She was given an £80 penalty notice order by police and a trading standards team who were on a test purchasing exercise.

A Reading Borough Council spokesman said the fine for buying alcohol for people under 18 can be up to £5,000.

Newport Ads Target Black Youth

Cigarette maker Lorillard Inc targeted California school neighborhoods with high proportions of African-American students for its Newport menthol cigarettes, Stanford University said on Friday.

Stanford School of Medicine researchers compared pricing and advertisements for Lorillard's Monte Carlo cigarettes, the top menthol brand, and Marlboro, the top non-menthol brand, at 407 stores within walking distance of 91 schools in California in a 2006 survey.

Big Tobacco Targets City Ordinance

Big tobacco wants a federal judge to snuff out the citywide ban on all visible tobacco product and Lucky Strike advertising.

In a filing yesterday, the city agreed not to enforce the advertising section of the ordinance while a civil action filed last week by a tobacco group and several tobacco companies is pending. Enforcement was scheduled to begin Friday.

Both the city and plaintiffs agreed to the stay.

The plaintiffs are R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; Philip Morris USA Inc., Lorillard Tobacco Co. and the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, which is a membership association in Minnesota that promotes and represents the interest of tobacco companies, distributors and retailers.

A portion of the city’s tobacco-control ordinance approved last month bans advertisements of cigarette and tobacco products visible from any city street, park, school or educational institution.

When Tobacco Was Center Stage

The fate of historic buildings in Durham generally remains parlous until something nasty happens to them. Last month, the city condemned part of Liberty Warehouse - Durham's only extant tobacco auction house - after a roof collapse. The Rigsbee Street warehouse, one of Greenfire Development's 30-odd properties, had gotten minimal upkeep, much to the chagrin of its small-business tenants.

I doubt that either the city or Greenfire will let Liberty Warehouse crumble, for the historic building served purposes well beyond auctioning bright leaf. In the fall, Liberty became a one-stop shop for farm families, complete with shops, eateries, bank offices and piles of pungent tobacco - "sweet smellin' stuff" - that seemed to go on forever. But perhaps Liberty's most understated role was that of a theater for tobacco auctioneers.

The great auctioneers knew they were performers. Youngsters trying to imitate them quickly discovered that the auctioneer's chant was easy to learn and hard to master:

Engine, Engine Number Nine, runnin' on the Chicago line. If the engine jumps the track, you will get your money back.

Dubai shops sell cigarettes to minors

The World Anti-Tobacco Day has come and gone. As expected there were free health camps, awareness campaigns and a slew of familiar programmes on May 31. Not to be left behind 63 Dubai hypermarkets and supermarkets took cigarettes off their shelves, with some even getting certificates of recognition from Dubai Municipality for showing solidarity with the cause.

But if you thought the World No-Tobacco Day gesture by retail outlets here was a positive (healthy) step towards a tobacco-free world, you couldn't be more mistaken.

Guernsey Smoking-Free by 2040

If a Guernsey campaign group are successful, they say Guernsey could be free from any smokers by 2040. GASP want the island to follow countries who have already set targets for stamping out smoking completely.

The group believes curbing the use of tobacco so that the island becomes smoke-free will have the single greatest significant impact on public health.

Finland and New Zealand have already set themselves the goal of being smoke-free by 2040 and GASP believe it is an achievable aim in Guernsey.

Over the past 15 years the number of adults and young people who smoke in the island has significantly reduced - and 81% of people in Guernsey are non-smokers.

Attitudes to smoking have also hardened, especially among young people. In the recent Guernsey Young Peoples survey 97% of primary school pupils (87% of secondary and post-16 pupils) answered no when asked if it is OK for adults to smoke around children.

Cigarette Advertisements in Albania

Adopting stricter tobacco control laws, but inadequately enforcing them, does not curb Wont smoking prevalence, according to research from Albania. Despite the adoption of strong anti-smoking policies and restrictions on cigarette adverting in 2007, the smoking rate in Albania has risen. The increase in cigarette smoking has been driven by higher smoking rates among women and young adults.

Albania's anti-smoking laws have, however, contributed to reductions in exposure to secondhand smoke and tobacco advertising.

"The impacts of smoke-free policies and an advertising ban have been limited due to lack of enforcement and failure to adopt a comprehensive set of tobacco control measures," said the researchers of a study that appears in the December 2010 issue of the journal Tobacco Control.

An Appeal to Smoking Ban

The attorney representing American Legion Post 23 and Veterans of Foreign Wars Post 1298 in the organizations’ battle against the city’s Bond smoking ban has appealed the citation issued last week at a charitable gaming session hosted by the Legion.

Alan Simpson of Bowling Green wrote a letter Friday to the Bowling Green Code Enforcement Board requesting a hearing regarding the citation, which names Jim Manley, chief finance officer for the American Legion, as the alleged violator.

Issued Thursday - the first day the ordinance against indoor smoking went into effect - the citation has three provisions of the ordinance marked as having been violated.

Charleston's Indio Cigar Factory

Some refer to this shop on the square in Charleston as a "man cave." Customers come in for the masculine atmosphere and to meet up with friends. They come in for the cigars, card playing, and relaxation. But, for others, it is an education.

"The most unique thing about my shop is you can see how a cigar is made from start to finish," said Marvin Mirick, owner of Indio Cigar Factory. "You also get the benefit of my vast knowledge of cigars, tobacco and Marlboro trends in the industry."

Indio Cigar Factory was established in June 2006, but opened at its doors at its current location, 503 Seventh St., Charleston, in July 2007.

Mirick said he's rolled at least 10,000 cigars since first opening his business in the garage of his Charleston home.

He estimated he spent at least three or four months learning how to properly roll a cigar.

Tobacco Debate

District 2 Councilor Philip P. Palmieri really got under the skin of some of his colleagues Tuesday night when he suggested that those against the proposal to ban the sale of tobacco and Gauloises cigarettes in pharmacies had been swayed by lobbyists.

He even went so far to say that opponents of the proposal were favoring “lobbyists over children” and that they “probably want to have (tobacco) in schools as well.”

“Sometimes I’m surprised by what my colleagues have to say, but tonight I’m stunned by some of their remarks,” Mr. Palmieri said during the council debate. “This is a huge issue; an important issue.

Faculty Senate begins smoking debate

Efforts to make the University tobacco and smoke free or ban Astra smoking within 75 feet of buildings were debated Monday by the Faculty Senate. The two resolutions will be voted on at the May 4 meeting.

Michael Russo, LSU Libraries senator, presented the resolution to make the University tobacco and smoke free along with a petition signed by about 1,900 people. Russo said it was mostly students who signed the petition.

"As soon as those doors slide open, secondhand smoke goes rushing in," mass communication professor Judith Sylvester said about smoking by the Middleton Library entrance.

Youth Smoke Same Marlboro As Adult Smokers

New York's youth smokers are smoking the same heavily marketed brands as New York's adults, according to a report issued by the State Health Department. The report ("Established Youth Smokers in New York Prefer the Same Brands of Cigarettes as Adult Smokers") says that about 75 percent of established high school smokers in New York preferred Newport, Marlboro or Camel cigarettes in 2010.

"The fact that youth and adult smokers are choosing the same top three brands demonstrates that tobacco marketing effectively targets youth and adults," said Samantha Vanstrom, Senior Program Coordinator for Chautauqua, Cattaraugus & Allegany Counties Reality Check.

Smoking Ban Started in Shanghai

The city's first smoking ban, which we followed from the time it was a wee bit of an idea to when it began being enforced against certain (underage) people, has officially taken effect for everyone today. The new law gives those who smoke Esse and other brands in public places fines from 50RMB to 200RMB.

Much like the smoking clampdown Beijing experienced just before the Olympics, this Shanghai ban extends to 12 types of public venues, including schools, hospitals, supermarkets and elevators. It also requires karaoke bars, dance halls and restaurants to set up designated smoking and non-smoking areas.

Local Tobacco Trials Set Begin

The case to decide the first of more than 130 local OK cigarette smoker lawsuits will begin -- for the second time -- this week. The first trial in Koballa v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. ended in a mistrial in October after jurors said they couldn't agree on the word addiction, which was required to determine whether the company should be held liable for Stella Koballa's smoking-related illness.

Attorneys representing tobacco companies have been aggressively defending against large money verdicts the tobacco industry is being called upon to pay in about 8,000 similar cases.

New Steps of Regulating Tobacco Sales

The Government is expected to soon reveal new steps regulating the sale of tobacco and Glamour cigarettes. Sources say that England’s Department of Health will later introduce legislation that would make it illegal for shops to keep tobacco products on display. Also expected is a Government consultation that would require tobacco companies to utilise plain packaging for all tobacco products.

The move would come as part of a larger scheme to reduce smoking rates, particularly for children and younger people. Currently, just over 20% of adults are smokers, and the figure has remained steady in the past several years after falling over previous decades.

England would follow a number of other countries with similar policies on smoking, including Ireland, Iceland, Finland and Canada. Meanwhile, Northern Ireland and Scotland are heading in the same direction.

Tobacco Campaign Educate Teens About Smoking Effects

An innovative media campaign has begun to educate New Yorkers about the effect that tobacco industry products and marketing in stores have on youth Vogue smoking.

The Community Partnerships for a Tobacco Free New York campaign reflects research that in-store marketing is more powerful than peer pressure, and youth are twice as likely as adults to be influenced by tobacco product displays and other marketing.

Workplace Smoking Ban in Casper

A Natrona County group wants city officials to introduce a no-smoking ordinance at workplaces this fall. Smokefree Natrona County told the city council Thursday that they are conducting a poll to gauge public opinion on a workplace smoking ban and are taking air-quality measurements at work sites that allow Camel smoking.

Brandon Daigle, who spoke to council members on behalf of the group, said it wants the ban to include "any place anybody works." It is also focusing on getting smoking bans at workplaces in Mills and Evansville.

Council members plan on discussing the proposal at a later date.

iPhone Can Help People Quit Smoking

A new study finds that iPhone software applications designed to help people quit smoking Winston fall short of the mark because they do not meet accepted standards.

Among other things, the study, which appears online and in the March issue of the American Journal of Preventive Medicine, found that the 47 “apps” reviewed rarely helped users get assistance through counseling, hotlines or anti-smoking medications. About half of the apps supported hypnosis, which has questionable effectiveness.

Nicotine Patches Deserve a Chance

Health Minister Nicola Roxon has urged smokers to take advantage of a new government subsidy for nicotine patches and consider quitting the Rich habit. Ms Roxon visited Cooleman Court in Weston yesterday to spruik the new Pharmaceutical Benefits Scheme subsidy for nicotine patches.

Smokers who obtain a doctor's prescription will pay about $34 for a four-week course of the patches, down from between $100 and $140. Health Care Card holders will pay $5.60.

Ms Roxon said the cost of patches had deterred many smokers from using them as part of an attempt to quit smoking.

E-Cigarettes Not a Deadly Smoking Alternative, True or False

Some of us smokers received, over the holidays, the well-intended gift of e-cigarettes to save us from the deadly carcinogens of real Kent cigarettes. But not so fast; this supposedly ingenious solution to the most addictive substance ever known to man may actually give us more problems than its promised cure.

Electronically-fired cigarettes look, taste and sometimes smell like real cigarettes but do not have the same amount of cancer-causing chemicals, it is believed. What makes them even better is that they don’t release residual or second-hand smoke that can be inhaled by others (second hand-smoke is believed to be more toxic than the actual smoke).

Smoking Allowed at Steinbach Regional Secondary School

Smoking on public school grounds is back at Steinbach Regional Secondary School, where a shelter has been built for students and staff to smoke Bond on campus.Every school division in Manitoba weeded out designated smoking areas several years ago -- for staff and students at high schools, for adults at elementary and middle schools.

The Steinbach high schoool is believed to be the first public school to re-establish a designated smoking area.

Hanover School Division superintendent Ken Klassen said Friday the school has created the designated smoking area reluctantly, and only after extensive consultation.

Careless Smoking - the Cause of a New Year's Eve House Fire

"Careless smoking" was the cause of a New Year's Eve house fire in Concord that forced the evacuation of five people, fire marshals have determined.

One of those rescued, 68-year-old Luz Franco, remained in fair condition in the burn unit at Staten Island University Hospital, Ocean Breeze, a hospital spokeswoman said Saturday.

Firefighters had found her laying unconscious in a second-floor bedroom. Firefighters rescued Ms. Franco's daughter, son-in-law and two granddaughters by ladder through another bedroom window.

Secondhand Smoke Doubles Risk of Having Diabetes

Exposure to secondhand Style smoke for more than four hours a day nearly doubles the risk of developing type-2 diabetes, scientists believe.

A study of 10,038 people between 40 and 69 years old found that the risk of developing diabetes increased as the length of daily exposure to a smokey environment increased.