Tobacco News

SILVER SPRING, Md. — Tobacco companies believed that adding menthol to cigarettes made them easier for young people to smoke and sought eagerly to capitalize on it, according to testimony before the FDA’s advisory committee on tobacco products. But the panel also heard that there is little evidence indicating that menthol in cigarettes encourages an earlier start to smoking or that the additive has health risks of its own.
The agency’s Tobacco Products Scientific Advisory Committee has a March deadline to submit a report on menthol cigarettes to help the FDA decide whether it should regulate the products more tightly or ban them entirely. Ream more »

WASHINGTON — A top White House adviser says President Barack Obama and the leading House Republican would be good role models if both quit smoking, but he’s leaving hazy whether the two would work together on such a campaign.
Asked about such an effort Sunday on CBS’s “Face the Nation,” White House aide David Axelrod said the administration wants to work constructively with Republicans on any issue. But he refused to commit Obama to joining with House Minority Leader John Boehner to give up cigarettes. Ream more »

TOKYO – A LAST-MINUTE rush ahead of a record tobacco tax hike boosted cigarette sales in Japan by 88 per cent from a year earlier to 37.4 billion sticks in September, an industry association said on Wednesday. ‘There was a rapid rise in demand in August and September in anticipation of the price increases to stock up on cigarettes,’ Tobacco Institute of Japan manager Tomohiro Noguchi said. Ream more »

Four Pullman residents, three of which are WSU students, were arrested Saturday after 38 marijuana plants were found in their home on NE Lower Drive. Freshmen Jamal Atofau Barber, Roderick Andre Barrington and Bailey Woods as well as 20-year-old Zachary Uttech, who is not a WSU student, were arrested for violating the Uniform Controlled Substance Act, according to the Pullman Police Department activity log. Ream more »

A quit smoking patch or a nicotine patch is generically known as the transdermal system. Unlike the Nicocure, the nicotine patch actually contains nicotine just like cigarettes. Most people would argue that a quit smoking patch is just like giving an alcoholic a glass of liquor—it keeps one sustained of the chemical when in fact one wants be out of it. Ream more »

The University of New Brunswick has announced a new smartcard-based system designed to support students who are trying to quit smoking.
According the the Brunswickan, the school will be giving interested students plastic cards with $110 that can be used to purchase smoking cessation products.
A pre-survey by UNB’s clinic found more than 25 percent of the university’s student population habitually smoke. Ream more »

Every pack of cigarette comes with a warning that it is harmful to health, and yet hundreds of thousands of people are addicted to it. Smoking for pleasure and relaxation has been a part of the society long before cigarettes came into existence. The sheer numbers of sales are high enough, that it is still possibly one of the most lucrative items for a lot of businesses. Ream more »

Last Sunday night I wrote about the coming week:
If next Friday the Buck is lower across the board and the BoJ is a bit bloodied Ben Bernanke will light a cigar.
Okay, so our boy Ben is smoking a big fat cigar tonight. He could not be happier. Everything is going his way.
-On the week the dollar got crushed against the majors. Ream more »

PORT ANGELES, Wash. — Port Angeles city officials say a proposed medical marijuana dispensary meets regulations and will be permitted. Richard Pharr of Port Angeles tells the Peninsula Daily News he plans to apply for a building occupancy permit Monday. He wants to open Olympic Canna dispensary in the next month to serve Clallam and Jefferson counties. Ream more »

Matthew Borghese – AHN News Contributor
Los Angeles, CA, United States (AHN) – Two of the men behind social networking sensation Facebook.com have given substantial donations to a group pushing to decriminalize marijuana in California. Facebook co-founder and billionaire Dustin Moskovitz donated $70,000 to a group supporting Proposition 19, only to be shown up by a $100,000 donation from fellow Facebook-er Sean Parker. Ream more »