Tobacco News

An ongoing dispute between the King Mountain Tobacco Co. and state and federal authorities over jurisdiction and treaty rights flared up this week in the form of a lawsuit Tuesday and a federal raid Wednesday.
Details about the raid were scant.
A lawyer for King Mountain declined comment except to say FBI and Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives agents were “swarming” the Yakama cigarette maker’s facilities in White Swan. Neither the FBI nor the ATF returned phone calls seeking comment.
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It’s probably a good thing that Americans—at least most in the middle and upper-middle classes—have given up the habit of tobacco. I say “probably” because I’ve always been convinced by those economists who argue that smokers do a favor to nonsmokers by paying exorbitant taxes on their weeds and then kicking off early, reducing the burden on Social Security and Medicare.
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In January a man was arrested and held after making death threats at Duluth’s Last Place on Earth (“Man held after threats at Last Place on Earth,” Jan. 24). The man reportedly demanded synthetic marijuana and a small amount of cash. The store owner was quoted as saying, “We’ve had little issues with this guy before.” The owner likely would minimize the gravity of such behavior because it was directly relative to the use of synthetic marijuana, something the Last Place on Earth openly promotes.
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Newfoundland and Labrador became on Tuesday the latest province to sue more than a dozen tobacco companies for money to cover health-care costs related to smoking. The Newfoundland government filed a statement of claim with the provincial Supreme Court in St. John’s after proclaiming legislation that allows the province to pursue legal action against the tobacco industry, according to a statement sent by the province’s Justice Department. Ream more »

As hookah lounges spring up in St. Johns and throughout the Portland area, the flavored tobacco attracts UP students to gather together. However, they may be unaware of the health risks of smoking hookah.
The tobacco used for hookahs is “shisha,” a half-tobacco, half-syrup mixture. Shisha comes in a variety of flavors such as double apple or grape, which is cooled and smoked through water pipes, or a hookah. Ream more »

The following is a statement by Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund, American Cancer Society, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights and National African American Tobacco Prevention Network. According to court filings, the tobacco companies are seeking to block public disclosure of proposed statements a federal judge has ordered them to make to correct their deceptions about their deadly products. Ream more »

Two Saginaw businessmen think purchasing an ounce of high-grade medical marijuana should be no more tedious than a drive to Walgreens for a prescription.

But Saginaw County and city legal leaders say medical marijuana dispensaries, like the several exchanges that operate in Bay County, are illegal.

With regard to dispensaries, it looks like Saginaw leaders won’t have the luxury of waiting for legal precedent regarding distribution of medical marijuana, as Saginaw Attorney Thomas H. Fancher said he had hoped.
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Police are investigating a Tuesday morning smash-and-grab burglary at the Hookah bar in northwest Atlanta.
A witness called police after seeing several suspects in hoodies enter the House of Hookah at 398 14th St. early in the morning, Atlanta police spokeswoman Ms. Kim Jones said.
But by the time officers arrived, the suspects had already fled, Ms. Jones said. Ream more »

A number of allegations made by Jennifer Schipsi were lies, a Palo Alto hookah lounge owner accused of murdering her testified in court Monday.
On the third day of his testimony, Bulos “Paul” Zumot, the 37-year-old owner of Da Hookah Spot, claimed Schipsi, a 29-year-old old real estate agent he is suspected of strangling and whose body he allegedly set ablaze to hide evidence, was dishonest in some of the text messages she sent him. Ream more »

Miley Cyrus says that being caught smoking a bong was a ‘bad decision, because of my fans.’
The pop star’s comments are published just days after she was voted the celebrity with the worst influence on teens in a survey of youngsters for the second year in a row.
A video of the 18-year-old smoking a bong allegedly filled with the herb salvia was posted on the Internet in December.
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