A ban on tobacco displays in shops across Scotland is on hold because of an appeal by one of the world’s biggest cigarette manufacturers. Legal action by Imperial Tobacco will now prevent the Scottish Government from introducing the measure later this year, as had been planned.
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Watching movies that feature prominent smoking scenes could make it harder to quit smoking.
Researchers reporting in the Journal of Neuroscience did brain scans on both smokers, and non-smokers, while they watched Ridley Scott’s 2003 movie Matchstick Men.
The movie was selected because it features smoking scenes, but no scenes of sex, violence or alcohol use which could have affected the results. When characters on the screen smoked, there was a change in the smokers’ brain activity that closely resembled what happened when they themselves lit up a cigarette.
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Police are looking for the person who shattered the front window of a Florence business to steal $500 in cigarettes.
It happened about 11 p.m. Monday at Fred’s, located at 1920 W. Evans St., Florence Police Maj. Carlos Raines said.
It’s not clear what was used to break the window, and the only items missing from the store were about $500 in cigarettes, Raines said.
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Customs officers have seized about 68,000 cigarettes during a raid on garages in the Black Country.
HM Revenue & Customs also found 4.4kg of hand rolling tobacco, 653 litres of alcohol and two cars when they raided the garages in Wednesbury on Monday.
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The average smoker takes five years and seven attempts to give up the fags, a report revealed yesterday.
Researchers studied the behaviour of 3,000 smokers and ex-smokers. They found most quit over fears for their long-term health.
Other common reasons include their smoking being a turn-off to the opposite sex, struggling with breath, and ‘being judged’. Ream more »
Just like a game of Whac-A-Mole, sin tax proposals keep popping up. State voters repealed the 6.25 percent sales tax on alcohol in a November ballot question. Now, health care advocates are pushing for a 50 percent hike in the excise tax on cigarettes. An anti-smoking coalition called Tobacco Free Massachusetts has made increasing the excise tax on cigarettes by $1.25 per pack one of its top legislative priorities this year, and 28 lawmakers have signed on.
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Former Iowa wide receiver Derrell Johnson-Koulianos has pleaded guilty to marijuana possession and other drug charges against him have been dismissed.
Johnson-Koulianos was granted a deferred judgment Monday. He received a year’s probation and was fined $315.
Johnson-Koulianos had also been charged with unlawful possession of cocaine and prescription drugs. Ream more »
Clay Butler is developing a line of “soda pot” called Canna Cola, a medical marijuana soft drink. In addition to that flavor, the California-based commercial artist plans on releasing others, including “Dr. Pepper-like Doc Weed, lemon-lime Sour Diesel, grape-flavored Grape Ape and orange-flavored Orange Kush,” according to the Santa Cruz Sentinel. Ream more »
Backers of electronic cigarettes are watching legislation that could make New York the first state in the nation to ban the devices widely advertised on the Internet as a way to help quit smoking.
A key vote in the state Assembly Health Committee could be cast as early as Tuesday.
Health officials say e-cigarettes are just another addictive habit, one that can hook kids early and legally on smoking. Ream more »
Tobacco may no longer be king in Virginia, but it still pulls plenty of weight in the General Assembly.
The golden leaf, a mainstay of the state’s economy since the 1600s, has declined in importance in recent years as recognition of its dangers to human health has grown.
Nevertheless, lawmakers still shrink from taxing it.
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