Tobacco News

An inexpensive drug widely used in Central and Eastern Europe, but not approved in the United States, more than tripled smokers’ chances of successfully kicking the habit in a new study published in the latest New England Journal of Medicine.

The drug, Tabex (cytisine), has been used for smoking cessation in Russia and other Eastern European countries for more than four decades, but no rigorous studies have ever been done to prove its effectiveness.
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Smoking takes a heavy toll on Florida, killing more than 28,000 state residents a year. Billions of dollars are spent annually to treat sick smokers, including at least $1 billion by the state’s taxpayer-fundedMedicaid program.
Alarming statistics like these have led us to support anti-smoking initiatives. But in taking on tobacco, which remains a legal product, it’s still possible to overreach.
The Orlando City Council did so this month by passing a resolution urging smokers not to light up in parks and other public places outdoors “where children commonly play.” More significantly, the measure called on the Legislature to give local governments like Orlando’s the power to go beyond suggestions and actually ban smoking in parks and other public areas. Ream more »

One man is dead and five others are under arrest following a Tuesday night shootout at the site of a commercial marijuana growing operation in rural Amador County.
The Amador County Sheriff’s Office received a call at 9:10 p.m. Tuesday from a resident on Carbondale Road who reported hearing several gunshots. At 9:18, a second caller reported hearing 15 to 20 gunshots. One of the callers reported seeing a white full-sized extra cab truck and dark-colored sport utility vehicle leaving the property where the gunshots originated.
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Kristen Stewart has been photographed with a butt hanging out of her mouth again. Does she need a nicotine patch? Doesn’t she realize the kind of an example she is setting for her young fans?

According to a report from Hollywood Life, the Twilight and Snow White actress was spotted smoking on the set of Snow White and the Huntsman on Wednesday, September 28th. Isn’t she aware of the fact that cigarettes can kill? Ream more »

The Bullitt County Board of Health is not giving up its struggle to enact a county-wide smoking ban and has decided to appeal a court decision restricting its power to create and enforce new regulations.
Bullitt County Circuit Court Judge Rodney Burress ruled earlier this month that the health department could not choose where people smoke and wrote in his decision any regulations must be introduced by the Cabinet for Family and Health Services. Ream more »

A judge in Huntington has sentence a woman from New Mexico to 30 month in prison on a federal marijuana distribution charge.

Rosa Ledezma, 44, of Las Cruces, N.M., was sentenced Monday in U.S. District Court in Huntington.
Prosecutors say Ledezma admitted that from Feb. 17, 2010, until Feb. 19, 2010, she conspired with others to distribute marijuana linked to an on-going trafficking scheme. Ream more »

“There is an increasing level of violence associated with illegal marijuana cultivation”, said Butte County Sheriff Jerry Smith. That statement proved to be true early Tuesday morning after a marijuana raid in Berry Creek ended with gunfire. Butte County Sheriff Deputies raided the garden off of Feather Ridge Way just before 7:00 Tuesday morning, but one of the suspects guarding the marijuana grow opened fire in his attempt to escape. ” The deputy sheriff then returned fire, striking the suspect in the lower extremities”, said Smith.
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A federal appeals panel has upheld the state in its long-running battle to force Yakama tribal smoke shops to collect the $3.03 state cigarette tax from non-Indian buyers.

The U.S. 9th Circuit Court of Appeals on Friday upheld U.S. District Judge Robert H. Whaley, who ruled last year that tribal smoke shops on the 1.2 million-acre Yakama reservation must collect the tax. The ruling not only levels the playing field between tribal and non-tribal retailers, but clears up decades of dispute, said state Department of Revenue spokesman Mike Gowrylow.
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If you see me with a Cheshire cat smile on my face it’s because I have a little secret. You see, the only thing that makes me happier than having a little secret is sharing my little secret.

That’s why I was so excited to try out the Firefly Shisha Bar on Ellice Avenue; not only was it not very well-known, but it felt a little dangerous and if I may say so, slightly illicit for a suburban Mom. Truth is, I am not a stranger to the hookah; Ream more »

If Friday evening’s events are any indication, Enid retailers are getting the message about not selling tobacco to minors.

Kara Savage, a regional prevention coordinator for PreventionWorkz, and two youths visited 16 Enid stores Friday evening and were unable to purchase tobacco at any of them.

“I think all the times we’ve done this, it’s finally getting through to them,” Savage said.
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