WASHINGTON — After being stingy with their support in the early days of the Obama administration, significant numbers of House Republicans have begun breaking from their party leaders and voting for legislation moving through the Democratic-led Congress. Scores of House Republicans joined Democrats in recent days in pushing through measures meant to rein in credit card companies, increase federal resources to pursue financial fraud and crack down on predatory housing lenders — all legislation opposed by top House Republicans. On the credit card and financial fraud bills, only a m ... Jump to full article >>

JANESVILLE (WREX) — As Wisconsin legislators consider a statewide smoking ban, some bar owners and patrons criticize the proposal. At Legends in Janesville, most of the Mothers Day crowd was smoking. And they had a common message for nonsmokers. “Go to a non-smoking bar,” said Paul Tjaden. “There’s getting to be more of those.” “I find it hilarious that they want to raise taxes on cigarettes to raise all this revenue, yet make it illegal to smoke cigarettes,” said Steve Sullivan. “It just seems like a really silly idea.” Even acros ... Jump to full article >>

For the non-smoking public, nothing takes the luster off a night out on the town with friends or a dinner with the family like a smelly, smoke-filled environment. But even worse than a foggy social atmosphere is the actual harm that second-hand cigarette smoke does to the lungs and circulatory system of those who inhale it. It’s a condition the public and many public officials are getting serious about — including those in North Carolina. Senate lawmakers stepped up for better public health last week when they gave preliminary approval, voting 26-16, to ban smoking in the stateR ... Jump to full article >>

The campaign against smoking, which kills close to 90,000 people a year in the Philippines – on a par with the number of deaths in natural disasters or conflicts – is becoming a losing battle. “My friends look so cool smoking,” Arnold Santos of Mandaluyong City said, who took up the habit out of peer pressure. “Now, I smoke 10 cigarettes a day,”the 17-year-old, who has no plans of quitting just yet, said. Despite the passage of the Tobacco Control Act, more Filipino youths are now smoking, “indicating that the law has not been effective”, Maricar ... Jump to full article >>