A new study led by researchers at the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health shows both the intended and unintended consequences of cigarette taxes. According to an analysis of Internet search data, the 2009 U.S. federal cigarette excise tax increase successfully drove many smokers online to find ways to quit smoking, but more often smokers responded by shopping online for tax-free or cheap cigarettes in an apparent effort to evade the tax hike. The study is the first evaluation of smokers’ responses to the tax, which increased from $0.39 to $1.01 per pack under the State Children†... Jump to full article >>

LOS ANGELES (Hollywood Reporter) – You’ve heard of Big Oil and Big Tobacco. Welcome to Big Movies. In a survey released Monday, 36% of the people who engage in the piracy of films and TV shows over the Internet say one reason they do it is because they don’t want to “contribute to the profits of big movie companies.” The data come from PricewaterhouseCoopers, which polled 202 people ages 18-59 who admit to online piracy. Those who use the Internet to steal movies and TV shows are increasingly turning to their mobile devices to do the deed, and 81% who steal conten ... Jump to full article >>

Computer games are dangerously addictive and contain powerful psychological devices designed to make some fans play compulsively, a Panorama investigation will reveal tonight. A simple technique based on a 1950s study of rats feeding themselves by pressing a lever, which encourages repeat behaviour by rewarding it at random, has effectively been adapted for use in gaming and is feared to encourage addiction. The situation is so serious that the industry body United Kingdom Interactive Entertainment is now calling for more research on the issue and promising to publish advice for parents helpi ... Jump to full article >>

Young Australians, aged 24-29, currently have the highest rate of smoking among Australians, who currently have a nearly 20 percent rate of smoking overall. Australia has some of the world’s toughest tobacco advertising restrictions and already bans advertising on television and radio, in newspapers and magazines, and at sporting events. Retailers are prohibited from displaying cigarette packets in shops and cigarette packets carry graphic images of cancer and a health warning that smoking causes cancer. “Prohibiting retailers from peddling cigarettes as ‘cheap’ or R ... Jump to full article >>

Excessive texting and social networking may increase teens’ risk for dangerous health behaviors, including smoking, drinking and sexual activity, a new study suggests. Researchers looked at hyper-texting (sending more than 120 messages per school day) and hyper-networking (spending more than three hours a school day on social networking sites) among high school students in an urban county in the U.S. Midwest. Many of the 19.8 percent of teens who reported hyper-texting were female, minority, from lower socioeconomic status and had no father at home, according to the researchers at Case ... Jump to full article >>

On Monday, the Wall Street Journal reported that many of the most popular Facebook application developers, including Zynga Game Network whose apps include FarmVille, Texas HoldEm Poker and FrontierVille, “have been transmitting identifying information — in effect, providing access to people’s names and, in some cases, their friends’ names — to dozens of advertising and Internet tracking companies.” Smoking Gun? To some, it was the smoking gun proving Facebook is in the business of selling users’ personal information. But if you read the story closely, ... Jump to full article >>

The old folk concept that our personal health behaviors rub off on those around us has received a staggering amount of scientific support of late. Over the last few years, study after study has shown that weight gain, drug and alcohol use, even loneliness and depression aren’t islands unto themselves but are powerfully contagious — capable of spreading within our social networks just as germs scatter after a sneeze. If your friends are smokers, you tend to light up too, studies show. If they’re overweight, then your belt also feels a bit tight. If they’re happy, chances are ... Jump to full article >>

Google has accepted pro-pot-legalization ads similar to those rejected by Facebook, a spokesman for the Just Say Now coalition told HuffPost Wednesday, providing a confirmation email from a Google representative. Google also accepted ads attacking Facebook for blocking the campaign’s web ads. [UPDATE: Google will allow the ads to reference to controversy but not name Facebook specifically, for trademark reasons.] “Facebook’s concocted prissiness over political advocacy is more to be disparaged than imitated. Freedom of expression is made of sterner stuff. Google deserves appl ... Jump to full article >>

A federal judge granted a temporary restraining order Monday allowing a Seneca Nation mail-order cigarette retailer to supply tobacco products across the country without having to meet the requirements of a new federal law that took effect at midnight. District Judge Richard J. Arcara granted the motion as part of the retailer’s lawsuit against the U.S. government. The retailer, Red Earth, which does business as Seneca Smokeshop, has asked the court to declare the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act unconstitutional. Seneca Smokeshop, a 10-year-old business, employs 17 people and sells ... Jump to full article >>

The Foodtown and Woolworths supermarket chains will remove the words “light” and “mild” from cigarette adverts on their online shopping websites, after the Herald told them of an official warning against using the “potentially misleading” terms. The Commerce Commission in 2008 issued a public warning to New Zealand’s three main tobacco companies over “light” and “mild” on tobacco packaging, saying the terms may mislead consumers and therefore risked breaching the Fair Trading Act. The commission said consumers may believe they w ... Jump to full article >>

The popular yet repulsive ’2 Year Old Smoking Cigarettes Video’ has been removed from YouTube. This popular website to store and share videos had numerous videos of the child who was puffing cigarettes; the notice of terms of service was posted instead of the video leaving the audience looking for the video completely out of luck. Did YouTube.com remove the video because it broke the rules? It appears so! This is one of those please ‘don’t make me look’ videos that you just can’t turn away from. Giving perspective about a child who was using a substance that ... Jump to full article >>