Rick Bender sat on a stage at the Ohio Statehouse fiddling with a chewing tobacco can as people stared at his disfigured face. Bender is used to it. He does this kind of thing on purpose. For the last 17 years, Bender has traveled the country, warning people of the dangers of tobacco use. Bender grew up in Kentucky and California and started using chewing tobacco at age 12. By age 26 in 1989, doctors diagnosed him with oral cancer, took out a third of his tongue and half his jaw, and told him he had two years to live. Bender joined anti-tobacco groups on Wednesday, March 17, in urging Ohio law ... Jump to full article >>

Smokeless tobacco products, also known as chew or “snuff,” are far from a healthy alternative for tobacco users intending to get a nicotine fix without cigarettes, according to a study published by Portland State chemistry professor Dr. James Pankow. His study resulted in an article named “Levels of mint and wintergreen flavorants: Smokeless tobacco products vs. confectionary products,” which was published in a nationwide journal, Food and Chemical Toxicology. Pankow’s research, which was conducted at PSU by four faculty members of the chemistry department, concluded that smokeless t ... Jump to full article >>

State officials are seeking $3 million in federal stimulus money to snuff out candy-flavored chewing tobacco and cigars that critics say are aimed at youths. If the Department of Health Services receives the federal grant and lawmakers approve, it would fund a statewide campaign to persuade local communities around Wisconsin to ban sales of products like cherry-flavored chaw. A state official said this backdoor approach could eventually lead to a statewide prohibition just as local bans on smoking in bars and restaurants led to the statewide ban taking effect in July. But one Republican lawmak ... Jump to full article >>

You can call chewing tobacco by whatever name you want — smokeless tobacco, spit tobacco, chew, snuff, pinch or dip — but don’t call it harmless. Whether you use chewing tobacco or other types of smokeless tobacco because you like it or because you think smokeless is safer than cigarettes, be forewarned — chewing tobacco can cause serious health problems. Chewing tobacco and other forms of smokeless tobacco Chewing tobacco is a common type of smokeless tobacco. Smokeless tobacco products consist of tobacco or a tobacco blend that’s chewed, sucked on or sniffed, rather than sm ... Jump to full article >>

Chewing tobacco is undoubtedly the oldest for of tobacco consumption. It originated in Native American tribes, when the Indians began chewing tobacco leaves mixing them with herbal plants or lime. In the 19th Century chewing tobacco was on the peak of its popularity across the US, especially in the Southern States before the war. Soldiers chose tobacco between the battles as it gave them a distraction from their stress. People placed special spittoons everywhere from their homes to saloons. Even the wealthy plantation owners and worthy officers always had pouches with chewing tobacco with them ... Jump to full article >>

When Montana’s smoking ban went into full effect Oct. 1, it hit some businesses hard and left others virtually unscathed. In general, establishments that catered specifically to the gambling crowd suffered most. “Some little bars did well, but some, absolutely no one’s coming in,” said Steve Arntzen, chief operating officer for Century Gaming. The Billings-based business accounts for 25 percent of the video gaming machines in Montana. “Where gaming is secondary, those places haven’t been impacted nearly as much.” [caption id="attachment_3698" align="alignleft" width="300" caption ... Jump to full article >>

The New York City Council is considering whether to outlaw sales of all flavored tobacco products — going a few steps beyond a federal ban. The Food and Drug Administration recently banned manufacturing, importing, marketing and distribution of cigarettes made to taste like candy, fruit and cloves. The City Council is voting Wednesday on a bill that would include all flavored tobacco products, like small cigars and chewing tobacco. The law would ban sales in New York City. The FDA is looking at whether to add more of those products to its ban. Officials and health experts say flavored p ... Jump to full article >>

A guard denies accusations that he had an alcohol problem and tortured Thomas W. Jackson. A former inmate at the Botetourt Correctional Center claims in a newly filed federal lawsuit that he was tormented by a guard with an alcohol problem and an inventive streak of sadism. But the guard, now retired, denies it — and says the prisoner was the one with the drinking problem. In a lawsuit filed Monday in U.S. District Court in Roanoke, Thomas W. Jackson said that during a year at Camp 25, as the correctional center is sometimes called, Officer Michael Fletcher carried out a program of haras ... Jump to full article >>

Taxing all tobacco products might have seemed an easy decision in a year in which everything that could raise a buck for state government was on the table. Legislators considered extending state tobacco taxes to cigars, chewing tobacco and other tobacco products that have never been taxed here, making Pennsylvania the only state in the nation that doesn’t tax such products. The idea would have netted at least $50 million — or more depending upon how the tax would have been structured — on a yearly basis for state coffers. Gov. Ed Rendell wanted to extend the tax. But a funny thing happe ... Jump to full article >>

The right to chew lives on. That will be a relief to many of the coal miners Lou Shelly works with at Rocky Mountain Power’s Deer Creek mine. “It caused a lot of stress for a lot of people for [the company] to say you can’t chew anymore,” said Shelly, who testified last month before an United Mine Workers of America arbitrator. Miners had challenged a ban on smokeless tobacco use at the Emery County mine. Arbitrator Fred Butler ruled in the union’s favor Friday, determining that Energy West Mining Corp.’s new policy, officially implemented (but not enforced) ... Jump to full article >>

New report provides detailed analysis of the Consumer Goods market. This databook provides key data and information on the tobacco market in Sweden. This report is a comprehensive resource for market, category and segment level data including value, volume, distribution share and company & brand share. This report also provides expenditure and consumption data for the historic and forecast periods. Scope Contains information on four categories: cigarettes, cigars and cigarillos, loose tobacco and chewing tobacco Market,category and segment level information on value, volume, and expenditu ... Jump to full article >>