Seneca Nation leaders have renounced violence, urged calm and tried to dampen the emotion in the buildup to the state’s attempt to collect taxes on cigarettes. Even so, some emotion — mostly frustration — has bubbled up from the Cattaraugus Reservation. With questions about potential economic harm from a successful attempt at tax collection, sometimes it sounds like a people’s attempt at survival. While two public, “peaceful” rallies are planned on the reservation this morning, tensions had been climbing, and the raw emotion has still shown its head. The Sen ... Jump to full article >>

Seneca Indians may have lost another court battle Monday in their attempts to keep state taxes from being collected on cigarettes sold to non-Indians on Native American land, but they say their legal battle is not complete. Not only will Senecas head to the state’s Appellate Division seeking to overturn a decision made Monday by state Supreme Court Judge Donna Siwek that will allow for tax collections, but the nation also plans to head back to U.S. Federal District Court in hopes of convincing Judge Richard Arcara to block the way the state plans to collect the taxes. On Monday, Judge Si ... Jump to full article >>

A meeting today in Henrietta was historic. The six nations making up the Iroquois Confederacy say it was the first time they’ve all met together in more than 200 years. At stake are options in the wake of New York State taxing Native American cigarette shipments. The Seneca Nation of Indians and the others say New York State does not have the authority to impose its laws on them. That they are sovereign nations — just as the United States of America is and they said that message is meant for Gov. Paterson and Andrew Cuomo. The Six Nations said they are considering what their option ... Jump to full article >>

A Seneca Nation businessman who is challenging a federal law that makes it illegal to ship cigarettes through the mail called the seizure of thousands of cartons of his cigarettes from a delivery truck “clear retaliation” for his lawsuit. The cigarettes were seized Monday, the day before lawyers for Aaron Pierce and 140 members of the Seneca Free Trade Association were due in U.S. District Court in Buffalo to continue their challenge to the Prevent All Cigarette Trafficking Act. State tax agents pulled over the truck owned by Pierce’s AJ’s Wholesale LLC of Irving as it ... Jump to full article >>

A new ordinance kicks ashtrays off restaurant tables and cigarettes out of certain public places in what city leaders call a necessary choice to protect residents’ health. The smoking ban adopted Monday makes Pearl the second city in Rankin County to adopt tobacco restrictions. “We want to make sure folks can dine in our restaurants and have a pleasant experience,” Mayor Brad Rogers said. Cigarettes also are banned in retail stores, adult entertainment businesses, tattoo and body piercing shops and childcare facilities. Motels and hotels are not included in the ban. PearlR ... Jump to full article >>

Between puffs of his cigarette, Aristo Lizica explains why he’s all for a smoking ban in public housing—including his own housing project on the Upper West Side of Manhattan. “When you smoke indoors, it hurts everybody,” the 59-year-old says, leaning against an iron fence outside his building. “It’s better for me to just make myself sick.” Lizica would prefer to avoid making himself sick too, of course. “I want to quit,” he adds. “I know cigarettes are bad for my health.” Yet he remains unable to kick the habit. Federal housing officials are trying to help people like Li ... Jump to full article >>

A three-year-old has mysteriously picked up an addiction to smoking cigarettes and downing beers after surviving a road crash. Ya Wen has been smoking up to a pack a day since the accident last year when she was hit by a speeding van. Her parents say that her personality has changed since leaving hospital, where she recovered from five days in a coma and severe injuries. Her mother Gao said she has started acting like an adult. ‘She likes drinking,’ she said. ‘Three glasses of beer is no problem to her.’ Her mother, who collects rubbish to sell in Huizhou, China, said s ... Jump to full article >>

Tennessee’s performance ratings on helping people quit smoking or keeping them from ever taking a puff go from worse to worst. A large number of smokers, low taxes on cigarettes and limited funding for smoking prevention programs earn the state poor grades in a new report from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Tennessee, which has the fourth-highest rate of lung cancer in the country, was making strides in 2007 when lawmakers boosted spending on anti-smoking programs and imposed a stricter smoking ban. The number of smokers dropped from 27 percent of adults to 23 percent in ... Jump to full article >>

Regardless of the fact that adverts of cigarettes were banned many years ago, tobacco giants still fork billions of dollars on marketing their newest tobacco creations. According to Marry Smith communications manager for ClearWay Minnesota charity, tobacco industry spends $200 million each year to promote tobacco products across the state. The companies still apply traditional promotional tools, like distributing discount coupons and sending gifts to loyal smokers. Nevertheless, Smith said that some tobacconists apply completely new ways to raise public awareness about their new products, some ... Jump to full article >>

Tobacco companies would be forced to use plain, logo-free packaging on their cigarettes in a bid to make them less attractive to smokers under legislation introduced Thursday by Australia’s government, which dubbed the move a world-first. The rules, which would take effect July 1, 2012, would ban tobacco companies from including logos, promotional text or colorful images on cigarette packages. Graphic government health warnings would be prominently displayed instead, with the brand name relegated to tiny, generic font at the bottom. “The new branding for cigarettes will be the most ... Jump to full article >>

The Wall Street Journal “Numbers Guy” blog said that while smokeless tobacco products remain far less popular than cigarettes in the United States, a collection of products that deliver nicotine without smoke—including dip, chew, snuff and newer items that look more like chewing gum—have sparked a heated debate about health risks. Opponents of these products have presented numbers that suggest smokeless tobacco is an enormous public-health threat akin to cigarettes, while supporters, including some scientists, suggest smokeless items could offer a solution to smoking’s to ... Jump to full article >>