Jim Hatfield has smoked since he was 10 years old and doesn’t have quitting on his list of New Year’s resolutions. But he knows he will stop smoking one of these days. “Yeah, I will,” Hatfield, 65, of Clayton, N.M., said as he finished a Liggett Select cigarette in the Westgate Mall parking lot Thursday afternoon. “When they put me in the ground, I’ll definitely have to quit.” About 30 percent of cancer deaths in the U.S. are caused by smoking, Texas Oncology physician Phillip Periman said, and the risks of smoking are by no means limited to lung cancer. Hatfield’s wife and fel ... Jump to full article >>

BOZEMAN, Mont. — Smoking on campus at MSU is fairly simple: stay at least twenty-five feet from any building, and you’re free to light up where you please. But after a vote form the University Council banning all tobacco products, that will soon change. The Council unanimously approved the no tobacco initiative. “Tobacco-free MSU just means, MSU property, MSU campus, no tobacco use”, said student body Vice President Joey Steffens. The policy will be drafted over the summer and is expected to be approved this fall. The campus will then spend next school year educating s ... Jump to full article >>

COLCHESTER, Vt. (AP) — Eating healthy can start in the checkout line. So Vermont officials are making a pitch to retailers in hopes of getting consumers to eat healthier food and avoid tobacco and alcohol. On Wednesday, the state Department of Health is holding a conference to launch its “Healthy Retailers” campaign, a training session involving 75 community health advocates. As part of it, store owners will be offered free point-of-sale materials including posters that show people involved in healthy activities. Dr. Harry Chen, the state health commissioner, says point-of-sale a ... Jump to full article >>

Hawaii is facing a $1.3 billion state budget deficit — and in response, a series of bills have been introduced to hike taxes, including “other tobacco product” taxes. Among the proposed legislation is House Bill 273, which would increase taxes on products such as cigars and smokeless tobacco. The state should avoid all tax increases and instead turn to spending cuts to balance its budget. Tobacco taxes are often sold to the public as a way to improve public health by raising the cost of tobacco products. But proponents never advertise the hidden costs of such policies, which can ... Jump to full article >>

Prenatal exposure to toxic components of a newly recognised category of tobacco smoke-known as ‘thirdhand smoke’-can have as serious or an even more negative impact on an infants’ lung development as postnatal or childhood exposure to smoke, according to a study by researchers at the Los Angeles Biomedical Research Institute at Harbor-UCLA Medical Center. Thirdhand smoke is the newly formed toxins from tobacco smoke that remain on furniture, in cars, on clothing and on other surfaces-long after smokers have finished their cigarettes. “Thirdhand smoke is a stealth toxin ... Jump to full article >>

Last week I attended the annual conference of the Society for Research on Nicotine and Tobacco (SRNT) in Toronto, and so this week I plan to discuss some of the more interesting developments presented at that meeting. One of the most interesting studies was presented in a poster by Dr Andrea Vansickel and colleagues at Professor Tom Eissenberg’s laboratory at Virginia Commonwealth University. This group had previously published a study of e-cigarette use in cigarette smokers which found that they obtained only negligible levels of blood nicotine from the e-cigarettes. In the poster last ... Jump to full article >>

Smokers deserve the same protection as disabled people and children, Jeremy Irons has said. The actor, who is a smoker, made the startling remark as he attacked new laws in New York that restrict lighting up in public. Mayor Michael Bloomberg has brought in sweeping changes to try and improve the health of the city but has been met with harsh criticism. Irons, 62, is one of the most high-profile people to have spoken out on behalf of smokers’ rights after the ban in 1,700 parks, public squares and beaches, including Central Park and Times Square. Mr Bloomberg, a reformed smoker, introduc ... Jump to full article >>

Before the April 5 smoking initiative, examine the history of the tobacco industry. 1950s: Doctors were paid to testify cigarettes were actually good for you. 1960s: Tobacco industry denies veracity of mounting evidence that tobacco was a real health hazard killing people daily. 1970s, ’80s and ’90s: Big tobacco spent millions claiming in court that tobacco was never responsible for one single death. 2000s: Having lied, litigated, lost and found responsible for uncountable deaths, they began anew the cycle of lies and deception: Denying the health risks that secondhand smoke is pro ... Jump to full article >>

NORTHAMPTON, Mass. (WWLP) – The number of high school students who smoke is dropping, but the number of high school students who use other tobacco products is rising. These other tobacco products include snus, nicotine pills, chewing tobacco, cigars, and even a liquid that looks and works like hand sanitizer. These products can be very deceiving to parents who may not know what they are. “They’re marketed by the tobacco industry to look like candy or gum which is very attractive to youth. They also come in a variety of flavors,” said Michaelle Houghtaling, director of N ... Jump to full article >>

With the fifth anniversary of the most radical public health legislation since devolution, our reporter gauges how Scots have reacted and tries to discover what the next step might be. FOR MANY, it seems like a distant memory, a bygone age when smokers and non-smokers sat side-by-side enjoying a drink in a Scottish pub. Now, smokers are left out in the cold – some would say in more ways than one. The ban on smoking in public places in Scotland, now approaching its fifth anniversary, was hailed as a major step forward in the battle to improve public health. Those exposed to second-hand smoke ... Jump to full article >>

The government will soon decide whether cigarette displays in shops should be banned. Health campaigners insist they should, believing this will reduce the number of young people smoking, while those who run convenience shops oppose the move, saying it will cost up to £1,000 to remove the displays and to fit under-the-counter trays to hold tobacco products. This, they warn, will increase queues in shops, levels of theft and smuggling. Whether a ban deters young people from smoking is fiercely contested. Several Canadian provinces that introduced a ban have witnessed a significant fall in you ... Jump to full article >>