CEDAR RAPIDS, Iowa— Linn County will consider new restrictions on the sale of smokeless tobacco. The Gazette is reporting the county Board of Supervisors will vote next month on ordinances that would prohibit the sale of dissolvable tobacco products, such as strips and sticks in the county; ban buy one get one free sales of products; and prohibit adult-only temporary structures, such as fair tents, from giving away samples of smokeless tobacco. Supervisor Linda Langston is predicting the measures will pass. Langston and others say the ordinances are being proposed to protect children. Manag ... 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 >>

DipStop Inc., the makers of Bacc Off, the leading non-tobacco, non-nicotine alternative to smokeless tobacco, reminds readers that April is Oral Cancer Awareness month and launches latest release of smokeless tobbacco cessation program. DipStop Inc., the leading manufacturer of non-tobacco, non-nicotine alternatives to smokeless tobacco, reminds readers that April is Oral Cancer Awareness month. Smokeless tobacco is still perceived by many users to be a “safer” alternative to smoking for those addicted to nicotine. Studies have shown, however, that because of prolonged contact with toba ... Jump to full article >>

A proposal to increase the state tax on some forms of smokeless tobacco – moist snuff – to fund programs to recruit doctors to rural and underserved parts of the state is working its way through the Legislature. Senate Bill 233 is expected to raise $8 million to $9 million a year for recruitment programs of the Physician Manpower Training Commission. It would eliminate the current 20 percent tax on moist snuff and replace it with a $1.20 per ounce tax. A typical can of moist snuff contains a little more than one ounce. The tax hike would not apply to dry snuff, chewing tobacco, sm ... Jump to full article >>

Dip, rub, moist snuff, spit tobacco, chawburger — dipping tobacco has many names, but it’s always in demand. Second only to cigarettes in tobacco sales, $4.5 billion worth of moist smokeless tobacco was sold in the U.S. in 2009, according to information from the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. The company is the world’s leading producer of smokeless tobacco, making up 55 percent of the market. Its Copenhagen brand is the country’s most popular, accounting for nearly 25 percent of the market. Skoal is a close second, at about 23 percent. U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. estimates 2009 ... Jump to full article >>

Owners have to negotiate with players’ union MINNEAPOLIS (AP) – Much to Commissioner Bud Selig’s chagrin, chewing tobacco has been almost as much a part of Major League Baseball over the years as “Play Ball!” and the seventh-inning stretch. It’s ingrained in the culture of the game and is evident anytime a player steps on the sticky floor of a big-league dugout. As owners and the players’ union begin negotiations on a new collective bargaining agreement, Selig hopes the time has finally come to rid the game of the unhealthy habit. In a letter to the Ca ... 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 >>

A two-day national consultation will be held here April 4-5 by the ministry of health and family welfare in association with the World Health Organisation (WHO) and Public Health Foundation of India (PHFI) to highlight the growing use of tobacco products other than cigarettes. A statement released Tuesday said that as per the recent Global Adult Tobacco Survey (GATS) India Report, the current use of smokeless tobacco among adult males in India is as high as 32.9 percent and for females it is 18.4 percent. Overall, 26 percent of the adult population consumes smokeless type of tobacco. Smokeles ... Jump to full article >>

NEW DELHI: Can smokeless and chewing tobacco, India’s major public health problem, be called food items and then be tested and asked to reveal contents? That’s what the Union health ministry now wants to find out. The ministry has called a crucial consultation with the Food Safety and Standards Authority of India (FSSAI) — the nodal body to implement the Food Safety and Standards Act, 2006 — on April 4 and 5. The Act replaced the earlier Prevention of Food Adulteration Act of 1954 in which smokeless tobacco was not considered a food item. The ministry now wants to see that if ... Jump to full article >>

The former chairman of Circuit City Stores Inc. and CarMax Inc. has joined the board of directors of a local company that makes smokeless tobacco products. Star Scientific Inc. said Thursday that it has named Richard L. Sharp to its seven-member board. The Henrico County-based company makes smokeless, spitless, oral tobacco products under the brand names Stonewall and Ariva. Star Scientific shook up the tobacco industry in the late 1990s and early 2000s by contracting with farmers to produce reduced-carcinogen tobacco, but the company has not turned a profit in years as it pursued a decade-lo ... Jump to full article >>

Bellefonte Borough Council members are considering passing an ordinance that would prohibit minors from using and possessing tobacco products within the borough. It is illegal in the state for minors to purchase tobacco, but it is not illegal for them to use the products, or have them in their possession. The ordinance is based on one that is already in place in Hollidaysburg, Blair County. If passed, it would make it illegal in the borough for any person younger than 18 to use or possess tobacco in any form, including cigarettes, cigars, smokeless tobacco and any other product containing toba ... Jump to full article >>