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 >>

Parents shouldn’t let up in their efforts when it comes to discouraging their kids from smoking, suggests a new study. Researchers, led by E. Melinda Mahabee-Gittens, an emergency medicine physician at Cincinnati Children’s Hospital Medical Center, sought to determine if family factors continue to protect adolescents as they grow older and whether these factors affect youths of varying racial/ethnic backgrounds differently. Investigators studied 3,473 pairs of white, black and Hispanic parents and nonsmoking youths who participated in the National Survey of Parents and Youth in No ... Jump to full article >>

Charlie Sheen avoided breaking strict Toronto smoking laws by using an e-cigarette boosted sales for one of the most popular e-cigarette companies, South Beach Smoke. Charlie Sheen’s tour, “My Violent Torpedo of Truth/Defeat is Not an Option Show” stopped in Toronto April 14th. The venue for this event, Massey Hall, informed Sheen that smoking a cigarette backstage could force them to shut down the show and have him face up to $100,000 in city fines. He reportedly pulled out an electronic cigarette like the products sold by South Beach Smoke and used it to legally avoid the fine and sho ... Jump to full article >>

A Macomb County Circuit judge did not rule the Michigan smoking ban unconstitutional Monday, but called some of the language in the ban confusing. Judge Edward Servitto also allowed Warren bar owner Boyd Cottrell to keep his license and did not order him to pay a $500 fine for violating the ban. Cottrell, owner of Sporty O’Toole’s, was cited in May for violating the ban and paid a $100 fine. His second ticket came in October, but he did not pay the $500 fine. The Macomb County Health Department filed a complaint in Circuit Court, and Cottrell took up the challenge, the first in th ... Jump to full article >>

Voters in the state capital will decide whether smokers should be allowed to keep lighting up in bars, or whether a ban the city approved last year should finally take effect. Bismarck city commissioners last fall approved an ordinance banning smoking in bars, truck stops and tobacco stores. The ban was to go into effect on Nov. 1, but a group of bar workers submitted enough referral petitions to bring the matter to a public vote. Voters on Tuesday also will decide whether to allow smoking huts outside bars if a ban is approved. Supporters of a ban say it is in the interest of public health, p ... Jump to full article >>

The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB) is warning consumers to be wary of free trial offers for electronic cigarettes. Customers who tried to take advantage of “free” Internet offers for smokeless cigarettes say they were burned by unexpected charges that totaled $100 or more. The Better Business Bureau of Minnesota and North Dakota (BBB) is warning consumers to be wary of free trial offers for electronic cigarettes. Customers who tried to take advantage of “free” Internet offers for smokeless cigarettes say they were burned by unexpected charge ... Jump to full article >>

GPs in a city say they are seeing an increase in teenagers with health problems linked to shisha pipe smoking. Leicester’s Primary Care Trust said it had been surprised by the numbers visiting doctors with symptoms. Qasim Chowdary, a PCT smoking cessation adviser, said the increase in pipe use, which involves burning fruit flavoured tobacco, was among 15 to 24-year-olds. He said research challenged the “misconception” that shisha smoking was not as harmful as smoking cigarettes. He said shisha pipe smoking was now incredibly popular among youngsters of all cultures and ethnic ... Jump to full article >>

SPRINGFIELD — The Illinois House voted Tuesday to lift a smoking ban in all of the state’s casinos during a debate that pitted the health of bettors and casino workers against hundreds of millions of dollars in lost revenues. The proposal, which passed 62-52 and now moves to the state Senate, represents a significant softening of the state’s 2008 anti-smoking law that banned tobacco use in virtually all indoor public areas. “Ladies and gentleman, if we’re serious about our budget crisis in Illinois, let’s be real. This is not about the smoking issue. This is about the money,” sa ... Jump to full article >>

The number of tobacco users in Ghana increases by the day, despite the health implications associated with it. Compared to the western countries, where most people smoke tobacco due to the excessive cold weather, smokers in Ghana have other reasons for smoking – either for pleasure or to get rid of an excessive nasty smell – which they later get addicted to. The number of tobacco smokers in Ghana, definitely, cannot be compared to smokers in the west, however, the adverse effects of smoking, unfortunately, does not affect users only, but people who find themselves present during the momen ... Jump to full article >>

With the debate on smoking in vehicles garnering considerable attention, researchers have fuelled the concern that smoking in a car can put passengers at risk. Young children are particularly vulnerable when it comes to smoke in such a confined space and research has suggested that they could be at risk for ‘up to an hour’ after their parent or guardian has lit a cigarette. Many people had previous believed that simply opening windows or throwing away cigarettes was enough to guard youngsters against health threats. But researchers have discovered that many of the dangerous chemicals foun ... Jump to full article >>

Okay, here I go. With all of the giant problems on our small globe, I shouldn’t ricochet off on the issue of smoking bans, but my Libertarian leprechaun is tugging at me. First, a personal digression: I smoked from about the age of 16 to 22 – a nasty but youthful vice. I was one of the lucky ones who didn’t get addicted, so I was able to quit cold turkey. (By the way, what does that mean? Presumably a cold turkey is a dead bird somewhere between chilled and frozen, but what does that have to do with quitting something?) I support nearly all smoking bans – in offices, airplanes, ... Jump to full article >>