Free Republic

In Progressive World, there are at least four stages of legally becoming an adult. On Tuesday, the California Senate voted to raise the age when young people can buy cigarettes, from 18 to 21. The Hawaii Legislature has passed similar legislation. A companion California bill would mandate that e-cigarettes fall under the same restrictions as tobacco smokes. If the bills become law, 18 will make a Californian old enough to vote, to enlist in the military, to sign a contract, to buy a gun, to get a tattoo and to get married -- but not old enough to buy a...

With no debate and bipartisan support, the state Senate voted 26-8 on Tuesday to raise the legal age to buy tobacco in California from 18 to 21. --SNIP-- Even as tobacco companies are increasing their influence again at the Capitol, shedding a once-toxic reputation, SB 151 received unanimous support from Democrats, as well as yes votes from four Republican senators: Tom Berryhill of Twain Harte, Ted Gaines of Roseville, Janet Nguyen of Garden Grove and Jeff Stone of Temecula. If SB 151 is approved by the Assembly and Gov. Jerry Brown, California would be one of the first states in...

A new blog post written by Sen. Elizabeth Warren (D., Mass.) may appear to be an attempt to align with Hillary Clinton, but it takes direct aim at multiple Clinton Foundation donors. Warren’s post, “I agree with Hillary Clinton,” details her concerns with a provision in the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement that she says “would let foreign companies challenge American laws outside of American courts.” “The Investor State Dispute Settlement (ISDS) provision isn’t a one-time, hypothetical problem—we’ve seen it in past trade agreements,” Warren wrote. Three of the five companies Warren uses as examples of companies that have abused similar...

The “vast right-wing conspiracy” is back. That was the phrase Hillary Clinton herself used to describe the villainous puppet masters behind the Monica Lewinsky scandal back in 1998. And now, her camp has decided to reanimate this ludicrous bogeyman from the days when pets.com was the talk of Wall Street to combat new allegations of Clintonian malfeasance — allegations the substance of which she and we don’t even yet know.

As six armed officers pour out of two unmarked Ford Explorers on a Long Island City street corner, you can see the confusion on the faces of gawkers and passersby. One woman looks up from her phone and does a sitcom-worthy double-take when she notices their windbreakers, embossed with the word "SHERIFF" in big gold letters, front and back. That might be because few have ever heard of the New York City Sheriff's Office. But those who have know what happens next. And, not surprisingly, when they burst into a corner store near 40th Avenue and 21st Street, the clerk...

Many of you probably saw the network news reports about the United Airlines flight yesterday that returned to Dulles International airport when a crazed passenger yelling something about Jihad was restrained by other passengers. What you might have seen only on local but not on national broadcasts was a crazed Pennsylvania State University professor who began ranting loony left slogans on a flight from Nicaragua to Miami last weekend.  The Washington Post published a story about professor Karen Halnon whose rantings sounded too embarrassingly close to an MSNBC host for NBC Nightly News or the other national broadcasts to cover. Even the...

The authors of the Lancet's centerpiece editorial said a so-called tobacco-free world -- in which fewer than 5% of adults smoke -- is "socially desirable, technically feasible and could become politically practical." .. Making tobacco use "out of sight, out of mind and out of fashion -- yet not prohibited" could be achieved only with a "turbo-charged approach," wrote a team of public health experts from Australia, Hong Kong and India. To achieve it, the United Nations, national leaders, and public- and private-sector institutions all would need to collaborate, they wrote. In addition to governments setting policies such as those...

Egypt said Sunday it will raise the sales tax on both local and imported cigarettes as it confronts a major budget deficit. The decision announced by the presidency increases a flat tax by at least 7 cents for a pack of less expensive cigarettes. More expensive brands will see an increase of at least 20 cents. A similar move last July raised prices 25 to 40 cents per pack. One in four Egyptian adults smoke, according to a 2013 World Health Organization report. …

RICHMOND — A state report linking Virginia cigarette smuggling to terrorist organizations has prompted a Republican state senator to push a bill that would require retailers and wholesalers to obtain a state license to sell cigarettes. The bill, from Sen. Bryce E. Reeves (R-Spottsylvania), has cleared the Senate, but odds are against it in the GOP-dominated House because of conservative objections to increased government regulations and taxes. Even in the more moderate Senate, eight conservative Republicans voted against it. They are a group that Reeves, a fiscal and social conservative, often votes with. “I think they are concerned about regulatory...

Last week’s article, which detailed officialdom’s unrelenting war on e-cigarettes, generated plenty of e-mail and commentary–100 percent of which was favorable. Many commenters were truly dismayed how the public trust could be betrayed by money, egos, fanaticism, or a combination of the three. Others asked how they could fight back; more on that later. As to the California Department of Public Health, this farcical agency seems hell-bent on channeling Joseph Goebbels as it doubles down on the big lies introduced in its Protect Your Family From e-Cigarettes pamphlet discussed last week. A few days ago, it issued State Health Officer’s...

California health officials on Wednesday declared electronic cigarettes a health threat that should be strictly regulated like tobacco products, joining other states and health advocates across the U.S. in pushing back against the fast-growing device. The California Department of Public Health report says e-cigarettes emit cancer-causing chemicals and get users hooked on nicotine, although there is still more research to be done on the immediate and long-term health effects. "Without action, it is likely that California's more than two decades of progress to prevent and reduce traditional tobacco use will erode as e-cigarettes re-normalize smoking behavior," the report says.

Alaska smokers will spend over $2 million.American smokers spend at least $1 million dollars on cigarette-related expenditures over their lifetimes, according to a state-by-state analysis done by the financial consultancy company WalletHub. The most expensive state for smokers is Alaska, where the habit costs over $2 million dollars on average. For a bargain, move to South Carolina, but that still comes in at nearly $1.1 million. “I and most people really just think of the cost of cigarettes and taxes on the packs, but if you think about the healthcare costs, which can totally be avoided, healthcare insurance premiums, and...

**SNIP** At one meeting with an undercover FBI agent, Jackson allegedly told Yee that the agent knew the owner of an NFL team. Yee then told the agent about a pending law that would limit NFL players from filing workers' compensation claims in the state if they played for out of state teams. Yee told the agent that he should "convey this information to the owner of the NFL team" with an offer of help from Yee. Asked about the cost of such a vote, Yee reportedly said, "Oh no...we gotta drag it out, man. We gotta juice this thing."...

It is not a news flash that Congress is corrupt. Their 9% approval rating is symbolic of how this criminal enterprise body is perceived by the American people. Can you actually believe that Representative John Boehner admits that bribery of members of Congress is standard operational procedure. Further, Boehner admits that this is a long-standing practice. “When the House minority leader was questioned about taking bribes from tobacco lobbyists in June of 1995 in exchange for taxpayer subsidies, and then redistributing them to other congressional members on the House floor, Boehner said, “They [the lobbyists] asked me to give out...

Tobacco and Firearms. Gifts that keep on giving to the left. (Vanity/Opinion) Let’s use the historic fight against Big Tobacco as a backdrop for the Eric Garner case. Many of us are familiar with the history of the left’s crusade against Big Tobacco. There were epic Congressional and Judicial battles to prove that Big Tobacco lied about the effects of cigarettes. Then followed lawsuits against Big Tobacco which extorted vast transfers of wealth from Big Tobacco to the Government. The hatred of the left to Big Tobacco compared only to the hatred of Kahn to Captain Kirk.

Fmr. NYPD Officer and Republican Congressional candidate Dan Bongino argued that New York City Mayor Bill de Blasio (D) should “resign in disgrace” on Monday’s “Your World with Neil Cavuto” on the Fox News Channel.

The Eric Garner Law. Ban cities from all of these absurd local taxes and creating the incentives that led to the arrest of a guy for selling loosies. Republicans can get behind it because it shows the overreach of tax laws and Democrats won't dare oppose it. All of these major cities are Democrat-run liberal bastions. What say you?

A textbook example of unintended consequences is provided by the heavy cigarette taxes levied in some US states-- each sets its own rate, and they vary wildly: Missouri's state cigarette tax is 17 cents. It's $4.35 in New York... Thus, the ATF says the federal gub'ment loses $5 billion in tax revenue every year from the trafficking of illegal cigarettes. Worldwide, it's a $100 billion problem, and it's the No. 1 economic crime in Europe. Couldn't be any simpler: cigarettes are purchased by organized crime types in a low-tax state, who then truck them in for sale back in a...

A New York City Grand Jury has refused to indict police officer Danial Pantaleo for the choking death of Eric Garner. Garner was taken down by four police officers conducting a raid against illegal cigarette sellers, of which Garner was one. Garner had a history of selling illegal cigarettes, having been arrested for it a number of times in the past. Unlike the death of Michael Brown, this death was caught on video. The video clearly shows several things. It absolutely shows Garner saying he can’t breathe. It also shows a very large man who starts out the confrontation making...

Senator Rand Paul (R-KY) reacted to a grand jury's decision to not indict a New York City Police Officer in the death of Eric Garner by saying he was "horrified" by the video and blasting politicians for passing "bad laws" that "put our police in a difficult situation" in an interview broadcast on Wednesday's "Hardball" on MSNBC.