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KANAWHA COUNTY, W.Va. (WSAZ) -- Nearly a year later, many lessons have been learned from Kanawha County's smoking ban. Now, the health department is taking a look back at its success and downfalls. Health Department officials said they've received a lot of positive feedback, but they don't ever expect to have a 100 percent compliance rate. They've taken 12 business owners to court so far, but all of those cases are still pending. Environmental services director Anita Ray said she wishes they would have educated the public more on the dangers of smoking before they passed the ban. Complaints are...

(AP) — AKRON, Ohio - Standing on brown earth on a flat field hundreds of yards from the nearest road, Don Carey is surrounded by tiny plants. He walks along a three-quarter-acre plot in a desolate spot in this rural township in northeastern Portage County and looks at the thousands of tobacco plants he is growing. Carey, 49, decided in April, when federal taxes on tobacco skyrocketed, to grow his own.

Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-N.J.) wants to ban a smoking device that several House Republicans have trumpeted for helping them quit smoking. The battery-operated device, known as an electronic cigarette, looks like a normal cigarette, but contains no tobacco and instead of smoke emits a nicotine vapor when the user inhales. Reps. Cliff Stearns (R-Fla.), Duncan Hunter (R-Calif.) and Collin Peterson (D-Minn.) have all been spotted using the device on Capitol Hill. But the device, which is sold over the Internet and at select mall kiosks, needs to be tested by the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) before it is deemed...

The coin of the realm in the Big House - as penitentiaries are inevitably called in prison films - isn't money. Prisoners make only a tiny amount for their labor and are not allowed other valuables. Instead, they gamble and barter for supplies using . . . cigarettes. A sign of the times in all federal, and many state, prisons But not so much in real life any more. Last year, pressured by health advocates, officials banned smoking - even in exercise yards - in the nation's 115 federal prisons. And state pens - even in places like Florida, where...

TAMPA - Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. However, the company attributed much of its trouble to the State Children's Health Insurance Program, or SCHIP, a federal program that provides health insurance to low-income children. It is funded, in part, by a new federal tax on cigars and cigarettes. McKenzie couldn't say how much sales of Hav-A-Tampa cigars had fallen off, but the numbers have dropped significantly, he said. Previously, federal excise taxes on...

TAMPA - Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. The company announced the closing today. Many employees there make Hav-A-Tampa's iconic Jewels, inexpensive machine-made cigars known for their birchwood tips. Some workers have labored there for two decades or longer, including one who's been there for 50 years, said Richard McKenzie, a senior vice president of human resources for Altadis USA, which owns Hav-A-Tampa. Altadis tried to keep the plant open by closing it for...

Sales have been hurt by the spread of indoor smoking bans, which have forced people to go outside to smoke. Tampa will lose part of its cigar heritage in August when Hav-A-Tampa shuts its factory near Seffner and lays off about 495 employees, closing a factory that has been operating since 1902. The company announced the closing today. Many employees there make Hav-A-Tampa's iconic Jewels, inexpensive machine-made cigars known for their birchwood tips. Some workers have labored there for two decades or longer, including one who's been there for 50 years, said Richard McKenzie, a senior vice president of human...

Some questions that President Obama has yet to answer regarding his continued addiction to tobacco: 1) In what room in the White House do you smoke? (Smoking in a Federal Building is against the law)

At his press conference this afternoon, President Obama, who calls himself a "former smoker," acknowledged that he still occasionally falls "off the wagon." The president said that he does not smoke in front of his kids or the rest of his family, and compared his situation to that of a recovering alcoholic. "I've said before that as a former smoker I constantly struggle with it," the president said. "Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No." "I would say that I am 95 percent cured, but there are times where, there...

WASHINGTON (Reuters) - U.S. President Barack Obama may have just made life more difficult for cigarette makers, but he is not above sneaking a smoke every now and again. Obama, who has publicly struggled to quit smoking, said he still hasn't completely kicked the habit even after signing a law this week that will likely set tough new rules for the tobacco industry. "As a former smoker I constantly struggle with it. Have I fallen off the wagon sometimes? Yes. Am I a daily smoker, a constant smoker? No," Obama said at a news conference. "I don't do it in...

The cap of an entertaining, wide-ranging press conference that included a spirited defense of the public health care option: A carefully-framed, detailed question from Obama on his smoking habit. "You just think it's neat to ask me about my smoking," he told the reporter, before conceding that he has "fallen off the wagon sometimes." "Am I a daily, a constant smoker? No," he said. "I don't do it in front of my kids. i don't do it in front of my family." Obama said he was "95% cured" and compared himself to a recovering alcoholic. "Once you've gone down this...

During the presidential campaign, Barack Obama promised that once a bill was passed by Congress, the White House would post it online for five days before he signed it. The latest on President Obama, the new administration and other news from Washington and around the nation. “When there’s a bill that ends up on my desk as president, you the public will have five days to look online and find out what’s in it before I sign it, so that you know what your government’s doing,” Mr. Obama said as a candidate, telling voters he would make government more transparent...

PRINCETON, N.J., June 22 (UPI) -- A majority of Americans, especially smokers, said they disapprove of new laws expanding the government's regulatory power over tobacco, a poll indicated. By 52 percent to 46 percent, more respondents said they don't like the idea of government having greater authority over tobacco products, a Gallup Poll released Monday indicated. Congress last week passed such a measure last week. The poll indicated 69 percent of smokers said they disapproved, while 28 percent said they favored the broader government oversight. Views among non-smokers were closer, with 50 percent indicating approval and 48 percent indicating disapproval,...

WASHINGTON — Lamenting his first teenage cigarette, President Barack Obama ruefully admitted on Monday that he's spent his adult life fighting the habit. Then he signed the nation's toughest anti-smoking law, aiming to keep thousands of other teens from getting hooked. Obama praised the historic legislation, which gives the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate what goes into tobacco products, to make public the ingredients and to prohibit marketing campaigns geared toward children. But he didn't say how his own struggle was coming since he moved into the White House. And aides were no more forthcoming. As senator,...

President Obama signed landmark legislation Monday giving the Food and Drug Administration new power to regulate the manufacturing, marketing and sale of tobacco. President Obama says the new law "represents change that's been decades in the making." The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act gives the FDA power to ban candy-flavored and fruit-flavored cigarettes, widely considered appealing to first-time smokers, including youths. It also prohibits tobacco companies from using terms such as "low tar," "light" or "mild," requires larger warning labels on packages, and restricts advertising of tobacco products. It also requires tobacco companies to reduce levels of nicotine...

The law will force cigarette packs to carry graphic warnings and forbid the use of terms like "mild" and "low tar" in tobacco advertisements. By July 2011, the top half of the front and rear panels of cigarette boxes will consist of warnings. Government getting into social behaviour??? Reminds me of the SURGEON GENERAL'S WARNING the government put into effect with the cigarette law by the FTC in 1973. Doesn't work! A colleague of mine was an FTC attorney who was one of the people responsible for enforcing the law. He told me at the time, "Of course nicotine is...

President Barack Obama signed into law Monday an anti-smoking bill that will give the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco. Obama, who has struggled to quit smoking, signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act during an event Monday in the Rose Garden. "I know how difficult it can be to break this habit," Obama said.

WASHINGTON (AP) — President Barack Obama is set to sign into law an anti-smoking bill that will give the Food and Drug Administration unprecedented authority to regulate tobacco. Obama is scheduled to sign the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act during an event Monday in the Rose Garden. The law allows the FDA to reduce nicotine in tobacco products, ban candy flavorings and block labels such "low tar" and "light." Tobacco companies also will be required to cover their cartons with large graphic warnings.

(CNN) -- In the 1960s and 1970s, Big Tobacco was widely viewed as the model for effective special-interest lobbying. "My own view is that in many ways, the tobacco industry invented the kind of special-interest lobbying that has become so characteristic of the late 20th- and earlier 21st-century American politics," said Allan Brandt, dean of Harvard's Graduate School of Arts and Sciences. The industry was known for its giant spending on political campaigns and effective lobbyists. The industry's representatives often had experience in politics or close ties to major power players. "Today obviously, that lobby is much less powerful and...

Several states and the District of Columbia are tracking down smokers who buy cheaper cigarettes out of their jurisdictions and have even begun tax-collection procedures that can end in liens put against the offender's property. Ohio and Pennsylvania have been particularly aggressive in trying to collect money from smokers who dodge local tobacco taxes by purchasing cigarettes online, from Indian reservations or from states with lower taxes. In the District, the Office of Tax and Revenue has mailed notices demanding that cigarette buyers pay the D.C. sales tax on their past purchases via the Consumer Use tax return - an...

The jobs are risky, but very lucrative for those willing to take the risks, and require no previous experience or special training. Almost anyone with a driver's license (or at least the ability to drive) can do this job. How did Obama do it? What People Who Don't Smoke Look Like A recent Senate vote brought tobacco under the regulation of the FDA. The effort, spearheaded by Sen. Ted Kennedy, D-Mass., in the Senate and Calif. Democrat Henry Waxman in the House (no doubt because of their medical expertise—Kennedy, for example, is considered the government's chief expert on alcohol consumption)....

I am habitually late to the latest technology. I just got an HDTV 2 months ago. I am ready to throw it in the ocean because some people are just too ugly to be seen in Hi Def...but I digress... I was embarrassed that everyone else had heard of e-cigarettes before I did and I'm supposed to be the nanny state guy on FR (let me just throw myself on the mercy of the court like Jim Baker and say "I'm sorry, I have sinned!") It would be nice to stick it to the man and at least pretend to...

Last week, another bill was passed and signed into law that takes more of our freedoms and violates the Constitution of the United States. It was, of course, done for the sake of the children, and in the name of the health of the citizenry. It’s always the case that when your liberty is seized, it is seized for your own good. Such is the condescension of Washington. The Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act will give sweeping new powers over tobacco to the FDA. It will require everyone engaged in manufacturing, preparing, compounding, or processing tobacco to register...

One of the simple pleasures of life I enjoy is to watch the sunrise with a cup of coffee and a smoke. For me, it’s a time of reflection and thanks giving as I enjoy the view of the small lake and surrounding woods from my apartment balcony. Even on those days when the rain is pouring or the snow falling I thank the Lord for His awesome and marvelous creation I am allowed to imbibe with my coffee and cigar. The sunshine, the rain, the snow, the coffee bean and the tobacco leaf are all part of God’s creation...

Asked if the president still smoked, White House spokesman Robert Gibbs said Obama has "a struggle with nicotine addiction" every day. Obama has a long history of smoking and a photo emerged of him during the campaign trail smoking as far back as college. During the presidential campaign, he chewed nicorette chewing gum in an effort to kick the habit. Gibbs said he "assumed" the president still chewed the nicorette. The president dodged questions at the start of his administration about whether he was still lighting up. The struggle to quit is one millions of Americans face, and Obama praised...

The AMA cheers Senate passage of legislation that will for the first time allow the FDA to strongly regulate cigarettes and other tobacco products. Passage of this historic legislation by both the House and Senate is a victory for public health over Big Tobacco. “More than 400,000 Americans die needlessly every year as a direct result of tobacco use. The actions resulting from this landmark legislation may make people think twice before picking up a cigarette. The sad truth is that tobacco-related deaths are the number one preventable cause of death in the U.S. Physicians are working not only to...

Years in the Making, Senate Votes to Give FDA Power to Regulate TobaccoTimes have changed now that even tobacco states have smoking bans. Today, after two weeks of wrangling and a decade of considering the change, the U.S. Senate endorsed increased regulation of tobacco. Senators voted 79-17 to regulate tobacco in the same way the government regulates everything else you put in your body -- from Froot Loops to aspirin. Watch "World News With Charles Gibson" tonight at 6:30 ET for the full report. At Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, organization president Matthew L. Myers called the vote "a truly historic...

Just another example of the Federal takeover of individual rights.

Senate moves forward with government tobacco takeover By Michelle Malkin  •  June 11, 2009 05:33 PM Photoshop credit: Mike On June 2, I called attention to the Democrats’ plans to complete a government tobacco takeover.The next step took place today while America slept. Another day, another industry grab: Congress struck the government’s strongest anti-smoking blow in decades Thursday with a Senate vote to give regulators new power to limit nicotine in cigarettes, drastically curtail ads and ban candied tobacco products aimed at young people.Cigarette foes say the changes could cut into the 400,000 deaths every year caused by smoking and reduce the...

Arizona Sen. John McCain voted for a bill Thursday allowing the U.S. Food and Drug Administration to regulate tobacco, while fellow Sen. Jon Kyl said no. The bill would give the FDA the power to regulate tobacco and cigarettes for the first time. The Senate voted 79 to 17 Thursday for the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. President Barack Obama supports the bill. Obama and Congress approved a large increase to the federal tobacco tax earlier this year to fund expansion of the State Children’s Health Insurance Program, which provides health coverage to uninsured minors.

Historic anti-smoking vote to give FDA new power By JIM ABRAMS WASHINGTON – Congress struck the government's strongest anti-smoking blow in decades Thursday with a Senate vote to give regulators new power to limit nicotine in cigarettes, drastically curtail ads and ban candied tobacco products aimed at young people. Cigarette foes say the changes could cut into the 400,000 deaths every year caused by smoking and reduce the $100 billion in annual health care costs linked to tobacco. The legislation, one of the most dramatic anti-smoking initiatives since the U.S. surgeon general's warning 45 years ago that tobacco causes lung...

Sen. Dick Durbin was just 10 or 11 when he and his cousin Mike sneaked out behind a garage in East St. Louis, Ill., to have a smoke, Durbin's first. He didn't care much for the taste of the cigarette but, unfortunately, Mike did. Mike died two weeks ago of tobacco-related lung disease. "There he was, on oxygen, smoking the night before he died," remembered Durbin, D-Ill. "He just could not quit. It is a terrible addiction." Durbin's father, also a smoker, died at age 53 of lung cancer. "It was devastating to my family," Durbin said... ~snip" Reid said...

Banning smoking was until recently completely unthinkable in Turkey, where 40% of the adult population - 25 million people - are smokers. But such bans are now common in Europe. Health campaigners say one in five deaths in Turkey - a major tobacco producer - is tobacco-related. Opponents say Turkey's existing partial bans on smoking are widely flouted. The new ban will outlaw smoking in all enclosed public places, including bars, cafes and restaurants as well as taxis, trains and outdoor stadiums. It is due to come into force in about 18 months' time. There have been many warnings that...

After 11 years, three presidents and millions of dollars in lobbying by worried cigarette makers, Congress is poised to put the tobacco industry under the regulation of the Food and Drug Administration. Passage of the tobacco legislation will mark a big victory for Altria Inc., parent of Philip Morris USA, because it includes new restrictions on advertising and packaging that will make it difficult for other companies to gain attention for their brands. Smaller companies such as Lorillard Inc. and Reynolds American Inc. contend that the legislation will create a new barrier of FDA red tape and make it difficult...

New CDC chief to target smoking; led charge in NYC By MIKE STOBBE – ATLANTA (AP) — Dr. Thomas Frieden has swung a big stick as New York City's top health official, pushing through bans on smoking and artery-clogging trans fats. The New York Post called him "Dr. Buttinsky." Others attacked him as a wrong-headed crusader. But smoking plummeted and the city made admired inroads against cancer and other chronic diseases. On Sunday, he heads to Atlanta. And on Monday he takes over the federal government's top public health agency, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention — where he's...

Sen. Tom Coburn, who is also a medical doctor, is calling for an outright ban on the sale of cigarettes and other tobacco products. "What we should be doing is banning tobacco," the Oklahoma Republican declared on the Senate floor during a debate on a tobacco regulation bill. "Nobody up here has the courage to do that. It is a big business. There are millions of Americans who are addicted to nicotine." The battle against tobacco use has been ongoing. Earlier this year Congress passed legislation that included an increase in the federal tax on cigarettes of more than 60...

During 34 years of smoking, Carolyn Smeaton has tried countless ways to reduce her three-pack-a-day habit, including a nicotine patch, nicotine gum and a prescription drug. But stop-smoking aids always failed her. Then, having watched a TV infomercial at her home here, Ms. Smeaton tried an electronic cigarette, which claimed to be a less dangerous way to feed her addiction. The battery-powered device she bought online delivered an odorless dose of nicotine and flavoring without cigarette tar or additives, and produced a vapor mist nearly identical in appearance to tobacco smoke. “I feel like this could save my life,” said...

Hub bar and restaurant owners are burning up over the city’s sudden crackdown on puffing patrons on rooftop decks or in sidewalk cafes as part of the city’s tough new workplace smoking rules. “We used to have a patio full of people, smokers and others who don’t smoke but are socializing with them,” said George Lewis, owner of The Foundation Lounge at the Hotel Commonwealth in Kenmore Square. “Now it’s empty.” Lewis is among a group of tavern owners considering challenging the new smoking restriction in court. They fear the ban, coupled with an increased meals tax, will scare away...

GENEVA (Reuters) – Cigarette packages should show graphic images of yellow teeth, blackened gums, protruding neck tumors and bleeding brains to alert smokers to their disease risks, the World Health Organization said on Friday. More than 20 countries, including Britain, Iran, Peru and Malaysia, already use visual warnings on their tobacco products, the head of the WHO's Tobacco Free Initiative said. (snip) The recent emergence of designer cigarette pack-holders and other accessories to cover up health warnings showed the warnings were having an impact, Rob Cunningham of the Canadian Cancer Society said. "That is a good indication, because smokers are...

Well, it really wasn't my intention, but my fraking tobacco seeds just didn't want to sprout. So after a lot of investigation about the subject, I ordered one of those ecigarettes. The DSE-901. Well, last Saturday evening was my last actual smoke. Been very pleased with the ecig I have. It's a kinda sad feeling -a friend I've known for almost 30 years is going away. Obama will NOT be getting more tax dollars from my bulk tobacco purchases when I rolled my own cigarettes. However... The FDA is coming after ecigs now.

For years tobacco companies have successfully fought off attempts by California lawmakers and health groups to increase the cigarette tax. But next month, as the state grapples with the worst financial crisis in recent history, that may change. Lawmakers will consider a proposal to hike cigarette taxes by $1.50 per pack and raise $1.2 billion annually. During the last decade, cigarette makers have spent tens of millions of dollars to kill 14 straight attempts to make smokers pay more. But with the state facing a staggering $21.3-billion deficit and due to run out of cash in July, the tobacco tax...

2006 Ruling On Deceptive Cigarette Marketing Practices Upheld WASHINGTON (AP) ― A federal appeals court on Friday agreed with the major elements of a 2006 landmark ruling that found the nation's top tobacco companies guilty of racketeering and fraud for deceiving the public about the dangers of smoking. A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington unanimously upheld requirements that manufacturers change the way they market cigarettes. The requirements, which have been on hold pending appeal, would ban labels such as "low tar," "light," "ultra light" or "mild," since such cigarettes have been found no safer than...

excerpted from medhelp; Low oxygen content of the blood can cause blue lips. This can be due to low counts or due to problems with oxygenation of the blood. It would be interesting to know what your blood oxygen saturation is during the episodes. Do they last for very long? If so then your brother may have time to come over to your house to check with a saturation monitor (many EMTs have this equipment). If it is low then your doctor would have to look for sources of low oxygen such as blood clots, sickle cell disease or other...

WASHINGTON, (AP) -- A federal appeals court on Friday largely agreed with a landmark ruling that found cigarette makers deceived the public for decades about the heath hazards of smoking. The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld the major elements of a 2006 ruling that found the nation's top tobacco companies guilty of fraud and violating racketeering laws. The ruling said manufacturers must change the way they market cigarettes. It bans labels such as "low tar,""light,""ultra light" or "mild," since such cigarettes have been found to be no safer than others because of how people smoke them. It also...

The House on Thursday approved tougher enforcement measures against contraband cigarette sales that make money for criminals, but cost federal, state and local governments billions of dollars. The bill, which passed 397-11, is especially aimed at Internet sales. ~snip Cigarettes and smokeless tobacco products could no longer be mailed through the U.S. Postal Service except in limited cases. Private delivery companies already have agreed not to ship tobacco products while the Postal Service continues to deliver products purchased over the Internet. Misdemeanors under current law would be made felonies, and it would be a federal offense for any seller failing...

WASHINGTON — The House on Thursday approved tougher enforcement measures against contraband cigarette sales that make money for criminals, but cost federal, state and local governments billions of dollars.

WASHINGTON -(Dow Jones)- A bill giving the Food and Drug Administration power to regulate tobacco products won approval from a key U.S. Senate panel Wednesday, clearing the way for a full Senate vote.

Gov. Charlie Crist said Tuesday he's ready to hit smokers up for a buck a pack more. Get ready to pay more for smoking cigarettes in Florida. Gov. Charlie Crist unequivocally stated Tuesday that he will allow a $1-a-pack tax to become law. ''The cigarette tax is appropriate and I really view it more as a health issue than I do as a tax issue,'' Crist said. Crist had signaled weeks ago that he would accept the so-called ''tobacco surcharge,'' but then he signed a no-new-taxes pledge last week that renewed the prospect that he might veto the increase. A...

(SNIP) The proposal, to be introduced next month to the San Francisco Board of Supervisors, would add 33 cents to the cost of a pack of cigarettes, to offset the estimated $10.7 million the city spends annually removing discarded butts from gutters, drainpipes and sidewalks. (SNIP)

LAS VEGAS (AP) ― Inmates in Nevada's prison system are preparing for life without cigarettes as they prepare for a smoking ban to take effect July 1. The majority of other states already ban tobacco use in prisons. Nevada is joining them because of health care costs, cleanliness and a 2006 state law that bans smoking indoors. But inmates won't get aids like gum and patches to help them quit, only instructional DVDs to tell them how to stop.