Free Republic

There had also been an eye-opening moment on the streets of Cleveland during the Republican National Convention, when [Johnson and I had] been walking behind a cigarette-wielding Ohioan. As the smoker’s exhaust wafted in our faces, I remarked offhand that—with the advent of e-cigarettes—I thought there was a good libertarian case for banning regular cigarettes. “I do too,” replied the health-obsessed triathlete, recounting his support for anti-smoking efforts in New Mexico.

Electronic cigarettes, which do not require a flame but heat tobacco leaves to create a vapor that is inhaled, are so popular in Japan these days that demand cannot keep up with supply. The e-cigarette boom was triggered by iQOS, a product released by Philip Morris Japan K.K. Rather than burning tobacco leaves, the iQOS heats cigarettes in a small cylindrical device — all designed exclusively for each other — so that nicotine and vapors are inhaled together. Sales of iQOS began in Tokyo in September last year, before expanding nationwide in April. Even though the kit is priced as...

The Ann Arbor City Council last week voted for an ordinance that will ban the sale of tobacco products to people under 21, making it the first city in Michigan to raise the legal purchasing age from 18. The Council voted 9-2 on Aug. 4 for an ordinance sponsored by Council Member Julie Grand, a Democrat representing the city’s 3rd Ward. Ann Arbor officials were explicit about their lack of concern with whether the ordinance conflicts with state law, and that they hope the rest of the state follows the city’s lead. "The tobacco lobby has inflicted enough misery on...

IN HAWAII and California, the minimum age for buying cigarettes was raised recently to 21. Now Massachusetts lawmakers, addicted to the rush that comes from limiting other people's choices, are keen to jump on the bandwagon.A bill banning the sale of tobacco products to anyone younger than 21 — and, for good measure, making it a crime to sell cigarettes in drugstores — passed the state Senate by an overwhelming vote last month. The bill is now before a House committee; it could reach the full House for a vote in a matter of days. Soon after the Fourth of July, adults...

New York is reaping the whirlwind of sky-high cigarette taxes with a wave of smuggling decimating the state's revenue. New York holds the dubious honor of having the highest cigarette taxes in country, with the average pack of smokes in New York City costing as much as $10.60. New York raised taxes on cigarettes to $4.35 in 2010 from $2.75. In total, cigarette taxes have increased by 190 percent since 2006. The sharp rise has resulted in a raft of unintended consequences which are dealing a significant blow to the state's finances. New York State Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli reports New York's...

<p>This was made known by the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Margaret Chan during a visit to the former Soviet nation.</p> <p>Turkmenistan has emerged as the country with the world’s lowest proportion of smokers.</p> <p>This was made known by the World Health Organisation (WHO) chief Margaret Chan during a visit to the former Soviet nation.</p>

It wasn’t too much of a surprise when New York City moved to ban the use of e-cigarettes (or “vaping”) right before Christmas last year because it looked too much like smoking. After all, Gotham bans everything they can lay their little regulatory hands on if it looks like somebody might be enjoying themselves. (Foie gras ban, anyone?) But the state government tends to be at least somewhat slower on the trigger. Not in this case, though. Albany has already taken the next step towards banning vaping indoors all across the state. The fate of a bill banning electronic cigarettes...

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."...