Author Archives: ash

Defence’s witness argues dangers of smoking have been common knowledge for decades.   Three of Canada’s tobacco giants began their defence Monday against a $27-billion class-action lawsuit in Montreal by calling a witness who said the dangers of smoking are no secret. Historian and professor Jacques Lacoursière testified tobacco’s health risks have been common knowledge… Read the full article >

No one under 21 would be able to buy cigarettes in New York City, under a new proposal announced Monday that marks the latest in a decade of moves to crack down on smoking in the nation’s largest city. New York City Council Speaker Christine Quinn discussed details of a proposed law that would raise… Read the full article >

A senior official in the Department of Health and Human Services (HHS) today (April 22) said that the department is playing a larger role than ever before in the development of U.S. trade policy, including on sensitive issues in the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) negotiations like a draft proposal for a tobacco-specific “safe harbor” and the… Read the full article >

It could raise revenue, reduce youth smoking, and could fund early childhood education. Under his new budget plan, President Obama would use $78 billion from new tobacco taxes to fund early-childhood education. It’s one of the more-notable parts of his proposal and one that The Washington Post‘s Ezra Klein says is one of its three best ideas. It also… Read the full article >

President Obama’s proposal to nearly double the federal tobacco tax would help fund a universal pre-K program. And, if history is any guide, it would likely have a marked impact on driving down the country’s smoking rates. “Increasing the price of tobacco is the single most effective way to discourage kids from smoking,” CDC director… Read the full article >

The government has dropped its push for cigarette labels to carry images of diseased lungs and other graphic health warnings, and will craft new anti-smoking ads that do not run afoul of free speech rights. In a letter to Republican House Speaker John Boehner last Friday, Attorney General Eric Holder said that the Food and… Read the full article >

Mayor Michael Bloomberg proposed legislation Monday that would prohibit citywide retailers from showing tobacco products, a proposal that would make New York the first city in the nation to ban cigarette displays. Under legislation set to be introduced in the City Council this week, sellers would be required to keep tobacco products out of sight except during… Read the full article >