Virginia

The full Richmond City Council will weigh a proposed 80-cent-per-pack cigarette tax to fund maintenance to school facilities. The council’s Finance and Economic Development Committee on Thursday voted 3-1 to send the proposal to the full body, but it did not make a recommendation on whether the council should adopt the tax.

Montana tobacco tax

HELENA, Mont. (AP) – An initiative that would raise the tax on a pack of cigarettes by $2 in Montana has been cleared to gather signatures to place it on the November ballot.

Decriminalizing Marijuana

Senate Minority Leader Chuck Schumer, D-N.Y., plans to introduce legislation on Friday to decriminalize marijuana on the federal level, adding a high-profile advocate in the effort to decriminalize, legalize and normalize marijuana use in America.

Health Nannies

They are coming after e-cigarettes just as they have on cigarettes, even though they are 50,000 times safer than cigarettes.<br />
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&ldquo;Although youth cigarette smoking in Chicago has steadily declined and is now the lowest it has ever been, novel tobacco products like e-cigarettes threaten our progress,&rdquo; said Mayor Rahm Emanuel in a statement. &ldquo;By requiring tobacco warning signs and putting in place strong regulations to prohibit tobacco sampling, Chicago is leading the nation to increase awareness about the risks of these dangerous products and limit youth and young adult access to them.&rdquo;

Vaping Study

Association of E-Cigarette Use With Smoking Cessation Among Smokers Who Plan to Quit After a Hospitalization: A Prospective Study.

Ireland

The land of Irish whiskey and world renowned beer is being threatened by an anti-alcohol agenda. Irish health officials are pursuing legislation that would require alcohol companies to include labels on their products warning consumers of the supposed link between alcohol and cancer.

California

San Francisco Board of Supervisors, which has joint jurisdiction over the city and the county, unanimously approved an ordinance prohibiting the sale of all flavored tobacco products including menthol cigarettes. However, the legislation was blocked by a grassroots organization &mdash; setting the stage for a ballot question in this June’s general election.

Marijuana Legal in Canada

The federal government introduced legislation in April of 2017 to legalize recreational use of marijuana in Canada, which will come into effect later this year.<br />
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Calgary&rsquo;s city council has approved bylaw amendments that limit marijuana use in public places and the plan also provides guidelines for cannabis retailers.

Austria

Anti-tobacco activists turned the tables on a populist party in Austria’s ruling coalition by submitting more than half a million signatures against a reinstated law that allows smoking in bars and restaurants.

Trying to Quit, try e-cigarettes.

Jonathan H. Adler, a professor at Case Western Reserve University School of Law, calls e-cigarettes &ldquo;the most promising smoking alternative to enter the market to date.&rdquo; Many varieties of nicotine replacement therapies (NRTs), such as gums and patches, are designed to aid smoking cessation by satiating smokers&rsquo; nicotine cravings, but these traditional options have failed to make a significant dent in levels of addiction.