Maryland

<p>Two-thirds of Maryland voters support increasing the state&rsquo;s tobacco tax, according to a new poll from the Maryland Citizens&rsquo; Health Initiative, the group that pushed the dime-a-drink tax on alcohol last General Assembly session.<br />
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Of course, they do.&nbsp; Always better to tax the other fellow than yourself.&nbsp; On the other hand, how do we know the questionnaire wasn’t biased?&nbsp; We don’t.</p>

New York, NY

Christie’s Rockefeller Center was the host to auction Liz Taylor’s fabulous jewelry collection. At one point near the end, four hours into the bidding, someone in a group near the front of the mostly empty room decided to ignore New York’s draconian ban on smoking indoors and lit up a cigarette, taking at least one drag before being forced to put it out.<br />
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Too bad they only got a drag, they should have gotten at least two!<br />
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Bhutan

Bhutan banned cigarettes from the country, if you are caught smoking you go to jail.&nbsp; The public outcry has made the government rethink their position.<br />
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The young King smokes.&nbsp; Once again smoking is for the elite not the peasants, complete hypocrisy!<br />
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Kalifornia

<p>San Fransciso – A city ordinance prohibits smoking only in common areas of apartment buildings, while a California law that takes effect Jan. 1 gives landlords the option of declaring an entire building a non-smoking property.<br />
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A decision by the Rent Board this week siding with smokers was meant only as a stopgap until the city finds a better strategy for enforcing the new law, said executive director Delene Wolf.<br />
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Kalifornia starts all this nonsense and then it spreads across the country – start preparing for battle.</p>
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Indiana

&quot;Indiana House Speaker Brian Bosma says lawmakers may seek passage of a statewide smoking ban before the nation’s attention turns to Indianapolis for the February Super Bowl.&quot;<br />
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They are rushing just because of the Super Bowl, they don’t think anyone attending doesn’t smoke?&nbsp; Call your legislator when the new session starts on January 4, 2012.<br />
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Brazil

If you smoke cross off Brazil as a place to visit. Brazil has enacted a new law which requires all enclosed workplaces and public places to be smoke-free, bans tobacco advertising at point of sale, increases tobacco taxes and requires large health warnings on both sides of cigarette packs (current law requires graphic warnings covering the entire back of the pack, but no warning on the front of the pack). <br />
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Too bad, the anti-smoking movement is spreading now to Latin America. <br />
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Morning Joe

This is a promo commercial about <a href="http://www.businessinsider.com/morning-joe-promo-smoking-video-2011-11">Joe Scarborough</a>.&nbsp; He smokes who knew?<br />

Boise, Idaho

Cigarette taxes in Idaho could more than triple if anti-smoking groups have their way. They say one of their top priorities this upcoming legislative session is to put pressure on lawmakers to raise state tobacco taxes by at least $1.25.<br />
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You can guess who the anti’s are right, the American Cancer Society.&nbsp; They want to increase the tax to $1.82. Don’t give any money to them because they only spend $400 million for research and hundreds of millions lobbying,<br type="_moz" />

More Whining

<p>It’s getting surprisingly easy to light up in the Netherlands these days &mdash; cigarettes, that is.</p>
<p>Even as the Dutch government hardens its famous tolerance policy on marijuana, it is taking an increasingly relaxed stance toward tobacco, bucking the trend in nearly every other developed country.</p>

Traveling During The Holidays

Traveling is becoming more and more impossible if you smoke and are trying to get around the US.<span style="mso-spacerun:yes">&nbsp; </span>There are two choices: Flying, where there are no smoking lounges and you may be groped by the TSA, unacceptable! Or driving, what hotel chain can you smoke in? Or smoke and have pets?
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