Don't believe e-cigarette hype

By: Janie Heath Several weeks back, “Saturday Night Live” spoofed the increasing ubiquity and purported safety of e-cigarettes by touting its own fictitious product — “e-meth.” The skit, which included “Breaking Bad’s” Jesse Pinkman (actor Aaron Paul), offered e-meth as a sensible smokeless alternative to crystal meth itself — a completely far-fetched and ridiculous claim. It […]

Maryland should hike tobacco taxes again

By Editorial Board, Washington Post BOOSTING TAXES on cigarettes is an effective way to cut smoking rates among adults and, even more, among those college-age and younger, along with tobacco-related disease and death. A case in point is Maryland, where the incidence of smoking fell by a third from 1998 to 2010, a period during which the state more than […]

Look at e-cigarettes with a questioning eye

By: Erin Hill-Oban, Executive Director, Tobacco Free North Dakota There’s been a lot of buzz lately regarding electronic cigarettes and the rise in popularity (and sales) they’ve seen all across the country, including right here in North Dakota.  Whether news and opinions have come from the mouths of trusted news sources, Big Tobacco (which now manufactures […]

E-Cigarettes A Blast From The Past, In A Bad Way

By Erica Sebastian and Jonathan Chaffee Special to the Olean Times Herald Youth love to trick-or-treat on Halloween. Unfortunately, there is one product that is more trick than treat: e-cigarettes look and taste like a treat, but contain a nicotine solution that is turned into a vapor that users inhale. The U.S. Center for Disease […]

NYC Council gets tough on tobacco, approves raising purchase age to 21

By Rande Iaboni, CNN New York (CNN) — The New York City Council voted on Wednesday night to approve an anti-tobacco law that will raise the tobacco-purchasing age from 18 to 21. In addition to the “Tobacco 21” bill, which includes electronic cigarettes, the council also approved a second bill, “Sensible Tobacco Enforcement.” It will prohibit discounts […]