Smokers bypass new tax increase by rolling own cigarettes

Article by:  PAUL LEVY , Star Tribune Minnesota smokers have found a way to beat the state’s new cigarette tax. They’re rolling their own. Tobacco sales have slumped since the nation’s sixth-highest cigarette tax raised the price of a pack of cigarettes in Minnesota by $1.60 in July. But Twin Cities tobacco-shop owners say many customers […]

DoD starts new effort to get troops, employees thinking healthy

By Patricia Kime Staff Writer Summertime refused to cede to fall Thursday in Falls Church, Va., as temperatures soared to 90 degrees and the Pentagon’s top doctor led a shorts-clad group on a fast-paced 1-mile run at the future Defense Health Agency headquarters. The sweaty PT session marked the kickoff of the facility’s participation in the […]

Panel sides with ND in tobacco money dispute

By: JAMES MacPHERSON , The Associated Press BISMARCK — An arbitration panel has sided with North Dakota in a dispute over payments from a 1998 multistate settlement with tobacco companies, ending a decade-long legal fight, Attorney General Wayne Stenehjem said Thursday. Tobacco companies had withheld $2.6 million from North Dakota’s 2003 annual payment, saying the state did […]

Is Second-hand Smoke Dangerous to Pets?

Author: Written by: Ontario SPCA With all the research that’s been done on the effects of second-hand smoke on people, we all know what dangerous and potentially deadly effects could come from inhaling second-hand smoke. But did you know that second-hand smoke can be deadly even to pets? Studies involving dogs have shown that dogs who […]

City Council votes to restrict e-cigarette use in Duluth

By: Peter Passi, Associated Press New restrictions soon will confront users of electronic cigarettes in Duluth. A series of ordinances passed Monday night by the Duluth City Council will subject people using e-cigarettes to the same restrictions faced by smokers puffing on conventional cigarettes. The ordinances also will prevent hookah bars from doing business in the […]