Blowing smoke Tobacco money shouldn't keep legislators from passing cigarette tax. Maybe it's unfair to suggest that candidates who get tobacco money and still sponsor legislation that hurts cigarette makers are less influenced than those who get the money and then fight the anti-tobacco bills. A cigarette tax of the kind Bredesen wants can be effective in keeping young people from starting a habit they shouldn't start and will want to stop one day. An Associated Press review of campaign...

Prospero Pichay wants to regulate the entry of imported tobacco leaves to protect the livelihood of local tobacco farmers as well as introduce measures to modernize tobacco farming. In an interview here, Pichay noted that a substantial volume of foreign tobacco leaves continues to be imported, depriving local tobacco farmers of potential income. The solon said the tobacco industry in the two Ilocos regions, Isabela, La Union, Cagayan, Pangasinan, Tarlac, Abra, and in other areas in Luzon,...

Theshop specializes in all types of tobacco, from cigars to cigarettes. Phil Bredesen's proposal to triple the state's cigarette tax is a hot topic among smokers. One local smoke shop owner says the tax would be a lose-lose for everyone. Hicks says a tax increase would hurt customers and his business, just as much as it would hurt the state. There's be a small segment that would go to lower brand, a cheaper brand, again losing tax revenue. The governorsays the extra money would go to...

Posted April 1, 2007 Guest column: Cigarette-tax proposal will improve health, well-being of state residents By Douglas Reding As a doctor who confronts tobacco's medical consequences every day, I'm heartened by the news that Wisconsin voters overwhelmingly favor upping cigarette taxes by $1. Posted April 1, 2007 Guest column: Cigarette-tax proposal will improve health, well-being of state residents By Douglas Reding As a doctor who confronts tobacco's medical consequences every day, I'm...

For many it is tempting to see the demise of tobacco farming in Ontario and think something positive is happening, or that somehow tobacco farmers have only themselves to blame. However, tobacco farmers are no more responsible for these problems than autoworkers are for drunk driving, or cash crop farmers for the use of transfats. They also point out the undeniable irony of shutting down the legal Canadian growing of tobacco in favour of uncontrolled contraband and off-shore tobacco to...