More Americans Smoking

Ads featuring real-life smoking consequences start Monday

(NEWSER) - Starting Monday, expect to be bombarded with disturbing images showing you, quite graphically, what can happen to you if you smoke. The US government is starting its first paid anti-smoking campaign, running ads for 12 weeks in newspapers, billboards, TV and radio, and social networking sites as well as public service announcements that will go on even longer. The $54 million campaign features real-life examples of the consequences of smoking, such as paralysis, amputated limbs, and lung removal, USA Today reports. More»

President congratulates those trying to quit

(NEWSER) - President Obama congratulated those who are making plans to quit smoking today as part of the Great American Smokeout, wryly acknowledging that “quitting smoking is hard—believe me, I know.” He also slammed Big Tobacco for attempting to block new cigarette warning labels “because they don’t want to be honest about the consequences of using their products. Unfortunately, this isn’t surprising.” Click for more on a smoke-free Obama's health . More»

But fewer than 2 in 10 want to ban smoking entirely

(NEWSER) - Odds are, if you smoke in public these days, you'll get some dirty looks. For the first time ever, the majority of Americans support a ban on smoking in all public places, according to a new Gallup poll. But while 59% support such a ban, only 19% think smoking should be entirely illegal. And how many Americans are smokers? Just 22% of adults reported smoking cigarettes during the week prior to the poll. More»

CEO himself characterized as 'longtime smoker'

(NEWSER) - Sure, cigarettes are bad for you and addictive, but they're really not that hard to quit—in the rose-colored world that belongs to Philip Morris CEO Louis Camilleri, who was responding to anti-tobacco comments at the cigarette maker's annual shareholder meeting. Camilleri was in 2009 characterized as a "longtime smoker himself," reports the AP, who had quit only once for three months when he had a cold. More»

(USER SUBMITTED) - The smoking rate in the United States has stalled after 40 years of steady declines, according to a report by the CDC. The Los Angeles Times reports that 1 in 5 people are regular smokers, a figure that has remained constant for the last 5 years. The CDC says more than 50% of children are exposed to secondhand smoke and that 98% of people who live with a smoker show increased levels of toxicity in their bloodstream. More»