cigarette sales

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Cigarettes Back in Play During Pandemic

After decades of decline, sales of smokes were flat in 2020, as people started lighting up more

(Newser) - The American Lung Association recently warned that smoking is a risk factor for the most severe symptoms of COVID-19. But in a case of unfortunate irony, it appears many people during the pandemic are backsliding into their old puffing habits, or maybe even starting new ones. While cigarette sales had...

Hawaii Bill Would Raise Legal Smoking Age by ... Well, a Lot

Minimum legal smoking age in Hawaii would rise incrementally through 2024

(Newser) - Hawaii wants to free a "heavily addicted" group that's been "enslaved by a ridiculously bad industry." That's per state Rep. Richard Creagan, an ER doctor and the sponsor of a bill that goes after "the deadliest artifact in human history"—the cigarette. How...

NYC Wants to Raise Smoking Age to 21

Would be one of the highest cigarette-buying thresholds in country

(Newser) - The possible next step in New York's apparent quest to become the healthiest (and eco-friendliest) city in the nation: Raise the smoking age to 21. Under a new proposal from the city's health commissioner and City Council speaker, New Yorkers would have to wait until their 21st birthday...

Iceland Debates Making Cigarettes Prescription-Only

Country will consider banning normal sales

(Newser) - In Iceland, you may soon need to head to the pharmacy to get your cigarettes. The country is considering a counter-intuitive measure that would make cigarettes a prescription-only product. The bill would ban the sale of cigarettes anywhere except pharmacies, and would initially require pharmacies to sell cigarettes only to...

Philip Morris Threatens Suit on Cigarette Packaging

Tobacco giant worried Australia's laws will hurt competition

(Newser) - Before the gross new cigarette packages arrive in the US, similar ones will arrive in Australia —and big tobacco is not happy. Philip Morris has threatened to sue the Australian government over its new packaging laws, slated to arrive in January 2012, which would introduce drab, olive-colored packages with...

SF Smokers May Have to Cough Up for Butt Cleanup

Mayor proposes hefty tax hike to make smokers cover litter removal

(Newser) - San Francisco's mayor believes non-smokers shouldn't have to cover the costs of cleaning up cigarette butts, the New York Times reports. Gavin Newsom has proposed a 33-cent tax on each pack of cigarettes sold, which he says will cover the $10 million a year it costs to pick up after...

Boston Bans Drugstore Cigarette Sales

Also outlawed at college campus convenience shops

(Newser) - Boston's health honchos have approved some of the country's toughest anti-tobacco rules by banning sales at some stores, the Boston Globe reports. The new rules forbid pharmacies and campus convenience stores from selling cigarettes. They also ban smoking on bar and restaurant patios. The city's cigar parlors, previously exempt, will...

SF Votes Today on Tobacco Sales Ban

May be nation's first city to shut down drugstore sales

(Newser) - San Francisco's Board of Supervisors votes today on whether to ban the sale of cigarettes at the city's pharmacies. City and state legislatures across America—as well as giant pharmacy chains like CVS and Wal-Mart—are carefully watching the outcome of what could be a harbinger of things to come,...

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