Tobacco companies deliberately changed the menthol levels in cigarettes depending upon whom they were marketing them to - lower levels for young smokers who preferred the milder brands and higher levels to "lock in lifelong adult smokers," researchers at the Harvard School of Public Health concluded. ...more

July 17, 2008

Richard "Dickie" Scruggs, who became one of the wealthiest trial lawyers in the country by taking on tobacco, asbestos and insurance companies, was sentenced Friday to five years in prison for conspiring to bribe a judge. ...more

June 28, 2008

DADE CITY -- County commissioners are continuing to research hiring only nonsmokers in the future and considering a program to help current workers kick the tobacco habit. ...more

June 10, 2008

I mean really the best - energy policy for the long-term economic health and security of our country. I realize this is a fantasy, but play along with me for a minute. What would this mythical, totally imaginary, truth-telling candidate say? ...more

May 31, 2008

John Eastman, a former Tampa radio and TV personality who successfully sued two tobacco companies for contributing to his nicotine addiction, died Sunday at age 79. ...more

May 6, 2008

Carrie Nation Redux Regarding "A Reasonable Solution" (Letters, Feb. 19): In a letter to Mother Trib, one of the advocates of sin taxes suggested another tax be placed on cigarettes of $1 per pack. Regardless of those advocates against tobacco, people in our country are still free to make choices in their lives and live with the consequences of those decisions. ...more

February 25, 2008

In regard to the recent editorials about the need to raise taxes on cigarettes being necessary to help pay medical expenses, as well as help deter adolescents from smoking I can only say, "Give me a break!" If people, especially politicians, really cared about the health of our young people as well as saving others from the diseases associated with smoking, they would stop tobacco companies from manufacturing their deadly product. But, because of all the money they get in payola from these despicable corporations, it will never happen. It is a proven fact that tobacco use kills, and that these tobacco companies actually add nicotine to the cigarettes to ensure addiction. But Congress does nothing, and people keep dying. ...more

February 24, 2008

One billion people may die of tobacco-related illness this century, almost all of them in developing countries, the World Health Organization warned Thursday as it rolled out an unprecedented global campaign to limit the spread of smoking. ...more

February 8, 2008

Florida's new effort to fight smoking through advertising starts Sunday with one of the most coveted ad spots, the Super Bowl. ...more

February 2, 2008

When Altria's international cigarette unit gets its independence in March, it will move quickly to grab sales outside the United States with products such as Marlboro Fresh Mint, Virginia Slims Noire and Parliament Platinum. ...more

January 31, 2008