The public health impact of tobacco use is devastating. In New York, 25,400 adults die each year as a result of smoking. Another 570,000 New Yorkers suffer from serious smoking-caused diseases, which cost the state more than $22 million per day in medical expenses.

OTTAWA – CBC’s ombudsman says a TV broadcast last December on CBC’s flagship newscast The National, that accused the Harper government of bending to pressure by the tobacco lobby, missed its mark.The item, reported by Diana Swain, concluded that the government had “shelved” plans for tough new labels on cigarette packages because tobacco company lobbyists pressured the government.

A lawsuit that led to a $10.1 billion verdict against Philip Morris USA before it was overturned by the Illinois Supreme Court has been revived by a lower court.The unanimous ruling Thursday by the three-judge panel of the Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court cleared the way for the plaintiffs to argue that a favorable 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision in an unrelated case may be applied to reinstate the questioned Madison County one involving Philip Morris’ marketing of “light” cigarettes.

Lance Armstrong, the seven-time Tour de France winner who announced his retirement earlier this month, will kick off a state ballot initiative campaign in Los Angeles on Monday for a measure that would direct hundreds of millions of dollars toward cancer research by levying an additional $1 tax on cigarettes and other tobacco products.

Supported by teen and adult advocates, the Board of Health and others, this city is bidding to join Boston, Needham, Newton and Everett and become the state’s fifth city to ban the sale of tobacco products in pharmacies and other health care institutions. The City Council’s Committee on Ordinances & Legislation on Tuesday night will address an ordinance restricting those sales and requiring all outlets selling cigarettes and related tobacco products to be permitted.

Labor MPs have urged the coalition to stop accepting political donations from tobacco companies as the lower house debates a ban on cigarette advertising on the internet. The coalition is supporting a government amendment to tobacco advertising laws to restrict ads on the internet in line with other media.

An innovative media campaign has begun to educate New Yorkers about the effect that tobacco industry products and marketing in stores have on youth smoking. The Community Partnerships for a Tobacco Free New York campaign reflects research that in-store marketing is more powerful than peer pressure, and youth are twice as likely as adults to be influenced by tobacco product displays and other marketing.

Consider it the ashen version of the scarlet letter: The U.S. Department f Justice wants the nation’s biggest cigarette makers to fund an advertising campaign which admits Big Tobacco lied to the public about the dangers of smoking.Wednesday, the Justice Department unveiled 14 “corrective statements” that would be part of the campaign. Some examples: “A federal court is requiring tobacco companies to tell the truth about cigarette smoking. Here’s the truth: … Smoking kills 1,200 Americans. Every day.”