Dropping cigarette ends proved expensive for two Barnsley smokers caught littering in the town.Colin Laing, aged 19, of Clifton Close and Lisa Roberts, 37, of Bramcote Avenue – both Athersley North – were caught dropping cigarette ends at Barnsley Interchange and were issued with fixed penalty notices.Both failed to pay and ended up in court, where they were issued with bigger fines.

The high price of cigarettes has been burning a hole in Tina Ward’s wallet.A pack of her Pall Mall Oranges? Five bucks. A carton? She’s not even going there.
“I haven’t bought a carton in months because they are too darn expensive,” said Ward, a homemaker from Indianapolis. “We’re talking $50 easily.”
So as she chatted on about the need to save money in an economy that’s been fizzling out, Ward did last week what hordes of smokers have been doing lately: She rolled her own cigarettes — and walked out of the Smoke Station on Crawfordsville Road with a carton for less than $25. That’s $2.50 a pack.

The recent news that tobacco makers have decided to sue the Federal Government over new graphic warning labels they will be required to put on their products has caused quite a stir and left many asking questions. Those in favor of the warnings highlight that although rates for teen’s ages12-17 have decreased since 2003, according to the Center for Disease Control (CDC), 2009 statistics suggest that 17.2% of teens still smoke. Even more shocking is that 5.2% of these smokers are only in Middle School (grades 6-8)!

The Food and Drug Administration (FDA) law that would force tobacco companies to place graphic health images on cigarette packs is facing severe opposition from cigarette manufacturers. The new warnings will be required on all cigarette packs beginning in September 2012. As many as five tobacco companies are suing the FDA over the new law, saying that it violates their constitutional right to free speech as it would require them to promote the government’s anti-smoking message.

County employees won’t be able to smoke or rub tobacco in any county-owned vehicles they use at work much longer.During its Wednesday meeting, the Monongalia County Commission unanimously voted to adopt a policy prohibiting the use of any tobacco products in county-owned vehicles.Commission President Asel Kennedy said the county would send out letters to those who use the vehicles and the policy would likely go into effect after they’ve been notified.The county’s fleet has about 50 vehicles, he said. The vehicles are used by the sheriff ‘s department, the maintenance department, the county’s dog wardens and the health department, among others.

The tobacco industry-funded visitor Patrick Basham, of the United States-based Democracy Institute, has claimed that calls for plain packaging of cigarettes are driven by “junk science” However, the truth is that the tobacco industry has been running scared since the 1990s, when New Zealand research first indicated that plain packs would reduce the attraction of tobacco products. It has moved into desperate attack mode since Australia announced it would require plain packs.

The Monongalia County Commission is taking another step in the direction of tobacco free facilities.It has passed a motion to ban tobacco products in county-owned vehicles.Commissioner Bill Bartolo said with the new sheriff’s building nearing completion, the county should take equal pride in its vehicles to keep them maintained at the highest level.The commissioners agreed that the change would need to be gradual, while county officials and the sheriff’s department adjust to the new policy.

Australia is poised to become the first nation to require tobacco products to be sold in plain packages, a move that could see other countries follow suit and crimp earnings of companies like British American Tobacco Plc.The laws, passed by the lower house yesterday and due in the Senate in September, will ban logos and color variations on cigarette packages. Packets will have to be olive green and carry health warnings within six months from Jan 1, 2012.