Jamal Adil Makhlouf, 54, of Illinois, pleaded guilty Tuesday in federal court to conspiracy to transport, receive, possess, purchase and sell contraband cigarettes.Makhlouf told investigators that he took part in a conspiracy to purchase and transport contraband cigarettes in and around Huntington from August 2010 to December 2010.Makhlouf also said he arranged for the purchase of about 120,000 contraband cigarettes from Huntington to Illinois.

Smokers are less likely to buy cigarettes if they are in plain, unbranded packages with warning labels featuring graphic images of cancer, a new study finds.Susquehanna University researchers held an experimental auction with 404 adult smokers bidding on four different kinds of cigarette packages.One package had a text-only warning about the health effects of smoking that covered 50 percent of one side of the pack, which meets current U.S. policy. Another had a text-only message that covered the lower half of the front, back and one side of the pack.

BIG Tobacco is getting more nervous every day. Yay I say.It’s about time someone stood up to these big bullies who are happy to roll in hundreds of millions dollars of profit each year at the expense of Australia’s health.Don’t worry that 15,000 lives are lost each year to tobacco.Can you imagine if that many people were killed on the roads?

Opposition Leader Tony Abbott may not support plain-packaged cigarettes as the tobacco industry threatens to slash the cost of cigarettes if the Gillard government pushes ahead with the anti-smoking legislation.Mr Abbott, who is yet to back the government’s proposal, says he is happy to support any policy that has been proven to curb smoking rates.”But my anxiety with this [plain packaging proposal] is that it may end up being counterproductive in practice,” he told reporters today.

In response to summons, city police commissioner Arup Patnaik today personally appeared before the Bombay High Court and assured that he would file a reply on what action his department proposed to take against hookah parlours who were violating “Cigarettes and Other Tobacco Products Act”.In the pre-lunch session, a bench headed by Chief Justice Mohit Shah said it was not satisfied with the affidavit filed by Khar police on the issue and summoned the Police Chief to appear personally in the evening to inform what action he would take against erring hookah parlours.

Ban imposed by the Supreme Court on the sale of tobacco products from March 1 has led wholesalers and retailers of the city into black-marketing. While some have withdrawn the tobacco business, others sell the products at rates five times higher the original prices.The residents fond of paan masala are left with no other option but to face the brunt of the price hike. However, till date, SC’s order is yet to be implemented and tobacco manufacturers have asked for more time as they want to sell the existing stock to avoid losses.

A few weeks ago, I received a message in my campus email from the anti-smoking group Spark, which describes itself as a group of young adults who wish to spread truth and common sense to the masses.Generally, that is a mission statement I can support with great pride and vigor. It is not always how the sandwich looks, but also how it tastes that makes a difference.

New York’s attorney general on Thursday said he sued six websites for illegally selling cigarettes online to New Yorkers, potentially costing the state hundreds of millions of dollars of tax revenue. Websites that sell cigarettes rarely charge taxes and almost always undercut the prices charged in retail stores. New York state has some of the country’s highest cigarette taxes.