Tag: smoking

Smoking Posted on

​Hawaii is becoming the first state to ban smoking for under-21s

Hawaii is on its way to becoming the first ever US state to raise the tobacco smoking age to 21. The groundbreaking bill passed the Legislature on Friday and is awaiting the governor’s signature. The bill was pushed through by the Coalition for a Tobacco-Free Hawaii and scored an overwhelming 19-4 in favor. It will affect the smoking, buying and possession of cigarettes, including the electronic kind. “It’s definitely groundbreaking legislation,” the lobby group’s Jessica Yamauchi said, adding that it’s “amazing to be the first state in something. That’s very exciting for us,” she told the AP. What remains is for Governor David Ige to sign the document and for his cabinet to look for potential legal issues that may arise. “The departments will be […] Read More

Medical, Smoking Posted on

Tell Young People the Truth: E-Cigarettes and Vaping Flavors Help People Quit Smoking

It’s ironic that anti-smoking advocates are attacking a practice that helps people not to smoke. Elected officials and anti-smoking advocates need to re-think their knee-jerk reaction and hostility to e-cigarettes and vaping. It seems like every day we hear a new attack – yet these products are actually helping some people quit or cut back on the much more dangerous alternative of smoking tobacco. In May, a large study out of England that was published in the journal Addiction made worldwide news when they announced that smokers trying to quit were 60 percent more likely to succeed if they used electronic cigarettes than over-the-counter therapies such as nicotine patches or gum. Despite these promising results, politicians are grilling e-cigarette companies. In a major New York Times piece last week, Senator Jay Rockefeller of West […] Read More

Marijuana Posted on

Despite Science, New Medical Cannabis Laws Prohibit Smoked Cannabis

Smoking bans are not backed by scientific research and they serve to proliferate a black market. A CBS poll taken in early January of this year concluded that 86 percent of the nation now supports safe access to cannabis at a doctor’s discretion and there are no signs of public opinion reversing on any other element of cannabis legalization. As public opinion changes, legislatures around the country have explored ways to meet local demand for safe access. As marijuana becomes incrementally more legal for all uses, states grappling with implementing legislation responding to constituent demand for cannabis in all its forms have passed various measures restricting cannabinoid content or strains available. As Minnesota and New York become the 22nd and 23rd states to implement medical cannabis laws, both states […] Read More