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To lift a burden from the police, Baltimore County lawmakers authorized the Health Department last year to take over the task of imposing fines on store clerks who sell cigarettes to underage teenagers.
But the county hasn't been doing that job - intentionally - because officials say they are opposed to using minors in sting operations.
The county's approach is drawing criticism from some legal and health advocates who say it is not an effective deterrent.
"You can shake your finger, but if there's no repercussions, what will make a person think twice about it?" said Sherryce Robinson, a member of the Smoke Free Baltimore County Coalition who also works for the American Cancer Society.
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The Raleys borrowed $318,000 to build a half-acre, climate-controlled greenhouse that could grow tens of thousands of garden flowers and add a tidy income to bolster Jamie's slim government pension.
They are among a growing group of local farmers at the forefront of what could become a revolution in Maryland agriculture. Theirs and 40 other farms in Southern Maryland and the Eastern Shore have created a factory-like network of greenhouses to produce a viable new cash crop for an industry once dependent on tobacco and poultry farming.
The Raleys still farm corn and hay and raise a few Angus cattle, but these days the flowers seem to hold the most promise for a regular payday.
The Cigarette Fire Safety Performance Standard and Firefighters Safety Protection Act requires the sale of fire standard compliant (FSC) cigarettes in Maryland, starting July 1. Maryland was the 11th State to pass such legislation in 2007 and Governor O’Malley signed this bill into effect on May 17, 2007. These new cigarettes are considered safer because of an ability in most instances to self extinguish, reducing the chance of fire.
Entertainers included Hip Hop and Gospel Go Go, steppers and dancers, along with traditional gospel, R&B and jazz artists. Sterlen Barr from Philadelphia, better known as No Puff Daddy, performed before a crowd that packed the park's auditorium. His stage name refers to his anti-smoking message.
SUMMARY OF ARGUMENT . . .
A plurality of this Court made clear in Cipollone v. Liggett Group, Inc. that a claim of fraud or misrepresentation premised on a cigarette manufacturer’s duty not to deceive consumers is not preempted by the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act (“FCLAA”). Cipollone held that while some state law claims alleging deception in the advertising and promotion of cigarettes are preempted by the FCLAA, some claims are not preempted. The critical factor in determining whether a claim is preempted is the predicate duty upon which a claim is based. Causes of action that allege warning neutralization or constitute failure to warn are preempted; those that are based on the cigarette manufacturer’s duty not to deceive are not preempted. Based on the MUTPA’s imposition of a general duty to not deceive on all commercial actors in Maine, Good’s claims are not preempted by the FCLAA. To construe the FCLAA or Cipollone in any other manner would result in immunity for cigarette manufacturers to deceive consumers on matters that concern smoking and health. Given the explicit documentation of PMUSA’s deception in the advertising and promotion of its light and low tar and nicotine cigarettes, allowing Good to pursue her consumer fraud claims will result in an equitable and legally sound outcome.
I recently attended a service at a funeral home. As I approached the entrance, I noticed clouds. . . .
I felt no respect was honored. It was more like being at a bar than a funeral home. She commented it would be offending to family and friends if they couldn't smoke. Well, I'm a friend, and I'm offended and don't smoke. And, she shared that she was a lung cancer survivor. . . .
We can now enjoy a meal without toxins, but have to walk through toxins to pay our last respects to our loved ones.
Baltimore Mayor Sheila Dixon and Baltimore City Health Department Commissioner Dr. Joshua Sharfstein have taken an important step to protect the city's children and health by proposing a new regulation to ban the sale of individual cigars.
The proliferation of individually sold cigars in recent years threatens to undermine efforts to prevent kids from smoking. Individual cigars, including so-called "little cigars," are more affordable to price-sensitive kids than regular cigarettes because they have lower excise tax rates and are exempt from state laws setting minimum pack sizes for cigarettes. Most insidiously, they often come in candy and fruit flavors, such as chocolate, vanilla, raspberry, cherry and cinnamon. They are often colorfully packaged and placed next to candy displays in retail outlets. The tobacco companies have a long history of using sweet flavors to attract new users, almost all of whom are children. Individually sold cigars also lack health warnings. According to Baltimore officials, individual cigars are sold for as little as 69 cents each and in a wide variety of flavors in stores across the city.
The Center for Cancer Research (CCR), NCI's largest division doing research on campus, conducts lung cancer clinical trials at the NIH Clinical Center in Bethesda, Md. NCI accepts referrals to lung cancer clinical trials conducted in Bethesda, Md., through its Clinical Trials Referral Office (formerly the Clinical Studies Support Center) at 1-888-NCI-1937 (1-888-624-1937).
Like cigarettes, cigars are addictive and deadly, causing lung cancer, other cancers, heart disease and other serious illnesses.
Deputy state fire marshals say a Cecil County woman was critically injured in a fire yesterday that started when she tried to smoke a cigarette while on home oxygen.
Carey DeWitt, 65, suffered second-degree burns to her upper body and face and was taken to the burn unit at Johns Hopkins Bayview Medical Center. She was in critical condition yesterday.
Vaccines don't just keep children healthy, they also lead to more productive adult workers who can earn higher wages and save more money, according to Dr. David E. Bloom, a labor economist at the Harvard School of Public Health.
Bloom, who has studied the economic impact of vaccination in developing countries, will be the keynote speaker at the 11th Annual Conference on Vaccine Research sponsored by the National Foundation for Infectious Diseases (NFID). The conference will be held May 5-7 at Baltimore's Marriott Waterfront Hotel. . . .
Among the novel vaccines to be discussed at the conference is one aimed at curbing addiction to nicotine. Scientists from Nabi Biopharmaceuticals of Rockville, MD will report data showing that their experimental vaccine, NicVAX, induces antibodies that prevent nicotine from reaching the brain.
In human trials, 24 percent of 61 people who smoked more than 20 cigarettes a day quit smoking for up to one year following vaccination. Others who continued smoking after vaccination smoked significantly less than they had before. The company is now analyzing results from its Phase IIB trial and plans to start a Phase III trial by the end of 2008.
A man and woman were taken to Northwest Hospital Center yesterday for treatment of injuries after the man's cigarette ignited an oxygen tank in his Owings Mills condominium, county fire officials said.
The fire began in a three-story building in the 9200 block of Groffs Mill Drive shortly after 2:30 p.m., and crews had it under control within about 10 minutes, fire officials said.
A man was taken to Northwest Hospital Center this afternoon for treatment of injuries after his cigarette ignited an oxygen tank in his Owings Mills condominium, Baltimore County fire officials said.
Baltimore City police continued Monday to search for the culprit in a fatal shooting that witnesses blamed on a cigarette dispute.
Dawn Shipley, 29, was shot and killed just after midnight Saturday in southwest Baltimore, according to investigators.
She had gone out to buy a pack of cigarettes for her boyfriend, and witnesses told police that a man with a revolver demanded a cigarette from Shipley.
Shipley declined and was shot in the neck.
Baltimore police are searching for a brazen killer.
Mary Bubala reports the man walked up to a couple and asked for a cigarette. When they refused, he killed the woman in cold blood.
The devastated family held a vigil Sunday night for the woman who held her ground and paid the ultimate price.