cigarettes

More states are hiking tax rates on the sale of retail items, gasoline and cigarettes according to a recent survey of state consumption taxes.

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) reported earnings of $1.07 per diluted share, a 35.4% increase from the second quarter of 2009. Second quarter revenue rose 15.1% to $7.061 billion, driven by rising prices and favorable currency exchange rates, the company said in a statement. Net revenue...

In an effort to reduce smoking, governments worldwide are raising their tobacco taxes: In New York City, a pack of cigarettes now costs more than $10. But do higher taxes, which mean higher prices, actually deter smokers?

The Supreme Court will not weigh in on seven tobacco industry appeals. But by passing on the cases, the justices gave a big boost to the tobacco industry, which is safe from the threat of having to pay the government $280 billion.

In an attempt to dispel the myth that some cigarettes are less harmful than others, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration has prohibited tobacco companies from labeling cigarettes as "light" or "ultra light." But companies can get around these new rules with well-established color coding.

Government's hate on cigarettes is strongest in San Francisco. The city becomes the first in the nation to ban tobacco sales in drugstores. San Francisco's mayor Gavin Newsom is against tobacco products being sold alongside products that are meant to help improve the health of his constituents....

Supreme Court Justices challenged arguments from lawyers trying to keep private signatures on a petition to repeal a Washington domestic-partners law. Also in this roundup of legal news: The first genetic discrimination suit and Wal-Mart's settlement of wage charges.

Are people who eat lots of junk food addicts? A new study provides evidence that some people who consume a lot of junk food experience cravings much like drug addicts do, require increasingly larger amounts of food to feel good, and have an even harder time quitting.

The Irish playwright and social critic George Bernard Shaw once wrote, "Bourgeouis morality is largely a system of making cheap virtues a cloak for expensive vices." The philosophical implications of Shaw's critique could easily inspire hours of heated debate-or a toast over tequila shots--but...

A new nationwide poll finds that two-thirds of U.S. voters support a $1 increase in tobacco taxes per pack. The tax could raise more than $9.1 billion in new annual revenue for states, says the report released by a coalition of public health organizations claims.