Proposition 19, a November ballot initiative, would legalize recreational marijuana use for California residents over 21 and allow small residential cultivation — but also would put the state in conflict with federal law that says the drug is illegal. “The (Obama) administration opposes legalization of any drugs, including marijuana,” Gil Kerlikowske, director of the White House’s Office of National Drug Control Policy, said in an interview Thursday.

Kerlikowske was in Fresno, Calif., to announce the results of an ongoing crackdown on marijuana-growing operations known as Operation Trident. It is focused on pot farms on public lands in the foothills and mountain areas of Tulare, Fresno and Madera counties in California.
What is unclear is what the administration would do if California voters approve the initiative.

Kerlikowske, however, pointed to how state and local jurisdictions have dealt with the state’s legalization of medical marijuana, saying they are “doing a really good job of licensing, land use, those kind of regulations.”

But in announcing the marijuana-growing crackdown and in comments by Benjamin Wagner, the U.S. attorney for the Eastern District of California, it is clear where the federal government’s priorities are — squarely on large-scale marijuana operations.

On Thursday, authorities said the crackdown on marijuana-growing operations in the central San Joaquin Valley has resulted in nearly 100 arrests and the seizure of more than 430,000 pot plants.

Authorities estimated the confiscated marijuana plants had an estimated street value of more than $1.7 billion, though such valuation is debated. Fresno County Sheriff Margaret Mims put the value at $4,000 per plant.

Operation Trident combined close to two dozen local, state and federal law enforcement agencies, including the sheriff’s departments of Fresno, Madera and Tulare counties.

In addition to the arrests — most involved Mexican nationals — authorities also said they found close to three dozen weapons, as well as cocaine and methamphetamine.

Most of the efforts have been concentrated in the foothills and mountains of the Sierra Nevada. The marijuana farms, authorities said, are run by Mexico-based drug cartels and are watched by armed individuals who destroy the environment to set up the grow sites.

Kerlikowske said he was hopeful that as Operation Trident continues and as California voters learn more about Proposition 19, “they won’t vote for it.”

There’s always a good Justin Bieber rumor to keep everyone on their toes. Tonight’s big rumor is that Justin Bieber has been smoking weed. The rumor has circulated through the Internet and comes close to topping the number one Justin Bieber rumor, ‘Is Justin Bieber dead?” Justin Bieber has made headlines recently for several things. He is starring in the season premier of CSI: Crime Scene Investigation in September and he has been targeted by the anti-gay pseudo church Westboro Baptist.

Justin Bieber has not been caught smoking weed, photographed with weed or arrested for smoking weed. It is possible that this rumor extends from Justin’s acting debut on CSI and the fact that he posted a photo of himself wearing an orange jumpsuit on his Twitter and referred to himself as a bad man. For those who were unaware that Justin is acting in the hit show, it is understandable that confusion may have set in.
Rest assured, Justin Bieber is still holding fast to his image and hasn’t done anything to rock the boat. Apparently, the most scandalous thing Justin has really done is flirt with Tina Fey during an SNL skit and skipped through the waters of the Caribbean while holding Kim Kardashian’s hand.

material from health-beauty-2468.blogspot.com.

“Twilight” star Robert Pattinson’s unhealthy habits are dwindling but until he stops smoking, even eating better isn’t going to do much to improve his health. Since he rocketed to stardom in the Twilight series, Pattinson at times appears to be almost a chain smoker. While reports that he is eating healthier, cigarettes will ultimately doom him.

Rob acknowledged in a new interview that he is eating much better, even though he still can’t cook. Instead, he’s using a service that
delivers daily meals to his Los Angeles home.

“I started using a delivery service which only delivers fresh and healthy food, Pattinson, 24, tells German newspaper Sächsische Zeitung.
“Even in the morning I have a bag with healthy food delivered to me. I’ve never in my life lived as healthy as I do now,” he said.

“Of course I miss homemade food, but I’m on my own or on the go most of the time,” Rob says. “I only just manage to make some toast. I don’t seem to have the genetic endowments for it.”

But if opposites attract, then he has found a perfect mate in Kristen Stewart.

She is a great cook whose hobby is baking pies and watching the “Food Network.”

But Kristen also smokes, so they reinforce each other’s habit.

Part of Rob’s problem is the fact that he is constantly on the road. That often includes periods of downtime when he smokes to pass the time.

“My home consists of three suitcases which I live out of,” he says. “Everything is in there.”

Unlike fitness fanatic Taylor Lautner, who works out nonstop and eats every two hours to stay buff, Pattinson is less concerned about weight and more about convenience.

Pattinson and crew have been on the road again this summer promoting “The Twilight Saga: Eclipse.”

And, his schedule continues to be hectic. He’s also been filming the drama “Water for Elephants” (co-starring Reese Witherspoon) and Breaking Dawn, the fourth installment in the Twilight saga starts filming later this year.

“Breaking Dawn’ will be shot in two parts, with the first due out in November 2011.

Help Rob quit smoking. Express your comments below. Will forward a link to the comments to Summit Entertainment.

It’s a familiar refrain from the tobacco industry: high excise hikes on tobacco products lead more consumers to buy their cigarettes on the black market. Governments should therefore be careful not to raise duty too sharply. The clamour for higher tobacco duty from global governments in the last year should therefore have been a boon to spivs hawking cheap cigarettes the world over. Except of course on a global scale, this simply isn’t the case. In a year when governments across the world have been raising their excise rates on tobacco in an effort to trim their budget deficits, we should be seeing a huge rise in the illicit tobacco market. Right?

Well no. British American Tobacco’s Chief Executive Paul Adams said Wednesday there had been only a “slight rise” in the illicit market in the last year despite all the “significant” and “swingeing” excise increases mentioned in the company’s first-half results.

Some individual markets were undoubtedly affected. In Romania for instance, the percentage of cigarettes bought on the black market rose to 36% once government tax rises led to a doubling in the price of a pack. That percentage has now come down to around 24%, according to Adams. This reduction was not brought about by any reduction in the excise duty, however, but by a tightening of border controls.

Similar government action has led to a sharp reduction in the Canadian black market–where once again there were no price reductions.

So perhaps the link between high excise duty and the illicit tobacco trade is not quite as strong as we’re led to believe. Besides which, tobacco firms appear less concerned about fueling the illicit market when it comes to raising their own prices. The fact that BAT managed to raise is first half sales by 4%, despite flat volumes, suggests it had no qualms about raising the price of its Dunhills, Lucky Strikes or Pall Malls.

That’s not to suggest that illicit trade isn’t an issue of course. It accounts for about 12% of the world’s cigarette volumes. That means 12% of tobacco sales are effectively unregulated, with none of the strict controls on underage smoking the rest of the market faces. As the Canadian example and the recent experience in Romania have shown however, it is perhaps stricter border controls, and more stringent law enforcement rather than more modest duty increases that is best used to combat the problem.

Material from :blogs.wsj.com, by Michael Carolan

Although most still are in operation, some local hookah bars have watched their profits go up in smoke as a result of Michigan’s workplace smoking ban. The law prohibits smoking in public areas, but because more than 75 percent of sales are derived from tobacco products, hookah lounges such as Blue Midnight Hookah Lounge, 330 Albert Ave., are not required to cut smoke from the premises, owner Patrick Kent said.

Because smoking is allowed, most foods are not, Kent said.

“Now, the way that the law reads, we can serve food, but it has to be ‘shelf stable,’” he said. “We can’t serve anything hot, we can’t serve anything cold (and) we can’t serve anything prepared.”

Kent said many customers have expressed dismay over the change in the law.

“We had really good hummus and some really good wraps,” Kent said. “A lot of our regulars, they were sad to see it go. But all of my customers have been very understanding of the smoking ban and supportive of the Blue Midnight.”

At Saylis Hookah Lounge & Café, 300 N. Clippert St., in Lansing, restrictions on food being served have decreased sales nearly 40 percent from their pre-smoking ban levels, owner Mahad Bussuri said.

“We had cheesecakes, smoothies, ice creams, light food like a meat pie type of thing, Middle Eastern (and) African cuisine type of stuff,” Bussuri said. “It was different, and people were looking forward to those types of things. Now we are not able to serve those.”

Having opened less than a year ago, Bussuri said he wishes he had opened somewhere outside of Michigan.

“We did not think about this law that was going to come and hit us so soon,” Bussuri said. “If I would have known about it, I wouldn’t even have taken the chance. Basically, I have dug myself in a hole and we can’t get out of it. All the money that went in, we can’t get back.”

Although it won’t affect her trip to a hookah bar, being unable to eat while smoking is unfortunate, advertising sophomore Maggie Ortlieb said.

“(Eating while smoking is) just like a social thing,” Ortlieb said. “We would probably still go, but when we are there, it just makes it nicer.”

Despite customers’ disappointment, Blue Midnight still sees nearly as many sales as before the smoking ban, Kent said. On an average weeknight, he said he gets 45-50 customers, and double that on the weekends.

“It has affected us a little bit, but the bottom line is we still have hookah,” Kent said.

Material from: statenews.com, July 28, 2010

Uruguay has promised to water down anti-smoking laws after pressure from the tobacco giant Philip Morris, prompting accusations of corporate bullying. The government said it would amend legislation which slaps large health warnings on cigarette packets and bans the sale of those branded as “light”. The laws, among the toughest in the world, were introduced four years ago by the then president, Tabaré Vázquez, who as an oncologist had seen the ravages of smoking-related cancer. Tobacco advertising and smoking in public buildings were also banned.

Earlier this year Philip Morris, which sells Marlboro cigs and other brands in more than 160 countries, filed for arbitration at the World Bank’s international centre for settlement of investment disputes, claiming the restrictions hurt its business and violated Uruguay’s trade deal with Switzerland. The corporation is based in Lausanne.

Uruguay’s government yesterday said it would tweak the legislation, or possibly draft a new law, to fend off the complaint and comply with international trade obligations.

“On some arguments, Uruguay is very strong from a legal point of view and changes aren’t necessary. On other points, we need to make changes to the law or come up with a new law,” the foreign affairs minister, Luis Almagro, said.

One mooted change was reducing the size of health warnings from the current 80% of a packet’s size to 65%. Another was to permit the sale of “light” cigarettes. The government said such changes would be minor.

However, Vázquez, a leftist who completed his five-year term in March, accused the tobacco giant of “blackmailing” pressure. “The only thing that Philip Morris is trying to do is show its power over a small country that has set an international example on this issue,” he said.

Vázquez received an award from the World Health Organisation in 2006 for making the South American country, which has a population of 3.5 million, a leader in the fight against tobacco.

Other activists echoed the former president’s claim that the government had bowed to pressure to avert a defeat at the World Bank arbitration panel.

Eduardo Bianco, head of anti-smoking group the Centre for Investigation of the Tobacco Epidemic, said: “If the country gives way to this pressure, maybe this or some other multinational will try to use another [international] accord to challenge our ban on smoking in enclosed spaces or the advertising ban.”

Philip Morris, which also makes L&M, Chesterfield and Virginia Slims, holds an estimated 15% of the international cigarette market outside of the US.

Source: guardian.co.uk. July 28, 2010

Russell Crowe may tweet about quitting smoking, new films and his beloved Rabbitohs, but the actor is still not convinced there is any point to the social networking site. “(I’m) not sure if it serves any real purpose,” the Oscar-winning actor said. Crowe said he’d been on Twitter about 11 or 12 weeks and had “56,000 followers or something.” The Twitter world has been monitoring Crowe’s recent battle to give up smoking and some have found it inspirational.

“My mom called my sister that you encouraged her to quit smoking!” one follower tweeted recently.

He replied: “Tell your mum I’d be inspired if she gave up.”

Crowe makes no secret of how hard it is to overcome the addiction.

“It’s not an easy thing to do mate, it really isn’t and I tap my hat to everybody who’s done it in the past,” Crowe told reporters, adding that the reality break for him was when his eldest son saw him smoking for the first time.

Crowe said he was in his office having a cigarette when six-year-old Charlie sneaked up on him.

“So that was it.”

Crowe said he also realised he was smoking up to 40 cigarettes on “a good day”.

“I’d been smoking for 36 years (and) …. it just got to the point where my body was telling me that I had to stop.”

The actor also has used the social networking site to help choose his next role as the narrator of Ben Hur – The Stadium Spectacular, which plays in Sydney in October.

He had tweeted to see what people thought of the overseas production before deciding to sign on.

“Anyone see Ben Hur live in Paris a couple of years ago? Thoughts?” he tweeted.

The feedback was positive, he said.

“That was one particular instance where I wanted some feedback immediately on something and I got it straight away.”

As for the future, Crowe says he will continue tweeting and see where it takes him.

From news.smh.com.au.

Cigarettes are just plain bad, as we all know by now. But what about the ones that contain menthol? Are they worse? A panel of experts is mulling menthol and trying to come up with some advice for the Food and Drug Administration on whether menthol should be forbidden as an additive. Young people seem to gravitate to menthol-flavored cigarettes, and there’s evidence menthol may make it harder for smokers trying to quit.

It turns out that tiny amounts of menthol are even added as a subtle flavor-enhancer to many cigarettes that aren’t labeled as menthol types.

Should menthol be banned —- just as Congress has banned other flavorings in cigarettes? Tobacco industry representatives say taste is the only thing that distinguishes menthol cigarettes from regular one — they aren’t more harmful.

The use of menthol started accidentally, after mint crystals got left in a smoker’s tin of rolling tobacco overnight years ago.

The mint in menthol cigarettes may be natural or synthetic or a combination of both. Natural mint is crystalized from steamed distilled oil of the corn mint plant. Some 99 percent of the mint comes through in the smoke.

So how does the stuff get put on cigarettes? A bunch of ways. Sometimes, it’s applied to the foil that is used to wrap the cigarettes. It’s also sprayed on the tobacco, and even injected into the tobacco paper or the filter.

After a few weeks for aging, Michael Ogden of R.J. Reynolds says the effect was found to be the same pretty much regardless of method, according to smokers who volunteered for taste tests.

Ogden says testers describe the menthol smokes using terms like “cooling sensation, minty flavor and medicinal flavor.”

Menthol can be misleading. “Menthol leads to the perception of an increase in nasal airway openness but in fact there is no actual change and (some studies have shown) minor constriction,” Ogden says

R.J. Reynolds is the maker of Kool and Salem, once the leading menthol brands. Now, Newport dominates the market. It’s from Lorillard, whose Scientific Director William True can sound like someone on Top Chef when he describes how the company assesses menthol.

True says the company taste experts sample packs the way some people test fine wine. They are sensitive to such things as a cigarette’s early draw, the tobacco’s papery or woody flavors, whether it’s bitter or sweet, has a later draw or an after taste.

But it isn’t menthol’s taste that is under scrutiny at the hearing.

The scientific advisory panel wanted to know what properties in mentholated cigarettes attract young people, African Americans, and other ethnic groups. Newport is the top menthol cigarette for adolescents, according to the federal Substance Abuse & Mental Health Services Administration. The thinking is that menthol mellows the harshness of tobacco, which makes it easier for initiates to inhale and others to inhale more deeply.

True objected strenuously. “Absolutely not,” he says. “Our product developers do not use menthol in any shape or form to cover, mask or minimize that harsh taste. The most significant items that impact the harsh taste of the cigarette are the tobacco blend, the moisture level of the blend and the filter ventilation.”

The manufacturers of menthol cigarettes also deny that young people and ethnic groups are targeted with promotions. Industry representatives couldn’t explain why menthol smokers tend to smoke fewer cigarettes, or why cancer rates are higher among African American smokers 70 percent of whom smoke menthol but smoke fewer cigarettes per day than non-menthol smokers.

“Internal studies do not indicate that menthol cigarettes are smoked any differently or more intensely than non menthol,” according to Lorillard’s William True. “These studies reinforce the overwhelming weight of epidemiology literature that menthol and non menthol convey similar risk of chronic disease.”

Article from npr.org.

Women have been banned from smoking water pipes in cafes in Gaza because it “leads to divorce”.
Hamas leaders said it was “inappropriate” for females to sit cross-legged and puff on the traditional pipes.
A spokesman said: “Many women who smoke in public were divorced when their husbands saw them.”
The ban is the Islamist group’s latest attempt to impose Muslim rules in Gaza.

But for many of the 1.5million people penned into the tiny strip by an Israeli and Egyptian blockade, smoking is one of the few pleasures.

Accountant Haya Ahmed, 29, who has smoked for 10 years, said it would make water pipes more desirable for rebellious women.
Hamas also banned women from riding motorbikes, calling it “culturally inappropriate”.
But a law saying men could not work in female hair salons wasn’t enforced.
Cafe owners plan to challenge the pipe ruling.

From mirror.co.uk