Public health
fromCity Limits
2 days agoOpinion: Excise Taxes Can Help Fund Needed Addiction Treatment in NY
New York's alcohol sales generate $12 billion annually but do not address related health issues.
Under New York law, the retail tax due on discounted products must be calculated on the price before the discount is applied, specifically so as to not subvert State and local tax collections.
A recent analysis from Tufts University's Center for State Policy Analysis estimates it would reduce state tax revenue by roughly $5.1 billion per year - about a 10% overall decline - while saving the median Massachusetts household around $1,250 annually.
Philip Morris had a strong 2025. Full-year revenue hit $40.6 billion, with the smoke-free segment accounting for close to $17 billion of that total. IQOS continues to dominate its category, holding roughly 76% of global heated tobacco unit volume share. ZYN shipped 794 million cans in the U.S. alone for the full year, growing 37%.
The status quo is not an option. We have to ban it here in Boston. Kratom refers to both a tree native to southeast Asia and products derived from its leaves. There is particular concern among officials and experts about 7-hydroxymitragynine, or 7-OH, a potent compound found in kratom. In recent years, products that contain synthetically enhanced amounts of 7-OH have proliferated in smoke shops and convenience stores around the country.
Hundreds of US military service members, civilians and their families have filed a lawsuit for unspecified damages against British American Tobacco (BAT), one of the world's largest tobacco companies, and a subsidiary, claiming the company spent years illicitly helping North Korea fund terrorism weapons that were used against Americans. BAT formed a joint venture in 2001 with a North Korean company to manufacture cigarettes in the country.
MONTEREY - The city of Monterey declared a fiscal emergency to place new tax measures on the ballot this summer. The Monterey City Council met Tuesday, continuing the discussion of the city's $10 million deficit that they are trying to rectify through the 2026-2027 fiscal year budget, which starts in July. The council voted unanimously to declare a fiscal emergency, which city officials said was needed in order to place new tax measures on the ballot.
This is part of Wet February, a series about America's increasingly muddled relationship with drinking-and how to sip your way through it wisely and well. Alcohol is my only vice, and boy, it does not feel good to have my vice validated by the new food pyramid, which also suggests that steak is the foundation of a healthy diet. But I can't deny that a happy hour martini makes me feel as if I sparkle,
To raise revenue and offset an increased state cost of administering the healthcare program, Whitmer is proposing five new taxes: on tobacco and vapes, sports betting and digital advertising, along with a new internet tax rate on the state's largest casinos. Lawmakers reviewed Whitmer's latest budget proposal, totaling $88.1 billion, during a joint session of the House and Senate on Wednesday. General fund spending plans were $13.6 billion, while the school aid budget totaled $21.4 billion.
Online total Gross Gambling Yield (GGY) totalled £1.42 billion. That was a figure 8 percent higher than in the same period for the previous year. Real event betting GGY also increased with the total of £508 million being 12 percent up year-on-year. Despite those new stake limits, the GGY for online slots was up 9 percent to £747 million. The number of spins rose by 4% to 24.4 billion.
The day I turned 16, I picked up two things - my driver's license and a $1.98 pack of Kool 100 Milds from a gas station I knew would sell to me. It was 1995, and I still remember the freedom and rebellion alive in my heart while my hair blew in the wind. From the window of her mom's LeBaron convertible, my friend and I flicked our cigarettes and seemingly our adolescent troubles with them.
The proposed Billionaire Tax Act, imposing a one-time 5% tax on the total wealth of Californians whose net worth is $1 billion or more, needs reconsideration. Certainly, anyone with $1 billion (or more) has more than enough to live very comfortably, but there is an approach that would be less onerous to the billionaires and more helpful to the state. A one-time 5% tax would bring in a windfall for the state - once.
A law banning the sale of tobacco to anyone born after 2009 could see smoking in young people drop below 5 per cent decades earlier than expected. The government plans to introduce the smoke-free generation" law as part of the Tobacco and Vapes Bill, which would progressively raise the age of sale so that anyone born in 2009 or later can never legally be sold tobacco, starting from 2027.
A bill that would have banned smoking on casino gaming floors in Iowa didn't go anywhere this week, after a Senate subcommittee voted to shelve the proposal indefinitely. The legislation, Senate File 2051, was introduced as "An Act relating to the elimination of the exemption of gaming floors from the prohibitions of the smokefree air Act." The bill proposed a change to state law by amending Iowa Code section 142D.4 "by striking the subsection" that currently allows smoking on certain gaming floors.
The Food and Drug Administration is holding a public meeting Thursday to consider whether Philip Morris International can advertise its pouches as a less-harmful alternative for adults who currently smoke cigarettes. Government documents posted before the meeting suggest FDA regulators are leaning toward approving the company's request. But the meeting will give an outside panel of health experts a chance to weigh in and ask questions of both the company and the agency.
"Second-hand smoke increases the risk of heart disease and lung cancer and we want to protect children and the sick from harm," he said. "Prevention is better than cure, so this government is taking pressure off the NHS and building a healthier Britain where everyone lives well for longer."
Some experts have mischaracterized smoking fentanyl as "safer" than injecting, seeking to reduce risks among users. Narrowly considered, the statement is accurate, as inhalation avoids needle-sharing, reducing risks for HIV, hepatitis C, bacteremia, abscess formation, and infective endocarditis among users. However, there's no clinical-trial-level evidence (randomized trials with real patients) showing smoking illicit fentanyl is safer than injecting it. It isn't, and that conclusion is unsupported by toxicology, environmental exposure science, or emerging data.