Star Scientific Inc. (CIGX): Today's Featured Tobacco Loser

The tobacco industry closed the day up 0.8%. Alliance One International Inc (AOI) were all decliners today within the tobacco industry with Star Scientific Inc (CIGX) being today's featured tobacco loser. Star Scientific Inc fell 24 cents (-10.3%) to $2.57 on average volume. Throughout the day, 2.3 million shares of Star Scientific Inc exchanged hands as compared to its average daily volume of 2.5 million shares.

Star Scientific, Inc., together with its subsidiaries, engages in the development, implementation, and licensing of tobacco curing technology that prevents the formation of carcinogenic toxins present in tobacco and cigarette smoke, primarily the tobacco-specific nitrosamines (TSNA). Star Scientific Inc has a market cap of $272.8 million and is part of the consumer goods sector. Shares are up 19.5% year to date as of the close of trading on Tuesday.

TheStreet Ratings rates Star Scientific as a sell. The company's weaknesses can be seen in multiple areas, such as its deteriorating net income and feeble growth in its earnings per share.

You can view the full Star Scientific Ratings Report.
On the positive front, were all gainers within the tobacco industry with Philip Morris International Inc (PM) being today's featured tobacco industry winner.

Use our tobacco section to find industry-relevant news.
Or find some new ideas from our top rated stocks lists.
For investors not wanting singular stock exposure, ETFs may be of interest. Investors who are bullish on the tobacco industry could consider PowerShares Dynamic Food & Beverage (PBJ) while those bearish on the tobacco industry could consider PowerShares DB Agriculture Sht ETN (ADZ).

Electronic cigarette company offers kits to public at wholesale price

Online PR News – 15-July-2010 – VIP Electronic Cigarette, an online e cigarette retailer, started supplying an e-cigarette starter kit 3 years through their partner trading company. The 1st generation of e-cigarettes became popular with smokers looking for an alternative to smoking tobacco. Despite an early success, the VIP team believed the primary version of the e-cigarette could be improved.
Much has changed since the launch of the original electronic cigarette model. Based on customer feedback and after intensive research, they now have a first-class 3rd generation electronic cigarette to beat all rivals.

A modified lithium-ion battery increases the number of recharge cycles prolonging the life of the battery. The plastic filter tip now features a brown cigarette styled paper covering to convey the feeling of holding a normal cigarette. Individual micro-heating units (atomisers) and cartridges have been replaced by high performance cartomizers.

The new wave of cartomizers produce what can only be described as the closest experience to smoking a real cigarette as possible. Cartomizer vapor production is maximzed to present a full flavored throat hit to satisfy heavy, light or social smokers.

Buying direct from VIP instead of purchasing by way of an affiliate, reseller or third party can cost significantly less. By supplying their own exclusive range of electronic cigarettes, VIP can offer customers a great deal.

VIP Electronic Cigarette is a leading e-cigarette retailer in the UK unmatched for customer service and quality.

A lifetime of ‘no tobacco’ needed

The World No Tobacco day is once again upon us to remind us politely that health is a concern of everyone. From personal physical fitness to the threats posed by growing global pandemics, all people share an interest in improving the well being of themselves and others.

Real, sincere and ongoing action is needed to achieve this, instead of mere rhetoric. The war against tobacco needs to be won, and not just fought, with renewed pledges; stricter legislation; innovative awareness programs; and the will to succeed in curbing the menace of tobacco.

It is easy to reel off statistics about the health hazards of tobacco consumption — tobacco consumption is a leading cause of death among Indians aged 30-69 and 1 million Indians die from smoking-related diseases each year in India; among all women, 11 percent (over 54 million women) use some form of tobacco; approximately 1 in 20 (or 90,000) deaths among women 35-69 years old can be attributed to smoking; tobacco use causes lung and other cancers, respiratory/heart disease, heart attacks, and other diseases; smokeless tobacco causes oral cancer, pancreatic cancer, increased blood pressure/heart rate and adverse reproductive outcomes; consumption of smokeless tobacco during pregnancy decreases gestational age at birth and decreases birth weight...... The list can go on and on.

But does it really cut any ice with the users? Perhaps, since the times of Adam and Eve, the forbidden fruit seems to be the sweetest. So it is with tobacco and its many variants. Very often my smoker friends argue that the state has no right to take away their freedom of smoking or chewing tobacco. They should be free to eat, drink, smoke, whatever they like. Even if one concedes their argument about freedom to make personal choices, they need to be reminded that one’s freedom is only acceptable as long as it does not curb the freedom of others.

So the government has every right to curb their freedom of smoking in public places to prevent innocent nonsmokers from becoming victims. Even within homes, children and family members are, very often, subjected to passive smoking of their elders, spouses and/or other smoker relatives. So, all those who value their freedom to smoke, will have to respect the freedom of others too. Beyond this, we can let it be the smokers’ choice to lead a healthy life or inch toward disaster in isolation. We can only counsel such diehards, who are bent upon committing death by tobacco.

Again, the duty of the state is not merely to enact sensible laws for tobacco control, but also enforce them strictly — something which is shamefully lacking in India. We have wonderful laws, but just on paper. To find the ground reality, some students of Class XII of Loreto Convent College, recently did a random survey of the city of Lucknow, as part of their Environmental Education Project. They surveyed 200 persons (150 males and 50 females) of various age groups, and coming from different strata of society — from rickshaw pullers to executives.

They traversed the entire city clicking photographs of shops/kiosks selling cigarettes and other tobacco products much within 100m range of educational institutions. They searched in vain, for signage in schools/colleges proclaiming that smoking is prohibited in the premises. They examined the tobacco/gutkha pouches for the information printed on them, and even posed as customers and easily bought cigarette and tobacco packs, despite being less than 18 years of age.

I am tempted here to mention some of their findings, which point directly to the shabby manner in which the laws are enforced:

Although a large majority of the respondents (98.5 percent) had heard anti-tobacco messages on television/radio, yet more than 70 percent of the males and 50 percent females surveyed were found to be users of tobacco products.

Forty-one percent of the respondents confessed to have smoked in public places, but surprisingly 94 percent of the offenders were neither checked nor fined for this violation. More than 29 percent respondents said that there was no ban on smoking at their workplace.

Out of all the minors surveyed (males and females), 81 percent of the males and 33 percent of the females were tobacco users. 76 percent of the people felt that it was very easy for minors to buy tobacco. In fact, more than 51 percent of the respondents had bought tobacco products from minors, at some time or the other.

Seventy-eight percent of the people said that they had seen tobacco shops within 100 yards radius of schools and colleges. Out of the 36 city schools/colleges that the students personally visited, 30 had one or more shops selling cigarettes and tobacco products, in some cases right next to their entry gates.

Out of the 20 gutkha packets of different brands studied by the students, 7 were known to be regularly advertised on television, radio, cinema halls. Only 12 gutkha brands had mentioned some alluring descriptors. The nicotine and tar content was not mentioned on any cigarette/tobacco pack.

Community reacts to governor's cigarette tax hike proposal

STATEWIDE -- It's something smokers just don't want to hear.
"The government should be out of our business and should stop telling people what to do and what not to do."
Those who want to light up may have to pay an extra buck in taxes for a pack of cigarettes. This as part of Governor Paterson's 2010-2011 budget proposal. The governor wants to hike up the cigarette tax from $2.75 to $3.75.
"It’s ridiculous, now they're raising it up a dollar everyone is going to quit"!
That's exactly the point the American Cancer Society wants to make.
"You know it’s hard to get excited for a tax increase in this economy. This is tax increase that New Yorkers can feel very good about its actually good for public health and financial health and it will help in three ways it will save money creating new revenue and it will save lives because it will get individuals from stop smoking or even starting and all of that money will go to offsetting the cost of health care, " said American cancer society regional vice president Diana Martin.
Businesses agree, some saying after the Governor's first cigarette tax hike they've seen more people opting to buy smoking cessation products.
" I've seen less people buying less cigarettes and more people quitting and trying to quit with Chantix and some of the other things that are available to them, " said Mobile clerk Sandra Blanchard.
The governor's cigarette tax increase proposal will help close the $7.4 billion budget gap the state faces by reeling in about $200 million each year in revenue.

Fla. wants citizens to report tobacco tax cheats

Florida is trying to enlist citizens in a campaign against tobacco tax cheats.
The state made the trade in illegal cigarettes more lucrative this year by increasing the cigarette tax by $1 a pack.
The Division of Alcoholic Beverages and Tobacco on Wednesday announced that it'll begin paying informants up to 50 percent of fines collected for illegal cigarette sales.
The agency also has set up a toll-free hot line to report sales of cigarettes without the required tax stamp.

Police believe string of Walgreens robberies are connected

A string of robberies at Colorado Springs Walgreens stores seems to be connected, Colorado Springs police said.
Sgt. Jim Meyers said loss-prevention officers have studied video and said that five robberies in recent weeks were all done by the same man.
The most recent robbery was Monday night, when a man believed to be 18 to 25 years old walked into the Walgreens store at 6011 Rangewood Drive and asked for a carton of cigarettes.
After the clerk gave him the cigarettes he demanded money, but then walked out of the store with the cigarettes before the clerk had a chance to give it to him.
Meyers said the five robberies fit a similar profile: A man in his late teens or early 20s walks into a Walgreens without a weapon, usually between 6 and 8 p.m., and demands money.
In addition to the Rangewood Walgreens, which was robbed twice, a Walgreens at 4713 Flintridge Drive has also been robbed twice. A Walgreens at 920 N. Circle Drive has also been robbed.
Meyers said police are aware of the situation and keeping an eye out, as are employees at Walgreens stores.

New law prohibits chewing tobacco at Oneida County properties

Chewing tobacco is no longer an accepted habit in or on any Oneida County owned properties.The new law will coincide with other county laws that prohibit smoking unless in a designated part of county properties.
Legislator George Joseph introduced the law, and said that when people chew tobacco and use "spit cups," it can put other people's health at risk.
"If nothing else, what it does is bring focus to the hygiene of others around us," Joseph said. "If it is just the start in doing that, then it is worth it."
Those caught breaking the law are subject to a written violation notice. Any offense thereafter could result in a fine.

NJ Senate Okays Restrictions for E-Cigarettes

Late last week, the New Jersey Senate voted unanimously to apply a portion of the New Jersey Free Air Act to regulate electronic smoking devices, NJ Today reports.
The measure would enlarge its smoking definition to encompass e-cigarettes. Under the bill, smoking would be classified as burning or inhaling tobacco or any other matter that could be inhaled or smoked, or the inhaling of smoke or vapor from an e-cigarette. Also, the smoking ban for minors would extend to use of electronic smoking devices.
“When a user puffs on an e-cigarette, which is a stainless steel tube designed to look like a real cigarette, they inhale a vaporized solution that usually contains nicotine,” said state Sen. Bob Gordon. “The liquid often contains flavoring, such as chocolate or cherry. It seems obvious the people who make these devices are trying to make them attractive to younger people.”
The act already outlaws smoking of cigars, cigarettes, pipes or other matter or substance with tobacco or any other matter that can be smoked in any indoor public place and workplace. “Our bill would update the current law to define an electronic smoking device to mean an electronic device that can be used to deliver nicotine or other substances to the person inhaling from the device, including an electronic cigarette, cigar, cigarillo, or pipe,” said Gordon.
Across the country, the battle to regulate e-cigarettes continues. The U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) have found electronic smoking devices to have carcinogens. A recent lawsuit by electronic cigarette distributors challenges the agency’s authority to regulate the products.

Tobacco taxes vary wildly across Potomac

Virginia, despite joining its counterparts across the Potomac in banning smoking in bars and restaurants, stands apart in its refusal to levy heavy taxes on the sale of cigarettes.
The state takes 30 cents out of every pack of cigarettes, a pittance compared with Maryland and the District and a reminder that the Old Dominion is far from uprooting its tobacco history.
While lawmakers agreed this year to the unprecedented restriction on where someone can smoke -- a victory for Gov. Tim Kaine -- the General Assembly nevertheless shot down Kaine's effort to double the cigarette levy to pay for skyrocketing Medicaid costs.
Virginia until five years ago had almost no tax on cigarettes, charging only 2.5 cents per pack. The increase to 30 cents in 2004 was the first since the tax was enacted in 1960.
That levy is the third lowest cigarette tax in the nation -- higher than only Missouri and South Carolina -- and less than a tenth of Rhode Island's highest-in-the-nation $3.46 per pack charge, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures.
Maryland doubled its tax to $2 per pack in 2007. The D.C. Council matched that tax in 2008, and this year upped the ante to $2.50 a pack.
Virginia lawmakers' reluctance to follow suit is no doubt linked to the tobacco industry's presence in the state. Altria -- the parent company of tobacco giant Philip Morris -- is headquartered in Richmond and is a major campaign donor. Tobacco ranked ninth last year among the state's most lucrative agricultural products, bringing in $83 million, according to the Virginia Department of Agriculture and Consumer Services.

Tobacco retailer fined S$2,500 for selling cigarettes to underage youth

A tobacco retailer has been fined S$2,500 for indirectly selling tobacco products to a person below the age of 18.
Cheau Biau Teck has also been banned from selling tobacco products.
Cheau who owns a provision shop overheard an adult offering to buy a packet of cigarettes for an underage youth.
Despite knowing that it was illegal, he still sold the cigarettes to the adult knowing that the adult would pass it on to the youth.
This is the second time that Cheau has been caught for the same offence.
The Health Sciences Authority reminds all tobacco retailers that selling tobacco products to a person below the age of 18 is an offence and is punishable with a maximum fine of S$5,000.

Newton aldermen snuff out tobacco in pharmacies

Newton — The Board of Aldermen approved a ban forbidding pharmacies from selling tobacco products in the city by a wide margin Monday night. The measure passed without discussion.
In an 18-3 vote, members approved the ban, which supporters said was intended to prevent those in the public health business from selling cigarettes and other tobacco items.
Aldermen Bill Brandel, Amy Sangiolo and Jay Harney cast the only nay votes against the ban.
Supporters of the proposal said at a previous meeting that pharmacies should not sell cigarettes because they also sell medicine — including medication for people trying to quit smoking.
Having to walk by cigarettes while being treated for cigarette addiction was sending patients mixed messages, they said.Opponents said the measure would deprive pharmacies from a source of revenue.
Of the 60 licensed cigarette vendors in Newton, 10 are pharmacies. According to city statistics, two of those pharmacies were caught selling cigarettes to minors during the city’s enforcement sweep in June, while 16 other vendors were also caught.
Newton’s ban is similar to that in neighboring Needham, along with ones in Boston and San Francisco.

Tobacco Smoke Has Harmful Impact On Asthma, Rhinitis And Immunity

Tobacco smoke is involved in uncontrolled asthma, a diminished response to anti-asthma drugs, rhinitis, nasal obstruction, and deregulation of the immune system according to an international expert at the annual meeting of the American College of Allergy, Asthma and Immunology (ACAAI) in Miami Beach, Fla.
Tobacco smoking has been mainly associated with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease (COPD), and is attributed to being one of the main reasons that COPD disease is the fourth leading cause of death in the United States.
“Recent studies have shown that smoking can be linked with other respiratory diseases such as asthma exacerbations and rhinitis,” said Carlos Baena-Cagnani, M.D., faculty of medicine, at Catholic University of Cordoba in Argentina. “Both active and passive smoking has been shown to be involved in uncontrolled asthma and associated with asthma exacerbations in children and adolescents.”
According to Dr. Baena-Cagnani, active smoking also causes changes in inflammation in asthma patients, diminishes their response to anti-asthma drugs, and has been found to induce nasal obstruction and decreased mucociliary clearance.
“The message is that smoking is a risk factor for the inception of asthma in allergic rhinitis patients, and it should be discouraged in patients with rhinitis,” he said. “There is increasing and compelling evidence that respiratory diseases, such as asthma and COPD, are also related to a deregulation of the immune system, especially the innate (natural) immunity.”
According to the latest World Health Organization statistics, currently 300 million people have asthma, and 210 million people have COPD, while millions have allergic rhinitis and other often under-diagnosed chronic respiratory diseases, Dr. Baena-Cagnani said.

Teenagers could be fined if they smoke

SHOPKEEPERS want to turn children into criminals by making it illegal for minors to light up.
Under a plan proposed by the Australasian Association of Convenience Stores, which represents corner stores and petrol stations, children under 18 would be fined or given a court notice for smoking, The Daily Telegraph reports.
Association executive director Sheryle Moon said teenage smoking should be treated the same as underage drinking, adding: "Just as police officers enforce alcohol now, they would have the power to enforce underage smoking."
Frustrated that retailers carry the burden of underage smoking and face fines of $5500 if they sell to a minor, shopkeepers want parents and children to bear the responsibility.But their proposal, which will be presented to State and Federal Governments this week, has been slammed by anti-smoking groups, who said it would criminalise children.
About 10 per cent of children aged between 12 and 17 smoke - that number doubles after 17.
While the rate of underage smoking is declining, about 80 per cent of smokers started while children.
Under the NSW Tobacco Act, there is nothing to prevent a child from smoking - but an adult who purchases cigarettes for a minor can face a fine of $2200. Next year, under new legislation, shops will be forced to hide tobacco products from sight.
Ms Moon said traders face up to $20,000 in shop renovations to meet the laws, adding it was a "disproportionate level of responsibility".
The NSW Cancer Council yesterday dismissed the idea, claiming that education was more effective in reducing underage smoking.
Instead of the law criminalising teenagers who smoke, it recommended corner stores and petrol stations just stop selling cigarettes.
"The problem with making smoking illegal is that it turns people into criminals for a bad habit they developed through aggressive marketing by tobacco companies," the Cancer Council's tobacco unit manager Wendy Oakes said.

Memphis man second to go to court

GREENVILLE, Miss. (AP) - A Memphis businessman linked to a multistate black-market cigarette operation will be in federal court in Greenville on Nov. 24 to face charges in the investigation, according to court documents.
However, prosecutors have not released any information on charges against Randy Benham and Jerry Burke.
Burke, of Tupelo, will be in the Greenville court that same day.
Documents accuse Burke of flying a plane to traffic the cigarettes and continuing his involvement with the business, even after he sold it to Benham.
Prosecutors allege Benham made it appear the cigarettes were being sold in Mississippi when they were being diverted to other states.
Federal agents raided a Tupelo warehouse owned by Benham in May. They seized thousands of cartons of cigarettes on which no state or federal taxes had been paid.

It’s no smoke: IU Southeast students protest smoking ban

A small group of students at Indiana University Southeast protested the university’s tobacco-free policy by lighting cigarettes and smoking on campus Thursday afternoon.
Three students received referrals after campus police asked them to put out their cigarettes and they refused, but the protest remained peaceful. Another half dozen students joined in the protest or carried signs but chose not to smoke.
Ian Girdley, a sophomore English and journalism major, organized what he called the “act of civil disobedience.”
“We ask the IU Board of Trustees to give us a reasonable place to smoke while still protecting students from unwanted secondhand smoke,” Girdley said.The students walked from the free speech area near the clock tower about 50 yards to a nearby field to smoke. The campus policy is that students can only smoke in vehicles.
“I think most of us would just like a designated area to smoke — maybe one on each end of campus,” said Katelyn Dowell, a junior majoring in psychology.
Tristan Williamson, a junior English major, does not smoke, but marched with the demonstrators. He said it is “ridiculous” that smokers do not have a place to go.
Former IUS music professor Jamey Abersold argued with the protesters, accusing them of distorting the truth about the harmfulness of tobacco. Abersold now does anti-smoking presentations at local schools.
“I don’t think people should be allowed to smoke anywhere,” Abersold said.
University spokeswoman Jenny Johnson Wolf said the students who chose to smoke will be referred to the vice chancellor for Student Affairs, which is university policy for anyone caught smoking.
There is a judicial hearing to determine any discipline. Wolf said there is no minimum or maximum penalty for violating the smoking ban and that each offender is treated on a “case- by-case” basis.
In two years of the restrictions, less than 20 students have received referrals for smoking, Wolf said. Many of the students at the protest say they smoke in the parking lot, and no one has ever told them to stop. Girdley said he has received verbal reprimands for smoking on campus, but was never issued a referral before Thursday.
He said one reason they chose to demonstrate now — two years after the Indiana University Board of Trustees mandated the campus become completely tobacco-free — is because of concern the university was planning to start stricter enforcement of the anti-smoking policy.
Wolf said the university is discussing how to better enforce the rules, but that no formal proposal has been made and no date is set for changes to take place.
“The campus, with feedback from our Executive Council and students, is reviewing options to improve the effectiveness of the tobacco-free compliance, Wolf said. “This includes the possibility of fines and/or community service being assigned to those who break the tobacco-free policy.”
Student Government Association President James Bonsall said he will meet today with administration officials to discuss how to better enforce the tobacco-free policy. He said the university is considering issuing citations that would be similar to parking tickets, rather than having students go before a judicial board.
“Basically, nobody has ever had to enforce the smoking ban so far,” Bonsall said.
He said the problem with the current system is that some students do not have vehicles on campus and therefore cannot smoke. He supports having designated smoking areas away from building.
“I don’t believe nonsmoking students should be subjected at all to smoke,” Bonsall said.
He said it was good to see students out protesting, although he disagrees with them violating university rules to do so.

Cigarettes and Lotto tickets stolen

OTTAWA COUNTY, Mich. (NEWSCHANNEL 3) - Deputies are investigating a break-in at an Ottawa County store.
They say someone forced their way into the Mobile Mart Gas Station on Ottawa Beach Road near Holland and stole cigarettes and Lotto tickets.
This happened early Monday morning.
Deputies are still looking for the suspect. If you have any information call the Ottawa County Sheriff's Department.

Just one cigarette harms young arteries

A new study shows that just a few cigarettes a day can harm young arteries. One cigarette was found to increase stiffness in the arteries of 18 to 30 year olds by twenty-five percent.
The findings, presented by Dr. Stella Daskalopoulou at the Canadian Cardiovascular Congress 2009, show how tobacco can harm young adults. Dr. Daskalopoulous says “Our results are significant because they suggest that smoking just a few cigarettes a day impacts the health of the arteries. This was revealed very clearly when these young people were placed under physical stress, such as exercise."
Arterial stiffness can leads to high blood pressure, and eventually can lead to heart attack and stroke. When the heart beats and the artery is stiff, the heart has to work harder, eventually causing the it to become larger and less efficient.
The study tested arterial stiffness of young smokers to non-smokers, using a method called method applanation tonometry. The test is similar to a cardiac stress test, but instead of measuring the heart’s response to stress, it measures the response of the arteries to stress. When stressed, the arteries of smokers became stiffer. Conversely, those who did not smoke showed reduced stiffness in the arteries.
Dr. Daskalopoulou explains, "In effect we were measuring the elasticity of arteries under challenge from tobacco." An interesting finding was that the stiffness of arteries in smokers and non-smokers was the same at rest.
"In effect, this means that even light smoking in otherwise young healthy people can damage the arteries, compromising the ability of their bodies to cope with physical stress, such as climbing a set of stairs or running to catch a bus", says Dr. Daskalopoulou. "It seems that this compromise to respond to physical stress occurs first, before the damage of the arteries becomes evident at rest."
The study reinforces the damage that can occur from tobacco smoke and the impact on youth. Just a few cigarettes a day can harm young arteries. The findings are another reason to find a way to stop smoking. Speak with your doctor for medication help to stop smoking. According to the study, it takes few cigarettes to cause the arteries to become stiff, and the effect on youth is noteworty considering the number of young adults who smoke.

Alcohol, cigarettes are much more dangerous than pot

Michael Gimbel is remarkably uninformed about medical marijuana and drugs generally, in spite of his former role as drug czar in Baltimore County.
Alcohol and tobacco are the drugs of death and widespread harm for Americans and very large profits for big American corporations, lawyers, and the prison industry and unions.
There is not a single recorded case of a death due to marijuana overdose, but tens, even hundreds of thousands of Americans die annually due to the legal drugs whose makers profit from so handsomely and then use those profits to keep safer and cheaper alternatives like marijuana off the market. All those profits buy a lot of legislators, drug czars, prisons and power to keep the status quo money machine flowing.
Sure, the present circumstances lead some small operators to game the system with medical marijuana, but it is mostly a benign and harmless chemical compared to what the system makes legal. A large part of the story the media does not tell very well flows out of the abuse of power for economic purposes by those who run the present system.
If Marijuana, alcohol, tobacco and prescription drugs were all controlled to the same degree, by similar rules, America and its people would be a vastly healthier, safer and less corrupt country.

No buts! Syrian president bans smoking in public

DAMASCUS, Syria — Syria's president on Monday issued a decree banning smoking in public places, joining an anti-smoking trend already under way in other Arab countries.
The ban also includes a rare restriction in the Arab world: limiting places where Syrians can indulge in the hubbly bubbly — water pipes known locally as argileh.
President Bashar Assad's decree, which will to into effect in six months, bans smoking in restaurants, cafes, cinemas, theaters, schools, official functions and on public transport. Offenders will be fined 2,000 Syrian pounds — about $45.
Syria had taken steps before to try to restrict smoking, including a 1996 decree issued by Assad's late father, Hafez, that banned smoking in government institutions, hospitals and at the airport.
But the ban was often flouted and not strictly enforced. The younger Assad recently issued a law that banned the sale of tobacco to those under the age of 18.
Monday's decree is a much more sweeping measure reflecting Syria's desire to join other Arab countries struggling to control smoking with bans and anti-smoking campaigns.
Such laws are not easily enforced in the tobacco-loving Arab world, where people light up in offices, universities, taxis and even hospitals and where smoking has long been a social imperative and a rite of passage for young men. Packs can cost as little as 50 cents.
The decree issued by Assad, a British-trained eye doctor, also bans the favorite Mideast pastime — smoking water pipes — except in well-ventilated and designated areas. Also outlawed are tobacco advertising and the sale and import of sweets and toys modeled after tobacco products.
Health Minister Rida Saeed said authorities were working on campaigns that explain to the public "the health hazards of smoking and the environmental, economic and social vices of smoking."
Egypt, Lebanon, the United Arab Emirates — and most recently Iraq — have imposed similar restrictions on smoking, but the bans vary in scope and enforcement.
Emirates authorities have banned smoking in public places and indoors, including water pipe smoking in certain places such as restaurants in residential neighborhoods.
Last year, Egypt, one of the top 15 smoking countries in the world, launched a campaign of visual warnings about tobacco's dangers, including a requirement that cigarette labels carry images of the effects of smoking.
Iraq's government in August unveiled sweeping curbs on smoking after parliament ratified the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control, which requires governments to fight smoking.
Turkey banned indoor smoking earlier this year, leading a man to shoot a restaurant owner to death after being asked to put out his cigarette.

State could raise cigarette taxes by $1 a pack to pay for MAP grants

SPRINGFIELD -- The idea of raising Illinois cigarette taxes by a $1 a pack could come up again as early as next week as a way to pay for the state's biggest scholarship program.
Raising taxes by $1 was debated this spring as a way to generate more money for health care for low-income people.
Now, Gov. Pat Quinn wants to use money from a cigarette tax hike to pay for the state's Monetary Award Program. It's the biggest need-based scholarship program in Illinois, but the state's financial problems have left money for spring semester grants in limbo.
Though the Illinois Senate approved of raising cigarette taxes earlier this year, there weren't enough votes in the House to follow suit. Lawmakers returning to Springfield next week could try again.
The Senate sponsor of the tax plan said spending more on health care will draw in federal money. Then, state money could be shifted to pay for MAP grants.
"I don't think we're too far apart in our goals," said state Sen. Jeff Schoenberg, D-Evanston.
The tax hike faces opposition, though.
Republicans are pushing a plan to allow some people and businesses who are behind in paying their income and sales taxes to pay up without penalty in an effort to generate millions to pay for MAP.
State Rep. Dan Brady, R-Bloomington, said Republicans on board the tax amnesty plan want to see it approved before cigarette taxes are even considered.
Plus, he said, the effectiveness of a tax increase on cigarettes might be overestimated.
"More people will stop smoking," Brady said.
That's good for health reasons, he said, but not if the state is banking on getting more money.
Steve Brown, spokesman for Democratic House Speaker Michael Madigan, said the Republican plan won't work.
Giving people who are behind on their taxes a break could actually cost the state money, he said.
"This is money the state would already get, and with penalties," Brown said. "There's a reluctance to give a break for deadbeats.The annual fall session of the General Assembly starts next week.