A black market for cigarettes thrived inside the long-term juvenile detention center in Augusta but investigators found no criminal conduct, according to the now-closed state probe. On page after page, investigators recounted interviews with teenage boys, young adult males and employees of the Augusta Youth Development Center in support of allegations that some staffers at the 300-bed institution had been providing the young criminals with cigarettes and lighters. Sometimes, the tobacco was sold for as much as $20 a pack, according to the records. ...

GENEVA, Oct. 21 — In an atmosphere of unexpected harmony, officials representing nearly 150 governments laid the groundwork this week for a new global treaty that aims to control tobacco use and stamp out adolescent smoking. ...

WASHINGTON, Oct. 20 /U.S. Newswire/ -- The American Lung Association today praised representatives of 148 countries gathered in Geneva, Switzerland, for progress on initial steps toward a global treaty to control tobacco use. The statement came at the conclusion of the first round of treaty negotiations that are expected to take several years. ...

Two Philadelphia lawyers have filed a civil rights lawsuit against the major tobacco companies, charging that they have targeted African American smokers for sales of menthol cigarettes, which they say are more deadly than standard cigarettes, the attorneys announced yesterday. The action, which has been filed in federal Eastern District Court, is the first lawsuit to claim that tobacco companies have violated the civil rights of a group of customers, according to veteran tobacco litigator Stephen Sheller of Sheller Badey & Ludwig, who is one of two lawyers representing the class. ...

I don't see why President Bush is in such a hurry to do some damage overseas. If he'd just wait a while, America's cigarette industry will do it for him. Marlboro maker Philip Morris made that clear the other day when it reported that international cigarette sales in the most recent quarter jumped 2.3 percent. They would have been even higher if shipments to Japan hadn't been interrupted by the West Coast port lockout. ...

Smokers who trade in their regular cigarettes for low-tar cigarettes may be kidding themselves if they think it will help them kick the habit or reduce their risks. A new study shows smokers who switched to lower tar "light" or "ultralight" cigarettes were no more likely to quit smoking or attempt to stop smoking than those who stuck with their regular cigarettes. ...

Cigarettes that are marketed as "mild" or "light" aren't any safer than regular cigarettes, and tobacco companies should remove these labels and tell the public why, a court has heard. The argument was made in B.C. Supreme Court yesterday by the lawyer for a British Columbia man who is attempting to launch a class-action suit against Imperial Tobacco Ltd., Canada's largest cigarette manufacturer. ...

The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security favorably passed the “fire-safe cigarettes” bill (HB 1914 & SB 1345) from committee today, taking Massachusetts one step closer to being the fourth state to enact fire safety standards for cigarettes, following New York in 2000, Vermont in May 2005, and California in October 2005. ...

U.S. tobacco companies have the knowhow to produce cigarettes without nicotine, the addictive element that keeps smokers puffing, an addictions expert testified on Monday in a massive anti-tobacco lawsuit. ...

The Joint Committee on Public Safety and Homeland Security favorably passed the "fire-safe cigarettes" bill from committee last Friday, taking Massachusetts one step closer to being the fourth state to enact fire safety standards for cigarettes, following New York in 2000, Vermont in May 2005 and California in October 2005. ...