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June 17 2008
The Benefits of Smoking June 11 2008 Children and Passive Smoking June 05 2008 Brightly colored cigarettes packs are going to be banned May 29 2008 Online tobacco stores give smokers a lot of advantages April 24 2008 Flavored cigarettes could tempt children into smoking April 22 2008 Smoking Hookah is not a risk-free activity April 16 2008 Olympiad re-faces the most smoking nation |
New Laws In 1999 - Tobacco Free Kids Are One Aim
By Abraham McLaughlin
With the dawning of 1999, thousands of new laws go into effect around the nation - offering a freeze-frame look at American democracy in action.
But one strong theme emerges from the laws that took effect Jan. 1: a desire to protect people - especially kids - from the effects of tobacco and alcohol, including drunken drivers. Many laws also try to safeguard children and families from other dangers - everything from inexperienced teenage drivers to abusive husbands. This multitude of new laws "is all about government responding to what people want," says Cynthia Craft, editor of the Sacramento, Calif.-based StateNet Capitol Journal. In this cynical age, is government truly working for the good of people? "It actually happens sometimes," she says with a chuckle. To be sure, the new list of laws reads like a dream for conservative politicians. But far from being ultraconservative, the leadership in statehouses is typically "anchored in the political middle," says Tim Story of the National Conference of State Legislatures in Denver. "Moderate Republicans are in the leadership in statehouses, and it shows." One idea that seems to have bipartisan backing is to tighten regulations governing the sale and use of alcohol and tobacco. On tobacco regulation, California voters, for instance, approved adding a 50-cent tax onto each pack of cigarettes sold. In Idaho, store clerks face a $100 fine for selling cigarettes to underage kids, while retailers have been told to expect two surprise inspections every year to test whether their cigarette customers are too young. |
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