Children exposed to secondhand smoke have lower test scores in reading, math and problem-solving, according to research published today in the January issue of Environmental Health Perspectives. ...

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. ...

In a burst of prohibitive zeal aimed at New Jersey's youth, state lawmakers voted today to make it illegal for people under 18 to buy or possess tobacco products, or for those under 21 to drink alcoholic beverages on private property. The tobacco ban is opposed by many police officials and most leading antismoking groups, who say it would achieve little and could even make smoking more appealing to rebellious teenagers. ...

One of the most popular New Year's resolutions, and one of the most difficult to keep, is to quit smoking. Smokers who decide to quit are making an important decision, one that is good for their health and the health of those around them. Every smoker who quits reduces the amount of secondhand smoke that we are all exposed to. ...

The report lists, in clinical detail, 22 adult and four pediatric diseases that are smoking-related, along with detailed mortality data. Among the dead were 55 boys and 41 girls under the age of 1 who died of sudden infant death syndrome, low birth weight and respiratory conditions caused principally by maternal smoking. (Not all SIDS deaths are related to smoking.) ...

They look like boxes of candy cigarettes. The brightly colored packs decorated with cartoon characters or cool designs even smell like candy, with the sweet aroma of cherry and mint wafting out of the cellophane wrapping. ...

A smoking ban that went into effect last Tuesday will mean that Petalumans will not longer be able to light up on playgrounds. ...

Kids around the country are stepping up to the front lines of the tobacco wars on April 14, as they join thousands of young people in the fourth annual Kick Butts Day. State legislators across the country continue to debate funding for tobacco prevention programs from last year's historic $240 billion tobacco settlement. Meanwhile, kids all over the United States are taking matters into their own hands when it comes to fighting youth tobacco use. ...

Just three cigarette brands account for nearly all teen smoking, and one of those brands alone accounts for the majority of the underage tobacco market, according to new results from the Monitoring the Future Study at the University of Michigan. ...

Fourteen-year-old Tammy Lee says she will never be a smoker. She hates how the smoke smells, she knows what it would do to her health and she especially despises how it looks. "Teens who smoke too early know the consequences, but they don't care," said Tammy, an eighth-grader at Cabin John Middle School in Rockville. "Usually people care what they look like, and they look stupid when they smoke." ...