Senators passed legislation unanimously Wednesday to preserve $7 million in federal funding by strengthening Oklahoma laws prohibiting sale of tobacco products to minors. Senate Bill 1256 by Sen. Ben Robinson now goes to Gov. Brad Henry for his approval. The measure prohibits the use of self-serve tobacco displays often used for smokeless tobacco products. ...

California could be on its way to becoming the first U.S. state to outlaw smoking in cars or trucks that have children inside. A bill is being considered in the state Assembly to allow police to stop vehicles if a minor appears to be exposed to smoke from a pipe, cigar, cigarette, or "any other plant." ...

Circle.com, (NASDAQ: CIRC - news) a leading provider of end-to-end Internet services, today announced the Phase 1 launch of thetruth.com, the online component of the $185 million national anti-smoking campaign built around the Truth brand. Circle.com is building thetruth.com's entire interactive online campaign by providing branding, business and marketing strategy, design, technology, promotions, and performance management services. ...

UGUSTA, Maine - With some lawmakers expressing outrage over the use of teen-agers in sting operations to prevent tobacco sales to minors, the Maine House has voted overwhelmingly to outlaw the practice. ...

California could be the first state in the country to fine motorists who smoke while driving with young children in the car if a bill passed by an Assembly committee Wednesday becomes law. ...

As antitobacco ad campaigns gear up around the country, several magazines aimed at teenagers have a head start. In their editorial pages and marketing, the teen magazines have begun spotlighting the dangers of smoking with the same attention typically reserved for wardrobe crises or dating woes. ...

BALTIMORE - Just a little bit of secondhand smoke can cause measurable damage to a child's learning ability, affecting reading, math and reasoning, researchers say. More than 13 million children breathe in enough secondhand smoke to be affected in this way, said the researchers from the Cincinnati Children's Hospital. ...

Many parents who smoke cigarettes light up outside the house or in the garage, thinking they're protecting their children from the dangers of smoke. Not so, finds a new study. ...

Ray Waldock of Little Falls had been coughing more than usual, so in the fall of 1995, he went for a checkup. Three months later, the life-long smoker was dead of lung cancer at 66. A photo of Waldock, looking eternally youthful in his high school senior picture, was among hundreds placed on a ``Tobacco Memorial Wall'' Friday by Minnesota schoolchildren at a rally in the rotunda of the state Capitol. ...

The adolescent brain appears to be more responsive to nicotine’s rewarding effects than the adult brain, a UC Irvine Transdisciplinary Tobacco Use Research Center (TTURC) animal study has found. ...