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Tobacco

Antonio Trujillo holds a cigarette while resting on a bench, in Pamplona, northern Spain

Big tobacco is forced to pay for cigarette butt pollution in Spain, but smokers may soon be on the hook

Environment

They’re tiny, they’re toxic, they’re everywhere. Cigarette butts are a huge source of pollution in Spain and lawmakers have said, enough. They’re ordering cigarette makers to pay for the cleanup, but smokers worry they’ll end up footing the bill.

Modeda Isambaboza sniffing tobacco

Sniffing tobacco addiction increasing in Democratic Republic of the Congo

A man inspects a hand-rolled Hoyas de Nicaragua cigar during "Puro Humo" (Pure Fair) in Managua March 15, 2013. The event was organized by the Nicaraguan Association of Tobacco to promote the best cigars produced in Nicaragua. Picture taken March 15, 2013

Forget about Cuba, here are five Miami cigars you need to try

Business
A small girl holds an unlit cigarette in her mouth

China’s national tobacco company has a staggering market — and they start young

Health
A security guard stands in the sunshine as she smokes outside Southwark Crown Court in central London, March 5, 2014.

If you are a British teen, you may never be able to legally buy a pack of cigarettes

Global Scan
Hookah

Name a largely Arab American city where hookah smoking is on the rise

Arts, Culture & Media

Despite all the warnings about tobacco and lung cancer, it’s not easy to stop teenagers from smoking. And in one large American city that’s home to a large Arab American community, health officials say teen smoking is on the rise. But it’s not cigarettes luring young smokers there. It’s the hookah or shisha–the kind of waterpipe popular throughout the Middle East.Despite all the warnings about tobacco and lung cancer, it’s not easy to stop teenagers from smoking. And in one large American city that’s home to a large Arab American community, health officials say teen smoking is on the rise. But it’s not cigarettes luring young smokers there. It’s the hookah or shisha–the kind of waterpipe popular throughout the Middle East.

As more young people try hookah smoking, health officials urge them to keep in mind it's just as dangerous as cigarettes.

Why the popular trend of smoking hookah in Detroit has one doctor alarmed

Health & Medicine

Despite all the warnings about tobacco and lung cancer, it’s not easy to stop teenagers from smoking. And in Detroit’s large Arab American community, health officials say teen smoking is on the rise. But it’s not cigarettes luring young smokers there. It’s the hookah or shisha–the kind of waterpipe popular throughout the Middle East.

The fight is on over e-cigarettes

Health & Medicine

Electronic cigarette ads are on TV. New York City is restricting e-smoking in the same way as it restricts tobacco smoking. And government data indicates that 10 percent of high school students have tried e-cigs. Now, researchers are racing to figure out how they will impact public health.

A man smokes next to a "No Smoking" sign in downtown Shanghai. Chinese leaders are now banned from smoking in public.

Chinese leaders are told to kick the habit

Health & Medicine

Lead by example. That’s the message the Chinese government is sending to its leaders. Communist Party leaders are being told to encourage each other to quit smoking — and to not smoke in public at all.

Birds in Mexico use cigarette butts to keep parasites at bay

Environment

Birds nests attract pests and parasites, like mites and lice. In Mexico, some birds have identified a way to keep the pests at bay, by taking discarded cigarette butts and weaving them into their nests. It remains to be seen, though, whether there are negative impacts on the birds as well.