News: Teen smoking

Although people younger than 18 can purchase electronic cigarettes, they are now prohibited from using them at some Washington schools.

A North Carolina-based tobacco company tried to entice African-American children to become smokers by handing out free cigarettes in Boston during the 1950s and 1960s, a jury ruled on Dec. 14, awarding $71 million in compensatory damages to the estate and child of a woman who died of lung cancer in 2002.

It's easy to believe that teens who spend a lot of time hanging out at convenience stores are more likely to smoke than their peers. It seems natural, somehow. But why?

In spite of increasing awareness of the dangers of smoking and the relative success of anti-tobacco campaigns over the past few decades, the use of this addictive plant is still quite prevalent in most societies. More specifically, smoking remains common among college students and young adults.

A happy hour drink in Berlin may now leave you with a baby hangover, as tiny Berliners flood smoke-free bars and restaurants in the city's more fertile neighborhoods. Already on January 2, sitting in a café with a pregnant friend, there was a notable number of babies stopping by, ordering lattés, and flirting with the waitresses. Most were hanging out with grinning fathers, who were happily drinking pilsner and playing patty cake. All in all, they looked as if 2008 and the cigarette ban in bars and restaurants had given them a new lease on life. Peace and goodwill reigned, as neighbors big and small tipped their glasses (and bottles) to one another.