Last month, the city investigated and shut down a number of crafty smoke shops that sold loose tobacco that customers could roll themselves using in-store machines, stating that these "roll your own" cigarettes were skirting the city's notoriously high tax on cigarettes. But two stores being investigated—BB's Corner, in Brooklyn, and Nitecap Entertainment, a tobacco and porn/sex aid shop on Staten Island—are arguing that their businesses are no different from Build-A-Bear Workshop, the mall store where kids can create a customized cuddly "best friend" toy. more ›

Smoke shop entrepreneurs who thought they'd found a way around the city's exorbitant cigarette tax laws are learning that what they thought was a loophole is more like a noose. You might even say their dreams are going up in smoke (if you have no shame). City lawyers have been aggressively cracking down on smoke shops that sell discount "roll your own" cigarettes—customers buy loose tobacco, which is taxed at a much lower rate than cigarettes, then roll their own smokes using in-store machines. Six of these shops have already agreed to shut down in the face of legal action, and now two more are being targeted by the city and New York State. more ›

While the Bloomberg Administration has successfully driven down the number of smokers overall in NYC by 35% since 2002, the Department of Health is frustrated by the fact that the number of Asian smokers has stayed flat. So, the NY Times reports, "On Thursday, the department stepped up its appeals to Asian smokers, introducing graphic ads in Chinese for its annual campaign to distribute nicotine patches and gum, and offering Chinese speakers for those who call 311 to enroll in the program. The department will also seed the ethnic news media with translated versions of its antismoking campaign called 'Pain,' which depicts excruciating smoking-related cancers." And it's not pretty! more ›

Poor tobacco companies can't advertise on TV, and persecuted smokers can't even enjoy their fine line of carcinogenic products in most places in New York—and now the government wants to bogart the space on their cigarette packages with graphic ads to remind customers about the consequences of their actions. Luckily for Big Tobacco, they've got Judge Richard J. Leon in their corner. Yesterday the George W. Bush appointee blocked a federal requirement that would have forced U.S. tobacco companies to put big graphic images on their cigarette packages. more ›

Sure second-hand smoke is bad for your health, but is it as bad as second-hand chainsaw? Last summer, Dean Dinnen was tossed out of a pub in Hull, England for smoking. Apparently he was cut to the quick, as Dinnen returned later with a chainsaw and began chasing after frightening barflies in a surreal scene that is equal parts Texas Chainsaw Massacre and NicoDerm CQ. more ›

The city's Law Department has filed two more lawsuits against stores that exploit a perceived loophole in the city's obscene cigarette tax law. You'll recall that New York Smokes, a retail tobacco outlet on Staten Island, was making bank selling customers loose tobacco, which is taxed at a far lower rate than cigarettes. Customers would then roll their own smokes in the store using cigarette stuffing machines, walking out with a pack for about $6—far less than the average $13 price. But then the city cracked down on that enterprise, and now the guv'ment is going after two more shops. more ›

Smoking, it'll kill you (even you, casual smoker). But before that it will bring in beaucoup bucks for the government thanks to hefty taxes—or will it? Pols keep raising and adding taxes on smokes here for the dual purpose of making money and pricing people out of their favorite addiction. Its worked pretty swell for a while now, but it seems that those days are ending. State tax collectors were "recently calling around to convenience-store owners, wondering what was up. The $130 million in extra tax that Albany was expecting from a change in the law about cigarette sales on Indian reservations wasn’t happening." more ›

Bad news for lung cancer fans on a fixed income: you've got until February 1st to stock up on cheap cigarettes at two local establishments that skirt NYC's steep taxes. You'll recall that Island Smokes, a retail tobacco outlet with locations on Staten Island and the Lower East Side, has for some time now exploited a perceived loophole in the city's cigarette tax law: by requiring smokers to roll their own coffin nails using on-site cigarette stuffing machines, Island Tobacco was able to sell their products as loose tobacco, which is taxed at a lower rate. That is, until fraud investigators took notice. more ›

New York City's war on small businesses continues unabated: a Mom & Pop MetroCard operation was cruelly cut down, and two roll-your-own cigarette joints that offer Freedom from excessive, lawful excise taxes are being sued by The Man. Thankfully, these actions haven't deterred Jack Wang from opening his own roll-your-own tobacco shop, City Smokes, in Sheepshead Bay. “I don’t want to fight with the city. I don’t want any trouble,” Wang tells the Daily News. “I need to pay the rent. I have no choice.” You hear that, Mayor? He has no choice but to exploit a perceived loophole in the law and spread Liberty and Tar all over this town. more ›

Last month The New Yorker published a funny story about a retail tobacco outlet on Staten Island and the Lower East Side that's been exploiting a perceived loophole in the city's cigarette tax law. At Island Tobacco, customers can get a pack of smokes that normally cost $13 for just $6—or less. The store does this by requiring smokers to roll their own coffin nails using on-site cigarette stuffing machines. Island Tobacco's owners contend that this allows them to sell products as loose tobacco, which is taxed at a lower rate. But the city begs to differ, and the law department is going after the company! more ›

Smokers will not be forced to confront graphic images on cigarette packs depicting the potentially insalubrious side-effects of their addiction, a federal judge ruled today. You'll recall that the FDA, carrying out legislation enacted by Congress, was poised to require cigarette packages to be sold with a variety of graphic anti-smoking warnings. But five major tobacco companies filed a lawsuit, and today U.S. District Judge Richard Leon ruled that it's likely they'll win—so he's ordered the FDA hold off on requiring the warnings until that legal battle is settled. more ›

We knew those delightfully litigious purveyors of smooth, bold flavors wouldn't let us down. Five major tobacco companies have filed a lawsuit against the FDA claiming that the historic 2009 legislation that allows the agency to regulate tobacco violates the First Amendment by requiring those cheesy, not-so-graphic warning labels on cigarette packs. Attorney for the plaintiffs, the esteemed Floyd Abrams, tells CNN, "We think it violates the First Amendment for the government to require people who purchase a lawful product to essentially urge prospective purchases not to buy it." more ›

You've got just 90 days left to kill time by killing yourself while waiting for a train on LIRR and Metro-North platforms. Smoking is already verboten on NYC subway platforms, even in if they're outside, and today Governor Cuomo signed into law new smoking prohibitions that expand the existing smoking ban to outdoor ticketing, boarding or platform areas of railroad stations operated by the MTA or its subsidiaries. more ›

It has been a few months since the City Council's ban on smoking in parks and beaches kicked in. So how's it doing? Mixed. The number of tickets written is still holding steady at one and New Yorkers, according to the latest Marist Poll [PDF], are not entirely unanimous in their thoughts on the ban. While most New Yorkers like the idea of butt-free parks they aren't sure if it is working. Still, a majority of them would recommend other cities give it a puff. more ›

Cigarette smokers have been cast out from our parks, beaches, boardwalks, bars, restaurants, and automobiles with children on board, and now that we've got them isolated in their apartments furtively lighting up beneath the bed with a towel stuffed under the door, it's time bring the hammer down once and for all. As we previously reported, a number of co-ops and condos are planning votes to ban smoking inside private residences, man. Today a reporter who's friends with another reporter at the Post uses her connections to complain in the media about these filthy tobacco inhalers. more ›

The city's new ban on smoking in parks and beaches kicked in yesterday—not that anyone could tell. Though we (and the tabloids) easily found a gaggle of unrepentant smokers in the newly non-smoking areas, the Parks police didn't issue a single summons for smoking yesterday. Because they expect it to be self-enforcing, obviously. more ›

Mayor Bloomberg's Smoke Free Air Act goes into effect on Monday, and shockingly, people physically dependent on a substance that is more addictive than heroin have said that they will probably ignore the law that bans smoking in public parks, beaches, the concretewalk, and the Brooklyn Heights promenade. "It's so unfair because we're paying $12 to $13 a pack for cigarettes and now there's nowhere to smoke them…but I'll take the risk and still smoke in public," one man told the Brooklyn Paper. Another suggested: "Should we outlaw cabs, buses, and everything else that admits exhausts and fills our lungs with crap?" Hey, that's not a bad idea. more ›

An Upper West Side condo has become the first to ban smoking inside all its apartments, regardless of how long anyone has lived there. The Ariel West, a 32-story glass tower at Broadway and 99th Street, voted 47 to 3 to approve the ban late last month, the Times reports. The ban comes as a new law prohibiting smoking in city parks, beaches, and pedestrian plazas goes into effect on May 23rd. It's already illegal to smoke in your car with a child present, and pretty soon the only place left to legally smoke cigarettes will be in your smoky dreams. And we're fine with that. more ›

The CEO of Phillip Morris told a cancer nurse yesterday that though smoking "is addictive, it is not that hard to quit," and now anti-smoking groups are understandably up in arms. The statement from Louis C. Camilleri came at a shareholders meeting in which he was questioned by an anti-smoking nurse who cited statistics that tobacco use kills more than 400,000 Americans and 5 million people worldwide each year. more ›

A crackdown on underground cigarette dealing spearheaded by the Queens D.A.'s office has resulted in 12 arrests and the seizure of over 4,000 cartons of bootlegged cigarettes. At a press conference yesterday, D.A. Richard Brown stood behind a mountain of cigarette cartons which have been seized over the past three months; the smokes were smuggled into New York from overseas and out of state, and included the seizure of 22,000 untaxed cigars and nearly $400,000 in money and property. Heh, looks like investigators really smoked out these smugglers. Brown said the defendants cost NYC and the state $270,000 in tax revenue. more ›

We all know that cigarettes are very expensive in New York, thanks to another $1.60 state tax imposed last year, which prompts some smokers to head to cheaper pastures. One gas station on the border of New York and Connecticut has now taken an ingenious approach: Put an ice cream truck selling smokes on the Connecticut part of its property. more ›