A tipster passes along this video of these men smoking, spitting, and loudly cursing on the 7 train this past Friday. Lets give these two guys the benefit of the doubt: they could be from the future, where 50-year-olds dress like 18-year-olds waiting for their dorm's laundry room and cigarettes are made of healthy moondust. more ›

Yesterday, while everyone was focusing on Mayor Bloomberg's desire to kinda ban smoking in people's homes, an interesting bit of news about another of The People's Nanny's anti-smoking initiatives was revealed. The number of tickets written to people smoking in parks—tickets which many didn't think would ever really be written—have taken off like wildfire. more ›

Vanity Fair editor and restaurateur Graydon Carter spilled some details about the resurrection of the Beatrice Inn, restaurant and once-hot spot (before the D-list moved in) that closed in 2009. But it doesn't seem like Chloe Sevigny has any reason to root for it anymore. 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 ›

Cigarettes, they're what's for dinner? Yup, long before Nanny Bloomberg came and kicked New York City's smokers to the curb, the scent of burnt tobacco used to permeate the city—restaurants used to even sell smokes as an after dinner treat! more ›

It's been a fun, bold, smooth, satisfying three months, but the grace period is over and the MTA will begin enforcing the smoking ban on outdoor LIRR and Metro-North stations this week. The law, passed in August and enacted in November, makes it a $50 fine to smoke on commuter rail lines, or the possibility of as much as 30 days in jail. Still legal: drinking on the platforms, because even though alcohol kills more people than second-hand smoke, it also helps you work up the nerve to talk to that hottie with their headphones on. 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 ›

Ads run by the New York City Health Department to combat smoking and obesity can be harsh, depending on whether or not you bruise like a banana in a stiff breeze. Following the relative failures of national anti-cigarette and anti-drug campaigns, the Times asks, do scare tactics work? And do the city's ads qualify as "scary?" "The definition of a scare tactic is a non-credible risk message," Steve Pasierb, the president of the Partnership at Drugfree.org says. Can someone please tell the people at Five Gum that? 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 ›

Smoking, Nanny Bloomberg likes to remind us, will kill you. But don't think that your "I only smoke bummed ciggies at parties" routine makes you safe. Oh, no. The Department of Health wants you to know YOU COULD STILL DIE. So they're launching a print and TV campaign to help "light smokers" become "nonsmokers." Because you don't want to die, do you? 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 ›

The things smokers will do for a puff after a night on the town! Early Sunday morning MTA police arrested two LIRR passengers after one was allegedly smoking on the train and the other punched a conductor who tried to make the smoking stop. Thinking you can still smoke on LIRR platforms, we can get—the ban on that is only months old—but who really expects to light up on an actual train anymore? 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 ›

Time is running out before we're all enslaved by our robot overlords to build a giant laser beam for eradicating the rival robot planet Node 49 (look it up) but the MTA is letting us feel superior one last time by voting for the most useful subway smartphone apps. Preview all 42 applications here, and vote for your favorites from now until January 11, when two Popular Choice winners will be crowned, along with the overall winner. Our money is on the app that keeps rats from crawling on your face. more ›

If you had a part of your adolescence in or around the city in the past fifteen years you probably spent a night or two (or five) at Sahara East, the East Village joint where the hookahs were cheap and underage drinking was frequently ignored by the surly staff. But, it seems, those days are over. EV Grieve notes that the hookah lounge has been seized by the taxman. Now where will 16-year-old kids go to feel adult while coughing up flavored smoke, sneaking joints in the back and sipping Heinekens? more ›

As numerous studies have shown, smoking cigarettes is one of the coolest activities in the world. The only thing cooler than smoking is taking illicit puffs after a lushy celebrity tells you not to. After a smoking ban on LIRR platforms went into effect yesterday, the Post found a smoker who was lighting up with gusto, despite the audio announcements telling him it was illegal. "Joe Namath just told me I couldn't smoke, so I wanted to," a 28-year-old man said at the Hicksville station. No word on whether Katie Couric will track him down and tell him what an awful person he is. more ›

Enigmatic writer, director, and weather fan David Lynch has long loved music—and smoking. In an interview about his debut album, Lynch mourns the act of smoking. 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 ›

According to a CBS/New York Times poll, Herman Cain is besting Mitt Romney in the GOP presidential race, 25% to 21%. Cain is hoping to build on his success with this brilliant art house campaign ad released on Sunday night. more ›

In this week's New Yorker, Benjamin Shapiro files 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 obscene cigarette tax law. At Island Tobacco, customers can get a pack of smokes that normally cost $13 for $6—or less. The store does this by requiring smokers—aka the 14%—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. more ›