smoking

Gov. Chris Christie vetoed a $7 million increase in spending on smoking cessation, while the higher smoking age could lead to demand among 19- and 20-year-olds.

Beginning in November, the age to purchase cigarettes in New Jersey will jump from 19 to 21. Another move by Gov. Chris Christie to desperately try to shape a legacy which is almost certain to be about a bridge and a beach.

Gov. Chris Christie has dedicated his final year in office to addressing the opioid epidemic, but the state's failure to spend on smoking cessation efforts when thousands of people still die annually from tobacco-related illnesses has drawn derision from advocates and public health officials.

New Jersey ranks dead last for the money it devotes to tobacco prevention and cessation programs.

The CDC says New Jersey should spend over $100 million a year to fight smoking. It spends nothing, and hasn't for five years. That may change, but only slightly.

It's been banned for 10 years in New Jersey, but the creation of new cigar lounges received the green light from an Assembly panel on Thursday.

Smoking likely will be banned at state forests and parks starting next year, though a veto by Gov. Chris Christie blocked a prohibition covering all local beaches and parks.

Lawmakers in New Jersey have sent a measure to Gov. Chris Christie's desk to ban smoking at public beaches and parks.

A well-financed campaign backed by billionaire environmentalist Tom Steyer, medical groups and organized labor has collected enough signatures for a ballot measure to raise California's cigarette tax by $2 a pack, officials said.

The Food and Drug Administration's latest anti-smoking campaign takes aim at young adults in the LGBT community, who officials say are nearly twice as likely to use tobacco as their peers.