Smoking and Tobacco Use

Tomatoes, Peppers May Help Prevent Parkinson's

With tomato season just around the corner, a new study gives you permission to pig out on the ruby-colored fruit. Scientists have discovered that eating foods that contain traces of nicotine, such as tomatoes and peppers, helps lower the risk of developing Parkinson's disease, Science World News rep ... More >>

On Earth Day, UCLA Bans Smoking Forever

If you go to UCLA, you can sign up for military service and die for your country. You can vote (if you're at least 18). You drink (if you're 21). And you can take THC semi-legally, if you have a doctor's blessing (and keep it to yourself). But you can't smoke on campus. Starting today the Westwood ... More >>

Marijuana Users Don't Eat More, Study Says

The stereotype of the chunky, Cheetos-scarfing pothead never rang true to us. All the daily smokers we knew were more like Spicoli than Belushi (who appeared to like the nose candy anyway). Yet another study (see this report from 2011) seems to support the idea that daily cannabis users don't neces ... More >>

UCLA Campus To Go No-Smoking, No Exceptions

UCLA is joining the smoke-free bandwagon. Chancellor Gene Block announced today that the Westwood campus would go entirely no-smoking, even in its lush, outdoor quads, even outside its dorms, even on the sidelines of its practice football field. Lighting up will not be allowed anywhere on UCLA prop ... More >>

No Smoking in Your Own Apartment? Santa Monica Moves Toward Such a Ban

Please explain to us how L.A.'s own version of Berkeley, a town once ruled by ultra-lefty Tom Hayden and is band of merry pranksters called Santa Monicans for Renters Rights, has turned into a an Amish village where the local government is up your arse with just about everything you do there? It wa ... More >>

Fruits and Vegetables May Help Smokers Kick the Habit

If you're trying to quit smoking, you might want to take a trip to your local farmers market: According to a study conducted by University at Buffalo researchers, eating fruits and vegetables may help smokers kick the habit. One thousand smokers 25 years or older were surveyed about their smoking ... More >>

Redondo Beach May Ban Smoking on Pier: So Where Can You Still Smoke Along the L.A. County Coast?

Little by little, various government entities within L.A. County are forcing cigarette smokers off public property and quarantining them into their own nasty tobacco dens. The Department of Beaches and Harbors banned smoking on any beach within the county years ago. But the piers, because they're o ... More >>

Proposition 29 Cigarette Tax

Why it may fail in liberal California

Carrie Fisher: Hollywood Kid

One of the fascinating Angelenos featured in L.A. Weekly's People 2012 issue. Check out our entire People 2012 issue here. Carrie Fisher was wondering recently what to do with the huge Princess Leia painting -- "in that fucking iron bikini" -- that George Lucas sent her for her birthday. "I'm sure ... More >>

Hermosa Beach Cigarette Nazis Ban Smoking Pretty Much Everywhere in South Bay Town

Ian BroylesHermosa Beach: Woo! Wait, not woo.​Ah, the South Bay. Home of the Beach Boys, the laid-back, California lifestyle and, of course, white people partying. And now it's also where you'll find ... cigarette Nazis! That's right, the salt-air breezes don't seem to dissipate the anti-s ... More >>

Bisexual, Lesbian, Gay Youths Less Likely to Use Condoms, More Likely to Use Drugs, Alcohol -- Study

Infidelic​As if life isn't hard enough for them, the Centers for Disease Control on Monday reports that gay, lesbian and bisexual high school students are more prone to drug, alcohol and tobacco use. The study (PDF) includes data from Southern California and indicates, according to a CDC stat ... More >>

Ban on Smoking Outside Restaurants and Dining Areas Takes Effect Today

Flickr/Leanda​ A new ordinance takes effect today that bans cigarette smoking in outdoor Los Angeles restaurants. The law, which carries a fine of $500, specifically prohibits smoking within 10 feet of outdoor dining areas and food courts, and within 40 feet of food carts and mobile food truck ... More >>

L.A. Smokers Beware: Starting March 8, You Could Pay Up to $500 for Smoking Near a Restaurant or Food Truck

The InsiderOnly five days left to inhale in public​The L.A. City Council may have passed the outdoor smoking ban over a year ago, but it's just now going into effect. Last March, all Los Angeles restaurants that allowed smoking on their patios were given a one-year grace period to phase out yo ... More >>

UCLA Study: Cigarettes Make Teens Want to Smoke More Cigarettes

cigarettesflavours.comStop that, teens. Smoking is bad.​UCLA researchers were on a real roll there for a minute, what with all the cures for baldness and sexual revelations about homeless kids. But if we may be so bold, we're inclined to wax a bit duh on this one: According to the university's ... More >>

COPPEROTIC

Sorry L.A. Hookah Hipster: That Pipe is Dirty, and Could be Bad for Your Health

Stay back, Charlie Sheen: It's hook-ah.​Hookahs are everywhere in L.A., second only, perhaps, to the city's ubiquitous pot shops. (Maybe people are practicing). There's Ali Mama Cafe in Silver Lake and Up In Smoke Hookah Lounge in Sherman Oaks. They're not hard to find. One of the allures o ... More >>

Would Proposed West Hollywood Fur Ban Survive a Court Challenge?

SoniaT 360This fur is faux.​In ultra-liberal West Hollywood, which already operates as a "Cruelty Free Zone for Animals," one City Council candidate is going for left-wing gold with a proposal to ban fur at retailers. As the Weekly's Patrick Range McDonald reports, John D'Amico wants the West ... More >>

L.A. City Council Candidate Rudy Martinez Fought Smoking Bans In California

Mayor SamRudy Martinez, servin' up charitable turkey and wishin' on a smoke break​Updated after the jump: A reformed Martinez says he supports last month's stringent smoking ban. Originally posted Nov. 30 at 5:42 p.m. Yet another item on which reality-TV star and District 14 hopeful Rudy Mart ... More >>

L.A. Plans To Ban Smoking In 'All Public Areas:' What About Burger Eating?

Put a burger in that belly and then see.​The same do-nothing L.A. City Council that made every possible exception to its so-called economic boycott of Arizona, shut down libraries on Mondays and cut overtime for the town's already limited police force is now telling folks they can't smoke -- p ... More >>

'F You' To Smokers: Embarrassing New Warning Labels To Be Stamped On All Cigarette Cartons -- And L.A. City Council Wants To Ban Smoking In Public

U.S. Food and Drug AdministrationQuit smoking, and you could be as happy as this guy​Just like sex offenders, cigarette smokers are being pushed out of Los Angeles one ordinance at a time. Following a new U.S. Food and Drug Administration mandate for graphic warning labels on cigarette carton ... More >>

Santa Monica Outlaws Smoking On Balconies

​ If you're a smoker, you're not welcome in Santa Monica. That's pretty much the message the city of Santa Monica sent to smokers Thursday as a new law went into effect making it illegal for people to light up within 25 feet of any apartment building, window or vent., the Santa Monica Daily ... More >>

Feds, State Bust Up Massive Alleged L.A. ... Tobacco Ring? Yep, Tobacco.

​Retro: State and federal authorities up and down California and over to Vegas have busted up a big non-cigarette tobacco ring that allegedly avoided paying taxes -- $35 million in California excise taxes. A bevy of state and federal agencies were involved in the three-year investigation, rac ... More >>

Will More West Hollywood News Outlets Mean Increased Scrutiny for Local Politicians?

The Sunset Strip in West Hollywood​LAist noted the other day that West Hollywood now has three "media outlets" training their eyes exclusively on the small, 1.9-square-mile city. It's the kind of thing that makes one wonder if West Hollywood politicians will now come under more scrutiny? At ... More >>

Santa Monica Bans Smoking On Patios and Balconies

​The Santa Monica City Council voted this week to ban smokers from lighting up 25-feet of a door or window in any multi-unit residential building, according to the Santa Monica Daily Press. The 4-1 vote was aimed specifically at those who smoke on balconies and patios. "One of the concerns w ... More >>

West Hollywood Pushes For Any Kind of Outdoor Smoking Ban

Abbeland.comWest Hollywood City Councilwoman Abbe Land​The West Hollywood Outdoor Smoking Task Force met again last Friday, and it seems that West Hollywood Mayor John Heilman and Councilwoman Abbe Land, who first proposed an outdoor smoking ban at bars and nightclubs, are pushing behind the ... More >>

Smoking Rates Up In West Hollywood, South L.A., South Bay

​Despite nationwide efforts to curb smoking, a recent study released by the county Department of Public Health has revealed that rates of lighting up in Los Angeles have remained steady since 2002, though some areas, including West Hollywood, South Los Angeles and the South Bay have seen incre ... More >>

Does West Hollywood Want Wide-Sweeping Smoking Ban?

While West Hollywood City Council members have been considering such highly-publicized measures as boycotting Arizona due to its controversial immigration law and taking a stand against commercial whaling, some of those same politicians seem to be quietly pushing a wide-sweeping, anti-smoking agenda ... More >>

Will West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce Need A Bail Out?

In the WeHo News yesterday, columnist and former West Hollywood City Councilman Steve Martin predicts the Creative City may need to "bail out" the West Hollywood Chamber of Commerce with taxpayer dollars.WeHo NewsFormer West Hollywoood City Councilman Steve Martin​Why? Martin writes that it all st ... More >>

West Hollywood City Council Awash in Controversy and Protest

The West Hollywood City Council was awash in controversy and protest at its annual "reorganization" ceremony on Monday, where longtime Councilman John Heilman became West Hollywood's newest mayor -- for the seventh time.Ted SoquiWest Hollywood Mayor John Heilman​Heilman, who's sat on the City Coun ... More >>

IF IT’S TUESDAY, IT MUST BE . . . DUDE, I AM SO BAKED!!!

DOUBLE BOBBLE

West Hollywood Ponders Ban On Outdoor Smoking At Clubs, Restaurants

Abbe Land.​We told you about a movement in Santa Monica to ban smoking at apartment and condo complexes. Now the city of West Hollywood is looking at a proposal to prohibit lighting up in outdoor areas of clubs and restaurants. The idea comes courtesy of Mayor Abbe Land and Mayor Pro Tem John ... More >>

Some In Santa Monica Want To See Smoking Banned In Apartments

The Regal Beagle.​How times change. They used to call it the Republic of Santa Monica because our little city by the bay was so crunchy liberal you could barely throw a rock without hitting a pair of Birkenstocks or an unkempt beard. It was the home of Three's Company (and the Regal Beagle), T ... More >>

Obama Has High Tolerance for Pot, While L.A. Officials Keep Choking

This guy would dig Obama's stance on weed.​The Obama administration's decision to leave medical marijuana sellers and smokers alone, as long as they follow state laws, makes Washington look like the cool dad who lets the kids have their fun as long as they don't bring the cops to the house. Meanwh ... More >>