To help Germany's millions of smokers quit the habit, the country's Federal Medical Society proposed Tuesday to reclassify tobacco addiction as an ailment.

According to German physicians, the idea behind the reclassification is to add pressure on nicotine addicts by placing a sick label to spur them to seek medical assistance

Boston City has slated a public hearing on the ban on cigarette sales at drug stores and college campuses on Oct. 8, 5 to 7 p.m. The hearing will be at the Carter Auditorium at Northampton Square Complex.

Aside from oral arguments, the Boston Public Health Commission, which organized the hearing, will also receive written comments on the rules which could be sent by post or email

A proposal to prohibit the sale of tobacco products in campuses and drugstores have high chances of being approved in Boston.

If the legislation is signed into law Thursday, the capital city of Massachusetts would have one of the toughest tobacco control rules in the U.S. San Francisco, though, is one step ahead as it will implement later this month then ban on sale of tobacco products in pharmacies

For some people the first puff of smoke they tried felt repulsive while for others those puffs came with a rush of pleasure. Researchers have identified a gene variant that may help explain why some smokers get addicted from their first cigarette while others seem immune to the addictive properties of tobacco.

The paper published online in the journal Addiction reports an association between a variant in the nicotine receptor gene CHRNA5, initial smoking experiences and current smoking patterns. This gene is far more common among smokers than in those who have the occasional cigarette

Two cabinet officials announced in this farming town Friday that Ottawa is giving more than $300 million to Ontario's tobacco farmers to help them switch to another crop.

Immigration and Citizenship Minister Diane Finley said the amount represents the funding of the government's Tobacco Transition Program "to help producers exit the industry, transition to other crops or find new opportunities outside agriculture," according to CBC.ca. The program is a federal strategy to fight smoking and the dangers it pose to health