A nationwide ban on smoking tobacco in enclosed places began here Tuesday, but Dutch cafes and restaurants will permit patrons to smoke marijuana inside their premises.

Some 200 inspectors of the Food and Consumer Product Safety Authority will ensure compliance to the ban by cafes across the country. The inspectors have been trained to detect tobacco and marijuana, which is allowed in licensed coffee shops

Beginning Tuesday, cigarette ads and sponsorships will be banned in the Philippines.

The Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003 mandates a total ban on cigarette ads effective July 1, said Dr. Maricar Limpin, president of the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control-Alliance Philippines (FCAP)

- A new law will go into effect on July 1 banning smoking tobacco indoors throughout the Netherlands. What this means for Amsterdam's historic coffee shops, where smoking tobacco laced with marijuana is more of the main draw, remains up for debate.

According to reports, coffee shop owners say the new ban should not effect them because 'coffee shops' are a place where people go to smoke. They say it is preposterous for the ban to extend to their shops, just as it would be for food to be banned from restaurants, or alcohol from a bar

Cuban health authorities have approved the use of what is believed to be the world's first registered therapeutic lung cancer vaccine.

Unlike chemotherapy, the prevalent treatment for cancer, the new vaccine CimaVax EGF has no side effects. Though the vaccine does not prevent lung cancer, it has been shown to boost survival rates by an average of four to five months, and in some cases much longer

The income of Germany bars and pubs dipped by 14.1 percent in the fourth quarter of 2007 due to the smoking ban. Hit hardest by the nicotine prohibition were small pubs that did not have sufficient space for an enclosed smoking area.

Julius Warner of the German Hotel and Restaurant Association explained to Deustche Welle the smoking ban was successful in dining establishments because, "The majority of the guests appreciate the smoking ban when they're eating