Smoking laws and regulations
This Oct. 1, 2020 photo shows a gambler playing a slot machine at the Ocean Casino Resort in Atlantic City, N.J. On April 16, 2021, New Jersey gambling regulators released statistics showing that the Atlantic City casinos more than doubled their gambling revenue in March 2021 compared to a year earlier, when casinos were forced to shut down in mid-March due to the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
March gambling revenue soars after 2020 virus shutdown

By Wayne Parry Apr. 16, 2021 03:05 PM EDT

In this March 9, 2016 photo, Cheryl Palina of Philadelphia lights a cigarette while playing a slot machine at the Tropicana casino in Atlantic City, N.J. On Thursday, April 15, 2021, health advocates, smoking opponents and some New Jersey lawmakers called for the state's temporary ban on casino smoking, imposed last year due to the coronavirus pandemic, be made permanent once the outbreak ends. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
Smoking foes: Make COVID casino smoking ban permanent in NJ

By Wayne Parry Apr. 15, 2021 01:42 PM EDT

FILE - In this March 24, 2021 file photo, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo speaks during a news conference at his offices in New York. New Yorkers can now possess up to 3 ounces of cannabis under a legalization bill signed by Cuomo. Criminal justice reform advocates hope the legislation signed Wednesday, March 31, will help redress the inequities of a system that has locked up people of color for marijuana offenses at disproportionate rates. (Brendan McDermid/Pool Photo via AP, File)
New York is latest state to legalize recreational marijuana

By Marina Villeneuve Mar. 31, 2021 11:03 AM EDT

Editorial Roundup: Tennessee

By The Associated Press Mar. 31, 2021 08:21 AM EDT
Recent editorials from Tennessee newspapers: ___ March 30 The Kingsport Times-News on smoking in...

Recent Missouri editorials

Nov. 23, 2020 02:04 PM EST
The Kansas City Star, Nov. 19 It’s in possible violation of voter registration law that Republican Missouri Sen. Josh Hawley is registered...

People wearing masks to help protect against the spread of coronavirus, wait at a bus station, in Ankara, Turkey, Wednesday, Nov. 11, 2020. Turkey's government had urged the residents of big cities to limit their mobility and called on employers to offer workers flexible or staggered working hours and the possibility of working from homes.(AP Photo/Burhan Ozbilici)
Turkey bans smoking in public places to curb virus spread

Nov. 12, 2020 02:20 AM EST

FILE - In this Dec. 28, 2005, file photo, Judy King of Daytona Beach, Fla., holds her cigarette while playing a slot machine at the MGM Grand hotel-casino in Las Vegas. One of the last Las Vegas Strip resorts to reopen after coronavirus closures will be the first to be smoke-free, MGM Resorts International announced Monday, Sept. 14, 2020. Park MGM will prohibit tobacco smoke inside when it opens Sept. 30, said Anton Nikodemus, president and chief operating officer of the 3,000-room property that many remember as the Monte Carlo casino-hotel. (AP Photo/Jae C. Hong, File)
MGM Resorts adopts smoke-free policy for Vegas Strip casino

By Ken Ritter Sep. 14, 2020 08:52 AM EDT

FILE - In a June 17, 2020, file photo provided by the Michigan Office of the Governor, Michigan's Democratic Gov. Gretchen Whitmer addresses the state during a speech in Lansing, Mich. Whitmer was unreceptive Tuesday, July 28, 2020, to Republican-passed legislation that would require public schools to offer in-person instruction to students in kindergarten through fifth grade amid the coronavirus pandemic.(Michigan Office of the Governor via AP, File)
Gov tightens virus rules up north; Detroit casinos to reopen

By David Eggert And Corey Williams Jul. 29, 2020 01:16 PM EDT

This June 24, 2020 photo shows a sign in the Hard Rock casino in Atlantic City N.J. instructing customers to maintain a distance on the escalator to prevent the spread of the coronavirus. Smoking, drinking and eating will all be prohibited when Atlantic City's casinos reopen after being shut for three months due to the coronavirus outbreak under rules imposed by New Jersey Gov. Phil Murphy on June 29, 2020. (AP Photo/Wayne Parry)
No smoking, drinking or eating as Atlantic City casinos open

By Wayne Parry Jun. 30, 2020 11:05 AM EDT

Floor decals instruct shoppers to socially distance at Garden State Plaza in Paramus, N.J., Monday, June 29, 2020. New Jersey's indoor shopping malls reopened Monday from their COVID-19 closure. Democratic Gov. Phil Murphy set the date earlier this month after he shuttered many sectors of the state's economy because of the outbreak. (AP Photo/Seth Wenig)
NJ halts indoor dining restart, citing mask use, distancing

By Wayne Parry And Michael Catalini Jun. 29, 2020 08:20 AM EDT

Waiter Garrett Jewell wears a mask and holds the plate with a napkin as he brings the first food order, a plate of deep-fried asparagus, out to customers at Cork on Saginaw, Mich., which is reopening fully for the first time amidst COVID-19 on Monday, June 8, 2020 in downtown Flint. Michigan Gov. Gretchen Whitmer allowed restaurants statewide throughout Michigan to reopen since the stay-in-place order was issued on March 23, which is eight weeks ago today. Restaurants in Michigan were closed on March 16. (Jake May/The Flint Journal via AP)
Michigan: No smoking, 15% capacity when Detroit casinos open

By David Eggert Jun. 08, 2020 04:33 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 7, 2020, file photo, beer taps of South African Brewery brands are seen through the window of a closed bar in Cape Town, South Africa. A bootlegging culture has sprung up across South Africa in response to the government's nearly 8-week-old ban on the sale of cigarettes and alcohol. (AP Photo/Nardus Engelbrecht, File)
South African bans on tobacco, liquor amid virus stir debate

By Andrew Meldrum And Nqobile Ntshangase May. 27, 2020 02:50 AM EDT

Some recreation sites in Coronado National Forest to reopen

May. 21, 2020 12:05 AM EDT
TUCSON, Ariz. (AP) — Several recreation sites in the Coronado National Forest in southern Arizona are ready to reopen. Campfire, smoking...