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Earlier this summer, the state’s nicotine prevention and cessation efforts were halted when money the state gets from a settlement with tobacco companies fell millions short of what the Department of Health had projected. Lawmakers overseeing the funds questioned the department about the issue and got a fiscal update Wednesday and said they plan to reintroduce legislation to give nicotine prevention work in New Mexico the stability it needs.
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When Isleta Resort and Casino reopened after the COVID shutdown, it implemented a mask requirement that meant no longer allowing customers to smoke inside. Casino officials told an interim legislative committee Wednesday that they’ve decided to maintain the ban indefinitely and, despite fears to the contrary, the policy actually boosted its bottom line.
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New Mexicans trying to quit smoking and vaping have had less help recently. The state’s prevention and outreach efforts were cut off in May and the Quitline went down at the end of June after state funding fell short. While 1-800-QUIT-NOW is up and running again, community groups helping some of the people most at risk still aren’t able to help.
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New Mexicans who call 1-800-QUIT-NOW, a program to help people kick nicotine products, are being turned away. Local organizations doing smoking prevention work say the state has also told them to stop their projects.
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Bills are heading to the legislature that would raise taxes on alcohol and tobacco. Advocates say the higher prices, and the prevention campaigns they’ll fund, will help curb use in a state that struggles with alcoholism and teen nicotine use. But some lawmakers pushed back on that assumption in a hearing of the Revenue Stabilization & Tax Policy Committee Tuesday.
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New Mexico lawmakers amended the proposed Tobacco Products Act on Wednesday, Feb. 12, to make the new regulations friendlier to retailers, including…
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New Mexico high schoolers are more than twice as likely to vape nicotine than use traditional tobacco products, according to the state’s Department of…
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Kaveh Mowahed comes into the studio to talk about lobbyists and ethics. The New Mexico Ethics Watch commission just released a report. (Check it out…
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New Mexico is among a handful of states that allow vague reporting on spending by lobbyists – people whose business it is to push an issue at the…
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There are more cases of vaping-related illnesses appearing all over the country, and New Mexico is no exception. The state Department of Health confirmed…