They arrive from India in all-American, candy-like flavors: chocolate, vanilla and strawberry. The skinny cigarettes, called bidis, are luring thousands of the nation's urban youth and worrying public health authorities. Bidis (pronounced beedies), with their arresting aromas and frequently lower prices, have become the latest smoking fad among teens and young adults, first in San Diego and Los Angeles and now Atlanta, Boston and other major cities. ...

The number of cigarettes sold in New York City has been cut almost in half since the city began charging the highest cigarette tax in the nation last month, driving the price of many cigarettes to $7.50 a pack, according to figures released yesterday. ...

A federal appellate court on Monday reinstated a North Little Rock man's lawsuit alleging that Pall Mall and Lucky Strike cigarettes caused his wife's death from lung cancer. ...

Peter Jennings, a high school dropout from Canada who transformed himself into one of the most urbane, well-traveled and recognizable journalists on American television, died yesterday at home. He was 67 and lived in Manhattan. ...

Requests Regulation of Bidi Cigarettes Action on Smoking and Health (ASH) has filed a legal petition with the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) requesting the FTC to halt the unfair and deceptive trade practices surrounding bidi cigarettes. Bidi cigarettes are as serious a health risk as regular cigarettes, but many customers, especially teenagers, purchase them in the mistaken belief that they are safer. ...

The FTC's annual report on cigarette sales and advertising shows that the major cigarette manufacturers spent $15.15 billion on advertising and promotional expenditures in 2003, an increase of $2.68 billion (21.5 percent) from 2002 and the most ever reported to the Commission. The total number of cigarettes sold or given away by those manufacturers decreased by 19.8 billion cigarettes (5.1 percent) from 2002 to 2003. The manufacturers also reported spending $72.9 million on advertisements directed to youth or their parents intended to reduce youth smoking, a 1.8 percent decrease from the $74.2 million reported in 2002. ...

OTTAWA - Health Minister Allan Rock is set to ban cigarette makers from using what he says are misleading words such as light and mild on their packaging. Rock will announce plans for the prohibition today. ...

QUEBEC –– The Canadian Health Minister said Monday he will ban tobacco companies from selling cigarettes marketed under the labels light or mild, saying they mislead the public into a "false sense of security." Allan Rock made the announcement at the annual meeting of the Canadian Medical Association in Quebec City. ...

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., The following is being issued by Carr Korein Tillery law firm: Judges in the Third Judicial Circuit Court for Madison County, Illinois have certified three separate class action suits brought against the nation's three largest tobacco companies -- Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Co. and Brown & Williamson Corporation -- on behalf of purchasers of "light" cigarettes in the State of Illinois. The suits allege these companies falsely represented that their "light" cigarettes deliver lowered tar and nicotine in comparison to regular, full-flavor cigarettes when, in fact, "light" cigarettes are by design not significantly lower in tar and nicotine than regular, full-flavor cigarettes when actually smoked. Plaintiffs and the Classes are represented by the Carr Korein Tillery law firm. The Court approved the following Notice to apprise class members of the lawsuits and their rights in the litigation. ...

Concealing research on the addictive powers of nicotine may not have been the only information the tobacco industry has been hiding. According to the latest issue of a newsletter that follows the tobacco business, New York-based giant Philip Morris Co. developed a fire-safe cigarette in 1987, but it's still not on the market. ...