Philip Morris has been ordered to pay $300 million in damages to a former smoker in Florida, the largest award to date among thousands of lawsuits filed in the state against tobacco companies. ...more

November 19, 2009

While the price of gasoline burned holes in the wallets of weary consumers last summer, one money-saving option for cash-strapped smokers caught on like wildfire. ...more

March 25, 2009

Santiago Carrasco, store manager of Tobacco Depot on Bloomingdale Avenue, said that about the time gas hit $4 a gallon, smokers with pipe dreams about saving a few bucks came in packs to his store to ask how – and how much it would cost - to roll their own cigarettes. But the do-it-yourself department that has been positively smokin' for some eight months is about to be extinguished, he said. An enormous price increase in conjunction with the federal excise tax that takes effect April 1 has already begun to snuff it out. ...more

March 20, 2009

A house fire that engulfed the home of Trent Lampkin's great-uncle not only took the elderly Anthony Stevens' life but also left Lampkin and his family homeless. ...more

January 22, 2009

Ellen Oris called to her husband, Anais, when she saw the fire at Anthony Stephens's tiny white house, across Strong Avenue from her own. ...more

January 10, 2009

We have a smoking problem. We admit it. Shamefully, we reveal to you our dirty little barbecue secret. ...more

December 31, 2008

Alabama, pushed to third in national obesity rankings by deep-fried Southern favorites, is cracking down on state workers who are too fat. ...more

August 23, 2008

LARGO - A fire ripped through the roof of the Belleair Oaks Condominiums building this morning, slightly injuring one resident and displacing dozens. ...more

June 18, 2008

Data Doesn't Matter Regarding "Secondhand Facts Drive Smoke Bans" by Joseph H. Brown (Commentary, May 18): ...more

May 25, 2008

Nicotine can leave a noticeable stain. Those stubborn brown blemishes do not just appear on teeth. They can also be spread across walls, ceilings and fixtures. ...more

April 28, 2008