One person was stabbed after a fight in San Francisco’s North Beach; two people were arrested, KRON4 reports.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on kron4.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

NEWPORT NEWS, Va. — Police have shut down three vape shops in Newport News after a raid that allegedly uncovered pounds of marijuana and other drugs.

Happy Smoke on Jefferson Avenue — once open 24 hours a day — was closed by officers, along with A-Z Smokehouse, also on Jefferson Avenue, and EZ Smoke Tobacco and Vape on Warwick Boulevard. Authorities say the stores were selling marijuana, mushrooms and edibles.

“If somebody’s doing some illegal stuff, like not following the law, he’s doing bad for everybody, making everybody look bad,” said Ari Bandr, manager of King Smoke, another Jefferson Avenue smoke shop.

Mayor Phillip Jones called the closures “a big win for the city.” The action comes two months after city leaders began cracking down on vape shops with a unanimously passed ordinance in September that restricts where smoke shops can locate, limits their hours and bans drive-thru sales.

“We’ve heard from a lot of different authentic vape shop owners; they don’t like when other vape shops are starting to sell drugs out of the back or doing a 24/7 drive-thru,” Jones said, adding the ordinance was meant to promote public safety and that the raid on the three stores are “fruits of that labor.”

While some shop owners hope the bust brings more scrutiny to smoke shops, the mayor said lawful businesses have nothing to fear. “If you are doing illegal things, then you’ve got something to worry about. If you’re completely legal, you’ll be OK,” Jones said, and he does not expect further legislation because he believes the current ordinance is strong.

Newport News police have identified one person arrested after the searches. Mouhamed El Jily, of A-Z Smokehouse, faces charges including possession with intent to distribute marijuana and related gun charges.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on 13newsnow.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

A federal judge in Florida has allowed deceptive-practices claims against Philip Morris International (PMI) and Swedish Match North America LLC to move forward, Law360 reports. On December 12, U.S. District Judge William P. Dimitrouleas of the Southern District of Florida denied the companies’ motion to dismiss claims brought by plaintiff Kovadis Palmer under the Florida Deceptive and Unfair Trade Practices Act (FDUTPA).

Palmer says PMI and Swedish Match marketed Zyn nicotine pouches as “tobacco-free,” implying a lower risk of addiction even though the nicotine is derived from tobacco, and that he developed nicotine dependence as a result. The court had earlier dismissed Palmer’s common-law fraud claims for failing to meet the heightened pleading standard, but it found the amended FDUTPA claims present a different legal theory.

Judge Dimitrouleas explained that FDUTPA claims do not require proof of intent to deceive and are not governed by the stricter fraud pleading rules. For that reason, the court concluded the FDUTPA allegations are not simply a repackaged version of the dismissed fraud claims and allowed them to proceed.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on tobaccoreporter.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

A new report from the federal Illicit Tobacco and E-cigarette (ITEC) Commissioner says Australia may be losing up to A$11.8 billion (US$7.9 billion) a year in tax revenue to the illicit tobacco trade. The ITEC analysis estimates roughly half of all tobacco sold in Australia is illicit — though recent studies have placed the figure anywhere from 25% to 65% — and finds the e-cigarette market largely operating outside health and regulatory controls.

Revenue from legal tobacco has plunged: the government collected A$7.7 billion in 2024–25, down from A$12.6 billion in 2022–23 and A$16.3 billion in 2019–20. A separate Australian Taxation Office report put the illicit market share at 25% in 2023–24, with about A$3.2 billion in taxes evaded. ITEC warns the problem is growing and increasingly driven by organised crime.

Enforcement figures underline the scale: authorities seized a record 2,244 tonnes of illicit tobacco and e-cigarettes in 2024–25 — including 2.7 billion cigarettes, equivalent to 56% of legally imported tobacco. ITEC Commissioner Amber Shuhyta is calling for a multi-pronged response, noting that Australia’s steep cigarette excise — now A$1.49 per cigarette, up from A$0.53 in 2015 — has helped fuel the illicit market.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on tobaccoreporter.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

Today (December 15), the Philippines Bureau of Internal Revenue (BIR) destroyed 448,494 illicit vape products nationwide — items tied to an estimated PHP1.34 billion ($22.8 million) in unpaid taxes and penalties. The destruction was part of a three-day anti-illicit trade campaign and was publicly live-streamed to demonstrate transparency and enforcement.

BIR Commissioner Charlito Martin Mendoza said the action “sends a clear message” that the government will not tolerate the sale of vape products without proper excise tax stamps. He emphasized that excise taxes on vapes and other “sin products” are intended both to discourage consumption and to fund government healthcare programs.

Mendoza added that enforcement will intensify to remove unstamped products from the market and to prevent risks to consumers.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on tobaccoreporter.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

I don’t have the article text — please paste the full article and I’ll rewrite it to be more engaging while preserving its meaning.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on news.google.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

I don’t have the article text — only the title. Please paste the article (or a link to it), and I’ll rewrite it to be more engaging while preserving meaning.

If it helps, here are a few tightened, more engaging headline options based on the original:
– Richmond transparency, Henrico vape-shop rules top local agenda
– Richmond considers transparency reforms as Henrico weighs vape-shop regulation
– On the docket: Richmond transparency measures and Henrico’s vape-shop proposals

Paste the full article and I’ll rewrite it for you.

Authorities say four people are accused of burglarizing smoke shops in Oceanside and Rockville Centre, according to News 12 Long Island.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on news.google.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

HPD releases surveillance footage of northwest Houston smoke shop robbery, asks public to help identify suspect — ABC13 Houston

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This article was adapted from an original report published on news.google.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.

Dawson Police Seek Two Suspects in Smoke Shop Burglary

The Dawson Police Department is searching for two individuals suspected of burglarizing a local smoke shop.

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This article was adapted from an original report published on news.google.com. All rights belong to the original publisher.