Shares of China Boton Group Company Limited were temporarily suspended from trading on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange today (December 2025) as the company prepares an announcement about a “very substantial disposal” under listing rules. Boton said the trading halt is needed to meet disclosure obligations and will remain in place until further notice. Details of the proposed transaction have not yet been disclosed.

The notice was issued by board chairman Wang Mingfan, who said further information will be published once the transaction announcement is ready. Boton, one of China’s largest extract and fragrance companies, supplies flavorings to the global tobacco and nicotine sector.

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

Two men were arrested in September and November after an investigation into a suspected drug distribution operation at a Pocono Summit smoke shop, the Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department said. Authorities identified the suspects as Shane Scarlett, 26, of Mount Pocono, and Fareeq Ali, 31, of Collingswood, New Jersey. Both men were charged with possession with intent to deliver and other drug-related offenses tied to the All in 1 Pocono shop at 2657 Route 940 in Pocono Summit.

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

Two men were arrested in September and November in connection with a drug distribution scheme tied to a Pocono Summit smoke shop.

The Pocono Mountain Regional Police Department identified them as 26-year-old Shane Scarlett of Mount Pocono and 31-year-old Fareeq Ali of Collingswood, New Jersey. Both were charged with possession with intent to deliver and additional drug offenses following an investigation into the All in 1 Pocono shop at 2657 Route 940, Pocono Summit.

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

Hundreds of Idaho school trustees want the Legislature to treat nicotine vapes and pouches like tobacco products — taxing them the same and letting schools use some of the revenue for health education.

Idaho’s cigarette and tobacco tax law dates to 1974 and doesn’t mention vapes. Last month, an Idaho School Boards Association resolution — overwhelmingly supported by trustees — urged lawmakers to modernize that statute and broaden the definition of tobacco products to include newer nicotine products.

Blaine County School District sponsored the resolution. Superintendent Jim Foudy says vaping is widespread among students: a recent survey at Wood River High School found 12% of students had used a vape in the past month.

“We really need to educate our kids,” Foudy said.

Since 2014, e-cigarettes and vapes have been the most commonly used nicotine delivery system among youth, surpassing cigarettes, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention reports.

The resolution has two parts:
– Add vapes and nicotine pouches to the legal definition of tobacco products and apply the existing tobacco tax.
– Direct a portion of that revenue to public schools for vape education, mental health counselors and school resource officers.

Foudy said the proposal comes at a potentially opportune time as Idaho faces a budget shortfall.

“It would certainly benefit the state of Idaho if the Legislature and the governor are willing to approve the tax on all nicotine,” he said.

Under current state law, Idaho collects 57 cents per pack of 20 cigarettes and sends $3.3 million of that revenue to public schools for safety improvements and substance-abuse prevention through the Safe and Drug Free Schools program.

What vapes and pouches are E-cigarettes, or vapes, are battery-powered devices that heat a liquid and produce an aerosol. They come in many shapes and sizes and typically contain nicotine. Nicotine pouches contain a powder of nicotine, flavorings and other ingredients; the powder dissolves in the mouth and nicotine is absorbed through the gums and lining of the mouth. Nicotine is highly addictive and particularly dangerous for youth, young adults and pregnant women. (Source: CDC)

The ISBA resolution argues updating the tobacco-product definition to include vapes and pouches would align the law with the original purpose of the tobacco tax.

ISBA Deputy Director Quinn Perry said her team will pursue the issue in the next legislative session, which begins Jan. 12.

“This would be an additional revenue source to public schools by adding these areas, and we just feel a significant responsibility of making sure that we’re identifying those sources,” Perry said.

She acknowledged the optics lawmakers use matter — many dislike the phrase “new taxes” — but said the change is logical given the harm vapes are causing students.

“It just seems like a no-brainer to add these, especially knowing the dangers that they’re causing on students,” Perry said. “I hear routinely that school districts are disciplining even elementary-aged kids for using vapes at school.”

Calling youth vaping an epidemic is Jennie Sue Weltner, an Idaho Public Television executive producer who manages the “Know Vape” campaign. Using funds from the Idaho Millennium Fund — money from a settlement with tobacco companies over marketing to kids — she helped produce the documentary “Nic Sick: The Dangers of Youth Vaping.”

The film features stories from children who began vaping as early as age 9, supported by commentary from health, legal and counseling experts. Some students said they kept vapes under their pillows and used them through the night. The project found one in three Idaho kids have tried vapes and one in five are currently vaping.

“People would be blown away by the number of kids who are vaping,” Weltner said.

Working on the documentary made her angry at how quickly gains against teen cigarette use have been undermined by vape marketing aimed at young people.

“Yes, it is an epidemic,” Weltner said. “Kids are suffering and struggling with it, and so are teachers, and so are communities, and so are parents.”

Weltner noted that in a state where demand for youth mental-health care is high, it’s often easier for kids to obtain a vape than to see a counselor. Street dealers, called “plugs,” can deliver a vape in five minutes; getting mental-health care can take months.

She said reducing youth vaping requires three coordinated efforts: prevention, cessation and intervention at the grassroots level, while statewide awareness work continues. Idaho Public Television’s role has been to raise awareness about the risks.

“We’re going over the state with bombers saying, ‘Hey, this is a problem. This is an emergency. You need to be aware what this stuff is doing to your body and your kids’ bodies,’” Weltner said.

But policy change is the missing piece, she added. The ISBA resolution could be the nudge legislators need to act in 2026.

“I’m really excited and encouraged to hear that that might be happening,” Weltner said.

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

KINGSTREE, S.C. — The Kingstree Police Department is investigating a shooting that occurred Saturday at Smokers Town Kingstree on Longstreet Street.

Officials say the incident involved two people. One person suffered a gunshot wound and was taken to the hospital in stable condition.

With help from the Williamsburg County Sheriff’s Office, police identified and located 21-year-old Kanye Tisdell as the second person involved. A mugshot for Tisdell was not readily available.

In response to recent violence across the county, particularly among young men, the Williamsburg County School District announced increased law enforcement presence at Kingstree High School. The district said it is aware of community concerns and is prioritizing the safety and well‑being of students, families, and staff. Out of an abundance of caution and in partnership with local law enforcement, additional officers and district personnel will be on campus to help ensure a secure learning environment and provide reassurance. The district added it will continue close communication with law enforcement while monitoring the situation and appreciates community support.

The investigation into the shooting is ongoing.

Copyright 2025 WCSC. All rights reserved.

Audio version of this article is generated by text-to-speech, a technology based on artificial intelligence.

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WestJet and Air Transat passengers push back after airlines wrongly tell them they can’t record disputes

Passenger Jingan Huang says a routine WestJet check-in at Edmonton International Airport last August turned into a confrontation when agents reissued boarding passes for a later flight without explaining why. Huang pulled out his phone to record the exchange so he could include it with a compensation claim. A WestJet agent warned he would call police if Huang didn’t stop recording and later told him, “You’re not flying today,” after Huang refused.

When Huang’s 73-year-old father tried to film, an agent allegedly reached for his phone and struck him in the eye, leaving it red and swollen. The Canadian Civil Liberties Association called the footage disturbing and noted that recording such interactions is legal in Canada.

WestJet declined an on-camera interview. In a statement the airline said the incident was “promptly investigated,” apologized to the guests and promised “internal follow up,” but declined to say what that follow-up entailed, citing privacy laws around personnel matters.

Read more from CBC Go Public’s Erica Johnson and Ana Komnenic.

Illegal nicotine pouches still on sale in corner stores across Canada

A CBC News hidden-camera investigation found that nicotine pouches banned from retail are still being sold in convenience stores in Vancouver, Toronto, Montreal and Halifax — often in fruity flavours and high doses.

In August 2024, the federal government limited nicotine-pouch sales to pharmacies amid concerns about their appeal to non-smokers and youth. Health Canada regulates these products as natural health products for adults 18 and older; the only authorized over-the-counter brand is Zonnic (Imperial Tobacco Canada), limited to four-milligram pouches in mint or menthol.

But reporters were able to buy packs resembling Zyn, a popular U.S. brand from Philip Morris International, in flavours and strengths as high as 15 mg. Online sellers in Canada also offered unauthorized brands, flavours and doses with promises of fast, discreet delivery. CBC News could not verify whether the pouches purchased in stores were genuine.

“If you take a highly addictive drug like nicotine and you wrap it up and sell it in lovely flavours with lovely branding … kids are going to buy it and they’re going to use it,” said David Hammond, a professor at the University of Waterloo’s school of public health sciences.

Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, Philip Morris International’s local subsidiary, said the products are being sold by unauthorized parties and that it works with law enforcement to stop illicit trade, supporting government efforts.

Read more from CBC’s Idil Mussa, Albert Leung and Britnei Bilhete.

Ottawa homeowners say they lost $381K after hiring contractor for kitchen renovation

Katy Alp and her husband, Kaveh Afshar-Zanjani, say a 2023 renovation by Giuseppe “Joey” Peloso’s Magnolia Design & Build cost them dearly. They paid $117,064.80 for a kitchen demolition and renovation that ran from March to October 2024. About six weeks after the work was completed, a sink supply-line connection failed while the couple was away, flooding their kitchen and leaving about three inches of water across the basement.

They estimate damages at $381,979.02 in an August 2025 civil claim, plus punitive damages — covering their payment to Magnolia, the cost of hiring other contractors to remediate and redo the work, lost belongings and temporary housing while repairs were done.

Multiple lawsuits have been launched against Peloso and Magnolia in recent years, including claims by customers, subcontractors, investors, a tenant and two foreign entities: the Embassy of Niger and the Republic of Austria.

Peloso declined an interview. Through Ottawa PR firm Syntax Strategic, he said he takes clients’ concerns seriously and that disputes, while regrettable, can arise in a busy renovation business with many trades and custom materials.

Read more from CBC’s Priscilla Ki Sun Hwang and Nicole Williams.

What else is going on?

– Retiree warns others after losing $3K to crypto fraud using an AI-generated video of the prime minister — a fake interview tricked a senior into investing in a fraudulent site.
– Montreal-area paramedics fear a new dispatch system is putting patients at risk; Urgences-santé says glitches are part of “growing pains.”
– The EU is moving to ban kidfluencers; experts say Canada needs laws for children who are online influencers.
– Food prices could rise in 2026, with beef expected to lead increases that will push up the cost of other meats.
– Experts say reducing ultra-processed food intake will require rethinking the “food environment,” including store layouts and labels.

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Have you been given the runaround by a company’s chatbot? Still on hold? We want to hear about your worst customer service experiences. Email us at marketplace@cbc.ca.

Catch up on past episodes of Marketplace on CBC Gem.

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

Norwalk smoke shop busted again for allegedly selling illegal cannabis products; employee arrested

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

A UBC Okanagan researcher is warning that TikTok is normalizing nicotine pouches and making them look trendy — especially to young people.

Nicotine pouches, small packets placed between the gum and cheek, are authorized by Health Canada to help adults quit smoking but are not permitted for anyone under 18.

Associate professor Dr. Laura Struik and her team at UBCO’s School of Nursing reviewed 250 TikTok videos that, according to the platform’s metrics, had been shared nearly two million times and received more than 16 million likes. Many creators highlighted how discreet the pouches are and promoted them as something that “naturally fit” into everyday life.

“You can use it no matter what you’re doing, whether you’re exercising or socializing,” Struik said, adding that creators also framed pouch use as a way to belong to a group — an angle that can be especially appealing to teenagers still shaping their identities.

The concern comes as youth use rises. A cross-sectional U.S. survey study found nicotine pouch use among high school students nearly doubled between 2023 and 2024.

Despite the upbeat portrayals, only six per cent of the videos addressed serious health risks tied to prolonged use, such as gum recession, oral cancer, and heart problems. For young people, the stakes are higher: nicotine disrupts brain development and can impair memory, learning, stress regulation, and impulse control.

Health Canada has authorized only two pouch brands for sale in Canada — Zonnic and NEÖ — but Struik said young people are still finding and buying unauthorized brands online, at convenience stores and in vape shops. “The regulations are there, but the enforcement clearly is lacking,” she said.

Policy responses are underway. British Columbia was the first jurisdiction to act, and in 2024 moved buccal (cheek) nicotine pouches behind the pharmacy counter. A provincial health ministry statement said the measure lets pharmacists exercise professional judgment and helps prevent youth access, with regional health officers monitoring compliance.

The federal government announced similar steps months later, citing concerns that nicotine replacement therapies were being used recreationally by people under 18. Federal measures banned advertising that might appeal to youth, limited sales to pharmacists or those supervised by them, and restricted flavours to mint or menthol. Health Canada said it is coordinating with the Canada Border Services Agency, the RCMP, and provincial and territorial public health units to stop unauthorized products from reaching consumers.

Since 2024, Health Canada says it has handled more than 300 compliance cases over unauthorized nicotine pouch sales or advertising, issuing notices, conducting site visits and seizing products.

Struik argues that young people should help shape rules and messaging around pouches. “We need young people to be driving the messaging,” she said. “Youth know their context. Adults just simply don’t — we don’t understand it.”

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

I don’t have the article text — could you paste the full article you want rewritten? I’ll then produce a more engaging version that preserves the original meaning and adds no new facts.

If you meant to rewrite only the headline, here are three concise, non‑embellished options:
– Kingstree police investigate shooting at vape shop
– Shooting reported at Kingstree vape store; police investigating
– Police probe shooting at vape store in Kingstree

Tell me which you prefer, or paste the full article and I’ll rewrite it.

Title: Astrocytes drive nicotine-induced brain changes by boosting glutamate cycling — a shift from the neuron-centered view of addiction

New research from Pusan National University shows astrocytes actively shape nicotine-induced neural adaptations that underlie addictive behavior. The study finds that nicotine stimulates receptors on astrocytes, triggering calcium-dependent signaling that increases glutamine synthetase (GS) activity and amplifies glutamate–glutamine cycling. Those molecular changes strengthen locomotor sensitization — a hallmark of addiction-like brain plasticity — and blocking a key astrocytic interaction reduced these behavioral effects in rats, pointing to new directions for addiction research.

Key findings
– Astrocyte activation: Nicotine stimulates α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors on astrocytes in the caudate–putamen (CPu), producing a Ca2+ rise that activates phosphorylated c-Jun N-terminal kinase (pJNK).
– Signaling cascade: Activated pJNK interacts with metabotropic glutamate receptor 1a (mGluR1a), increasing GS activity in astrocytes.
– Glutamate pathway: Elevated GS activity enhances the glutamate–glutamine cycle, reinforcing glutamate-driven neural adaptations linked to addiction.
– Therapeutic potential: Disrupting the pJNK–mGluR1a interaction with a designed inhibitory peptide (Tat-mGluR1a-i) or inhibiting GS reduced nicotine-induced increases in GS activity and dampened locomotor sensitization in rats.

Background and significance
Nicotine addiction is sustained by brain changes that reinforce repeated use and make quitting difficult. Historically, research has focused on neurons, but growing evidence points to active roles for glial cells. Professor Eun Sang Choe’s team investigated how astrocytes contribute to nicotine-induced brain changes, centering on glutamine synthetase, the enzyme that helps regulate glutamate — the brain’s chief excitatory neurotransmitter.

Study outline and results
– The study was published online in Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B on 25 September 2025.
– Repeated nicotine injections in rat models activated α7 nicotinic receptors on astrocytes in the CPu, triggering intracellular Ca2+ increases.
– The Ca2+ rise led to pJNK activation. In vitro, active JNK phosphorylated mGluR1a at its carboxyl terminus (shown with glutathione S‑transferase-tagged mGluR1a).
– The pJNK–mGluR1a interaction increased GS activity, driving up glutamate–glutamine cycling and producing enhanced locomotor sensitization.
– Interfering with the pJNK–mGluR1a interaction using the inhibitory peptide Tat‑mGluR1a‑i (10 μmol/L in cell models; 2 nmol/side for bilateral intra‑CPu infusion) decreased nicotine‑induced GS activity in glioma C6 cells, primary astrocytes, and in vivo.
– Direct inhibition of GS in the CPu with methionine sulfoximine (50 nmol/side) also reduced the repeated nicotine‑induced increase in locomotor activity.

Interpretation and implications
These results show that astrocytes in the CPu actively contribute to the neural adaptations produced by repeated nicotine exposure via a Ca2+ → pJNK → mGluR1a → GS pathway. By highlighting neuron–glia communication as a driver of nicotine‑related plasticity, the work broadens the target landscape for addiction research. Although the findings are preclinical and clinical translation will take time, they suggest astrocytic signaling pathways could become long‑term targets for interventions to support smoking cessation.

Comment from the lead author
“Most studies on nicotine addiction have focused on neurons and overlooked glial cells. Our study demonstrates that astrocytes interact with neurons in the brain’s reward system to regulate nicotine‑dependent behavior, advancing the current understanding of nicotine addiction,” says Prof. Choe.

Key questions answered
Q: How do astrocytes contribute to nicotine addiction?
A: Nicotine activates α7 receptors on astrocytes, producing Ca2+-dependent pJNK activation that engages mGluR1a and increases GS activity, strengthening glutamate-driven reinforcement processes.

Q: Why is this study important for addiction research?
A: It shifts attention from neurons alone to neuron–glia communication, revealing astrocytes as active participants in the brain adaptations that sustain nicotine dependence.

Q: Could targeting astrocytes help develop new smoking‑cessation treatments?
A: In this preclinical work, blocking astrocytic signaling reduced nicotine‑induced sensitization in rats, suggesting astrocytic pathways may be viable long‑term therapeutic targets.

Study and publication details
– Source: Pusan National University
– Author of article: Goon‑Soo Kim (Pusan National University contact: Goon‑Soo Kim)
– Journal: Acta Pharmaceutica Sinica B (published online 25 September 2025)
– Research article: “Glutamine synthetase in astrocytes of the caudate and putamen is responsible for locomotor sensitization after nicotine exposure” by Eun Sang Choe et al. (open access)

Abstract summary
The study demonstrates that GS in CPu astrocytes regulates locomotor sensitization after repeated nicotine exposure. Nicotine increased pJNK via α7 receptors in a Ca2+-dependent manner in cultured glioma C6 cells and primary astrocytes. Active JNK phosphorylated mGluR1a in vitro, and disrupting the pJNK–mGluR1a interaction with Tat‑mGluR1a‑i reduced nicotine‑induced GS activity. Bilateral intra‑CPu infusion of the inhibitory peptide produced similar effects in vivo, and inhibiting GS with methionine sulfoximine lowered nicotine‑induced locomotor activity. These findings indicate that astrocytic GS upregulation via the pJNK–mGluR1a interaction, linked to α7 nicotinic receptors, contributes to nicotine‑induced locomotor sensitization.

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