Argentina tops the list of countries that smoke the most in Latin America, consuming 1,014 cigarettes annually for every inhabitant over age 15, the press reported Sunday, citing a World Lung Foundation study.
Argentina is followed on the list by Paraguay, with annual consumption of 968 cigarettes, and Chile, with 909, while Peru has the lowest cigarette consumption in the region at 129 annually per inhabitant.
European countries, however, are the leaders in cigarette consumption, with Greece consuming 3,017 cigarettes annually for every inhabitant over age 15, followed by Slovenia, with 2,537, and Ukraine, with 2,526.
Argentina is the only Latin American country that did not sign the Framework Convention on Tobacco Control launched by the World Health Organization at the start of this decade, an agreement signed by only 16 countries around the world.
Signatories agreed to ban tobacco advertising, increase taxes on tobacco products and promote smoke-free environments.
Some 33 percent of the adult population, according to a Health Ministry study, smokes in Argentina, where 40,000 
people die each year from smoking-related diseases.

Despite signs that Poles are tightening their belts in the face of the economic crisis, the confectionary market has not seen a downturn.Consumer spending on items such as beer, cigarettes, computers and other such products has decreased, but sales of chocolates and candies have not slowed. 
“After a period of stagnation between 2005 and 2007 we have again began some growth again,” says Pawel Szczesniak, head of Cadbury Wedel, one of Poland's largest sweets producers.
“We are counting on increased sales in the fourth quarter as we are redesigning the packaging on all of our products and rolling out a strong advertising campaign for the 'Wedel' brand, to last until the end of the year,” he said
The company announced that they are investing nearly 12 million zloty (almost 2.9 million euro) in the advertising campaign, an investment expected to pay off, considering that the fourth quarter is typically one of great profits as it is the holiday season.
Poland's sweets markets is estimated to be worth about 5.5-8 billion zloty (1.3 billion euro-almost 2 billion euro) annually.
 

The Little Shell Tribe of Chippewa Indians lost its tobacco grant money after an audit by the Montana Department of Health and Human Services found that the tribe’s accounting practices had lax oversight and poor record keeping, the Associated Press reports. The audit showed the potential for abuse of a $180,000 yearly tobacco use prevention grant.
While the tribe had some accounting procedures, there was not enough consistency to make sure the funds would be spent properly. “A lack of documentation for the expenses charged to the Tobacco Use Prevention contracts does not provide evidence to determine whether the funds were used only for Tobacco Use Prevention services,” the audit said.
Auditors believed that the grant funds might have been directed to pay for gift cards, tribal election expenses and publication of a newsletter. Funding could be restored if the tribe’s accounting program is improved. 
In Oklahoma, the state Supreme Court has decided that the state can collect higher taxes on cigarettes sold in Osage Nation tobacco stores. A new deal with the Osage Nation and the Oklahoma Tax Commission would make the tribe pay a 66-cent per pack tax.
Across the country, A New Jersey judge imposed more than $760,000 in fees and penalties against Red Jacket Tobacco for selling mail-order, tax-free cigarettes to state residents.