Smoking pot may increase men's risk of developing testicular cancer, according to new research from Seattle.

The researchers studied 369 men between 18 and 44 who had been diagnosed at one time with testicular cancer. They compared these men with 979 men who lived in the same area, but had never been diagnosed with testicular cancer.

A town in California became the first in the country to make it illegal for residents to smoke in their apartments and condominiums.

The Belmont City Council voted 3-2 on the ordinance on Jan. 23. It will be enforced by code enforcement officers who will respond to residences if they receive complaints from neighbors.

Police departments across the state of Massachusetts reportedly will not ticket people in possession of marijuana, even if they are caught smoking it.

Officials say a new law that decriminalizes having small amounts of "pot" makes it impossible to enforce penalties because it is poorly written.

Teenage girls who smoke cigarettes are at an increased risk for developing not only lung cancer later in life, but thicker waistlines as well, researchers say.

While girls who smoke 10 cigarettes or more a day as teens have an increased risk of developing a wide waistline later in life teenage boys don't appear to have the same risk, said lead study author Suoma Saarni, a researcher with the Department of Public Health in Helsinki. But she said scientists don't know why that is true.

Following a public consultation which yielded 96,000 responses, U.K. Health Secretary Alan Johnson announced Monday the total banning of cigarette displays in shops beginning 2013. From October 2011, large shops could no longer display cigarette products, while the ban takes effect in smaller shops after two years.

More strict age restriction on sales will be imposed for tobacco sale through vending machines. But earlier proposals to make it illegal to retail cigarette sticks in packs of 10 and to have plain packaging for cigarettes were rejected.