¿Por qué nosotros no? Acción Ciudadana por la Salud y el cambio de la Ley Española de Tabaco

... were put forward concerning taxes and legal protection ... which could not be taken on board by the administrations involved,"

"The government needs to preserve the general interests of all Spaniards," she said.

Sands, Macau

Record numbers of gamblers have been visiting Sands casino in Macao

In a statement, Las Vegas Sands chief executive Sheldon Adelson said: "While the government and many others have worked diligently on this effort, we do not see a path in which the criteria needed to move forward with this large-scale development can be reached.

"Developing integrated resorts in Europe has been a vision of mine for years, but there is a time and place for everything and right now our focus is on encouraging Asian countries, like Japan and Korea, to dramatically enhance their tourism offering through the development of integrated resorts there."

Madrid was selected as the location for the resort after a long battle with Barcelona, which also coveted the investment.

The casino complex has been opposed by several groups, including the Roman Catholic Church, which argued the development would encourage prostitution and crime.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-25369033

http://www.theguardian.com/world/2013/dec/13/spain-eurovegas-us-casino-operator-pulls-plug

... said.

He expected an EU directive could put more pressure on smaller players than on the big suppliers like BAT or Imperial Tobacco, however.

"It could in fact be more favorable for the majors [large tobacco companies] because this ruling suggests that the EU could regulate e-cigarettes as tobacco products next year," he said. That would mean producers could only distribute their products through regulated tobacconists, meaning business as usual for the larger firms.

Last month, European Union (EU) proposals reported in the British media appeared to show growing concerns among EU officials over the as yet loosely regulated e-cigarette industry with officials even proposing to ban and remove all e-cigarettes from shop shelves.

According to details of a confidential European document reported by the U.K.'s Telegraph newspaper, officials in Brussels saw a "risk that electronic cigarettes can develop into a gateway to normal cigarettes."

Concerns have been steadily growing over the boom in the e-cigarette industry since the products have gained in popularity over the last five years.

Although it is still far smaller than the real tobacco industry, industry analysis firm Euromonitor International estimates that the e-cigarette industry is worth in excess of $2 billion globally (the same size as the global small cigars market).

Big tobacco companies have been quick to capitalize on the smokeless product that markets itself as a "healthy" alternative to real cigarettes too. British American Tobacco (BAT) launched its mainstream e-cigarette, Vype, in the U.K. in July and Marlboro maker Philip Morris plans to enter the market in 2014.

The EU does not regulate e-cigarettes in the same way it regulates cigarettes and cigars as they do not contain tobacco. But the revised EU rules could change that. The EU will decide in which regulatory categories e-cigarettes will be placed; they currently fall between the regulatory boundaries relating to tobacco, medicinal and consumer lifestyle products.

Responding to the ruling, a spokesman for British American Tobacco told CNBC that the industry welcomed regulation of e-cigarettes and other inhaled nicotine products " to ensure consumer safety and product quality, as well as the appropriate level of innovation, marketing and distribution freedoms required to enable this important category to grow."

BAT spokesman Will Hill also noted that the ruling was only made in a local court and was not a national ruling. "It is important consumers do not face legal restrictions on where they can use these products," he said.

E-cigarettes have certainly proved an alluring draw for smokers literally who have been put out in the cold by European smoking bans in bars and restaurants. Euromonitor International reported that in 2011 the top 3 e-cigarette markets were the U.S., Russia and Germany which together accounted for 60 percent of the global value of sales.