Welcome to Seeking Alpha's Wall Street Lunch, our afternoon update on today's market action news and analysis.

Good afternoon. Today is Wednesday, November 8th, and I'm your host, Kim Kahn.

Our top story so far. No tobacco in the UK, more legal pot in the USA.

The UK government will introduce legislation that will raise the legal age for smoking cigarettes every year.

King Charles confirmed the plan at the state opening in Parliament.

The major crackdown proposed by Prime Minister Rishi Sunak last month would effectively create the first smoke-free

generation in the UK. The proposed law would ensure that children currently age 14 or

younger can never be sold cigarettes and will restrict the sale and marketing of e-cigarettes to children.

Meanwhile, recreational weed is coming to the Buckeyes state after Ohio voters approved a ballot

measure to legalize adult cannabis use for non-medical purposes. It's a big deal as it makes Ohio

the 24th state to approve recreational pot in addition to Washington DC, meaning

nearly half the US states now embrace such a stance. The latest approval also shows

how the sentiment is expanding to more parts of the country like the Midwest

after Minnesota and Missouri approved similar measures over the past year.

Cannabis market research from BDSA even expects legal U.S. Canada sales to grow 14 percent

to 36.5 billion dollars by the end of 2023, though investors trying to gain exposure to

the sector have not yet seen such promising returns. Multistate operators like

Cresco Labs, Cura Leaf, Green Thumb Industries, and True Leaf Cannabis has seen negative returns in recent years,

as have Cannabis-related funds like Advisor Shares Pure Cannabis ETF and M.G. Alternative Harvest.

In today's trading, the markets are taking a breather.

There was some anticipation of remarks from Federal Reserve Chairman Jerome Powell

right before the opening bell, but he sidetet the opportunity to drop in

...