No More Newports? Cigarette Maker Fights Possible Ban

FDA committee meets next week to consider evidence
By John Johnson,  Newser Staff
Posted Jan 5, 2011 2:17 PM CST
No More Newports? Cigarette Maker Fights Possible Ban
Packs of Newports: An endangered species?   (AP Photo/Jeff Chiu, file)

The day of reckoning is near for Newport smokes. An FDA advisory panel meets next week to consider a ban on menthol cigarettes, and Newport maker Lorillard is waging an all-out media blitz to fend one off, reports the Wall Street Journal. In the digital age, of course, that means buying up domain names such as MentholKillsMinorities.com and MentholAddictsYouth.com.

It's a huge decision for Lorillard, which gets 90% of its sales from menthols, mostly to minorities. "African-Americans like their Newport cigarettes, and there is no reason why they should not be allowed to have them," says the leader of the National Black Chamber of Commerce. The Journal notes that Lorillard pays $35,000 in annual dues to the chamber. (More Lorillard stories.)

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