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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: Philip Morris

Philip Morris stories: 16 news summaries

Fla. Jury: Philip Morris Must Pay Ex-Smoker $300M

Tobacco company found negligent in state's largest verdict

Nov 19, 09 9:21 PM CST
(AP) - A South Florida jury today ordered Philip Morris to pay $300 million to a former smoker, agreeing that the tobacco company's negligence was the cause of her emphysema. The award for Cindy Naugle, 61, is the largest to date among thousands of lawsuits filed in the state against tobacco companies.... More »

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lawsuit • Altria • Philip Morris • verdict • punitive damages • emphysema • Cindy Naugle • smokers • compensatory damages

MARKETS

 Dow Up 36 Points; 
 Consumer Stocks Gain 

Indices all post solid gains for the week

Sep 18, 09 3:20 PM CDT
(Newser) - Stocks posted gains today, closing out a strong week as consumer stocks saw advances, the Wall Street Journal reports. Procter & Gamble gained 3.21% after Citigroup upgraded the firm’s shares to “buy.” Optimism about a recovery in consumer spending drove Starbucks up 3.64%, with PepsiCo... More »

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stock market • Starbucks • Citigroup • Dow Jones • Pepsi • Nasdaq • Philip Morris • S&P 500 • Procter & Gamble

(Newser) - Australians may be coughing up $20 for a pack of cigarettes if officials approve a new anti-smoking plan, the Age reports. The proposal, designed to cut Aussie smoking by a third, would ban all tobacco sponsorship and online sales, devote 95% of cigarette packaging to graphic health warnings, and tax... More »

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Australia • smoking • cigarettes • tobacco • Philip Morris • tobacco companies • cigarette tax

OPINION

Tobacco Bill's Winners: Philip Morris, Lawyers

We're smoking less because it's dumb, not because of policy: Will

Jun 18, 09 7:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - President Obama might have praised Congress' tobacco bill, but for George F. Will, the new legislation gives just two muscular groups reason to celebrate: Philip Morris and "the Democratic Party's fountain of funds, the trial bar." New restrictions on cigarette advertising will help Philip Morris vault over competitors,... More »

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smoking • tobacco • Philip Morris • tobacco companies • cigarette tax • trial lawyers • cigarette

(Newser) - Tobacco companies engaged in “deceits” and knowingly marketed cigarettes without regard for consumers’ health, violating civil racketeering laws, a federal appeals court ruled today. In upholding the verdict in a landmark case brought by the Clinton Justice Department in 1999, the court refused to overturn a district judge’s... More »

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crime • cigarettes • tobacco • racketeering • Altria • Philip Morris • federal • tobacco companies • cigarette • Big Tobacco

Supreme Court Refuses Philip Morris Appeal

$79.5M case was seen as way to clamp down on punitive damages

Mar 31, 09 10:19 AM CDT
(Newser) - Big business once hoped that the Supreme Court would use a tobacco lawsuit bouncing around the court system since 1999 to clamp down on the awarding of punitive damages. Instead, the AP reports, the Supreme Court gave a one-sentence order refusing to hear an appeal of a $79.5 million... More »

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lung cancer • cigarettes • Oregon • Philip Morris • US Supreme Court

Florida Jury Awards $8M
to Smoker's Family

Philip Morris vows to appeal verdict

Feb 18, 09 5:18 PM CST
(Newser) - Philip Morris must pay $8 million to the widow and son of a 55-year-old lung cancer victim, a Florida jury says. Jurors in the closely watched case decided that the cigarette maker hid the health risks and addictive qualities of cigarettes, the Miami Herald reports. Stuart Hess smoked about two... More »

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smoking • tobacco • Philip Morris • civil lawsuits • tobacco companies • cigarette

Addiction Led
to Smoker's Death: Jury

Widow scores first blood in potentially groundbreaking trial

Feb 13, 09 11:38 AM CST
(Newser) - Addiction to cigarettes caused chain smoker Stuart Hess’ death from lung cancer, a Florida jury ruled yesterday, paving the way for his widow to receive damages from Phillip Morris. The case is the first of 8,000 to spin out of a landmark 1994 class-action suit. That case's $145 billion... More »

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cancer • Florida • lung cancer • smoking • tobacco • Miami • lawsuit • Philip Morris • tobacco companies • Stuart Hess • Elaine Hess • Benson & Hedges

ANALYSIS

In Court, Philip Morris Uses Civil-Rights Smokescreen

Tobacco giant plays civil-rights card in battle with Oregon court over $79M judgment

Dec 5, 08 3:17 PM CST
(Newser) - Philip Morris has cast itself as a civil-rights victim being denied due process, Stephanie Mencimer writes for Mother Jones. The tobacco giant, ordered by an Oregon jury in 1999 to pay $79 million in punitive damages to a woman whose husband died of lung cancer, has been fighting the award... More »

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cancer • smoking • Oregon • habeas corpus • Philip Morris • NAACP • tobacco companies • US Supreme Court

 House Votes to Let FDA
 Regulate Tobacco

Cigarettes would be controlled by FDA

Jul 31, 08 3:49 AM CDT
(Newser) - The House passed landmark legislation yesterday to bring the tobacco industry under the regulatory control of the Food and Drug Administration. The FDA wouldn't have the power to ban cigarettes under the bill, but it could order nicotine levels in cigarettes reduced and restrict other harmful ingredients, reports the New ... More »

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Senate • White House • cigarettes • tobacco • House of Representatives • American Lung Association • nicotine • Philip Morris • American Heart Association • tobacco companies • presidential veto • Food and Drug Administration • Lorillard • Newport

Menthol Debate Splits Black Caucus

Tobacco row erupts over exemption from
cigarette flavoring ban

Jul 25, 08 2:28 AM CDT
(Newser) - The exemption of menthol from a bill banning flavored cigarettes is causing a rift in the Black Congressional Caucus, the New York Times reports. Some members of the caucus, which has strong financial ties to tobacco companies, argue that menthol cigarettes cause disproportionate harm to blacks and are pushing for... More »

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Congress • smoking • Philip Morris • tobacco companies • cigarette • African-Americans • menthol • Lorillard

 Menthol Used
 to 'Hook' Young
 Smokers: Study 

Menthol cigarettes go down easier with youngsters

Jul 17, 08 2:41 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tobacco companies use menthol to make the taste of cigarettes more acceptable to young first-time smokers until they become addicted, a new study charges. Researchers found that 44% of child smokers used menthol cigarettes, reports Reuters. "Menthol stimulates the cooling receptors in the lungs," said an expert from... More »

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smoking • cigarettes • tobacco • Philip Morris • tobacco companies • Food and Drug Administration • teen smoking • menthol • R.J. Reynolds • Lorillard

Altria's 'Safer' Smokes Latest in Line of Flops

Marlboro Ultra Smooth can't beat declining demand in 3-year test

Jun 23, 08 2:47 PM CDT
(Newser) - Altria is dropping its Marlboro Ultra Smooth cigarettes, the Wall Street Journal reports—the latest in a growing list of failures to sell Americans on so-called "safer" tobacco products. The cigarettes, which used special filters to block carcinogens, failed to attract consumer interest in a 3-year test, "presumably... More »

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cigarettes • tobacco • Altria • Philip Morris • Marlboro

Supreme Court to Hear $79M Cigarette Verdict for 3rd Time

Justices to decide if Oregon court ignored instruction to limit punitive damages

Jun 9, 08 1:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court today agreed to hear a third appeal of Oregon’s $79.5-million punitive-damage award against Philip Morris. The justices have twice sent the verdict back to Oregon’s high court, part of an effort to limit punitive damages to nine times the size of compensatory damages. This... More »

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Texas • Altria • Philip Morris • US Supreme Court • punitive damages • election law

Menthol Gets Free Pass in Cigarette Bill

Other flavored smokes face ban, but industry protects cash cow

May 13, 08 1:08 PM CDT
(Newser) - Congress is preparing to vote on legislation that would ban almost all flavored cigarettes—except menthol, the most prevalent flavoring of all. The bill would eliminate kinds like cloves and cinnamon that appeal to kids, but make an exception for menthol—which lures new smokers by masking the harshness of... More »

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Congress • lobbyist • lobbying • Philip Morris • tobacco companies • cigarette • menthol

Tobacco Giant Plans Spinoff of Overseas Arm

Philip Morris unit, less vulnerable to lawsuits, can focus on growth

Aug 29, 07 4:03 PM CDT
(Newser) - Altria, the world's largest tobacco company, wants to break its Philip Morris International unit off from its US counterpart, Bloomberg reports, to pursue greater overseas growth while insulating it from health-related US lawsuits. "Tobacco is growing overseas, while in the US it's in decline, making a reasonable argument for... More »

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smoking • cigarettes • tobacco • Altria • Philip Morris • Marlboro

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