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SATURDAY, NOVEMBER 21, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: tobacco companies

tobacco companies stories: 22 news summaries

1 - 20 of 22 Stories | 1 2 Next >>

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(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

Big Tobacco Suffers Big Setbacks in DC

Despite massive lobbying, regulation looks likely to pass

Apr 14, 09 10:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - After years of winning its fights in Washington, Big Tobacco is steeling itself for a major defeat: Not only did Congress pass an excise tax hike of 62 cents a pack of cigarettes, which went into effect this week, but the House voted overwhelmingly to submit the industry to FDA... More »

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FDA • North Carolina • Virginia • Phillip Morris • Altria • tobacco companies • cigarette tax • Big Tobacco

Smokers Gasp at Highest
Tax Hike Ever

They're hit twice as companies boost their profits, too

Apr 1, 09 2:13 PM CDT
(Newser) - Smokers are feeling pinched by today's 62-cent hike in the federal cigarette tax, the biggest ever. Federal taxes now top $1 per pack, CNN reports. At the same time, manufacturers and retailers have raised prices to boost dwindling profits. "They're picking on smokers," an 83-year-old said of the... More »

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taxes • smoking • SCHIP • tobacco companies • cigarette tax • President Obama

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

High Court Appears Cool
to Smokers' Suit

Marlboro ads make people really inhale, lawyers tell high court

Oct 6, 08 6:15 PM CDT
(Newser) - Supreme Court justices appeared skeptical over a lawsuit against Philip Morris cigarette ads today, McClatchy reports. A group of Maine smokers claim that ads for Marlboro Lights are deceptive, saying the company knew smokers would inhale more deeply on them and draw in more chemicals. At stake is the power... More »

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advertising • cigarettes • tobacco • Maine • tobacco companies • US Supreme Court • false advertising

Profanity, Tobacco Cases Top Court's New Term

Judges to decide on consumers' right to sue drug, tobacco companies

Oct 6, 08 8:07 AM CDT
(Newser) - The Supreme Court and its Bush-era conservative additions launch a second term today, set to consider "pre-emption" cases that determine whether federal regulation makes drug and tobacco companies immune from state-level lawsuits. Other cases will determine penalties against profanity on radio or TV, a major sexual harassment question, and... More »

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drug companies • consumer protection • immunity • Wyeth • tobacco companies • US Supreme Court • federal cases

 Vintage Stars 
 Got Big Bucks to Smoke 

Big tobacco paid a fortune for promotion in Hollywood's golden age

Sep 25, 08 8:47 AM CDT
(Newser) - Almost all of Hollywood's big names from the '30s, '40s, and '50s were on the payroll of tobacco companies, the BBC reports. Documents released as part of anti-smoking lawsuits reveal that stars like Clark Gable, Gary Cooper, and Joan Crawford got up to $10,000 each from Lucky Strike in... More »

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Hollywood • smoking • tobacco companies • actor • movies • Clark Gable

(Newser) - The nation’s largest cigarette maker, Altria Group, is in talks to acquire UST, the producer of Skoal and Copenhagen smokeless tobaccos for a rumored $10 billion, the New York Times reports. Altria, a spinoff of Philip Morris, makes Marlboro cigarettes. Negotiators were poised to strike a deal over the... More »

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tobacco • mergers and acquisitions • acquisition • Altria • tobacco companies • big business

 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

Percentage of Teen Smokers Holds Steady at 20%

Lack of progress in recent years worries health officials

Jun 28, 08 10:04 PM CDT
(Newser) - The number of teens who smoke has stopped declining, and anti-smoking activists worry that complacency is setting in, the Washington Post reports. The latest survey shows that 20% of kids between the ages of 13 and 17 light up, a figure that has generally held steady since 2003. It remains... More »

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cigarettes • tobacco • public health • tobacco companies • teenager • teen smoking

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

Upbeat Cancer Research Funded by Big Tobacco

Cigarette bucks paid for controversial lung cancer study

Mar 26, 08 3:37 AM CDT
(Newser) - Tobacco money paid for research that said CT scans could prevent 80% of lung cancer deaths, the New York Times reports. The news has shocked cancer researchers, who are generally loathe to have anything to do with cigarette companies. “If you’re using blood money, you need to tell... More »

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lung cancer • CT scans • smoking • cigarettes • cancer research • tobacco companies • cancer screening • conflict of interest

Supreme Court Denies Tobacco Industry Appeal

Justices won't intervene in W. Va. case involving hundreds of lawsuits

Feb 25, 08 12:30 PM CST
(Newser) - The Supreme Court today handed the tobacco industry a setback, rejecting without comment an appeal contending that West Virginia’s two-tiered system of consolidating cases is unconstitutional. In their appeal, industry lawyers called the process “deeply and fundamentally flawed,” the Wall Street Journal reports, but the plaintiffs' lawyers... More »

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smoking • lawsuit • asbestos • class action • tobacco companies • US Supreme Court • product liability

Joe Camel Ads Look Bad for Tobacco Giant

8 states sue over Rolling Stone insert;
RJ Reynolds faces $100M in fines

Dec 4, 07 5:45 PM CST
(Newser) - Eight states are suing RJ Reynolds, alleging that an ad for Camel cigarettes in Rolling Stone last month violates a 1998 agreement not to use cartoons in advertising cigarettes. The states seek $100 for every magazine distributed and for every hit on the tobacco giant's associated website, the AP reports.... More »

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California • tobacco • Rolling Stone • Pennsylvania • lawsuit • advertisements • tobacco companies • RJ Reynolds • Camel

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