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WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 25, 2009
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NEWS ABOUT: tobacco

tobacco stories: 57 news summaries

21 - 40 of 57 Stories | << Prev 1 2 3 Next >>

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 House Hits Big Tobacco; 
 Senate Battle Up Next   

Advocates and enemies of big tobacco brace for Senate battle

Apr 2, 09 5:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - The House today agreed to give the FDA broad new powers over tobacco products, the New York Times reports. The House voted 298-to-112 to pass the bill, but the real fight will come in the Senate, where one North Carolina Republican has already threatened a filibuster. Ted Kennedy plans to... More »

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Republican • Senate • GOP • tobacco • Ted Kennedy • House of Representatives • Big Tobacco

Gillibrand Spent Years Defending Big Tobacco

As a young lawyer,
NY senator worked
for Phillip Morris

Mar 27, 09 7:11 AM CDT
(Newser) - Kirsten Gillibrand, Hillary Clinton’s Senate successor, spent years as a Phillip Morris lawyer involved in some of its most sensitive cases in the 1990s, the New York Times reports. As a junior lawyer, Gillibrand helped fend off a federal perjury investigation against the tobacco giant, fighting off prosecution... More »

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New York • tobacco • Phillip Morris • Kirsten Gillibrand

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

OPINION

 Tax Soda: It's the New Tobacco 

Less obese, less diabetic America just a couple of laws away

Dec 18, 08 10:27 AM CST
(Newser) - The cigarette tax "was the biggest health care breakthrough in the last 40 years in the United States," and its successor may be the 18% tax on non-diet soda New York Gov. David Patterson is pitching, writes Nicholas Kristof of the New York Times. Not only... More »

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obesity • taxes • tobacco • soda • cigarette tax • David Paterson • Nicholas Kristof • soda tax

Fewer Than 20% of US Adults Smoke, a First

Rate drops, though 43M still light up; 443K die yearly as result

Nov 13, 08 2:10 PM CST
(Newser) - Smoking in the US is at its lowest since cigarettes became widespread after World War I, Reuters reports, with fewer than 20% of adults in the country lighting up—the lowest figure on record. Observers credit the gradual decline to awareness, bans on smoking in public places, and prohibitive taxation.... More »

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American Cancer Society • lung cancer • Centers for Disease Control and Prevention • smoking • tobacco • smoking cessation • World War I • cigarette • decline

Tobacco Crackdown Aims to Douse Smuggling Efforts

Making supply chain more transparent among goals of international talks

Oct 29, 08 3:52 PM CDT
(Newser) - Negotiators from over 150 countries are working with the World Health Organization to shape a proposal intended to combat the global trade in illegal cigarettes, Portfolio reports. Anti-tobacco advocates say current measures are insufficient to stem the illicit production or smuggling that accounts for 11% of worldwide tobacco sales, and... More »

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cigarettes • tobacco • counterfeit • smuggler • World Health Organization • cigarette • counterfeiters • bar codes

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

 India Readies Smoking Ban; 
 Unruly Public Shrugs 

Prohibition carries $5 penalty in country with average income of $1K

Sep 30, 08 5:45 PM CDT
(Newser) - India is about to institute a ban on smoking in public places, including bars, restaurants, hotels and hospitals, the Wall Street Journal reports. The ban, which begins Thursday, is being greeted warmly by health officials, with skepticism by smokers on the ground. “Such rules are made and broken every... More »

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India • tobacco • public health • criminal • smoking ban • fine

 Hurricanes Smoke 
 Cuban Cigar Biz 

Double blow from Gustav, Ike to cost billions

Sep 18, 08 2:55 AM CDT
(Newser) - Back-to-back blows from Hurricanes Gustav and Ike have the Cuban tobacco industry reeling, reports the Miami Herald. Hurricane Ike alone destroyed half of this year's tobacco plants, more than 3,000 tobacco-drying barns and nearly 9,000 homes for workers. The destruction occurred just days after Gustav had already wreaked... More »

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Cuba • tobacco • Havana • Hurricane Gustav • Hurricane Ike • cigars • Ramon Serafin

(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

Boston Bans Drugstore Cigarette Sales

Also outlawed
at college campus
convenience shops

Sep 5, 08 6:26 AM CDT
(Newser) - Boston's health honchos have approved some of the country's toughest anti-tobacco rules by banning sales at some stores, the Boston Globe reports. The new rules forbid pharmacies and campus convenience stores from selling cigarettes. They also ban smoking on bar and restaurant patios. The city's cigar parlors, previously exempt, will... More »

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Boston • smoking • tobacco • convenience stores • pharmacy • cigarette • cigarette sales • cigar

 Tobacco Could Treat Cancer 

Plant's virus can carry therapeutic genes into damaged cells

Sep 4, 08 12:00 PM CDT
(Newser) - Tobacco may be able to redeem itself. A modified virus from the plant can inject gene therapy into diseased cells to treat cancer, viruses, and genetic disorders, Wired reports. The virus’ tubular shape can be hollowed out and used like a tiny syringe to inject RNA molecules inside a... More »

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tobacco • medical research • scientific discoveries • scientific breakthroughs • mosaic virus • siRNA

 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

 SF Votes Today on
 Tobacco Sales Ban

May be nation's first city to shut down drugstore sales

Jul 29, 08 3:23 AM CDT
(Newser) - San Francisco's Board of Supervisors votes today on whether to ban the sale of cigarettes at the city's pharmacies. City and state legislatures across America—as well as giant pharmacy chains like CVS and Wal-Mart—are carefully watching the outcome of what could be a harbinger of things to come,... More »

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San Francisco • American Cancer Society • Yale University • tobacco • CVS • Gavin Newsom • Wegmans • Wal-Mart • cigarette sales • Walgreen • California Pharmacists Association • California Medical Association • Convenient Care Association

 Tobacco May Help Cure Cancer 

Plant's robust immune system makes it a viable vaccine factory

Jul 22, 08 5:39 PM CDT
(Newser) - Scientists are trying to use the tobacco plant to produce a cancer vaccine, Newsweek reports. Ironic though it may be, the plant could someday offer fast and cheap production of antibodies personalized for individual’s tumor cells. In the first study of its kind, scientists found that the plant-based vaccine... More »

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cancer • tobacco • vaccine • cancer research • immune system • tumor

 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

Dutch Smoking Ban Leaves Pot Users in a Fog

Cannabis in coffee houses is fine, but take that butt outside

Jun 30, 08 2:40 PM CDT
(Newser) - Effective tomorrow, the Netherlands bans smoking tobacco in public places, and the new law means big changes for Amsterdam's famously relaxed coffeehouses, reports USA Today. Because the law doesn't cover cannabis or hashish, users can continue to smoke them inside. But those who prefer their pot mixed with tobacco, as... More »

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smoking • tobacco • marijuana • cannabis • Amsterdam • smoking ban • Dutch government

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

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 »

MORE ABOUT:
cigarettes • tobacco • Altria • Philip Morris • Marlboro

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