Tobacco News on the Web Archive, Feb. 1997

Tobacco News on the Web

Archive, Feb. 1997

Note: These articles wink in and out of existence with the frequency of sub-atomic particles. Many links will be dead. In that case, these pages can be approached as bibliographies, both noting the event, and showing where you might look for further information.

  • 02/04/97 Cruise Line Cigarette Smoke Wafts . . . The Cruise ship situation. All the ships sea have different rules, if any. Clipper, Norwegian seem most non-smoker-friendly. Allentown Morning Call. POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/04/97 BUSINESS: Armenter Cigar Holdings Buys Nicauraguan Tobacco Company, Becomes Major Player Acquires control of TAINSA Corp., which grows tobacco and manufactures cigars. Purchase makes Armenter, with units in Nicauragua and the Canary Islands, "one of the largest producers of tobacco in the world." PR Newswire

  • 02/04/97 Anti-tobacco Attorneys See "Treasure Map" of Liggett Documents Shown log of documents prepared by Liggett in settlement talks. "Privilege log" is seen by one attorney as "a road map to the treasure--to the mother lode." Myron Levin, LA Times.

  • 02/04/97 December Lucrative for GOP Republican National Committee contributions. Big donors also were generous after the party successfully defended its control of the House and Senate in November. A $10,400 contribution from Philip Morris Corp. brought the cigarette-maker's total contributions to the committee for the year to $768,800. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. chipped in $40,000, pushing its total to $359,725 AP Phil. Inquirer

  • 02/04/97 ZIMBABWE: Heavy Rains Damaging Tobacco Crop Water logging and soil leaching cut projections for April by 12%.

  • 02/04/97 HEALTH: Mutations in K-ras Gene Found to Indicate Poor Prognosis for Those with Small Cell Lung Cancer The higher the [tumor] stage, the higher the mutation rate, according to study of patient tissues by Dr. Joo-Hang Kim of the Yonsei Cancer Center in Seoul, South Korea. The K-ras mutation is "not significantly correlated with smoking." Published in Circulation. Reuters Medical News

  • 02/04/97 HEALTH: Self-Esteem Associated with Health-related Behaviors "Physicians should consider self-esteem as an element as they assess patients' overall health status, and to particularly consider self-esteem as they think of health promotion practices and patient education." Published in January/February issue of the Archives of Family Medicine

  • 02/04/97 HEALTH: Peripheral Arterial Disease Risk Lowered By Moderate Drinking But benefits are easily "overwhelmed by smoking," according to Dr. Charles Hennekens of Brigham and Women's Hospital in Boston in analysis of data from Physician's Health Study. Published in Circulation. Reuters Medical News

  • 02/03/97 BUSINESS: Icahn Names his Advisers in RJR Battle Another proxy assault to separate food/tobacco units. NY Times

  • 02/04/97 JAPAN Says It Will Endorse TAIWAN Bid to Join World Trade Body Taiwan still refuses to yield to US pressure on tobacco rules. Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/04/97 NORTH CAROLINA: Ex-Lt. Gov. Gets House Arrest, $250,000 Fine in Illegal Tobacco Sales Case. Judge tells millionaire Jimmy Green--75 and suffering from emphysema--he did "incalculable harm to this state and its citizens." AP POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/04/97 PENNSYLVANIA: Blowing Off New Smoking Rules State law against cigarettes in school took effect Monday, but doesn't phase students. Phil. Daily News.

  • 02/04/97 HEALTH: Chronic Lung Disease An excellent primer on COPD from Jay Sivek, MD. Washington Post

  • 02/03/97 ROMANIA Detains UKRAINIAN Ship in Cigarette Smuggling Probe Claims ship carried $1 Million worth of contraband Western cigarettes with Romanian duty-free stamps.

  • 02/03/97 "The Marriage Effect" Reins in Alcohol, Illicit Drug Use But tobacco proves far more tenacious. Report: "Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use in Young Adulthood: The Impacts of New Freedoms and New Responsibilities," is based on "Monitoring the Future" study by the University of Michigan's Institute for Social Research. John Schwartz, Washington Post

  • 02/02/97 Drug Use Tendencies Predictable from ChildhoodA study of kindergarten-age boys reveals that the tendency to smoke, drink, and take drugs may be predicted from behavior in early childhood. Study evaluated the personalities of nearly 800 Montreal-area boys at ages 6 and 10, and followed up at 11 and 15. Done by University of Texas-Houston and the University of Montreal. Reuters Medical News. By Age 6, Signs are Clear of Who Will Smoke, Drink from Knight Ridder. POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) Here's the Your Health Daily item

  • 02/02/97 OBIT: Herb Caen, 80 So Long, Mr. San Francisco The city's most beloved columnist dies after a 9-month battle with lung cancer. SF Examiner & Chronicle.

  • 02/02/97 Mom Finds Teen's Smokes, Winds up in Jail Herself Confronting the BP gas station store. Raleigh News & Observer (Nando)

  • 02/02/97 Sen. John Kerry Gets Blunt About Campaign Donations NY Times, Don Imus pressure Clinton to clean up Federal Election Commission. The Massachusetts Democrat said there is a "clear expectation" in the minds of some big donors "that because they contributed, they thought that something was going to happen." In his own experience, he said, when big contributors did not get the access and legislative result they thought they were paying for, they "simply drifted away."
    . . . the agency's somnolence to this point is testimony to Republican cuts in the F.E.C.'s budget and the fact that Mr. Clinton has failed to appoint strong reformers to the commission.    Editorial, NY Times

  • 02/02/97 CALIFORNIA: Free Cyber Speech Applies to CSUN Editorial in favor of Chris Landers' battle with California State University at Northridge. Landers won a Los Angeles Superior Court victory after his site was kicked off the CSUN server for political activism--Landers tied state Senate candidate Cathie Wright to tobacco contributions, morphing her face into a skull. Though the court ruled the campus--along with its server--is a "marketplace of ideas," entitled to free speech protection, Landers is still battling to force CSUN to host his site. Meanwhile, he has set up Chris Landers' Free Speech WebSite about the issue.

  • 02/02/97 PEOPLE: CHURCHHILL's Giant Cigars All for Show In later life he rarely smoked; cigars used as a prop, unlit. Times of London

  • 02/02/97 Drug Use Spurs Court Test of Fetal Custody Maternal cocaine use case to be decided by Wisconsin Supreme Court; may have ramifications for smokers. LA Times

  • 02/02/97 NEW BOOK: Smoking, Drinking and Drug Use in Young Adulthood: The Impacts of New Freedoms and New Responsibilities Dr. Jerald G. Bachman, Katherine N. Wadsworth, Patrick M. O'Malley, Lloyd D. Johnston and John E. Schulenberg. (241 pp). Published by Lawrence Erlbaum Associates in Mahwah, N.J. Authors did study showing Young adults who used illegal drugs or alcohol as teen-agers tend to cut down or quit when confronted by the responsibilities of marriage and family. But divorce can drive them back to their old habits NY Times.

  • 02/02/97 Possibility of Deal Seen in Smoking Fight Richmond Times-Dispatch.
  • 01/31/97 Peace Talks in the Tobacco Wars? 2/10/97 Business Week says it has inside info on debates raging among state AGs over a possible settlement. One proposal by Hubert Humphrey III would give industry some liability protection, in return for FDA regulation, 10% of revenues to health programs, and disbanding of Tobacco Institute-type orgs. Here's the chart

  • 02/01/97 FLORIDA: Judge in Medicaid Suit Seals Testimony on B&W Papers Pre-trial testimony about the Brown & Williamson Secret Tobacco Papers ordered sealed until the worth of attorney-client confidentiality argument is determined by a "special master" appointed by Circuit Judge Harold Cohen. Ruling disappoints tobcos--documents remain unsealed, and may be referred to in testimony.

  • 02/01/97 MASSACHUSETTS: "Light" Filters Confuse Smokers, Poll Finds; State Says Tests Understate Risks Phone survey of 266 smokers conducted by Lynn Kozlowski of the Penn State University biobehavioral health department. Boston Globe

  • 02/01/97 CALIFORNIA: Bill Would Make It a crime for anyone under the age of 18 to attempt to purchase tobacco, cigarettes or smoking paraphernalia Senate Bill SB198 introduced this week by Kelley, R-Idyllwild.

  • 02/01/97 KENTUCKY: Doctor Seeks to Eliminate Smoking at Rupp Arena Dr. James Roach, executive director of Kentucky ACTION, seeks ban under Americans with Disabilities Act. Lexington Herald-Leader

  • 02/04/97 ILLINOIS: County Finds Vendors Still Sell to Minors Stronger measures called for in Cook County. Chicago Sun Times

  • 02/05/97 STATE OF THE UNION: Clinton Renews Call for Ban on Tobacco Ads Aimed at Kids""Finally, we must also protect our children by standing firm in our determination to ban the advertising and marketing of cigarettes that endanger their lives." Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/06/97 Stogies Attract Celebrities--and Criminals Cubans craze attracts smugglers and counterfeiters. Cox News Service/NY Times POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) Here's a chart of seizures, other cigar facts NY Times POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/08/97 Money Politics, and its Suckers Not about tobacco, but sharp insights into the dynamics of the lobbying "arms race" and what big contributors might expect in return. NY Times/POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) Here's a similar article by Rena Pederson, Dallas Morning News Today, a Niagara of money is cascading into the White House and congressional races. Why? It pays off. Washington Post has a great 4-part series on Election reform When this page goes out of date, you'll be able to get to the articles from here. The post's readers' poll shows an astonishing degree of distrust of campaign contibutions. 64% think Congresspeople go against their own wishes to vote for what their contributors want.

  • 02/07/97 SOUTH DAKOTA May Raise Cig Tax 10 cents/pack House Bill 1217 would raise tax to 43 cents. Aberdeen American News POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/06/97 SOUTH DAKOTA: Lawmakers Blow Smoke at Gov. Janklow Dems introduce dig at gov: Senate Bill 251 simply says that notwithstanding the state law, the governor may smoke in his office. POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/07/97 Who's Afraid of Carl Icahn? In-depth look at the raider's push to split food, tobacco at RJR. 02/17/97 Fortune

  • 02/07/97 WASHINGTON: Pierce County Retailers Ignore Tobacco Lawsuit to Block Pierce County Tobacco Ad Limits Tobcos filed suit 2/6 to block the Truth in Tobacco Advertising resolution, which institutes FDA-style ad curbs-- from taking effect March 1. PR from the Health Dept.

  • 02/06/97 Black Religious Leaders: Say No to Menthol Joe Bernice Kanner on African American protests over Camel Menthols. Bridge News. POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/06/97 WISCONSIN Sues Tobacco Companies Without setting funds or lawyers. That's why Tobacco Suit Could be a Smokescreen Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
    Here's the AP story from POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)
    Wisconsin Becomes 21st State to Sue Tobacco CompaniesReuter
    Wis. joins tobacco suit parade UPI

  • 02/06/97 3 More "Castano" Suits Filed Oklahoma, Kansas and Hawaii. Total now comes to 13 states. Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/06/97 KANSAS: Judge Tells RJR To Turn Over Documents Regarding Nictoine And Addiction 32 documents relate to Council for Tobacco Research; some from Shook Hardy. Magistrate rules they are not protected by attorney-client priviledge. Burton liability suit seeks to prove company knew of nicotine's effects since the 50s. Here's the AP story POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/06/97 No Smoking in Prison? But How Will They Bribe the Screws? Minnesota's ban starts in August. A look at problems of prison smoking bans in other localities. Minneapolis Star-Tribune

  • 02/06/97 BUSINESS: Philip Morris Reassigning Contract for Marlboro Luxury Train Rader Railcar out. Constructions delays have plagued the project. New target: 1998. Richmond Times-Dispatch

  • 02/06/97 PHILIPPINES: Supreme Court Blocks Tax-Evasion Prosecution of Tobacco Tycoon Lucio Tan (Fortune Tobacco, Philippine Airlines) gets off again; court upholds previous ruling that government tax collectors had "failed to make a detailed assessment of his liabilities." Probe must start anew. Reuters

  • 02/06/97 BUSINESS: UNIVERSAL Earnings Up as Leaf Volumes Rise Reuters

  • 02/06/97 NEW YORK: Comptroller Waging "Vigorous Campaign" to Get Tobcos to Curb Teen Tobacco Use H. Carl McCall--sole trustee of NY's $80 Billion pension fund--said his resolutions will appear before shareholders of Loews and RJR--but not Philip Morris and UST, which got the Securities and Exchange Commission to issue a "no action" letter, denying their shareholders the right to vote on his resolution. Reuter
  • N.Y. Comptroller Gets Vote On Youth Access On RJR, Loews Proxies Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)
  • SEC Allows PM to Reject McCall's Efforts to Force Shareholder Vote AP FoxNews
  • RJR Shareholders to Vote on Youth Access 02/06/97 LA Times brief.
  • 02/05/97 NEW YORK: Push to Raise Cig Sale Age to 21 Daily News.
  • 02/05/97 NEW YORK: AG Vacco Proposes 21 as Legal Age for Tobacco"State Atty. Gen. Dennis Vacco proposed increasing the state's legal age to buy tobacco products to 21 from 18." USA Today

  • 02/06/97HEALTH: Hold the stogie, Bogie Cigar and pipe smokers have from 4-10 times the risk of dying from laryngeal, oral or esophageal cancer than non-smokers. Monthly self-exams can reduce these risks; danger signs to look for include reddish or whitish patches in the mouth, slow healing sores, a chronic sore throat or difficulty in swallowing or breathing. From the American Association of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgeons. BW Healthwire.

  • 02/06/97 VIRGINIA: East Coast Oil Requires 'We Card' Training to Prevent Tobacco Sales to Teens; Retailer is First in Virginia to Use Program "We Card" was developed by the Tobacco Institute and the Smokeless Tobacco Council (Members of the National Coalition for Responsible Tobacco Retailing). As with the Jaycees and Michigan retailers program, it's your basic "Daring Kids to Smoke." No mention of health aspects. You can read about the Dec., 1995 "We Card" program on RJR's Website

  • 02/06/97 Sensitive Nonsmokers Seek Airport Smoking Ban Asthmatics and others petition Dept. of Transportation to severely restrict airport smoking nationwide. PRNewswire.

  • 02/04/97 CANADA: Health Minister Softening on Tobacco Bill Intense pressure on David Dingwall from Quebec MPs, arts & sports groups may succeed in winning delay, even abandonment of sponsorship regulations. Toronto Globe & Mail

  • 02/08/97 Swissair to Ban Smoking on Transatlantic Flights March 30 Reuters

  • 02/07/97 HEALTH: Smoking and Stroke Risks increased with smoking, decreased with moderate drinking. "You clearly see a dose-response relationship that increases fairly nicely across the spectrum of exposure to tobacco smoke, beginning with passive smoking."
    Study of the brains of 1,805 people by Dr. George Howard & colleagues at Wake Forest University's Bowman Gray School of Medicine presented at the American Heart Association's 22nd International Joint Conference on Stroke and Cerebral Circulation. Reuters Medical News.
  • 02/08/97 MSNBC story . . . current smokers had double the risk of so-called silent stroke than did never-smokers, while former smokers were at 50-percent increased risk.

  • 02/07/97 FTC Preparing Case Against Joe Camel Business Week. RJR May Face Renewed Questions from FTC Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) Pressure on Federal Trade Commission from 70 members of Congress. FTC may formally reopen case on whether Joe Camel ads amounts to an unfair business practice--targeting those too young to legally smoke.

  • 02/07/97 MASSACUSETTS: US Judge Upholds Disclosure Law U.S. District Judge George O'Toole rules Federal regulations do not preempt stricter state requirements; "trade secrets" irrelevant to issue. `There is no danger that the (firms') reporting of cigarette ingredients to the Secretary will be disturbed by the enforcement of the Massachusetts statute...
    it was not Congress' purpose...to grant general protection to their trade secrets or confidential product information. . .
    It might even be said that the Massachusetts statute is in harmony with the purpose Congress expressed when it adopted (a law) 'to provide a new strategy for making Americans more aware of any adverse health effects of smoking, to assure the timely and widespread dissemination of research findings and to enable individuals to make informed decisions about smoking.    . Reuter. Here's the UPI story And a different Reuters story
  • 02/08/97 Cigarette Statute is Upheld Boston Globe
  • Federal judge upholds Massachusetts tobacco-disclosure law Fox News

  • 02/07/97 FLORIDA: Class Action "Smoker" Claims Tobco Intimidation One of original 6 smokers in Engle case "feels he has been greatly embarrassed and humiliated by investigators going out and asking neighbors and relatives and people he hasn't seen in 30 years about him." Judge allows alternate smoker to substitute. Reuter
  • 02/07/97 FLORIDA: Judge Refuses to Change his "Affirmative Defense" Denial Palm Beach County Circuit Judge Harold Cohen won't change his mind about denying tobcos to argue that Florida's suit should be thrown out because the state itself shares responsibility for harm (by making and selling cigarettes). Reuters
    02/03/97 FLORIDA: Tobacco "Affirmative Defense" Move Curbed by Judge Attempt to show shared liability knocked down. Palm Beach County Circuit Court Judge Harold Cohen rules Florida's own manufacture and sale of cigarettes will not be an issue in determining liability, only in determination of damages, if awarded.
    Philip Morris Protests Decision PR Newswire
  • 02/06/97 FLORIDA: Statewide Class Action Seeks Compensation for Florida Smokers Suffering From Medical Conditions Caused by Cigarette Smoking The Engle Case Smokers' Notification. From Rosenblatt's office.
    02/03/97 FLORIDA: Tobacco Class Action Campaign to Start 3-month notification campaign. Florida residents and survivors with claims against tobcos will be included in class action unless they opt out in Engle case, due to start in Sept. Reuters
    Media Campaign Ordered UPI
    This is the Engle v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco et al. Website

  • 02/06/97 Kellogg Celebrates Heart Month With A Heart-Check; Over 50 Kellogg Products Receive Certification from the American Heart Association More than 50 Kellogg's(R) products will carry the American Heart Association's heart-check mark . . . To be certified, a food product must meet all FDA and USDA requirements for making a coronary heart disease health claim. . . . In addition, the product cannot be manufactured by a tobacco company or by a subsidiary or parent of a tobacco company. PR Newswire. JUST WONDERING: What about a company that makes a breakfast cereal with a cigarette brand name all over the box? (Kellogg's Corn Flakes, Winston Cup edition)

  • 02/04/97 HAWAII Sues Tobacco Companies State Attorney General Margery Bronster filed Medicaid suit Friday ((01/31/97). Maui News (The AP item is unmarked on the page; do a "Find" on tobacco) HAWAII sues tobacco firms for health-care costs Smoking has devastating results in Hawaii, [Gov.] Cayetano says. Honolulu Star Bulletin

  • 02/10/97 Tobacco Companies Begin a Year of Courtroom DramaAn overview of the year's coming FDA, State Medicaid, Class Action and individual suits. Wall St. Journal (Pay Reg)

  • 02/10/97 BAT May Settle over Smoker Claims They want to be paid off. We want a peaceful life, BAT CEO Martin Broughton tells BBC2's Money Programme. Times of London. Here's the Bloomberg item POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) 02/10/97 BAT at 6 Month High After Broughton Comments

  • 02/10/97 Fog over Smoking: Passive Smoking Data Challenged. Critique by 4 scientists published in Medical Science News Uncritical, sympathetic precis by Nigel Hawkes. Times of London

  • 02/10/97 BROIN: Judge Orders Witness List Swap in Flight Attendant Suit Reuter

  • 02/10/97 ILLINOIS May License Stores for Tobacco UPI. Ryan Outlines Teen Smoking PlanPOSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/10/97 CALIFORNIA: American Cancer Society urges action on anti-tobacco media campaign Prop 99 ad restrictions protested.

  • 02/10/97 ILLINOIS: State proposals would crack down on teens with cigarettes On the movement to make underage possession illegal statewide. AP POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/09/97 Anti-tobacco States Draft a Settlement Minneapolis Star Tribune gets a copy of AG Humphrey's proposal

  • 02/09/97 Tobacco Industry Facing Challenge to its Legal Success Winston Salem Journal

  • 02/09/97 AUSTRIA: RJR to Buy Printing Plant Winston Salem Journal

  • 02/09/97 HEALTH: Smoking, Drinking Can Raise Lead Levels in Fetal Blood Canadian study noted in Times of London

  • 02/09/97 Ex-tobacco Exec Faces Hong Kong Extradition Interview with Jerry Lui. Reuters

  • 02/09/97 Want to Quit Smoking? How to Tell if You'll Succeed [P]eople who can't go cold turkey even one day probably . . . won't be able to quit on their own, even with nicotine patches. Study "contradicts the common idea that people can cheat, even just a little, and still quit smoking. Our findings indicate that setting a definite quit date and sticking to it is important for long-term success." Study of quitting patterns by Dr. Eric Westman & colleagues at Duke University Medical Center and the Durham VA Medical Center. Published in the Annals of Internal Medicine. Scripps Howard. POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)
  • 02/09/97 First Day Key to Quitting Tobacco Habit Reuters. Here's a different Reuters article AP item POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly). 02/11/97 Your Health Daily

  • 02/09/97 INDIA: Smokers Under FIre in New Delhi On the city's recent ban of public smoking. Electronic Telegraph

  • 02/09/97 UK: Cigar-Loving Brits Risk CIA Wrath in CUBA "Cigar bash of the decade" will celebrate 30th anniversary of Castro's development of the Cohiba. Cigar merchants are wary of Helms-Burton law forbidding business with Cuba. Times of London

  • 02/06/97 CLINTON BUDGET: $34 M for FDA Tobacco Crackdown Clinton is requesting $34 million for the Food and Drug Administration to launch its crackdown on teen-age tobacco use . . . The Budget also assigns $86 million for other tobacco control efforts, and renews the $20 million Assist program. AP POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) FDA Gets New Fees, Anti-Tobacco Funds Reuters

  • 02/09/97 The "Reservation Premium" for Writing a Camel Ad How much does a conscience go for? Economist Robert Frank asked graduating seniors at Cornell University how much extra in yearly salary would convince them to take a morally repugnant job. An ad copywriter for Camel cigarettes instead of a job as an ad copywriter for the American Cancer Society: $24,333 Washington Post

  • 02/09/97 RJR Banks on New Brands of Smokes Raleigh News & Observer

  • 02/09/97 Business Traveler: Cigars Are in--Way in A nonsmoker's look at the craze, plus a tour of the nation's hottest cigar bars. Washington Post

  • 02/09/97Legal Challenges: State and individual suits may beat industry that's been nearly invicible Winston Salem Journal

  • 02/09/97 CALIFORNIA: SF Health Officials VS. Smoking Dallas Morning News POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/08/97 Bowman Gray Smokeless Cigarette Study Stirs Critics RJR gave $1M for the Med Center to study the health effects of RJR's "Eclipse" for 6 months on 25 adults. [W]e do with the data what we as scientists see as appropriate no matter what it says. If Reynolds or anyone else doesn't like the results, that's their problem. Critics say it's not that simple. 4 other schools received similar grants, one at UBC Vancouver. Article is from the brand-new website of RJR's (and Bowman Gray's) home town paper, the Winston-Salem Journal. (Thanks, RD)
  • 02/09/97 Tobacco Funded Smoke Study Spurs Debate on Objectivity Raleigh News & Observer

  • 02/10/97 WASHINGTON: Small stores, caught in crossfire of tobacco wars, are fighting back Doug Henken, " executive director of the association that speaks out on issues that affect some 3,000 retailers across the state" (uh, What's that organization's name, Doug?) vows legislative fight, supports "We Card" program, thinks stings are publicity stutnts. "The point is, we need to focus on realistic, effective steps to keep tobacco out of the hands of kids," Henken says, "not on high-profile public relations gimmicks aimed at creating phony outrage about 'Joe Camel' and, not just incidentally, to generate more tax dollars for those running anti-tobacco programs. . . We're involved whether we like it or not, so we might as well get in there and fight to win. We've got a lot at stake: the survival of our businesses." PR Newswire

  • 02/11/97 NORTH CAROLINA: Pride Mixes with Anxiety on Today's Tobacco Farm Knight Ridder POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)
  • 02/11/97 NORTH CAROLINA: Critics Debate Pros and Cons of Tobacco Knight Ridder POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/11/97 CANADA: Sports, Cultural Groups Pressureing Gov. to Allow Tobacco Sponsorships Health Minister Dingwall may phase in sponsorship restirctions in return for quick passage of bill.

  • 02/10/97 New Quit Smoking Product Could Halt Relapses--FDA Panel New Life Health Products' stop-smoking lozenge, called Quit, could provide "an available psychological crutch for someone who really wants help" Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly) FDA Panel Wants More Proof of Quit-Smoking Lozenge AP

  • 02/11/97 University of Richmond Grad Recalls Free-Smokes Era Cigs given away liberally in 30s. Other RT-D readers cite more recent youth-oriented tobacco company activity. Richmond Times Dispatch

  • 02/11/97 BUSINESS: Fortune Mag Ranks American Brands #1 in Tobacco The company that's sloughing off its tobacco units is "most admired industry leader"(!) .PR Newswire

  • 02/12/97 Florida Pilot Indicted for Smuggling Cuban Cigars $100,000 bail. Reuters

  • 02/12/97 Did Philip Morris Recycle Nicotine? What happened to all that nicotine removed from the late-80s, de-nicced Next brand?. Did PM just throw it out? Or . . . NBC breaks the story. MSNBC

  • 02/12/97 CALIFORNIA: Tobacco FIrm's Education Gift Sparks Debate Santa Ana Unified School District has come under fire accepted donation from the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. on anti-teen smking drive. LA Times

  • 02/11/97CALIFORNIA: Controversy Flares Over State's Anti-Tobacco Efforts Three physicians on oversight panel have been replaced. Tobacco Education and Research Oversight Committee Chairwoman Jennie Cook says Wilson administration won't let her see drafts of new TV ads. LA Times
  • Wilson Administration Hit for Hiding Anti-Smoking Ads / Watchdog panel wants a peek at new campaign SF Chronicle
  • 02/12/97 Anti-Tobacco Campaign Blowing Smoke? Wilson Seems Opposed. LA Times

  • 02/13/97 Drivers Dialing for Danger with Cellular Phones Quadruples the risk of an accident. Lighting a cigarette doubles the risk. Study of 700 accidents in Toronto published in NEJM. LA Times

  • 02/13/97 B.A.T Hints Firm Might Join U.S. Pact to Settle Litigation Wall St. Journal (pay registration)

  • 02/13/97 FLORIDA: Tobacco industry countersues Suit would force state to pay partial damages if it won case, based on FL's prison cigarette manufacture/sales history. UPI

  • 02/12/97 FLORIDA Curbs Tobacco Banners on State Roads Names, but no logos, colors, typefaces. New rules to be published Friday, take effect in March. Reuters

  • 02/13/97 WISCONSIN: Retail trade organization praises governor's overall budget; criticizes cigarette tax increase Wisconsin Merchants Federation mixes sweet & sour--loves Thompson's budget & programs; hates the 5-cent-per-pack increase. Tax would be 49 cents/pack if approved by legislature. Business Wire

  • 02/13/97 MISSISSIPPI: Tobacco Companies' Witness List May Slow Lawsuit. 66 doctors, scientists, economists, researchers, tobacco industry executives (Alexander Spears of Lorillard) and others on list mean Medicaid lawyers will get bogged down in depositions before June 2 court date. Carrick Mollenkamp, Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/13/97 NORTH CAROLINA: Scientists Tell Farmers of Battle Plans Against Blue Mold Epidemic ruined up to 1/4 of NC burley crop in 1996. Knight-Ridder

  • 02/13/97 NORTH CAROLINA: In the Bastion of Tobacco, Critics Emerge Phil. Inquirer

  • 02/13/97 BELGIUM: Smoking Rates Rise At 30% in 1996, up from 25% in 1993. Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/14/97 BUSINESS: U.S. Cigarette Sales Rise 1% in '96 PaineWebber Inc. report:
    • Philip Morris Cos. brands rose 5%
    • RJR declined 3%
    • Brown & Williamson declined 4%. Full-priced leading brands (Marlboro, Camel, Newport) helped boost sales. LA Times
  • U.S. cigarette sales rose 1 percent in '96, led by Philip Morris Raleigh News & Observer

  • 02/14/97 FRANCE: 1996 Seita Sales Rose 6.2% Much of increase due to foreign markets. Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/14/97 INDONESIA: Tobacco Stocks Fall Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/14/97 BUSINESS: Dimon to Acquire Intabex Uses some stock, debt to buy $700M/year Luxembourg-based Intabex Holdings Worldwide SA, an international leaf dealer. Reuters

  • 02/14/97 Rare HONUS WAGNER Baseball Card Offered in Sports Promotion $100,000 Sweet Caporals card (T-206) offered as part of 10-year anniversary of sports memorabilia firm The Score Board Inc. of Cherry Hill, NJ. Detroit News. Here's the AP Story from NandoNet.

  • 02/13/97 HEALTH: US Warns Cigarette Butts a Danger to Infants CDC reviews 90 cases in Rhode Island where children between six months and two years swallowed cigarettes or cigarette butts. Reuters.
  • Strangely, neither the CDC nor any news story has mentioned Pica

  • 02/14/97 House Sweeps Checks Off Floor No more distributing campaign contributions on the House floor. Why? n mid-June 1995, the Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp. political action committee (PAC) wrote $500 campaign contributions to 59 House Republican and Democratic members, Federal Election Commission records show. Some of the checks were written to members that House Republican Conference Chairman John A. Boehner (R-Ohio) suggested Brown & Williamson support . . . Boehner then was given the checks to deliver "so he could get credit," Jackson said. Last year it was publicly disclosed that Boehner in the last week of June 1995 walked around the House floor delivering six or more of the Brown & Williamson PAC checks. Washington Post

  • 02/14/97 NEW YORK's Top Court to Hear Appeal on CBS-B&W Case State Court of Appeals agrees to hear B&W's appeal. B&W seeks to depose "60 Minutes" execs for its Kentucky suit against Jeffrey Wigand. Hearing will be months away. AP Fox News

  • 02/14/97 Trying to Tame Tobacco Representatives Martin T. Meehan (D-Mass.) and James V. Hansen (R-Utah) trying to remove the special exemptions of tobacco from the Consumer Product Safety Act, Federal Hazardous Substances Act, and Toxic Substances Control Act. 02/24/97 Business Week

  • 02/14/97 FLORIDA: Business as Usual: Lobbyists, Legislators Are Out to Lunch Guy Spearman, lobbyist for the Tobacco Institute, takes the gang out for lunch at the exclusive Governor's Club. Despite a mood of reform in Tallahassee, the new Republican leadership is following the pattern of their Democratic predecessors as regards working lunches with well-connected lobbyists. "We do this all the time" Miami Herald

  • 02/13/97 CALIFORNIA: Ventura County Joins SF Lawsuit over Joe Camel Ads Supervisors voted to join 02/11/97. LA Times

  • 02/14/97 CALIFORNIA: Firm Barred From Discussing Anti-Tobacco Ads $67.5M, 2 year contract with ad agency now has gag order. In the new contract with the Los Angeles advertising firm of Asher/Gould, the Department of Health Services is requiring that the firm obtain written approval before speaking to reporters and other outsiders about the ad campaign. DHS spokes Lynda Frost says, "It [Prop. 99's advertising program] has come under constant and close scrutiny, from the activists, from the tobacco industry, from television networks. When you have that many eyes on you, you tend to want to exercise appropriate control over the program." LA Times

  • 02/14/97 HEALTH: Java Drinkers at Risk of Infertility 500 mg of caffein a day (c. 5 cups of coffee) associated with reduced fertility; And smoking exacerbated the problem. Those who smoked cigarettes with their caffeinated beverages were almost 60% more likely to have reduced fertility. Study of 3,187 European women published in American Journal of Epidemiology. Lead researcher--Professor Francisco Bolumar, in the Universidad de Alicante in Spain. Reuters Medical News.

  • 02/14/97 Pink is for Puffers On DynaGen's NicCheck. 02/24/97 Business Week [LINK DEAD]

  • 02/12/97 HEALTH: Maternal Smoking May Lead to Limb Defects in Babies Swedish study of 610 cases of limb reduction malformations between 1983 and 1993. "The present study supports a connection between maternal smoking during pregnancy and all limb reduction malformations." Karin Kallen, University of Lund in Sweden, reported her findings in the Journal of the American Public Health Association. Reuters

  • 02/13/97 UK: Kenneth Clarke Merseyside Visit Marred by Scuffle with Anti-Tobacco Protesters Ex-film director Tony Samuelson (Against Conservatives Poncing on Tobacco Groups) and wife in cigarette-suit accuse Conservatives of Tobacco Ties. Times of London

  • 02/13/97 Dump the Hump Editorial, SF Examiner

  • 02/13/97 Outgoing FDA Chief Kessler Named Dean of Yale Med School. Reuters

  • 02/12/97 New FDA Rules Target Underage Smokers On photo-id-ing everyone under 27. Boston Globe POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/12/97 BUSINESS: Safety of Tobacco Investment Seen at Crossroad Undervalued, or about to plummet? Reuter

  • 02/11/97 FDA Launching Tobacco Crackdown Will hire state inspectors to bust stores selling to minors. 24-city theatre presentation starts next Tuesday 2/18. AP. from Fox News or Phil. Inquirer
  • 02/11/97 FDA Launches Nationwide Tour of FDA Rules Reuter
  • 02/11/97 You can find out about the National or Local Town Meetings, the mailing to 350,000 retailers, explanations of the rules, and more at FDA's Children & Tobacco Web Page
  • FDA Fights CIg Sales to Teens Phil. Inquirer

  • 02/11/97 BUSINESS: DIMON Reports 2Q Earnings PR Newswire

  • 02/11/97 For Kessler, No Smoke-Free Room at the Inn The gang's all here in Greensboro. The hotel, the closest one to the federal courthouse, was so full of tobacco company attorneys, anti-tobacco activists, Food and Drug Administration officials and journalists that when FDA Commissioner David A. Kessler checked in at 10 p.m., the only accommodation left for him was a smoking room. Washington Post

  • FDA Court Challenge News

  • 02/10/97 FDA's Anti-Tobacco "Town Meeting" Irks NC Sen. Faircloth I will appreciate a detailed summary of the costs to the taxpayers of these 'Town Meeting' events. Wants reply by 2/17, day before televised meeting. Faircloth spokes says Gore presence on video causes us to wonder whether this is a political speech or it's purely informational. We'd like to learn more about its purpose and cost. Raleigh News & Observer FDA Begins Full Court Press to Enforce Tobacco Regulations Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/17/97 ISRAEL: Israeli tobacco company Dubek will begin manufacturing cigarettes abroad for sale to Palestinian self-rule areas MAARIV. Short line in Reuters Press Digest.

  • 02/17/97 ILLINOIS: Neighbors Follow Orland Park's Lead Against Teen Smoking Communities strengthen state laws. Orland minors not allowed to purchase or sell tobacco products. Deerfield, Northbrook, Burbank, Crystal Lake, Evanston, Gurnee, Highland Park, Morton Grove, Orland Park, Palatine, Rolling Meadows, Schaumburg, Woodridge and Wheaton also getting tough on teen smokers. Chicago Sun-Times

  • 02/16/97 VIRGINIA SLIMS' "Woman Thing" Effort Slammed NY Singer/songwriter Leslie Nuchow organizes a "counter organization"-- "Virginia Slam". Counter-concert being scheduled in New York for May 17. Approached by a PM talent scout, Nuchow says she was told audience would be all ages. Richmond Times Dispatch

  • 02/16/97 HEALTH: Lung Cancer Patients Are Female, Younger Doctors Blame Tobacco Ads Aimed At Women.
    • Lung cancer has far surpassed breast cancer as the leading cancer killer of American women. Between the 1960s and the 1990s, the lung-cancer death rate has gone up more than 450 percent for women.
    • Lung cancer this year will kill more than 66,000 women; that's compared with breast cancer, which is expected to kill 43,900.
  • "We need to elevate lung cancer and smoking back to a sense of urgency in the same way we did with breast cancer, not have them compete against each other." St. Louis Post Dispatch

  • 02/16/97 BUSINESS: Have a Cigar! But Will the Flavor Last Culbro's General Cigar (Macanudo, Partagas) IPO. New stock to be issued week of Feb. 24. Article looks at prospects in light of 2 other recent IPO's: Consolidated Cigar Holdings, which went public last August at $26.25 and reached a high of $38, had fallen to $25.25 at Friday's close. Swisher International Group , which went public in December at $17.25, has risen no higher than $18 since then and closed on Friday at $13.50. Perspective from business, "fad risk" issues. NY Times (free registration)

  • 02/16/97 Health Workers Watch Their Language in Tobacco County "Remember where you are." Many are starting to speak out, but it's an uphill battle. Winston Salem Journal

  • 02/16/97 BUSINESS: GreenMoney Journal Follows Socially Responsible Investors Cliff Feigenbaum's newsletter follows 44 socially and environmentally responsible mutual funds. Article includes relevant Websites, like Green Money Online, and The Calvert Group, etc. Knight Ridder/Akron Beacon Journal POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/16/97 CUBA: Touring Cigar Sites in Havana Rhapsodic paean to Cubans; no health risks to concern yourself with, apparently. Times of London.

  • 02/15/97 AFGHANISTAN: Taleban Target Hair, Cigarettes "The commission investigated those who had not observed sharia law. Those with dishevelled hair, without beards, or smoking cigarettes were interrogated and expelled from the ranks of the armed forces and disarmed." --Kabul's Sharia Radio. Strict interpresation of Sharia (Islamic legal code) leads to purge of smokers, forced haircuts in the streets. Reuters.

  • 02/15/97 RUSSIA, ex-USSR STATES: Life Expectancy Plunges Heavy-smoking nations pay price, accentuated by health services crises. Russian Males' life expectancy: 57.4 years. Main causes of death in ex-USSR: #1. cardiovascular diseases and strokes (accounting for 70% of all female deaths); #2: Cancer; #3: Respiratory Diseases; #4: Traffic accidents. Reuters.

  • 02/15/97 Tobacco Companies Tap K Street for Legal, PR Help Politics Now/National Journal.
    • 02/16/97 BUSINESS: High-Profile Firms Assist IndustryRichmond Times Dispatch.
    • 02/15/97 Tobacco Calls in Heavy Hitters Companies cooperating on unified approach to threats from legislation, lawsuits; 5 companies have hired Verner, Liipfert, Bernhard, McPherson and Hand -- which has strong ties to Democrats-- and Barbour, Griffith & Rogers--which has strong ties to Republicans--and the Bozell, Sawyer, Miller Group, a powerful PR firm. Winston Salem Journal

  • 02/12/97 INDIANA: Senate Vote Dooms Local Laws on Tobacco Preemption wins in Indiana as legislators override Gov. Bayh's veto. The Senate voted 26-24 to override former Gov. Evan Bayh's veto of Senate Enrolled Act 106 even after some senators derided it as a "tobacco industry bill" that would make it harder for cities and towns to crack down on teen smoking. House of Representatives now expected to pass the bill. Indianapolis Star Tribune.

  • 02/15/97 WEST VIRGNIA Sticking With Tobacco Lawsuit Anti-trust and consumer protection charges remain. Negligence, conspiracy and public nuisance among counts thrown out. "There can be no doubt that our state has suffered great loss in monetary damages and, more importantly, in human lives and the quality of human life. However ... there exists no claim upon which relief can be granted."--Circuit Judge Irene Berger. AP POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/19/97 Tobacco Industry Denies Rumors that Lifted Stocks WSJ (Pay registration)

  • 02/19/97 Gore Meets with Movie Industry Executives Wednesday to Discuss How the Portrayal of Smoking in Films Affects Children. Last sentence in AP item. No other info. AP POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/15/97 BUSINESS: Dimon Takes Challenge Chip Jones on how Intabex purchase lets Dimon rival Universal as world's largest tobacco leaf merchant. Richmond Times Dispatch

  • 02/18/97 NEW YORK: Long Island Anti-smoking Lawmaker Attends Cigar Night Paul Tonna (R-Huntington Station) says his position on smoking in restaurants remains the same. NY Newsday

  • 02/18/97 Starr to Leave Whitewater Probe Tobacco industry lawyer to take position as law school dean at Pepperdine University in summer. Probe will continue. Here's the USA Today item

  • 02/18/97 Dozens of Lawmakers Attend Tobacco Industry Retreat AP LA Times.
    • Here's the same AP story at Washington Post
    • 02/17/97 Pro-tobacco group sponsors posh golf retreat weekend for lawmakers Tobacco Institute sponsored 3-day Scottsdale weekend at The Phoenician under some secrecy. Institute officials refused to say how many people attended, which members of Congress were there or what was on the agenda. "This is a private meeting," said Walker Merryman, vice president of the institute. "Since the furthest thing from our minds is making news, it's not public." Anti-tobacco groups condemned the meeting as a "golf junket" for lawmakers and placed newspaper advertisements around the country urging people to ask their representatives whether they attended. AP FoxNews

  • 02/18/97 Getting the Message Out: An Interview with Joe Califano Parents and movies _can_ communicate what we've learned about drugs. Intellectual Capital. Califano Calls Drugs "Public Enenmy #1" Washington Times

  • 02/18/97 DC: Teens Smoke Out Sellers of Cigarettes to Minors Washington Times

  • 02/18/97 CALIFORNIA: Lockyer's Unpopular Donors Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward) gets lots of tobacco money; helped broker 1987 CA tort law protecting tobacco from liability. The Recorder.

  • 02/18/97 Smithkline Beecham Reports Strong Growth For 1996, Fueled By Success Of New Products, like NicoDerm CQ patch, Nicorette gum. PR Newswire.

  • 02/18/97 Pipe Dreams Pipes as collectibles. Pipes, by contrast, have stayed blessedly unhip. What's more, they retain value:Fortune.

  • 02/21/97 HEALTH: Tobacco Smoke Delays Tooth Growth in Children Academy of General Dentistry, says a recent study shows that exposing a child to tobacco smoke can delay development of the child's permanent teeth by four months on average; hence, the normal age when a child's permanent teeth erupt -- between age 3 and 6 -- could be pushed back. PR Newswire

  • 02/21/97 Clinton Will Join Tobacco Suit Talks Bloomberg. Detroit News

  • 02/21/97 PM Researcher Tells of Destroying Data 20-year Philip Morris analytical chemist Ray Morgan said he was ordered in the 1980s to shred research reports that showed "alarmingly high" concentrations of nitrosamine in a Virginia Slims cigarette, according to Texas AG Dan Morales. PM lawyer says "the data . . . was retained." AG will send 124-page deposition to Justice Dept. Chip Jones, Richmond Times Dispatch

  • 02/21/97 Doctor's Joe Camel Study Lands Him in Court, and Out of a Job Paul Fischer, who in 1991 found 6-year-olds recognized Joe Camel as well as Mickey Mouse--and better than Pepsi--goes on long, odd journey after RJR subpoena for his study notes. Of the creation of a simple card game, the names of children in Fisher's study, Janet Mangini's Joe Camel lawsuit, the Medical College of Georgia--its president Francis J. Tedesco and one of its lawyers Clayton Steadman--Georgia AG Mike Bowers, Georgia's Open Records Act, more. "They keep you from working on your research and harass you so you never do any again," [Fisher] says. "They were successful. I basically stopped my research and left." Suein L. Hwang, Wall St. Journal (pay registration, but you might still grab the POSTnet story in pieces: Here's another piece of the story and here's a third from POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/21/97 WEST VIRGINIA: Judge mulls dismissal of tobacco suit UPI

  • 02/21/97 MASSACHUSETTS: At State House, They'll Smoke if They Want to Boston Globe

  • 02/21/97 HEALTH: Cigars Just Another Smoking Gun Minneapolis Star-Tribune

  • 02/21/97 CALIFORNIA: Senate Pushes Lungren to Sue Tobacco Firms Resolution urges attempt to recover public health-care costs. Attorney general says state law prevents it. 21-11 vote on Bill Lockyer (D-Hayward)-authored nonbinding resolution. 11 nays were all Republicans. LA Times
  • Calif. Senate urges state to sue tobacco companies Reuters

  • 02/21/97 BUSINESS: RJR CEO's earnings rose; Goldstone's salary and bonus for '96 double what he made in '95 Bloomberg. Winston Salem Journal

  • 02/21/97 Will TV Work For Drugs? Clinton's $350 million anti-drug campaign analyzed. Author says, After all, what caused people to stop smoking? After the surgeon general's 1964 report on smoking, there followed in popular culture a general deglamorization of cigarettes. First, the powerful anti-smoking TV ads of the '60s, then the ban on TV advertising for cigarettes. Whereas our parents grew up dying to play Bogart and Bette Davis with a cigarette hanging from the lip, we grew up with documentaries of the Marlboro man dying of lung cancer. Smoking stopped being chic. What followed was one of the greatest public health successes in American history: Washington Post

  • 02/21/97 NEW YORK: Student Who Was Smoking in Bed Îies in Blaze Alice Henley, 18, of Wakefield, R.I.; School of Visual Arts student dies in Grammarcy Park apartment fire. NY Times (free reg.). Here's the AP Story from Phil. Inquirer.

  • 02/21/97 THE FUNNY PAGES: Researchers learned that a tobacco plant under attack from a virus gives off a chemical vapor that warns its neighbors"The discovery makes sense," says Alex Pearlstein. "When you attack the tobacco lobby, it does the same thing." LA Times

  • 02/20/97 HEALTH: Cutting Out Cigs Cuts Risk Of Sudden DeathFor people without heart disease history, risk of sudden coronary death is nearly double in current smokers. CDC review/interviews from a medical database of more than 19,700 sudden deaths. Reuters

  • 02/21/97 Victim's Wife Dies as Killer is Jailed "American gangster" Michael Austin ordered shooting of accountant David Wilson to keep him from exposing insurance scam involving non-existent Mexican cigarette shipment scam. Times of London

  • 02/20/97 CHINA: Parkinson's sufferer Deng had common brain illness 02/19/97 death of former chain-smoking (Pandas, till 1989) paramount leader Deng Xiaoping is ascribed partially to complications from lung infection. Reuters

  • 02/20/97 GOP's Point Man in Donor Probe Knows Big Money Finances: The fund-raising system and a controversial giver have benefited Sen. Thompson (R-TN) as well as Clinton. LA Times
    • 02/20/97 Key Senator Linked to Controversial Donor Actor/Senator Fred Thompson, chairman of the U.S. Senate committee investigating allegations of questionable campaign fund-raising comes under fire himself for hefty donations from Farhad Azima, & tobacco. Reuters.

  • 02/20/97 Tobacco critics question Alaska fund's Philip Morris holdings On one hand, Alaska is fighting a lawsuit by Philip Morris Inc. and other tobacco companies and debating a big increase in cigarette taxes to reduce smoking. On the other, the state's $20 billion oil nest egg, the Alaska Permanent Fund, has made millions investing in Philip Morris stock. AP POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/20/97 A Bad Year for American Tobacco Tobacco outclassed: This may be the American tobacco industry's worst year. What was once seen as an elegant pastime is now on the point of being treated as drug-taking The Economist 02/15/97

  • 02/20/97 Smoker Dies in Shooting; Taxi Driver Held Richard Cromlish, 30, was charged with manslaughter in the death of Russell McDonald, 57. Manchester, NH. Foster's Daily Democrat (Dover, NH).

  • 02/20/97 Nico-Van to Tour 20 cities, Offer Quit-Smoking Advice Nationwide tour sponsored by American Cancer Society, SmithKline Beecham (Nicorette, NicoDerm CQ). PR Newswire

  • 02/20/97 GERMANY: Tobacco Dragged into Furor over Nazi Atrocity Exhibit Munich Christian Social Union leader Peter Gauweiler says Hamburg Institute for Social Research City Hall exhibit, "War of Extermination -- Crimes of the Wehrmacht 1941-1944," defames Germany, and that Jan Philipp Reemtsma, the institute's patron who used to own one of Germany's biggest tobacco firms, would be better advised to stage an exhibtion on people who have died from smoking. Reuters

  • 02/20/97 EUROPE: Tabacalera Denies Marlboro Intervention by European Commission Spanish tobacco company Tabacalera SA said reports in the business daily Cinco Dias that the European Commission has asked it to cut the span of its 10-year agreement with Philip Morris to five years is "absolutely false" and "irresponsible." Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/20/97 HEALTH: Inner City Study Finds Many Reasons for Asthma Asthma rates surging. First, five-year phase of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Disease (NIAID) study of 1500 children 4-11 finds asthma is linked to environmental exposure, including indoor allergens and exposure to cigarette smoke, plus poor access to medical care. Reuters

  • 02/20/97 ARIZONA: House Bill Will Undercut Tucson Licensing Plans Arizona Daily Star

  • 02/20/97 Cigar Manufacturer's Claims of Simularity Deemed False JR Tobacco of America Inc. v. Davidoff of Geneva Inc. and Avo Uvezian Cigars Ltd.. "JR Alternatives" lose. Southern District Judge Loretta Preska ruled 2/13 that "JR has represented that it took aggressive measures to duplicate the original cigars photographed in its brochure with respect to origin, taste, size, shape and wrapper. The record demonstrates, however, that only efforts with respect to the duplication of the size, shape and wrapper color were made." National Law Journal

  • 02/20/97 Indiana Sues Tobacco Companies AP Fox News

  • 02/19/97 CANADA: Government Says it Plans Strict Limits on Tobacco Ads Health Minister Dingwall finally acts; gives sports, arts sponsorships one year to comply. Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/21/97 CAMBODIA: Cambodia PM denies Khmer Rouge holding hostages; statement made at tobacco conference Cambodian co-Premier Prince Norodom Ranariddh on Friday denied reports that 15 of his party officials were being held hostage by Khmer Rouge hardliners. "They are not hostages," he told reporters at a tobacco company's media conference, contradicting Thursday's assertion by co-Premier Hun Sen that the missing team had been abducted by hardliners near their base at Anlong Veng on the Thai border No further info on the odd tobacco company connection available in the story. Reuters

  • 02/21/97 BUSINESS: DIMON to Appoint New Intabex Chief Executive Dimon exec H. Peyton Green, III gets the nod. PR Newswire

  • 02/20/97 Tobacco Rules Unsettle Raleigh Area Stores Raleigh News & Observer

  • 02/19/97 KENTUCKY: 3 KY Lawmakers Attended Tobacco Meeting More on the Scottsdale event at The Phoenician. Lexington Herald-Leader

  • 02/19/97 KENTUCKY: Tobacco Farmers Defend Hiring of Hispanic Migrant Workers Taking jobs from local residents? Lexington Herald-Leader

  • 02/19/97 Plants May Use Chemicals to Help Each Other Reuters

  • 02/19/97 BUSINESS: Caribbean Cigar Company Reports First Profitable Quarter and Record Quarterly Sales PR Newswire

  • 02/18/97 Strength of Patch Affects Nicotine Weaning Patch success rates higher than expected. 522-person Danish study suggests heavy smokers may need to start program with stronger nicotine dosage. Reuters Medical News

  • 02/19/97 MINNESOTA: Justice Dept. Shows Interest in Tobacco Case Minneapolis Star Tribune

  • 02/19/97 FLORIDA: Tobacco Lawyers Planning Frontal Assault on Medicaid Liability Law Orlando Sentinel POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/19/97 Mississippi AG Plays Leading Role on Tobacco Settlement Bloomberg POSTNet ("hot off the wires"--expires quickly)

  • 02/20/97 Nicotine Lozenges Approved in SWEDEN Your Health Daily

  • 02/19/97 Castro Throws a Party for Hollywood Cigar Lovers Times of London