Tobacco.org

• Carter Albrecht's family suing Pfizer over stop-smoking drug  

A federal lawsuit has been filed in Dallas on behalf of local musician Carter Albrecht against Pfizer, the maker of the stop-smoking drug Chantix.

Albrecht was shot and killed September 3, 2007 while banging on his neighbor's door. Albrecht had been drinking.

Albrecht's girlfriend, Ryann Rathbone, said he had become increasingly erratic after he started taking Chantix to quit smoking. She said vivid, often frightening dreams were an immediate side effect.

After using the prescription medication for a week, Rathbone said Albrecht began hallucinating, lashing out at her physically and verbally.

A News 8 investigation revealed thousands of similar reports of potentially dangerous psychiatric side effects. Pfizer later added a black box label, warning of serious neuropsychiatric side effects.

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• Blu Cigs President Won't Confirm Product in Sex Tape 

In response to a surge of inquiries, blu Cigs president Jason Healy said he will not confirm the speculation by Gawker.com that the mystery cigarette in the Eric Dane/Rebecca Gayheart sex tape which emitted a blue ember but didn't burn was in fact, the company's signature electronic cigarette.

"Our client records are confidential. We respect the privacy of all our clients, not only high profile ones."

Blu Cigs are known for the distinctive blue light that glows when the cigarette is drawn on. They have become popular with smokers in the film, television and music industries as they can be used in indoor no (tobacco) smoking environments such as sound stages and recording studios as there is no ash and the vapor emitted won't bother non-smokers and will not harm sensitive equipment.

Healy adds, "With current and stricter new restrictions coming on the use of traditional cigarettes, blu Cigs provide smokers with a better alternative cigarette experience without the bothersome secondhand smoke."

In response to whether an electronic cigarette such as blu is safe for use in a bathtub, Healy said, "While we would not recommend use in an environment like that, there's no problem if it were dropped in the water. It would have to be dried out sufficiently before using again."

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LETTER: Refuse tobacco money 

I had a great time at Dfest; I'm thankful for any event that brings business to Tulsa. However, I was disappointed a tobacco company was allowed to distribute free cigarettes, coupons, and other tobacco products. I went through the tobacco trailer myself; it was obvious they were marketing to their next generation of replacement tobacco users before the FDA stops the distribution of samples. Although you were required to be 18, plenty of samples were distributed to share with friends after leaving the trailer -- all of this at an event sponsored by State Farm, a company that provides health insurance.

Edward B. Rust, Jr., the State Farm CEO, says on the company's Web site, "Not only do we do what is legal, but we also do what is right." OK, Mr. Rust, I know advertisement of a deadly product to a young crowd is still legal, but is it right?

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• Industry gimmick to entice youth to smoking  

Questions have been raised whether the Tobacco industry has resorted to distributing free cigarettes in order to promote the habit of smoking among youth.

The Chairman of the National Authority on Tobacco & Alcohol (NATA) Prof. Carlo Fonseka in a letter to Daily News refers to an incident which took place in front of a restaurant in Colombo as an example, which was personally witnessed by NATA officials, and describes it as a fragrant violations of the NATA Act.

According to Prof. Fonseka around 8.00 pm on July 28, NATA officials after being alerted had visited and witnessed the free distribution of cigarettes by a group of about 10, including young women in front of a restaurant in Fife road, Colombo 5.

The activity had been carried out to the accompaniment of loud music calculated to draw maximum attention. . . .

Thus Prof. Fonseka points out that this incident was a clear violation of the Act No.27 of 2006 and that relevant officials should take prompt action to bring the violators to book and take steps to prevent a recurrence of such incidents in the future.

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Group brings anti-smoking message to Vans Warped Tour  

Without the signature in-your-face tactics of its TV commercials, the anti-smoking Truth campaign teamed up with the Vans Warped Tour at the Verizon Wireless Virginia Beach Amphitheater on Wednesday.

Instead, campaign members used games such as Truth Says, a variation on Simon Says, to try to educate teens on the dangers of smoking.

It worked. Of the many booths nearby, the Truth truck attracted the largest number of people, and at some points, garnered more attention than some of the bands.

According to the American Legacy Foundation, 22 percent of Virginia youths between ages 12 and 17 smoke cigarettes.

"We don't try to shove our message down people's throats," said Kimberly Broderick, 25, a crew member from Los Angeles.

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McKenna claims win in tobacco advertising case 

Washington's Division One Court of Appeals ruled Tuesday that a cartoon image included in the Nov. 2007 ad campaign by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in Rolling Stone magazine was in violation of the 1998 Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement.

In doing so, the court overturned a June 2008 verdict in favor of the company, which ruled that the content didn't depict traditional cartoons and that the images were more thought-provoking than humorous. Tuesday's decision awarded the State attorneys fees and costs and remanded the case for damages.

Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna called the ruling a reminder of how committed the states are to enforcing the public health provisions of the MSA and prohibiting the illegal marketing of tobacco products.

"This lawsuit demonstrates, even 10 years later, states have not forgotten legacy of the Master Settlement Agreement," said the Republican AG, who recently served three years as co-chair of the National Association of Attorneys General Tobacco Committee.

"This is the kind of advertising that brought about the Master Settlement Agreement in the first place and this is one of the on-going legal commitments tobacco companies made to the states. We are holding them accountable."

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• Camel violated ban on using cartoons to sell cigarettes, judge rules 

The four-page Camel cigarette ad in Rolling Stone magazine two years ago was a surrealistic journey to a place called "Camel Farm," where a woman with a retro hairdo sprouted from a green field; where a gramophone, a disembodied hand and a trippy tractor drifted through the air.

It was meant to connect Camels with alternative music, and the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company argued it was far from Joe Camel, the Disneyesque spokescharacter of yesteryear that got it in so much trouble.

But a state Appeals Court ruled Monday that the company nonetheless violated a ban on using cartoons to sell smokes. Now a King County Superior Court judge may have to decide what sanctions the company will face for its ad.

"The Camel Farm imagery depends entirely upon the suspension of the laws of nature," Appeals Court Judge Anne Ellington wrote in the ruling. . . .

However, the court also ruled against the state's contention that a Rolling Stone feature that ran alongside the ad, and also included cartoons, was not R.J. Reynolds' fault.

Assistant Attorney General Rene Tomisser said he was gratified by the ruling because it affirms the state's contention that "it doesn't have to be a cartoon directed at kids ... Any cartoon fits the bill," he said.

Still, it's unclear what, if any, penalty Downing could impose on R.J. Reynolds now.

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Under a blue sky in a pastoral Eden, roosters hitch rides on floating tractors, speakers grow out of the ground and radios fly. This is in a world where the natural laws do not obtain, where cancer and serious health problems can cease to exist. For a product known to cause both, such a world is a potent sales device.
Appeals Court Judge Anne Ellington, on RJR's "Camel Farm" ad in Rolling Stone.

• State Of Washington, App. V. R.j. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Res.  

The chief question here is whether a Reynolds advertisement in the November 15, 2007 edition of Rolling Stone violated this prohibition. A secondary question is whether Reynolds had a duty to ensure the adjacent content within the magazine did not violate the cartoon prohibition.

The trial court ruled the Reynolds advertisement did not violate the cartoon ban and that Reynolds did not cause Rolling Stone's use of cartoons in the editorial content enfolded by the advertisement. The court also ruled that because the Rolling Stone cartoon material was unforeseeable, Reynolds had no duty to prohibit its use.

The State appeals. We affirm the ruling that Reynolds is not liable for the Rolling Stone content. But we hold that Reynolds' advertisement violated the settlement agreement. We therefore reverse.

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• Wash. court: Cartoon cigarette ads broke agreement 

For the second time in two months, a court said Monday that an advertisement RJ Reynolds placed in Rolling Stone magazine broke the tobacco industry's 1998 settlement with the states by using cartoons, and the company will have to pay damages.

The Washington state Court of Appeals overturned a lower court's finding that content Reynolds produced for the 2007 Rolling Stone advertisement did not include cartoons.

Though the photographic images weren't Disney-style illustrations, the appeals court said they were cartoonishly arranged in a bucolic collage. The theme of the "Camel Farm" ad campaign was that Reynolds was helping to support - grow - independent music.

At least eight states - Maine, Ohio, California, Illinois, Maryland, Pennsylvania, Connecticut and Washington - sued the Winston-Salem, N.C.-based company after the fold-out advertisement appeared in one of Rolling Stone's special 40th anniversary issues. . . .

The Maine and Ohio judges sided with the company and California came back with a split decision. In May, a Pennsylvania judge became the first to hold Reynolds liable, ordering the company to pay $302,000 or run a full-page anti-smoking ad in Rolling Stone. Reynolds vowed to appeal.

Washington's court said Monday that Reynolds couldn't be held liable for content produced by Rolling Stone without the company's knowledge, but that the company's own content fell within the settlement's cartoon prohibition, aimed at restricting the tobacco industry's ability to market to young people.

The decision overturned a ruling by King County Superior Court Judge William Downing

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Madge's 'no smoking zone'  

FITNESS fanatic Madonna has banned smoking roadies from coming within 50ft of her - to the confusion of cigarette mad Russians.

The obsessed star has told workers on the Russia leg of her world tour that they'll be sacked if she even sees them with fag.

And she has sent promoters a list of high handed demands for her August 2 concert in St Petersburg this summer, reports Russian daily newspaper Tvoi Den.

Her fag ban has baffled Russian promoters.

One crew member said: "Everyone here smokes. If she gets rid of everyone with a cigarette in their hand she'd better learn how to put the stage up herself."

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Smoke-free bars can be found in New Orleans  

Bars that share air space with restaurants, such as the one in Felipe's on South Miro Street in New Orleans, are smoke-free.

Earlier this month, the legislature decided not to clear the haze from Louisiana's bars. By a vote of 29 to 71, the representatives defeated House Bill 844, which would have banned smoking in bars and casinos.

There are local bars that already banish butts. At spots ranging from Rock 'n' Bowl (3000 S. Carrollton Ave.) to the cocktail bar Cure (4905 Freret St.), smokers must step outside to light up.

Robert LeBlanc, the CEO of Lifestyle Revolution Group, doesn't allow smoking at any of the bars he runs. Loa (221 Camp St.) at the International House and Le Phare (523 Gravier St.) at Loft 523 are both located inside smoke-free hotels. At the Republic (828 S. Peters St.), a club and music venue, LeBlanc opted for a non-smoking policy because of health concerns.

"Some of the employees are asthmatics and they were having pretty severe reactions," he said. "The second consideration was for the bands. A lot of bands appreciate it."

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Tales of the Coffin Nail: 27 Smoking Songs That'll leave you Breathless  

Like I said, I've never been a smoker, and I get sick of sucking down secondhand in the rock clubs I spend so much time in. Still, there's something transfixing for me about the smoke itself: elusive, continuously shifting shape, slipping through your fingers if you grasp at it. It begs contemplation, introspection. What cued that infamous flashback in Casablanca? The smoke from Bogey's cigarette. . . .

Like I said, I've never been a smoker, but that doesn't mean I can't enjoy these hand-rolled, all-natural, additive-free ditties: mostly tortured tales of unimaginable heartbreak--or even more dangerous, true love--that are probably killing me just as slowly and surely as your "pack-a-night-but-only-when-I'm-drinking- besides-it's-cool-since-I-only-bum- and-everybody-knows-they-only-count-if-you-pay-for-'em" habit. . . .

1. "Highways and Cigarettes" - Son Volt

"Still out there with the coffee stains / Puttin' miles on shoes / Can't escape the smell of cigarettes / Still livin' out these American midnight blues" . . .

27. "Cigareets, Whuskey, and Wild Wild Women" - Red Ingle and the Natural Seven

Cigarettes, whiskey and wild wild women

They'll drive you crazy, they'll drive you insane

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• Record deals offered for soccer songs  

Since rising band The Nunung Cs successfully popularized a soccer-themed song titled "S'pakbola" (soccer) and ended up with a record deal, possibilities have opened up for other over-18s to follow in the same direction.

Earlier this month, the six-crew pop-dangdut band officially signed a contract with cigarette producer PT Djarum Super which had discovered their original song, "Gila Bola Gila Musik" (crazy for soccer, crazy for music), on Facebook.

"S'pakbola" has now become the official song of the Indonesian Super League, Indonesia's top-tier soccer championship.

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Days Like Those - Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Annex Recalls Lennon in New York  

And look at this, here and here," Ms. Ono added, pointing to a series of cigarette burns on the edges of the flat top and the wood at each side of the keyboard. "He was a chain smoker, and he would leave a cigarette on the edge of the piano when he was writing."

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Baaba Maal’s new album and his causes 

late into the Kensington townhouse headquarters of Palm Pictures, his long-time record label, quibbling with Suzette Newman, Palm’s London chief, over whether Africans or Jamaicans are more unpunctual, is very different. He is wearing a safari suit in minute checks and toying with an iPhone. For the first time in nearly a decade he is releasing a new album, Television. . . .

The title track expresses Maal’s unease about the spread of television throughout Africa. But he also sees benefits, not least for his own campaigns. He made a programme for Senegalese TV, lobbying against smoking. “In small villages, kids who finish work in the fields or fishing don’t have much to do. The traditions have all gone, but nothing modern has come to replace them yet. They’re stuck in the middle, and all they have to do is smoke. I just said, ‘I’m not doing it any more.’ And my fans copy me, and find that it’s very good for them.”

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