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Obama to Nominate Sotomayor for Supreme Court  

President Barack Obama on Tuesday will name federal appeals judge Sonia Sotomayor as his choice to replace retiring Justice David Souter on the U.S. Supreme Court, an administration official said.

Obama will make the announcement at 10:15 a.m. EDT at the White House. . . .

On business matters, a legal analysis by Akin Gump's Scotusblog.com said Sotomayor was overturned by the Supreme Court in 2005 for an appeals court ruling that allowed a class-action securities lawsuit against Wall Street firms. But she also authored two opinions that barred the European Community from suing the tobacco industry under U.S. racketeering laws.

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• Other Midwest states say smoking bans don’t hurt business 

Lost jobs in Wisconsin was an argument used against a statewide smoking ban that will go into effect next year. But two other Midwestern states that have smoking bans say they has not significantly affected employment in restaurants and bars.

Before Minnesota and Ohio approved their bans, restaurant and bar owners said they’d lose business if customers weren’t allowed to smoke. But researchers from those states who tracked employment data over three years found job loss was very minimal, not even statistically relevant. . . .

Although there are only predictions of what economic impact a statewide smoking ban will have, there are community examples. In Madison, public health officials noted that there was more liquor licenses sold after the city’s ban was enacted in 2005.

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New state smoking ban law receives mixed reviews 

Just as there were differences of opinion leading up to the vote on Wisconsin's recently passed smoking ban positions on both sides of the issue have changed very little - if any.

The law, signed May 18 by Gov. Jim Doyle and which takes effect July 5, 2010, prohibits smoking in bars, restaurants, hotel rooms and most other work places.

Tobacco control coordinators Heidi Nykolayko of Vilas County and Niki Kostrova of Oneida County agree the law will have a major effect on people's health in the near- and long-term.

Both expressed disappointment that the ban won't go into effect until July 2010, but said anti-smoking supporters gained a big victory because the law will cover all workplaces and will protect all workers.

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Police Nab Alleged Tobacco Smuggler 

CORNER BROOK -- A 34-YEAR-OLD MALE FROM WASAGA BEACH, ONTARIO MADE A BRIEF APPEARANCE AT PROVINCIAL COURT IN CORNER BROOK MONDAY AFTER HE WAS CAUGHT, SUNDAY, ALLEGEDLY SMUGGLING ILLEGAL TOBACCO INTO THIS PROVINCE.

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STORROW: Local elected officials deserve thanks for roles in smoking ban 

Reps. Susan Fisher and Bruce Goforth co-sponsored the bill, and Rep. Jane Whilden was a strong supporter of the bill during this session. Sen. Martin Nesbitt voted for the bill when it arrived in the Senate. This bill will protect North Carolina's workers and patrons from the dangers of secondhand smoke.

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Tobacco Monopoly Sale – Important Part of Bulgarian Budget Revenues 

The sale of state-owned tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac is a vital part of the revenues for the state budget, Bulgaria’s Minister of Economy Petar Dimitrov, said Tuesday.

According to him, even if the sale of the company in the time of crisis may not be the healthiest option for its future, the expected revenue is an important part of the state budget.

When asked if the company will be sold for ‘mere pennies’ the minister replied that ‘it is absurd for us to ask ourselves for 20 years why Bulgartabac hasn’t been sold, and now all of a sudden to declare it one of the most successful companies of Europe’.

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80% support smoke-free sports stadiums  

More than 80% of people attending sporting events last year support the idea of smoke-free stadiums, according to research published today.

The study by the Ulster GAA, the Ulster Cancer Foundation and the Office of Tobacco Control found that 72% of smokers support the idea.

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Bulgaria to sell Bulgartabac Holding after elections 

Bulgaria's tobacco monopoly Bulgartabac Holding will be sold only after the country's general elections scheduled for July 5, stated Todor Nikolov CEO of the country's Privatisation Agency, adding that 'the agency has not yet decided on the sell-off method.'

However, earlier in the month, the Economy Ministry noted that the tobacco factory would be put up for a public tender. Sources said that the Ministry was selecting the criteria under which the candidates would be selected.

However, experts warn that any further delay in the privatization deal would have a negative impact on the company.

Bulgartabac Holding would be privatized as a package, including its two remaining plants in Sofia and Blagoevgrad, as well as a smaller one in Yasen.

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LeVEE/LOVRIEN/TUNICK: California Supreme Court Expands Class Actions Under Unfair Competition Law - Jones Day  

On May 18, 2009, the California Supreme Court in In re Tobacco II Cases (No. S147345), issued a landmark opinion addressing Proposition 64, in the context of fraud and false advertising. The Court's decision should be of interest to all companies that do business with California consumers or face class action claims in the state. The Court's 4-3 decision potentially permits plaintiffs who have not suffered injury to band together with thousands of other uninjured class members to seek monetary restitution and injunctive relief, provided they can find just one plaintiff who actually was injured to serve as the named class plaintiff. The plaintiffs' bar is ecstatic.

The Court's decision is in many ways an unwelcome return to the pre-Proposition 64 days. . . .

Under this reasoning, companies can expect to see plaintiffs' attorneys trolling for a plaintiff with actual injury, in an attempt to construct a large class of absent plaintiffs without regard to whether any of the absent members were injured. If courts permit these types of suits, California will have returned to a world in which plaintiffs can bring a representative action on behalf of thousands of people who might not have suffered any actual injury. . . .

Justice Moreno provided a framework for pleading actual reliance: the plaintiff must allege that the defendant's misrepresentations were an immediate cause, but need not show they were the sole cause or even the decisive cause of plaintiffs' injury. The allegation of reliance is not defeated where there is alternative information available to the consumer "even regarding an issue as prominent as whether cigarette smoking causes cancer." . . .

Regrettably, the Supreme Court's decision likely will reinvigorate the use of Section 17200 as a tool by which plaintiffs attempt to extract money from businesses. There had been a strong trend since the passage of Proposition 64 to reject putative class actions that seemed to involve little "real" injury to consumers. This new opinion will reverse that trend and leave California businesses exposed to more costly litigation.

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Positive Clinical Trial Results Take Center Stage At American Academy Of Neurology Meeting 

More than 11,000 neurologists, investigators and trainees gathered in Seattle in late April for the 2009 annual meeting of the American Academy of Neurology, one of this country's top venues for sharing clinical research progress related to multiple sclerosis and other neurological disorders. This year, there were over 400 platform and poster presentations focusing on progress related to MS. This summary covers just a fraction of the platform talks. To read the researchers' original abstracts, sign up at no charge at the American Academy of Neurology's Website. . . .

MS Risk Factors

- Smoking: Joseph Finkelstein, MD, PhD (Johns Hopkins) and colleagues, in collaboration with the Baltimore VA's MS Center of Excellence, reported on a study using the 2002 National Health Interview Survey of over 30,000 households. A small proportion of those surveyed told interviewers that they had been diagnosed with MS. The cigarette smoking history of these 87 people was compared to that of 435 matched controls who did not have MS. The investigators found that people who had started smoking early (prior to age 17) were 2.7 times more likely to develop MS, versus those who started smoking later or never smoked. It is not clear whether other behavioral factors contributed to the increased risk of MS in this relatively small sample of individuals. This study adds to the growing body of information related to cigarette smoking and its apparent contributions to MS susceptibility and progression.

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More Scottish smokers attempting to quit  

New figures have revealed that more smokers in Scotland are attempting to quit.

The figures, released by the NHS Information Services Division, show that 4.8% of smokers attempted to quit using an NHS smoking cessation service during 2008 - up from 4.2% in 2007.

Key findings of the statistics include the fact that 14% more quit attempts were made in 2008, up from 44,019 to 50,121. They also found that 44% of quit attempts were made using pharmacy-based smoking cessation services and that 38% were still smoke-free a month after quitting.

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California Resists Higher Taxes on Cigarettes (Sacramento)  

Forty-five states have raised tobacco taxes during the past decade, but not California, where cigarette makers have killed 14 consecutive attempts by lawmakers and health groups to make smokers pay more.

The tobacco companies have hired big-gun lobbyists, donated tens of millions of dollars to legislative leaders and key committee members and bankrolled high-priced anti-tax campaigns. The tab for their political operations was at least $84 million over the past decade, dwarfing spending by their opponents in public health organizations and the medical industry.

R.J. Reynolds, Phillip Morris USA and other tobacco companies also have made contributions to charities and other nonprofits that offer a less controversial face of opposition to higher cigarette taxes.

Tobacco clout is expected to be felt in California's capital again this summer, as lawmakers consider a proposal to hike cigarette taxes by $1.50 per pack and raise $1.2 billion annually to help balance the budget and pay for anti-smoking programs. Even with Senate leader Darrell Steinberg crusading for the plan, it faces an uphill battle.

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• Lawmakers consider $1.50-per-pack cigarette tax hike 

For years tobacco companies have successfully fought off attempts by California lawmakers and health groups to increase the cigarette tax. But next month, as the state grapples with the worst financial crisis in recent history, that may change.

Lawmakers will consider a proposal to hike cigarette taxes by $1.50 per pack and raise $1.2 billion annually. During the last decade, cigarette makers have spent tens of millions of dollars to kill 14 straight attempts to make smokers pay more.

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• Feds set to outlaw tobacco flavours, 'kiddie packs' 

The federal government plans to introduce legislation Tuesday that, if passed, would make good on a campaign promise to ban flavoured tobacco products that are considered appealing to children.

The bill, "An Act to Amend the Tobacco Act," also is expected to mandate that mini-cigars, called cigarillos, must be sold in packages of at least 20, and that all tobacco advertising and promotion in print and electronic media that may be viewed and read by young people is prohibited.

More details will be revealed when the bill is introduced in the House of Commons by Health Minister Leona Aglukkaq, but according to the Conservative party platform that was released during the fall 2008 election, the proposed measures will "help to prevent the exploitation of children by the tobacco industry."

Manufacturers of cigarillos, however, say they do not target children and that not enough research has been done by the government to justify the legislation.

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Flavoured cigs under federal attack 

Anti-smoking activists are hoping flavoured cigarillo sales will be snuffed out by federal legislation expected to be unveiled Tuesday.

A national ban on such flavoured tobacco is long overdue given the product's ability to hook teenagers who go on to endure long-lasting addiction to cigarettes, said Dr. Charles Els of Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada.

"It's most welcome ... this is not a provincial problem -- all children in Canada are exposed to this risk," said Els, an Alberta addictions psychiatrist who's been lobbying both the province and feds to crack down on flavoured tobacco.

Of those consuming the candy-tasting cigarillos, 80% are aged 15 to 24 while sales of the products in Alberta have increased 1,000% since 2001, according to government statistics.

"There's no reason to believe it won't continue to skyrocket

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