Tobacco.org

• Merseyside | Smoking actors 'to be rated 18' 

Films featuring characters who smoke could soon be handed an automatic 18 rating while showing in Liverpool.

Liverpool Primary Care Trust (PCT) wants young people banned from exposure to smoking actors because of research suggesting they influence children.

An estimated 5,300 under-18s smoke in Liverpool, half of whom were influenced by films, the PCT claimed.

If the policy is approved, the council could enforce 18 classifications under the Licensing Act 2003.

The city council has stressed a decision is yet to be made, and people in the city have been urged to engage in a consultation, which starts in August.

Jump to full article »

• Croat cafe owners want smoking ban to be optional 

Croatia's cafe and restaurant owners launched a petition on Wednesday to modify a law banning smoking in public, saying it is crippling businesses already weakened by recession.

The government enforced the law on May 6, much to the displeasure of Croatia's one million smokers.

They make up a third of the 4.4 million population in this European Union candidate country, where cigarettes had been taken for granted for years.

The guild of cafe and restaurant owners organised the signing of a petition in all major towns. It will ask the government to allow smaller premises to choose if they want to cater for smokers or non-smokers.

Jump to full article »

• FDA wrinkles its nose at electric cigs  

Moss, who lives in Durham and once smoked three packs a day, wasn't bothered by the lack of studies on the e-cigarette.

"It's unproven," he said, "but I have no fear because I'm not smoking cigarettes."

E-cigarettes are available online as well as in a number of gas stations and at least one mall in the Triangle.

Earlier this year the U.S. Food and Drug Administration began cracking down on the import of the devices, stopping shipments at the border. Most e-cigarettes are manufactured in China.

"Basically, we don't have any data on these products," said Karen Riley, an FDA spokeswoman. . . .

Jed Rose, director of the Duke Center for Nicotine and Smoking Cessation Research, said his lab has done some testing of e-cigarettes that focused on the way they deliver nicotine. E-cigarettes don't deliver all the cancer-causing agents that tobacco cigarettes do, but it's not clear exactly what they put in the user's body.

When asked whether e-cigarettes were safer than tobacco-filled ones, Rose said the required studies have yet to be done: "That's a tough question to answer without safety data." . . .

Moss said he used to spend more than $600 a month for cigarettes for himself and his wife. The e-cigarette habit costs only about $150. And because the vapor has almost no smell, he has smoked his e-cigarette in a movie theater as well as on an airplane.

If e-cigarettes are declared illegal, he said, "we'll go underground like anything else."

Jump to full article »

• ANA Mounts Suit to Block Tobacco Legislation  

Nearly a half-dozen entities, including the Association of National Advertisers, are aiming to block legislation passed last week to give the Food and Drug Administration regulatory control over the packaging, manufacturing and marketing of tobacco products.

In a lawsuit that's also expected to include tobacco companies and the American Civil Liberties Union, the groups will argue that marketing and advertising restrictions laid out in the bill fail to comply with free-speech protections provided by the First Amendment. . . .

The ACLU sent a letter to all senators prior to last week's vote, which read: "In the absence of a much more substantial narrowing of the advertising restrictions in a manner directly tied to the goal of reducing youth smoking, we urge the removal of the advertising restrictions set forth in Section 102 of the bill."

The ANA sent a similar letter. Dan Jaffe, exec VP-government relations at ANA, said he expects one of the tobacco companies to take the lead. "It is likely that some of the tobacco companies will challenge some of the legalities of these restrictions and the ANA will have to decide how to go forward. But we will play a role," Mr. Jaffe said. "This creates a substantial precedent that will affect other marketing categories." . . .

From a political perspective, it makes sense for the ANA to take somewhat of a backseat, as its interest isn't in protecting tobacco but preventing a such a precedent from spilling over to other less-polarizing advertisers. . . .

"The advertising provisions were carefully crafted to address a very substantial need -- the marketing of the most dangerous product sold in the U.S.," Mr. Myers told Ad Age. "If there is any commercial speech that it is constitutional to restrict, it is the type of tobacco marketing covered by this legislation, in light of the significant record of the way the tobacco industry has marketed in a misleading way and to youths. The reality is, this bill has been debated intensely in the last two Congresses, and no objections were raised until Congress voted on final passage."

Jump to full article »

• Cigarette Ban Being Implemented in Va. State Prisons 

Virginia corrections officials have quietly begun banning cigarettes in some state prisons and plan to make the entire system tobacco-free by February 2010. The health measure follows a national trend but has left public-safety advocates worried that inmate control could become more difficult.

The policy represents the latest in a series of anti-smoking steps taken in a state where tobacco has dominated the economy and politics for generations. A ban on smoking in restaurants goes into effect Dec. 1, and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D) began the process in late 2006 of banning smoking in most state office buildings.

"We've all seen the writing on the wall, all around the country and over the past several years," said Larry Traylor, a spokesman for the Virginia Department of Corrections. He said prisoners and employees of Virginia's 32,600-inmate system were notified this year that tobacco would be banned completely after a one-year implementation period.

Already, eight of 40 prisons are either smoke-free or allow employees to smoke only in designated areas away from inmates . . .

Virginia follows the federal prison system, as well as states including California, Texas, Michigan and Colorado, in instituting smoking bans in prisons over the past few years. Maryland has banned tobacco products at all 24 state prisons, inside and out, since 2001.

As in other states, the effort in Virginia has raised concerns about maintaining safety in state prisons.

Jump to full article »

• GASPING FOR BREATH: After battling lung disease for six years, Corrie's Liz Dawn terrible legacy of her life-long smoking habit  

When Vera Duckworth, one of Coronation Street's most loved characters, passed away 18 months ago, there was barely a dry eye among the soap's 12.5million viewers.

But for actress Liz Dawn, who played Vera for an astonishing 34 years, it was a significant personal moment - not only because it was the end of the role, but also because she'd been building up to it since being diagnosed six years earlier with the lung disease, emphysema.

The condition leaves sufferers struggling for breath.

'My last years in the Street were increasingly stressful,' Liz says, talking about living with emphysema for the first time. . . .

Concern that others avoid the same problem is why she has agreed to be the celebrity ambassador for the British Lung Foundation (BLF) and is heading the organisation's Love Your Lungs campaign, launched this week.

Its aim is to encourage people with symptoms such as a persistent cough, breathlessness or wheezy chest to ask their doctor for a lung test. . . .

Jump to full article »

• 10 characters who know smoking is cool  

For too long, political correctness has choked expression much like smoking might choke someone’s lungs. Back in the good old days, it was common for prominent pillars of society to be seen smoking: baseball players, gangsters, Popeye. Now it’s incredibly frowned upon, because “smoking may slowly kill you,” if you believe “proven medical facts.” But there are a proud few in gaming who celebrate their freedom to poison themselves, even if it means a T-rating and a lower life expectancy. Plus they offer helpful hints on the lesser known positives of tobacco. . . .

• ‘Smokers are now treated like lepers’  

David Goerlitz was a star of cigarette ads until he turned against Big Tobacco. Now, however, he thinks the anti-smokers have gone too far. . . .

The 'Winston man' had one particular tale to tell that quickly went global. On the set of a photo shoot, Goerlitz, then a heavy smoker, discovered that none of the tobacco executives present was a smoker. He asked one of them why that was and was told: 'We reserve that right for the poor, the young, the black and the stupid.' (See the YouTube clip below.)

On television, Goerlitz's later straight-talking criticisms of the tobacco industry helped turn public opinion against it. In court, his revelations helped seal a $246billion settlement between the industry and the US government - a deal that explicitly 'prohibits direct or indirect targeting of youth in advertising'.

When that settlement was signed in 1998, it was supposed to represent a fresh start in the campaign against smoking. Instead, says Goerlitz, it led to the anti-smoking movement becoming 'criminal and corrupt'. Out of loyalty to the anti-smoking cause, he has held his tongue for 10 years in the hope that the movement could reform itself. No more. Now, he tells me, he feels 'kind of like the guy who built the atom bomb and then regretted it later. I helped create this monster.' . . .

Goerlitz believes smokers and non-smokers can get along just fine with a little give-and-take and common sense. 'There's none of that in the tobacco control movement, and there hasn't been for the last 10 or 12 years that I'm aware of. In every other [tobacco control] programme, smokers are offended, they're harassed, they're treated like lepers and second-class citizens and child abusers.'

Incredibly, since he has not smoked for over 20 years, Goerlitz has recently felt the prejudice against smokers first-hand. Every December for seven years, he toured schools in the eastern US state of Maryland. In the eighth year, he was not invited. The reason? The state of Maryland no longer uses 'former addicts' in their tobacco programmes. . . .

What about the right to smoke in a bar? 'Absolutely they should have the right to smoke in a bar! . . .

To this end, Goerlitz plans to set up his own tobacco control programme for kids on YouTube. He will continue to tour schools, but is cutting the cord with the mainstream tobacco control movement.

Finally, I ask a question that would have seemed absurd 20 years ago. Who is more honest, the tobacco companies or the anti-smoking movement? 'There's not much of a difference, but I would say the tobacco companies.'

Jump to full article »

• FDA law could affect punitive and equitable tobacco claims 

A bill that will give the Food and Drug Administration the authority to regulate tobacco products could make it harder for plaintiffs to obtain punitive and equitable remedies in tobacco cases.

The measure is expected to be signed by President Barack Obama soon.

“I’m sure companies will try to wrap themselves with the cloak … of being regulated by the FDA, and given that fact, punitive damages might be minimized,” said Edward Sweda, senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

The law, which was passed by Congress last week, will allow the FDA to regulate - but not ban - cigarettes. . . .

“The impact of the bill will be relatively subtle and quite modest on a whole,” Sweda said.

Adam Trop, an attorney at the Hollywood, Fla.-based firm Paige, Trop & Ameen, said the bill’s express non-preemptive language, coupled with a recent Supreme Court ruling upholding plaintiffs’ right to file state law claims over tobacco companies’ deceptive marketing of “light” or “low tar” cigarettes, protect civil claims.

“I don’t have any concerns that regulation of the tobacco industry will have a negative impact on consumers’ right to file a lawsuit for their injuries or for the loss of a loved one,” Trop said.

Jump to full article »

• Canadian Tobacco Bill Comes Under Fire From US Congress  

A move by the Canadian parliament to keep flavored cigarettes away from children is coming under fire from members of the U.S. Congress amid charges it essentially bans certain tobacco exports to Canada and violates trade laws.

A bill pending in Canada's House of Commons seeks to ban companies from selling tobacco products with cherry, milk and chocolate flavorings amid concerns the ingredients are added to lure children and teens to smoke.

U.S. Senators and Representatives as well as business lobbies say the bill would essentially ban the export of burley tobacco, grown in states such as Kentucky and Tennessee. Burley tobacco contains flavoring ingredients that mask tobacco's harsh taste. The tobacco industry says the flavoring in burley tobacco isn't detectable by smokers and is different from the candy-flavored cigarettes that carry names such as "Twista Lime" and "Chocolate Mocha."

A delegation of Senators and Representatives from Kentucky wrote to Secretary of State Hillary Clinton asking her to help stop the bill, which they see as an "unfair assault" on U.S. tobacco growers, according to a letter the group sent Monday to Clinton.

"This is a delicate situation that merits your attention," the letter says. "The stakes involved for American tobacco growers could not be higher." . . .

Melisa Leclerc, a spokeswoman for Stockwell Day, Canada's Minister of International Trade, said Day is aware of the concerns expressed by U.S. congress members. She said the bill responds to an "important public health objective" of the Canadian government over concerns with tobacco products.

Jump to full article »

• Blowing Smoke: A lawsuit over tobacco patents goes to the jury  

There are dozens of lawyers attached to the court case Star Scientific v.. R.J. Reynolds tobacco company, and it is possible that all of them are packed into courtroom 5C at the Baltimore federal courthouse on Monday, June 15. . . .

The attraction of the day is a patent-infringement lawsuit brought by Star, a small, Virginia-based tobacco company, against Reynolds, one of the giants of the industry.

"It's not the patent law that makes the case interesting, though," says Lawrence Sung, the director of the University of Maryland Law School's Intellectual Property Law Program. "It's the technology."

Star claims that Reynolds has infringed on a process developed by Star inventor Jonnie Williams, which reduces the amounts of harmful nitrosamines in cured tobacco. Reynolds denies this, and further alleges that Star's patents should never have been granted in the first place. The Wall Street Journal has reported that the U.S. Patent Office is re-examining Star's patents, but a request by Reynolds to stay the trial until that examination was complete was denied. . . .

"I don't even want to think about the number of witnesses," Garbis tells the jury. "There were enough witnesses. . . . I'm sure somewhere in this case, they've agreed on something. I have a hard time remembering what it is."

Jump to full article »

• UPDATE:British American Tobacco Buys 85% Of Bentoel For $494M  

JAKARTA (Dow Jones)--British American Tobacco Plc. (BATS.LN) said Wednesday that it has acquired a majority stake in Indonesia's fourth largest cigarette maker by volume, PT Bentoel International Investama (RMBA.JK), in a deal which could be eventually worth $580 million.

The U.K. company said that it has bought 85% of Bentoel from the Indonesian Rajawali Group and other shareholders for $494 million.

Separately, Rajawali confirmed that it sold its entire 56.96% stake in Bentoel.

Jump to full article »

• Star Scientific loses Reynolds US patent dispute  

A U.S. jury in Maryland ruled on Tuesday against tobacco company Star Scientific Inc in its lawsuit with Reynolds American Inc over a patent dispute on reducing cancer-causing elements in tobacco.

Shares of Star Scientific plummeted more than 80 percent in after-hours trading while shares for Reynolds gained 2.39 percent.

Star Scientific sued RJ Reynolds, a subsidiary of Reynolds American, in 2001, alleging patent infringement over a technology invented by Star Chief Executive Jonnie Williams. The technology comes from work he began in 1996 on a tobacco curing process that would inhibit "microbial nitrate reductase activity," which can lead to cancer-causing nitrosamines in tobacco.

In June 2007, a Maryland district judge ruled that Star's patents were unenforceable because of the way in which the company applied for the patent.

Jump to full article »

• Tobacco-Free Coverage for Australian Honoree  

Should someone who worked for one the world's biggest tobacco companies be celebrated as a national role model?

Ms Quentin Bryce, the Australian Governor-General who acts as the representative of the Queen of England, apparently thinks so. To coincide with the Queen's Birthday long weekend in early June, Bryce announced that Carla Zampatti had been made a Companion in the General Division of the Order of Australia for "service through leadership and management roles in the fashion and retail property sectors, to multicultural broadcasting, and to women as a role model and mentor." Two others were also made companions, the most prestigious honorary titles bestowed on individuals.The awards, announced twice a year, are extensively publicised in the mainstream media.

Zampatti is best known as an Italian immigrant who created a name for herself as a fashion designer, building a successful boutique retail chain on her clothing designs. It's an appealing "underdog makes good" story.

But the information used to support Zampatti's honor clearly indicated that she had been a director of British American Tobacco Australasia (BATA), a wholly-owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco, for nearly three years. On its website, BATA boasts that it manufactures a total of over 18 billion cigarettes a year in plants in Australia, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Fiji, the Solomon Islands and Western Samoa for domestic consumption and for export to other countries in the Pacific region.

So did Zampatti's service for one of the world's most notorious tobacco companies count at all against her? And why did none of the media reports on her award even mention that she had been a director of a tobacco company?

Jump to full article »

• Second-hand smoke victims can fight back 

Annoyed by inhaling second-hand tobacco smoke? You have the right to tell the smoker to stop smoking or carry his habit elsewhere, antitobacco advocates Monday said.

Some eight million residents of Metro Manila who are exposed to second-hand smoke weekly have expressed their frustration as reflected in a joint survey done by the government and by an international non-government organization committed to empowering governments in preventing and managing lung ailments, resulting from smoking.

However, out of the 8.7 million people living in Manila who admitted they are upset when they inhale second hand smoke weekly, only eight percent have the courage to stand up and make known their frustrations.

This was shown in a comprehensive survey, "Second-hand smoking in Metro Manila," commissioned by the Department of Health (DoH) Center for Health Development-Metro Manila (CHD-MM) and World Lung Foundation and funded by the Bloomberg initiative, a foreign funding agency aiming to reduce tobacco consumption in low and middle income countries.

Jump to full article »