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SAN DIEGO: A veterans legal assistance clinic at Thomas Jefferson School of Law has received a $50,000 grant as the result of the settlement of a class-action lawsuit against U.S. Smokeless Tobacco.
The lawsuit, which was settled for $96 million, alleged that U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, which manufactures Skoal and Copenhagen chewing tobacco, attempted to monopolize the market in violation of state consumer protection laws.
After all known plaintiffs were paid, $40 million was available to be paid to charitable legal organizations.
The clinic provides legal assistance and legal representation to the residents and alumni of Veterans Village of San Diego, a residential program that provides substance abuse, mental health and job training services to formerly homeless veterans. The clinic has been operating for four years and has served about 300 veterans. —A.K.
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Did you know that the tobacco companies are continuing to fool our children into getting hooked on tobacco at an early age? All of the tobacco companies are making tobacco products with cool and tasty favors and with vibrant colors to draw our children attention. Here is a list of a few of the products on the shelves:
* RJ Reynolds, who formerly used cartoon character Joe Camel to market their products, has a new line of flavored Camel cigarettes with names like Twista' Lime, and seasonal flavored cigarettes like Bayou Blast Mardi Gras Berry Blend.
* Kool cigarettes now come in a special version called Smooth Fusion. . . .
Are we going to stand back and let these tobacco companies hurt our children and youth?
The next time you are in a store look around and see all the favors of tobacco. This year the Wakulla County Health Department - Tobacco Prevention program/ SWAT (Students Working Against Tobacco) will be working toward getting these products removed or placed behind the counters at the local stores
Your editorial and its headline did not acknowledge the different actions taken by the nation's leading tobacco companies with regard to regulation of tobacco products by the Food and Drug Administration.
Altria Group, parent company of Philip Morris USA, the nation's largest cigarette manufacturer, and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, the largest smokeless tobacco manufacturer, supported the enactment of legislation granting the F.D.A. such authority for more than eight years.
Further, while we have repeatedly voiced concerns about the constitutionality of certain provisions in the bill, none of our companies are party to the lawsuit filed by other tobacco companies. We are currently monitoring the litigation and seeking ways to work constructively with the F.D.A. in resolving those concerns.
We feel that it is a disservice that you did not mention that two of the largest tobacco operating companies in the United States are not a part of the "Big Tobacco" action about which you wrote. We respectfully ask that any future articles reflect the differences between the positions and actions of companies in our industry.
In the new world of big tobacco, Altria (NYSE: MO) seems to be marching to the beat of its own drummer.
Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI) and Lorillard (NYSE: LO) have joined forces to continue their fight with the government over increased tobacco regulation. Last week, the dynamic duo launched a lawsuit questioning the free speech (i.e., advertising) ramifications of FDA control over the tobacco industry. Kissing cousin Philip Morris International (NYSE: PM) is fighting its own battles with British American Tobacco (NYSE: BTI) for the title of big-time international tobacco player.
Meanwhile, Altria announced plans to expand its product portfolio with Copenhagen-brand wintergreen smokeless tobacco. The new product could drive Copenhagen's share of the segment from 23% to 32%, according to a company spokesperson. In addition, the company is introducing a value-priced L&M menthol cigarette product, and it continues to look for growth opportunities with its Marlboro Snus.
It's been a year since Altria bought snuff-and-wine connoisseur UST, so it's about time for the product development and overall integration synergies to kick into gear with the new Copenhagen product. Interestingly, Altria says that it has no plans to sell off UST's wine business, although the recent problems that wine and spirits makers like Diageo (NYSE: DEO) face probably make it an inopportune time to divest the booze business. Besides, Altria owns 28% of SABMiller (OTC: SBMRY), so the company isn't completely uninformed on the alcohol market. . .
In the end, though, Altria comes out smelling more like a rose than a burned-out cigarette. The company gets to support the new FDA legislation of the tobacco industry and maintain a relatively decent public image. It thus avoids the costs of an expensive lawsuit, while continuing to introduce new products and expand its share in a declining market. With this scenario playing out, and a P/E of 12.2 and annual yield of 7.3%, I'd say that Altria has smoldering growth potential for investors in the short and long terms.
At least 15,000 purchasers of chewing tobacco in Massachusetts could be eligible for a piece of a $10.65 million class action settlement with U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., according to a lawyer for plaintiffs who sued the company.
The plaintiffs’ legal team, which had alleged that UST artificially inflated the cost of chewing tobacco through its large market share, has launched a Web site to explain to consumers how they can access their share of the settlement.
Frequent purchasers of chewing tobacco could be eligible to get up to $700 depending on how many UST products – which include the Copenhagen and Skoal brands – they purchased from Jan. 1, 1990, through May 21. Infrequent purchasers could get $25 to $100.
Robert Bonsignore, one of the lawyers who represented the plaintiffs, said he was initially approached by chewing-tobacco users about filing a lawsuit after Conwood, a competitor of UST’s, had made similar claims against the company.
* UST CEO to leave Altria at the end of June
* Altria says integration cost savings on track
* Altria shares fall 0.7 percent
CHICAGO, June 26 (Reuters) - Smokeless tobacco maker UST's top executive will leave Altria Group Inc (MO.N) at the end of June after working on integrating the business into Altria for the past five months.
Suffolk Superior Court Judge Stephen Neel is expected to approve a $10.65 million Mass. settlement today of a class-action lawsuit filed against the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co. for price fixing.
"This is the largest settlement per consumer in the country in a case involving price fixing for smokeless tobacco," said Robert Bonsignore, the attorney who represented Massachusetts consumers. "It wasn't bad enough that they have more than 80 percent of the market share on a product that is more addictive than heroin, they also fixed the price."
UST Inc., which was bought by Altria Group Inc. in January, said yesterday that it was eliminating 74 jobs at its operations at 124 Bandit Lane in Mooresville.
The company said in a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act filing that it expects the job cuts to begin June 5 at its U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands Inc. subsidiary.
According to a recent Zogby poll, Americans believe media bias is alive and well. Almost 2 out of 3, or 64 percent, say the media lean left. . . .
This perception is really nothing new. My father, Dr. Louis S. Hansen, was vice chairman of the Division of Forensic Pathology, School of Medicine, at the University of California, San Francisco. He was considered a world authority on diseases of the mouth, especially oral cancer. This background often led to him being called as an expert witness in civil litigation.
One of his most famous trials took place in 1986 in Oklahoma City. The case involved a 19-year-old youth named Sean Marsee, who had died from cancer of the tongue. His mother sued the U.S. Tobacco Company, claiming her son's death was a result of using snuff.
My father testified for the tobacco company . . .
The story was followed nationally and picked up by several newspapers. It also found a place on "60 Minutes" and in Readers Digest.
Whether the public got the full story or not depended upon what media outlet was used. The most accurate and complete accounts were found in Southern newspapers. For example, the Dallas Morning News, via an Associated Press story by Judy Gibbs, reported the trial evidence, including testimony by University of Texas professor Dr. John Helfrick, who agreed with Hansen's conclusions. . . .
Were the facts in the Washington Post story accurate? Yes. Did the writer leave out important information as to how the jury reached its conclusion? Yes. Did the story lead the reader to believe the jury may have had erred in its decision -- or that justice had not been served? You be the judge.
Perhaps Mark Twain was correct when he said, "If you don't read the newspaper, you're uninformed. If you read the newspaper, you're misinformed."
On the other hand, a Washington Post story, also picked up by The Sacramento Bee, on June 21, 1986, failed to mention any of the specific facts presented at trial by the two professors. Instead, comments were made such as " ... the tobacco industry has never lost or settled a product-liability lawsuit," and "Two of the four women jurors cried ... "
The nation's top cigarette maker and top moist snuff company are looking for new ways to keep tobacco consumers buying their brands now that they have combined forces in the Richmond area.
"I think we are at a real point of change in our company and in the tobacco industry," said Daniel Butler, president of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., which makes the leading moist snuff brands Skoal and Copenhagen.
Altria Group Inc., the parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA, bought U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co.'s parent UST Inc. in January for $11.7 billion, adding moist snuff and wines to a portfolio of businesses that already included cigarettes and cigars.
U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, formerly based in Stamford, Conn., is now managing its business operations from Altria's corporate headquarters campus in Henrico County.
While U.S. cigarette consumption has been declining about 3 percent to 4 percent a year, sales of smokeless tobacco have grown about 7 percent annually in recent years, prompting Altria and its largest competitor, Winston-Salem, N.C.-based Reynolds American Inc, to acquire smokeless tobacco companies as a way to keep their businesses growing.
Smokeless tobacco company UST Inc. has finished moving its operations from Connecticut to Richmond, where its new parent company, Altria Group Inc., is based.
Altria bought the maker of the Copenhagen and Skoal smokeless tobacco brands in January in a deal valued at $10.4 billion, plus the assumption of $1.3 billion in debt.
Daniel Butler, president of UST's U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company, said Wednesday that about 80 people are relocating from Stamford, Conn. Most have begun working at the Richmond office and the Center for Research and Technology, though others are still winding down operations in Connecticut over the coming months. About 350 people worked at the UST office.
The nation's largest maker of smokeless tobacco products is now operating its business from Altria Group Inc.'s Henrico County headquarters campus.
About 80 employees of U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co., the former UST Inc. which Altria bought in January, are moving to the Richmond area, company president Dan Butler said today.
That includes employees from UST's former headquarters in Stamford, Conn. which is closing this year.
About 50 employees are now working at Altria's headquarters annex on West Broad Street, and 30 more are scheduled to arrive this summer to work in Altria's research and technology center in downtown Richmond.
Altria Group, based in Richmond, Va., has closed on its acquisition of UST, the biggest player in the U.S. smokeless-tobacco market.
The buyout was valued at $10.4 billion, plus the assumption of $1.3 billion in debt. The deal gives UST shareholders $69.50 per share. UST, of Stamford, Conn., will become a subsidiary of Altria.