Tobacco.org

MACGREGOR: Smoking on campus: a Brit’s perspective 

Since arriving in the states I've noticed several cultural differences with regard to smoking. First and foremost, American cigarette packs do not have the angry black and white warning signs that plague cigarette packs in Europe. American smokers seem to be fully aware of the dangers of smoking and do not need telling that "Smokers die younger," . . .

Other small differences include the lack of ten packs of cigarettes in America and the lack of the lovely slang term Brits use for their cigarettes, "fags," which I am fully aware has a whole other meaning this side of the pond.

Finally, smoking in Britain is almost totally unacceptable among young people. It's not uncommon for it to be the key reason not to date someone and very often you'll find that groups of friends are split into smokers and non-smokers. A lot of this is a direct effect of the smoking ban. Smokers are banished outside while their non smoking friends can stay inside by the bar (assuming that's where they are, which in Swansea - my hometown - is a safe bet). Smokers are regularly taunted for their filthy habit by smug individuals with healthy lungs, especially if it's raining. Of course in Britain it will probably be cold, too, and so smokers are subjected to being taunted by dry, warm, healthy smug individuals while they shiver outside in the cold, struggling to light their cigarette in the wind.

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Scruggs Prosecutor Writes Tell-All Book 

The recently retired lead prosecutor in the case against Mississippi trial lawyer Richard “Dickie” Scruggs has written an insider’s account of the sensational judicial bribery scandal that sent the billionaire tobacco litigator, his son and several associates to prison.

Veteran former prosecutor Tom Dawson teamed up with conservative Mississippi legal blogger Alan Lange to examine the Scruggs case and the conviction of another Mississippi trial lawyer named Paul Minor.

“Kings of Tort: The True Story of Dickie Scruggs, Paul Minor and Two Decades of Political and Legal Manipulation in Mississippi” will be published in December. . . .

In the 1990s, Scruggs teamed up with Missisippi’s Democratic state Attorney General, Michael Moore, to sue major tobacco companies. One of Scrugg’s adversaries in the tobacco wars was his former fraternity brother at Ole Miss, Haley Barbour, then chairman of the Republican National Committee and an ally of the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, a vigorous advocate of tort reform.

Barbour was elected governor of Mississippi in 2003, a position he still holds today. The state legislature passed a Barbour-sponsored law limiting the ability to file tort claims in the state.

Scruggs reportedly earned $1 billion in fees from the tobacco litigation, and his role was memorialized in a movie, The Insider. . . .

Prosecutors in the U.S. Attorney's Office in Oxford continue to investigate Scrugg's former associate, P.L. Blake, a Mississippi Delta farmer who reportedly was paid $50 million for helping Scruggs in the tobacco litigation in the 1990s.

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EDITORIAL: More medical support for smoking ban 

Greenwood's ban on smoking in restaurants and bars is being vindicated by yet another scientific study.

A recent report from the Institute of Medicine found that in locales around the world where smoking bans have been enacted, the number of heart attacks has dropped by 6 percent to 47 percent.

The report underlines what the U.S. surgeon general warned of in 2006: There's really no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

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Aldermen extinguish smoking ban in city 

Alderman Penny Hawks, who owns a non-smoking restaurant, said that some of the businesses in town which allow smoking - such as the Huddle House near the interstate - targeted a "specific clientele" which would not come if smoking were prohibited.

Alderman Lana Nail also said she was in favor of a smoke-free community, but feared the economic impact that the move might have on local restaurants.

Alderman Mike Putt, who manages a non-smoking chain restaurant, said that he also did not want to tell local business owners what to do.

The lone supporter in the group was Alderman Michael Cathey, who also manages a non-smoking chain restaurant.

"It's going to happen sooner or later, but maybe the city isn't ready," he said. "The question is, are we going to be proactive or reactive?"

"It looks like we're going to be reactive," he added.

No board action was taken on the matter, and no citizens appeared at the meeting to express their opinions on the subject.

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Scruggs case goes to Texas judge  

A federal judge in Texas has been assigned to preside over an Alabama attorney's lawsuit that alleges imprisoned attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs and several others conspired to defraud him of millions in legal fees.

On Friday, 5th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals Chief Judge Edith H. Jones ordered William Roberts Wilson Jr.'s case reassigned to U.S. District Judge David Hittner in Houston, Texas. . . .

Wilson claimed Scruggs cheated him out of money and used it to fund a batch of landmark anti-tobacco lawsuits of the 1990s

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Cigarette tax hikes have smokers fuming  

Frank Williams owns Smokey's Discount Tobacco Store in Gulfport. Ever since the new tobacco taxes went into effect six months ago, his customers are letting him know how they feel.

"The customers aren't very happy about it, of course. That's money that can be better well spent in their own home," Williams said. "They have to support state budgets and federal budgets."

John Ruble smokes, but the high cost of lighting up is starting to impact his wallet.

"It makes me think when I light a cigarette how much I'm paying per cigarette," Ruble said. "It breaks it down by almost the cigarette itself."

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Firms fighting cig tax  

A Mississippi cigarette distribution company and a Kentucky manufacturer want to nix a state law that taxes their cigarettes sold out of state.

In a complaint filed in Hinds County Chancery Court against the State Tax Commission, The Corr-Williams Co. and Commonwealth Brands Inc. said the 1 1/4-cent-per-cigarette fee on smokes sold out of state violates the U.S. Constitution by unfairly taxing interstate commerce.

The companies are not challenging taxes collected on cigarettes sold in state.

The tax in question - which equates to about 20 cents a pack - went into affect in July and applies to manufacturers not included in the state's 1997 tobacco settlement.

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• Miss. tobacco tax called unconstitutional 

A Mississippi company that sells tobacco products wants the state to stop collecting taxes on cigarettes sold at retail outlets outside the state.

In a lawsuit filed Friday in Hinds County Chancery Court, the Corr-Williams Co. said a 2009 amendment to the state's tobacco tax policy that applies a $.0125-fee to cigarettes that pass through warehouses in the state violates the U.S. Constitution by applying an unfair burden on cigarettes sold through interstate commerce.

The lawsuit does not challenge the portion of the law that applies taxes to products sold in Mississippi.

Based in Pearl, the Corr-Williams company has warehouses in Columbia and Natchez.

Commonwealth Brands Inc., a Bowling Green, Ky.-based cigarette manufacturer that distributes its tobacco products through Mississippi, joined Corr-Williams in the lawsuit.

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Hollandale looks at smoking ban  

The town of Hollandale may become the latest city to become smoke-free.

A draft of a smoking ban ordinance was presented to the Board of Aldermen Tuesday night.

Several Hollandale businesses have already made the decision to not to allow smoking in their establishments.

"We are concerned about the health of our citizens, and we want to promote good health," said Mayor Melvin Willis, about the reason for the considering the ordinance.

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Tobacco policy starting Thursday  

Starting Thursday, city employees in Ocean Springs will have to go tobacco-free while they're on the clock, under a rule enacted to save on insurance costs.

Ocean Springs was facing a 3 percent increase on its health insurance policy without such a rule, according to Mindy McDowell, human resources manager. That would have amounted to $30,000 per year.

Public buildings in the city are already smoke-free, but the new rule extends that provision to include all forms tobacco and will be in effect wherever an employee is working, inside or out.

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Smoking ban for Miss. employees 

Smoking on the job will soon be out of line for Ocean Springs city employees.

"We're adopting a tobacco free workplace," said Mayor, Connie Moran.

Employees also can't smoke at any city building or inside any city vehicle.

Firefighter, Brian Dawkins doesn't smoke, but many of his co-workers do. "Some of them are upset because we work on a 24 hour basis," he said. "For somebody that's used to having a tobacco habit, to not have it for a 24 hour period, it's kind of a big step to take all at once."

But Mayor Moran says there is an upside. She says the smoking ban will keep the city's rising health care premiums down by about 6 percent.

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Tobacco partners suing Scruggs 

Two of disgraced plaintiffs attorney Richard "Dickie" Scruggs' former business partners are suing him, claiming part of the money owed to them from a tobacco settlement was used to further one of Scruggs' judicial bribery schemes.

Lee Young and Charles Mikhail filed their suit in Mississippi federal court Sept. 9 seeking compensation for what they feel is being withheld unfairly from their quarterly payments. Scruggs agreed to pay the two 5 percent of his firm's net gain from a national tobacco settlement in 1999.

Scruggs has pleaded guilty to two judicial bribery schemes, receiving 7 1/2 years in prison. He reduced Young's and Mikhail's payments as he fought lawsuits from former asbestos litigation partners William Roberts Wilson and Alwyn Luckey, who made a claim on Scruggs' tobacco earnings, the suit says.

"On information and belief, Plaintiffs were forced, through a deduction from their Jan. 2007 quarterly payments, to contribute money which, unbeknownst to them, was not represented to be by Defendants (a legitimate tobacco-related expense) but as payments made to further illicit a criminal scheme to unethically and illegally influence a judge," the suit says.

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SCRUGGS TOBACCO FEES EXHIBITS (PDF) 

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Miss. cigarette tax hike raises $36.8M  

Revenue from Mississippi's recent cigarette tax increase is meeting expectations for the most part, even as smokers cut back and the state loses business from its neighbors seeking cheaper smokes.

Mississippi has collected $36.8 million from the 50-cent cigarette tax increase that went into effect in May, according to data from the state Tax Commission. The state collected $4.7 million less than expected from raising taxes on stamped cigarettes waiting to be sold when the tax hike took effect.

But tax collections on cigarette stamps in July, the first month of the current fiscal year, totaled $9.2 million - fairly close to expectations. The tax hike from 18 to 68 cents per pack is expected to generate nearly $113 million this fiscal year.

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Ocean Springs parks now smoke-free 

OCEAN SPRINGS -- City parks and athletic fields in Ocean Springs are now smoke-free zones after aldermen unanimously passed a new ordinance banning the use of all tobacco products within park boundaries.

The Ocean Springs Parks and Leisure Services Department will begin posting the "Tobacco Free" signs in about 30 days. The move to make the parks smoke free was spearheaded by 17-year-old Hallie Darphin, a member of the Mayor's Youth Council.

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