http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/category/philanthropy.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/metropolitan/5771568.html http://tobacco.org/news/265249.html You could call it the deal that keeps on giving. The five plaintiffs' lawyer firms that helped then-Attorney General Dan Morales score a $17.3 billion settlement for state government against the tobacco industry 10 years ago continue to benefit from their estimated $3.3 billion in legal fees. . . . Republicans, including then-Gov. George W. Bush, fought the fees, fearing that much of the money would end up in Democratic campaigns. And it has . . . But with Democrats fighting to regain a majority of the Texas House during this election or in 2010 -- Republicans now hold a 79-71 edge -- the tobacco money could become important in some legislative races this fall. Much of it will be routed through Texans for Insurance Reform, a trial lawyer committee that has drawn heavy financial support from three members of the anti-tobacco team -- John Eddie Williams of Houston, Walter Umphrey of Beaumont and Harold Nix of Daingerfield. The PAC backed more losers than winners in several primary races (Democratic and Republican) this spring. In Houston, it gave more than $17,000 to Armando Walle, who unseated Rep. Kevin Bailey, a Democrat with ties to Republican Speaker Tom Craddick. But it lost more than $130,000 backing an unsuccessful primary challenger to another Craddick Democrat, Rep. Kino Flores of Palmview. Houston Chronicle clay.robison@chron.com (CLAY ROBISON) Mon, 12 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.medicalnewstoday.com/articles/107231.php http://tobacco.org/news/265235.html Geri Jenkins, RN President of the California Nurses Association, and nurse at UC San Diego Medical Center; called on voters to reject attacks by tobacco, oil, predatory lenders and health insurance companies on Assembly candidate Marty Block. "Voters need to know that the bad guys are trying to fool them," said Geri Jenkins, RN. "The Civil Justice Reform PAC is nothing more than a front for nearly $839,000 in dirty money." The PAC Californians For Balance And Fairness In The Civil Justice System, Sponsored By Civil Justice Association Of California has so far spent over $30,000 opposing candidate Marty Block in the race for the 78th Assembly District. The PAC is funded primarily by the tobacco, oil, health insurance industries as well as predatory lenders like Ameriquest and Countrywide. "This PAC is funded by the same people that claim tobacco and smoking aren't harmful. Medical News TODAY Wed, 14 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.townhall.com/Columnists/BillSteigerwald/2008/05/09/taking_out_the_junk_interview_with_steven_milloy http://tobacco.org/news/265226.html When Al Gore and his global warming alarmists take over, one of the first citizens they'll slap in a prison and charge with crimes against the (green) state will be Steven J. Milloy, founder and publisher of the popular Web site JunkScience.com. For 12 years, JunkScience.com has worked to debunk the bad science that has been used to advance the harmful or merely silly political and social agendas of environmentalists that have led to things such as bans on DDT and incandescent light bulbs. Milloy is a self-described libertarian whose other unforgivable crimes include working for Fox News Channel and associating with think tanks that accept oil and/or tobacco money. He visited Pittsburgh Thursday to appear at an Alcoa stockholders meeting. I talked to him by cell phone as he drove back to his home near Washington, D.C. . . . Q: Why should we believe anything you say, if indeed you are supported by energy and tobacco companies? A: I’ll just turn that around on you: Why should we believe anything the environmentalists say? They have been proven time and time again to be wrong. Their actions have resulted in documentable harm to people. They have political as well as financial interests. Town Hall Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.commoncause.org/site/pp.asp?c=dkLNK1MQIwG&b=1498627 http://tobacco.org/news/265208.html Frontiers of Freedom is a think tank that advocates a free market, deregulatory approach to public policy.[37] It operates six policy groups, including a Center for Economic Liberty and Property Rights which handles telecommunications policy. Frontiers of Freedom does not disclose its financial backers, but the Wall Street Journal reported in 2001 that the organization's main contributors were corporations such as Philip Morris, ExxonMobil and RJ Reynolds Tobacco.[38] At the time, Frontiers of Freedom lobbied heavily against environmental regulations designed to reduce global warming,[39] and also railed against plaintiffs who sued the tobacco companies after contracting lung cancer from smoking.[40] Common Cause Tue, 13 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.edmontonsun.com/News/Alberta/2008/05/07/5493091-sun.html http://tobacco.org/news/264836.html Alberta's Liberal Opposition is criticizing the governing Progressive Conservatives for taking political donations from a tobacco firm. The Liberals point to public documents that show the Alberta PC party received three donations last year worth a total of $5,125 from the National Smokeless Tobacco Co. But PC party spokesman Jim Campbell says he sees nothing wrong with taking such donations, which in this case were tickets to leaders' dinners in Calgary and Edmonton. Canadian Press Canada Wed, 07 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.am770chqr.com/Channels/Reg/NewsLocal/Story.aspx?ID=1006914 http://tobacco.org/news/264812.html Alberta's Liberal Opposition is criticizing the governing Progressive Conservatives for taking political donations from a tobacco firm. The Liberals point to public documents that show the Alberta PC Party received three donations last year worth a total of $5,125 from the National Smokeless Tobacco Co. Party spokesman Jim Campbell says he sees nothing wrong with taking donations from `a legal company selling a legal product.' . . . Liberal health critic Dave Taylor says it simply doesn't look right when a government that's taking steps to reduce smoking is also taking political donations from a tobacco firm. CHQR AM770 Canada Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.prnewswire.com/cgi-bin/stories.pl?ACCT=104&STORY=/www/story/05-06-2008/0004807532&EDATE= http://tobacco.org/news/264778.html Kentucky resident Brian Henry takes the top prize in the Longhorn National "Win a New Bass Boat" Sweepstakes. Henry, who lives in Boaz, Kentucky, is the proud owner of a new Triton TR 21X2 Bass Boat, courtesy of Longhorn Moist Snuff in partnership with BASS. His grand prize, valued at over $60,000, also includes an exclusive fishing trip for two with Professional Angler Jeff Kriet. "Fishing is a passion for many of our consumers," according to Charlie Kivett, Brand Manager for Longhorn Moist Snuff. "Our relationship with BASS, the worldwide authority on bass fishing, allows us to connect with our consumers' lifestyle." Longhorn is continuing its partnership with BASS in 2008 by launching the "Win the Whole Rig" National Consumer Sweepstakes. PR Newswire photodesk@prnewswire.com (SOURCE Longhorn National) Tue, 06 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://calsun.canoe.ca/News/Alberta/2008/05/04/5469696.html http://tobacco.org/news/264750.html Bingo revenue has been slashed by as much as 30% since gambling joints were forced to adhere to the city's smoking ban in the new year, one Calgary community association says. Lil Rose, who is in charge of financial resources at the Acadia Community Association, said attendance for the games they host at the city's bingo halls has dropped significantly since Jan 1. "Of course, the money's down too," said Rose. "I would say it's mostly because of the non-smoking." The cash raised through bingos funds the association's utility and maintenance costs, she said. Calgary Sun tarina.white@sunmedia.ca (TARINA WHITE, SUN MEDIA) Canada Sun, 04 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://latimesblogs.latimes.com/washington/2008/05/tobaccomoney.html http://tobacco.org/news/264720.html Among candidates still standing or running... ... Sen. Hillary Clinton has taken the most -- $46,300 from executives and employees of tobacco companies. Sen. John McCain, himself a cancer survivor, has taken $27,400. Sen. Barack Obama, who famously has tried to quit smoking with off-and-on success, has taken $22,000, according to the Center for Responsive Politics. These remaining candidates have not been particularly kind to the tobacco industry, according to Stanton Glantz, an anti-tobacco advocate, researcher and medical school professor at University of California, San Francisco. Los Angeles Times blogs Mon, 05 May 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www2.journalnow.com/content/2008/apr/27/plastic-industrys-influence-questioned-after-fda-r/ http://tobacco.org/news/264617.html Despite more than 100 published studies by government scientists and university laboratories that have raised health concerns about a chemical compound that is central to the multibillion-dollar plastics industry, the Food and Drug Administration has deemed it safe largely because of two studies, both paid for by an industry trade group. The agency says it has relied on research backed by the American Plastics Council because it had input on its design, monitored its progress and reviewed the raw data. . . . Congressional Democrats have begun investigating any industry influence in regulating BPA. "Tobacco figured this out, and essentially it's the same model," said David Michaels, who was a federal regulator in the Clinton administration. "If you fight the science, you're able to postpone regulation and victim compensation, as well. As in this case, eventually the science becomes overwhelming. But if you can get five or 10 years of avoiding pollution control or production of chemicals, you've greatly increased your product." Mitchell Cheeseman, the deputy director of the FDA's office of food-additive safety, said that the agency is not biased toward industry. Winston-Salem Journal webstaff@journalnow.com (THE WASHINGTON POST) Sun, 27 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.modernghana.com/news/163337/1/BAT-CEPS-Fight-Counterfeiting http://tobacco.org/news/264325.html The British American Tobacco (BAT) company and the Customs, Excise and Preventive Service (CEPS) are engaged in a two-day anti-counterfeiting workshop at the La Palm Royal Hotel. The two organizations signed a Memorandum of Understanding to collaborate in the area of fighting counterfeiting and trading in such products with particular reference to cigarettes. In his overview of the workshop, Don Ayao Dussey, BAT's Corporate & Regulatory Affairs Manager, West and Central Africa, described the event as another milestone in the fight against illicit trade in Ghana. . . . "It is in recognition of the tremendous contribution of CEPS and other security agencies to reducing the illicit trade that we donated 12 jungle motorbikes to help CEPS in their efforts to have better control of our borders and the product flow," he said. BAT, he said, was committed to setting high standards of good corporate citizenship by helping to improve the capacity of their partners in the process of eliminating illicit trading activities. . . . Some 12 countries mostly in Africa and the Middle East accounted for most of the financial losses of BAT in terms of illegal trade in tobacco products. Nigeria with a very big market, he pointed out, accounted for $48 million, followed by South Africa with $44 million. Modern Ghana Africa Ghana Tue, 22 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.dailytimes.bppmw.com/article.asp?ArticleID=9296 http://tobacco.org/news/264321.html An international tobacco firm, Philip Morris, has set aside K400 million (US$3 million) for the construction of 100 school blocks across the country in the next five years, starting this year, to help improve Malawi's education standards. The US based tobacco company, which also buys Malawi's leaf, has already channeled K7 million to Total Land Care, a local NGO which would be executing the project in conjunction with district assemblies and education official among others. Daily Times Malawi Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.jointogether.org/news/headlines/inthenews/2008/smoking-bans-clear-out-bingo-h.html http://tobacco.org/news/264258.html Charity bingo games are being hurt by bans on indoor smoking, with attendance dropping as patrons turn to casinos where they can still light up while playing, the New York Times reported April 24. Charity gambling revenues fell 13 percent after Minnesota adopted a statewide indoor-smoking ban, with the smoking prohibition blamed for half of the decline. Bingo players who once flocked to the American Legion post in Fergus Falls, Minn., now go to casinos or cross the border to North Dakota, where veterans' groups are exempt from the state's smoking ban. Join Together Online editor@jointogether.org Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://old.thejakartapost.com/Archives/ArchivesDet2.asp?FileID=20080426.B09 http://tobacco.org/news/264181.html Indonesian sports associations are trying to wean themselves off sponsorships from tobacco companies, as the government looks to follow the example of other Asian nations who have banned the practice. "I agree that ideally, tobacco companies should not sponsor any sporting events. But we can't ban their sponsorship now because we don't have other potential sources of funds," State Minister of Youth and Sports Affairs Adhyaksa Dault told The Jakarta Post on Thursday. He said current restrictions for tobacco advertising on broadcasting hours and for junior sports events may be extended to a directive ban in the next five years. Jakarta Post Indonesia Sat, 26 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT http://www.bat-science.com/groupms/sites/BAT_7AWFH3.nsf/vwPagesWebLive/DO7AXDYY?opendocument&SKN=1&TMP=1 http://tobacco.org/news/264174.html Our Research and Development facility undertakes a variety of research projects using a broad range of scientific disciplines. We publish results from our research in a variety of external, peer-reviewed scientific / academic publications. Accepted Our most recent papers accepted for publication in peer-reviewed scientific journals are: Title: Risk assessment paradigms with tobacco smoke constituents Authors: Meredith, C., Cunningham, F., Massey, E. D. Journal: Toxicology . . . Title: The characterisation and evaluation of activate carbon in a cigarette filter Authors: Branton, P., Mola, M., Hallum, M. Journal: Adsorption . . . Title: Electron paramagnetic resonance of the free radicals in the gas- and particulate phases of cigarette smoke using spin-trapping Authors: Ghosh, M., Ionita, P., McAughey, J., Cunningham, F. Journal: Arkivoc - Journal of Organic Chemistry . . . Conference contributions: Pyrolysis 2008 Date: 28/04/2008A number of our scientists will be attending the 18th International Symposium on Analytical and Applied Pyrolysis (PYR08) 18-23rd May 2008, Costa Teguise, Lanzarote, Canary Islands, Spain. BAT Science.com Mon, 28 Apr 2008 04:00:00 GMT