http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/FL.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.tampabay.com/news/humaninterest/smokers-light-up-on-gulfport-beach-to-protest-local-smoking-ban/1214407 http://tobacco.org/news/333636.html A small group of cigar aficionados met recently on Gulfport Beach and lit up their favorite smokes. Enjoying cigars was not the point. They were trying to get cited. Under a recently passed Gulfport ordinance, smoking on Gulfport Beach is banned. They were there to test the right of local government to enact smoking bans in public places, citing a state law they say takes precedence. Because of legal technicalities, no one was ticketed that day, Jan. 14. . . . The controversy stems from the mid 1980s, when Florida became the first state to eliminate local control of smoking regulation. It happened with the passage of the Florida Indoor Clean Air Act, which contained a clause saying state laws superseded local laws. Since then, other states have passed pre-emption statutes and some have subsequently dropped them. But the Florida law remains intact and is one of the broadest. It survived a 2003 constitutional amendment that made all enclosed workplaces smoke free. St. Petersburg Times Wed, 08 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.abcactionnews.com/dpp/news/health/study-children-most-vulnerable-to-second-hand-smoke http://tobacco.org/news/333381.html A new study by the Centers for Disease Control may be the incentive smokers need. The report reminds people of the harms of second-hand smoke, and says children can be the most vulnerable. Because of the confined and small space, cars can be even more dangerous.  Kim Harbaugh, a proud grandmother and former teacher hopes people will listen to the warnings. "It would be so sad to see little kids get out of car where a parent was smoking and you could see the smoke come out of the car.  All day long the kids smelled like smoke.  It was just sad," said Harbaugh. "I think it's abuse if you smoke in the car with children present," said Dr. Joseph Diaco. Strong words, but Dr. Diaco, former Chief of Surgery and Staff at St. Joeseph's Hospital as well as the Tampa Bay Buccaneers former chief physician for 33 years, says the medical research backs up his belief. WFTS ABC Action News sfazan@wfts.com (Sarina Fazan) Tue, 07 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://keysnews.com/node/37614 http://tobacco.org/news/333208.html Key West will not consider a smoking ban in city parks with a heavy fine for violators, as the City Commission's agenda showed Wednesday. Proposed new rules for the parks will, however, include a request that visitors not smoke tobacco products, in an effort to protect the health of others and the island's aquatic environment. Key West Citizen jdesantis@keysnews.com (JOHN DeSANTIS Citizen Staff) Fri, 03 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.tbnweekly.com/pubs/belleair_bee/content_articles/121411_bee-02.txt http://tobacco.org/news/333175.html INDIAN ROCKS BEACH - What began as a workshop discussion to try to find ways to limit or ban smoking in public parks and on the beach, ended up with a likely crackdown on people who improperly dispose of their cigarette butts. If a proposed ordinance is passed by the Indian Rocks Beach City Commission in January, smokers could face a $500 fine if they litter the beach with their cigarette butts. Commissioner Terry Hamilton-Wollin met with a number of citizens who favor a smoke-free environment in the parks and beaches in Indian Rocks Beach and she came away convinced that something had to be done. So in a special hour-long workshop Dec. 13, the commission heard a presentation from health professionals and an anti-smoking group as to the hazards of secondhand smoke in public places. Tampa Bay Newspapers webmaster@tbnweekly.com (BRIAN GOFF) Wed, 14 Dec 2011 05:00:00 GMT http://www.courtroomview.com/proceedings/larkin-v-rj-reynolds-tobacco-trial-2011-06-06 http://tobacco.org/news/333123.html Session links become active around 15 minutes before scheduled start time - more... Session Start Time Duration Larkin v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco 2/2/12 PM (PHASE 2) 01:00 PM EST Larkin v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco 2/01/12 (VERDICT) 05:00 PM EST Courtroom View Network support@courtroomview.com Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://info.courtroomview.com/Blog/bid/74481/Opening-Statements-Begin-In-Larkin-v-RJ-Reynolds http://tobacco.org/news/333122.html In Dade County Courthouse's first Engle progeny trial of the year, jurors heard opening statements in the Larkin v. RJ Reynolds trial in front of Judge Valerie Manno-Schurr. By the end of the first day, a theme developed in the courtroom around the nature of choices, made both by individuals who smoke cigarettes, and the companies that manufacture them. Born in 1944, Carole Larkin was a daily smoker by the age of nineteen . . . At the close of his opening statement, Gerson asked jurors to consider "the choices that this ordinary housewife made over her lifetime compared to the choices that this large corporation that conspired with other companies to conceal the truth made just so they could make more money". "Any smoker can quit. Three thousand quit every day" claimed defense attorney Anthony Upshaw, of McDermott Will & Emery. In addition, Upshaw contends Larkin was not a member of the Engle class since she quit in 1988, prior to the class's 1990 beginning and that she was not addicted to nicotine. In one of the more memorable lines regarding nicotine addiction, Upshaw declared "each time she decided to quit smoking she was successful". Larkin stopped smoking once for a year, resumed, then ultimately quit for good in 1988. Picking up on the theme of personal responsibility and choice introduced by plaintiff's counsel, Upshaw asked jurors: "Mrs. Larkin accepts some responsibility for her smoking, but only some, right? Nobody but Carole Larkin could have made the choice, not ten percent, not twenty percent. A hundred percent, only she could have made that choice". Courtroom View Network Thu, 02 Feb 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wlf.org/upload/PhilipMorrisvCampbell-WLFAmicus.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/333058.html The Campbell and Martin cases, which involve an even more extreme departure from traditional judicial procedures than did Scott, provide the Court with a more focused opportunity to consider the extent to which the Due Process Clause limits the authority of States to significantly alter those procedures in the name of increased judicial efficiency. Given the increasing frequency with which state courts have been willing to jettison traditional procedural rules in the name of litigation efficiency in the class action context, review of the decisions below is particularly warranted. Washington Legal Foundation Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wlf.org/upload/litigation/pressrelease/011812RS.pdf http://tobacco.org/news/333057.html The Washington Legal Foundation (WLF) yesterday urged the U.S. Supreme Court to review (and ultimately overturn) a Florida state court decision that prevents the nation’s major cigarette manufacturers from defending themselves against charges that they acted wrongfully in marketing their products. WLF charged that the Florida court are conducting product liability lawsuits in a manner that violates the federal constitutional due process rights of defendants. In a brief filed in support of two petitions for review filed with the Supreme Court – Philip Morris USA Inc. v. Campbell and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. v. Martin – WLF argued that the U.S. Constitution requires state courts to apply their procedural rules in a consistent manner. If those rules would permit other defendants to defend themselves fully against tort claims, then Florida must afford those same procedural protections to tobacco companies, WLF argued. Washington Legal Foundation Wed, 18 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wlf.org/litigating/case_detail.asp?id=685 http://tobacco.org/news/333056.html Case Date: 1/17/2012 Project Name: Civil Justice Reform On January 17, 2012, WLF filed a brief in the U.S. Supreme Court, urging it to review a Florida state court decision that prevents the nation's major cigarette manufacturers from defending themselves against charges that they acted wrongfully in marketing their products. WLF charged that the Florida court are conducting product liability lawsuits in a manner that violates the federal constitutional due process rights of defendants. Washington Legal Foundation info@wlf.org Tue, 17 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.benzinga.com/pressreleases/12/01/w2300888/plaintiffs-win-again-in-engle-progeny-tobacco-cases http://tobacco.org/news/333020.html On January 26, 2012, an Escambia County jury awarded Erskin Donal Ward $2.7 million against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Liggett Group, LLC Philip Morris USA, Inc., in case number 2008-CA-2135, filed in the First Judicial Circuit, in Escambia County, Florida. The lawsuit filed in the case alleged that Erskin Ward's wife, Mattie Emma Ward, died of emphysema after nearly 50 years of smoking cigarettes made by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and Liggett Group, LLC Philip Morris USA, Inc. Erskin Ward's attorney, James Gustafson said that the jury verdict included $1.7 million in punitive damages against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company. . . . "The jury's work and patience in this trial showed," Gustafson said. "The verdict is not only a tribute to a woman who was a treasure to Pensacola and the special education community, but to the hard work the jury did to understand how much things have changed in the past 50 years--and the need to punish R.J. Reynolds for its intentional outrages, what they did to a generation of Americans, including hawking cigarettes to children.' "Mrs. Ward is another tragic example of the best among us, someone who started smoking as a child decades before the warnings, and was killed by addiction to nicotine," said Gustafson. Sources at the Searcy Denney law firm said that this verdict marks eight successive plaintiff's verdicts in Engle progeny tobacco suits Benzinga.com Mon, 30 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.sun-sentinel.com/business/mh-cleared-cigarette-smuggling-20120131,0,5751224.story http://tobacco.org/news/333011.html Arturo Marrero, a Broward real estate developer, was acquitted by a federal judge Monday of conspiring to smuggle cigarettes from Miami to Europe without paying millions of dollars in customs duties. Marrero, who had two jury trials in Miami federal court, called his experience a "legal nightmare." One day after his uncommon victory, Marrero said he believes the U.S. attorney's office and Immigration and Customs Enforcement tried to railroad him. "How the government assumed that I was a co-conspirator is beyond me," Marrero, 48, of Davie, said in a statement. "The sad part is that they will go on with their lives as if nothing happened, and my life has been turned upside down because the U.S. government made a mistake." Sun-Sentinel Tue, 31 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www2.highlandstoday.com/news/opinion/2012/jan/29/2/lainsido1-cigarette-anyone-think-twice-ar-352493/ http://tobacco.org/news/332893.html For the last three weeks my whole world has been the inside of a courtroom, the Circuit Court of Highlands County. I was impaneled on a jury for a wrongful death case . . . . As recently as 1999, tobacco company CEOs stood before the U.S. Congress and swore under oath that they did not believe cigarettes cause lung cancer, nor that they are addicting. But their own company documents, subpoenaed by Congress, proved the opposite. As a jury, we deliberated a long time about fault and about damages. To reach an agreement, we all had to make some concessions. . . . When it was all over, I was relieved. Yet when I got home that final day, I sat down and cried for four hours straight. At first I thought it was just the release of stress, but now I'm not so sure. I know I cried for the lady who died, and for her children and grandchildren who miss her. She could easily have lived 15 to 20 years longer than she did. I also cried for all the mothers and dads around the world who still smoke and want to quit but find themselves addicted, lifetime victims of an industry that doesn't care. I also cried for my own brother who has smoked all his life and now suffers from severe heart disease, COPD, and recurring pneumonia. It simply did not have to be this way. Finally, I cried for the tobacco company executives and scientists, and their lawyers, who continue to make a lucrative living off the pain, suffering, and death of their fellow Americans. There is no justification for such callous, mercenary selfishness. Shame on them all. Tampa Bay Online Sun, 29 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://highlandstoday.com/ar/352223/ http://tobacco.org/news/332798.html On Tuesday evening, a Highlands County jury returned a $2 million verdict for the Hallgren family in a lawsuit against Phillip Morris and R.J. Reynolds tobacco companies. The trial continued Wednesday and Thursday, said Clerk of Courts Bob Germaine, with the jury awarding $750,000 in punitive damages. . . . "The main focus is on Florida," said Edward Sweda Jr., senior attorney with the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University Law School in Boston. Juries have found for the plaintiffs in two-thirds of the cases. "There is a large focus on the smoker's conduct," Sweda said. "Either they didn't listen to or follow the advice of their doctors. If the juries primarily focus on that, a defense verdict results.". . . The Sebring jury found that Claire Hallgren was addicted to cigarettes, which was the legal cause of her lung cancer and death. Both Phillips Morris and R.J. Reynolds were negligent, and the jury found that cigarettes were defective and unreasonably dangerous. The defendants concealed or omitted material information about the health effects or addictive nature of smoking, the jury found. Tampa Bay Online gpinnell@highlandstoday.com ( GARY PINNELL * Highlands Today ) Sat, 28 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/01/27/2612092/butt-out.html http://tobacco.org/news/332784.html Miami-Dade County is asking politely: Please don’t smoke in the park. After all, the air is fresh, kids are running and jumping — and panting from all the exercise — and, most important, secondhand smoke can be a killer. . . . According to the American Heart Association, being subjected to secondhand smoke for as few as 20 minutes increases one’s risk of developing coronary disease. Hang around smokers every day, and the risk can increase by up to 30 percent. In addition, the 2010 Surgeon General’s report found that there is no safe level of secondhand smoke, which sends more than 70 chemicals that can cause cancer wafting into a nonsmoker’s lungs. Why impose that on anyone, especially children? Throw in, too, poor modeling — given what’s known, smoking’s not the best behavior to which to expose kids, now is it? All this should be more than enough incentive to curb the craving for a while. If anyone should ask you to extinguish the smoke, just do it. It’s the right thing. Miami Herald HeraldEd@MiamiHerald.com (The Miami Herald Editorial) Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT http://info.courtroomview.com/Blog/bid/74315/RJ-Reynolds-And-Phillip-Morris-To-Pay-2-5-Million-In-Damages http://tobacco.org/news/332783.html SEBRING, FL - The first major tobacco lawsuit of 2012 ended yesterday with RJ Reynolds (NYSE: RAI) and Philip Morris (NYSE: PM) being ordered to pay a combined $2.5 million in damages to a deceased smoker's surviving husband. Following nearly three-weeks of trial testimony a Highlands County jury found the two tobacco companies responsible for the smoking-related lung cancer of Theo Hallgren's late wife, Claire Hallgren. After determining Claire Hallgren was 50% responsible for her addiction and awarding $2 million to Theo Hallgren in compensatory damages, the jury went on to order RJ Reynolds and Philip Morris to pay $750,000 each in punitive damages. . . . During closing arguments attorney T. Hardee Bass, of the firm Searcy Denny, told jurors in light of the tobacco company's current billion-dollar profits, they needed to send a strong message with a large verdict. "That's what this morning is about, punishment," said Bass. "Punishment for the harm they caused to Claire Hallgren." Representing Philip Morris, attorney William Geraghty of Shook Hardy Bacon told the jury the company had made massive, systemic changes since the 1950's, when tobacco products were marketed more aggressively. FDA regulation and Philip Morris' own practices meant they had already taken enough corrective action. Dal Burton of Womble Carlyle, representing RJ Reynolds, said his client had also eliminated practices from the "1930's and 40's that are today an anathema." Courtroom View Network Fri, 27 Jan 2012 05:00:00 GMT