http://www.tobacco.org/newsfeed/state/MS.rss Latest top tobacco news headlines en-us http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3778 http://tobacco.org/news/292832.html With the Columbus City Council poised to vote tonight on a proposed smoking ordinance, Ward 5 Councilman Kabir Karriem said he plans to ask the council to hold off, and instead call a public hearing on the matter. The council meets at 5 p.m. in City Hall. The ordinance, proposed by Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box, bans smoking in "all enclosed public places," including restaurants. Columbus Commercial Dispatch support@cdispatch.com ( Kristin Mamrack) Tue, 17 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wcbi.com/article.php?subaction=showfull&id=1258348757&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2,5,45& http://tobacco.org/news/292744.html Columbus could become the next city in the state to ban smoking if the city council approves a proposal on their Tuesday night agenda. A Tennessee law is the basis for the proposed ordinance which would ban smoking in public places. Bars and restaurants could allow smoking if they ban customers younger than the age of 21 WCBI jbarnes@wcbi.com Sun, 15 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3733 http://tobacco.org/news/292610.html The Columbus City Council Tuesday is scheduled to consider a city-wide smoking ordinance which includes options for non-smokers and smokers. The proposed ordinance, which largely is modeled after a Tennessee state law, bans smoking in "all enclosed public places," including restaurants. But it allows smoking in "age-restricted venues," or bars, restaurants and other establishments, which only allow people age 21 or over to enter, and "private clubs," which restrict access to the general public. "I just think it's the right thing to do," Ward 3 Councilman Charlie Box said of the ordinance, which he proposed. "Secondhand smoke is one of the most dangerous things in the world. There's just study, after study, after study on that. . . . Proposed ordinance AN ORDINANCE OF THE CITY OF COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI, ENACTING AN ORDINANCE BANNING AND/OR RESTRICTING SMOKING KNOWN AS THE COLUMBUS, MISSISSIPPI NON-SMOKER PROTECTION ACT WHEREAS, scientific studies have found that tobacco smoke is a major contributor to indoor air pollution; and WHEREAS, such scientific studies, including st Columbus Commercial Dispatch support@cdispatch.com (Kristin Mamrack ) Fri, 13 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.nytimes.com/2009/11/13/business/13lawyer.html http://tobacco.org/news/292592.html A settlement has been reached in a fraud lawsuit filed against Richard Scruggs, the anti-tobacco lawyer, a lawyer says. William Roberts Wilson Jr. first sued Mr. Scruggs in 1994, saying he cheated him out of millions of dollars in fees from lawsuits that they worked on together. Mr. Wilson claimed Mr. Scruggs used the money to finance landmark anti-tobacco litigation in the '90s. AP Thu, 12 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://yallpolitics.com/index.php/yp/post/19548/ http://tobacco.org/news/292493.html The amazing story behind tort magnate Dickie Scruggs’s judicial bribery scandal is presented by Pediment Publishing. Kings of Tort is the authoritative work on documenting this nationally known story and the relatively unknown 25 year history behind it. The book will be made available in retail outlets throughout the country on December 2nd. More Information including advance ordering of the book is available at http://www.kingsoftort.com. Kings of Tort chronicles the sordid tale of judicial bribery and political intrigue in Mississippi, birthplace of the tobacco litigation and long known as one of the most tort-friendly jurisdictions in the nation. It features the story of Dickie Scruggs, who was largely credited with bringing down Big Tobacco in the early 1990s. From his ascent to a net worth of nearly a billion dollars to his seemingly unfathomable downfall stemming from his role in attempting to corrupt two local judges by improperly influencing the outcome of cases, the book documents how those in Scruggs’s own trusted circle of tort barons turned on him and cooperated with federal authorities. It also shows the political influence he wielded with judges, attorneys general, and even his own brother-in-law, former US Senator Trent Lott. . . . The book also chronicles the legal bribery story of Scruggs confidante and tobacco lawsuit partner Paul Minor, son of Mississippi political columnist Bill Minor. He was convicted, along with the two judges he improperly influenced, and is currently serving an 11 year prison sentence. Y'all Politics Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wcbi.com/article.php?subaction=showfull&id=1257908281&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2,5,6,40,45& http://tobacco.org/news/292441.html Officials say the City Council could decide as early as its meeting Tuesday to adopt an ordinance based on a Tennessee state law that bans smoking in all public buildings except for those that exclude customers who are under 21. The age provision is targeted at businesses that are almost strictly bars or taverns and seldom have underage customers anyway. Bars and restaurants could allow smoking in open air patios and decks or in areas that have open ventilation where smoke doesn't go inside the main building. Chili's in Columbus has a patio that could meet the requirement. WCBI steverogers@wcbi.com Wed, 11 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://nems360.com/pages/full_story/push?article-Heart attacks dip after smoking ban in Starkville%20&id=4400389-Heart attacks dip after smoking ban in Starkville http://tobacco.org/news/292431.html In the three years after the ban was enacted in 2006, Starkville had 27 percent fewer heart attacks than in the three years preceding the ban, based on the results of a Mississippi State University Social Science Research Study released Monday. “We are excited about the finding,” said researcher Robert McMillan, who with Dr. Robert Collins, director of MSU Health Services, conducted the study. Researchers analyzed the number of heart attacks diagnosed at Oktibbeha County Hospital in Starkville, McMillen said. The data also included people who were transferred to other hospitals for a higher level of care, McMillen said. Researchers are working with hospitals to gather data from Tupelo and Hattiesburg, which enacted their own indoor smoking bans after Starkville. Tupelo’s ban took effect in October 2006. Northeast Mississippi Daily Journal michaela.morris@djournal.com (Michaela Gibson Morris/NEMS Daily Journal) Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.cdispatch.com/news/article.asp?aid=3685 http://tobacco.org/news/292405.html A Mississippi State University study released Monday shows a 27 percent decrease in heart attacks among Starkville residents since the city passed its no-smoking ordinance in 2006. The study by Robert McMillen and Dr. Robert Collins focused on Starkville residents in the three years since the city's Board of Aldermen passed the indoor smoking ban compared to the three prior years. Oktibbeha County Hospital and North Mississippi Medical Center in Tupelo treated a combined 51 Starkville residents for heart attacks in the three years before the smoking ban was enacted, but only 37 in the three years since, the study revealed. Researchers see a correlation between the no-smoking policy and the decrease in heart attacks. Columbus Commercial Dispatch support@cdispatch.com (Tim Pratt ) Tue, 10 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.wcbi.com/article.php?subaction=showfull&id=1257795518&archive=&start_from=&ucat=2,5,6,40,45& http://tobacco.org/news/292367.html A Mississippi State study released Monday [Nov. 9] shows a 27 percent decrease in heart attacks among Starkville residents since the city passed a smoking ban in 2006. Researchers associated with the university report also are recommending a statewide public ban on smoking. The study by Robert McMillen and Dr. Robert Collins shows fewer heart attacks being treated at the Oktibbeha County Hospital. It focused on Starkville residents in the three-year span after the ban became law, compared to three years prior. McMillen is an assistant professor in the psychology department and researcher at MSU's nationally recognized Social Science Research Center; Collins is director of University Health Services. Their findings are part of a larger SSRC evaluation of Mississippi communities that passed smoking bans in recent years. McMillen said the data shows Starkville benefitting medically from the smoking ban. WCBI steverogers@wcbi.com Mon, 09 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.studentprintz.com/smoking-on-campus-a-brit-s-perspective-1.858381 http://tobacco.org/news/292097.html 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. The Student Printz editor@studentprintz.com (Adele Macgregor ) UK Tue, 03 Nov 2009 05:00:00 GMT http://www.mainjustice.com/2009/11/01/scruggs-prosecutor-writes-tell-all-book/ http://tobacco.org/news/291980.html 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. Main Justice Sun, 01 Nov 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://gwcommonwealth.com/articles/2009/10/27/opinion/editorials/10272009edit02.txt http://tobacco.org/news/291763.html 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. Greenwood Commonwealth Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.thedemocrat.com/site/News.cfm?BRD=1867&dept_id=124334&newsid=20382308&PAG=461&rfi=9 http://tobacco.org/news/291679.html 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. Tate County Democrat mturner@thedemocrat.com (Melissa Turner, News Editor) Tue, 27 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.wztv.com/template/inews_wire/wires.regional.al/2fd273c1-www.fox17.com.shtml http://tobacco.org/news/291635.html 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 AP Mon, 26 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT http://www.wlox.com/Global/story.asp?S=11327580 http://tobacco.org/news/291274.html 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." WLOX-TV dwalker@wlox.com (Doug Walker) Fri, 16 Oct 2009 04:00:00 GMT