Tobacco News

A startling revelation seems to have hit the smoking front. Recently, the UCLA analysts have disclosed that companies were apparently aware that cigarette smoke comprised radioactive alpha particles for almost more than 4 decades and its cancerous attributes but chose to keep mum.

An extensive analysis of the documents from the tobacco industry since 1998 showed that the industry knew the presence of radioactive materials in cigarettes 5 years earlier than initially assumed. Also, investigations to gauge its lung cancer risk had begun right from the 1960s.
Ream more »

Of late, smokers are being exposed to a variety of methods to help quit their habit, one of them being electronic cigarettes. Now, a study conducted by experts from the Cancer Research U.K has disclosed that the nicotine substitute cytisine which is commercially sold as Tabex could raise the chances of a person giving up the habit of smoking by 3 folds for a minimum of 1 year.
Ream more »

The threatened litigation by the tobacco industry against proposed plain packaging laws is part of a larger strategy of seeking to frustrate the regulation of tobacco advertising and branding, according to a leading intellectual property expert.

Speaking at last night’s Senate Legal and Constitutional Committee, Dr Matthew Rimmer, an Associate Professor from the ANU College of Law, said that the proposed new laws would fulfil the Australian Government’s obligations under the World Health Organization Framework Convention on Tobacco Control.
Ream more »

It has taken a little longer than it did for many of the state’s colleges and universities, but OU’s Norman campus will soon be tobacco free. The Health Science Center in Oklahoma City and Tulsa campuses are already tobacco free.

It follows the policies first advanced on Norman public school campuses years ago. Norman Regional Hospital followed. Oklahoma State University is tobacco free, as is Rose State College. Ream more »

Tobacco stocks have proven, as wells as most consumer staples, to be less immune to difficult economic environments. I am assuming the U.S. economy is still in a recession. In my opinion, tobacco stocks provide the appropriate risk and reward balance for dividend investors. Consumer staples, such as tobacco and food, continue to sell worldwide despite economic difficulties.
Ream more »

A federal judge has upheld a $28 million judgment against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in the case of a Connecticut smoker who developed larynx cancer, one of the first jury awards against a cigarette maker in New England.

U.S. District Judge Stefan Underhill has denied the company’s motion for a new trial in the case of 51-year-old Barbara Izzarelli of Norwich. Ms. Izzarelli developed cancer at age 36 after having smoked Salem Kings cigarettes for 25 years. She survived, but doctors had to remove her larynx. Ream more »

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company is ramping up marketing for dissolvable tobacco products in Colorado and North Carolina test markets, meanwhile the FDA is still reviewing whether and how it can control the new substances.

In a February 2010 letter to the president of R.J. Reynolds, the FDA requested detailed information regarding research conducted that relates to the “risk of accidental nicotine toxicity through the use of dissolvable tobacco products, Ream more »

The lawsuit that cigarette makers are filing against the U.S. government probably won’t hold up in court, but it will mean delaying the day cigarette packs carry pictures conveying the dangers of smoking. According to the Associated Press, the estimated year-long delay the lawsuit will cause could end up saving the tobacco industry millions of dollars in lost sales and increased packaging costs.

Four of the five largest U.S. tobacco companies joined together to sue the federal government Tuesday, saying the new requirement violates their free speech. Ream more »

THE two MPs for Northampton have been given free tickets to some of Britain’s poshest social events, by one of the world’s largest tobacco firms.

Both the Conservative MP for Northampton North, Michael Ellis, and his colleague for Northampton South, Brian Binley, were given tickets worth £1,132 to this year’s Chelsea Flower Show by Japan Tobacco International – which sells brands such as Benson & Hedges and Camel cigarettes.

Mr Binley also received two tickets worth £1,132 to the Glyndebourne opera festival from the firm.
Ream more »

Tobacco use remains the No. 1 preventable cause of disease and death in the United States, resulting in more than 430,000 deaths a year from personal use and more than 50,000 deaths annually from secondhand smoke exposure. Additionally, in recent years, the surgeon general determined there is no safe level of exposure. We now know that young children not only are at risk from secondhand smoke exposure, but also thirdhand smoke exposure from the numerous toxic particles, emitted from a cigarette or cigar, that fall and accumulate on common surfaces such as clothes, furniture and carpet. Ream more »