Tobacco News

A federal judge blocked a U.S. rule requiring tobacco companies to display graphic images on packs of cigarettes on Monday, saying cigarette companies were likely to win their argument that the law violates free speech rights, Reuters reported.
U.S. District Judge Richard Leon sided with tobacco companies in their fight against the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s requirement that cigarette packs carry the images, which include pictures of diseased mouths and a person smoking through a tracheostomy tube in the neck. Ream more »

The reply to a recent RTI filed by NGO Voices of Tobacco Victims (VoTV) has brought to fore the large share of investments made by the Life Insurance Corporation of India (LIC) in tobacco companies such as Indian Tobacco Company (ITC), VST Industries and Dharampal Satyapal Ltd (DS Ltd).

As per the reply, LIC held 99,58,91,658 equity shares in ITC as of March 31, 2011, which has almost doubled from 51,11,04,115 shares in March 2009. The current book value of these shares is around Rs 3,500 crore.
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The tobacco crop is of great economic significance for Pakistan although it occupies a relatively small area of 0.27 percent of total irrigated land in the country and about 3 percent in Khyber Pakhtunkhwa.

With suitable crop husbandry, it is capable of yielding very high income to the growers as compared to any other cash crop. Production and quality of agricultural commodities is regulated, primarily by their proper marketing and disposal and ensuring a fair return to the tiller. The same holds good in case of tobacco.
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State attorneys general are considering a proposal to end a fight with tobacco companies over $7.1 billion in payments due under a 1998 settlement. The accord with 46 states required the companies to pay $206 billion to resolve any liability in healthcare-cost lawsuits.
The fight over $7.1 billion in payments under the 13-year- old accord stemmed in part from tobacco company claims that erosion of market share has limited their liability. Ream more »

Comments from British American Tobacco Australia executive David Crow earlier this week again raised the spectre of a legal fight over the Federal Government’s plain packaging legislation. Experts have pointed out on numerous occasions that there are no clear legal avenues open to tobacco companies. For example, Professor Greg Craven and Professor Mark Davison have argued that the industry would struggle to convince the High Court that plain packaging violates the Constitution. Ream more »

On Thursday, the California Supreme Court unanimously ruled that smokers can sue tobacco companies after being diagnosed with a disease such as lung cancer, even if the smoker experienced other smoking-related illnesses years earlier, the Los Angeles Times reports (Dolan, Los Angeles Times, 5/6).
Background
In 1998, California passed a law allowing residents to file lawsuits against tobacco companies.
State law requires individuals injured by a product to sue within two years of discovering the injury (Egelko, San Francisco Chronicle, 5/6). Ream more »

The second-largest tobacco company in the world, British American Tobacco (BAT), has reported an increase in its profits despite the hard times of financial crisis. The profits of the company elevated mainly because of its sales growth and increased sales in developing markets.

The West Indies Tobacco Company (WITCO) witnessed a 3% rise in its profits. Figures reveal that WITCO recorded a turnover of $942.5 million last year. The total income of the company grew 6% over 2009 which is mainly because of its improved sales performance. Ream more »

In a sign that the nation’s cigarette makers are still confident of their political muscle, the industry gave a collective shrug Friday after a federal advisory committee effectively urged regulators to consider a ban on sales of menthol-flavored cigarettes. Tobacco company stock prices actually rose after the committee released its report, which concluded “removal of menthol cigarettes from the marketplace would benefit public health in the United States.” Ream more »

About 200 workers gathered Tuesday in Tallahassee for a rally and march to the Capitol in support of a bill they say would close a tax loophole on Dosal Tobacco.

As part of an $11.3 billion settlement in 1997 between the state and large tobacco companies, fees are tacked onto cigarettes from most tobacco producers and passed on to the consumer. Dosal Tobacco, a Miami-based company, was not part of the settlement and, without having to charge the tax, can sell their 305s brand cheaper than other companies. Ream more »

Tobacco companies should say in product warnings that they deceived the public about the dangers of smoking and manipulated their products to increase addiction, the Justice Department said Wednesday.

The department, in the final phase of a long-running court case against leading tobacco companies, released a series of statements that it wants cigarette makers to publish about the dangers of their products.
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