Top Boston Firms Join Forces with Public Health Advocacy Institute
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Gottlieb or Andrew Rainer 617-373-2026 In March, the non-profit Public Health Advocacy Institute (“PHAI”) announced that it had formed a center to bring important public health litigation, and had hired a former Assistant Attorney General to oversee this litigation in the Massachusetts courts. Today, PHAI, which is based at Northeastern […]
R.J. Reynolds’ Shareholder’s Report from Winston-Salem: A “Good Year,” a Proposal to Merge and a Death Toll that Must Not Be Acknowledged
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr. Like clockwork, the 2015 Reynolds American (RAI) Annual Shareholders Meeting started precisely at 9:00 A.M. on Thursday May 7, 2015 at the company’s headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Seventy-five minutes later, the meeting was adjourned. Before I could attend the meeting, I had to proceed through intense security, with machines […]
PHAI Submits Comments on Proposed Mass AG Regulations for E-Cigarettes
On April 23, 2015, the Public Health Advocacy Institute submitted the following written comments concerning proposed regulations for electronic cigarettes issued by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey: April 23, 2015 Amber Villa, Assistant Attorney General Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Re: Massachusetts Attorney General Proposed Regulations of […]
PHAI Takes Cigarette Companies to Court
For Immediate Release Contact: Mark Gottlieb – 617-373-2026 The Public Health Advocacy Institute (“PHAI”) announced today that its newly formed Center for Public Health Litigation has filed lawsuits against two major tobacco companies and several local distributors on behalf of the families of two former smokers who suffered devastating disease from smoking […]
PHAI Presentation Highlights Similarities in Tactics of Tobacco and Gambling Industries
On October 30, 2014 at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI), in association with the Boston Alliance for Community Health (BACH), hosted a forum focusing on common tactics and strategies of two predatory industries: tobacco and casino gambling. It featured Northeastern University Distinguished Professor Richard Daynard, David Aronstein, Director of […]
PHAI’s Center for Public Health Litigation Launches Ad Campaign Seeking Cigarette Industry Victims
The Center for Public Health Litigation, a project of the Public Health Advocacy Institute at Northeastern University School of Law, has launched an advertising campaign in Massachusetts to help inform victims of cigarette companies of their legal rights. While Massachusetts is the best state in the nation to hold cigarette makers responsible in court for […]
Florida jury holds Philip Morris USA accountable for its actions in Federal Court
On September 16, 2014, a jury in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida returned a verdict of $27,010,000.14 against Philip Morris USA on behalf of Judith Berger, who started smoking in 1958 at the age of 14. Clearly outraged by evidence of Philip Morris’ conduct in targeting children, the jury awarded […]
PHAI Submits Comments to FDA on Deeming Rule Focusing on E-Cigarettes
Today the Public Health Advocacy Institute submitted comments to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration on its proposed rule to include cigars, little cigars, electronic cigarette products, and tobacco for hookah smoking among the products for which it can legally issues rules and regulations. This is known as a “deeming rule.” The deeming rule is a […]
The Reynolds American, Inc. 2014 Annual Shareholders Meeting: Change of CEO, change of demeanor, “Transformation” to the status quo.
By Edward Sweda As I entered the Reynolds American Corporate Offices (photo) at 401 North Main Street in Winston-Salem, North Carolina just after 8 A.M. on Thursday, May 8, the company’s “Welcome Shareholders” sign was perched directly above the building’s main entrance. Having cleared through the metal detector, I proceeded to […]
An hour with Altria Group, Inc.
By Edward Sweda Opening the company’s 2014 Annual Shareholders Meeting at precisely 9:00 A.M., Martin J. Barrington, Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of Altria Group, Inc., had plenty of good news to report to shareholders who had assembled at the Greater Richmond Convention Center on the morning of Wednesday, May 14. During his report on […]
