Report from the Reynolds American, Inc. Annual Shareholders Meeting -– May 7, 2010 – Winston-Salem, North Carolina
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney – PHAI NEW RULES REGARDING ADMITTANCE TO THE MEETING. The Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) Annual Shareholders Meeting took place in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on Friday morning, May 7, 2010. According to a March 22, 2010 “Dear Shareholder” letter from President and CEO Susan M. Ivey, those shareholders who […]
More Florida Verdicts against Cigarette Companies – Buonomo
On May 20, 2010 after a three-week trial, a six-person Fort Lauderdale, Florida jury returned a verdict in favor of Connie Buonomo, the widow of Matthew Buonomo, who died from chronic obstructive lung disease in 2008 at the age of 80.Mr. Buonomo had started smoking as a teenager. The defendant, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. was […]
Louisiana Court of Appeals Orders Tobacco Companies to Pay Over $230 Million for Court-Approved Smoking Cessation Program
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 Nearly fourteen years after the lawsuit was originally filed, the Court of Appeal of Louisiana, Fourth Circuit on Friday affirmed a trial court judgment in Scott v. American Tobacco Co., et al., that the major American tobacco companies must fund […]
Florida Jury Returns Multi-Million Dollar Verdict for Family of Smoker against Liggett Group, Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-8462 or (617) 373-2026 APRIL 26, 2010 A Fort Lauderdale, Florida state court jury on Monday awarded $15 million in compensatory damages to the family of Margot Putney, a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer in 1995. The jury found the defendants’ negligence […]
Tobacco Companies Are Dealt a Series of Major Litigation Losses in Florida During March And April – and There’s no End in Sight
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: April 22, 2010 Contact: Edward L. Sweda or Mark Gottlieb (617) 373-2026 or (617) 373-8462 Florida juries and a Court of Appeal have help make March and April of 2010 two months during which tobacco companies are being held accountable for their massive, reprehensible misconduct that has wreaked havoc on the lives […]
PHAI Publishes Case Study on NY State Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarette Law
PHAI Case Study on NY State Reduced Ignition Propensity Cigarette Law (pdf) PHAI documented New York State’s enactment of the first reduced ignition propensity law for cigarettes. For decades, state and federal legislators have sought to change the manufacture of cigarettes in order to reduce the risk of fire, and the tobacco industry has sought […]
PHAI Publishes Case Study of MA Attorney General Tobacco Advertising Regulations and Legal Challenge to Them
PHAI Publishes Case Study of MA Attorney General Tobacco Advertising Regulations and Legal Challenge to Them (pdf) PHAI documented the Massachusetts Attorney General’s Office’s 1999 passage of regulations to limit particular advertising and sales practices for cigarettes, cigars, little cigars and smokeless tobacco products. The goal of the regulations was to protect youth from the predatory […]
PHAI Attorney and Noted Univ of IL Economist Look at Applying Tobacco Taxation and Other Pricing Strategies to Reduce Obesity
Public health advocates concerned about the burgeoning obesity epidemic are examining tools that have been successfully employed to reduce tobacco consumption, including taxes. Research suggests that a significant tax on sugar-sweetened beverages could have the desired public health effect of reducing consumption of high-calorie and low-nutrition beverages. The food and beverage industry is prepared to challenge tax initiatives and many of the same legal policy issues seen in the tobacco control movement, including discounting, are likely to arise. Public health advocates may also want to consider applying other price-based strategies to sugar-sweetened beverages, such as proportional pricing requirements, to encourage decreased consumption.
PHAI Publishes Case Study on Challenges to Pharmacy Tobacco Sales Ban in San Francisco County
PHAI Case Study on Challenges to Pharmacy Tobacco Sales Ban in San Francisco County (pdf) PHAI documented the ban on tobacco product sales in pharmacies located in the County of San Francisco in August 2008. Even when faced with the likelihood of litigation, San Francisco lawmakers moved forward with the ban. In September 2008, a […]
All Parties Seek Supreme Court Review of Racketeering Trial: US v. Philip Morris
Review could open door for substantial remedies that would help smokers to quit protect kids from starting – and could force the cigarette companies to pay hundreds of billions of dollars Today the Solicitor General of the United States filed a Petition for Writ of Certiorari with the Supreme Court of the United States seeking […]
