News Archive (2007)

News Archive (2007) - Recent News

Monday, December 10, 2007

Hearings set for beach smoking, hospital land The Sarasota County Commission will hold two public hearings Tuesday to confine smoking on public beaches and . . . On Nov. 28, the commissioners authorized the advertisement of a public hearing to adopt an ordinance which would designate specific smoking areas at public beaches. The ordinance would also set penalties for offenders. "Staff's research has found that many governments have taken legislative action to designate areas for smoking within their public beach parks," said John McCarthy, general manager of the parks and recreation department in a written statement defending the action.

Thursday, December 06, 2007

Philip Morris USA Confirms Receipt of $1.2 Billion in Escrow Funds Related to the Engle Class Action in Florida Philip Morris USA (PM USA), the U.S. tobacco subsidiary of Altria Group, Inc. (NYSE: MO - News) confirmed today that it received $1.2 billion in funds held in an escrow account under the bond stipulation in the Engle smoking and health class action in Florida. PM USA also said it will immediately seek the discharge of a $100 million appeal bond in the same case.

Lights out: Rickards group works to extinguish teen smoking Students Working Against Tobacco, an inspiring youth group that's taking hold here at Rickards High School in particular, has its work cut out for it. The intensity of the group's goal is revealed in its acronym, SWAT, which is typically associated with mega-crimefighters swooping into a scene of violence and cleaning house. The tobacco industry hates being accused of ill will toward its customers, much less violence. But as Rickards High SWAT members learned, one out of three teen smokers will die of a smoking-related disease, and advertising, peer pressure (the wrong kind) and popular culture in general get young people firmly hooked.

Graystone Park Enterprises Expands into the Restaurant Business Graystone Park Enterprises, Inc. (OTC Bulletin Board: GPKE) has opened negotiations with two restaurant groups to open restaurants in specialized markets that target late night customers and smokers. With the anti-smoking groups targeting inside restaurants, GPKE and its restaurant group have come up with a specialized concept targeting the late night crowd of restaurant workers and service workers with a late dinner/breakfast concept that includes outside seating for smokers accounting for 50% of the business of the restaurant. Late night selection options in areas with high late night volume, heavy service oriented businesses, are slim with few having outside seating for smokers. GPKE has launched a concept that targets these workers with small restaurants strategically located on the egress points from service areas.

Tuesday, December 04, 2007

Deadline nears for Fla. smoking lawsuits With just six weeks until the deadline for Florida smokers to file claims against tobacco companies for smoking-related illnesses, only about 120 lawsuits had been filed through last week in Miami-Dade and Broward counties. While lawyers are anticipating filing a barrage of suits around the state before the Jan. 11 deadline, the number of Florida residents actually suing likely will be a small fraction of the estimated 700,000 smokers who can bring individual claims against cigarette makers. ''A large number of people have passed away. . ., which is one of the sad parts of this story,'' said David J. Sales, a West Palm Beach lawyer whose firm represents 612 smokers and their families, many of them in South Florida. But some plaintiffs' lawyers also are being choosy about the cases they take, only pursuing those they have gauged as having the best chances of winning. ''We're trying to pick the cases where we think we can help people,'' said Todd McPharlin, a Fort Lauderdale lawyer who has filed suits on behalf of about 59 smokers.

Suit targets tobacco companies on behalf of Treasure Coast smokers A West Palm Beach law firm on Thursday began filing 54 claims in the circuit court on behalf of Treasure Coast smokers, both living and dead, against five major tobacco companies. David J. Sales, a lawyer with Searcy Denney Scarola Barnhart and Shipley, said he's filing the cases as a result of the Florida Supreme Court's ruling in a class-action suit known as the Engle case.

Philip Morris Gets $1.2B in Escrow Funds: Financial News Philip Morris USA confirmed receipt of $1.2 billion in escrow funds Monday. The New York-based tobacco company, a unit of Altria Group Inc., said the funds had been held under a bond stipulation in the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. vs. Engle suit that named Philip Morris. Philip Morris intends to immediately seek the discharge of a $100 million appeal bond in the same case, the company said.

Friday, November 30, 2007

GLOVER: Workers kicking habit good for business At CSX Transportation, our attitude is "hate smoking by helping the smoker." We are working to reduce health care costs and improve productivity by helping employees and their spouses quit smoking through multiple physician visits, medication and counseling opportunities. CSX also offers its employees comprehensive smoking cessation benefits as recommended by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.

Tuesday, November 27, 2007

R.J. Reynolds cleared in stewardess case A six-member Miami jury found that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. (NYSE:RAI) and other cigarette manufacturers were not liable in the case of a former flight attendant who died of lung cancer, the company said Friday. The suit was filed by Gloria Menchini, who claimed her daughter, Annette, got lung cancer from exposure to secondhand smoke on airplanes. Menchini's is the ninth flight attendant case to go to trial since 2001. Juries have ruled in favor of the tobacco industry in seven of those lawsuits.

Want to live here? Not if you smoke But more landlords are opting for no-smoking policies, said Franklin McDaniel of Atkinson Realty Group, which is marketing the 20 West Adams Street building. He said in the five years since Florida snuffed out smoking in restaurants, he's seen steady growth in smoking bans at rental properties, particularly single-family homes, duplexes and fourplexes. "It used to be that people didn't care one way or the other," he said. "But since you had smoking bans take place in the workplace, now it's moving to the residential." Last month, the California city of Belmont broke new ground in the nonsmoking movement when it approved a law making smoking illegal in condominiums and apartments. At Florida colleges, smoking is forbidden in on-campus residential housing . . . Those bottom-line calculations are the main motivation for landlords to ban smoking, said Jim Bergman, director of the Smoke-Free Environments Law Project, based in Michigan. He said landlords are reluctant to ban smoking because they think the tenant has a legal right to smoke. If anything, he said nonsmokers have the law on their side if second-hand smoke from another tenant affects their health.

More South Florida companies offer incentives to workers to quit smoking FPL Group is one of several South Florida employers encouraging employees to stop smoking. Some charge employees more for their health insurance premiums while others are giving incentives, such as cash rebates. Most employers offer workers classes or coaching to kick the habit. Smoking costs the nation $96 billion a year in health care costs. Employers spend $1,850 annually in excess medical expenses per smoking employee, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Free & Clear, which runs a smoking cessation program, puts the extra cost per smoker at closer to $5,300, including other costs such as lost productivity. Smoking ranks second only to obesity as a serious health issue facing companies, according to the National Business Group on Health, a Washington, D.C., nonprofit group. That's why employers are focusing on smoking to reduce their health insurance costs. Smoking cessation programs are the most cost-effective benefit employers can offer workers, the group says.

R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Wins Complete Defense Verdict in Flight Attendant Case in Florida Today a Miami jury found that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and other cigarette manufacturers were not liable in the case of a former flight attendant who died of lung cancer in 1996. The suit was brought by Gloria Menchini, who claimed her daughter Annette contracted lung cancer from exposure to secondhand smoke on airplanes. "After hearing and evaluating all the facts in this case, the six-member jury agreed that exposure to secondhand smoke in airplanes did not cause Annette Menchini's condition," said J. Jeffery Raborn, senior counsel for R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company.

Residents fume as smoking banned in parks, near kids Naples brought in tough anti- smoking measures Monday, but not everyone was convinced Italians in a city famed for flouting the law would stop lighting up in parks or near pregnant women. "However they try and enforce this, they will meet with laughter," local councilor Gennaro Capodanno commented on the ban on smoking at demonstrations, in parks, and near pregnant women or children under 12 in public. Traditionally rebellious Neapolitans now risk a fine of up to 250 euros ($366). The city council tightened legislation after health reports found the risk of lung cancer to be "significantly" higher there than elsewhere in Italy.

Volusia sheriff wants to ban new deputies from smoking One Central Florida sheriff wants to ban new deputies from smoking, whether they're on duty or at home. Volusia Sheriff Ben Johnson's proposed policy -- aimed only at new hires and not current deputies -- comes at a time when companies are increasingly supporting directives to curb employees' smoking habits. And Volusia is the first major law-enforcement agency in the area to try to institute such a ban.

Richard White: Attorney should be questioned on smoking regulations Q. Does the board of directors of an HOA have the authority to ban smoking by residents at the community’s outdoor pool? — M.P., Naples A. The statute that covers smoking is titled FS 368, indoor smoking. I am not sure that an outdoor pool area can be restricted to ban all smoking.

ORDER LIST (PDF): R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO, ET AL. V. ENGLE, HOWARD A., ET AL. REHEARINGS DENIED 06-1545 R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO, ET AL. V. ENGLE, HOWARD A., ET AL.

Philip Morris USA discusses target marketing Members of media affairs and corporate communications at Philip Morris USA, the U.S. cigarette industry’s highest revenue, income, volume and market share generator, hosted a Nov. 15 luncheon at Emeril’s restaurant. The purpose of the luncheon was to discuss the company’s marketing efforts, smoking cessation programs, new research and products. The company also introduced the executives who are responsible for responding to media inquiries and who direct the ethnic media outreach for the company. Four publications, including the Broward Times, and members of a local communications company, attended the event. The company has no current or future plans to market its products – which cause lung cancer, heart disease, emphysema and other serious diseases – to ethnic markets, the executives said. “Promotions are national,” said Bill Phelps, manager of media affairs for Philip Morris USA. “Marketing is broad based. We do not target ethnicities.” The company’s Virginia Slims cigarettes are an example of target marketing, said Phelps. But, he said, they are targeted to women over the age of 21, not to an ethnicity. Although Phelps stated that the company’s marketing is broad-based, the Philip Morris news release specifically inviting the ethnic media to the luncheon stated that it would be “a Miami Market lunchtime discussion about PM USA’s marketing efforts, its relationship with ethnic media, current tobacco legislation and how it relates to African Americans and Hispanics.’’

Friday, November 16, 2007

Student anti-smoking campaign targets new cigarette brand aimed at women LIZ FREEMAN - Naples (FL) Daily News, Southwest Florida students are engaged in a new fight against the tobacco industry’s intent to lure young people to smoke, this time by targeting a new cigarette brand directed toward women. Members of Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT) kicked off their campaign in October, and it will continue into December against the backdrop of the Great American Smoke Out recognized on Thursday. The annual Smoke Out began in 1977 and asks smokers to quit for the one day in hopes they do so permanently. The 100 SWAT members in Collier County began collecting signatures last month from fellow students, teachers, parents and concerned citizens on post cards that will be sent to executives at five major magazines in protest of Camel No. 9 advertisements. The five magazines are Glamour, Lucky, Harper’s Bazaar, Elle and Vogue.

Tuesday, November 13, 2007

BRAY: Haze of smoke's gone, as are smoking companions JACK BRAY So, before I leave the "Sunshine and Smokeless State" permanently for Alabama, I would like to take one more "drag" on this topic. The smoking ban (Amendment 6 to the Florida Constitution, approved by voters in November 2002 and effective in 2003) made smokers put out their cigars and cigarettes, but it has also, for these last long four years, put them out of their local bars, restaurants, meeting halls and lodges, where they ate together, drank together and talked together. . . . The only reason for the ban is the allegation that secondhand smoke is injurious to the health of others. If the allegation is true, why are there exceptions in the implementation of Amendment 6? Are certain locations impervious to "dangerous smoke"?

Tuesday, November 06, 2007

Tampa lawsuit targets big tobacco again NICOLE HUTCHESON - St. Petersburg (FL) Times Across the state, hundreds of people are coming forward to take on Big Tobacco again. A wrongful-death lawsuit filed Tuesday in Tampa against Philip Morris and seven other major tobacco manufacturers has now been added to the mix. The plaintiffs are survivors of 11 people who died of smoking-related illnesses between 1992 and 2004, according to the lawsuit, filed in Hillsborough Circuit Court. The suit seeks damages for financial and emotional stress caused to survivors of Juan Ojeda, Bobby DeLuca, Dottie Higgins, Georgina Carranza, Malcolm Chancey, Howard Haack, Addie Branton, Brigitte Altobelli, Betty Sharp, Raymond Wyerick and Jean Silver. The local case comes one year after the decision by the Florida Supreme Court in a class-action suit known as the Engle case. In that case, the court threw out a $145-billion jury award against the tobacco industry and required that any future suits against the industry be filed individually. The courts set a Jan. 11, 2008, deadline.

LETTER: Cigarette butts are disgusting Smokers, cigarette butts are litter, too! Keep your disgusting habit to yourselves! It is high time for the Jacksonville Sheriff's Office to crack down on smokers who toss cigarette butts out of their car windows while driving or throwing them away while walking. . . . Smokers should forget the fact that they are harming their bodies. They should forget the fact that their cars, their clothing and their hair smell. At least, their ashtrays will be clean. If some people have a vice as bad as smoking with all the negatives tied to it, the least smokers can do is keep it to themselves, be more considerate of those around them and abide by the law by not littering. The world is not their ashtray.

Florida Supreme Court Ruling Means Individuals Can File Individual Smoking Lawsuits Parker & Waichman, LLP is representing Florida cigarette smokers who developed smoking-related diseases. On July 6, 2006 the Florida Supreme Court supported a lower court decision to throw out a $145 billion punitive damage award against the big tobacco companies, a big victory for the cigarette industry. The lower appellate court had decided that the class action lawsuit should not have been certified, and the Florida Supreme Court agreed. Although the court ruling decreases the cigarette makers' monetary exposure in the state of Florida, it was still a victory for potential plaintiffs. In a 79-page decision, the court overruled the appeals court by reinstating an estimated $7 million in compensatory damages that the jury had awarded to two individual class representatives with lung cancer in an earlier phase of the trial.

Florida Tobacco Lawsuit Deluge Coming, As Legal Experts See Big Advantages For Plaintiffs Tobacco lawsuits by the thousands will soon be jamming court dockets in the state of Florida, thanks to a ruling that nullified the class-action status of a decade-old tobacco lawsuit in the state. But while the ensuing flurry of Florida tobacco lawsuits could wreak havoc with Florida's system of civic justice, many legal experts say that the shear volume of tobacco litigation will be advantageous for the thousands of smoking victims expected to sue big tobacco. That the tobacco companies must now fight what could be thousands of Florida tobacco lawsuits is a development of their own making.

Select PM USA Litigation - Active Cases This wrongful death case is brought against Philip Morris USA and other major cigarette manufacturers by Gloria Menchini, personal representative of Annette Menchini's estate. Annette Menchini was a former flight attendant, who was a member of the Broin class action. Gloria Menchini, the decedent's mother, alleges that as a result of exposure to ETS in airline cabins, her daughter developed lung cancer.

Tuesday, October 30, 2007

Floridians head back to court for Big Tobacco fight JANE MUSGRAVE - Palm Beach Post Staff Writer The retired Massachusetts state police officer, who lives in The Acreage, is one of thousands - possibly hundreds of thousands - of Floridians who are headed back to court to try to force tobacco companies to pay them what could be billions for putting them or their loved ones through grueling lives and/or ghastly deaths. The cases are expected to jam court dockets from Pensacola to Key West, perhaps forcing Palm Beach County to create a separate division simply to handle tobacco cases, according to law-yers who are representing smokers in the latest round of what seems a never-ending quest. But this time, attorneys representing the smokers and their families say the scales of justice may finally be tipped in their clients' favor. . . . But tobacco attorneys say the divide-and-conquer strategy ultimately may backfire. Already, dozens of lawsuits filed in state court have been moved to federal court at the request of tobacco attorneys. Kenneth Reilly, a Miami attorney who is representing Lorillard Tobacco Co., said he and other tobacco attorneys will ask a federal panel on Nov. 29 to assign one federal judge to handle all tobacco cases filed statewide.

Ask the Governor: Clearing the air on smoking laws Linda Kleindienst Q The state of California, known to be a leader in anti-smoking policy, has also en-acted certain outdoor smoking bans. For example, California prohibits smoking within 20 feet of any door or window of any government building within the state, including buildings owned or occupied (leased) by any government entity, including public universities, or public buildings leased to private firms. Do you see Florida following California in such policies? P.A. Franklin, Pompano Beach A: Everything is possible. It is something I would consider, based on what we've already done and the leadership our state has taken in clean air campaigns. Are there other opportunities we can look at to expand this? Of course there are. It's good health practice and it protects the rights of others who could be secondarily affected.

Anti-smoking ads' effects surprising, 'truth' campaign creates best results PEARMAN PARKER - Red and Black (University of Georgia) A University study explained why these ads deter smoking - or promote cigarette usage. "Anti-smoking campaigns may not have a direct impact on adolescents' smoking. They may even have some unexpected impact," said Hye-Jin Paek, an assistant professor in the Grady College of Journalism and Mass Communication and co-author of a study published in the journal "Communication Research." Unintended consequences of ads can heighten the rebellious and naturally curious nature of youth, increasing the inclination to smoke, according to the study. Paek and co-author Albert Gunther from the University of Wisconsin-Madison suggested that peer perception of the ads have the greatest impact on adolescent smoking. "They can [be effective], though, when they reinforce the perception that their close friends listen and respond to the campaigns," Paek said. As cited in the study, Florida's 1998 "truth" campaign proved the most effective at decreasing smoking prevalence and developing antismoking attitudes.

Tuesday, October 23, 2007

Florida graded "unsatisfactory" in national study on women’s health issues LIZ FREEMAN Florida earned an “unsatisfactory” grade this year on state report cards for women’s health in a report released Wednesday by the National Women’s Law Center in Washington, D.C. The study is a joint effort with the Oregon Health and Science University in Portland, Ore. The report cards graded and ranked all states based on 27 health status benchmarks that are largely based on goals set by the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services for its “Healthy People 2010” initiative. Florida ranks 24th among the 50 states and the District of Columbia, according to the report. . . . Florida received failing grades for women’s access to health insurance, for pap smear screenings, in prevention efforts against smoking, for women not consuming fruits and vegetables every day, and for high rates of death among women from heart disease and lung cancer.

9-1-1 hang-up, tossed cigarette bust grow house A 9-1-1 hang-up and a cigarette butt tossed out of a car window helped deputies bust a marijuana grow house Thursday afternoon. The call came from 14230 Chancellor Street in Buckingham around 5:17 p.m. Deputies who went to the home knocked on the door but got no response. . . . They saw a white Ford Excursion leave the home. While driving, the passenger threw a lit cigarette out the window. That prompted deputies to stop the SUV. They say the vehicle also smelled like pot,

Tuesday, October 16, 2007

2007 - Not a Good Year for Tobacco Defendants (Part 1) Brenda Fulmer After years of scorched earth litigation tactics and many successes, the tide appears to be turning. The tobacco industry is no longer dominating the court system. Those who have suffered the ravages of smoking are being heard - and not just in Florida where the Florida Supreme Court rendered a stunning defeat to tobacco defendants in Engle that will be felt for years to come as former class members proceed with individual lawsuits and trials. This past summer the United States Supreme Court rejected Philip Morris' ploy to transfer a number of tobacco lawsuits to federal court . . . "This is a big loss of the industry. If the appeals court ruling had been upheld, it would have basically eliminated states courts as a venue for lawsuits against the tobacco companies," said Edward L. Sweda, Jr.

Thursday, October 11, 2007

$500,000 Award Upheld Against Liggett Group Billy Shields In a decision that could change the way future tobacco liability suits are brought in Florida, the 4th District Court of Appeal affirmed a Broward Circuit Court jury's award of $500,000 against Liggett Group but certified an additional question for the Florida Supreme Court to decide. Joining the 4th DCA panel as an associate judge, Miami-Dade Circuit Judge Jacqueline Hogan Scola wrote that Broward Circuit Judge David Krathen erred when he allowed a jury to consider a claim that Liggett was negligent in continuing the manufacture of cigarettes. But the panel upheld the jury's verdict on the grounds the jurors properly considered a second design defect claim. This, Scola noted, is an open question under Florida law, a question she certified for the Florida Supreme Court and one she also sought to answer herself in the opinion. "We find no case which holds that a plaintiff is required to show a safer alternative design in order to prevail on a strict liability design defect claim," she wrote. Longtime smoker Beverly Davis sued Liggett in 2002, after she was diagnosed with lung cancer

Tuesday, October 09, 2007

Will Taxes Tamp Out Local Cigar Industry? BAIRD HELGESON - The Tampa Tribune Cigar rollers who manufacture without a license take on newfound significance as Congress and President Bush debate legislation that would raise the tobacco tax to pay for children's health care. Under the plan, the tax of 4.8 cents a cigar would jump to as much as $10 a cigar. Bush vetoed the legislation this week, but the House will attempt an override Oct. 18. Tampa cigar makers, who reportedly produce 80 percent of cigars smoked in the United States, have watched the legislation advance nervously. The local cigar industry still employs about 1,000, mostly at Hav-A-Tampa, which is owned by international tobacco company Altadis. The number of local cigar rollers is thought to be about 100.

Today's Letters: Moving because of ban is a joke St. Petersburg (FL) Times, Repeal smoking ban for sake of pals Oct. 5 guest column # Jack Bray wrote on Oct. 5, 2007, how unfair it is for smokers to be banned from public buildings where they used to meet, smoke and lunch with pals. Excuse me, but if smoking with pals is so important to you why not invite them to your home for a visit and you can smoke to your heart's content. Why on earth would you move out of state because you can't smoke in a public place? # I read Jack Bray's comments suggesting the repeal of Florida's Clean Air Act (Amendment 6) with interest. I wish him luck and a safe trip to Alabama. By the way, Mr. Bray, please take all your cigars and cigarettes with you. # If Ireland, one of the smokiest countries in the world we've visited, can invoke a complete smoking ban, too bad Florida couldn't. So, Mr. Bray before you leave our state, if your wont is to see smokers and their buddies, puffing away, you can visit one of these bastions of polluted air.

BRAY: Pasco: Repeal smoking ban for sake of pals Jack Bray So, before I leave the "Sunshine and Smokeless State" permanently for Alabama, I would like to take one more "drag" on this topic. . . . What a shame. In my opinion, there should never have been a ban. First, the Florida Clean Air Act of 1985 dealt with the issue of secondhand smoke. The happy compromise was the relegating of smoking to "smoking areas." . . . Even though I do not smoke, I am saddened that this prohibition (reminiscent of the one of yesteryear that took our drinks from our hands) was based on questionable scientific research and is, I believe, a violation of the U.S. Constitution. What's more, I am saddened by the terrible reality that the ban has driven a wedge between smokers and nonsmokers. The price to be "smoke-free" has been paid for by the abrupt separation of friends and neighbors.

Friday, October 05, 2007

Insurance's loss is cigar industry's gain BILLY HOUSE and CATHERINE DOLINSKI Cigar manufacturers in the Tampa-Bay area and elsewhere got a reprieve Wednesday from a huge tax increase when President Bush refused to sign a bill to renew and expand a children’s health insurance program into law. According to numbers provided by Florida’s Chief Financial Officer Alex Sink, the bill would have allotted nearly $353 million in federal funding. Children’s health care was likewise heating up in Florida. One day into their special budget-cutting session, state House and Senate lawmakers renewed their debate over expanding KidCare, the state’s version of children health insurance that relies on federal matching funds. . . . As Democrats try to round up enough votes for a veto override, Tampa’s freshman Democratic Rep. Kathy Castor is feeling heat by her own party to reconsider her previous opposition to the bill. . . . Castor said her decision will depend on whether some of the bill’s policies can be “ameliorated” and what “assurances can be made.” She said that includes “undoing the harm” that would be done to the cigar industry. The proposed cigar tax hikes are projected to raise as much as $800 million, but Castor has doubts about that. . . . While cigar industry officials in Tampa and Washington on Wednesday applauded Bush’s veto, the president himself said nothing specifically about the cigar taxes in his message to the House explaining his veto.

DNA from cigarette butt may nail '76's 'Alphabet Killer' 2007-10-04 - HELEN KENNEDY Cigarettes helped get a little girl killed 31 years ago. Now cigarettes - or one saliva-flecked butt, at any rate - may have nabbed her murderer, who may be the notorious "Alphabet Killer." A Florida man was arrested Tuesday and charged with the 1976 murder of 7-year-old Michelle McMurray, who was raped and strangled in Rochester after her mom left her home alone at 2 a.m. to go buy a pack of smokes. Three decades later, James Pressler, 64, was allegedly tied to the cold case by a cigarette butt he casually flicked into the gutter. He had no idea cops were waiting to pick it up to compare his DNA to evidence left on Michelle's body.

Tuesday, October 02, 2007

Smokers get update on 660 lawsuits Jessie-Lynne Kerr - Florida Times-Union Most of the plaintiffs, who include relatives of those already dead from various diseases believed to be caused by their cigarette smoking, were part of the class-action suit that resulted in the largest damage award in U.S. history - $145 billion - that was struck down last year by the Florida Supreme Court. The court ruled that not only was the verdict excessive but that the lawsuits must be decided on a case-by-case basis. So two Jacksonville law firms, Wilner and Block and Farah and Farah, are working together on the smokers' behalf and three weeks ago filed 660 individual lawsuits in U.S. District Court in Jacksonville.

Court Rejects Tobacco Case WASHINGTON (AP) � The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a request by tobacco companies to consider making it harder for smokers to prove they were misled by the industry. The case arose out of a class-action lawsuit on behalf of 700,000 Florida residents suffering from illness caused by their addiction to cigarettes. In July 2006, the Florida Supreme Court dismissed a $145 billion punitive damage award against the tobacco companies for injuring smokers, saying that recognizing the huge class of victims was inappropriate. . . . And in the part of its ruling most troubling to the industry, the Florida Supreme Court said that the findings against the companies could be used in individual suits by former members of the class. The companies say that approach is unfair to them because the state court's conclusions were too general.

10/01/07 Order List Supreme Court of the United States - Supreme Court of the United States CERTIORARI DENIED 06-1578 ANDALUSIA DISTRIBUTING, ET AL. V. R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO COMPANY . . . . 06-1545 R.J. REYNOLDS TOBACCO, ET AL. V. ENGLE, HOWARD A., ET AL. The motion of Product Liability Advisory Council, Inc. for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The motion of Washington Legal Foundation for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The motion of Professors Who Study 73 Preemptive Law for leave to file a brief as amici curiae is granted. The motion of Chamber of Commerce of the United States for leave to file a brief as amicus curiae is granted. The petition for a writ of certiorari is denied.

Tobacco companies lose high court appeal on Florida smoker suit Mark H. Anderson Of DOW JONES NEWSWIRES - CBS MarketWatch The tobacco industry Monday lost the chance to get the remaining remnants of a Florida class-action lawsuit thrown out, as the U.S. Supreme Court declined the industry's appeal over what is left of a $145 billion verdict rejected on appeal in Florida. The industry in July 2006 won a largely favorable ruling from the Florida Supreme Court, which refused to reinstate the $145 billion in punitive damages awarded by a Florida jury and declined to revive the lawsuit's class-action status. The Florida court, however, allowed the up to 700,000 individuals who could have won judgments under the original verdict to use findings from the extensive jury trial to bring new cases against the tobacco companies. . . . The tobacco companies asked the Supreme Court to bar smokers from using the existing jury findings to bring new cases, a maneuver Florida state courts said would speed up the already-14-year-old tobacco litigation as it moved forward. The companies also argued that federal tobacco advertising laws bar state-level lawsuits over tobacco marketing and the failure of companies to warn of smoking risks. . . . Separately, the high court rejected an appeal by numerous southern and western cigarette wholesalers that alleged Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco engaged in price discrimination through wholesale incentive programs the tobacco companies used to boost cigarette sales. Cigarette wholesalers serving Tennessee, Kentucky, Mississippi, Texas, Oklahoma and numerous other states sued the two tobacco giants in 2003 over tiered wholesale pricing systems that offered volume discounts to wholesalers for increased cigarette sales to retailers.

Tobacco Companies Rejected by Court on Florida Suits (Update3) Greg Stohr - Bloomberg News Altria Group Inc.'s Philip Morris USA and other cigarette makers lost a U.S. Supreme Court bid to prevent smokers in potentially thousands of Florida lawsuits from taking advantage of jury findings against the industry. The justices, without comment, today left intact the Florida Supreme Court's conclusion that the 1999 jury verdict would apply to future lawsuits. The jury found that cigarette makers withheld information about smoking risks and put unreasonably dangerous products on the market. Philip Morris and Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit face dozens of Florida lawsuits that seek to use the verdict as a starting point. Smokers and their family members have until January to file additional suits. ``We're expecting in the tens of thousands to be filed by the deadline,'' said Ed Sweda, a senior attorney for the Tobacco Products Liability Project at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston.

High Court Rejects Industry Appeal in Historic Tobacco Case Billy Shields - Daily Business Review Plaintiffs attorneys for sick smokers suing tobacco companies scored a major victory Monday when the U.S. Supreme Court refused to hear a challenge to the landmark Engle tobacco decision. "The class members have waited 13 years, from 1994 until 2007," said Philip Gerson, who represents roughly 60 plaintiffs statewide. "Hopefully it's finally come to an end, and now we can finally move on with the trial of the individual cases." . . . Ohlemeyer wrote in his Monday statement that Philip Morris "will offer a vigorous defense against any former Engle class member who elects to bring an individual suit against the company. The company expects to have additional appellate options if any of those individual cases are tried ..." He added plaintiffs will still have to prove that a particular cigarette brand "caused their illness and that the company's conduct prevented them from making an informed choice to smoke."

Supreme Court decision may mean thousands of suits against tobacco firms Los Angeles Times Cigarette makers lost a U.S. Supreme Court bid to prevent smokers in potentially thousands of Florida lawsuits from taking advantage of jury findings against the industry. The justices on Monday left intact the Florida Supreme Court's conclusion that the 1999 jury verdict would apply to future lawsuits. The jury found that cigarette makers withheld information about smoking risks and put unreasonably dangerous products on the market. Philip Morris and Reynolds American Inc.'s R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit face dozens of Florida lawsuits that seek to use the verdict as a starting point. Smokers and their family members have until January to file additional suits. "We're expecting in the tens of thousands to be filed by the deadline,"

U.S. Supreme Court Denial of Certiorari in Engle is Not a Decision on Merits; Philip Morris USA Will Vigorously Defend Individual Lawsuits Business Wire Today's United States Supreme Court decision not to review the Engle decision at this time is not a decision on the merits of the case, but rather was based on the current procedural posture of the case, and does not preclude Supreme Court review at a later stage in the litigation once some individual cases are tried, according to William S. Ohlemeyer, Philip Morris USA vice president and associate general counsel. Philip Morris USA will offer a vigorous defense against any former Engle class member who elects to bring an individual suit against the company. The company expects to have additional appellate options if any of those individual cases are tried, including a renewed request for review by the nation's highest court. .. . "Some Florida plaintiffs' attorneys, in advertising for clients, gave the false impression that former Engle class members need only file a lawsuit to collect damages. Nothing could be further from the truth. "Philip Morris USA intends to defend any and all such cases that may be filed. Each case will require an inquiry into whether those filing lawsuits are actually members of the former Engle class and a detailed examination of the facts behind each individual claim,"

Tobacco industry appeal rejected in Florida case Reuters (uk) The Supreme Court on Monday rejected a tobacco industry appeal on two issues in a Florida class-action case that has already resulted in a $145 billion punitive award against the cigarette makers being overturned.

Big Tobacco Suffers Major Setbacks in Florida Litigation PR Web Big Tobacco has suffered two major losses in its ongoing defense of hundreds of individual smokers' claims filed against it in the state of Florida. First, in the $1 billion law suit filed by J.B. Harris on behalf of Gloria Tucker against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and others, the tobacco companies conceded that in cases where cigarette makers, Liggett Group, LLC and Vector Group, Ltd., are also named as defendants, these cases must be brought in Florida state court, rather than in federal court, since the federal courts have no jurisdiction over these companies. Earlier the tobacco giants had tried to remove Tucker's case to the United States District Court in Miami (07-21740-Civ-Gold). Second, the United States Supreme Court has rejected its petition for relief from the Florida Supreme Court's landmark ruling in the case of Engle v. Liggett . . . For more information contact J.B. Harris, P.A. at www.suebigtobacco.net

Thursday, September 27, 2007

Floridians to Sue Tobacco Companies WAWS Fox 30 (Jacksonville, FL), Now hundreds of people meet in Jacksonville to hold tobacco companies accountable for their health problems. . . . Alan Landers, otherwise known as "the Wintson man" had double lung cancer and blames tobacco companies. "They are cold-hearted killers," he said. Landers and the Petrys are just two of hundreds of people who met with lawyers in Jacksonville and plan to hold tobacco companies liable. The lawyer leading some the majority of the cases, Norwood "Woody" Wilner said, "They (tobacco companies) concealed the hazards of their own products and deliberately engineered cigarettes so they addicted people." But Bill Ohlemeyer, a lawyer for Philip Morris Tobacco Company, said in a phone interview, "The fact that people get addicted to smoking doesn't mean it's impossible to quit. It's difficult for some but that doesn't mean the company is legally responsible for their decision to smoke."

Tuesday, September 25, 2007

Victims of Tobacco Gather In Jacksonville Eddie Farah - InjuryBoard.com Approximately 300 people who currently suffer from tobacco-related illnesses, as well as family members of those who have died from these diseases, will gather at the downtown Jacksonville Public Library Auditorium, Wednesday, September 26th at 6:30 p.m. to hear the progress and current status on their lawsuits against the tobacco industry. A news conference will follow, updating reporters on the upcoming January 11, 2008 deadline for filing individual actions in Florida against Big Tobacco. The Jacksonville law firm of Wilner Block PA, is partnering with Farah and Farah, P.A. to handle over 1,000 individual cases of Floridians injured or killed by cigarette smoke. A record number - 661 cases - have already been filed in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida. Of those cases, 257 Plaintiffs are deceased and the lawsuits are being filed on behalf of their families.

Smoking out, savings in JOHN FRANK - St. Petersburg (FL) Times, BROOKSVILLE - At the recent well-attended county budget hearing, Sheriff Richard Nugent shed light on a little-known policy at his agency that forbids employees from using tobacco products both at work and even at home. Nugent raised the issue as he touted how the office has lowered its health insurance rates at the same time the county's rates have increased. "We are doing things at the Sheriff's Office to contain our health insurance," he told commissioners and hundreds of residents. "We are terminating an employee for smoking. We've decided to take a proactive approach to try to contain the health insurance costs." The policy outlawing tobacco use took effect Jan. 1, 2004, but all deputies and employees who were hired before that date are exempt. It applies only to 127 of the agency's 385 employees. While Nugent grandfathered existing personnel, he put in place rules to prohibit all smoking in public or in patrol cars.

Friday, September 21, 2007

HOPKINS: Big Tobacco May Find the Florida Climate Much Too Hot John Hopkins - InjuryBoard.com, o have done Big Tobacco a favor iwhen it ruled that the $145 billion punitive damage verdict would have to be vacated and the "Engle Class" would have to be disbanded. Ruling that plaintiffs would have to proceed in individual trials against Big Tobacco. In fact, many on Wall Street saw it as a a huge victory for Big Tobacco. So, did Big Tobacco really win? Let's say they won the battle, but the war is only beginning. This situation may well be a "beware of what you wish for my friend, for surely you shall receive it" for Big Tobacco. Big Tobacco's scorched earth defense is well known and has left many a bloodied plaintiff in its wake; but, as we say down here in Florida, "we don't care how you did it up north"! For the first time, Big Tobacco will face thousands of plaintiff's and many of the toughest trial attorneys in the country, all launching multiple assaults, all at the same time. Also, in Engle, the Supreme Court may have done the worst possible thing for Big Tobacco when they set forth the conclusions they did. Once again, for the first time, Big tobacco may very well hear the trial judges tell the jury that, as a matter of law, you should assume that the plaintiff's injuries are the result of smoking cigarettes.

MAHAN: Next front: Helping smokers quit CHARLES MAHAN - Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal Florida's landmark victory over the forces of Big Tobacco, secured by the vigorous efforts of former Gov. Lawton Chiles and former Attorney General Bob Butterworth 10 years ago this month, has left an enduring legacy that has proudly protected a generation of our children from the lethal lure of cigarette smoking. . . . Smoking is still the No. 1 actual cause of death for Americans and Floridians. Smoking-induced lung cancer is the No. 1 cancer in women, and women who smoke are twice as susceptible to lung cancer as are men. In Florida, nearly 29,000 deaths are attributable to smoking each year, and current annual health-care costs directly caused by smoking total $5.82 billion in this state, plus an additional $5.86 billion in lost productivity. Smoking is an addiction. We need to treat it as such by bringing to bear the resources that are required to defeat it.

ABNER: To win against Big Tobacco, we must help smokers quit Adrian Abner - Tallahassee (FL) Democrat, Ten years ago, a 12-year-old student from tiny Blountstown in North Florida got on a school bus bound for Florida's capital city to meet, speak and have lunch with the late Gov. Lawton Chiles. The governor explained Florida's historic tobacco settlement victory, signed in August 1997, and personally invited young people to participate in a positive new youth campaign called Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT). I was that student, and I joined the campaign launched by Gov. Chiles . . . I was elected Florida's representative to the national American Legacy Foundation, which organized the Truth anti-smoking campaign. Ten years after I boarded that bus, youth smoking in Florida has dropped significantly. . . . This month, the President's Cancer Panel, a three-member board that includes two leading oncologists and cyclist Lance Armstrong, released a package of recommendations for reducing Americans' cancer risk. These include working with employers to provide incentives to aid worker efforts to quit smoking, as well as making coverage of smoking cessation treatment a standard benefit in all health insurance plans. Finally, we should incorporate smoking cessation treatment into the comprehensive care of cancer patients, survivors and their family members. Helping people to break their addiction to cigarette smoking is an essential step to saving lives and reducing health-care costs. The lesson of Florida's successful struggle against Big Tobacco 10 years ago is that to achieve these important goals, government, business and the health-care industry must work together.

Tuesday, September 18, 2007

Proposed tax has cigar seller smoking Kit Bradshaw - TCPalm.com But the owner of three Smoke Inn retail stores that specialize in selling thousands of different types of cigars is casting a wary eye toward Washington, as members of Congress wrestle with a proposed law that could hit cigar smokers right in their pocketbooks. “It’s called the SCHIP bill, which stands for State Children Health Insurance Program, and it is scheduled to be reauthorized by Congress by the end of September,” Dababneh said this week. “We have no problem with having children get health care, but we’re concerned about a couple of things.”

City doesn't want your butts anymore Mike Sharkey - Jacksonville (FL) Daily Record, Former City Council member Elaine Brown remembers the incident well. She was sitting at a light when a car pulled up beside her in the left turn lane. After a moment or two, the driver opened his door, leaned out and did something. The signal turned green and he turned left. "There was this big mound of cigarette butts," said Brown, who is current running for the State House of Representatives. "I was so mad."

Thursday, September 13, 2007

Stogies Are The Stars At Cigar Artisans Jessica Balanza - Tampa Bay (FL) Online (TBO.com), When Thompson Cigar Co. decided to pave the way for the cigar mail-order business, postage stamps were half a cent and a box of 100 stogies was about $10. Ninety-two years later, the Thompson Group has much more than cigars to mail its customers. The company sells products including coffee, housewares, clothing and furniture. . . . . last year the company began hosting Cigar Artisans, an event to celebrate the cigar industry. The second annual Cigar Artisans will be Saturday and will include more than 50 cigar vendors. . . . A portion of the proceeds will go toward Southeastern Guide Dogs Inc., which provides training for guide dogs. Cigar enthusiasts will receive a cigar cap, cooler bag, coupon book and more than 40 cigars.

Tuesday, September 11, 2007

Foods Can Affect Smoking Habits WFTV-Ch. 9 (Orlando, FL) "Especially after a rich meal, or heavy meal, I was always looking for that cigarette," she said. That's not surprising to psychologist Joe McClernon. He believes smoking and eating go hand-in-hand. "Foods and beverages can affect the taste of cigarettes," said Dr. McClernon. A Duke University study found milk, cheese, yogurt, water, fruits and vegetables worsened the taste of cigarettes, while alcohol, coffee, soda and meat made smokers enjoy the taste.

Tuesday, September 04, 2007

MAHAN: Quitters deserve support DR. CHARLES MAHAN - St. Petersburg (FL) Times, Florida's landmark victory over the forces of Big Tobacco, secured by the vigorous efforts of the late Gov. Lawton Chiles and former Attorney General Bob Butterworth 10 years ago, has left an enduring legacy that has proudly protected a generation of our children from the lethal lure of cigarette smoking. The settlement victory won more than $13-billion for Florida taxpayers. It banished Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man from ads on billboards and bus stops. It enlisted students as antitobacco messengers through Students Working Against Tobacco, an organization that appealed to young people to resist the cigarette companies and their manipulative marketing tactics. As a result, youth smoking has dropped significantly from a decade ago. . . . However, we still have unfinished business to protect the people of Florida. More than 17 percent of Floridians - more than 3.1-million of us - still smoke cigarettes, according to the 2006 Florida Adult Tobacco Survey. . . . Smoking is an addiction. We need to treat it as such by bringing to bear the resources that are required to defeat it. By making smoking cessation a standard covered benefit in our health care system, by providing employer incentives to workers who commit to quit and by training doctors to use methods proven to aid success, government, business and health care providers can combine forces to help accomplish these vital goals.

Man On Oxygen Smoking Cigarette Blamed For Massive Orlando Fire WKMG-TV 6 (Orlando, FL), A man using oxygen is believed to have accidentally sparked a massive fire that injured several people and destroyed much of an Orlando apartment complex over the weekend. . . . Firefighters rescued at least five people trapped by flames, including an 8-year-old and a senior citizen. There were no life-threatening injuries in connection with the fire.

Monday, August 27, 2007

A Good Cigar, from Friends Keith Morelli - Tampa Tribune Amid the explosions echoing through the mountains of Afghanistan, or the ruins of an Iraqi neighborhood, the robust aroma of a fine cigar is helping U.S. troops remember life back home. Quality cigars, by some estimates, are second only to Starbucks coffee on the wish list of troops overseas. Where but Tampa, Cigar City, can the need best be met? Enter Thompson Cigars, a 92-year-old retailer near Tampa International Airport, along with a dedicated employee and an ex-Navy man with a passion for helping the troops overseas. . . . A month after terrorists struck New York and Washington on Sept. 11, 2001, Thompson began getting requests from overseas troops for cigars. Initially, the company just sent free boxes of cigars to those who asked. Now, it's a big-time giveaway. About 10,000 free cigars of all brands and varieties were shipped last year to troops, mostly in Iraq and Afghanistan. That amounts to $50,000 worth of finely rolled tobacco, said Thompson Cigars' owner, Carlos Franzblau.

EDITORIAL: Revenue For Budget Shortfall Lakeland Ledger At a bill-signing ceremony last month, Gov. Charlie Crist was cool to a suggestion by an American Cancer Society official that Florida boost its cigarette tax for the first time in 17 years. "I'm not for raising taxes, as you know,'' Crist said. But other states, including some with deep ties to the tobacco industry, have raised their cigarette tax and are seeing the rewards - in extra revenue and in reduced smoking rates likely to generate long-term savings in public-health-care costs. . . . Florida's current tax is far below the average of $1.07 charged by other states. An adjustment, with or without an accompanying federal increase, is long overdue.

EDITORIAL: Getting what Chiles won Palm Beach Post Editorial - Palm Beach Post, Any number of times, it looked as though Lawton Chiles would lose and the tobacco companies would win. Ten years ago today in West Palm Beach, Gov. Chiles won. Big Tobacco stopped fighting the state's lawsuit to recover Medicaid costs caused by smoking and agreed to a settlement worth $13 billion over 25 years. . . . This week, the late Gov. Chiles' son said, "These funds are going to make a huge difference." But he noted that the tobacco industry "is not going to roll over" and will "continue to try to recruit smokers." The new commitment to Gov. Chiles' legacy will give Floridians a fighting chance.

Thursday, August 23, 2007

EDITORIAL: The 10-year war: State's fight against tobacco continues Tallahassee (FL) Democrat It's true, you don't see Joe Camel's face leering from Florida billboards anymore. But 10 years later, tobacco remains the No. 1 killer of Floridians, and the battle to keep children from starting to use tobacco and to help adults stop continues. Still, there have been victories. . . . "There are still battles to be fought," said Dr. Charles Mahan, dean emeritus at the College of Public Health at the University of South Florida. "The industry has not rolled over." But thanks to voters for refocusing legislative priorities, Florida again has the weapons to fight back.

Wednesday, August 22, 2007

Fla. Schools Revive Anti-Smoking Clubs NBC6 (Miramar, FL) The state plans to spend about $55 million on teenage smoking prevention this year, so schools can expect to see new programs and clubs aimed at stopping addiction before it starts. The spending is a requirement of constitutional Amendment Four, which was passed by voters last year. The money equals 15 percent of what the state receives every year from tobacco companies in a lawsuit award. Florida was among the first states to win a lawsuit against tobacco companies for misrepresenting the dangers of smoking. One of the likely outgrowths of the money will be "SWAT" clubs in middle and high schools. The acronym stands for "Students Working Against Tobacco."

Tobacco settlement remembered 10 years later Paul Flemming - Ft. Myers (FL) News-Press, Ten years on from Florida's landmark tobacco settlement, key players in that $13 billion deal today reflected on the achievement, lauded current efforts and insisted that much work remains.' "It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since the epic battle my father and General Butterworth fought," said Bud Chiles, former Gov. Lawton Chiles son, at a news conference. Former Attorney General Bob Butterworth -- and current Department of Children and Families secretary -- was among those who gathered to recall the tobacco wars in the Legislature and the courts.

Employers say 'no' to smokers VALERIE WHITNEY - Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal, � Employers say 'no' to smokers Lighting up could cost you that new job Jump to full article: Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal, 2007-08-21 Author: VALERIE WHITNEY Business Writer Intro: But in recent years a growing number of firms nationwide have decided that allowing employees to smoke only outdoors is not enough. At least 6,000 employers refuse to hire smokers, according to the National Workrights Institute, an affiliate of the American Civil Liberties Union or ACLU. Jeremy Gruber, a spokesman for the group's New Jersey affiliate, said the figure is probably higher. "That was an old survey," Gruber said recently. "It has become far more prevalent." In Ormond Beach, Homac Cos. does not hire smokers. The message "Tobacco Free Candidates Only" is displayed prominently on the company's Web site. . . . In 1990 North Miami became the first city in the country to ban the hiring of tobacco users. The city rescinded the ban after 13 years, reportedly because of problems recruiting police officers. . . . Critics say in many cases, the savings don't add up. What is happening, they say, is what the ACLU calls "lifestyle discrimination." "It's a false assumption that we can solve the health problems in this country" this way, the ACLU's Gruber said, adding that there is little that individuals do that does not affect their health some way. He cited obesity, which health officials have warned is becoming a national concern. While businesses may feel it is more cost-effective to weed out smokers in the early stages of the hiring process, it could have far-reaching problems. "What are the ramifications if 30 percent of the workers are unemployed?" he said. . . . 30 states have laws on the books that make it illegal to ban employees from smoking in their off time.

Fla.'s Fight Against Tobacco a Big Victory Lloyd Dunkelberger - Lakeland (FL) Ledger, Ten years after her husband won a landmark $13 billion settlement from the tobacco industry, former first lady Rhea Chiles said Tuesday that Lawton Chiles' successful battle with the cigarette companies has had a lasting impact on Florida and the nation. In holding a news conference to commemorate the event, Mrs. Chiles said her husband considered his epic clash with the tobacco industry - which ended in the Aug. 25, 1997 settlement - "the best fight of his life." She said her husband, who died in his last month in office in December 1998, should be credited with helping spur the national movement against the industry, which later resulted in a 46-state settlement. She also said Florida's actions led to the state's anti-smoking program, a ban on youth-targeted cigarette advertisements and provided momentum for later indoor smoking bans in restaurants and businesses in the state. "Lawton was very proud of this accomplishment and so am I," Mrs. Chiles said. . . . Bud Chiles and his mother also praised Gov. Charlie Crist and the Legislature for legislation that implemented the 2006 amendment, restoring the youth-oriented, anti-smoking program.

Advocates remember tobacco wars Paul Flemming - Tallahassee (FL) Democrat, Ten years on from Florida's landmark tobacco settlement, key players in that $13 billion deal Tuesday reflected on the achievement, lauded current efforts and insisted that much work remains. Former Attorney General Bob Butterworth - and current Department of Children and Families secretary - was among those who gathered to recall the tobacco wars in the Legislature and the courts.

Key players remember tobacco deal Paul Flemming - Pensacola (FL) News Journal, Ten years after Florida's landmark tobacco settlement, key players in that $13 billion deal Tuesday reflected on the achievement, lauded current efforts and insisted that much work remains.' "It's hard to believe it's been 10 years since the epic battle my father and General Butterworth fought," said Bud Chiles, former Gov. Lawton Chiles son, at a news conference. Former Attorney General Bob Butterworth -- and current Department of Children and Families secretary -- was among those who gathered to recall the tobacco wars in the Legislature and the courts.

Lawsuit's outcome wasn't always so clear J. Taylor Rushing - Florida Times-Union Big Tobacco appeared to be winning, and Chiles, privately, was often depressed. "It was a lonely battle, and there were a lot of dark days," said Lawton "Bud" Chiles III, son of the late governor. "It was very, very difficult for him to see longtime friends and supporters line up on the other side to lobby against it, and to see people in his own party oppose it. The odds were very, very long. But he knew what he was doing was right, and his perseverance and direction to the lawyers was what really led to this incredible settlement." With Chiles at the helm, Florida struck a deal with the tobacco industry on Aug. 25, 1997, calling for it to pay the state $13 billion over 25 years. The deal also banned outdoor advertising and vending machines and launched a program to fight tobacco use among youths. But it took a November 2006 constitutional amendment to restore sharp funding cuts that came after 1999.

SACHER: Back to the Breathe Easy Zone Leslie Sacher - Fsview & Florida Flambeau During the spring semester, Thagard Student Health Center asked the FSView editorial staff to weigh in on the Breathe Easy Initiative, a policy instituted at FSU that prohibits smoking within 20 to 50 feet of any building on campus that has established a Breathe Easy Zone. The editors published their views in the Spring Housing Guide issue, and their opinions helped identify and highlight issues worthy of further deliberation and clarification. The majority of the editors supported the Breathe Easy Initiative, but some expressed concerns and reservations about it. One of the main concerns was that the initiative impedes or violates one's right to smoke. . . . While we respect the concerns of Jessica and other smokers, it should be noted that the policy was not unilaterally developed by administration nor driven by a group of anti-smoking zealots. The policy was born and developed by a committee of faculty, staff and students as a result of a combination of valid and documented public health concerns and at the behest of student input and support. As most students now know, smoking is far and away the number one preventable cause of death and disease. . . . The smoker's right to smoke is not in question. What is in question is when and where. Not because anyone wants to curtail the rights of the smokers, but because we want to protect the rights of those who choose not to smoke. It simply comes down to having and practicing common courtesy and mutual respect.

Officials want state to ramp up stop-smoking campaign Linda Kleindienst - Sun-Sentinel, The engineers of Florida's historic $13 billion settlement again tobacco companies on Tuesday called for the state to ramp up its help for adults who want to quit smoking. Ten years after the tobacco victory, 3.1 million adult Floridians are still smoking and nearly 29,000 deaths each year can be attributed to smoking-related causes. Dr. Charles Mahan, who was Florida's chief health officer from 1988 until 1995, said the state should make health insurance policies cover programs that help adults stop smoking and promote treatment programs. "We have unfinished business. We must make more resources available to help these smokers who want to break this addiction," he said. "It's essential to save lives."

Wednesday, August 15, 2007

LETTER: Cigarette taxes hit the poor the hardest John A. Smolenski - Sarasota (FL) Herald-Tribune, I find it ironic that a Herald-Tribune editorial advocates a significant increase on cigarette taxes at the state and federal levels. While a tax increase may result in some reduction in the number of smokers, many studies have shown that such taxes are the most regressive taxes we have. Which is to say, low-income people pay a disproportionate amount of such taxes in relation to their income. This is a tax-the-poor scheme!

Florida Youth Smoking Campaign Revived Thanks to Florida voters, the state's vaunted youth antismoking campaign is back in business in a big way, flush with $58 million from the state's share of the nationwide tobacco settlement, the Associated Press reported July 25.

Monday, August 13, 2007

New Quit-Smoking Program Having Success "The average smoker quits seven or eight times before they are finally successful for good," said Dr. Thomas Brandon, a psychology professor at the University of South Florida. Dr. Brandon says that's why he is beginning to study a third component to help prevent relapse called cue exposure therapy. Patients watch images on a screen and even hold and smell a cigarette. "What we are trying to do is speed up the process so when they encounter these cues out in the real world, like a friend who is smoking, it doesn't produce the arousal and craving to smoke; it's ho-hum by that point," said Dr. Brandon. This therapy has been successful with patients with anxiety disorders such as phobias. And it's working for John Mucci. "Holding it, smelling it, it definitely causes a desire," said John. "There should be a temptation, and the idea is to cope with that temptation."

Monday, August 06, 2007

Castor's Role In Bill's Passage Rankles Cigar Industry BILLY HOUSE - Tampa Bay (FL) Online (TBO.com), But on Wednesday, just hours before the U.S. House passed such a bill, 225-204, local industry officials absorbed another blow - the Cigar City's own congresswoman on national TV leading the Democratic push for the measure. "We will stand up for our children and the hard-working families of America and fight through all of these delaying tactics," said freshman Rep. Kathy Castor of Tampa, as she battled GOP efforts on the House floor to stall the measure. Back home, local cigar manufacturers were already angry about the bill's proposed cigar-tax increases. They have been predicting dire consequences for their operations in West Tampa, Ybor City and elsewhere in the state. But Castor's high-profile involvement as the Democratic floor leader of Wednesday's debate over attempted GOP procedural delays to the House bill - covered by C-Span - touched an already raw nerve. "I don't think that Congresswoman Castor still understands the devastating impact it would make on our industry," said Eric Newman, president of the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. and president of the Cigar Manufacturers Association of Tampa.

Where there's smoke ... there's fire Troy Moon - Pensacola (FL) News Journal, Bernard and other Pensacola Bay Area cigar aficionados are smoking mad about the proposed federal excise tax that would fund the State Children's Health Insurance Program. The federal government distributes payments to states to help buy coverage for children from families not poor enough for Medicaid but unable to afford private health insurance. On Thursday, the Senate approved the bill 68-31. Under the bill,, the nickel-per-cigar tax that has been the norm would rise to 53.13 percent of the manufacturer's or importer's price per premium cigar, with a $10 maximum cap per cigar. Federal taxes on cigarettes also would rise under the proposal, from the current 39 cents to $1 a pack.

Bic is back: Cigarette lighters allowed on U.S. flights again LESTER J. DAVIS - Palm Beach (FL) Post And some, like Jim Pellegrini of Boca Raton, simply ignored the ban and instead tucked a lighter away in his pants pocket. The ban on lighters "was a pain in my neck," said Pellegrini, who stood outside Palm Beach International Airport Saturday with a fresh cigarette between his lips. The Transportation Security Administration decided to lift the ban starting Saturday because the "lighters are not a serious threat" anymore, according to the TSA's Web site. The move will free "security officers up from fishing for 22,000 lighters every day" and enable "them to focus more on finding explosives, using behavior recognition, conducting random screening procedures and other measures" that deter terrorists, according to the Web site.

Wednesday, August 01, 2007

Cigar tax hike proposed to expand health care for poor JOHN BOZZO - Daytona Beach (FL) News-Journal The federal tax on cigars, currently capped at 5 cents per stogie, would go to a maximum of $10 per cigar, under a U.S. Senate Finance Committee plan scheduled for action this week. Federal cigarette taxes would also go up to a buck a pack. Gruebel, an engineering firm employee who stopped by The Big Smoke in Ormond Beach for a celebratory end-of-the-workweek smoke on Friday, took another long drag on the cigar after learning proceeds from the tax would provide health care to low-income children. His expression eased. "I like the idea of helping people," he said. "As long as you know what the tax is going to do, it doesn't make it so bad." Cigar industry officials have been less cordial, warning the tax will spark dire consequences.

Thursday, July 26, 2007

Crist kicks off anti-tobacco campaign Jim Ash Florida Capital Bureau Chief - Pensacola (FL) News Journal, Gov. Charlie Crist re-ignited the state's anti-tobacco campaign today, touting a voter mandate to spend $57 million next year on prevention and education programs. But put on the spot by an anti-tobacco advocate, Crist declined to endorse a hike in tobacco taxes to offset a looming $1 billion budget shortfall. "I'm not a fan of raising taxes, as you know," Crist said. Crist posed for the cameras for a ceremonial singing of SB-1126, Statewide Tobacco Education and Prevention. He signed the measure into law two months ago to meet a constitutional deadline. . . . The anti-tobacco campaign has been controversial since the settlement was reached, with lawmakers eventually stopping the funding stream that was supposed to go to anti-tobacco campaigns under the terms of the settlement. "The people of Florida made their voices heard and we are pleased to enact their will," Crist said.

Businesses fret over proposed cigar-tax hike Laura Layden - Naples (FL) Daily News, Rocky Patel fears his business may go up in smoke with a federal proposal to raise taxes on premium cigars by as much as 20,000 percent. With hard work Patel has outlasted many of his competitors and grown his Bonita Springs-based business, Rocky Patel Premium Cigar Co., into one of the largest boutique cigar companies in the world. But he wonders whether it can survive an increase in taxes from a nickel to as much as $10 per cigar. The tax increase would be used to expand a federal program that provides health-care coverage to poor children who can’t afford insurance and don’t qualify for Medicaid.

Anti-smoking program again flush with cash DAVID ROYSE - AP Florida's once-heralded youth anti-smoking program is coming back. Lawmakers had gutted the program's budget in recent years, but last year voters forced the program back into relevancy. Voters in November changed the constitution to require the Legislature to put 15 percent of the state's tobacco settlement dollars into the program each year, just under $58 million in the current year. "We have restored an effective youth tobacco prevention program, which includes a substantial appropriation for smoking cessation," said Don Webster, CEO of the American Cancer Society's Florida Division. . . . After putting $70 million into the campaign from the state's settlement of a lawsuit with cigarette makers in 1998, spending dropped off steeply until lawmakers were putting a token $1 million a year into it, rendering it essentially dormant. Voters stepped in last year, doing what lawmakers wouldn't and forcing the state to restore money for the effort. He didn't have much of a choice on spending the money because of the constitutional mandate, but Gov. Charlie Crist has said he supports the boost in spending. In May he signed legislation spelling out the details of how the new program will be administered. On Wednesday, he re-enacted that bill signing in a ceremony to draw attention to the return of the program.

Wednesday, July 25, 2007

Volusia restricts smoking in parks Christine Show - Orlando (FL) Sentinel, Hey, smokers: Please quit stinking up our playgrounds. That's essentially the message from Volusia as it launches the first countywide ban in Metro Orlando aimed at keeping playgrounds smoke-free. Lake isn't far behind. Orange County and Orlando officials are open to the idea, though they say a ban isn't in the works because playground puffing hasn't been a problem. At the same time, some cities in Central Florida, including Deltona and Lake Mary, are looking for ways to ban smoking where kids play. "I think people are tired of dealing with secondhand smoke," said Volusia County Council member Pat Northey. "Most people don't want to be exposed to secondhand smoke, and they don't want their children exposed to secondhand smoke."

Senator caught in cigar debate JAMES THORNER - St. Petersburg (FL) Times, Florida's first-term Republican senator has been nudged front and center in a debate that hit the national stage last week: The proposed federal cigar tax that could raise the price of a premium smoke by as much as $10. . . . As a former secretary of Housing and Urban Development in the Bush administration, Martinez vows to back the children's insurance program. But he's also a politician wary of alienating a relatively modest but vocal industry in his home state. Cigar factories and retailers employ more than 1,000 in Tampa at places such as the J.C. Newman Cigar Co. and Hav-a-Tampa. But it's Miami, with its large Cuban expatriate population, that controls about 90 percent of the $300-million premium cigar industry most threatened by the tax. "He thinks this is an excessive tax. It's an undue punishment for a Florida industry," Martinez spokesman Ken Lundberg said Tuesday. "He likes the program, just not at the extreme level Democrats authorized."

Tuesday, July 24, 2007

Healthcare bill to Miami: no cigar Miami (FL) Herald - ANGELA TABLAC If Congress passes a bill to help states pay for children's health insurance, the tax on many cigars could jump from 5 cents to as much as $10 a stick. Cigar makers said those drastic hikes are enough to possibly shut them down. The bill, approved Thursday by a Senate committee, especially worries manufacturers in the Miami area, home to an estimated 90 percent of the $311 million U.S. premium cigar industry. ''I would be out of business,'' said Marvin Samel, co-founder of Kendall-based Drew Estate cigar company. What Samel faces: a proposal to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which gives money to states to help families not poor enough for Medicaid pay for health insurance. The Senate proposes raising an additional $35 billion for five years by increasing taxes on cigars, cigarettes and other tobacco products. . . . Still, Miami-area manufacturers are uniting. About 35 manufacturing company owners and executives met Wednesday to strategize about the proposed legislation. The result: a plan to raise about $50,000 to express-mail letters to cigar retailers. . . . ''(Martinez) thinks this is an excessive tax and it unduly punishes a Florida industry,'' Lundberg said of the current proposal. Similar legislation is expected to come before the House of Representatives. Rep. Pete Stark (D-CA) is expected to introduce SCHIP legislation before the August recess or in September. The legislation is likely to mention tobacco taxes. Both the Senate and the House have to pass their versions separately and then draft them into one bill.

How Many Tabacaleros Does it Take to Write a Declaration of Independence? Isaiah Thompson - Miami (FL) New Times Last night, the heads of over a dozen local premium cigar makers were gathered together in a single smoky room for the first time ever. Nick Perdomo, owner of Tabacalera Perdomo, a handmade cigar shop in Doral, hosted the cigar barons, among them the owners of Camacho cigars, Tora�o cigars, Drew Estate Cigars, and Alec Bradley Cigars. (the Barzinis, Tattaglias, and Corleones couldn't make it). "It's the first time in the history of the industry that we had everyone in the industry in one room," says Selim Hanono, a sales manager for Camacho Cigars. "These are our competitors, all of us compete for the same shelf space on a day to day basis – but we came together for one cause. This has never happened." That "one cause" is a sudden threat to the premium cigar industry in the United States as we know it. Just a few days ago, cigar owners caught wind of a little-known provision of the current incarnation of the SCHIP –State Children's Health Insurance Program – bill, currently before the Senate, which would increase the tax on premium cigars by (up to) 20,000 percent. That's right, 20,000 percent. . . . Still, within an hour and a half or so, they decided (rather amazingly) to create a committee of five people – an odd number, so that a vote within the committee could not be tied – to draft the letter and send it out for approval. As of noon today, the letter still had not been completed. President Bush is expected to veto the bill (not in support of the cigar industry, but because he thinks that public health care is for commie terrorists). But that's little comfort to Eiroa. "I'm tired, man. I'm tired of worrying about this every time a new tax comes up."

Healthcare bill to punish cigar makers ANGELA TABLAC - Miami (FL) Herald, Your stogies could soon burn up more of your money. If Congress passes a bill to help states pay for children's health insurance, the tax on many cigars could jump from 5 cents to as much as $10 a stick. Cigar makers said those drastic hikes are enough to possibly shut them down. The bill, approved Thursday by a Senate committee, especially worries manufacturers in the Miami area, home to an estimated 90 percent of the $311 million U.S. premium cigar industry. ''I would be out of business,'' said Marvin Samel, co-founder of Kendall-based Drew Estate cigar company. What Samel faces: a proposal to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, which gives money to states to help families not poor enough for Medicaid pay for health insurance. The Senate proposes raising an additional $35 billion for five years by increasing taxes on cigars, cigarettes and other tobacco products. Cigarette taxes would jump to $1 a pack from $0.39 a pack. But the biggest percentage jump -- potentially a 20,413-percent boost -- would hit ''large cigars,'' those above 3 pounds per 1,000 sticks. The current 5-cent tax could change to a tax of 53.13 percent of the manufacturer's or importer's sales price, up to $10.

$10 tax on a cigar? Susan Jacobson - Orlando (FL) Sentinel, Cigar lovers are denouncing the plan as an assault by the anti-tobacco movement. Health advocates are hailing it as a way to cut the number of smokers and improve children's well-being. The federal excise tax would be used to expand the State Children's Health Insurance Program, aimed at those too well off for Medicaid but unable to afford private insurance. An American Cancer Society vice president says the move is long overdue. Cigars currently are federally taxed at a maximum of 5 cents apiece, although some states -- not Florida -- also impose a state tobacco tax. The bill would mandate a tax of 53.13 percent of the manufacturer's or importer's sales price, up to $10 per cigar. "The cigar industry has pretty much gotten a free ride for decades," said Paul Hull, a vice president with the society's Florida division. "Increasing the prices reduces consumption. We consider that a major win." Cigar manufacturers, however, say the tax would cripple an industry that employs thousands of people in Florida and in poor countries such as Honduras, the Dominican Republic and Nicaragua. Norman Sharp, president of the Cigar Association of America, a trade group, said the retail price of a smoke could triple once wholesalers and other middlemen pass the increase along to consumers.

Cigarmakers in a panic The federal tax on each cigar could rise from 5 cents to $10. JAMES THORNER - St. Petersburg (FL) Times, Cigarmakers in a panic The federal tax on each cigar could rise from 5 cents to $10. Jump to full article: St. Petersburg (FL) Times, 2007-07-17 Author: JAMES THORNER Intro: As part of an increase in tobacco taxes designed to pay for children's health insurance, the nickel-per-cigar tax that has ruled the industry could rise to as much as $10 per cigar. "I'm not sure in the history of man, since our forefathers founded the country in 1776, that there's ever been a tax increase of 20,000 percent," said Newman, who runs the Tampa business founded by grandfather Julius Caesar Newman. "They had the Boston Tea Party for less than this." When it comes to tobacco sales, cigars are just a speck compared to cigarettes. In 2006, the nearly 400-billion cigarettes sold domestically dwarfed the 5.3-billion cigars. But cigars are intertwined with Tampa's lineage. Though the local industry has shriveled from foreign competition and domestic consolidation, cigarmaking still employs more than 1,000 in Tampa. About 900 work at the factory, offices and warehouse of Hav-a-Tampa, owned by foreign tobacco giant Altadis.

Thursday, July 12, 2007

Program helps pregnant women quit smoking Carmen Paige - Pensacola (FL) News Journal Pregnant women in Santa Rosa County who cannot stop smoking now have help. The Healthy Start Coalition of Santa Rosa County is working with the county Health Department to offer Freedom From Smoking, an American Lung Association program. The nonprofit agency received a grant from the March of Dimes to offer the classes, which begin Thursday. "This is the first time we have offered a smoking cessation program for women who smoke and for those who smoke around them," said Martha Zimmerman, executive director for Healthy Start. "Our ultimate goal is to reduce infant mortality and low birth weight."

Tuesday, July 10, 2007

Cigarette probably cause of medical facility fire 10 NEWS (St. Petersburg, FL), A 2-alarm fire at a St. Petersburg medical facility was probably started by a patient sneaking a cigarette. Fire Rescue responded this morning to the Coquina Key Health & Rehabilitation Center at 432 42nd Avenue South. Firefighters say a mattress fire in a second floor room triggered the sprinkler system, putting out the flames before they spread.

Smoking, drinking: 2 ills, 1 pill? ANDREW BRIDGES - Associated Press Bar-hoppers everywhere discovered long ago that smoking and drinking go hand in hand. So why not a single pill that helps curb the two vices? A drug called varenicline may be the answer.

Tobacco taxes may go to child health KEVIN FREKING - Associated Press The nation's 45 million smokers will probably help pay for the spending increase that Democrats want for children's health insurance, say analysts familiar with deliberations on Capitol Hill. Democratic lawmakers will push for $50 billion in new funding for the State Children's Health Insurance Program over the next five years. To pay for that increase, they must find new sources of revenue or cut existing programs.

Tuesday, June 26, 2007

Pleasure Island cigar bar Christopher Boyd, Beth Kassab and Scott Powers * S - Orlando (FL) Sentinel Sosa Cigars has opened an upscale cigar bar in Downtown Disney's Pleasure Island area, providing a lounge for wine, beer, cocktails, specialty coffees, other beverages -- and tobacco products that are banned in other Downtown Disney establishments. The new lounge, called Fuego by Sosa Cigars, will be open 11 a.m. to 2 a.m. It is Sosa's second location in Downtown Disney, to go along with Sosa Family Cigars, a tobacco-products retail store in the entertainment district's West Side area. The new lounge pays tribute to four generations of the Sosa family who have been involved in the cigar business. Fuego by Sosa Cigars "will allow guests to indulge in life's simple pleasures,"

Smoking may be banned at parks Orlando Sentinel Lake Mary - The City Commission will discuss establishing a tobacco policy at its recreational facilities during tonight's meeting.

Wednesday, June 20, 2007

2003 smoking ban stopped smokers, but not diners SHELLY OWENS - TCPalm.com But now they have four years of experience with the ban. And many say they are doing more business, not less. "I may have lost a small percentage of business at happy hour. But, annually, my (business) is the same or better," said Chuck Justy, owner of Frank 'n Stein Etc. in Stuart. Barbara Poster, who co-owns Mickey's restaurant in Fort Pierce, agreed. "It hurt morning business," Poster said. "At 5:15 or 5:30 (a.m.), we'd have about 15 or 20 guys in for coffee and cigarettes." But the ban has been a boon on weekends. "We had a wait for the non-smoking section and the smoking section would be nearly empty," she said. "Now, we can seat them anywhere."

Monday, June 18, 2007

State: Lerner's early ties to tobacco proved lucrative SYDNEY P. FREEDBERG - St. Petersburg (FL) Times Richard Lerner was ahead of the curve when it came to mingling science with market. In the 1970s, Lerner sought and got grants from the Council for Tobacco Research, a group created by Philip Morris. It laid the foundation for a long and lucrative relationship between Scripps scientists and big tobacco - forged at a time that cigarette makers were challenging a growing body of scientific evidence that linked cancer and smoking. Since 1980, Scripps has said, its scientists, including Lerner, got $2.2-million in research funds from the tobacco industry. In addition, Philip Morris paid Lerner and another top scientist at Scripps, Gerald Edelman, about $700, 000 each in consulting fees between 1992 and 2002. . . . Lerner says his goal was to help the company, which makes Marlboros and Virginia Slims, do better science and create safer products. He advised Philip Morris on a product recall and proposed that the firm spend $225-million to create a research institute. "They wanted to build it for all the right purposes, in my opinion, " Lerner said. Lerner says tobacco money and other corporate funds in no way sway Scripps' research.

State: Lerner's affiliations Times Staff - St. Petersburg (FL) Times Kraft Foods Inc. Northfield, Ill. Board of directors; audit committee; nominating and governance committee Stock and board fees worth about $489, 000 in 2005-2007 Makes processed food, seeks healthier products to combat obesity and diabetes.

Scientist tycoon SYDNEY FREEDBERG - St. Petersburg (FL) Times Richard Lerner, who holds 67 patents, heads one of the world's largest nonprofit biomedical labs. . . . Captains of business and politics alike seek the counsel of research scientist Richard Lerner. His 29-page resume lists 403 scientific papers, 52 special lectures and 29 honors and prizes. Thirty researchers work in his personal laboratory in La Jolla, Calif. And the state of Florida so admires his company, Scripps Research Institute, that in 2003 it gave Scripps the biggest incentive package in state history to open a branch in Palm Beach County. The 68-year-old Lerner is also Florida's biggest scientist-tycoon. Over the years, dozens of corporations have put him on their boards, awarded him stock and royalties and plied him with fees -- a sum that far exceeds his $1.2-million pay package from Scripps in 2005. Here's the rub: Most of Scripps' money comes from the taxpayers. In 2005, for example, 74 percent of its $382-million in revenue was from government grants. Yet Lerner has so many commitments beyond his job at Scripps -- and stands to collect so much additional income from them -- that critics question whether taxpayers get a full share of his attention, and a fair share of the profits from his scientific achievements.

Monday, June 11, 2007

Suit claims tobacco companies targeted black smokers Brad Bennett - Broward Times A Coral Gables attorney on Wednesday filed suit against several tobacco companies, accusing them of targeting black consumers. Attorney J.B. Harris is seeking more than $1 billion in damages on behalf of Gloria Tucker of Coral Springs, a black woman whose mother and grandmother died of health problems related to smoking. Tucker's mother, Dorothy Oliver, died on Nov. 29, 2000. Her grandmother, Annie Mae Swain, died on July 5, 1994. Citing marketing documents from the tobacco companies, the suit claims they used unflattering generalizations about African-Americans and suggested recruiting black smokers through - among other venues - black churches, night- clubs, and traffic court, where they said 75 percent of the pedestrian traffic on weekdays is black. "In addition to placing into the stream of commerce products that defendants knew or should have known were dangerous and defective, they did so with complete and utter disregard for health and human safety, and in a systematic and deliberate manner meant to addict and ultimately kill as many smokers as possible, especially African-Americans, whose lives were cut short by defendants' reckless and outrageous conduct, including without limitation, the lives of Dorothy Oliver and Annie Mae Swain,'' the lawsuit states.

Tobacco marketed to blacks Helen Huntley - St. Petersburg (FL) Times Tobacco companies targeted African-Americans with sophisticated marketing aimed at getting them hooked on cigarettes and eventually killing them, says a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court. The marketing was "meticulously planned and executed with clear racist intent," says the suit filed by Miami lawyer J.B. Harris on behalf of African-American Gloria Tucker, of Coral Springs, representing the estates of her grandmother and mother. Annie Mae Swain, 80, died in 1994, and Dorothy Oliver, 72, died in 2000 of acute cardiopulmonary failure and other cardiovascular problems. Both lived in Broward County. The suit asks for more than $1-billion in damages from tobacco companies Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds and Liggett Group. The suit says the companies' targeted marketing included billboards in African-American neighborhoods, sponsorships of sporting events, endorsement deals with African-American celebrities and saturation ad campaigns in publications such as Ebony, Jet and Essence.

Big Tobacco's Racial Profiling Challenged in Court Anne Landman - PR Watch On June 7, Miami attorney J.B. Harris filed a lawsuit on Tucker's behalf. The suit seeks $1 billion in punitive damages collectively from Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds, and Liggett Group. It accuses the companies of using predatory marketing techniques to target African Americans. Central to the case are hundreds of tobacco industry documents that detail how companies designed cigarettes especially for African Americans; tailored marketing campaigns to lower-income, less-educated African Americans; and continued to do so long after the U.S. Surgeon General's 1964 declaration that cigarettes are hazardous to health. "Superstitious, Unplanned, Impulsive" Many formerly secret tobacco industry documents are filled with racist assertions. An R.J. Reynolds (RJR) market research report from 1982 discusses how the company could sell more cigarettes to African Americans. The author, Joaquin Pericas of RJR's Marketing Development Department, refers to African Americans as "an increasingly important opportunity segment" who, he claims, have "superstitious, unplanned, impulsive life styles."

Friday, June 08, 2007

New suit filed against tobacco firms JIM WYSS - Miami (FL) Herald A Miami lawyer leveled a billion-dollar lawsuit against U.S. tobacco giants Thursday, alleging that their targeting of black smokers led to the death of his client's mother and grandmother. J.B. Harris filed the suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on behalf of Gloria Tucker, who represents the estates of her mother, Dorothy Oliver, and grandmother, Annie Mae Swain. Both were residents of Broward County when they died in 2000 and 1994, respectively, of smoking-related health problems. The suit alleges R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris, Brown & Williamson and other cigarette makers specifically targeted black smokers through aggressive ad campaigns and specially formulated cigarettes -- efforts that amounted to racial profiling.

Thursday, June 07, 2007

Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages Forrest Norman Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother both died of smoking-related health problems. The Miami-Dade Circuit Court suit, which flows out of the massive Engle class action litigation filed in the 1990s, alleges that cigarette makers engaged in cynical and exploitative marketing targeting black communities. The suit cites marketing documents from the tobacco companies from the 1950s through the 1990s that made disparaging generalizations about African-Americans and suggested working through black churches and youth events to recruit smokers. "If I could, I'd try to have them charged with genocide," said solo practitioner J.B. Harris, who filed the suit. "There clearly was a racist bent in the tobacco companies' marketing. It was scientific, methodical and deliberate, and it was worse for African-Americans than for any other group."

Mock funeral procession protests tobacco use Stephen D. Price In a mock funeral procession, about 50 North Florida high-school students marched to the steps of the Old Capitol this morning, grieving those who have died as a result of using chewing tobacco. The students sought to warn their peers that spit tobacco isn't a safe alternative to smoking. Their slogan: ''A hand in the can is a foot in the grave.'' . . . ''Big tobacco keeps telling and advertising that spit tobacco is safer than smoking, and it's not,'' said Auriel Rolle-Polk, 16, a student at Tallahassee's Chiles High School. ''Our baseball team goes around (chewing tobacco), and they're doing it because they think it's safer.'' The students, members of Students Working Against Tobacco (SWAT), walked to the Old Capitol from the Westcott building on College Avenue.

LETTER: Smoking's costs ignored in 2-for-1 tobacco special Elaine Kaplan - Sun-Sentinel Hundreds of millions of dollars, countless lawsuits, thousands of public service messages, millions of minutes of media attention, too many articles to count, numerous laws to protect, where have they gone? Two for the price of one. Upon entering the turnpike gas station recently to pay for gas, a 40-something-ish customer asked for cigarettes and was provided with two packs for the price of one. It appears that the cigarette companies are not making an earnest attempt to promote the dangers of smoking, but all that is important is the bottom line. . . . The cigarette companies must be strongly encouraged that the cost of one life is not worth the bottom line. Does society/government continue to need to litigate to ensure the good health of its people? No, cigarette companies must be held accountable. Yes, there are people who will continue to smoke, but it should not be made any easier for them to smoke at the cost of the majority.

The Palm Beach Post editorial: Tobacco money should support anti-smoking campaign in state St. Augustine (FL) Record This year, Florida will get about $366 million from the landmark tobacco settlement reached a decade ago under former Gov. Lawton Chiles. If this were like last year -- or the year before that, or the year before that -- a puny $1 million of that money would be spent to keep children from smoking, with the rest siphoned away to pay for tax cuts and other pet projects. But this year, in one of the most important turnarounds for the long-term health of Floridians, the Legislature set aside $54.9 million to revive the state's anti-smoking program, once acknowledged as among the country's best. . . . The Legislature doesn't get primary credit for doing the right thing this year. That belongs to Florida voters. In November, they overwhelmingly approved Amendment 4 . . . As more and more states rob their tobacco settlements to pay for unrelated programs, Florida again can be a leader in reducing health-care costs and saving lives.

EDITORIAL: The voters' will didn't go up in puff of smoke Palm Beach (FL) Post This year, Florida will get about $366 million from the landmark tobacco settlement reached a decade ago under former Gov. Lawton Chiles. If this were like last year - or the year before that, or the year before that - a puny $1 million of that money would be spent to keep children from smoking, with the rest siphoned away to pay for tax cuts and other pet projects. But this year, in one of the most important turnarounds for the long-term health of Floridians, the Legislature set aside $54.9 million to revive the state's anti-smoking program . . . Florida used to be a leader in anti-smoking campaigns. As more and more states rob their tobacco settlements to pay for unrelated programs, Florida again can be a leader is reducing health-care costs and saving lives.

Friday, June 01, 2007

WHO Urges Ban on Public Smoking Bradley S. Klapper - Associated Press The U.N. health agency on Tuesday issued its strongest policy recommendations yet for controlling tobacco use, urging all countries to ban smoking at indoor workplaces and in public buildings.

Students protest tobacco at Capitol Jim Ash - Florida Capital Bureau Chief High-school students from North Florida hold a mock funeral procession at the Capitol today to urge young people to avoid smokeless tobacco. Dozens of members of the group SWAT, Students Working Against Tobacco, gather at Florida State University�s main administration building at 11 a.m. Dressed in funeral garb and carrying caskets, they will march to the Capitol for a noon press conference, according to a written release.

Monday, May 21, 2007

EDITORIAL: The voters' will didn't go up in puff of smoke Palm Beach (FL) Post This year, Florida will get about $366 million from the landmark tobacco settlement reached a decade ago under former Gov. Lawton Chiles. If this were like last year - or the year before that, or the year before that - a puny $1 million of that money would be spent to keep children from smoking, with the rest siphoned away to pay for tax cuts and other pet projects. But this year, in one of the most important turnarounds for the long-term health of Floridians, the Legislature set aside $54.9 million to revive the state's anti-smoking program . . . Florida used to be a leader in anti-smoking campaigns. As more and more states rob their tobacco settlements to pay for unrelated programs, Florida again can be a leader is reducing health-care costs and saving lives.

Sunday, May 20, 2007

Still smokin' -- and not just the cigarette LYDIA MARTIN - Miami (FL) Herald Antonio Banderas, casual in a long-sleeve T and olive cargo pants, is being bad. He is in the middle of a long press day, talking to one reporter after another about his role as the suave (if hairball-hacking) Puss In Boots in Shrek the Third, which opened Friday. He has barely had time for a bathroom break. Much less a smoking break. He emerges from the small conference room at the Mandarin Oriental off Brickell with an American Spirit cigarette in hand. But he learns there's no time for him to make his way outside for a proper smoke. So he lights up right there, in an airless upstairs lobby. Nobody calls him on the smoking. But then a photographer beckons, and a handler quickly makes the cigarette disappear. As you walk back into the conference room with him, you notice he has a new cigarette. He fingers it longingly. You take pity and tell him to go ahead and light it. Sure, we're in a windowless room where it's against the law to be smoking, and the hotel staff would cringe if they knew. But Banderas seems hard-up. ''I am only smoking because you have given me permission to do so,'' he says

Wednesday, May 16, 2007