BETHEL, Alaska – The common-law wife of a man who died of lung cancer has filed a civil lawsuit against the nation’s largest tobacco company, accusing it of engaging in a deceptive advertising campaign designed to get people to smoke, including those in Alaska villages. In a complaint filed in Bethel Superior Court, Delores Hunter of Marshall accuses Philip Morris USA Inc. and its parent company, Altria Group Inc., of making and marketing cigarettes even though they knew the products were addictive and caused cancer. Hunter is the court-appointed personal representative of Benjamin ... Jump to full article >>

Philip Morris International Inc. (PM) and Japan Tobacco Inc. are among potential buyers of Bulgartabak Holding (57B), Bulgaria’s state tobacco company, Privatization Agency chief Emil Karanikolov said. South Korean tobacco producer KT&G Corp. (033780) and four international financial firms have also shown interest in a 79.83 percent stake in Bulgartabak, Karanikolov told reporters in Sofia today. The asset-selling agency has set May 10 to Aug. 28 as the bidding period, he said. “There are many political and economic considerations to be taken into account, which have made previous sel ... Jump to full article >>

FALL RIVER — Chain stores such as Rite Aid, Walgreens and Shaw’s will be banned from selling cigarettes and other tobacco products if the City Council follows up Tuesday night’s 5-4 vote on a first reading and approves final passage of the ordinance March 22. It would affect 16 city chain store outlets. Five independent stores haven’t sold the products in a decade. “I’m just really happy, and hopefully the city sees they’re doing the right thing for the youth,” Markus Watson, a high school senior and BOLD Coalition leader, said after a passionate debate at the meeting that ... Jump to full article >>

BIG tobacco is hoping a new multilateral free trade agreement will enable it to sue the Federal Government if Australia introduces plain packaging for cigarettes in mid-2012 as planned. Philip Morris wants a clause added to the Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement (TPPA), currently being negotiated, which would allow the company to sue the commonwealth for damages internationally. Health experts are calling on the Gillard Government to fight back by insisting on a counter-clause to make clear the regional agreement couldn’t restrict efforts “to prevent or reduce tobacco use“. ... Jump to full article >>

A member of a key tobacco-advisory committee for the Food and Drug Administration who faced criticism from the industry says he stepped down because he can be more helpful to the agency as an outsider. Gregory N. Connolly, a Harvard School of Public Health professor and tobacco researcher, said Wednesday that he resigned about three weeks ago for “personal reasons” and because “I can be more effective off the committee than on it.” Mr. Connolly said he wasn’t pushed to resign, though “I didn’t have as many friends as one would like” within the FD ... Jump to full article >>

The Minnesota Court of Appeals reinstated portions of a nearly 10-year-old, class action lawsuit against Philip Morris that claims the company fraudulently marketed Marlboro Lights as a safer cigarette. A U.S. Supreme Court ruling in 2008 cleared the way for class action suits against cigarette companies that manufacture “light” cigarettes. The surprising 5-4 decision paved the way for the state actions. Since then, there have been numerous lawsuits filed around the country with mixed results. Class action suits have been certified in Massachusetts, Minnesota and Missouri. Judges ... Jump to full article >>

Altria Group Inc. announced a new senior officer structure Wednesday that the Henrico County-based company said would help it respond better to changing business and regulatory needs. The parent company of cigarette maker Philip Morris USA named executives to lead four key areas: law; business operations, finance and strategic planning; innovation, public affairs, human resources and compliance. The changes come as Altria’s tobacco businesses are operating under the regulatory authority of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The FDA, granted that authority by Congress in 2009, is stil ... Jump to full article >>

A federal judge in Maine yesterday denied class-action status to four lawsuits accusing Philip Morris USA of misleading smokers about the health risks of light cigarettes. The ruling by U.S. District Judge John A. Woodcock Jr. concerns lawsuits that were filed in Illinois, Maine, California and Washington, D.C., alleging that Henrico County-based Philip Morris USA marketed light cigarettes as healthier than regular cigarettes in violation of various consumer-protection and false-advertising laws. The lawsuits are among 15 cases that were consolidated for pre-trial proceedings in federal court. ... Jump to full article >>

With apologies to Jonathan Swift, I have a modest proposal of my own. Instead of the government requiring cigarette packs and cartons to feature large warning labels designed to shock, sicken and otherwise make the point that smoking can kill – a toe tag on a corpse, for instance – a photo of Louis Camilleri would do quite nicely. He is the chairman and CEO of Philip Morris International. Louis, stand up and take a bow. You, too, Richard Burrows, chairman of British American Tobacco, and Daniel Delen, CEO of R.J. Reynolds. You gentlemen should also be known and celebrated for your ... Jump to full article >>

JAKARTA, Indonesia — Robert sits on his haunches exhaling puffs of thin smoke and clutching a ragged cigarette between tobacco-stained fingers. Lines crowd his dark face and the shadow of a moustache is visible above his crooked, slightly blackened smile. A cardboard container filled with tissues, mints and cigarettes sits before him — his toolbox. Nuri has one too, but rather than strap it across his chest and carry it from place to place as Robert does, Nuri sells his smokes from the back of a bicycle. These roving cigarette vendors work around Jakarta’s Senayan Stadium, home to ex ... Jump to full article >>

Health officials from across the world gathered on Monday in Uruguay to discuss tighter controls on tobacco that are rejected by farmers and the cigarette industry. The World Health Organisation meeting comes as the South American country fights a complaint filed by global tobacco company Philip Morris International, which says tough Uruguayan anti-smoking laws are hurting its business. A total of 171 countries have signed the Framework Convention for Tobacco Control and delegates at this week’s gathering will analyse proposals to limit the use of additives in cigarettes. The global publ ... Jump to full article >>