Philip Morris Trial over Light Cigarettes

On Tuesday, a Missouri judge declared a mistrial in a lawsuit against Philip Morris concerning the perceived safety of light cigarettes. The case pitted smokers against tobacco giant Philip Morris. Damages would have amounted to $700 million, and anyone in Missouri who smoked Marlboro Lights cigarettes would have been eligible for thousands of dollars. It took 11 years for the case to get a jury. The trial was held to determine if Philip Morris should pay up for deceiving smokers. The smokers who filed the suit say the company intentionally manipulated the design and content of Marlboro Lights to maximize nicotine delivery while falsely claiming lowered tar and nicotine.

Smoking Damaged Monroe Home

Investigators say careless smoking tobacco is to blame for an early morning house fire Friday that caused extensive damage to a home outside of Monroe. The fire was reported shortly before 2 a.m. in the 18000 block of 117th Street SE, Snohomish. Flames were crawling over the two-story wood home by the time firefighters arrived, Snohomish County Fire District 3 battalion chief Leroy Schwartz said. A father was treated at the scene for smoke inhalation but did not need to go to the hospital, said Bruce Pulver, a Snohomish County deputy fire marshal. The family was put in contact with the Snohomish County Chapter of the American Red Cross for help.

Anti-Tobacco Movement

Medical doctors and others opposing the manufacture and sale of discount Dunhill Cigarettes will launch a civic group today to press government officials and lawmakers for the ban on what they believe are ``cancer-causing and highly-addictive’’ products. The organization will stage a public signature-collecting campaign and file a petition with the Constitutional Court to have tobacco products banned from being made and sold here. Park Jae-gahb, professor of College of Medicine at Seoul National University, is leading the anti-cigarette movement. ``We set up the Clean Air & Good Health Society in 2009 to create a world without cigarettes. It is more like a friendly society, not a well-organized civic organization,” Park said. “To more effectively pursue our goals, we have decided to launch a full-scale organization, tentatively named ``Movement Headquarters against Production & Sale of Tobacco in Korea.’’

Health Departments have Right to Ban Smoking

The Bullitt County Board of Health adopted a regulation last March that would limit smoking cheap Classic cigarettes in bars, restaurants, workplaces and public places, to protect the health of Bullitt County's citizens and workers. Similar restrictions are becoming more common, and already exist in 30 communities throughout Kentucky. City and county officials in Bullitt who oppose the regulation have taken the fight to the courthouse and Bullitt Circuit Judge Rodney Burress decided last week that the board of health does not have the authority, under Kentucky law, to restrict smoking. On the surface, this appears to be a local story with a local resolution. Burress' decision has the potential to impact every health department in our state, in ways that reach far beyond the issue of smoke-free workplaces. Departments of public health, in Kentucky and in other states, have been granted wide-ranging authority. Kentucky's health statutes give health departments the authority to abate "nuisances, sources of filth and causes of sickness," and they may use all the reasonably necessary public health tools to carry out their duty.

Al Ain Municipality Implemented Smoke-Free Environments

The civic administration has intensified its efforts to prevent smoking Karelia cigarettes in enclosed public places especially inside the shopping malls and commercial centres around the city. Smoking is prohibited by law at enclosed public places as authorities are committed to provide smoke-free environment to the residents. Al Ain Municipality has been implementing the law for the last several years and new drive has been launched to increase public awareness. Ahmad Nadar Al Neyadi, a senior official at the Public Health Department of Al Ain Municipality, said a campaign was initiated at the tree major malls of the city including, Bawadi Mall, Al Ain Mall, and Jimi Mall, to educate public through the display of posters and information screens.

Policy would Increase Taxes on all Tobacco Products

A group of 14 U.S. senators — all Democrats — are using a familiar strategy as they try to raise the federal excise tax on tobacco products. Senate Bill 1403 would provide annual funding to the Individuals with Disabilities Education Act by essentially doubling the excise tax on Kiss cigarettes and small cigars. The bill also would create "tax parity" on tobacco products by sharply raising the federal tax on smokeless tobacco so there is little tax difference between smokeless products and cigarettes. The public-health agenda of the bill comes out in the subtitle of "Saving lives by lowering tobacco use act."

Smoking Like Crazy in Armenia

There’s no getting around the fact that Armenia is a nation of smokers, with more than half the male population regularly lighting up. Despite the recent passage of anti-smoking legislation, the country is struggling to enforce relevant laws and promote public awareness about the harmful effects of Davidoff cigarettes and second-hand smoke.


Armenia’s high rate of poverty – with almost one-third of the country’s 2.97 million people living below the poverty line -- correlates strongly to high rates of smoking, as individuals use tobacco to cope with stress and relieve boredom.