Expect sour grapes from Star Scientific Inc. in the coming days, as the tobacco company just emerged as the loser in a huge lawsuit against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Although Star Scientific Claimed that R.J. Reynolds infringed on its patents, a Baltimore jury found that R.J. Reynolds had done no such thing.
This means that R.J. Reynolds will not be have to pay the hundreds of millions of dollars that Star Scientific sought in damages for the perceived infringement of R.J. Reynolds upon a new tobacco curing method that removes more cancer-causing chemicals. It also means that Star Scientific will also …read more

Smokers and others who use tobacco need to be prepared for the largest federal tobacco tax increase ever, which will happen on Wednesday.
Currently, the federal per-pack tax is 39 cents. Starting on Wednesday, this tax will jump to $1.01, which means that the industry may see a new wave of people hoping to quit lighting up. Bad news for the tobacco industry could be good news, however, for stop-smoking products, like nicotine gum.
The jump on tobacco taxes is part of a health initiative signed my President Barack Obama, and the proceeds will finance an expansion of health insurance benefits for …read more

I happened across the season premier of ABC’s show, Boston Legal, last night. The case which the episode revolved around was a case against against a tobacco company. The story is not new, but the arguments used against the tobacco company included, among other things, the improper marketing to children and the questionable outlawing of all flavored cigarettes except menthol which are popular among African-Americans. It sounded very similar to previous posts that Jen and I have made that can be found here and here.
You can check out the episode online on the Boston Legal area of the ABC.com …read more

To add another word to our recent posts about the regulation of tobacco products by the FDA, let’s not forget the discussions that are taking place about how this regulation may be perpetuating racial health disparities. The legislation as it now stands includes an exemption for mentholated tobacco products which, according to this week’s Kaiser Health Disparities Report, are used by 75% of black smokers. The inclusion for regulation of flavored tobaccos with the exception of menthol says to the public, in my opinion, that mentholated products are not as harmful as other tobacco products and users are not provided …read more

The House of Representatives approved a bill yesterday that makes tobacco a “drug.” As a result, cigarettes and other tobacco products will now fall under the regulatory purview of the Food and Drug Administration. The bill still has to go to the Senate, which has a majority, but may not have a veto-proof one. 
One of the largest tobacco companies, Phillip Morris USA, supported the bill, splitting from other tobacco industry leaders. Public health groups almost unanimously supported the bill, as a successful passage will give the federal government more regulatory power over tobacco products and the industry as a whole.
Do you …read more