Consumerist
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smokin'
Would You "Smoke" E-Cigarettes?
With smoking banned just about everyplace except for that tiny spot behind the loading dock, more committed nicotine fiends are turning to e-cigarettes, battery-powered, cig-shaped devices that you can dangle off your lip just about anywhere. Proponents say they offer a healthier alternative to tobacco for smokers who have trouble quitting. But health concerns have led to warnings from the FDA that the fakes contain cancer-causing ingredients. Oops.
Inside: Poll - Would you "smoke" e-cigarettes? More » -
corporate manipulation
FDA Banned Flavored Cigs, But Not Menthols. Why?
Back in June we noted that the FDA was about to get a lot more say over the tobacco industry if the Senate approved a new bill. Well they did, and so yesterday the FDA flexed its new muscles by banning fruit, herb, spice, and candy flavorings from cigarettes. That's right: clove cigarettes were just banned by the FDA, which is bad news for gothy teens and great news for everyone else. More » -
department of vice
Study: Cigarette Packages Can Help Kill Smokers
A new study published in the Journal of Public Health has found that people rate cigarettes in attractive packages as less deadly than others. Or, to put it another way, the study found that people who are asked to compare cigarettes based on their packages are inclined to prefer the smartly packaged ones: More » -
The Senate has approved FDA regulation of tobacco. No more "low tar" labels or flavored tobacco, and the FDA will now need to know and approve all ingredients in tobacco products. It is likely to pass the House, and President Obama plans to sign the bill. [MSNBC] (Thanks, Greg!)
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government
If Legislation Passes, The FDA May Soon Regulate Cigarettes
The New York Times is reporting that Richard M. Burr, the "tobacco-state senator who tried a filibuster this week against a bill that would allow the Food and Drug Administration to regulate the cigarette industry" has apparently given up, clearing the way for the bill to pass the Senate. A similar bill has already passed the House and Obama says he will sign the legislation. More » -
conflict of interest
Health Insurers Own Tobacco Stocks Worth Nearly $4.5 Billion
Major health insurance companies own nearly $4.5 billion worth of stock in tobacco companies, according to a Harvard University study. It kinda makes sense: health insurers know tobacco sickens people, and so as long as people are smoking, why not profit from the killer? It's what David Himmelstein, a co-author of the study, calls "the combined taxidermist and veterinarian approach: either way you get your dog back." More » -
rulings
Federal Court: Cigarette Makers Are Liars And "Low-Tar," "Light" Cigarettes Are Dangerous
Cigarette companies have conspired for decades to defraud and mislead the public about the health risks of "light" and "low-tar" cigarettes, a federal appeals court said yesterday. The DC Circuit Court of Appeals unanimously ruled that a federal district judge was right to ban the terms from appearing on cigarette packages. Under the ruling, cigarette companies may soon be required to issue a public mea culpa admitting that they were killing people when they said cigarettes were safe and non-addictive. More » -
news from the swamp
After Decade-Long Delay, House Tells FDA To Regulate Tobacco
The House this week voted to empower the FDA to regulate tobacco, just in case people still smoke even after new taxes push the cost of cigarettes to over $9 per pack and the recession bankrupts everyone. Under the measure, which passed 298-112, the FDA would be able to set nicotine levels, control cigarette advertising, and require companies to provide a full list of cigarette ingredients. As usual, the killjoys in the Senate may force the House to smoke a light version of the cigarette bill... More » -
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taxes
Cigarettes Just Got Fiscally Irresponsible In Addition To The Whole "Health" Thing
Smokers around the country are freaking out as a huge federal cigarette tax increase goes into effect. More » -
badvertising
Old Cigarette Ads: Doctors, Nurses, And Rock Hudson Say It's Good For You
Man, cigarettes were awesome in the past, if these old ads collected by Stanford University are to be believed. They calmed your nerves so you'd stop humming nervously! They soothed your throat! They made you a movie star and helped you capture animals on your big game hunt! We don't know what tobacco was made of before the mid-80s, but no wonder everyone smoked. More » -
Sorry, light cigarette smokers! The Second Circuit denied you class-action status in your suit against the tobacco companies. A district court judge had held that "virtually all Americans who had purchased cigarettes labeled as 'light'" could be part of the class. The appellate court laughed at this broad certification, saying it would not "reduce the range of issues in dispute and promote judicial economy." [Consumer Law & Policy Blog]
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conflict of interest
Liggett Cigarette Company Paid For 2006 Lung Cancer Study
CT scanning, a promising approach to detecting lung cancer at early, treatable stages, has been dealt a setback with the revelation that the most prominent study so far in support of it was funded almost entirely by a cigarette company—with the funds funneled through a foundation set up by the study's author, Dr. Claudia Henschke, reports the New York Times. Although the funding revelation doesn't negate the results of the study, it raises huge conflict of interest flags and reveals how a tobacco company secretly influenced professional opinion by funneling $3.6 million into the foundation over a three year period. More » -
Some Minnesota bars are getting around smoking bans by holding "theater nights" and proclaiming everyone in the bar an "actor." State law allows performers to smoke during theatrical performances. [Star-Tribune via BoingBoing]
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news from the swamp
Senate Committee Votes To Give FDA Power To Regulate Tobacco
The Senate Health, Education, Labor, and Pensions Committee voted 13-8 to empower the FDA to regulate tobacco products. States and municipalities have spent years shoving cigarettes out of the public domain, but the FDA would be able to control cigarette advertising, mandate bigger, European-style warning labels, and regulate nicotine content. Only Congress has the power to ban cigarettes outright. From the Boston Globe:Yesterday's slim majority however, came as Republican-sponsored amendments loom that could gut the bill's main intent.
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news from the swamp
Cigarette Taxes Rising To $1 Per Pack
Sorry smokers, the federal cigarette tax will soon be $1 per pack, a 61 cent increase, if the Senate Finance Committee has its way. Both chambers of Congress agree that a higher tax is needed to help finance an expansion of the Children's Health Insurance Program. From the Times-News Online: More » -
blogs
Five Things Tobacco Companies Wish They Never Said
Here's five thing about nicotine's addictiveness and the industry's underlying motives that tobacco companies probably wish they never said. Not like they're a shock or anything, it's just that they're there, in print, in court documents. Blamo. More » -
cigarettes
Study Finds Higher Levels Of Nicotine In Cigarettes
NPR has an interesting report on The Harvard School of Public Health's findings that nicotine levels in cigarettes are rising, despite tobacco companies' promise not to work to increase the levels of the addictive substance in their products. More »
cigarettes
New York, 8:33 AM
Wed Nov 11
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