Statement by WHO Director-General, Dr Margaret Chan 15 August 2012 The World Health Organization (WHO) strongly welcomes the landmark decision from Australia’s High Court to dismiss a legal challenge from the tobacco industry, and calls on the rest of the world to follow Australia’s tough stance on tobacco marketing. Several
(Reuters) – Australia called on the world to match its tough new anti-tobacco marketing laws that will ban logos on cigarette packs, after its highest court on Wednesday dismissed a challenge from global manufacturers. The decision means that from December 1 cigarettes and tobacco products must be sold in plain
The latest survey of tobacco use among young people brought good news about the prevalence of cigarette smoking, but highlighted a disturbing trend on the use of cigars and smokeless tobacco. The 2011 National Youth Tobacco Survey, released by the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, found that cigarette smoking
NEW Zealand’s largest tobacco manufacturer will be investigated for giving free cigarettes to its staff. Imperial Tobacco‘s commercial boss Brendan Walker confirmed cigarettes were available to office staff and workers during breaks at its Petone factory, the Herald on Sunday reports. “It’s purely for research,” he told the newspaper. “The
Opponents of the tobacco tax increase on the Nov. 6 ballot got a big boost this week when Cheyenne International, maker of Decade cigarettes, gave $200,000 to fight the measure. The donation from the North Carolina firm more than doubled the money available to the Missouri Petroleum Marketers and Convenience
Tobacco farming is harmful to the environment and farmworkers, with multinational companies contributing to the problem by exploiting local farmers, new research has revealed. A recent review of research on the environmental health impact of tobacco farming found that it degrades the environment, harms workers, and leads to the loss
(Courthouse News Service) The tobacco industry still is regulated by an injunction born out of a 13-year-old federal lawsuit that bars tobacco companies from misleading consumers about the risks of smoking, the D.C. Circuit ruled. “In this latest round in the government’s heavyweight bout against the tobacco industry, the defendant
(CBS/AP) A federal judge has denied a Food and Drug Administration (FDA) motion to dismiss a suit filed by two of the nation’s largest cigarette makers that claimed the advisory panel that reviewed tobacco products for the FDA had financial conflicts of interest. FDA: Dissolvable tobacco better for health, but
(Chicago Sun Times) Two tobacco-industry trade groups are suing to block recent changes to Illinois’ cigarette tax, signed into law in June to help plug a $2.7 billion hole in the state’s ailing Medicaid program. The Cigar Association of America and the National Association of Tobacco Outlets, along with north
(Reuters) – A federal appeals court on Friday upheld a ruling banning tobacco company Philip Morris USA, a unit of Altria Group Inc, from making false or deceptive statements about cigarettes. The U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia upheld a 2009 injunction banning the company, which sells
(The Independent) Uganda is out of step with other East African countries such as Tanzania and Kenya which have enacted tobacco control law. Any avid reader of the print media in the past few months will have noticed a sustained campaign against the proposed Tobacco Control Bill 2011, perpetrated by
(Jakarta Post) A US scientist says various kinds of cancer are linked to smoking, therefore cancer risk assessments need to focus on reducing tobacco consumption. Harold Elliot Varmus, the winner of the 1989 Nobel Prize in Medi-cine, said a person’s genetic predisposition for cancer was small compared to the enormous
(NZ Week / June 15, 2012) “US plans to table a specific exception of tobacco contradict the government’s reassurances that a Trans-Pacific Partnership Agreement would not restrict New Zealand’s right to introduce plain packaging or other tobacco control laws”, according to University of Auckland Law Professor Jane Kelsey. “If the
(PHAI Blog) Three key issues were taken up at the 2012 Reynolds American Inc. (RAI) Annual Shareholders Meeting in Winston-Salem, North Carolina on May 3rd. First, the issue drawing the most public attention was the company’s dealings with groups representing farm workers who toil under dangerous conditions and provide the
(WebProNews.com / May 8, 2012) With all the recent talk about CISPA and ACTA, it seems like we’ve been forgetting about our old friend TTP, or Trans-Pacific Partnership. For those who need a recap, TPP is essentially ACTA for the U.S. and Pacific nations. The only key difference is that
(Wall Street Journal / May 7, 2012) The president wants other countries to embrace free trade, while defending tariffs for domestic textiles. Trade officials from nine dynamic Asia-Pacific economies begin 10 days of talks today in Dallas, Texas, hoping to finalize the Trans-Pacific Partnership pact by the end of this
(Huffington Post) Next week in Dallas, negotiations for what’s likely to be the largest Free Trade Agreement (FTA) in U.S. history will continue in near total secrecy, despite growing demands for an open process. The darkness surrounding the talks isn’t surprising, considering the American public’s increasing disapproval of FTAs and
(Dominion Post) New Zealand has not signed any free trade agreement that will stop plans to sell cigarettes in plain packaging, Prime Minister John Key says. That’s despite threats by a consortium of American organisations who issued a statement over the weekend claiming tobacco firms’ logos and branding were protected
(Jakarta Globe) Last year, Indonesia’s clove cigarettes made headlines internationally. In an unprecedented move, Indonesia challenged superpower trading partner the United States at the World Trade Organization’s dispute settlement body over the US Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act. That law effectively banned the circulation and import of Indonesian
(Dec. 5, 2011) The Green Party is calling on the Government to reject attempts to introduce investor-state disputes mechanisms into the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) trade negotiations in light of evidence that the Philip Morris tobacco company is planning to use the TPP to block anti-smoking laws. “Most New Zealanders will
