Just say no. I’m not talking about the anti-drug program that took off in the 1980s, although that campaign clearly is an important one even today. But in the new millennium the “Just say no” movement needs to be redirected toward parents. Yes, you, me, our neighbors and our friends. We need to stop trying to blame others for not taking up the mantle we as parents are required to do. The blame game has got to end. [caption id="attachment_7 ... Jump to full article >>

A North Dakota anti-tobacco agency says it’s making progress in helping people to quit smoking. Director Jeanne (JEE’-nee) Prom says the number of North Dakotans who enrolled in a tobacco “quit line” program almost doubled in the last year. More than 2,300 people signed up, and Prom believes it’s because of efforts by local health agencies. Lake Region State College and the Minot Job Corps center have gone tobacco-f ... Jump to full article >>

A lawsuit by a Massachusetts man who accuses Lorillard Tobacco Co. of trying to entice black children to smoke is expected to go to the jury this week. The son of a Boston woman who died of lung cancer sued the maker of Newport cigarettes, claiming the company lured his mother to begin smoking at age 13 by giving away free samples at the Boston housing project where she lived. Lawyers for North Carolina-based Lorillard say there is no evidence t ... Jump to full article >>

A woman is suing some of the nation’s largest tobacco companies in Manatee County Circuit Court for monetary damages after she developed chronic obstructive pulmonary disease after smoking, according to a lawsuit filed this month. Rebecca A. Ireland is suing several tobacco companies, including Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. Ireland’s case is one of two pending lawsuits against tobacco companies in Manatee County. In July, t ... Jump to full article >>

Star Scientific (Nasdaq: CIGX) announced today that oral argument of its appeal has been docketed for January 11, 2011 by the US Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit. Star has appealed the June, 2009 verdict that resulted from the jury trial of its patent infringement lawsuit against RJ Reynolds Tobacco Company in the US District Court for Maryland, and is being represented by Carter Phillips, Esquire, of the law firm Sidley Austin LLP. A t ... Jump to full article >>

In mid-October, the Government of Alberta announced that they planned to sue Big Tobacco in order to recover the health-care costs associated with tobacco use. It has been a fairly common strategy in the war on tobacco. In the United States, a lawsuit by 46 state Attorneys General was finally settled in 1998, and the four largest tobacco companies are still paying more than $200 billion to the states that participated in the suit. It’s a t ... Jump to full article >>

Attorneys return to DeLand in March to argue that RJ Reynolds brought on a former cigarette smoker’s cancer. The first trial ended in a deadlocked jury. The panel was supposed to determine whether Koballa was addicted to tobacco, but could not agree on a definition for addiction. Attorney Dennis Pantazis was caught off guard by the mistrial. “I was surprised,” said Pantazis. “We think the evidence is very, very strong.&# ... Jump to full article >>

A proposed Utah bill banning the sale of flavored tobacco products and novelty nicotine candies could lead to a lawsuit. A similar ban passed in New York City is being contested by several subsidiaries of Altria. Spokesman David Sutton says the lawsuit against the ban passed in the Big Apple argues regulating tobacco flavors is the purview of the federal government. “The Food and Drug Administration has overall authority for tobacco product re ... Jump to full article >>

HARRISBURG, PA. — A Pennsylvania appellate court is siding with R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. in a lawsuit over advertising that the company ran in Rolling Stone magazine in 2007. The state Commonwealth Court’s Tuesday decision overturned a Philadelphia judge who ordered Reynolds to pay a $302,000 fine or pay for an anti-smoking ad in a Pennsylvania edition of the magazine. At issue was a fold-out Camel ad promoting independent record labels ... Jump to full article >>

Massachusetts health officials developing a campaign that would force retailers to prominently display graphic warnings about the dangers of smoking said they will closely monitor a lawsuit filed by tobacco companies to remove similar posters from New York City stores. A spokeswoman for the Massachusetts Department of Public Health, Jennifer Manley, said the agency intends to proceed with public hearings about its proposal and remains committed ... Jump to full article >>