Posts tagged 'tobacco'
Tobacco suits continue, 60 years later
Posted: Oct. 23, 2013 | Tags: tobacco
Today we're running another in a series of stories produced by Myron Levin at the nonprofit Fair Warning website. He tells the story of Kent cigarettes, which Lorillard re-engineered in response to the health scare of the early 1950s, when the link between smoking and lung cancer began drawing wide attention. The "new" Kents 60 years ago had a patented "Micronite" filter that contained a virulent form of asbestos, and the company continues to face litigation related to those filters. In addition, the Food and Drug Administration is considering whether to restrict the use of menthol in cigarettes: Lorillard ...
Tobacco companies pushing back
Posted: Aug. 16, 2013 | Tags: tobacco
As countries around the world ramp up their fight to reduce smoking, free-trade agreements have become a weapon of choice for multinational tobacco companies seeking to challenge the most stringent rules. The Obama administration announced 15 months ago that it would push for language in a pending Pacific Rim trade deal protecting the authority of national health agencies, including the Food and Drug Administration, to impose tough anti-smoking measures. But facing strong opposition from powerful business groups and congressional delegations from tobacco states, the administration has so far failed to move forward with the proposal.
Today, the Investigative Reporting Workshop ...
