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Tobacco Judge Urges Settlement
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· Others
International:
· USA
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Source:news,2005-06-22
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Both sides in the government's racketeering case against the tobacco industry were urged by the trial judge to settle the case, but Judge Gladys Kessler also ordered participants in a closed-door settlement meeting not to discuss the get-together publicly. The Washington Post reported June 21 that Kessler declared the meeting closed to the public because it was "a routine, informal discussion with the parties urging them, once again, to consider the advantages of settling the case rather than the risks of litigating it." The meeting lasted about 2-1/2 hours and included the CEOs of defendants Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds as well as the lead lawyers from the Justice Department. "The judge put this meeting under seal," said Philip Morris attorney Dan Webb. "We've been instructed by the judge not to talk about our meeting. We're just not going to discuss it, period." Barring a settlement, Kessler is prepared to rule on whether the industry violated civil-racketeering laws and determine what penalties tobacco companies would face for any violations. William Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the government should not settle the case "while it is under a cloud of political interference or under the weak terms proposed by the government in its closing argument." In other developments in the case, a pair of Democratic members of Congress asked the Justice Department's Professional Responsibility Office to look into whether government witness Max Bazerman, a business professor at Harvard University, was pressured to change his testimony. Bazerman, who recommended that the court appoint a monitor to watch over the industry, told reporters that Justice Department lawyers threatened to remove him as a government witness if he did not tone down his testimony. |
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Tobacco Hot news and Information...
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If ashes could talk
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Source: http://www.iht.com,2007-02-01 |
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As a restaurant critic for the European edition of the Herald Tribune in the 1950s, I was in Paris when the city was burning. That is to say, every French man and woman filled the cafes and dining rooms with smoke all day. The French Parliament is now discussing whether to ban smoking in restaurants, bars, cafes and the Eiffel Tower. France could become a smoke-free country. For all of us, the cigarette or cigar was the best way to end a fantastic meal. The French have a saying, "A day without tobacco is like a day without sunshine." The French, being the French, have very contrary attitudes about smoking. One branch of the government sold Gauloise, as well as other tobacco products, as a means of collecting tax money. Another part of government had an advertising campaign proclaiming that smoking was dangerous to your health. In the good old days, I smoked cigars - six to ten a day. I thought nothing of lighting up a Havana after a meal in a good restaurant. Sometimes when I was sitting next to an American tourist he would say, "Do you mind putting out that cigar?" Or, "Put the damn thing out! You are making my wife sick." I sized him up, and if he was bigger than I was I put it out. Gourmets complained that smoking affected your taste buds. I found it was true. One evening I was at La Tour d'Argent. I had the pressed duck, and just prior to that I had smoked a cigar at the Ritz Bar. I couldn't taste the duck. Since I was a restaurant critic, I didn't mention it to my companions. The smokers in cafes in France needed a cigarette in their lips before they spoke. Jean-Paul Sartre, Simone de Bouvoir, Picasso, Alexander Calder, got all their ideas as they exhaled smoke from their mouths. My favorite cafe was La Coupole in Montparnasse. You could hardly see the people through the smoke. I have ashtrays from there and other cafes; my trophy is from Maxim's. If only my ashes could talk. Frenchmen do not laugh when they are smoking. They take it very seriously. Cafes supply matches. Tourists take them home as souvenirs. Cigar smokers use lighters. The sexiest thing a women can do is light a gentleman's cigar. A French friend, Henri Fouquet, said, "When Americans stopped smoking, their culture went down hill. It will happen in France." Victor Hugo would never have been able to write "Les Miserables" if he didn't have a pack of fags next to his pen. The ones that are taking the big hits are the tobacco companies, not to mention the armed forces. Without Gitanes in their rucksacks, they will be a sorry lot of soldiers. Where this all leads, Dieu only knows. |
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Brits Say Ban Smoking in Homes with Kids
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Source: news,2005-06-22 |
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A telephone poll conducted in Great Britain found that 72 percent of adults think smoking should be banned in households with children, and even 65 percent of smokers said they would support such a ban, the BBC reported June 21. The survey by the U.K. charity Developing Patient Partnerships (DPP) also found that many respondents were not aware of the potential health impact of secondhand smoke on children, or that health begins to improve almost immediately after smoking ceases. A DPP spokesperson and others suggested that voluntary action by parents, not government regulation, would make the most difference in children's health. "These results show how strongly people feel about smoking around children in the home," said DPP spokesperson Terry John. "Parents need practical help that shows the positive side of quitting and encouraging the whole family to get healthy together, rather than a law forcing them not to smoke at home." Deborah Arnott, director of the antismoking group ASH, added: "Although knowledge about the dangers of passive smoking is growing, many people underestimate the harm that it causes, especially to children. The only way for parents to protect their children from tobacco smoke is by making their homes entirely smoke-free." |
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Tobacco Suit Dismissed for Lack of Evidence
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Source: news,2005-06-21 |
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Agreeing with tobacco-industry lawyers, a New York judge has dismissed a sick smoker's lawsuit on the grounds of lack of evidence, Newsday reported June 21. New York State Supreme Court Judge Ute Wolff Lally said that Selma Rosen, 61, failed to show that the lung cancer she developed in 1995 was caused by cigarettes manufactured by Brown & Williamson, the defendant in the case. Rosen first got addicted to the company's Lucky Strike brand, but switched brands and stopped and restarted smoking a number of times during her life. "Lucky Strikes caused my addiction, and my addiction is what lead to my years of smoking," she said. "I'm an addict for the rest of my life, whether I smoke or not." B&W lawyer Harold Gordon said that smokers should not be suing tobacco companies, just as alcoholics should not sue beer or wine companies. "In many respects, this is a societal issue and not one that should be using up scarce court resources," said Gordon. |
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