Legal
State
Federal judge rejects tobacco companies’ effort to block key provisions of new tobacco regulation law (KY)
Several tobacco companies claiming violation of their First Amendment rights were denied a request to keep the FDA from regulating tobacco products. A U.S. District Court Judge found that the government “has a substantial interest in protecting consumers from misleading tobacco industry claims about allegedly reduced risk tobacco products.” This ruling supports the portion of the law that requires tobacco companies to submit claims of reduced risk to the FDA for evaluation. Click here to read a joint statement made by the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, American Cancer Society (ACS), ACS Cancer Action Network, American Heart Association, American Lung Association and the American Legacy Foundation.
Wynn Resorts accused of not protecting employees (NV)
A Wynn Las Vegas casino employee has filed a federal lawsuit seeking class action status, accusing Wynn of being an unsafe working environment due to secondhand smoke, and being negligent in protecting pregnant employees from the smoke. The employee alleges the casino encouraged patrons to smoke and disciplined workers if they complained. According to a lawyer representing a Harrah's Entertainment employee in a similar lawsuit, the purpose of the lawsuit is not to make casinos smoke=free, but to force Wynn to better protect its employees from secondhand smoke. Click here to read more.
Court bans mom from smoking near child (OH)
The Ohio 12th District Court of Appeals has upheld a decision to forbid caregivers from smoking around a nine-year old girl. The court took judicial notice in its decision, meaning that the court did not require proof of the hazards of secondhand smoke to children to be presented. This follows a nation-wide trend in family court cases, where usually the “best interest of the child” is decided over the rights of the person claiming custody. To date, at least eighteen states have ruled that a child’s exposure to tobacco smoke is an admissible factor in deciding custody. Click here for the full article.
State high court ponders award in cigarette lawsuit (OR)
In a 5-4 vote, the Oregon Court of Appeals upheld a verdict of fraud and negligence against Philip Morris and a $169,000 reward to the estate of a woman who died of lung cancer in 1999. A jury awarded the family $150 million in 2002, but the appeals court ruled that the jury should not have considered harm done to other people outside the state in deciding the award amount. Click here to read more.
Public to vote on South Dakota's smoking ban law (SD)
South Dakota Circuit Judge Kathleen Trandahl has ruled that the state’s smoking ban will be referred to a statewide vote next November before going into effect. The American Cancer Society and the state have both announced that they will not appeal the decision. The ACS will instead focus its resources on gaining voter support for the smoking ban. To read about the court decision, click here. To read more about the expected political battle before the vote on the smokefree policy, click here.
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International
Health groups applaud passage of bill to sue tobacco companies (Canada)
Alberta has become the ninth Canadian province to pass legislation allowing the government to hold tobacco companies accountable for their impact on healthcare costs. The passage of Bill 48, the Crown’s Right of Recovery Act, enables the Alberta government to sue tobacco companies in order to recover Medicare expenses caused by smoking. Campaign for a Smoke-Free Alberta, a group of prominent health organizations, is supportive of the bill, and urges the government to follow the lead of several other provinces and initiate a lawsuit soon. Read more here.
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