Tobacco Industry News

Reports

Lorillard goes on the offensive over menthol cigs
Lorillard, the country’s third largest cigarette company, has launched a website called “Understanding Menthol,” explaining the company’s position amid a federal review of the use of menthol in cigarettes. Lorillard’s stance is that the available evidence does not support the theory that menthol cigarettes are more harmful than other cigarettes, and thus menthol products should not be regulated differently. The website discusses some of the studies the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is reviewing as well as potential consequences of a complete ban on the product. The company also sent letters to smokers of their top-selling menthol brand, Newport, regarding the FDA’s review of the public health impact of the cigarettes. Click here to read more, or visit the website.

Philip Morris is said to benefit from child labor
Human Rights Watch has released a report documenting the use of child and forced labor on tobacco farms that supply a Philip Morris International subsidiary’s factory in Kazakhstan. The report, based on interviews with 68 tobacco farm employees, describes dangerous working conditions and unfair practices, such as limited access to potable water, wearing open-toed shoes while using dangerous equipment, taking away workers’ passports, and paying per ton of harvested tobacco, creating an incentive for workers to bring their children to the fields. In response to the report, Philip Morris has said it will increase efforts to eliminate child labor and unsafe conditions on farms that provide the company with tobacco. Some of the measures they intend to use are requiring farmers to pay monthly salaries instead of piecework pay and hiring monitors to check for compliance with child labor laws. Read more here, or click here to read a press release and the full report, “Hellish Work: Exploitation of Migrant Tobacco Workers in Kazakhstan.”

top

Back to Table of Contents