Legal
State
Brown secures agreement with American Spirit cigarettes maker over alleged misleading marketing of organic tobacco products (CA)
The Los Angeles Attorney General’s office has made an agreement with Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company, Inc. requiring the company to disclose that organic tobacco is not safer or healthier than regular tobacco. The attorney general believes that the company, which makes American Spirit products, misled consumers into thinking that its organic products were less harmful than other tobacco products. Santa Fe Natural Tobacco Company has thirty days to meet the requirements specified by the agreement, which include placing warning labels on its advertisements indicating that organic tobacco products are not safer than regular tobacco products. The attorney generals of 32 other states and the District of Columbia have also signed the agreement. Click here to read more, and to see the full list of states signing the agreement.
Philip Morris continues to fight counterfeit cigarettes (NJ, NY)
Philip Morris USA has filed suit against eight retailers in New Jersey and New York for selling counterfeit Marlboro cigarettes. The company notes that the illegal sales harm legitimate businesses and that New York may be especially prone to this activity because of high excise taxes and inability to enforce these taxes. The company has filed similar lawsuits against a total of 35 US retailers since May 2009. Read more here.
Vt. court rules ‘reduced risk’ cigarette ads false (VT)
A Vermont Superior Court Judge has ruled that R.J. Reynolds participated in deceptive and misleading advertising in promoting its Eclipse brand cigarettes as less harmful than other cigarettes, violating both state law and the terms of the 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). The Vermont Attorney General argued that the company’s health claims were not backed by sufficient scientific evidence, thereby breaking a law against consumer fraud. Additionally, the judge found that the advertisements defied the MSA by misrepresenting facts about the health effects of tobacco use. Anti-tobacco groups see the ruling as a victory that will likely be used in other states. Click here to read more.
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International
Cigarette price-fixing infringes EU law (European Union)
A European Court of Justice has ruled that France, Austria, and Ireland can no longer set minimum prices for tobacco products. The European Commission sued the three countries, calling the laws a violation of the European Union (EU) regulations on tobacco; the countries fixed the prices to discourage smoking. The court ruled that such policies were anticompetitive and undermined the tobacco company’s rights to determine their own retail selling prices, but noted that the countries could use taxes to increase the price of tobacco products instead. Read more here.
Marlboro man Philip Morris sues Norway over cigarette ban (Norway)
Philip Morris Norway (PMN) has started legal proceedings to overturn Norway’s ban on displaying tobacco products in stores. The ban was implemented to reduce impulse tobacco purchases, although PMN claims that display bans do not reduce smoking, prevent consumers from seeing available products, and restrict competition. Health officials commented that the company is most likely taking legal action because they believe the ban will be effective in preventing tobacco use. Click here to read more.
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