Legal

State

Liggett Group to pay $110 million in tobacco settlement (FL) – Reuters. Liggett Group announced that it would pay $110 million to settle nearly 4,900 of the 5,300 lawsuits pending in Florida against Liggett and its parent company, Vector Group Ltd. The plaintiffs come from a 1994 class action lawsuit filed against major tobacco companies that consisted of Florida residents who said they or family members had been killed or injured as a result of tobacco-related medical conditions. Related: Court snuffs out tobacco's 'due process' claim – Sun-Sentinel. A federal appeals court rejected arguments by R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. that its due-process rights had been violated as cigarette makers try to fend off thousands of lawsuits in Florida.

Kentucky could lose $45 million in tobacco settlement money (KY) – Courier-Journal. Kentucky could lose as much as $45 million in tobacco settlement money next spring under a little-noticed arbitration ruling, creating a potential funding shortfall for agriculture, smoking cessation and early childhood programs.

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National

Legal Update newsletter, Fall 2013 – Tobacco Control Legal Consortium. The latest newsletter from the Consortium focuses on the tobacco industry and its past and current behavior in countering public health and influencing the tobacco product regulatory process.

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International

U.S. lawmakers to President Obama: Protect tobacco control measures under trade pact – Press Release, Office of U.S. Representative Henry A. Waxman. Fifty-six members of Congress sent a letter to President Obama urging that the Administration strengthen its tobacco proposal for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) Agreement, a trade agreement which could affect nations’ ability to enforce tobacco control laws. Click here to read the letter and click here to learn more from the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids’ Tobacco Unfiltered blog.

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