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ASH Daily News

Thursday 4 November, 1999

Headlines
Gallaher to launch £2.5 billion bid for Seita
Smoking associated with adverse childhood experiences
Florida Court to review tobacco ruling

Full Text

Gallaher to launch £2.5 billion bid for Seita

Gallaher are to launch a £2.5 billion bid for Seita. If the attempt is
successful it will split up the French company’s proposed merger with
the Spanish tobacco company, Tabacalera. The bid will be made mostly
in cash and Gallaher will seek the recommendation of the Seita board
to increase the chance of Seita’s shareholders accepting the offer.

Source: The Independent, Guardian, Financial Times and all other
newspapers, 4 November 1999

Smoking associated with adverse childhood experiences

A study appears in JAMA that examines the relationship between smoking
and adverse childhood experiences. Out of 9215 adults (4958 females
and 4257 males) with mean ages of 55.3 and 58.1 respectively. The main
conclusions were smoking was strongly associated with adverse
childhood experiences and improved treatment of exposed children could
reduce smoking among both adolescents and adults.

Source: JAMA, Vol.282 No. 17: 1652-1658, 3 November 1999.

Florida Supreme Court to review tobacco ruling

The Florida supreme court has agreed to review a lower court ruling
that would have exposed the industry to potentially crippling punitive
damages. Last month the Engle trial – the first tobacco class action
lawsuit to come to court – had been given permission to award punitive
damages to the entire class, or an estimated 500,000 sick smokers in
the state.

Source: Financial Times, Daily Telegraph, 4 November 1999

Karl Brookes
Project Manager
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