US: 2 bills offer relief to Big Tobacco when smokers sue

More than 8,000 sick smokers in Florida have sued the tobacco industry for misleading claims, but on Tuesday, two legislative committees pushed through bills that will cap how much the industry is required to set aside in the event it loses those cases. The House Finance and Tax Council and the Senate Judiciary Committee passed similar bills that would shield Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco and Lorillard from having to post hefty bonds as they face an avalanche of lawsuits from smokers.

The measures would allow the three companies to set aside a total of no more than $100 million in bond money in order to appeal the verdicts. Under state law, when a company loses a lawsuit and wants to appeal, it must post a bond for the judgment's entire amount. Trial lawyers complained the measures will remove the financial incentive for the tobacco giants to pay their judgements or settle their cases. Instead, they said, it will encourage the companies to pursue endless appeals and delays designed to financially break plaintiffs or wait until they die.

Promoters of the bills - House Finance and Tax Council chairwoman Ellyn Bogdanoff and Melbourne Republican Sen. Mike Haridopolos - said the measure is needed to give the industry financial certainty, and to protect the state's annual $205 million payment by the tobacco companies as part of the landmark 1997 settlement. ''As far as I'm concerned, the plaintiffs are going to be paid,'' said Bogdanoff, R-Fort Lauderdale.

But of the nearly 3,000 cases pending since the court closed the door to individual cases last year, only four have come to trial -- including the case of Elaine Hess of Fort Lauderdale, the widow of 40-year smoker Stuart Hess who died of lung cancer at age 55 in 1997. Keith Teel, a lawyer representing the three tobacco giants, said that with the average lawsuit yielding a $19 million jury award, the industry faces posting bonds worth $45 billion -- unless the Legislature passes the bills. ''That's just not tenable to continue to make the payments to the state as a matter of cash flow,'' he said.

Hess, however, won $8 million in damages. Teel noted that the bill also punishes tobacco companies if they fail to pay a judgement; they would no longer be protected by the cap and would have to post bonds for the total amount of pending judgements against them.

Robert Hanrech, a Miami lawyer representing some tobacco plaintiffs, said that in a Feb. 26 Goldman Sachs statement to shareholders, one tobacco company said the 8,000 claimants stemming from the class action lawsuit ''fails to pose a significant threat.'' ''This would be a bailout for tobacco,'' he said. Steve Barnes, a Tampa attorney who also represents tobacco plaintiffs, told lawmakers Tuesday the bill was not needed. Barnes said U.S. tobacco companies made $81.8 billion last year.

He described delaying tactics that have resulted in many sick smokers dying before their cases reach court. If their spouse dies as well, ''the claim goes away,'' he said. He said the cases have a name in the industry: a dead-dead case.

Source: Miami Herald, 22 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/xFuMW

'Cancer risk of nicotine gum and lozenges higher than thought'

Nicotine chewing gum, lozenges and inhalers designed to help people to give up smoking may have the potential to cause cancer, research has suggested. Scientists have discovered a link between mouth cancer and exposure to nicotine, which may indicate that using oral nicotine replacement therapies for long periods could contribute to a raised risk of the disease. A study led by Muy-Teck Teh, of Queen Mary, University of London, has found that the effects of a genetic mutation that is common in mouth cancer can be worsened by nicotine in the levels that are typically found in smoking cessation products.

The results raise the prospect that nicotine, the addictive chemical in tobacco, may be more carcinogenic than had previously been appreciated. “Although we acknowledge the importance of encouraging people to quit smoking, our research suggests nicotine found in lozenges and chewing gums may increase the risk of mouth cancer,” Dr Teh said. “Smoking is of course far more dangerous, and people who are using nicotine replacement to give up should continue to use it and consult their GPs if they are concerned. The important message is not to overuse it, and to follow advice on the packet.” Most nicotine replacement products have labels advising people to cut down after three months of use and to stop completely after six months.

Mouth cancer affects nearly 5,000 people each year in Britain and is usually linked to smoking, chewing tobacco or drinking alcohol. It is often diagnosed at a late stage, and consequently has a poor prognosis. Although nicotine is acknowledged as the addictive element in cigarettes its role in cancer has long been disputed. It is not as potent a carcinogen as other chemicals found in tobacco smoke, such as tar, but some previous research has suggested that it may also contribute to the formation of tumours. Nonetheless, it is much less dangerous than cigarettes and is therefore used in a wide variety of smoking cessation products that allow addicts to satisfy a craving for the chemical without smoking.

In the new research, published in the journal Public Library of Science One, Dr Teh’s team has investigated the role of a gene called FOXM1 in mouth cancer. A mutation that raises the activity of this gene is commonly found in many tumours, and is also present in pre-cancerous cells in the mouth, the scientists found. This raised expression can then be worsened by exposure to nicotine, according to Dr Teh.

“If you already have a mouth lesion that is expressing high levels of FOXM1 and you expose it to nicotine, it may add to the risk of converting it into cancer,” he said. “Neither the raised FOXM1 nor nicotine is alone sufficient to trigger cancer, but together they may have an effect. The concern is that with smokers, you are looking at people who are already at risk of oral cancer. I’m worried that some may already have lesions they don’t know about in the mouth, and if they keep on taking nicotine replacement when they stop smoking products they will not be doing themselves any good.”

The findings could also lead to new ways of diagnosing mouth cancer while it is still in its early stages and easier to treat. Dr Teh emphasised that smokers should not stop their attempts to give up. “There is no doubt about the harmful effects of smoking, so smokers should make every effort to quit.”

Source: The Times, 22 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/nSTN0

1,254 people stub the smoking habit thanks to help group

More than 1,000 smokers have quit the habit – thanks to support from Sunderland NHS Stop Smoking Services. Latest figures from the NHS Information Centre show 709 women and 545 men successfully gave up smoking with the help of Sunderland Teaching Primary Care Trust (TPCT) between April-December last year. The figures show 1,443 men and 1,898 women set a quit date with the TPCT during the nine months, and 38 per cent were successful, which was confirmed in tests for carbon monoxide.

A spokesman for the TPCT said: "The figures show that many local smokers are taking that important first step and making a conscious decision to give up. Research shows that people are four times more likely to succeed in their quit efforts when they are supported by NHS Stop Smoking Services. The challenge is to encourage and help even more people give up. Smoking is the major cause of death and ill health in Sunderland, with an average of 600 people dying each year from smoking related diseases. Surveys and polls suggest that as many as 70 per cent of local smokers are either trying or thinking about giving up. To help, we are currently increasing the number of Stop Smoking advisers available locally and expanding the range of locations where people can access the specialist help they need to successfully give up."

The figures also show 31 per cent of pregnant women who had help from the TPCT successfully quit the habit during the same period. The Sunderland NHS Stop Smoking Service provides free advice, support and information, including one-to-one meetings and group discussions with trained advisers. The service is available from hospitals, GP surgeries, leisure centres, pharmacies and community centres. Special services are also available to support pregnant women to give up smoking.

Ailsa Rutter, director of campaigning group Fresh Smoke-Free North East, said: "Smokers give themselves the best possible chance of quitting by using the friendly and free NHS Stop Smoking Service. "This offers the best possible type of support and advice, as well as medication to deal with cravings."

Source: Sunderland Echo, 21 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/Ue9Rz

Spain: Gory images destined for cigarette boxes

Spain has said that it plans to force tobacco companies to put gruesome images on cigarette packets to warn smokers of the health risks, a measure already introduced in some other European countries. The images will have "strong visual impact," but it is not yet known what they exactly they will be or when the measure will come into force, Health Minister Trinidad Jimenez said on Spanish National Radio.

Tobacco companies are already obliged to put the message "Smoking Kills" in black and white on cigarette packets sold in Spain. The Spanish government already has an anti-smoking law, which came into force in January 2006, less restrictive that in other European countries, which bans smoking on public transport but not in bars and restaurants.

Romania last year became the second European country after Belgium to put grim images on cigarette packets, while France plans to introduce a similar measure by the end of the year. Brazil, Thailand and Canada also have similar laws. Among the images used in Romania are photographs of two lungs, one healthy and the other affected by tobacco, or a mother with an empty pushchair with the warning "smoking harms fertility".

Source: www.iol.oc.za, 21 April 2009
Link: http://tiny.cc/947yU