By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., PHAI Senior Attorney Five months before Howard A. Willard III presided for the first time over the Altria Group annual shareholders meeting in Richmond, Virginia, the company carried out a business plan that dominated the discussion at the meeting. On December 20, 2018, Altria Group announced it had spent $12.8 […]
Today, the Public Health Advocacy Institute (PHAI) took the first step in launching a public health class action lawsuit in Massachusetts against Juul Labs, the makers of the most popular e-cigarette in the United States, for designing and marketing its product to appeal to and addict adolescents. This is the first such case brought against
Lawsuit Demands Juul Fund Treatment for the MA Adolescents it Addicted Read More »
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., Senior Attorney It became clear in the months leading up to the May 17th Annual Shareholders Meeting for Altria Group that 2018 would be a time for change for the company. In January, Chairman, CEO and President Martin Barrington publicly announced his intention to retire due to the approach of
2018 Altria Group Annual Shareholders Meeting – A Time of Transitions Read More »
The U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) intends to issue a rule to weaken the school food nutritional requirements of the Healthy, Hunger-Free Kids Act of 2012. The rule would allow flavored milk with added sugar, waive the requirement to provide whole grains, and delay reductions of sodium levels in school foods. PHAI submitted a comment
PHAI Submits Comment Opposing Proposed School Food Nutrition Rollbacks Read More »
This year, PHAI continued moving cases against Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds to trial, went to court to tell Coca-Cola and the American Beverage Association to be honest about the link between sugar drink consumption and disease, and has been working on several other potential lawsuits with a public health impact. We provided help to
End of Year Appeal Read More »
Access to safe and appealing drinking water in child care centers and schools is a key strategy to build healthy habits that children will use for life to maintain a healthy body weight and to support overall health. This study sought to identify and summarize state-level policies in twenty states for drinking water quality and
On Friday, July 28, 2017, U.S. Food and Drug Administration (“FDA”) Commissioner Scott Gottlieb unveiled a revamped approach to tobacco product regulation in an announcement that surprised tobacco companies, investors, and the public health community in equal measure. The goal, as articulated by Gottlieb, will be to regulate products so as to encourage migrating existing consumers from
FDA Reboots Tobacco Regulation with Harm Reduction Read More »
Despite the scientifically established link between consuming sugar drinks and obesity, type 2 diabetes, and heart disease, the Coca-Cola Company and its trade association, the American Beverage Association, deceive consumers by denying and obscuring soda’s link to those diseases, according to a lawsuit filed today. Bringing the action filed today in the Superior Court of
By Edward L. Sweda, Jr., PHAI Senior Attorney As I approached the Greater Richmond Convention Center on the partly cloudy morning of Thursday, May 18, 2017, thoughts of sub-freezing temperatures and snowstorms never entered my mind. But, before the morning gave way to the afternoon, I realized that I had just seen dozens of snowflakes. As
Ben Kelley, a leading authority on automotive safety, is a member of the Board of Directors for the Public Health Advocacy Institute. Recently he published a scholarly article and op-ed discussing the safety implications of autonomous, i.e., “self-driving,” vehicles. The article appeared in the Journal of Public Health Policy. JPHP is co-published by another of
PHAI Board Member Ben Kelley on Safety Implications of Autonomous Vehicles Read More »