Tobacco

Spending 45 Minutes with 80 of My Fellow Altria Shareholders

by Edward L. Sweda, Jr. As soon as Altria Group, Inc. Chairman, CEO and President Martin J. Barrington opened the 2016 Annual Shareholders Meeting, he boasted that 2015 had been “another terrific year.” The “excellent business results” included dividends increasing by 8.7% (to $4.2 billion) and a shareholder return of more than 23%. Marlboro, with […]

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PHAI’s Daynard Discusses Tony Gwynn Lawsuit on ESPN and in the New York Times

On May 23, 2016, the widow and children of baseball great Tony Gwynn filed a wrongful death lawsuit against Altria Group alleging that the manufacturers of Skoal smokeless tobacco’s negligence, fraud, defective design, and failure-to-warn caused the death of the Hall of Famer in 2014. Richard Daynard, PHAI’s president and University Distinguished Professor of Law at Northeastern

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A Rainy day in Winston-Salem

By Edward L. Sweda, Jr. When Reynolds American International (RAI) President and CEO Susan M. Cameron told the company’s 2016 annual shareholders meeting that it is “always a pleasure to report good news,” this shareholder was reminded of a similar message: “Alive with Pleasure.”  That ubiquitous advertising slogan for Newport cigarettes – which RAI acquired

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PHAI Urges HUD to Expand Proposed Smoke-free Public Housing Rule to All HUD-Funded Housing

The Public Health Advocacy Institute submitted comments to a proposed rule by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development (\”HUD\”) to make its public housing smoke-free. The proposed rule would affect 1.1 million households, but leave 3.4 million other HUD-funded households unprotected. These include the agency’s tenant-based and project-based rental assistance. PHAI argues that

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Top Boston Firms Join Forces with Public Health Advocacy Institute

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE Contact: Mark Gottlieb or Andrew Rainer 617-373-2026 “We are so pleased to be working with this outstanding group of lawyers to help some of tobacco’s victims in Massachusetts,” said Andrew Rainer, PHAI’s Litigation Director and Director of the Center for Public Health Litigation.  Working together with PHAI will be: PHAI’s latest suit,

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R.J. Reynolds’ Shareholder\’s Report from Winston-Salem: A “Good Year,” a Proposal to Merge and a Death Toll that Must Not Be Acknowledged

By Edward L. Sweda, Jr. Like clockwork, the 2015 Reynolds American (RAI) Annual Shareholders Meeting started precisely at 9:00 A.M. on Thursday May 7, 2015 at the company’s headquarters in Winston-Salem, North Carolina. Seventy-five minutes later, the meeting was adjourned. Before I could attend the meeting, I had to proceed through intense security, with machines

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PHAI Submits Comments on Proposed Mass AG Regulations for E-Cigarettes

On April 23, 2015, the Public Health Advocacy Institute submitted the following written comments concerning proposed regulations for electronic cigarettes issued by Massachusetts Attorney General Maura Healey: April 23, 2015 Amber Villa, Assistant Attorney General Consumer Protection Division Office of the Attorney General One Ashburton Place Boston, MA 02108 Re: Massachusetts Attorney General Proposed Regulations of

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