Tag Archives: cigarettes

The New York Post reports: “What is your opinion about a policy that would end the sale of all tobacco products in New York within 10 years?” were among the questions asked last week in the “New York Local Opinion Leaders Survey,” examined by the Post. Another asks: “What is your opinion about a policy that would ban the sale …

Reuters reports: E-cigarette maker Juul Labs Inc has agreed to pay $462 million to settle claims by six U.S. states including New York and California that it unlawfully marketed its addictive products to minors, a person familiar with the matter said on Wednesday. With the deal, Juul will have settled with 45 states for more than $1 billion. The company …

ABC News reports: One of the world’s strictest anti-tobacco laws has been imposed in Mexico, setting in force a total ban on smoking in public places, including hotels, beaches and parks. The new law, which is part of the country’s General Law for Tobacco Control reform, came into force on Sunday. It will also see the total ban on the …

Reuters reports: Future generations of New Zealanders will be banned from purchasing tobacco as part of a package of new anti-smoking laws that passed parliament on Tuesday and are among the most strict in the world. The suite of new laws include bans on selling tobacco to anyone born on or after Jan. 1, 2009, punishable by fines up to …

The Associated Press reports: The U.S. government on Thursday released its long-awaited plan to ban menthol cigarettes and flavored cigars, citing the toll on Black smokers and young people. “The proposed rules would help prevent children from becoming the next generation of smokers and help adult smokers quit,” said HHS Secretary Xavier Becerra, in a statement. He added that the …

The Wall Street Journal reports: Walmart Inc. is ending cigarette sales in some U.S. stores after years of debate within the retail company’s leadership ranks about the sale of tobacco products, according to people familiar with the matter. Cigarettes are being removed in various markets, including some stores in California, Florida, Arkansas and New Mexico. Walmart, which has more than …

Gothamist reports: For years, New York City and state lawmakers have been working to make it harder and more expensive for residents to smoke. A public health group is now laying out an ambitious goal: Ending the sale of smokable tobacco products altogether. The New York State Public Health Association is among 148 organizations worldwide that signed onto a statement …

NBC News reports: The Biden administration is expected to announce this week that it will propose a ban on menthol cigarettes, an action urgently sought by tobacco opponents and civil rights groups that say African Americans have been disproportionately hurt by the industry’s aggressive targeting of Black communities. The administration also is poised to say it will seek to ban …

The New York Times reports: The corpse is gone. So are the grief-stricken woman, the rotting teeth and the man struggling to smoke despite a hole in his windpipe. Nine years after the Food and Drug Administration first proposed graphic images as warnings on cigarette packs but was thwarted by tobacco companies in a successful court battle, the agency announced …

Albany’s NBC News affiliate reports: The smoking age in New York state is going from 18 to 21. Gov. Andrew Cuomo signed legislation on Tuesday to raise the age to buy both tobacco and e-cigarettes. It takes effect in 120 days. Sixteen states have approved raising the smoking age to 21, though in some the changes won’t take effect until …

The Hawaii Herald-Tribune reports: Rep. Richard Creagan wants Hawaii to be the first state to ban the sale of cigarettes. The Hawaii Island lawmaker said he doesn’t think taxes or regulations are doing enough to stem their use. He wants to see them off store shelves all together. His bill, HB 1509, seeks to halt the sale of cigarettes by …

TechCrunch report: After a long year fighting underage use of its products, Juul Labs has today struck a deal with Altria Group, the owners of Philip Morris USA and makers of Marlboro cigarettes. The deal values Juul at $38 billion, according to Bloomberg, and injects the company with a fresh $12.8 billion in exchange for a 35 percent stake in …

Via the Los Angeles Times: The state Senate on Tuesday approved a bill that would raise the minimum legal age for buying cigarettes and other tobacco products from 18 to 21 as part of an effort to reduce smoking by young people. Sen. Ed Hernandez (D-West Covina) said he introduced the bill, SB 151, out of concern that an estimated …

Via Reuters: New York City and New York state sued United Parcel Service Inc. on Wednesday, seeking over $180 million in damages and penalties against the shipping company for allegedly delivering nearly 700,000 cartons of untaxed cigarettes across the state. The lawsuit, filed in U.S. District Court in Manhattan, accuses UPS of cheating the state and city of $29.7 million …

(Via Igor Volsky at Think Progress)

Via the Associated Press: The cartons of Marlboros, cans of Skoal and packs of Swisher Sweets are hard to miss stacked near the entrance of Vincent’s Country Store, but maybe not for much longer: All tobacco products could become contraband if local health officials get their way. This sleepy central Massachusetts town of 7,700 has become an improbable battleground in …

CVS has ceased selling cigarettes and their new ad about that change features a fleeting glimpse of a handsome bear couple at the 0:25 mark. (Tipped by JMG reader Matt)

Earlier this month CVS announced that it would stop selling cigarettes, a move that will take a $2B chunk out of the company’s annual grosses, at least until they decide how to fill those shelves behind the chain’s few remaining staffed check-out stations. And now there’s a petition for Walgreens, the nation’s largest drugstore chain, to do the same. (Walgreens …

CVS Caremark, the nation’s second largest drugstore chain with over 7600 locations, has announced that they will phase out all tobacco sales by the end of the year. The company declined to say what will take tobacco’s prominent shelf place behind cash registers at the front of its stores. CVS Caremark will test some items and may expand smoking cessation …

In what some see as Mayor Bloomberg’s final stab at the tobacco industry, New York City today filed a massive lawsuit against Fedex for shipping cigarettes to private homes. Monday’s lawsuit was filed in the U.S. District Court in Manhattan and seeks $52 million of civil fines and unpaid taxes from FedEx, which is based in Memphis, Tennessee. According to …