Kroger sues e-cigarette company, settles with others

SALEM, Ore. (Legal Newsline) - Oregon Attorney General John Kroger on Tuesday filed a lawsuit against a Florida-based "electronic cigarette" company over allegations it targeted children with false health claims.
The lawsuit alleges Smoking Everywhere has marketed its e-cigarettes as safe and harmless, although the company has not provided evidence the products are safe, according to Kroger.
E-cigarettes are battery-powered devices that provides inhaled doses of nicotine by delivering a vaporized liquid nicotine solution.
"It's my duty to protect the public from products that are falsely advertised as safe," Kroger said.
The state's lawsuit also contends Smoking Everywhere has been marketing its e-cigarettes to minors even though the company claims its products are intended for "adults only."
According to the Food and Drug Administration, tobacco products that are used to get a "buzz" or to quit smoking are considered drugs. Therefore the product manufacturer must submit scientific evidence the product is safe and effective for its intended use.
The state alleges the manufacturer used bubblegum, chocolate and cookies and cream flavored e-cigarettes to attract young users, according to Kroger.
"We're fighting to make sure kids are protected from unapproved gimmicks like e-cigarettes that get them hooked on nicotine," he said.
So far, Oregon is the only state to take legal action against makers of e-cigarettes. Recently, the State settled with three retailers prohibiting them from selling e-cigarettes in the state until they meet state and federal standards.
The State also reached an agreement with Sottera, Inc., and the national distributor NJOY. The agreement temporarily suspends the sale of its products in the state until local and national standards are met, according to Kroger.
Smoking Everywhere refused a similar settlement offer.
The FDA has never approved e-cigarettes.

Council of Ministers mandates warning labels on cigarettes

The Council of Ministers approved a sub-decree on Friday that will require health warnings to be printed on the outside of cigarette packages.
Under the presidency of Prime Minister Hun Sen, the council released a statement saying that the purpose of these warnings will be "to educate people, especially children and housewives, about the consequences of smoking, and to counter any deceiving advertisements from tobacco companies".
The sub-decree was created by the Ministry of Health in pursuance of the World Health Organisation's Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC), an agreement ratified by 166 countries including Cambodia.
Lim Thai Pheang, director of the National Centre for Health Promotion, said Friday that the Ministry of Health sub-decree had originally called for anti-smoking photos to be printed on packaging in addition to warning messages, but that the Council of Ministers requested that the warnings be text-only.
He added that he was not sure when the messages would begin being printed on packages, and that further discussions are necessary before the decree can be enacted.
"We must inform tobacco companies before we start to put health warning messages on cigarette packages," he said.
According to a 2004 survey by the National Institute of Statistics at the Ministry of Planning, 54 percent of male Cambodians over 20 years of age are smokers, compared with just 6 percent of women over 20, along with about 10 percent of Cambodians aged 10 to 14.

Duty-free cigarettes costing millions

The Government is missing out on millions of dollars in tax because of cigarettes bought overseas, according to a study of litter by Otago University.
The researchers, from the university's Wellington campus, collected 1310 empty cigarette packets from the streets of four cities and six towns for the study.
They identified 3.2 per cent of the packs as being from outside New Zealand, meaning the Government missed out on at least $36 million in tax on tobacco and GST.
Lead investigator Nick Wilson believed the amount of missing tax was actually much higher, as it was not possible to determine which New Zealand-branded cigarettes had been bought duty-free.
The missed revenue could have been used for quitting campaigns.
"The scale of this revenue loss and the health implications are a strong argument for the Government to consider ending the sale of duty-free tobacco on entry to New Zealand, and to remove any duty-free allowance for incoming passengers, as in Singapore," Dr Wilson said.
"A further possibility is to ban the carrying in of any amount of tobacco altogether."

Capitol Hill tries to eliminate cigarette butts

Cigarette butts — the most-littered item in America — will soon become more scarce in the Capitol Hill area.

For the first time, the Capitol Hill Business Improvement District linked up with the Keep America Beautiful Cigarette Litter Prevention Program to help clear out tossed-away cigarettes left behind by smokers.

Three high-traffic areas on Capitol Hill were picked: the southeast corner of Eighth Street and Pennsylvania Avenue SE; on First Street SE in front of Bullfeathers and Tortilla Coast; and on the south side of Pennsylvania Avenue between Third and Fourth streets SE.

In 2008, nearly 200 communities reported an average 46 percent reduction in littered butts as a result of implementing the program.

"Cigarette litter is not only unsightly and costly to clean up, but also harmful to waterways and wildlife. Simple actions like installing ash receptacles and distributing pocket ashtrays will make a big difference in decreasing litter and ultimately keeping Capitol Hill beautiful," said Patty Brosmer, BID president.

The nonprofit Keep America Beautiful has field-tested and expanded the Cigarette Litter Prevention Program for the last six years with support from Philip Morris USA, an Altria company.