Congress should enact legislation mandating health warnings on cigar labeling and advertising and prohibiting cigars ads on television and radio, a Federal Trade Commission report released today states. The agency's recommendation would require cigars be subject to the same statutory scheme as cigarettes and smokeless tobacco. The FTC produced the report on the cigar industry's 1996 and 1997 sales and advertising and promotion expenditures in response to the dramatic increase in U.S. cigar consumption and increasing concern among health authorities about the risks of cigar smoking. The agency has collected and publicly reported similar information from the cigarette industry since the 1960s and from the smokeless tobacco industry since the mid-1980s. ...

Mexico City passed a tough new no-smoking law, which says they can't light up in banks, hospitals, public buses, city offices, movie houses or concert halls. The law forces bars and restaurants to set aside 30 percent of their tables for patrons who don't want to inhale cigarette fumes. ...

The tobacco giant forced to retire Joe Camel from its ad campaigns is under fire in Hawaii for using an island's name and the image of a hula girl to promote a new line of cigarettes. Outrage over Camel's "Kauai Kolada" cigarettes - which feature "Hawaiian hints of pineapple and coconut" and are only being sold this summer - goes as high as the state's top executive. ...

Anthony Purificato was taken aback last month when the Minnesota Department of Revenue wrote to inform him that it knew he had purchased cigarettes fromesmokes.com and that he'd better calculate the state taxes he owed and pay them. Purificato mistakenly thought that Internet sales were tax-free. A resident of St. Paul who bought cigarettes online every other month or so over the past few years -- and who quit smoking a year ago -- Purificato said he can't figure out how and why the state found out about his purchases, and he isn't sure that he can accurately determine how much he owes. ...

Never mind the debates in Washington, the lawsuits, the criminal investigations and the bad publicity. It's party time in Marlboro Country. The folks who make the world's best-selling cigarette brand have been holding Marlboro-themed parties at trendy bars and beer dives around the Triangle and in 40 cities nationwide. ...

Action on Smoking and Health(ASH) respectfully submits the following testimony on the "The Proposed Global Tobacco Settlement: Who Benefits?" ASH is the nation's oldest and largest antismoking organization. It is a national, nonprofit, legal and educational organization concerned solely with the many problems of smoking. ...

The Federal Trade Commission's annual report to Congress on cigarette sales and advertising for 1997 shows a $552 million increase in advertising and promotional spending from 1996. According to the report, the cigarette industry spent $5.66 billion on advertising and promotional expenditures in 1997, 10.8 percent more than it spent in 1996. Despite the increase, spending remained below the $6.0 billion reported in 1993. Spending has increased annually since 1987, except for a $1.2 billion decrease from 1993 to 1994. This year's report also includes a Federal Trade Commission recommendation that Congress consider giving authority over cigarette testing to one of the Federal government's science-based, public health agencies. ...

Sue Harris says she doesn't travel often, but starting in August she'll be increasing her mileage with day trips to Ohio. A two-pack-a-day smoker, Harris, of Ypsilanti, will save more than $500 a year by making the drive. The Michigan cigarette tax will increase from 75 cents to $1.25 a pack on Thursday. For frequent smokers such as Harris, the 50-cent increase is a major burden. ...

You see them huddled against the wind outside office buildings, cupping hands to protect tiny flames. You see them in their cars, faces blurred by clouds of smoke. You smell them when they're sitting next to you on the Metro. You hear them ask the salesclerk for a pack of Marlboro Lights, and you wonder: Who are these people? ...

Good morning ladies and gentlemen. It is a pleasure to be here with you in London at the invitation of JP Morgan. Before I begin, let me inform you that my remarks today contain projections of future results. I direct your attention to the Forward-Looking and Cautionary Statements section at the end of today’s news release for a review of the various factors that could cause actual results to differ from projections. ...