L.A. Times: Tobacco Under Regulatory Control? Hardly.
Numerous anti-smoking and health groups support the legislation giving the USFDA regulatory authority over tobacco products. The bill in question was crafted, in part, by the nation’s leading cigarette company, Philip Morris, as part of a deal worked out between the tobacco giant and an anti-smoking group — the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids. The legislation would do a few good things, including requiring stronger warning labels on cigarette packages and limiting cigarette advertising directed at youths. But the bill’s fine print contains numerous loopholes inserted to appease Philip Morris. In the end, it ensures that federal regulation of tobacco products will remain more about politics than about science.
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NYTimes: Cigarettes Top $9-$10 a Pack in The Big Apple
Now, New Yorkers are only looking at the cost of 10 packs to start on The Safe Cig.
Cigarettes in the Big Apple will top $9 a pack and in a number of cases more than $10 starting Wed. as a Fed. tax more than doubles to $1.01 per pack. With taxes having increased last year as well, the cost of each pack now carries $5.26 in executive charges in the great city of NY, making this one of the costliest places in the country to smoke.
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