A $23.6 billion jury verdict on Friday against R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. represents the latest in a string of blows against the tobacco industry in Florida, the last major hub of tobacco litigation in the U.S., reports the Wall Street Journal. The award is almost certain to be cut down significantly either by the judge in the case or on appeal, legal experts said. Still, the verdict sends a message to the industry that the public continues to find it responsible for smoking-related illnesses and deaths.
Gun Deaths Outpace Motor Vehicle Deaths in 14 States and District of Columbia in 2011
A new study by Violence Policy Center found that gun deaths outpaced those from cars and trucks in 14 states that year, the latest for which full data is available. More than 90 percent of American households own a car while little more than a third of American households have a gun. Yet in 2011, there were 32,351 gun deaths and 35,543 motor vehicle deaths nationwide. In 1999, there were 28,874 gun deaths and 42,624 motor vehicle deaths nationwide.
Senate May Expand GM Recall Probe to Industry-wide Review
The chairwoman of a Senate panel said she may broaden her look at auto safety problems at General Motors Co. into whether there are systemic recall issues present at other major automakers, reports The Detroit News. In an interview, Sen. Claire McCaskill, D-Missouri, also said she planned to hold another hearing focusing on the role of the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration and its handling of complaints over several years into ignition switch issues.
Designed for Addiction
A new report by the Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids Designed for Addiction How the Tobacco Industry Has Made Cigarettes More Addictive, More Attractive to Kidsand Even More Deadly concludes “the evidence is sufficient to infer that the relative risk of dying from cigarette smoking has increased over the last 50 years in men and women in the United States.”
PhRMA Claims Transparency Risks Damaging Public Health
Publishing information from clinical trials “risks damaging public health and patient welfare” says the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers of America. PhRMA made the statement in a letter to the chief US trade negotiator for the free trade agreement between the European Union and the USA, the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership deal. In the letter, PhRMA says, “Disclosure of companies’ non-public data submitted in clinical and pre-clinical dossiers and patient-level data risks damaging public health and patient welfare.”
Christie Vetoes Magazine Ban Bill, Rewrites It As Mental Health Measure
At the urging of the National Rifle Association, Guns.com reports, New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie conditionally vetoed a controversial bill that would have limited gun magazines to 10 rounds or less, and then kicked the bill back to the New Jersey legislature with a host of mental health changes attached. The bill, A2006, would have dropped the state’s current 15-round magazine limit down to 10, a move that the Governor found to be without merit.
UK Big Food Propose New Partnership After 2015 General Election
The Food and Drink Federation (FDF), the voice of UK food and drink manufacturers published Ingredients for Success: Delivering Sustainable Growth Beyond 2015, setting out its agenda for working in partnership with government after the 2015 general election. Launched by FDF’s Director General Melanie Leech at the House of Commons, Ingredients for Success calls for an industrial strategy for the UK’s largest manufacturing sector driven by a new Food & Drink Manufacturing Council.
GM Recalls: How General Motors Silenced a Whistle-Blower
According to Bloomberg BusinessWeek, management wasn’t just distracted or confused; speaking up was actively discouraged, and workers saw that pointing out safety flaws could derail their careers. When GM safety inspector Courtland Kelley did blow the whistle, the nation’s largest automaker shut him down.
Is Tax the Next Big Corporate Social Responsibility Issue?
Writing for the International Centre on Tax and Development, Isabel de la Peña observes that “Transnational Corporations operating in the global economy have a wide range of possibilities to avoid their responsibility to pay taxes.” She calls on corporate responsibility groups to add tax avoidance to their agendas.
GM CEO to Testify Before House Panel
The Wall Street Journal reports, according to written testimony released Tuesday ahead of her appearance on Wednesday, General Motors Co. Chief Executive Mary Barra will tell members of the House Energy and Commerce committee, “I know some of you are wondering about my commitment to solve the deep underlying cultural problems” detailed last week by an outside investigation of a troubled recall of a defective ignition switch. “The answer is I will not rest until these problems are resolved,” Ms. Barra says in her written remarks, adding “I am not afraid of the truth.”
Corporations and Health Watch 