Cigarette makers face flood of Florida lawsuits
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U.S. tobacco companies have been hit with thousands of new lawsuits in Florida from smokers and their families seeking compensation before Friday's court-imposed deadline for filing individual claims in what is shaping up as a major challenge for the industry.
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Online sales of untaxed cigarettes are provoking a stampede of protests from a disparate collection of antitobacco groups, cash-strapped state governments and local retailers.
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One or two insurance companies might not have the financial wherewithal to survive this year&#39;s hurricane season in Florida, said several top industry officials and state regulators.
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U.S. smokers spent as much as $200   billion over more than three decades buying "light" cigarettes   under the false belief they were safer than regular cigarettes,   an attorney in a potential class action lawsuit argued on   Wednesday.
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North Carolina farmers say cigarette makers have turned a banner year for tobacco country into a disaster by denying them about $160 million in expected payments.
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Florida Supreme Court judges on Wednesday questioned attorneys for smokers and cigarette companies on whether a case involving thousands of smokers can properly be tried as a class action.
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After five years of preparation, the federal government expects to take the nation&#39;s tobacco industry to court today, alleging massive fraud and seeking a $280 billion penalty
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SHOREHAM, Vermont  - Vermont officials are going   to court and activists are threatening a boycott of the world's   largest forest products company as a battle intensifies over a   plan to burn old tires as fuel in New York state.
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The nicotine in cigarettes is habit-forming but is not the sole cause of addiction, a tobacco company executive argued during testimony on Tuesday in the government's &#36;280 billion suit against cigarette makers.
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By MICHAEL GORMLEY  ALBANY, N.Y. - More than a dozen states sued the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency on Monday to lower soot levels from smokestacks and exhaust pipes, a move the state officials argue would save thousands of lives.
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Two major cigarette makers on Wednesday said they plan to appeal a Louisiana court ruling ordering them to fund a program to help people quit smoking, although the decision reduced the amount of damages they faced.
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Cigarette makers on Thursday tried  to portray former Food and Drug Administration chief David  Kessler as a publicity-seeker out to get the industry as he  took the stand as the first witness in the government's $280  billion racketeering suit.
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Asserting that tobacco companies purposely misled consumers, plaintiffs are asking for $20 billion to $200 billion in damages.
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Scores of Michigan residents are clamoring to file lawsuits against drug giant Merck &amp; Co. since its arthritis drug Vioxx was found to increase the risk of heart attacks and strokes.
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A multi-billion dollar lawsuit brought by the government against major tobacco firms is to open in Nigeria.
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A U.S. judge is expected on Monday to   rule on whether to certify as a class action a lawsuit that   accuses tobacco companies of defrauding smokers into thinking   "light" cigarettes were safer than regular brands, according to   notice sent to lawyers in the case.
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A US lawsuit against tobacco firms that "duped" smokers over low-tar cigarettes gets the go-ahead.