Federal court reduces UPS damages for transporting cigarettes
The US Court of Appeals for the Second Circuit reduced United Parcel Service’s (UPS) civil damages Thursday for transporting cigarettes to New York City. The decision reduced the district court’s order from $247 million in damages to $97.6 million. In an effort to combat tobacco related health issues, New York officials have passed excise taxes [...]
Over the past several years, the use of e-cigarettes has increased greatly. While the original demographic for e-cigarettes was intended to be legal adults who already smoked traditional cigarettes, these numbers seem to be higher amongst a younger population than expected. Parents and guardians filed lawsuits alleging that the marketing campaigns lead by popular manufacturers, [...]
Massachusetts announces four-month ban on sale of vaping products
Massachusetts officials on Tuesday announced a four-month ban on the sale of vaping products, starting immediately. The ban comes in response to the outbreak of lung diseases that are being traced back to the use vaping products. It will include both flavored and non-flavored products, and will apply “to all vaping products and devices, including [...]
San Francisco becomes first US city to ban sale of e-cigarettes
San Francisco became the first city in the US to outlaw the sale, distribution, and manufacturing of e-cigarettes when the city’s Mayor London Breed signed a unanimously passed ordinance on Friday. The ordinance states that “no person shall sell or distribute an electronic cigarette to a person in San Francisco” that has not undergone a [...]
Illinois passes bill making it illegal to sell cigarettes to anyone under 21
Illinois passed House Bill 345 today, making it illegal for anyone to sell or provide tobacco cigarettes or other tobacco products to people under the age of 21. The so-called “Tobacco 21” bill is one of several new laws that take effect today, the start of the new state fiscal year. Businesses who do not [...]
The San Francisco Board of Supervisors voted unanimously Tuesday in favor of an ordinance banning the sale and distribution of e-cigarettes in the city. The ordinance will now be presented to the mayor, who will have 10 days to sign the legislation. Many cities and states have already raised the legal age for purchasing tobacco [...]
Bill to increase minimum age to purchase tobacco products introduced in Senate
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell and Senator Tim Kaine introduced a bill Monday that would raise the minimum age for purchasing tobacco products from 18 to 21. The bill is called the “Tobacco-Free Youth Act” and would establish a minimum age of 21 for sale of tobacco products. The law would apply to any tobacco [...]
Governor Lou Leon Guerrero of Guam signed a marijuana legalization bill for the US territory Thursday. Although Guam approved medical marijuana in 2014 and allowed for home grown marijuana last year, the regulated industry has been off to a slow start. Known as the Guam Cannabis Industry Act of 2019, the new bill allows for adults [...]
Supreme Court declines tobacco companies' efforts to block lawsuits
The US Supreme Court declined Monday to hear challenges to eight wrongful death lawsuits against two large cigarette companies, allowing the cases to proceed. In a series of denials of certiorari without a written statement the court refused to hear challenges to a series of appellate court rulings against two major tobacco companies, Phillip Morris [...]
A federal judge on Monday rejected three motions attempting to block the enforcement of the new ban on bump stocks produced by the Bureau of Alchohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives (ATF). The ATF’s ban was created as a response to the October 2017 mass shooting in Las Vegas that left 58 dead and hundreds wounded, [...]
