News & Press
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How Big Tobacco targeted Black America for death
http://www.flcourier.com
Originally posted 8/24/2007
As early as 1954, Philip Morris commissioned a study entitled Progress Report on Negro Market Study that found, “Negroes have been downtrodden economically and socially for so long they consciously, or otherwise, want to impress people with the fact that they have taste and are discriminating – that they are dignified and sophisticated. And one of the easiest ways to do it is to align themselves with a cigarette pack – something they show everywhere – that is quiet and tasteful and rich-looking...”
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Bush, Big Tobacco CHIP away at kids
http://www.flcourier.com
Originally posted 8/17/2007
Since taking office in 2000, President Bush has vetoed only one piece of legislation– relating to stem cell research. Another veto is looming, however, that targets one of the most unlikely programs: health insurance for low income, uninsured children.
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Upcoming Conference:
Their Day in Court: How to try and win tobacco cases following the Florida Supreme Court's Engle decision
On February 8th and 9th, 2007, the Tobacco Products Liability Project presented a special two-day conference to help Florida trial lawyers try and win individual smoker’s cases in Florida.
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New web site with information for individuals injured by cigarettes in Florida
http://www.ttac.org
Originally posted 6/8/2007
The law firm J.B. Harris P.A. is suing Big Tobacco in Florida on behalf of individuals harmed by cigarettes. Under the recent Engle vs. Ligget decision by the Florida Supreme Court, up to a million smokers in the state have the right to sue tobacco companies for certain tobacco related diseases.
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Blog Posting:
New suit filed against tobacco firms
http://eviltobacco.com
Originally posted 6/8/2007
A Miami lawyer leveled a billion-dollar lawsuit against U.S. tobacco giants Thursday, alleging that their targeting of black smokers led to the death of his client’s mother and grandmother.
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Suit Claims Tobacco Companies Targeted Black Smokers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.browardtimes.com
Originally posted 6/8/2007
A Coral Gables attorney today filed suit against several tobacco companies, accusing them of targeting black consumers.
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Big Tobacco's Racial Profiling Challenged in Court
http://www.tobacco.org
Originally posted 6/8/2007
On June 7, Miami attorney J.B. Harris filed a lawsuit on Tucker's behalf. The suit seeks $1 billion in punitive damages collectively from Philip Morris USA, Lorillard Tobacco, R.J. Reynolds, and Liggett Group.
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Big Tobacco's Racial Profiling Challenged in Court
http://www.prwatch.org
Originally posted 6/8/2007
Gloria Tucker's mother and grandmother both smoked cigarettes. Both died from smoking-related health problems. An African American woman, Tucker believes that her loved ones' deaths were due to "racial profiling" by big tobacco companies. And she's got the documents to prove it.
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New suit filed against tobacco firms
Miami Herald
Originally posted 6/8/2007
A Miami lawyer leveled a billion-dollar lawsuit against U.S. tobacco giants Thursday, alleging that their targeting of black smokers led to the death of his client's mother and grandmother.
J.B. Harris filed the suit in Miami-Dade Circuit Court on behalf of Gloria Tucker, who represents the estates of her mother, Dorothy Oliver, and grandmother, Annie Mae Swain.
Both were residents of Broward County when they died in 2000 and 1994, respectively, of smoking-related health problems.
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Tobacco marketed to blacks: A lawsuit seeks more than $1-billion in damages
St. Petersburg Times
Originally posted 6/7/2007
Tobacco companies targeted African-Americans with sophisticated marketing aimed at getting them hooked on cigarettes and eventually killing them, says a lawsuit filed Wednesday in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
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Whose fault is it when black people die from smoking cigarettes?
http://www.stereohyped.com
Originally posted 6/7/2007
Calling it genocide is a bit of a stretch, as there is a significant amount of free will involved in the (initial, at least) purchase and use of cigarettes, but it’s hard not to notice that certain cigarette ads are geared directly toward African Americans. Surprise! There’s a new $1 billion lawsuit against the major tobacco companies (these things never go out of style) brought on by a Florida woman whose mother and grandmother both died cigarette-related deaths.
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Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.shashum.com.ar
Originally posted 6/7/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Florida woman whose mother and grandmother died of smoking-related health problems. The suit, which flows from the massive Engle litigation, cites marketing documents that made disparaging generalizations about African-Americans and suggested working through black churches and youth events to recruit smokers. "If I could, I'd try to have them charged with genocide," said solo J.B. Harris.
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Tobacco Marketed to Blacks, lawsuit claims
http://www.sptimes.com
Original posting 6/7/2007
Tobacco companies targeted African-Americans with sophisticated marketing aimed at getting them hooked on cigarettes and eventually killing them, says a lawsuit filed Wednesday [June 6] in Miami-Dade Circuit Court.
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Blog posting:
Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.lawyr.org
Originally posted 6/6/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Florida woman whose mother and grandmother died of smoking-related health problems.
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Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://www.law.com
Originally posted 6/6/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother both died of smoking-related health problems.
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Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
http://brownwatch.squarespace.com
Originally posted 6/6/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother both died of smoking-related health problems.
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Billion-Dollar Lawsuit Accuses Big Tobacco of Targeting Blacks
http://www.jointogether.org
Originally posted 6/6/2007
A Florida woman has filed a $1-billion lawsuit against four major tobacco companies, saying the firms negligently and fraudulently targeted blacks with their products.
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Suit Accuses Tobacco Firms of Targeting Black Consumers, Seeks $1 Billion in Damages
Daily Business Review
Originally posted 6/6/2007
Accusing tobacco companies of preying on black people, a Miami attorney is seeking $1 billion in damages on behalf of a Coral Springs, Fla., woman whose mother and grandmother both died of smoking-related health problems.
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Is smoking and the big “C” in your family? If so, you may qualify to join a suit against Big Tobacco!
by Reeder Rose
Westside Gazette
Originally posted 5/16/2007
Attorney JB Harris said, “All issues of liability, including the negative effects of smoking, and the fact the tobacco companies deceptively failed to warn smokers of the dangers of using their products, have been established as a matter of law.”
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Tobacco Use Among U.S. Racial/Ethnic Minority Groups
A Report of the Surgeon General 1998
“Cigarette smoking is a major cause of disease and death in each of the four population groups studied in this report. African Americans currently bear the greatest health burden. Differences in the magnitude of disease risk are directly related to differences in patterns of smoking.”
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“Among adolescents, cigarette smoking prevalence increased in the 1990s among African Americans and Hispanics …This increase is particularly striking among African American youths…”
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CDC’s Tobacco Information and Prevention Source (TIPS)
Tobacco Industry Influence
“Tobacco products are advertised and promoted disproportionately to racial/ethnic minority communities. Examples of target promotions include the introduction of a cigarette product with the brand name “Rio” and an earlier cigarette product named “Dorado,” which was advertised and marketed to the Hispanic American community.”
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“Tobacco Industry Studies have found a higher density of tobacco billboards in racial/ethnic minority communities. For example, a 1993 study in San Diego, California, found the highest proportion of tobacco billboards were posted in Asian American communities and the lowest proportion were in white communities.”
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“A one-year study found that three major African American publications — Ebony, Jet, and Essence — received proportionately higher profits from cigarette advertisements than did other magazines.”
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“The tobacco industry commonly uses cultural symbols and designs to target racial/ethnic populations that include American Indians and Alaska Natives. American Spirit cigarettes were promoted as “natural” cigarettes; the package featured an American Indian smoking a pipe. In addition, certain tobacco product advertisements have used visual images, such as American Indian warriors, to target their product.”
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Smoking Cessation and Ethnic Minorities: Fighting Back Against Joe Camel
Jeffrey S. Nevid, Ph.D., Department of Psychology, Graduate School of Arts and Sciences, St. John’s University
“By 1995, nearly 35% of teenagers 17 years of age or younger were smoking, up from 27.5% in 1991. Estimates are that 3,000 young people take up smoking each day. About one in three will eventually die of smoking-related diseases….
“Economically disadvantaged ethnic minority groups have higher than average rates of smoking, especially African American men…. Cigarette companies have also targeted much of their advertising effort toward minority communities, especially African American and Hispanic communities.”
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University of Florida News
UF Study: Mistaken Beliefs About Smoking Moms Can Influence Minorities
“GAINESVILLE, Fla. — The illusion of smoking can be just as deadly as the real thing for minority inner-city girls who believe their mothers have the habit, a new University of Florida study finds. Black and Hispanic inner-city girls who think their mothers smoke — even if that is not the case — were three times more likely to have tried cigarettes than girls who know their mothers are nonsmokers, said Julia Graber, a UF psychology professor who did the research with seventh- grade girls.
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R.J. Reynolds’ Targeting of
African Americans: 1988 – 2000 American Journal of Public Health
“RJR’s strategy for targeting young adult African Americans had 2 major features. One was the reliance on the image of cigarettes as a “‘classy,’ ‘quality’ product associated with success and the ‘good life’” and an entrée into a “‘fantasy world’ that Black young adult smokers can be part of.” The other was the building of close community relationships through involvement in community-based organizations, corporate giving, and corporate image advertising.”
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“In a 1988 speech, a senior RJR marketing official noted that
‘Reynolds Tobacco has made a special effort to reach Black Smokers since the early 1960’s…”
“According to the company’s internal documents, RJR has had in place for years special marketing programs designed to reach African Americans, beginning long before Uptown and persisting after Uptown had been canceled.
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Reducing the Burden of Cancer Borne by African Americans: If Not Now, When?
“Tobacco companies target African Americans through advertising in magazines, billboards, sporting events, and other forms of entertainment.…
“The American Legacy Foundation’s National Youth Tobacco Survey reports that 24% of African-American high school students and 14% of African-American middle school students regularly use some form of tobacco,…
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Tobacco Use Among Florida’s Minority Populations
A1998 survey of Florida youth conducted by the Florida Department of Health found that:
“Overall, 24.5% of middle school and 35.5% of high school students reported using some form of tobacco in the past 30 days….
“One-third of middle school and 56% of high school students identifying themselves as American Indian or Alaskan Native reported using tobacco in the past 30 days. Tobacco use is highest in this group.”
