Health care institutions' lawsuit against big tobacco nears an end

After about three months of trial in St. Louis, a case in which more than two dozen health care providers sued big tobacco companies is wrapping up.

The St. Louis Post-Dispatch reports that 29 plaintiffs representing 37 health institutions, mostly local and regional operations in Missouri, are seeking more than $455 million from six tobacco companies for losses treating smokers. Closing arguments were expected to conclude Thursday, then jurors will be off until Monday, when they will begin deliberation.

Tobacco tax hike talk stubbed out

HEALTH Minister Nicola Roxon has moved to extinguish any suggestion Labor could increase the tobacco excise in the May budget.

Ms Roxon was forced to stub out the speculation after the government's indigenous smoking coordinator, Tom Calma, said another tax hike had been "mooted".

Labor increased the excise by 25 per cent in April 2010, adding $2.16 to the price of a pack of 30 smokes.

The government's preventative health taskforce had recommended a 68 per cent increase in the excise.

But in responding to the taskforce's findings in May the government argued that while hiking prices could cause some smokers to quit "it can also induce financial stress among people who continue to smoke".

Tobacco Fund Diverted for Supporting Other State Issues

Pennsylvania Auditor General Jack Wagner discovered how revenues have been diverted from health care savings to fund pensions and other state budget issues.

In regard to this, he urged Governor Tom Corbett and other state lawmakers to stop prowling the state's Tobacco Settlement Fund for balancing the else budget areas.

In a special report, the Democrat exhaustively mentioned how the $300 million-plus payments have been abstracted. According to him, since last 5-6 years, more than $1.3 billion has been taken from this fund.

Therefore while urging legislators to change the trend; he questioned "Are we going to squander it? Are we going to just let it be used for a wide variety of purposes? Is it going to patch potholes? Is it going to fill budgets for various departments, including the Department of Auditor General and others? What is our priority”?