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Non-Tech : Philip Morris - A Stock For Wealth Or Poverty (MO) -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: Glenn Duncan who wrote (6080)	1/6/2001 1:51:21 PM
From: Jane4IceCream	Read Replies (1) \| Respond to of 6439

My question is why is RJR shares moving up still (and quite aggressive) while MO is lagging? Guess more people see MO as defensive. Jane

To: Glenn Duncan who wrote (6080)	1/24/2001 6:31:52 PM
From: 2MAR$	Respond to of 6439

Two former Soviet republics file suits against the Marlboro Man hehe, go get 'em comrade! By Michael Connor MIAMI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The central Asian nations of Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday filed U.S. lawsuits in Miami, claiming Marlboros maker Philip Morris and other American tobacco companies should pay the medical costs of sick smokers in the former Soviet republics, Part of a tidal wave of litigation against U.S. cigarette makers, the suits were filed in Miami-Dade County Court where jurors last July awarded $145 billion to sick smokers from Florida. The governments of Venezuela, Russia, Bolivia, states in Brazil, and other countries have filed similar U.S. lawsuits, seeking cash damages on claims big cigarette makers were responsible for the health costs of their sick smokers. The foreign lawsuits began after 1998's unprecedented, $206 billion deal settling healthcare-cost claims against cigarette companies by America's state governments. No specific damages were requested in the Tajikistan and the Kyrgyz lawsuits but should be substantial and in line with the billions awarded in other cases, plaintiffs lawyer Joe Raia said. "The republics ... are seeking judgments covering the hundreds of millions of dollars spent treating smokers who developed various forms of tobacco-related illnesses, including cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, emphysema and birth defects," lawyers for the countries said in a news release. The suits, echoing in part the charges of lawsuits brought by U.S. state governments, said the cigarette makers exploited the ignorance of the health risks in the two small countries and actively suppressed medical and scientific information illustrating smoking's risks. In addition, the governments want compensation for economic growth lost to the illnesses and would have regulated tobacco more closely if the companies in "the tobacco cartel" had been honest about smoking's risks, plaintiffs lawyers said. "We believe the 'tobacco cartel' intentionally targeted these developing nations where most of the citizens are poor, undereducated and unaware of the dangers of nicotine addiction," attorney Sonny Holtzman said. "The 'tobacco cartel' held crucial health-related information back simply to get more people hooked." John Sorrells, a spokesman for Philip Morris Cos. Inc. <MO.N>, the world's No. 1 tobacco group, said the company had not yet received the lawsuits. "Although we have seen the suits, we believe these two cases have no more merit than the Ukraine case, which was dismissed last year by a federal court," Sorrells said. Last March, a judge threw out Ukraine's claim, one of several foreign government lawsuits seeking payments for healthcare costs arising from tobacco-related illnesses. Defendants named in the lawsuit include, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Holdings Inc. <RJR.N> and the Brown & Williamson unit of British American Tobacco Plc <BATS.L>. ((- Michael Connor - Miami newsroom, +1 305-374-5013, fax +1 305-358-