Health News
- Health Care Industry Ranks First, By Far, In Legislative Lobbying Since '93; Insurance Second, Tobacco Third; Drugmakers' Rank A Mystery
By far, health-care interests have spent the most on lobbying the General Assembly since the Legislative Ethics Commission was created 22 years ago, Jonathan Meador of Insider Louisville discovered among many other things as he crunched the data filed...
- Harrodsburg Herald, A Weekly Newspaper, Does Three-part Series On Tobacco Issues In Mercer County And Statewide
In a state where more than one of every four adults smoke, tobacco is an issue in every county, but it's rare for weekly newspapers to take a detailed look at the issue. The Harrodsburg Herald did that recently, in a three-part series by Robert Moore....
- Tobacco Is Top Target In Beshear's Health Plans, But He Still Praises Expansion Of Plant That Makes Smokeless Tobacco
Gov. Steve Beshear says tobacco is the main cause of Kentuckians' relatively poor health, which he is pushing to improve, but on Feb. 27 "his tone shifted as he praised the economic benefits from a tobacco company's plans to expand its Western...
- Makers Of Sudafed, Similar Cold Medicines Again Lead In Legislative Lobbying Expenses, And That Doesn't Count Their Radio Ad Campaign
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which is fighting legislation that would limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that could be bought without a prescription, remained the leading spender among lobbying interests at the General Assembly in February,...
- Group Fighting Meds-for-meth Bill Says It Spent Nearly $200,000 In January On Lobbying, And That Apparently Omits Radio Buys
The group fighting a bill that would make the key ingredient for making methamphetamine available only by prescription spent more than $194,000 last month alone to lobby lawmakers, far more than any other lobbying interest at the General Assembly. The...
Health News
Altria, parent of Philip Morris, reports spending most on lobbying the 2014 legislature but says it didn't fight smoking ban
The parent firm of the nation's largest cigarette company again reported spending more than anyone else on lobbying the Kentucky General Assembly, but says it did not fight the bill that would have imposed a statewide smoking ban in most public places.
"Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, reported spending $156,200, "far more than any other company or group, Tom Loftus reports for The Courier-Journal. "And it got the things it wanted from Kentucky lawmakers: tobacco taxes were not increased, no new tax was put on electronic cigarettes and the tobacco-industry supported bill to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors passed."
Spokesman David Sutton "said not a penny of Altria's lobbying campaign went to defeat the so-called 'smoke-free' bill, though he said the company opposes such complete smoking bans within private businesses," Loftus reports. "He said he suspected Altria's lobby spending topped the list because 'We fully disclose everything'," including research time of its legal staff and its "grassroots activation" work to rally its supporters in Kentucky.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, "which reported spending $6,284 during the session, earlier this month blamed Altria for leading the successful defeat of the bill to ban smoking in indoor public places like bars and restaurants," The Courier-Journal reports.
"They've spent a lot of money on lobbying for years," the campaign's Betsy Janes told Loftus. "They've sent their message out for so long and have relationships with legislators. It's hard for us to compete with that." (Read more)
The campaign's Amy Barkley told Kentucky Health News that Altria's assertion "is very hard to believe. That said, I don?t have any hard evidence to dispute their claim. We all know the tobacco industry?s influence is very deep in Frankfort, so perhaps they didn?t need to overtly lobby against the smoke-free bill."
The Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, which gets funding from Altria for some of its programs, lobbied against the smoking ban. It ranked eighth in lobbying expenses, with $68,821. For The Courier-Journal's lst fo top lobbying interests, click here.
"Altria Group, the parent company of Philip Morris USA and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco, reported spending $156,200, "far more than any other company or group, Tom Loftus reports for The Courier-Journal. "And it got the things it wanted from Kentucky lawmakers: tobacco taxes were not increased, no new tax was put on electronic cigarettes and the tobacco-industry supported bill to ban the sale of electronic cigarettes to minors passed."
Spokesman David Sutton "said not a penny of Altria's lobbying campaign went to defeat the so-called 'smoke-free' bill, though he said the company opposes such complete smoking bans within private businesses," Loftus reports. "He said he suspected Altria's lobby spending topped the list because 'We fully disclose everything'," including research time of its legal staff and its "grassroots activation" work to rally its supporters in Kentucky.
The Campaign for Tobacco Free Kids, "which reported spending $6,284 during the session, earlier this month blamed Altria for leading the successful defeat of the bill to ban smoking in indoor public places like bars and restaurants," The Courier-Journal reports.
The campaign's Amy Barkley told Kentucky Health News that Altria's assertion "is very hard to believe. That said, I don?t have any hard evidence to dispute their claim. We all know the tobacco industry?s influence is very deep in Frankfort, so perhaps they didn?t need to overtly lobby against the smoke-free bill."
The Kentucky Farm Bureau Federation, which gets funding from Altria for some of its programs, lobbied against the smoking ban. It ranked eighth in lobbying expenses, with $68,821. For The Courier-Journal's lst fo top lobbying interests, click here.
- Health Care Industry Ranks First, By Far, In Legislative Lobbying Since '93; Insurance Second, Tobacco Third; Drugmakers' Rank A Mystery
By far, health-care interests have spent the most on lobbying the General Assembly since the Legislative Ethics Commission was created 22 years ago, Jonathan Meador of Insider Louisville discovered among many other things as he crunched the data filed...
- Harrodsburg Herald, A Weekly Newspaper, Does Three-part Series On Tobacco Issues In Mercer County And Statewide
In a state where more than one of every four adults smoke, tobacco is an issue in every county, but it's rare for weekly newspapers to take a detailed look at the issue. The Harrodsburg Herald did that recently, in a three-part series by Robert Moore....
- Tobacco Is Top Target In Beshear's Health Plans, But He Still Praises Expansion Of Plant That Makes Smokeless Tobacco
Gov. Steve Beshear says tobacco is the main cause of Kentuckians' relatively poor health, which he is pushing to improve, but on Feb. 27 "his tone shifted as he praised the economic benefits from a tobacco company's plans to expand its Western...
- Makers Of Sudafed, Similar Cold Medicines Again Lead In Legislative Lobbying Expenses, And That Doesn't Count Their Radio Ad Campaign
The Consumer Healthcare Products Association, which is fighting legislation that would limit the amount of pseudoephedrine that could be bought without a prescription, remained the leading spender among lobbying interests at the General Assembly in February,...
- Group Fighting Meds-for-meth Bill Says It Spent Nearly $200,000 In January On Lobbying, And That Apparently Omits Radio Buys
The group fighting a bill that would make the key ingredient for making methamphetamine available only by prescription spent more than $194,000 last month alone to lobby lawmakers, far more than any other lobbying interest at the General Assembly. The...