FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS BLOCK ON TOBACCO INGREDIENT LAW

BOSTON -- A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction that prevents
Massachusetts from forcing companies to hand over lists of the substances
they add to cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco.

A 1996 state law prohibits tobacco companies that refuse to release their
ingredient lists from doing business in Massachusetts. But tobacco companies
have sued the state, arguing the law would unfairly force them to reveal
trade secrets.

The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a December ruling by U.S. District
Court Judge George O'Toole that halted the law's implementation during the
lawsuit, the Boston Herald reported Saturday.

Under the law, the ingredient lists would go to the Department of Public
Health, which would keep them confidential. If, however, the department
found that the ingredients posed a public health risk, it could release them
to the public.

The attorney general's office has argued that the tobacco ingredients law is
similar to a federal pesticide law that provides for public release of trade
secret information that pesticide manufacturers must file with the
Environmental Protection Agency. That law has been upheld by the U.S.
Supreme Court.

Checked-by: Rolf Ernst