History of Cigarette's 2001 - 2002

2001 - Top exporters of tobacco are: Brazil 17 percent, U.S. 10 percent, Zimbabwe 9 percent, China 6 percent and India 5.6 percent. Marlborough cigarettes are still number one worldwide.

2001 - On average one in five Europeans smoke, a 2 percent decrease from the 1990s. A similar rate of decline was seen in the U.S.

2001 January - The Surgeon General releases a report, "Women and Smoking."

2001 January - Brown & Williamson Pall Malls are refreshed as the New Filtered Pall Mall.

2001 January - U.S. Institute of Medicine of the National Academies releases a report, "Clearing the Smoke: Assessing the Science Base for Tobacco Harm Reduction." Outlining how to analyze a new product's effectiveness in reducing smoking-related harm.

2001 May - Florida state judge dismisses lawsuit Ecuador brought against U.S. tobacco manufacturers.

2001 June - China and British American Tobaccos join to create Sino-British Cigarette Sales Co.

2001 June - Several lawsuits are thrown out by the U.S. Court of Appeals: Guatemala, Ukraine, Nicaragua and Service Employees International Union Health and Welfare Fund.

2001 June - Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard and Liggett pay $17.8 million to Empire Blue Cross Blue Shield for deceptive business practices and asbestos exposure.

2001 June - Indoor smoking becomes illegal in Toronto, Canada.

2001 June - Department of Justice builds a team to address racketeering lawsuit and negotiate a settlement.

2001 June -Austria Tabak is acquired by Gallaher.

2001 July - Philip Morris in trouble over Arthur D. Little report, stating that smokers save the Czech Republic money by dying early. Philip Morris makes an official public apology.

2001 August - British American Tobacco becomes the first foreign tobacco company to enter the South Korean market and break Korea Tobacco & Ginseng's monopoly.

2001 August - A report finds that 5 percent of settlement money from tobacco companies goes towards tobacco control. Health services get 36 percent.

2001 August - New smuggling allegations against British American Tobacco released by the Guardian in the U.K. Documents released by Alex Solagnier confirm the allegations.

2001 August - British American Tobacco enters Vietnam market and is given license for a $40 million venture with Vintaba to build a tobacco processing plant in Vietnam.

2001 September - Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, and Japan Tobacco sign the "International Tobacco Products Marketing Standards Agreement," directing promotions away from children and towards adults.

2001 October - Massachusetts law upheld by the U.S. Court of Appeals that requires all ingredients to be listed on tobacco companies' products.

2001 November - "Advance," a reduced risk cigarette, is released by Brown & Williamson. It was discontinued by 2004.

2001 November - "Omni," a reduced risk cigarette, is released by Vector. It was discontinued in 2006.

2001 November - Federal tobacco taxes in Canada raised by CA$1.50.

2001 November - India Supreme Court declares smoking in public should be banned.

2001 November - The new company name Altria is proposed by Philip Morris which would include Kraft, Miller Beer and Philip Morris USA and Philip Morris International.

2001 November - George Harrison of the Beatles dies of lung and throat cancers.

2001 December - R.J. Reynolds buys Santa Fe Natural Tobacco, the makers of American Spirits, for $340 million.

2002 - Cigar use in the U.S. on the rise for the fourth strait year reaching around 250 million cigars.

2002 February - R.J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson are found guilty of failing to warn people about the health risks of smoking before the 1960s. This was the first win in several aspects, in the Midwest, in a federal court and involving peripheral vascular disease.

2002 March - Philip Morris ordered to pay $150 million to Schwartz, finding that they lied about "light" cigarettes.

2002 March - Australian courts found British American Tobacco guilty for destroying over 30,000 documents and preventing a fair trial for McCabe. McCabe was awarded AU$700,000.

2002 April - South Korea National Cancer Center confirms lung cancer is caused by smoking.

2002 April - Centers for Disease Control estimates that the average smoker spends $3,391 per year when adjusted for health, cigarette and lost productivity costs.

2002 May - Los Angeles Superior Court fined R.J. Reynolds $14.8 million for illegally distributing free cigarettes at public events where children were present.

2002 May - U.S. appeals court orders U.S. Smokeless Tobacco to pay $1.05 billion for illegally monopolizing the moist snuff market.

2002 June - Oregon Court of Appeals reinstates an $80 billion award in the Williams case.

2002 June - R.J. Reynolds was fined $20 million by California judges for violating a 1998 tobacco settlement agreeing not to target youths.

2002 June - Florida jury awards $5.5 million to Lynn French, a flight attendant, for chronic sinusitis caused by second-hand smoke.

2002 June - France airs aid warning about the ingredients in a "dangerous product." Over half a million people call the hotline to find out the product is cigarettes.

2002 August - Lorillard Tobacco is dropped as a sponsor by the NBA.

2002 August - U.S. Attorney General and Exxon-Mobile sign a deal to further prevent the sale of tobacco to youths.

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