Tobacco industry

COLUMBIA, S.C. — Tobacco companies want a judge to put a stop to new graphic cigarette labels that include the sewn-up corpse of a smoker and pictures of diseased lungs, saying they unfairly urge adults to shun their legal products and will cost millions to produce.

SALT LAKE CITY -- Tobacco products that look, smell or taste like candy are in the cross hairs of a local lawmaker.

OGDEN -- The labels clearly state that the products contain nicotine and are not intended for consumption by children, but local health department officials are concerned that new smokeless tobacco products packaged in sleek containers that look like gum and candy could entice kids and teenagers.

RALEIGH, N.C. -- That cool, throat-numbing sensation some smokers find in their cigarettes could go the way of other products the federal government has deemed dangerous.

Menthol, a natural compound found in the mint plant, soothes throats and helps tame an achy tummy. But in cigarettes, some health experts argue, it makes the poison that is tobacco go down more smoothly, tricking the youngest and most foolhardy smokers.

Last year, Congress passed far-reaching tobacco regulations that, among other things, banned chocolate- or strawberry-flavored cigarettes, saying they lured kids to smoke by dressing up cigarettes as candy.

But Congress passed on regulating menthol cigarettes, which account for one-third of cigarettes sold in the United States. Instead, it called for a study and more discussion by the Food and Drug Administration.