TOBACCO

Firms Sue Over Massachusetts Disclosure Law: Gov. William Weld signed the nation’s first law requiring all tobacco companies to list their ingredients on the side of cigarette packages, and moments later, the industry challenged the law with a federal lawsuit. Philip Morris Cos., R.J. Reynolds, Brown & Williamson and Lorillard tobacco companies cried foul in court papers filed in U.S. District Court in Boston, claiming that the measure, if left to stand, would force them to “disclose trade secrets and other proprietary information.” Under the law, tobacco companies will have to file annual reports with the Massachusetts Department of Public Health listing all the additives for each brand sold in the state. Meanwhile, in a separate action, the judge overseeing Mississippi’s landmark legal case against the tobacco industry ordered the state to turn over the names of six new whistle-blowers who may be asked to testify against major cigarette makers. During a discovery hearing before Jackson County Chancery Judge William Myers, tobacco industry attorneys demanded the names of the industry insiders whose existence came to light about two months ago. Myers ordered the state to comply with the industry’s demands within 30 days. Mississippi and Massachusetts are among 10 states suing tobacco companies to recoup Medicaid payments for treating smoking-related health conditions.