Altria Loses Appeal of New York City Flavored Tobacco Ban

No flavorings for you, smokey!

(Bloomberg) Altria Group Inc. (MO) lost a bid to block a 2009 New York City law banning the sale of flavored smokeless tobacco products except in tobacco bars.
The U.S. appeals court in New York today upheld a lower- court ruling which rejected arguments by two Altria units, U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Manufacturing and U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Brands, that the city’s measure is pre-empted by federal law.
The Altria units, which make and distribute the Copenhagen and Skoal brands of smokeless tobacco, had argued that the ordinance imposed manufacturing standards on their products, in conflict with federal law. Continued