The American Association of Public Health Physicians, (AAPHP), who opposed the new bill giving the U.S. government regulatory authority over cigarettes and other tobacco products, says the bill was essentially written by Philip Morris for the company's own benefit. In a July 2, 2009 interview on Democracy Now, Dr. Joel Nitzkin, Chair of AAPHP's Tobacco Control Task Force, said the bill was negotiated between Philip Morris and the Tobacco-Free Kids, and that "those appointed from Tobacco-Free Kids to negotiate on behalf of the public health community really had no understanding of tobacco-related science, of how and why kids initiate tobacco use, or the steps that could be taken to stop them." Dr. Nitzkin said "the bill gives the appearance of federal regulation of tobacco products while assuring Philip Morris will be able to continue to market their current cigarette products with little interference from federal authorities. The bill also gives PM protection against future liability and protects the company from competition from other tobacco companies and smokeless tobacco products." Dr. Nitzkin points out that, with the exception of the provision requiring graphic health warning labels on cigarettes, every other provision in the bill that deals with the restriction of marketing tobacco products "falls into one of two categories: either it's already in place as a result of the Master Settlement Agreement, or it has already been thrown out by the U.S. Supreme Court."

Medialink Worldwide -- the largest producer of video new releases and audio news releases -- has announced that it has reached an agreement to been taken over by The NewsMarket. The takeover agreement, which will be submitted to a vote of shareholders at a meeting in August, was finalised on May 27. As part of the agreement, a subsidiary of The NewsMarket has offered to buy the company's shares for 20 cents, well above where it has traded for most of the last six months. As part of the agreement, Medialink's top three executives -- CEO Laurence Moskowitz, Chief Operating Office Larry Thomas and Chief Financial Officer Ken Torosian -- will step down. Medialink will also cease to trade on the sharemarket. As part of the deal, Medialink agreed to changes to the separation agreements for the three executives to "substantially reduce the change-in-control payments" owing to them on completion of the take-over.

Key to the Obama administration's proposal for financial industry reform is the establishment of a Consumer Financial Protection Agency. The proposed agency would "have a broad mandate to cover the spectrum of consumer financial products and to fill gaps in current regulations." Not surprisingly, big business is fighting back. "I think when people read this, they will be shocked about the incredibly broad delegation of power," said the American Bankers Association's Edward Yingling. An executive with the Financial Services Roundtable worried, "If you argue against the agency, then you could be incorrectly painted as arguing against consumer protection." Americans for Financial Reform -- a new coalition including AARP, AFL-CIO, ACORN, Consumers Union, MoveOn.org Political Action and Public Citizen -- would presumably agree, except for the word "incorrectly." A coalition statement reads, "Opposition to the Agency from the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, Wall Street bankers and the financial services industry is a slap in the fact to the millions of Americans who played by the rules and got burned." The Hill reported that the financial industry groups opposing Obama's proposal are considering the services of a number of PR firms including Powell Tate, Vox Global, Goddard Claussen and Direct Impact.

The global drug firm Roche has decided to withdraw from the Pharmaceutical Research and Manufacturers Association (PhRMA), the peak lobbying group for the U.S. drug industry. Following its purchase of the biotechnology company Genentech, Roche decided that it prefers to belong to the Biotechnology Industry Organization. In The Star-Ledger, Susan Toddalso reported that "without Roche, PhRMA also loses critical revenue for carrying out its lobbying activities." Roche, she wrote, also "plans to pull out of another pharma-related affiliation, its sponsorship of a special pharmaceutical management program at Rutgers Business School." In Britain, Roche UK decided "not to renew its membership of the Association of the British Pharmaceutical Industry, after it was suspended for six months for 'bringing the industry into disrepute'," reported the Financial Times.