| PR Watch

The Beginning of the End of Cigarettes for Sale in Pharmacies?

Pharmacy Brand Smokes On October 1, 2008, the city of San Francisco put a law into effect that prohibits the sale of cigarettes in pharmacies. Walgreens drug store chain and Altria/Philip Morris have filed lawsuits against the city over the measure. In a September 30, 2008 statement about the new law, San Francisco Mayor Gavin Newsom related the city's simple rationale: "Pharmacies should be places where people go to get better, not where people go to get cancer."

Read more about The Beginning of the End of Cigarettes for Sale in Pharmacies?

FDA Tries to Pay Qorvis $300K Under the Table

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on October 2, 2008 - 3:07pm

After the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) was "pummeled by Congress for poor inspections of tainted vegetables, drugs and other products," the agency wanted public relations help. First, it hired Mildred Cooper as "a temporary FDA consultant ... on a two-year contract to advise FDA Commissioner Andrew C.

Main Source:

Washington Post, October 2, 2008

Topics:

Ethics

Public Relations

U.S. Government

Read more about FDA Tries to Pay Qorvis $300K Under the Table

Johns Hopkins Make Reports Benefit Glorious Nation of Kazakhstan

Submitted by Diane Farsetta on October 2, 2008 - 2:04pm

As part of a broader public relations and lobbying push, Kazakhstan's government paid Johns Hopkins University to author three reports about the country. The arrangement was brokered through APCO Worldwide, Kazakhstan's Washington DC lobbying firm.