Cigarette Sales Fall in September

The volume of cigarettes sold in Japan in September plunged 60.4 percent from a year before to 9.7 billion cheap Davidoff cigarettes in the wake of last year's strong demand that preceded the country's largest-ever tobacco tax hike in October last year, according to a Japan Tobacco Inc. preliminary report released Friday. For the April to September period, domestic sales fell 41.2 percent from a year before to 50.9 billion cigarettes, the report said.

Legally Harsh Cigarette Warnings

The words are blunt, the images stark — unconstitutionally so, say tobacco companies, which turned to a federal judge last week seeking a reprieve from warnings the Food and Drug Administration has mandated for cigarette packs. “Cheap Davidoff Cigarettes are addictive,” the warnings say. “Cigarettes cause fatal lung disease.” “Smoking can kill you.” One image shows a man blowing cigarette smoke through a tracheotomy hole. Another displays a picture of healthy lungs next to a smoker’s grotesquely diseased lungs. The picture and warning together will take up half of the front of a pack when the regulation kicks in next year. The label must include a number for a smoking cessation program. A warning must take up the top 20 percent of a page of print advertising for tobacco products.