Pubdate: Monday, 09 November, 1998 Source: Standard-Times (MA) Contact: http://www.s-t.com/ Copyright: 1998 The Standard-Times Author: The Associated Press FEDERAL COURT UPHOLDS BLOCK ON TOBACCO INGREDIENT LAW BOSTON -- A federal appeals court has upheld an injunction that prevents Massachusetts from forcing companies to hand over lists of the substances they add to cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco. A 1996 state law prohibits tobacco companies that refuse to release their ingredient lists from doing business in Massachusetts. But tobacco companies have sued the state, arguing the law would unfairly force them to reveal trade secrets. The First Circuit Court of Appeals upheld a December ruling by U.S. District Court Judge George O'Toole that halted the law's implementation during the lawsuit, the Boston Herald reported Saturday. Under the law, the ingredient lists would go to the Department of Public Health, which would keep them confidential. If, however, the department found that the ingredients posed a public health risk, it could release them to the public. The attorney general's office has argued that the tobacco ingredients law is similar to a federal pesticide law that provides for public release of trade secret information that pesticide manufacturers must file with the Environmental Protection Agency. That law has been upheld by the U.S. Supreme Court. - --- Checked-by: Rolf Ernst