Seven former federal health secretaries -- from both Democratic and Republican administrations -- faxed a letter to members of Congress Wednesday demanding that menthol-flavored cigarettes be banned just like various other cigarette flavorings in legislation currently being considered by both houses. The bill's treatment of menthol "caves to the financial interests of tobacco companies and discriminates against African-Americans -- the segment of our population at greatest risk for the killing and crippling smoking-related diseases," the letter from the former secretaries says. "It sends a message that African American youngsters are valued less than white youngsters." The letter reflects …

With the economy in a downdraft, United Airlines is scrapping its coach-only "Ted" service and reconfiguring those planes to include first-class seats. It's also cutting domestic capacity by 17%, and laying off an additional 900 to 1,100 employees by the end of the year, in addition to the 500 employees it already planned to lay off. International capacity will be scaled back by 4 to 5%. With crude oil prices up 73% from 2007 levels and global economic growth slowing, international flights no longer are guaranteed moneymakers, analysts say. Airlines are closely studying their global networks, trying to best …

J.M. Smucker is expected this week to seal a deal to buy the Folgers coffee business from Procter & Gamble in an all-stock deal, according to sources. Given Folgers's annual sales of $1.6 billion, the business could fetch a price tag of $2 billion or more. Folgers is the top-selling ground coffee in the U.S., and the purchase will catapult Smucker into the leading position in the coffee market. The brand, though, has to contend with the popularity of Starbucks chain of coffee stores and the proliferation of gourmet coffee brands. The deal would be a departure from P&G's …

It's almost certain Apple CEO Steve Jobs will unveil the latest version of the iPhone Monday, when he speaks at the company's annual Worldwide Developers Conference in San Francisco. The gadget will go up for sale shortly thereafter. The company has been quietly positioning millions of units of a mysterious new product in key markets since March. The look and feel of the phone, however, remains a mystery. Security at Apple's headquarters is tight. Rank-and-file staff say sensitive projects are draped with cloth before they're even brought into work. What we know for sure though is that sales of …

Organic to Go, a Seattle company founded in 2004, is taking the Whole Foods prepared-food concept out of the grocery store and into places where people work and spend their days. On Tuesday, it purchased High Noon's four cafes in the Washington, D.C., area, as well as its catering operation, and plans to turn the lunch hot spots into places where office workers can devour a meatloaf sandwich made with organic beef. More than 76% of the people in a recent poll by the National Restaurant Association said they are trying to eat out more healthfully than they were …

After wearing the crown as the U.S.'s top-selling vehicle for 26 years, Ford's F-Series pick-up truck was deposed by Honda's Civic salon last month. The F-Series was also outsold by Toyota's Corolla and Camry salons, and by the Honda Accord, highlighting a stampede by Americans to less fuel-thirsty cars. "The dramatic increase in car sales appears to be one of the most profound shifts in automotive buying patterns in more than a decade," says Dick Colliver, evp of Honda's US subsidiary. Tumbling SUV and pick-up sales resulted in sharp overall sales declines at the three Detroit-based carmakers, General Motors, …

Pure Digital -- a small San Francisco start-up -- is rolling out a slender new model, the Flip Video Mino. Smaller than the previous version of the Flip by 40%, the $179 Mino has curved edges and is meant to slip into the pockets or pocketbooks of youthful members of the MySpace generation. It can record up to 60 minutes of video. Flip has sold nearly one million units of its Flip Ultra Camcorder -- a $149 four-button video recording device that has attracted the admiration of Oprah Winfrey and accolades from jaded product reviewers. It has been able …