Jump to full article: Washington Times, 2009-05-23
Author: Ben Conery
Intro: The Justice Department, which prosecuted the case, said it was satisfied with the decision.
"This ruling is a victory for the American people that bans the use of misleading terms such as 'light and low tar,' and provides the government with the ability to pursue these companies should they continue with their deceptive practices," said U.S. Deputy Attorney General David Ogden.
While the appeals court upheld that the tobacco companies violated the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act - a law generally reserved for mobsters - it did not completely agree with the government's position.
The judges denied the Justice Department's request that the companies pay $10 billion for a national smoking cessation program, anti-smoking marketing campaign and monitoring of the companies. . . .
According to court records, the heads of the largest tobacco companies met in 1953 to figure out a way to deflect the growing health worries related to smoking. The companies agreed that no brand would advertise as being any safer than the others and they issued a joint advertisement the following year that claimed the health concerns about cigarettes were an "open question."
"Evidence at trial revealed that at the same time defendants were disseminating advertisements, publications, and public statements denying any adverse health effects of smoking and promoting their 'open question' strategy of sowing doubt, they internally acknowledged as fact that smoking causes disease and other health hazards,"
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