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U.S. Light Cigarette Case Under Close Scrutiny 

The Australian Competition and Consumer Commission is carefully examining legal developments in the United States after a major court judgement against a tobacco company over the use of terms such as 'light' and 'mild' on cigarette packaging, ACCC Chairman, Professor Allan Fels, said today.

An Oregon jury has ordered tobacco giant Philip Morris pay US$150 million after a smoker of low tar cigarettes, now deceased, had argued that Philip Morris gave a misleading impression that they were safer than normal cigarettes.

"The ACCC is interested in the outcome of that case and will consider any information that might be relevant to the ACCC's own investigation into whether Australian consumers have been misled by the use of the terms here", Professor Fels said.

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