Philip Morris USA and other tobacco-makers must state on cigarette packages that they’re “intentionally designed” to ensure addiction, a federal appeals court said.
The companies don’t, however, have to say that they lied about the dangers of smoking.
That’s the decision of a Washington-based appeals court in a 15-year-old racketeering case.
The US claims that Philip Morris and eight other cigarette manufacturers conspired to hide the health consequences and addictiveness of cigarettes. Friday’s ruling by the Washington-based court came in the fifth appeal to be filed since the case was brought.
In its decision, the three-judge panel said that the lower court overstepped its authority by requiring tobacco-makers to include a statement saying that a US court found that they deliberately deceived the public about the health effects of second-hand smoke.
The statement reveals “nothing about cigarettes” and focuses instead on the companies’ conduct, the court ruled.
A court’s finding in 2006 that the companies joined together to boost profits through false statements eventually led to an order requiring corrective disclosures on package labels.
The racketeering case followed a 1998 agreement between 46 states and the five biggest tobacco companies that set standards for how they market and sell their products. Those restrictions, along with higher taxes and aggressive anti-smoking campaigns, spurred years of declining sales volumes, as more people quit.
News by Bloomberg, edited by ESM
