Cigarette Companies Lied, Appeals Court Rules

By Marie Morris,  Newser Staff
Posted May 22, 2009 3:20 PM CDT
Cigarette Companies Lied, Appeals Court Rules
American tobacco companies lied to consumers about the dangerousness of their products, which constitutes racketeering, a federal appeals court ruled today.   (©cesarastudillo)

Tobacco companies engaged in “deceits” and knowingly marketed cigarettes without regard for consumers’ health, violating civil racketeering laws, a federal appeals court ruled today. In upholding the verdict in a landmark case brought by the Clinton Justice Department in 1999, the court refused to overturn a district judge’s order that the companies, including Altria and Philip Morris, stop using such marketing terms as “low tar” and “light,” the Washington Post reports. (More cigarette stories.)

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