WASHINGTON, D.C. – May 22, 2015 – A ruling issued today by the U.S Circuit Court for the District of Columbia affirms most of a lower court ruling requiring that the tobacco industry issue “corrective statements” to prevent it from continuing to mislead the public about the dangers of its products. Following is a statement from the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN) in response to the decision:
“Today’s decision is another strike against the tobacco industry in its long-running effort to weaken court-ordered public statements designed to prevent it from continuing to deceive the public about the hazards of its products.
“We are pleased the circuit court upheld the requirement that tobacco companies make clear what they refused to acknowledge for decades – that their products are hazardous to human health and that they deliberately made cigarettes as addictive as possible. However, we are also disappointed that today’s decision throws out the requirement that tobacco companies state they are under court order to explain their deliberate deception of tobacco users.
“As the circuit court indicates in today’s ruling, this case against the tobacco industry is now 15 years old, and a final resolution continues to be delayed by the industry’s constant attempts to escape from its court-ordered obligations. It is long past time for the industry to come clean to the public about the disease and death it has caused and continues to cause, and to stop ensnaring the courts in legal challenges designed to avoid accountability for its unconscionable actions.
“The corrective statements, which are required to appear in national broadcast and print advertisements and on corporate websites, include phrases such as ‘Cigarette companies intentionally designed cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction’ and ‘All cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, and premature death – lights, low tar, ultra lights and naturals. There is no safe cigarette.’
“The corrective statements stem from Judge Gladys Kessler’s historic 2006 decision in the Department of Justice (DOJ) case against the tobacco industry, which found the major cigarette manufacturers guilty of violating civil provisions of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO). The decision was based on powerful evidence that the industry was well aware that smoking and nicotine are addictive, manipulated its products to maximize addiction and deceptively marketed ‘light’ and ‘low’ tar products as healthy alternatives to regular products despite knowing they were just as deadly.
“For the first time, the American people will hear the truth from the tobacco companies themselves. After more than 50 years of deception, the powerful corrective statements ensure the tobacco industry comes clean to help prevent this type of travesty in the future.
“For too long, the tobacco industry has thrived on the business of addiction by marketing to children and misleading adults about the harms of its deadly products. Tobacco is the most preventable cause of death in this country, responsible for 30 percent of all cancer deaths and 87 percent of all lung cancer deaths. The strong, evidence-based statements will educate the public on the dangers of tobacco use and secondhand smoke, while preventing the public from being defrauded by the tobacco industry in the future.”
The American Cancer Society and five other public health groups – Americans for Nonsmokers’ Rights, American Heart Association, American Lung Association, the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids Action Fund and National African American Tobacco Prevention Network – are intervenors in the federal case, which was filed by DOJ in 1999 to hold the tobacco industry accountable for more than 50 years of fraudulent and deceptive marketing practices.
ACS CAN, the nonprofit, nonpartisan advocacy affiliate of the American Cancer Society, supports evidence-based policy and legislative solutions designed to eliminate cancer as a major health problem. ACS CAN works to encourage elected officials and candidates to make cancer a top national priority. ACS CAN gives ordinary people extraordinary power to fight cancer with the training and tools they need to make their voices heard. For more information, visit www.fightcancer.org.
FOR MORE INFORMATION, CONTACT:
Lauren Walens or Steven Weiss
American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network
Phone: (202) 661-5763 or (202) 661-5711
Email: [email protected] or [email protected]
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