Tobacco firms get partial win over claims on smoking effects
WASHINGTON (AP) — A federal appeals court says America’s largest tobacco companies must inform consumers that cigarettes were formulated to increase addiction, but not that they lied about the dangers of smoking.
The ruling Friday from the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia is a partial win for cigarette makers that objected to running court-ordered advertisements that would have the companies brand themselves as liars.
The ads would have begun with a statement that the companies “deliberately deceived the American public.” The ads stem from a 2006 court ruling ordering the companies to admit they had lied for decades about the dangers of smoking.
The companies called that statement overbroad and misleading.