How You Can Help Hold Big Tobacco Accountable
Nearly 20 years ago, a U.S. Federal District judge found that the major cigarette manufacturers violated civil racketeering laws for deliberately defrauding the public.
News
Huge Victory: Big Tobacco Companies Now Must Tell the Truth
November 16, 2017
Big Tobacco has been lying to you.
They said low tar cigarettes are good for you, nicotine is not addictive and secondhand smoke isn’t deadly.
These are all lies and the industry knew it, but we helped catch them.
Thanks to a victory in court on a case by the American Cancer Society and other plaintiffs, Big Tobacco now has to come clean.
In 2006, a federal judge ruled in our case that the major tobacco companies had to buy TV and newspaper ads correcting the untruthful statements they made in the past.
Judge Gladys Kessler, the federal judge who ruled in the case, said that tobacco companies “have marketed and sold their lethal products with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without any regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted.”
Lawyers for the tobacco companies successfully dragged their feet for 11 years, but they finally have no choice but to provide the truth.
Starting November 24th, and lasting nearly an entire year, the tobacco companies will be running advertisements in major newspapers and on television stations around the country.
Finally, Big Tobacco has to admit the truth that:
- Over 1,200 Americans die every day due to smoking.
- Smoking is highly addictive. It is not easy to quit.
- All cigarettes, including low-tar cigarettes, are harmful. There is no safe cigarette.
- Tobacco companies designed cigarettes to make them more addictive.
- There is no safe exposure to secondhand smoke.
Thanks to the work of ACS CAN and others, we’ve been able to reduce tobacco use throughout the country. Our three-legged approach has included increasing taxes on tobacco products, making all workplaces, including restaurants, and bars, smoke-free, and providing tobacco users with evidence-based programs and resources to help them quit.
Despite major progress in reducing tobacco use, it is still the leading cause of preventable death in the U.S. and kills more than 480,000 Americans every year. An epidemic created entirely by the companies who have lied to the public about the harmful nature of their products.
Our victory in federal court and the launch of this required massive advertising campaign by Big Tobacco is a huge win not just for the organizations involved, but for all Americans who have been deceived and defrauded by these tobacco companies.
Related Updates