Public Policy Resources

In 1999, the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit against major tobacco manufacturers Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria to hold the industry accountable for more than 50 years of conspiring to defraud the public in violation of the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations (RICO) Act. Big Tobacco, an industry which has for decades knowingly addicted and endangered the lives of millions of Americans for their own profit, must now post the truth about their deadly products, including at the point-of-sale (POS) for approximately 220,000 tobacco retailers.

The tobacco industry has a history of using litigation to avoid and delay laws and regulations enacted to safeguard the public. ACS CAN, with our tobacco control partners, has also relied on the courts to hold Big Tobacco accountable and to ensure the federal government is effectively implementing the Tobacco Control Act.

Implementation of graphic warnings in the U.S. has been thwarted by tobacco industry legal challenges. The American Cancer Society (ACS) and the American Cancer Society Cancer Action Network (ACS CAN), along with our partners, have fought back in the judicial system, using litigation to both compel the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) to issue graphic warning regulations and help the U.S. Department of Justice (DOJ) defend the regulations finalized by FDA.