Posted on May 23rd, 2009 | Comments (0)
A US appeals court has largely upheld a landmark ruling that cigarette makers lied about the health risks of smoking.
The tobacco firms had appealed against a 2006 decision that banned labels such as “low tar” and “light”.
That ruling found that companies including Philip Morris USA guilty of fraud and violating racketeering laws.
Friday’s judgement by the Court of Appeals in Washington endorsed it, but said that two trade organisations could be dismissed from the suit.
The two groups – the Council for Tobacco Research-USA and Tobacco Institute – did not make or sell products.
“Defendants knew of their falsity at the time and made the statements with the intent to deceive,” Friday’s ruling said.
The original 2006 ruling also required firms to issue “corrective statements” about health effects and addiction.
It has not been applied while the case has been under appeal.
This article is from the BBC News website. © British Broadcasting Corporation, The BBC is not responsible for the content of external internet sites.
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