Federal judge requires tobacco companies to post health risks of smoking at 200,000 stores
Federal judge requires tobacco companies to post health risks of smoking at 200,000 stores
On December 6, a federal judge in Washington ordered the major U.S. tobacco companies to
post signs next year at nearly 200,000 retail outlets that sell cigarettes, warning potential
buyers of the health risks. The order will fully implement the “corrective statements” the
tobacco companies were first ordered to make in 2006, when U.S. District Judge Gladys
Kessler ruled that these companies had violated civil racketeering laws and lied to the public
for decades about the health risks and addictiveness of cigarettes and their marketing to
children. The tobacco industry fought the order for point-of-sale statements for 16 years,
but the parties to the case–including the Justice Department, six public health intervenors
and the tobacco companies–recently negotiated an agreement for the signs to be displayed
in retail stores for 21 months, an agreement implemented by the Dec. 6 court order.
Read a statement from the American Cancer Society and other groups about the court order.