John, Under a federal court order issued this week, the major U.S. tobacco companies will soon have to post signs telling the public the truth about the deadly consequences of cigarette smoking at about 200,000 retail outlets across the nation that sell cigarettes. This is a huge victory for public health! |
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Background This order will fully implement the “corrective statements” the tobacco companies were first ordered to make in 2006, when U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued a landmark judgment 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. |
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The corrective statements have previously been disseminated through newspaper and television ads and on cigarette packs, and they continue to appear on tobacco company websites. What happens now? Under the court order, tobacco companies will start posting the signs on July 1, 2023, and they must be in place by September 30, 2023. They will remain in stores for 21 months. The signs will tell the public the truth about the adverse health effects of smoking and secondhand smoke, the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine, and the industry’s manipulation of cigarettes to make them more addictive. Critically, this important information will be provided to consumers at the point where they are making decisions whether to purchase cigarettes. |
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The statements are intended to prevent and restrain future fraud by an industry that has lied to the American people for decades. This court order applies to defendants Altria, Philip Morris USA and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company, as well as to four cigarette brands owned by ITG Brands LLC. |
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