Own up to lies, US judge tells big tobacco

TOBACCO COMPANIES have been ordered by a judge in the United States to admit that they lied to the public about the damage caused by cigarettes.

The ruling – should it survive a likely appeal by the tobacco giants – will force companies in America to issue corrective statements, possibly on cigarette packets or in advertising, each prefaced by a confession that manufacturers ‘‘deliberately deceived the American public about the health effects of smoking’’.

There will follow statements such as ‘‘more people die every year from smoking than from murder, Aids, suicide, drugs, car crashes and alcohol combined’’ and ‘‘smoking kills, on average, 1200 Americans every day’’.

In her ruling in Washington, Judge Gladys Kessler said: ‘‘The court made a number of explicit findings that the tobacco companies perpetuated fraud and deceived the public regarding the addictiveness of cigarettes and nicotine.’’

The defendants – Altria, the owner of Philip Morris brands in the US, R J Reynolds and Lorillard – argued that they were being forced into confessions designed to shame and humiliate them. A spokesman for Altria said that it was considering its next steps.

The Obama Administration is piling pressure on big tobacco, with the US Food and Drug Administration demanding even more graphic health warnings on cigarette packets. John Banzhaf, a law professor at George Washington University and a leading anti-tobacco campaigner, said: ‘‘This could open up a new strategy worldwide for dealing with tobacco warnings.

‘‘The most important audience for warnings [is] young people, but what effect does telling a 16-yearold that he might die at some point in the vague future have? Rather than trying to scare them, the most effective ads poke fun at the tobacco industry. Kids don’t like it when adults lie to them. Forcing tobacco companies to confess they lied could be very effective.’’