US: Tobacco Companies Will Appeal Ruling Requiring Them to Say They Lied

Source from:  Winston-Salem Journal  01/24/2014

The nation's three largest tobacco manufacturers have decided to appeal a Jan. 10 federal court decision that would require them to publish corrective statements that say they lied about the dangers of smoking
 
The companies filed their appeal Wednesday in U.S. District Court in Washington.

Altria Group Inc, Lorillard Inc and Reynolds American Inc have argued the proposed wording of the ads would violate their free speech rights.

A Reynolds spokesman said the company does not comment on pending litigation.

It may take until 2015 before a ruling is made on the appeal – about 8½ years after the original court ruling and 16 years after the legal case was filed by the U.S. Justice Department. It is possible the case could eventually wind up before the U.S. Supreme Court.

The companies have reached an agreement with Justice officials on what the ad campaign would look like in the Sunday editions of at least 35 newspapers, as well as on television. There would be a year's worth of prime-time TV commercials and weeks of full-page newspaper ads.

The corrective statements are part of a case the government brought in 1999 under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled in that case in 2006 that the nation's largest cigarette makers concealed the dangers of smoking for decades. Enditem