By Brent Kendall
WASHINGTON--A federal appeals court on Friday scaled back
portions of a court order requiring leading cigarette makers to say
in product warnings that the industry misled the public about the
dangers of smoking.
At issue were product warnings U.S. District Judge Gladys
Kessler ordered for top tobacco companies after she ruled nearly a
decade ago that cigarette makers violated civil racketeering law.
The ruling said tobacco companies participated in a decadeslong
scheme to deceive consumers about the harms of smoking.
She required tobacco companies to make the warning statements in
newspaper and television ads, as well as on their websites and
product packaging.
A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the
District of Columbia Circuit on Friday said Judge Kessler exceeded
her authority when she required cigarette makers to announce that
they deliberately deceived the public.
Portions of the ruling, however, went against the tobacco
industry. The appeals court upheld Judge Kessler's requirement that
cigarette makers say in the product warnings that they
intentionally designed their products to create and sustain
addiction.
The case dates back to a lawsuit the Justice Department filed in
1999 alleging cigarette makers conspired to deceive the public
about the health consequences of smoking.
Defendants included Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.
and Lorillard Tobacco Co.
Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com
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