Tobacco Ruling Fuels Calls for New Laws

WASHINGTON -- A federal court ruling branding cigarette makers as racketeers has rekindled calls for Congress to impose tough new restrictions on the tobacco industry.

U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler rebuked tobacco manufacturers in her ruling Thursday, saying they had conspired for decades to deceive the public about smoking's hazards and pitched their products to youngsters and lied about it.

Kessler said she could not require the industry to pay for a multibillion dollar quit-smoking campaign, citing an interim ruling, but she suggested federal lawmakers could do more to stop the industry from addicting new generations of smokers.

Sens. Frank Lautenberg, D-N.J., and Edward Kennedy, D-Mass., predicted Kessler's ruling would help boost the chances for bringing the loosely regulated tobacco industry under the control of the federal Food and Drug Administration.

"A court of law has finally said what Americans have known for years _ Big Tobacco lied to get people addicted to cigarettes," Lautenberg said.

A day after Kessler's ruling in the seven-year-old case, industry leader Philip Morris USA confirmed plans to appeal, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. also indicated an appeal was likely. Lorillard Tobacco Co. and Justice Department officials said they were still mulling what to do.

Public health advocates said Friday it is the Justice Department that should appeal, and they encouraged lawmakers to impose new restrictions on the industry.

"It's imperative that Congress and state legislatures change the laws where necessary to rein in this industry, since Judge Kessler made it clear she could not because of the higher court ruling that limited the remedies available," said William Corr, executive director of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids.

Lautenberg said Congress should write into law some of the remedies Kessler imposed on the industry, particularly banning the use of "light" and "ultralight" labels, which can imply health benefits that aren't real.

"I'm glad they'll be forced to admit the truth and quit making fraudulent claims about so-called 'low tar' cigarettes," Lautenberg said. "But we can't take a chance that this will be reversed on appeal, so I will keep fighting to make it illegal."

Kessler wrote in her ruling that she was surprised Congress hadn't done more to tackle the issue.

"One cannot help wondering whether this litigation was the best vehicle for attempting to hold defendants accountable for their indifference to the health of American citizens," Kessler wrote.

"In a democracy, it is the body elected by the people, namely Congress, that should step up to the plate and address national issues with such enormous economic, public health, commercial and social ramifications," Kessler said.

Philip Morris USA is the only tobacco company that supports legislation sponsored by Kennedy and others that would enable the FDA to regulate the industry.

The other companies say a 1998 landmark agreement with the states led to major changes in the industry, including strict marketing restrictions, that make federal oversight unnecessary.

Both Philip Morris and R.J. Reynolds lawyers said they thought Kessler overstepped her authority by ordering remedies that only Congress has the power to impose on cigarette makers.

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On the Net:

Justice Department lawsuit: http://www.usdoj.gov/civil/cases/tobacco2/