History was made in 2017 as tobacco companies were finally forced to tell the truth about their deadly products.
A federal court found major tobacco companies Philip Morris (now Altria), R.J. Reynolds and Lorillard engaged in fraud, conspiracy and racketeering to hide the dangers of smoking and secondhand smoke and how they manipulated their products to create and sustain addiction. Their deceptive acts included misleading the public, suppressing research and destroying documents to protect their profits. After failed appeals, the industry was forced to start running ads containing corrective statements.
The ads admit facts such as the following:
Smoking kills, on average, 1,200 Americans. Every day.
More people die every year from smoking than from murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes and alcohol, combined.
Cigarette companies intentionally designed cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction.
All cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks and premature death – “lights,” “low tar,” “ultra lights,” and “naturals.” There is no safe cigarette.
There’s no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.
Comments