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Statement by Dr. Cheryl Healton, President and CEO, American Legacy Foundation® on the U.S. Supreme Court’s Decision in Altria Group v. Good

12/15/2008

WASHINGTON DC – Today’s Supreme Court decision is an important step forward in a legal battle aimed at making sure Americans are told the truth about the devastating consequences of smoking.

For years, Philip Morris, the nation’s largest tobacco company, has misled its customers into falsely believing that “light” or “low-tar” cigarettes are safer than regular cigarettes. When a group of long-time smokers from Maine took the company to court over its misleading advertisements, Philip Morris tried to get the suit dismissed on a technicality, appealing all the way to the Supreme Court. Today, the Court rejected the company’s claim that federal law prevented the case from going forward. Philip Morris will now have to defend its misleading practices on the merits.

In a “friend of the court” brief, the American Legacy Foundation and other public health organizations educated the Court about the devastating health consequences of Philip Morris’s fraudulent advertising practices. Since Philip Morris introduced Marlboro Lights in 1971, millions of people have switched to light cigarettes, including many who would have otherwise quit altogether. In fact, Marlboro Lights is now the best-selling brand in the nation. In Maine, where the lawsuit was brought, 1,900 children become new daily smokers every year. Nationally, of youth who are smokers, one in three will eventually die of a tobacco-related illness.

Today’s decision follows on the heels of the Federal Trade Commission’s recent rescission of its long-standing rule that enabled tobacco manufacturers to claim their “light” and “low-tar” labels were based on an FTC-approved testing method. The American Legacy Foundation urged the FTC to take the action to finally end the implied government endorsement of these misleading labels.

The truth is, light cigarettes can be just as harmful as regular cigarettes and the tobacco industry should no longer be permitted to mislead the American people into believing they are safe. Today’s decision brings us one step closer to achieving this important public health goal.

The American Legacy Foundation^® is dedicated to building a world where young people reject tobacco and anyone can quit. Located in Washington, D.C., the foundation develops programs that address the health effects of tobacco use, especially among vulnerable populations disproportionately affected by the toll of tobacco, through grants, technical assistance and training, partnerships, youth activism, and counter-marketing and grassroots marketing campaigns. The Foundation’s programs include truth^®, a national youth smoking prevention campaign that has been cited as contributing to significant declines in youth smoking; EX^®, an innovative public health program designed to speak to smokers in their own language and change the way they approach quitting; research initiatives exploring the causes, consequences and approaches to reducing tobacco use; and a nationally-renowned program of outreach to priority populations. The American Legacy Foundation was created as a result of the November 1998 Master Settlement Agreement (MSA) reached between attorneys general from 46 states, five U.S. territories and the tobacco industry. Visit http://www.americanlegacy.org/.

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Contact: Julia Cartwright, 202-454-5596, jcartwright@americanlegacy.org