U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued a final opinion in the U.S. government’s landmark lawsuit against the major tobacco companies that found the companies have violated civil racketeering laws and defrauded the American people by lying for decades about the health risks of smoking and their marketing to children.
“(This case) is about an industry, and in particular these Defendants, that survives, and profits, from selling a highly addictive product which causes diseases that lead to a staggering number of deaths per year, an immeasurable amount of human suffering and economic loss, and a profound burden on our national health care system. Defendants have known these facts for at least 50 years or more. Despite that knowledge, they have consistently, repeatedly, and with enormous skill and sophistication, denied these facts to the public, to the Government, and to the public health community… In short, Defendants have marketed and sold their lethal products with zeal, with deception, with a single-minded focus on their financial success, and without regard for the human tragedy or social costs that success exacted,” Judge Kessler wrote on pages 3-4 of the opinion.
To read the full opinion visit: www.tobaccofreekids.org/reports/doj/FinalOpinion.pdf
A public service report provided by Mountain Heritage, Inc., working to save our mountain children from the deadly forces of tobacco, drugs, lack of exercise, and excess alcohol.