US Court orders tobacco companies to "tell the truth"

In June 2014, U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler of the District of Columbia issued a final order in a long-standing case detailing how the major U.S. tobacco companies must publish court-ordered "corrective statements" to atone for decades of deception of the American public about their deadly products. The order by Judge Kessler includes a list of newspapers and TV networks in which the corrective statements must run, website announcements, and cigarette package “onserts” (information affixed to the packaging or cellophane wrapping).

Judge Kessler in November 2012 finalized the text of corrective messages that are to be made public.  United States v. Philip Morris USA Inc. et al., No. 99-CV-2496 (GK), 2012 WL 5928859 

Earlier this month, tobacco companies filed an appeal claiming that the phrasing in the proposed statements would "punish and humiliate" them, objections that rest largely on matters that were already decided by the D.C. court in 2009.

Below is the text of the five court-ordered Corrective Statements:

Adverse Health Effects of Smoking

A Federal Court has ruled that Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria deliberately deceived the American public about the health effects of smoking, and has ordered those companies to make this statement.

Here is the truth:
• Smoking kills, on average, 1200 Americans. Every day.
• More people die every year from smoking than from murder, AIDS, suicide, drugs, car crashes, and alcohol, combined.
• Smoking causes heart disease, emphysema, acute myeloid leukemia, and cancer of the mouth, esophagus, larynx, lung, stomach, kidney, bladder, and pancreas.
• Smoking also causes reduced fertility, low birth weight in newborns, and cancer of the cervix.

Addictiveness of Smoking and Nicotine

A Federal Court has ruled that Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria deliberately deceived the American public about the addictiveness of smoking and nicotine, and has ordered those companies to make this statement.

Here is the truth:
• Smoking is highly addictive. Nicotine is the addictive drug in tobacco.
• Cigarette companies intentionally designed cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction.
• It's not easy to quit.
• When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain - that's why quitting is so hard.

Lack of Significant Health Benefit from Smoking “Low Tar,” “Light,” “Ultra Light,” “Mild,” and “Natural” Cigarettes

A Federal Court has ruled that Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria deliberately deceived the American public by falsely selling and advertising low tar and light cigarettes as less harmful than regular cigarettes, and has ordered those companies to make this statement.

Here is the truth:
• Many smokers switch to low tar and light cigarettes rather than quitting because they think low tar and light cigarettes are less harmful. They are not.
• “Low tar” and filtered cigarette smokers inhale essentially the same amount of tar and nicotine as they would from regular cigarettes.
• All cigarettes cause cancer, lung disease, heart attacks, and premature death - lights, low tar, ultra lights, and naturals. There is no safe cigarette.

Manipulation of Cigarette Design and Composition to Ensure Optimum Nicotine Delivery

A Federal Court has ruled that Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria deliberately deceived the American public about designing cigarettes to enhance the delivery of nicotine, and has ordered those companies to make this statement.

Here is the truth:
• Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria intentionally designed cigarettes to make them more addictive.
• Cigarette companies control the impact and delivery of nicotine in many ways, including designing filters and selecting cigarette paper to maximize the ingestion of nicotine, adding ammonia to make the cigarette taste less harsh, and controlling the physical and chemical makeup of the tobacco blend.
• When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain - that’s why quitting is so hard.

Adverse Health Effects of Exposure to Secondhand Smoke

A Federal Court has ruled that Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, Lorillard, and Altria deliberately deceived the American public about the health effects of secondhand smoke, and has ordered those companies to make this statement.

Here is the truth:
• Secondhand smoke kills over 38,000 Americans each year.
• Secondhand smoke causes lung cancer and coronary heart disease in adults who do not smoke.
• Children exposed to secondhand smoke are at an increased risk for sudden infant death syndrome (SIDS), acute respiratory infections, ear problems, severe asthma, and reduced lung function.
• There is no safe level of exposure to secondhand smoke.

Natural vs manmade disasters

Reading and seeing the loss of lives and damage to property in the Visayas caused by super typhoon Yolanda is heartbreaking, yet the spirit of bayanihan and the unwillingness of Filipinos to be defeated remains strong, as someone else has pointed out, if Yolanda was the strongest typhoon in the world, then Filipinos, having lived through it, are the strongest people in the world. 

While humanitarian aid begins pouring in, whether from unaffected or less affected areas of our country or from international sources, we, as a nation, should remind ourselves that while we may not be able to do much about Mother Nature (climate change notwithstanding), we should be in a position to prevent or mitigate manmade disasters brought about by human greed and corruption.

Related to Yolanda's destruction, we should consider how much of the damage might have been minimized with sufficient disaster preparedness, investments in and quality standards  of infrastructure (roads, buildings, communications, water, etc), and proper community education and involvement. The same could be said regarding how we cope and begin the recovery process.  The Filipino spirit in the face of adversity is not wanting, but it could be greatly complemented by resources that, instead of serving the public good, have gone into the pockets of corrupt legislators, government executives, and civilians, who stupidly enrich themselves at the expense of others.

This group includes those who exploited the PDAF and other public funds, those who would bribe,  extort, or do substandard work rather than promote good public service,  those who value profits over  human lives and health, those who do not pay proper wages, those who litter or vandalize public places, those who can help but don't, and those who take advantage of the dire need of others in order to gain popularity, enhance their public image, or make money.  For example, during the world wars, tobacco companies gave away free cigarettes for soldiers in the field.  For typhoon/flood relief operations, companies often supply processed food products that are lacking or devoid of any nutritional value (e.g. infant formula for babies) as a means of marketing their products or so as to claim that they are helping the calamity victims.

So while we continue to render assistance in any way we can to our brothers and sisters suffering in the Visayas, let us keep a watchful eye on the plunder cases related to the PDAF and ensure that any international assistance is not squandered or looted by unscrupulous politicians.  If only God had taken them instead of the many innocents claimed by Yolanda.

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Dedicated to Mukesh Harane, died at age 24 from tobacco-related oral cancer