WASHINGTON, (Reuters) – Cigarette companies systematically lied for decades to hide the dangers of smoking, a U.S. appeals court said yesterday as it upheld a trial judge’s racketeering verdict.
But in a blow to anti-smoking groups, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia also upheld U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler’s 2006 rejection of plans to force the companies to fund smoking cessation programmes, which could have cost them billions of dollars.
The appeals court’s three-judge panel ruled that the companies, including Altria Group Inc and its Philip Morris USA unit, violated federal anti-racketeering laws by conspiring to lie about the dangers of smoking.
“Defendants knew of their falsity at the time and made the statements with the intent to deceive,” the court said in a 92-page ruling. “Thus, we are not dealing with accidental falsehoods, or sincere attempts to persuade; Defendants’ liability rests on deceits perpetrated with knowledge of their falsity.”
