After a nearly six-year legal battle, a judge ordered tobacco companies to start warning consumers about just how addictive their products are.
U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler issued her ruling yesterday as part of a long-running government racketeering case against Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., and Lorillard Tobacco Co., The Wall Street Journal's Law Blog reported Tuesday.
The case began in 2006 when Kessler ruled the companies purposely deceived consumers about their products and ordered the companies to start issuing statements in the media and product packagings about the dangers of tobacco.
But the case has been tied up in the legal system for the past six years.
Kessler's Tuesday ruling came in the final phases of the nearly decade-long fight.
Here are the warnings Kessler requires in her ruling:
“Cigarette companies intentionally designed cigarettes with enough nicotine to create and sustain addiction.”
“When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain – that’s why quitting is so hard.”
Each statement will also contain a preamble explaining the court's ruling, according to Law Blog.
DON'T MISS: Research Shows Just How Wrong Scalia Is: The Federal Courts Are Totally Politicized >
Please follow Law & Order on Twitter and Facebook.
Join the conversation about this story »
