Federal Appeals Court Upholds Order on Corrective Ads About Dangers of Smoking

A federal appeals court has upheld a federal judge’s order that requires tobacco manufacturers to run corrective ads about the dangers of smoking, the Associated Press reports.

The manufacturers hoped the court would overturn U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler’s order on the grounds it had been superceded by the 2009 Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act, which gave the Food and Drug Administration authority to regulate the content, marketing and sale of tobacco products.

The companies said the Act eliminated any reasonable likelihood they would commit future violations, removing the need for corrective advertising. The appeals court, in a 3-0 decision, said the oversight provided by the Act does not replace the judge’s ruling on the need for corrective ads.

In 2006, Judge Kessler ruled that Big Tobacco firms engaged in racketeering, and were likely to do so again in the future. She ordered tobacco companies to stop using terms like “light” and “low tar” to market cigarettes. She said she wanted the tobacco industry to pay for print and broadcast ads, but did not say what corrective statements must be included in them.