Tobacco Forced to Run Ads

Source: abc.net.au

US tobacco companies have been ordered by the US federal court to make corrective statements, this culminated after a 19 year legal battle with the US department of justice. In 2006, these companies were found in violation of racketeering laws and defrauding the American people. After 10 years of litigation, the precise wording and format of the corrective statements were agreed on.

The companies will pay for television ads which will run during prime time, five nights a week for a year. They will also run newspaper ads that will be published in 50 major US papers for five Sundays from now until March. These ads will be paid for by Altria, R.J. Reynolds, Lorillard and Philip Morris.

The ads explain that smoking is addictive and that the tobacco companies designed cigarettes to be more addictive. Some of the verbiage is as follows:

'Smoking is highly addictive. Nicotine is the addictive drug in tobacco.'

'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 make up of the tobacco blend.'

'When you smoke, the nicotine actually changes the brain - that's why quitting is so hard.'