The Commission, composed entirely of former U.S. top-ranked government health officials, submitted the brief in reaction to a Feb. 4 appeals court ruling that tobacco companies could not be made to cede $280 billion in profit to the federal government. Instead, the court requested joint proposals for "forward-looking" remedies from the government and tobacco companies.

The Commission is asking the court to require leading tobacco companies to continue to fund the American Legacy Foundation's "truth" initiative, which originally was financed by the 1998 nationwide tobacco settlement but is now running out of money.

According to the American Journal of Public Health, the "truth" campaign has had noticeable success in reducing teen smoking, with 300,000 fewer smokers in 2002 from 2000, and an estimated health care savings of $1 billion.