Tobacco Ingredient Law Ruled Unconstitutional September 12, 2000
News Summary
A U.S. District Court Judge in Boston, Mass., has ruled that a state law requiring tobacco companies to list the ingredients of their products is unconstitutional, the Associated Press reported Sept. 8.Massachusetts passed the measure in 1996, becoming the first state in the country to have such a law. Tobacco companies were required to submit lists of the substances added to cigarettes, snuff and chewing tobacco to the state Department of Public Health. The health department would keep the lists confidential unless it determined the ingredients posed a public-health risk. Companies refusing to comply with the law were banned from doing business in Massachusetts.
Enforcement, however, was put on hold after tobacco companies Philip Morris Inc., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., Lorillard Tobacco Co., and U.S. Tobacco Co. filed a lawsuit.
In his ruling, U.S. District Court Judge George A. O'Toole said the law would force companies to give away their trade secrets. "It is clear that the plaintiffs have made substantial investments in the development and protection of their brand-specific ingredient information, and that there would be a substantial loss of competitive advantage if they were required to disclose that information for publication by the Commonwealth," said O'Toole.
The ruling was criticized by anti-smoking advocates, who argued that the law was aimed at promoting public health by advising consumers of cigarette contents. "Based on this decision, we know much more about what's in a box of cereal than in a package of cigarettes," said Howard Koh, state health commissioner. "We're talking about a product that causes over 10,000 deaths a year in Massachusetts and it's astonishing that we are trying to protect any secrets about it."
Attorney General Thomas Reilly indicated that he might appeal the decision. "We're obviously disappointed with the court's ruling," he said. "The decision allows tobacco companies to sell products in Massachusetts which have serious, often fatal, health effects, without informing the public or state health officials of their contents."
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