Tobacco Lawsuit Claims Violation of Federal Racketeering Laws May 24, 2001
News Summary
A new lawsuit filed against the tobacco industry claims that cigarette companies violated federal racketeering laws by targeting their products at children, the Associated Press reported May 23.The lawsuit, led by attorney Johnnie Cochran, who has helped launch high-profile discrimination lawsuits, claims that tobacco companies have aggressively marketed to youth to get them addicted to cigarettes. The lawsuit further stated that such advertising concealed the health risks and addictive nature of cigarettes.
The suit, which was filed in U.S. District Court in Washington, names large tobacco companies, including Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson. It seeks class-action status for millions of youths who started smoking before their 18th birthdays.
"Millions of children have been moved while they were minors to purchase and smoke cigarettes and pay defendants for their harmful, addictive, misrepresented products," said a draft copy of the lawsuit prepared by the Washington-based law firm of Cohen, Milstein, Hausfeld & Toll.
The lawsuit seeks to recoup the money that youth smokers have spent on cigarettes since they began smoking. It also calls for the establishment of an educational fund to support campaigns against youth smoking now and in the future.
John Sorrell, a spokesman for Philip Morris, declined to comment on the case because he has not yet seen the lawsuit. But he said, "Philip Morris has always worked diligently to keep cigarettes out of the hands of underage people."
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