The Bush administration should appeal a ruling in a landmark racketeering case that "will have the effect of allowing the major tobacco companies to escape any meaningful accountability for the enormous injury their misconduct has caused," a group of Democratic senators said this week.

Reuters reported Sept. 20 that 15 senators wrote a letter urging an appeal of the decision by U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler, who found that tobacco companies had conspired to deceive the public about the health dangers of smoking but did not impose major monetary penalties on the industry. Instead, Kessler ordered tobacco companies to make public statements about the health dangers and addictiveness of smoking and banned the use of deceptive labels like "light" and "low-tar."

In its lawsuit, the U.S. Justice Department had called for tobacco companies to fund a $14-billion stop-smoking campaign; health advocates wanted the firms to pay much more. But Kessler said past court decisions prevented her from imposing such penalties.

The Justice Department did not immediately respond to the senators' appeal.