Tobacco and pharmaceutical companies have long claimed that they should be shielded from consumer lawsuits because their products have been approved for sale by government regulatory agencies and include warning labels. Now, the Los Angeles Times reported Jan. 18, the Supreme Court has agreed to hear those arguments.

The high court this week agreed to review appeals from the two industries, which center on the idea that federally approved warning labels on tobacco products and drugs should preempt lawsuits by consumers who said they used the products as directed but suffered harm. Drug companies like Wyeth and tobacco firms like Philip Morris contend that the government, not jurors, should decide whether products can be used safely.

Congress has refused to pass a law shielding industries from such lawsuits.

Tobacco companies face dozens of lawsuits accusing them of misleading smokers about the dangers of smoking so-called "light" cigarettes. In past decisions, the Supreme Court has allowed some lawsuits against the tobacco industry to proceed on the basis of fraud. However, the current could has handed down a number of recent decisions limiting lawsuits against companies.

Georgetown law professor David Vladeck said a decision in favor of the corporations would send "exactly the wrong message to drug companies. We know the names of drugs like Vioxx and Rezulin because of the failures of FDA regulation."