Lawsuit Is First of Its Kind in the Nation

    EDWARDSVILLE, Ill., Jan. 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Smokers who smoked Marlboro
Lights believing that they were lower in tar and nicotine, as was stated on
cigarette packages and in millions of dollars of cigarette advertising, were
victims of "the light lie" perpetrated deliberately by tobacco companies to
encourage people to believe that light cigarettes were less harmful than their
regular counterparts.
    Attorneys for Philip Morris claim that the term "light" refers to lighter
taste rather than less harmful health effects, contrary to the widespread use
of the term in the marketplace to mean less harmful ingredients such as fat,
calories, carbohydrates or sodium.  The plaintiffs pointed to a number of
consumer products such as yogurt, jams, cheese, salad dressing, cheese and
similar products.  Philip Morris knew that food and alcohol products labeled
as light meant less bad or less harmful to most consumers making purchasing
decisions and played on that implicit health representation, the plaintiffs
allege.
    The lawsuit is the first consumer fraud lawsuit against tobacco companies
in the nation.  Unlike the personal injury cases that have made headlines for
years, and outside the scope of the attorneys general settlement which
centered on the cost of health care to society for smokers health care costs
due to health problems caused by smoking, the Illinois case is based on
consumers purchasing light cigarettes because they believed them to be less
harmful than regular cigarettes.  In the personal injury cases, tobacco
companies argued with some success that consumers made the decision to smoke
knowing that tobacco smoking was harmful to their health.
    "Every time a consumer saw these ads saying that Marlboro Lights were
lighter and lower in tar and nicotine, they were lied to," said Stephen
Tillery, a partner in Carr Korein Tillery, plaintiffs' attorneys in the case.
"It's the same concept as if consumers found out that Bud Light has more
calories than regular Bud, except that this fraud will kill you."
    The tobacco companies knew that the standard FTC smoking device used to
measure tar and nicotine products did not accurately reflect actual usage by
smokers, who inadvertently cover the ventilation holes in cigarette filters
with their lips or fingers and compensate by smoking more cigarettes, taking
more puffs or inhaling more deeply.  Internal documents by Philip Morris
actually question whether they have a moral obligation to notify the FTC that
the FTC device does not measure actual usage by human smokers and is
inaccurate.  The internal memos respond to this question by saying that "there
need be no such concern, at least from a position of morality," and conclude
that there is no need to tell the public or government the truth.  This was
despite the fact that for over 25 years Philip Morris' own secret test results
showed that smoke from a Marlboro Light is higher in biological activity than
smoke from regular cigarettes, with an increased potential to cause genetic
and chromosomal damage, the kind of genetic damage that causes cancer in
humans.
    "Marlboro Lights have higher levels of almost all toxins than Marlboro
Reds," Tillery commented.  "We now know they had a 50 year strategy of
denials, disinformation and outright lies.  They reassured people about their
health, saying if you can't quit smoking, smoke these light cigarettes because
they're better for you and yet they were more harmful.  This case is about
people receiving an addictive product far more dangerous than orange juice or
auto parts."
    The trial is scheduled to continue for six or seven weeks.  The plaintiffs
made a motion early in the proceedings to waive their right to a jury trial,
so Judge Nicholas Byron will preside over the trial and determine the outcome.

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