Although it is public record, most people are unaware that the tobacco industry has been purposefully hiding important information regarding the content of their cigarettes and more importantly, a vigorous marketing campaign to hide the dangers of cigarette smoking.
This has been going on for years and it wasn't until 2006 that the tobacco industry was officially charged with hiding the dangers of cigarette smoking from the public eye. As it turned out, the industry spent decades of not disclosing the dangers of smoking. The federal judge who presided over the ruling that tobacco companies had engaged in racketeering practices stated that a true conspiracy had been going on since the 1950s.
At a secret meeting in New York back in 1953, several tobacco companies came together to form a public relations plan that would counter all claims of the dangers of smoking. Also documented is the fact that the tobacco companies made their best attempts to deny all hazards associated with smoking even after the Surgeon General officially connected smoking to lung cancer in 1964.
Marketing To Kids
The courts also found the tobacco industry guilty of marketing to young people. Publicly these companies were always on record as claiming they did not want children to smoke, however, it was discovered that heavy marketing campaigns were based on tracking youth behavior and then using this information to sell more cigarettes to young people.
1999 & The Clinton's
The Clinton administration took a stand against the tobacco industry and publicly accused these companies of racketeering as part of a planned operation to purposefully hide from the public information about the dangers of smoking. Tobacco companies also accused of covering up knowledge that may have proved otherwise.
Part of the ruling made it illegal for tobacco companies to stop marketing with confusing descriptions of cigarettes such as "natural", "low tar", "ultra-lights", etc. Many types of cigarettes have these labels which insinuate that there are limited dangers of smoking for choosing such brands. Psychologically these descriptions tend to give a smoker the impression that the cigarettes in question are somewhat less toxic to the human body. But this is a myth.
Big Victory But Slow To The Charge
The ruling was obviously a success for anti-tobacco groups and other advocates of a smoke-free environment. At the same time, many people were disappointed that it took so long for the government to complete its case against the tobacco industry. Other people felt that the court was too lenient and did not impose all of the remedies that were sought after. In the end, it appeared to be somewhat of a hollow victory but the case did in fact do some good and brought more education to the public about the dangers of cigarette smoking.
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