Corrective statements online
The US’ major cigarette companies will have to post court-ordered ‘corrective statements’ on their websites from next month.
A note posted on the Website of the US Department of Justice said that on Tuesday the District Court for the District of Columbia had entered a consent order requiring the country’s major cigarette companies to begin posting ‘corrective statements’ on their websites starting on June 18.
‘The order, part of a long-running lawsuit against the cigarette companies, also requires them to attach the same statements to cigarette packages for two weeks at a time, for a total of twelve weeks over two years,’ the note said. ‘The order will also apply to any social media campaigns by the companies to promote cigarettes.
‘The statements address the effects of cigarette smoking and the fact that cigarettes are deliberately designed to create and sustain addiction. As a result of a previous court order, the statements are currently running on television five times per week, and previously ran as full-page ads in about fifty newspapers across the country.
‘The statements specifically state, among other things:
- ‘That smoking cigarettes causes numerous diseases and on average 1,200 American deaths every day;
- ‘That the nicotine in cigarettes is highly addictive and that cigarettes have been designed to create and sustain addiction;
- ‘That so-called light, low-tar, and natural cigarettes are just as harmful as regular cigarettes; and
- ‘That second-hand smoke causes disease and death in people who do not smoke.
‘The corrective statements were ordered as part of a 2006 permanent injunction against cigarette companies, including Altria, its Philip Morris USA subsidiary, and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco, to “prevent and restrain” further deception of the American people regarding tobacco use. The order also applies to ITG Brands, which purchased Winston, Kool, and other cigarettes brands from companies in the case.’
