Light Does Not Make Right: An Overview of Light Cigarette Lawsuits in the United States

Litigation against tobacco companies is a viable strategy to improve public health and to hold the companies accountable for their wrongdoing. One important category of lawsuits has focused on the tobacco industry's efforts to deter smoking cessation among health-conscious smokers by promoting “light” cigarettes as a less hazardous alternative to regular cigarettes. There have been more than forty such cases in the United States, as well as cases filed in other countries, including Canada. The U.S. Supreme Court's December 2008 decision in Altria Group, Inc. v. Good prevented the tobacco industry from achieving its goal of a shield of absolute immunity for its light cigarette scam.

There has been a mixed record of light cigarette lawsuits; cases have been dismissed by the highest courts in Illinois and Ohio (based on interpretations of state statutes) but certified as a class action by the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court. In August 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that the tobacco companies violated the federal anti-racketeering statute (RICO) by “engaging in this deception” of marketing its light cigarettes “as less harmful alternatives to full-flavor cigarettes” despite knowing “for decades that there is no clear health benefit from smoking low tar/low nicotine cigarettes as opposed to conventional full-flavor cigarettes.”

Relevant court rulings issued in 2009 will also be discussed.