A federal judge said, in August 2006, that the tobacco industry were tangled in racketeering activities remarking that the companies had engaged in a scheme lasting decades-long to hold back the perils of smoking from their customers. Tobacco companies had to broadcast newspaper advertisements specifying smoking’s health effects.

The judge said that the conspiracy dated back to 1953, when a clutch of tobacco manufacturers met at New York City’s Plaza Hotel and hatched a public relations plan to ward off concerns about health linked with smoking The judge also stated that even after the 1964 Surgeon General’s report attributing smoking to lung cancer tobacco manufacturers still denied and intentionally distorted many important dangers of smoking their products.

It was also discovered that the tobacco industry marketed their products to underage people despite industry claims they do not want youths to start smoking. The companies were found to be detecting youth behaviour and choices thereby making certain that advertising and campaigns approached young people. The serious dangers of smoking were kept from them while their youthful bodies still developed

The manufacturers were also faulted for revoking in public that passive smoking is perilous.

The Clinton administration in 1999 accused the tobacco industry of racketeering as part of a colluded effort to mislead the general public about the dangers of smoking and to hush up the information they had which suggested otherwise

Under the decision the tobacco companies also had to stop using such depictions as low tar, light, ultra light, mild or natural or any other summaries that may appear that cigarettes posed less of a health risk or an attempt to demephasize the perils of smoking them.

While this ruling was a success for a number of anti-smoking and anti-tobacco drives many commented on the period of time it took for the government to respond to the use of tobacco and on how long the actual case itself took as well. Others felt that maybe the court was not castigating enough with the industry.

We are pleased with the court’s finding of liability on the part of the defendants, but disappointed that the court did not impose all of the remedies sought by the government the Department of Justice stated in a written acknowledgment.

Nevertheless, we are hopeful that the remedies that were imposed by the court can have a significant, positive impact on the health of the American public.

In conclusion it looked to a vast number to be a useless achievement but some good was still done in presenting the important dangerous effects of smoking that even the tobacco companies were not able to or authorised to rebuff.

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