September 26th, 2006
New York, 9/26/06-- Yesterday, a federal court judge certified a class action lawsuit by smokers who claim that tobacco companies deceived them into believing that "light" cigarettes were safer than other cigarettes, when the companies in fact knew that this was not true. Judge Jack B. Weinstein indicated that damages might total more than $100 billion. Jury selection begins on January 22, 2007.
In arguing for class certification, plaintiffs' attorney Michael D. Hausfeld held that tobacco companies marketed cigarettes as "light" and " low tar" in order to make the brands seem healthier than other cigarettes and alleviate fears about the dangers of smoking. "They understood that they were selling death," he said. The question was "how to disguise it. ... They put on 'lights."'
Hausfeld told the judge that an analysis by plaintiffs' expert witnesses concluded that more than 90 percent of smokers in the potential class purchased light cigarettes over the past three decades based on health concerns, as opposed to taste or other factors. He argued the case should be certified as a class-action because cigarette manufacturers developed marketing messages regarding "light" cigarettes for the public, not for individual smokers.
Parts excerpted from the AP and NY Times
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