One Remedy from US v Phillip Morris

Handsel Art

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

2 December 2012

contact J.R. Few

handselart@gmail.com

or 870-427-1365

Tobacco Companies to Issue Corrective Statements

On November 27, 2012 Judge Gladys Kessler clarified remedies of her 2006 ruling  in U.S. v Phillip Morris that found the tobacco industry guilty of racketeering and fraud.  Tobacco companies must publish corrective statements that they lied about the dangers of smoking and manipulation of nicotine addiction,  the hazards of secondhand smoke, and the misconception of allegedly safer “light” and “low tar” cigarettes.   This remedy promises to be the most significant action the government has taken against the tobacco industry in nearly 45 years. 

In 1999 the Department of Justice (DOJ) filed suit under RICO statutes for a decades long conspiracy by the tobacco industry to deceive the American people.  In 2005 a D.C. appellate court denied the original remedies proposed to disgorge $280 billion from tobacco companies as illegal profit. This prompted the DOJ to  reassess remedies and highlight a 25 year $130 billion national tobacco cessation program.  This was a significant setback, though not the last in the DOJ’s case.  

Begun during the Clinton Administration, many involved were surprised when the Bush administration continued the suit.  Yet just days before going to the judge, a Bush political appointee, Robert McCallum, ordered lead counsel and DOJ career lawyer, Sharon Eubanks, to reduce requested remedies for the cessation program to just $10 billion.  McCallum was subsequently rewarded for his work in the DOJ with an ambassadorship to Australia.  (The litany of political interference in this case has been well documented by Ms. Eubanks in her book, Bad Acts.) Judge Kessler’s final order in favor of the DOJ involved 4 major remedies including: disjunctive remedies designed to prevent future RICO violations, eliminating deceptive “light” and “low tar” brand descriptors, disclosure of documents and marketing data, and corrective statements financed by the industry. 

The 2007 Best Practices for Tobacco Control, Health Communications Interventions notes that, “Aggressive state and national counter-marketing campaigns that have more directly confronted the tobacco industry’s marketing tactics have also demonstrated effectiveness but have often become targets for budget cuts.”  Requiring tobacco companies to admit criminal deceit, on their own dime, takes prevention to another and hopefully more effective level.  

The  tobacco industry has a history of manipulating public policy and serious oversight should be given.  But these statements have a timely potential.  An unfortunate aspect of tobacco prevention seeks a solution in making addicts quit and preventing youth initiation while ignoring the industry. The FDA’s recent introduction of 8 Tips for Talking with Youth about Tobacco and the DHHS’  new site BeTobaccoFree.gov  are packed with information about the health effects of tobacco use and nicotine addiction.  But both sites behave as if tobacco use were simply an accident of nature and completely omit the culpability of the tobacco industry in promoting a deadly product.  This promotion, not coincidentally, resulted in a criminal conviction for which these corrective statements hope to begin to remedy.  The terrible pandemic of tobacco related disease will not be resolved on the backs of the victims but on the rogue capitalists who profit from tobacco. This remedy from U.S. v Phillip Morris is a constructive step in that direction.

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CTFA state conference

Not a bad way to spend a day listening to the likes of former Justice Department attorney Sharon Eubanks talk about how the Bush administration thwarted efforts at a RICO conviction for big tobacco.

Another note; if you ever get a chance to hear Ms. LaTanisha Wright speak, run, do not walk, to see her presentation. She is a former Brown and Williamson employee and now a member of the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network. She is a sharp, effective speaker.

Handsel Art

19 September 2009

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

contact J.R. Few

handselart@marioncounty.com

or 870-427-1365

Advocates Hold State Conference

Advocates from across Arkansas gathered to challenge the tobacco industry at the 7th annual Coalition for a Tobacco Free Arkansas’ Striking Out Tobacco in Arkansas Conference at the Wyndham-Riverfront Hotel in North Little Rock September 17th.

After a welcome from CTFA Executive Director Katherine Donald And CTFA Board Chair Carla Sparks, the audience enjoyed a panel discussion: The Past Present and Future of Tobacco Control in Arkansas. Panelists ranged from attorney Tim Gauger, who worked with then Attorney General Winston Bryant to secure Arkansas’ Master Settlement funds in the late 90s, to the current Tobacco Prevention and Cessation Branch Chief for the Arkansas’ Department of Health, Dr Carolyn Dresler. Speaking for the American Heart Association, Barbara Kumpe reminded that Arkansas’s distinctive use of MSA dollars for health related issues was the result of a 64% voter mandate in 2000.

Former Department of Justice attorney Sharon Eubanks gave the Luncheon Plenary as an overview of her successful prosecution of the tobacco industry as lead attorney for racketeering and fraud charges in 2006. A career government lawyer, Eubanks recounted how Bush Administration appointees, when it became apparent the case would succeed, directed her to drop a $130 billion remedy that included a national tobacco cessation program and even attempted to get witnesses to change their testimony just days before the final hearing. She resigned from the Justice Department as the result of this politically motivated interference. An appellate court upheld the racketeering decision earlier this year.

Briefing the audience on the recent law giving the FDA limited authority over tobacco, she noted that this bill was written 10 years ago. “And we have learned much more about the industry and tobacco since then.” She went on to suggest that certain commercial speech restrictions may not stand the scrutiny of litigation.

Mr. Joe Arnold was recognized with the Trail Blazer Award for his persistent and successful efforts to enact a tobacco free policy for all Little Rock city parks, including Riverfront Park.

Conference participants were given a wide choice of workshop topics including tobacco in the gay and lesbian community, tobacco in the Coordinated School Health programs, recent laws in Arkansas involving tobacco, and a media and counter-marketing workshop by local activist J.R. Few.

Perhaps the highpoint of the day was the closing presentation by La Tanisha Wright with the National African American Tobacco Prevention Network. A former Brown and Williamson employee, Ms. Wright gave an eloquent, informative, and emotional insider’s overview of the history of tobacco and slavery and how marketing tactics continue to target and enslave African Americans today.

Local advocates Harry Meyer and his daughter Ida attended the CTFA event. “Ida talked about the last speaker all the way home and is still talking about it,” says Meyer. “That woman made a huge impression on her, me too for that matter. The conference was a tremendous learning opportunity for anyone.”

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