Big Tobacco Ordered to Admit Deception

Big tobacco has deceived the American people, and now they must apologize. That was the decision of a federal judge Tuesday, who ordered cigarette companies to take out advertisements acknowledging that they knowingly deceived the public about the dangers of cigarettes by promoting their low-tar and light varieties as less harmful. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler rejected the companies’ argument that forcing them to run the ads was a violation of their free-speech rights. “The government regularly requires wrongdoers to make similar disclosures in a number of different contexts,” wrote Kessler.