Just the Facts on Smoking

We applaud Judge Gladys Kessler’s ruling ordering tobacco companies to publish corrective statements that say they lied to us about the dangers of smoking and that clearly state the deadly health effects of smoking. These statements are not “forced public confessions,” just the indisputable truth.

The statements will also correct public misconceptions about the health benefits of “low tar” and “light” cigarettes. Smoking kills, on average, 1,200 Americans a day. We think that it is shameful that Big Tobacco has been concealing the dangers of smoking for decades.

In the United States, smoking kills more people than AIDS, alcohol, car accidents, murders, suicide, drugs and fires combined, according to The New York Times. It’s time the American public heard that sobering fact from the companies that have profited from the loss of life. It’s not easy to tell the truth when you’re Big Tobacco, but the time to do so is now.