US Court Orders Health Risk Warnings on Cigarettes in Retail Stores

A US court has ordered tobacco companies to display health warning labels related to smoking in retail stores. On December 6, the US Department of Justice announced a court order requiring tobacco companies to display health warning labels in retail stores and to issue corrective statements regarding the health risks and addictive properties of cigarettes.

In a press release on Tuesday, the Department of Justice stated that the court order "resolved the government's long-standing civil extortion lawsuit against the largest tobacco company in the United States.

In 1999, a lawsuit was filed in the United States. The trial took place in the District Court of Washington D.C. between 2004 and 2005, with the court ruling that these companies had misled consumers regarding the health risks of smoking.

Since 2019, tobacco use among teenagers has decreased from 6 million to 3 million.

The court order applies to four cigarette brands owned by Altria, Philip Morris USA Inc., R.J.Reynolds Tobacco Company and ITG Brands LLC.

A new study from San Diego State University predicts that "heat-not-burn" tobacco products could soon dominate the US market.

The Deputy Attorney General, Vanita Gupta, stated that lawyers at the Department of Justice have been working tirelessly for over 20 years to hold tobacco companies accountable for deceiving consumers about the health risks of smoking. The resolution enforces the remedies of the lawsuit to ensure consumers are aware of the hazards of purchasing tobacco products.

It is estimated that out of the 300,000 retail stores selling cigarettes in the United States, 200,000 have entered into agreements with tobacco companies to display health warning labels on their tobacco products in the stores.

According to an order released on December 6th, companies are required to modify their agreements with retail stores and display correction statements in stores. These statements will be marked with colorful logos and designed to catch attention, while also highlighting information such as the negative health effects of smoking, the addictive nature of nicotine, and the harmful effects of secondhand smoke.

This directive will come into effect on July 1, 2023, and these companies will have a three-month window to make necessary changes. After that, retailers will be required to display signs in both English and Spanish for a period of 21 months.

William Klein, Deputy Director of the "Behavioral Research" project at the National Cancer Institute, called this a momentous occasion in the history of cancer control in the United States. Smoking accounts for approximately 30% of all cancer deaths in the country. Therefore, the corrective statements ordered by the court to be displayed at tobacco sales points will help support our mission of reducing the burden of cancer. We are grateful to our colleagues in the Department of Justice for completing this important work.

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