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Hammer-News! ________________________________________________________ Tobacco firms escape damage Thursday August 17, 11:59 pm ET By Peter Kaplan WASHINGTON (Reuters) - Cigarette makers escaped major financial penalties on Thursday, even though a federal judge found them liable for violating racketeering laws in a decades-long conspiracy to hide the dangers of smoking. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that the group of tobacco companies had broken the law, but could not be forced to fund a multibillion-dollar quit-smoking campaign, as the government had sought. "Cigarette smoking causes disease, suffering, and death. Despite internal recognition of this fact, defendants have publicly denied, distorted, and minimized the hazards of smoking for decades," she said in the 1,653-page opinion. Kessler said the companies suppressed research, destroyed documents and manipulated nicotine levels to perpetuate addiction, but an appeals court ruling prevented her from slapping the companies with costly remedies. She did impose some remedies, including ordering the companies to make "corrective" public statements about the health effects and addictiveness of smoking, and banning them from describing cigarettes in ways that convey health claims such as "low tar" and "light." Targeted in the 1999 lawsuit were Altria Group Inc. (NYSE:MO - News) and its Philip Morris USA unit; Loews Corp.'s (NYSE:LTR - News) Lorillard Tobacco unit, which has a tracking stock, Carolina Group (NYSE:CG - News); Vector Group Ltd.'s (NYSE:VGR - News) Liggett Group; Reynolds American Inc.'s (NYSE:RAI - News) R.J. Reynolds Tobacco unit and British American Tobacco Plc (London:BATS.L - News) unit British American Tobacco Investments Ltd. In a first response, Philip Morris USA and Altria said they will seek a review of the ruling. They had not yet decided whether to first seek further review in the trial court or appeal directly to the U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia. "...much of today's decision and order are not supported by the law or the evidence presented at trial, and appear to be constitutionally impermissible or infringe on Congress' sole right to provide for the regulation of tobacco products," William Ohlemeyer, Altria's vice president and associate general counsel, said in a statement. U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ruled that the group of tobacco companies had broken the law, but could not be forced to fund a multibillion-dollar quit-smoking campaign, as the government had sought. Ohlemeyer said the companies are studying the lengthy decision and will d As public health groups expressed disappointment in the outcome, tobacco stocks rose. Altria gained over 3 percent in extended trading, Reynolds rose over 2 percent, Carolina Group was up over 1 percent. "Although they lost, they won. It's a victory for the tobacco companies," said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management. A spokesman for Reynolds Tobacco said the company was disappointed that Kessler ruled in favor of the government but "certainly we're pleased that the court did not award unjustified and extraordinary expensive monetary penalties..." The ruling was also seen as the last major hurdle to be cleared before Altria decides when it will spin off its Kraft Foods Inc. (NYSE:KFT - News) business. Kessler ordered each company to post on its Web site all documents it submitted to prosecutors in the case and transcripts of letters and depositions of former employees about the health impacts of cigarette smoking or research. The material must remain on their Web sites until 2016. The corrective statements would have to appear on Web sites, in full-page advertisements in major newspapers, on three major television networks, and on cigarette packaging. She also ruled that the tobacco companies will have to pay for the government's court costs. Current figures are not available, but the government has previously said it spent more than $130 million on the case. Kessler said sale of a cigarette brand or business to an outside entity can only occur with her permission. The companies pursued profits "with little, if any, regard for individual illness and suffering, soaring health costs, or the integrity of the legal system," Kessler said. But Kessler exempted Liggett from the remedies, saying the company "does not have a reasonable likelihood of future (racketeering) violations" because it withdrew from the conspiracy in the mid 1990s. The judge said she was barred from imposing stricter penalties by a February 2005 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. That opinion, written by U.S. Appeals Court Judge David Sentelle, barred the government from seeking $280 billion in past industry profits, depriving the government of its biggest potential weapon in the case. Lawyers for the Justice Department eventually asked the judge to instead require tobacco companies to fund a 10-year, $14 billion anti-smoking program if the government prevailed. But in Thursday's opinion, Kessler said that remedy was also out of step with the appeals court ruling, which dictated that civil racketeering remedies focus on the prevention of future misconduct, not punishment of past misdeeds. Public health groups applauded Kessler for holding the tobacco companies liable but expressed disappointment in the remedies. "It's... worthy of a life sentence but instead they got a slap on the wrist," Cass Wheeler, the chief executive of the American Heart Association, said in a statement. The Justice Department applauded Kessler's finding of liability, and while disappointed with the remedies, was hopeful they could have "a significant, positive impact on the health of the American public." (http://biz.yahoo.com/rb/060817/tobacco_racketeering.html?.v=… _______________________________________________________ Niederlage der US-Tabakindustrie vor Gericht - 'Light' verboten Freitag, 18. August 2006 09:16 Die US-Tabakindustrie hat vor einem Gericht in Washington eine herbe Niederlage einstecken müssen: Es sei inzwischen unbestritten, dass Rauchen Ursache für Krankheiten und Tod sei, betonte die Bezirksrichterin Gladys Kessler laut US-Medienberichten am Donnerstag in Washington. Künftig müssten irreführende Bezeichnungen wie "Light"-Zigaretten verboten werden. Die Tabak-Konzerne haben nach Auffassung der Richterin seit Jahrzehnten die Bürger in die Irre geführt und die Öffentlichkeit über die Gefahren des Rauchens getäuscht. Die Unternehmen müssten nun Nichtraucherprogramme bezahlen und die Öffentlichkeit über die Suchtgefahren von Tabak informieren. Die Tabakkonzerne Philip Morris und Altria kündigten Berufung an. Der Prozess hatte eine Klage der US-Regierung behandelt, die vor dem Zivilgericht von den Tabakkonzernen eine Zahlung von zehn Milliarden Dollar (7,7 Milliarden Euro) verlangte. Die Richterin betonte, dass sie die Industrie nicht zur Zahlung von Milliarden verpflichten könne. Die Tabakindustrie müsse aber in Anzeigen in Zeitungen und auf Web-Seiten "berichtigende Erklärungen" über die Gefahren und Folgen des Rauchens machen. Zudem ordnete sie an, dass künftig Bezeichnungen wie "light", "ultra-light" oder "mild" nicht mehr verwendet werden dürften. Es sei nachgewiesen, dass diese Zigaretten nicht ungefährlicher seien als die regulären./tr/DP/sb/she ISIN US02209S1033 GB0002875804 AXC0030 2006-08-18/09:16 _________________________________________________ lg, speculi |
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| aus der Diskussion: | Altria Group Inc. - News und Diskussionen |
| Autor (Datum des Eintrages): | speculi (18.08.06 10:42:17) |
| Beitrag: | 10 von 1,579 (ID:23492683) |
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