The Supreme Court heard arguments Monday over whether tobacco companies can be sued in state courts for deceptive advertising of "light" cigarettes.
Three smokers from Maine
have accused Philip Morris of falsely marketing low-tar and low-nicotine cigarettes as less harmful than regular brands. Parent company Altria says that it met federal requirements for warning labels
about the health hazards of cigarettes and that the lawsuit should be thrown out under a federal labeling law that prohibits states from regulating cigarette advertising "based on smoking and
health."
Justice Anthony M. Kennedy, often the deciding vote when the court divides along ideological lines, told an attorney for the smokers that he is probably "going to have
difficulty in accepting your position in this entire case."
In other developments,
Bloomberg
News reports that the court has asked the Justice Department for advice on a bid by the nation's largest grocery chains to block customers from suing over violations of government
food-labeling rules. Supermarkets led by Kroger, Supervalu and Safeway contend that only government regulators, and not customers, can enforce federal and state labeling laws. The companies are
seeking to stop a suit accusing them of concealing that salmon they sold contained artificial coloring.
In their appeal, the supermarkets said a California Supreme Court ruling is
"an open invitation to private plaintiffs nationwide to bring class actions" and will "wreck Congress' exclusive government enforcement scheme and all its built-in advantages."
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