In a 5-4 split, the U.S. Supreme Court today ruled that smokers can use state consumer protection laws to sue Philip Morris and other tobacco companies for deceptive marketing of "light" and "low-tar"
cigarettes. This decision, in a Maine case called Altria Group, Inc., v. Good, clears the way for more than 40 "light" cigarette lawsuits in more than 20 states to move forward. These lawsuits contend
that cigarette manufacturers violated state consumer protection laws by marketing some cigarette brands as "light" and delivering "lowered tar and nicotine" to smokers despite their knowledge that
these claims were untrue.
