Why We Made This Film
Teens are twice as likely to be influenced to smoke by advertising and promotion of cigarettes as by peer pressure or any other influence. Tobacco products are the most heavily advertised products in the U.S. Cigarette companies deliberately target adolescent and pre-teens in their ad campaigns. As well, a subtler approach features cigarette brands and imagery appearing with increasing frequency in movies, television, computer games, etc. Some experts believe that this trend has influenced young people's attitudes toward smoking and actually caused them to take up the habit. Even if the brand name is not evident, the act of smoking by the hero puts a positive image for smoking in front of the young person.
On August 17, 2006, U.S. District Court Judge Gladys Kessler found tobacco companies guilty of federal racketeering charges. Seven years before, on September 22, 1999, the United States Department of Justice filed a lawsuit to stop deceptive practices by the tobacco industry. Judge Kessler concluded that tobacco companies engaged in a deliberate long-term campaign to mislead the American public about the health risks of smoking (including the detrimental health risks of second-hand smoke), the addictiveness of tobacco products, and very importantly, marketing their products to children. She agreed with the government that the leading tobacco companies had deceived the public about the health risks of smoking for about 50 years. Judge Kessler further stated that the wrongdoing of the tobacco companies is continuing today. They are still recruiting young smokers and preventing current smokers from quitting.
Dr. David Kessler (no relation to the judge) in an Online News Hour video, stated: “They knew that cigarettes caused cancer and they lied about it. They knew that nicotine was addictive, and they lied about that too. They manipulated the levels of nicotine in cigarettes to sustain a smoker’s addiction. And they denied that, knowing that was incorrect. They lied about marketing to youth.”
Judge Kessler ruled that though a group of tobacco companies had broken the law, they could not be forced to pay monetary penalties such as funding a large anti-smoking campaign, as the government had sought. The companies pursued profits “with little, if any, regard for individual illness and suffering, soaring health costs, or the integrity of the legal system. She said she was barred from imposing stricter penalties against the tobacco companies by a February 2005 ruling of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit. “
Although they lost, they won. It’s a victory for the tobacco companies,” said Tim Ghriskey, chief investment officer at Solaris Asset Management.
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.”
