Until 2009 when President Obama signed the Family Smoking Prevention and Tobacco Control Act of 2009 that enabled some FDA regulation the only permitted warnings on cigarettes and in cigarette advertising were those prescribed by statute. The original warning was set in the Public Health Cigarette Smoking Act of 1969, 15 U. S. C. §§ 1331-134 which provided:
WARNING: THE SURGEON GENERAL HAS DETERMINED THAT CIGARETTE SMOKING IS DANGEROUS TO YOUR HEALTH
The 1969 Act of Congress also provided
"No requirement or prohibition based on smoking and health shall be imposed under State law with respect to the advertising or promotion of any cigarettes the packages of which are [lawfully] labeled."
In 1992 in Cippollone v. Liggett The Supreme Court held that state product liability could not permit a jury to find that warning inadequate because such a verdict would be a "requirement" beyond what Congress specified. Thus all tobacco claims - except for those based on fraud - were preempted by federal law. No "failure to warn" claims were permitted.
If state tort suits had been permitted for "failure to warn" what obstacles would plaintiffs have faced?
Does this history make a difference to you?
No comments:
Post a Comment