Message from the President Federal Court Finds Tobacco Industry Guilty of Racketeering Dear Colleague, In a historic ruling last month, a U.S. District Court Judge found the tobacco industry guilty of civil fraud and racketeering. In the groundbreaking decision, Judge Gladys E. Kessler ruled that the Justice Department had proven its case that the tobacco giants conspired for decades to deceive the American public about the health hazards of smoking, the addictiveness of nicotine, the fact that they manipulate the level of nicotine in cigarettes and market to youth, the non-existent health benefits of "light" and "low tar" cigarettes and the dangers of secondhand smoke. We join our colleagues in public health in lauding the decision. However, we regret that Judge Kessler, bound by a previous appellate court ruling in the case, was prevented from imposing stronger remedies against the tobacco industry, an industry that, as Judge Kessler spells out in searing detail, for decades has ravaged our nation's public health for its own monetary gain. Surely an industry whose highly profitable product is responsible for our nation's annual tobacco-related death toll of 400,000 lives should have been dealt a blow where it would resonate most: its pocketbooks. We know that 45 million Americans still smoke and 4,000 youth try cigarettes each day. The need for public education to prevent youth from smoking and cessation services for those that want to quit cannot be overstated. Millions of American families have been needlessly devastated by the loss of loved ones from tobacco-related deaths. Monetary remedies against the industry could have been instrumental in providing these badly needed cessation and education services. The absence of these remedies is a guarantee that the fight to eradicate the tobacco epidemic will be all the harder. Sincerely, Cheryl G. Healton, Dr. P.H. President & CEO American Legacy Foundation