President of American Lung Association: 'U.S. Supreme Court Should Affirm Oregon Supreme Court's Decision in PM v. Williams'

3 November 2006

The following statement was released today by John Kirkwood, president and CEO of the American Lung Association:

"The U.S. Supreme Court will hear oral arguments tomorrow in Philip Morris USA Inc v. Mayola Williams, a case involving the level of punitive damages a jury can award a plaintiff when it finds the defendant's conduct was reprehensible to an extraordinary degree. This case spotlights the fraudulent behavior and intentional wrongdoing perpetrated by Philip Morris for more than four decades.

"The American Lung Association was one of 17 public health organizations that filed an amicus curiae brief, urging the U.S. Supreme Court to affirm the Oregon Supreme Court's decision to award almost $80 million in punitive damages to the surviving family members of Jesse Williams, who died of lung cancer. Williams smoked Marlboro Lights, believing Philip Morris's false and deceptive claims that light cigarettes were safer than full- flavored cigarettes.

"As the Oregon Supreme Court concluded: 'There can be no dispute that Philip Morris's conduct was extraordinarily reprehensible. Philip Morris knew that smoking caused serious and sometimes fatal disease, but it nevertheless spread false or misleading information to suggest to the public that doubts remained about that issue. It deliberately did so to keep smokers smoking, knowing that it was putting the smokers' health and lives at risk, and it continued to do so for nearly half a century.'

"The Oregon Court of Appeals twice and the Oregon Supreme Court once upheld the award against Philip Morris for the its extraordinarily egregious conduct. We urge the Court to affirm the previous courts' decisions and hold Philip Morris accountable for deceiving Jesse Williams and other Oregonians who smoked the company's deadly products."

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