The US Supreme Court said Friday it would consider whether smokers of cigarettes marketed as "light" could sue the makers for deception on the grounds that they were just as harmful as regular smokes.
The court will rule on whether companies touting cigarettes as "light" or having "lower tar and nicotine" can be charged with "deceptive practice," according to court documents.
In August 2005 several people who had long smoked Marlboro Lights and Cambridge Lights brought a complaint against the tobacco giant Philip Morris and its parent company Altria, claiming these cigarettes were no less harmful than ones marketed as full-strength.
A judge rejected the case out of hand, saying that strict federal laws regulated what is written on cigarette packets before they are sold and companies could not be sued as long as they complied with these rules.
In August 2007, an appeals court contradicted that decision and ruled that a the case should be judged in full.
Following an appeal by Altria, the Supreme Court has now agreed to assess whether a company can be still be charged even after it has complied with the federal labeling laws.
It is to hold a hearing by autumn at the latest, with a decision due some months after.
It is the latest in a series of similar actions against the tobacco industry in the past decade.
A separate case brought by the US government is pending at a federal appeals court, which is considering a judge's ruling in August 2006 that cigarette makers lied for decades about their "light" products' harmful effects.
The "light" tag is already banned on cigarettes in the European Union and Brazil. In some cases the term has been replaced by "smooth."
In February the Supreme Court ruled in favor of the Philip Morris company when it challenged the 80 million dollar bill of damages it was ordered to pay to the widow of a man killed by smoking.
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AFP 182225 GMT 01 08
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