The largest US cigarette-makers are today meeting federal lawyers in court for the trial phase of the government's record $280 billion civil racketeering suit against the tobacco industry.
The government alleges the industry conspired to deceive the public about the dangers of smoking and the addictive nature of nicotine, and illegally targeted children through marketing campaigns.
Government lawyers were to begin presenting their case in the US District Court in Washington today.
Industry lawyers acknowledge tobacco executives may have expressed doubts about public health concerns in the past, but say that doesn't amount to fraud.
The industry says companies have significantly changed the way they sell and market cigarettes. It claims that makes it impossible for the government to prove fraud is likely to occur in the future, something the government must show to win its case.
But Department of Justice lawyers argue that evidence of past fraud is enough to conclude that future wrongdoing is likely to occur.
The government is relying on Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act, originally crafted to go after mobsters, because that law is designed to achieve remedies where there has been a group effort to violate fraud statutes.
The industry has already settled legal actions with the states over smoking-related health costs for $246 billion. Those agreements, reached in the late 1990s, led to limits on advertising and marketing.
AP
