Class action suit says Big Tobacco preyed on youths.

Plaintiff attorneys have filed a nationwide class action suit against the major tobacco companies on behalf of children and young adults. The suit, filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia, claims the companies "conspired to induce children to smoke through fraudulent schemes and deceptive marketing." It alleges that in doing so, the companies violated federal racketeering laws. (Sims v. Philip Morris, Inc., No. 01-CV-1107 (D.D.C. filed May 22, 2001).)

"All 50 states and the District of Columbia have laws prohibiting the sale of cigarettes to minors, yet the tobacco industry has engaged in a concerted effort to attract minors to smoking," said attorney Samuel Cherry Jr., a member of the plaintiff team. "The industry should be stripped of the profits from those illegal sales." Cherry practices law in Dothan, Alabama.

According to the complaint, the cigarette makers "aggressively targeted children because children fail to appreciate the hazards of smoking and the addictiveness of nicotine and are more easily induced to start smoking and begin a lifetime of cigarette purchases." It claims that the defendants "created and exploited" the underage-smokers market with an eye on "billions of dollars in profits."

During discovery in previous lawsuits brought by the states and federal government, the tobacco companies turned over internal documents regarding marketing to consumers too young to legally purchase cigarettes. According to the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, a nonprofit organization in Washington, D.C., the documents included statement,s like:

* "Today's teenager is tomorrow's potential regular customer."

* "If our company is to survive and prosper ... we must get our share of the youth market."

* "The package design should be geared to attract the youthful eye ... not the ever-watchful eye of the federal government."

* "The fragile, developing self-image of the young person needs all the support and enhancement it can get. Smoking may appear to enhance that self-image.... This ... has traditionally been a strong promotional theme for cigarette brands and should continue to be emphasized."

* "Young adult smokers are the only source of replacement smokers.... If younger adults turn away [from] smoking, the industry must decline, just as a population which does not give birth will eventually dwindle."

Unlike many other suits filed against Big Tobacco, this one does not seek damages for the negative health effects of cigarettes. Instead, it seeks to recover the money underage smokers have spent on cigarettes, plus three times that amount as treble damages under RICO to punish the manufacturers for their fraudulent misrepresentations and to deter such conduct in the future. The lawsuit also asks that some money the companies received from sales to underage smokers be used to fund an education program that will inform children of the dangers of smoking before they begin and help the ones who do smoke to quit.

Defendants include American Tobacco Co.; British American Tobacco; Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp.; Council for Tobacco Research-USA, Inc.; Liggett Group, Inc.; Lorillard Tobacco Co.; Philip Morris Cos., Inc.; Philip Morris, Inc.; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co.; and The Tobacco Institute, Inc.