The 9th Circuit U.S. Court of Appeals ruled against Children’s Health Defense (CHD) in its First Amendment free speech lawsuit against Facebook’s parent company, Meta.
Why does it take decades and decades for the government to finally admit a product is unsafe while hundreds of thousands or even millions die?
From the PBS Frontline tobacco timeline webpage (link at bottom.)
Here are some notable excepts.
1950 “American scientists Ernst L. Wyndner and Evarts A. Graham publish a report that 96.5 percent of lung-cancer patients are moderate to heavy smoker.”
1954:
“Distinguished authorities point out:
That medical research of recent years indicates many possible causes of lung cancer.
That there is no agreement among the authorities regarding what the cause is.
That there is no proof that cigarette smoking is one of the causes.
That statistics purporting to link cigarette smoking with the disease could apply with equal force to any one of many other aspects of modern life. Indeed the validity of the statistics themselves is questioned by numerous scientists.”
“1972:
Philip Morris's Marlboro becomes the best-selling brand in the world.”
1982: “U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop finds that secondhand smoke may cause lung cancer.”
1988 “Judge Lee Sarokin rules that he has found evidence of tobacco industry conspiracy in the Cipollone case; Liggett is ordered to pay Cipollone $400,000 in compensatory damages”
Off with his head!!!
Why does it take decades and decades for the government to finally admit a product is unsafe while hundreds of thousands or even millions die?
From the PBS Frontline tobacco timeline webpage (link at bottom.)
Here are some notable excepts.
1950 “American scientists Ernst L. Wyndner and Evarts A. Graham publish a report that 96.5 percent of lung-cancer patients are moderate to heavy smoker.”
1954:
“Distinguished authorities point out:
That medical research of recent years indicates many possible causes of lung cancer.
That there is no agreement among the authorities regarding what the cause is.
That there is no proof that cigarette smoking is one of the causes.
That statistics purporting to link cigarette smoking with the disease could apply with equal force to any one of many other aspects of modern life. Indeed the validity of the statistics themselves is questioned by numerous scientists.”
“1972:
Philip Morris's Marlboro becomes the best-selling brand in the world.”
1982: “U.S. Surgeon General C. Everett Koop finds that secondhand smoke may cause lung cancer.”
1988 “Judge Lee Sarokin rules that he has found evidence of tobacco industry conspiracy in the Cipollone case; Liggett is ordered to pay Cipollone $400,000 in compensatory damages”
Hundreds of lawsuits follow.
You know the rest….
Link here:
https://www.pbs.org/wgbh/pages/frontline/shows/settlement/timelines/fullindex.html