Image found at: nobacks.com
Thesis
In 1994, after 50 years of scientific exploration into tobacco’s health effects, Minnesota Attorney General Hubert “Skip” Humphrey lll sued Phillip Morris Inc. and several other tobacco companies, accusing them of a long-running conspiracy against the American public. The plaintiffs’ explorations into millions of tobacco-industry documents established that tobacco companies had deliberately refused to disclose accurate information about tobacco’s health effects. The industry used false advertising, misrepresented tobacco research, and targeted children as customers. State of Minnesota v. Phillip Morris Inc. remains important today for the truth that was finally encountered, the regulations and policies that resulted, the settlement money the state receives, and the millions of secret documents made public. Tobacco education, awareness, and research efforts around the world gained momentum because of this public-health success.