Tobacco Giants Face $14bn Claim

The US government yesterday said it was seeking $14bn (£7.7bn) in penalties against tobacco companies in a racketeering case that accused the industry of conspiring to hide the risks of smoking.

The sum includes $4bn to fund an anti-smoking education campaign in addition to the $10bn quit smoking programme outlined by government prosecutors in the trial's closing arguments.

The final amount was detailed formally in a motion filed with the court late on Monday. It still however remains significantly below the $130bn, 25-year programme that had been recommended by a government witness.

The sharp reduction in the penalty sought prompted a political row in the US, with Democrats accusing the Bush administration of bending to the demands of the tobacco industry.

The case had initially been filed by the Clinton administration in 1999, and opponents have argued that the present government has little interest in pursuing claims against big business.

The cut caused even the judge trying the case to wonder aloud whether any pressure had been put on prosecutors to lower their demands. The justice department has agreed to launch a formal investigation.

"It is a serious breach of the justice department's responsibility to the American people and an abuse of power on behalf of the tobacco companies," the Massachusetts Democrat Edward Kennedy said in response to the formal motion.

The $4bn education programme would be administered by the American Legacy Foundation, an anti-smoking organisation set up as part of the 1998 settlement with the various US states.

The $10bn quit-smoking programme would fund telephone advice lines, clinics and research over five years.

The government is also seeking a ban on the use of descriptions such as "mild" and "light" and the appointment of an investigations officer with the authority to monitor and investigate tobacco companies and even to remove executives.

The defendants in the suit were Philip Morris, British American Tobacco, RJ Reynolds, Liggett Group, and Lorillard Tobacco. The companies have denied the charge that they illegally conspired to hide the harmful effects of smoking. "Regardless of what the government is asking for, the law and the facts applied to this case have not changed," said a spokeswoman for Philip Morris parent Altria.

The case accuses the tobacco industry of orchestrating a 50-year conspiracy to hide the harmful health effects and addictive nature of cigarettes.

In closing arguments at the end of the eight month trial, prosecutionlawyers said the industry had misled people with "half truths, deceptions and lies that continue to this day".

The case was brought under the civil Racketeer-Influenced and Corrupt Organisations Act. There were 44,000 pages of testimony from more than 80 witnesses.