Major tobacco companies who spent decades denying they lied to the US public about the dangers of cigarettes must spend their own money on a public advertising campaign saying they did lie, a federal judge ruled…The ruling sets out what might be the harshest sanction to come out of a historic case that the justice department brought in 1999 accusing the tobacco companies of racketeering. US district judge Gladys Kessler wrote that the new advertising campaign would be an appropriate counterweight to the companies' "past deception" dating back to at least 1964. The advertisements are to be published in various media for up to two years. Details of the campaign – how much it will cost and which media will be involved – are still to be determined and could lead to another prolonged fight. [refers to Philip Morris USA (part of Altria), Reynolds American]