The United States Federal Government began court proceedings today against the country's tobacco industry.
It is filing a $280bn lawsuit accusing the manufacturers of deceiving the public over the health risk associated with cigarettes.
The manufacturers have denied all the charges.
Mike Pfeil, a spokesman for Altria, the parent company of the cigarette manufacturer, Philip Morris, said the US government did not have a credible case.
The lawsuit, which is expected to take six months to conclude, was filed by the Clinton administration in 1999.
