By Brent Kendall 

WASHINGTON--A federal appeals court on Friday scaled back portions of a court order requiring leading cigarette makers to say in product warnings that the industry misled the public about the dangers of smoking.

At issue were product warnings U.S. District Judge Gladys Kessler ordered for top tobacco companies after she ruled nearly a decade ago that cigarette makers violated civil racketeering law. The ruling said tobacco companies participated in a decadeslong scheme to deceive consumers about the harms of smoking.

She required tobacco companies to make the warning statements in newspaper and television ads, as well as on their websites and product packaging.

A three-judge panel of the U.S. Court of Appeals for the District of Columbia Circuit on Friday said Judge Kessler exceeded her authority when she required cigarette makers to announce that they deliberately deceived the public.

Portions of the ruling, however, went against the tobacco industry. The appeals court upheld Judge Kessler's requirement that cigarette makers say in the product warnings that they intentionally designed their products to create and sustain addiction.

The case dates back to a lawsuit the Justice Department filed in 1999 alleging cigarette makers conspired to deceive the public about the health consequences of smoking.

Defendants included Philip Morris USA, R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co.

Write to Brent Kendall at brent.kendall@wsj.com

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