The U.S. Court of Appeals in Washington upheld the major elements of a 2006 ruling that found the top American tobacco companies guilty of fraud and violating racketeering laws.

The ruling said manufacturers must change the way they market cigarettes. It bans labels such as “low tar,” “light,” “ultra light” or “mild,” since such cigarettes have been found to be no safer than others because of how people smoke them.

It also says the companies must publish corrective statements on the adverse health effects and addictiveness of smoking and nicotine.

The changes have not taken affect while the case has been under appeal.

Throughout the 10 years the case has been litigated, tobacco companies have denied committing fraud in the past and said changes in how cigarettes are sold now make it impossible for them to act fraudulently in the future.

The defendants in the lawsuit were: Philip Morris USA and its parent, Altria Group; R.J. Reynolds Tobacco; Brown & Williamson Tobacco; British American Tobacco; Lorillard Tobacco; Liggett Group; Counsel for Tobacco Research-U.S.A.; and the now-defunct Tobacco Institute.

Liggett was excluded from the ruling because the judge said the company came forward in the 1990s to admit smoking causes disease and is addictive and co-operated with government investigators.