Unlike product claims or attacks from competitors, the public debate about food must remain free of restrictive laws.

The lamentable 4-to-3 decision, however, accomplished this by extending the state's consumer protection law that forbids misleading product claims.

The superintendent of electric utilities and his staff "are fully capable of evaluating things like product claims," he said.

That gives companies much greater range in making product claims than manufacturers of, say, mouthwash.

They haven't been fooled time after time by product claims.

None of them issue product reviews or guidelines for assessing product claims.

As a result, unsubstantiated product claims abounded, especially about the health benefits of food.

Therefore, we do not know much about the truth behind the company's product claims.

The first is the question of the regulations governing product claims.

There is another ground on which the industry's "legal product" claim can be challenged: Cigarettes are an inherently defective product.