Punative Tobacco Lawsuits

[acosmichippo]

how is mustard bad for you? I've heard nothing but good things, especially if you use it as an alternative to mayonnaise.

[Cam]

how is mustard bad for you?

When it gives you gas.

[FW17]

From the time the guy started smoking the packs of cigarettes had a warning label on them....

Actually - that was exactly the finding of the court - these specific packs didn't have a warning, and that's why she won.

I haven't read the briefing the the Surgeon General required all packs of cigarettes to carry warning labels starting in 65. It had been well published for a decade that cigarettes are bad for you. So where was this guy getting smokes from?

The 1964 report on smoking and health had an impact on public attitudes and policy. A Gallup Survey conducted in 1958 found that only 44 percent of Americans believed smoking caused cancer, while 78 percent believed so by 1968. In the course of a decade, it had become common knowledge that smoking damaged health, and mounting evidence of health risks gave Terry's 1964 report public resonance. Yet, while the report proclaimed that "cigarette smoking is a health hazard of sufficient importance in the United States to warrant appropriate remedial action," it remained silent on concrete remedies. That challenge fell to politicians. In 1965, Congress required all cigarette packages distributed in the United States to carry a health warning, and since 1970 this warning is made in the name of the Surgeon General. In 1969, cigarette advertising on television and radio was banned, effective September 1970.

Maybe he was one of those americans who could not read american

[Kiril Varbanov]

There may be a book soon about it:
https://twitter.com/f1elvis/status/491554857170763776

[SectorOne]

Bah, If you haven't learned by now that tobacco, alcohol, fat, sugar, salt, and mustard is bad for you, then you can have it.

Even water can be bad for you and actually lethal in very high doses.
Moderation is key for everything.

Smoke packs every single day and you will shorten your life. Smoke one in your lifetime and it´s fine, no problem.

[Cam]

Bah, If you haven't learned by now that tobacco, alcohol, fat, sugar, salt, and mustard is bad for you, then you can have it.

Even water can be bad for you and actually lethal in very high doses.
Moderation is key for everything.

Smoke packs every single day and you will shorten your life. Smoke one in your lifetime and it´s fine, no problem.

So in that theory one small dose of cyanide is fine, because it's in moderation? Really....

[xpensive]

...
So in that theory one small dose of cyanide is fine, because it's in moderation? Really....

Pretty much so, like Curare.

[FoxHound]

So in that theory one small dose of cyanide is fine, because it's in moderation? Really....

A moderate dose of Cyanide is not lethal. Human tissue can metabolise cyanide believe it or not.
Note, not intoxication or poisoning as this would not be moderate to the human body.

[Richard]

Don't forget their is cultural thing going on here. In the USA juries set the initial award which can include a punitive fine as well as compensation for damages. This is then usually reduced on appeal to a more reasonable level. The result is that we often hear about huge awards set by juries as populist gesture.

In contrast, in the UK for example damages are set by the judge and can only be set at a level to compensate for actual damages/losses incurred.

[MOWOG]

The big awards always grab the headlines, but in the law, the judge has the power of additur and remittitur. Basically, if the judge feels a jury award is absurd, he/she can order a larger (additur) or smaller sum (remittitur). Only then does the appeals process kick in and the appeals can take decades or longer. I have always maintained that any jackass can get a verdict, but the hard work is in turning the award into cash.

I certainly hope the judge in this case adjusts the award downward - by removing a couple of zeros from the end. Three or four would be nice.

This is why corporate defendants and insurance companies would rather commit hari kari than let a case get to a jury.

Myself, I have a big problem with punitive damages. IF they are designed to rein in antisocial behavior, then the award should go to the body politic, not one individual. And attorney's fees for the punitive damage portion of a verdict should be limited to no more than 2 - 5% of the award. THAT would put a stop to this horseshit and in a heckuva hurry, too.

In America, we a legal system, but it has not one single thing to do with the administration of justice.

[CBeck113]

News flash: living kills you.

I just wish the US judicial system was not one of the largest cash flow business of the country and the easiest way to get rich without working for your money. Just because a sticker wasn't on the package isn't an excuse for me, or did he also try standing in front cars driving with 60mph, because there isn't a sitcker saying "standing in the path of a moving vehicle can be detrimental to your health, and could lead to a painful stay in teh nearest hospital or possibly even death"?!? Sorry, I smoked for 13 years, and have been "clean" for the last 12, and if I would get cancer now, would have no one else to blame but myself. The companies did quite a bit to try & hide the effects, but just listenng to a smoker cough is enough evidence that it can't be healthy. But THAT involves common sense, which no longer can be used in court in the USA...

[Cam]

So in that theory one small dose of cyanide is fine, because it's in moderation? Really....

A moderate dose of Cyanide is not lethal. Human tissue can metabolise cyanide believe it or not.
Note, not intoxication or poisoning as this would not be moderate to the human body.

It's that kind of thinking and justification that makes people believe smoking tobacco is ok.

Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment

If cyanide is inhaled it causes a coma with seizures, apnea, and cardiac arrest, with death following in a matter of seconds. At lower doses, loss of consciousness may be preceded by general weakness, giddiness, headaches, vertigo, confusion, and perceived difficulty in breathing. At the first stages of unconsciousness, breathing is often sufficient or even rapid, although the state of the victim progresses towards a deep coma, sometimes accompanied by pulmonary edema, and finally cardiac arrest. A cherry red skin color changes to dark may be present as the result of increased venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Cyanide does not directly cause cyanosis. A fatal dose for humans can be as low as 1.5 mg/kg body weight.
In addition to pesticide and insecticide, cyanide is contained in tobacco smoke......

While some believe it's perfectly ok to smoke tobacco, in any quantity, others may believe that people who deliberately commit slow suicide, probably should not be giving advice to anyone.

[SectorOne]

You´ve missed the point by lightyears. Congratulations Cam...

[Cold Fussion]

So in that theory one small dose of cyanide is fine, because it's in moderation? Really....

A moderate dose of Cyanide is not lethal. Human tissue can metabolise cyanide believe it or not.
Note, not intoxication or poisoning as this would not be moderate to the human body.

It's that kind of thinking and justification that makes people believe smoking tobacco is ok.

Leading cause of death, illness and impoverishment

If cyanide is inhaled it causes a coma with seizures, apnea, and cardiac arrest, with death following in a matter of seconds. At lower doses, loss of consciousness may be preceded by general weakness, giddiness, headaches, vertigo, confusion, and perceived difficulty in breathing. At the first stages of unconsciousness, breathing is often sufficient or even rapid, although the state of the victim progresses towards a deep coma, sometimes accompanied by pulmonary edema, and finally cardiac arrest. A cherry red skin color changes to dark may be present as the result of increased venous hemoglobin oxygen saturation. Cyanide does not directly cause cyanosis. A fatal dose for humans can be as low as 1.5 mg/kg body weight.
In addition to pesticide and insecticide, cyanide is contained in tobacco smoke......

While some believe it's perfectly ok to smoke tobacco, in any quantity, others may believe that people who deliberately commit slow suicide, probably should not be giving advice to anyone.

It's right there in your own link, 1.5 mg/kg body weight is considered a lethal dose, if you had a dose 1/10,000th of that you would not face any consequences. I really have difficulty in following your thought process.