On this point...there's a part of me that wonders if my parents smoking had any affect on my health. Thus far I've gotten clean bills of health on my lungs and respiratory system, and my only major health problem (my heart) had nothing to do with second-hand smoke, but I still wonder.

I'm asthmatic, and I have really bad allergies to smoke. I'm almost certain that it can be attributed to (if not exacerbated by) my father's smoking.

I'm pretty sure that there will be some sort of class action related to children of smokers, especially for those kids who grew up in the 50s, before the secondhand smoke issue became well0known.

I had cancerous cells (luckily all benign) removed from my throat more than once, and my father died from lung cancer. The thought has crossed my mind more than once that there may be a connection.

They do come up in the liability phase if there are any "at-risk" behaviors that may have also contributed to the cause of death (lung cancer, COPD, etc.). As you might guess, this means it happens like always.


Oh, if I had to guess, I'd say there are certain populations that are predisposed to certain feelings on the topic. Kind of like everything else, I guess.

I'm a former smoker whose mother died of COPD (chronic bronchitis and emphysema) and I think these kinds of lawsuits are ridiculous. There was a time when doctors prescribed smoking to reduce stress. Almost all of my aunts and uncles (as well as my mom and dad) smoked as young adults and quit on their own accord. There are others who choose to continue to smoke. Although nicotine is an addiction, smoking is a choice. I think they go way too far with suing companies for people's choices. Companies are in business to make money and stay in business. It's up to the consumer to decide whether to use their products or not.

Additionally, it's almost impossible to prove that smoking alone was the factor that caused the disease. My mom's pulmonologist told her that her COPD was likely due to a combination of 4 factors. She had pneumonia twice before the age of 1 which likely caused lung damage early on. She slept in the top story of a bungalow where there was open asbestos insulation. She smoked for 22 years. She also had a genetic issue that caused an alpha-1 Antitripsin Deficiency. http://www.nlm.nih.gov/medlineplus/a...eficiency.html for an explanation of that. Her doctor repeatedly said that it was impossible to know which of these factors was the primary cause of her COPD but that it was likely that it was the presence of all 4.

You and I both should sue our parents and the tobacco companies.

Interestingly, you've just basically explained the background connection behind juror decision making and cognitive dissonance (to be a little bit obtuse).

Absolutely - I should have been more specific, in that I was referring to "risk factors" more generally, like in DrPhil's example, where she seemed to be talking about how a plaintiff's exposure to any risky behavior would go to liability (in a "question of law" sense rather than a "question of fact" sense).

Haha, glad to be of service. Probably a good idea I understand some of this since litigation will be my chosen field (although hopefully I'll be doing more appellate work).

Wow this is pretty ridiculous.

In what way?

haha...I always think of Shawshank Redemption when he read or hear this word.

Silly boy. GUNS don't kill people.......

Warning label on people? Can you imagine the outrage and indignity?

Sorry, but this old lady is calling bullshit on the no concrete evidence until the 80's.

The Surgeon General came out in 1964 with the sad evidence. Freakin' Nineteen Sixty Four. So, what, did the Government then take the next twenty years off?
My parents were both smokers - until 1965. It took them that long, but they quit. When I was a kid. Their struggles to quit made a lifelong impression on all four of their children. We don't smoke and neither do any of our children.

So, do you believe that the other team always tells you what they have up their sleeve? It's their responsibility to tell you everything?

GTFOOH!

I can vouch for AnchorAlum above. I distinctly remember the warning in 1964 b/c a HUGE deal was made about it. I was a bratty youngster at the time and proceeded to go up to my Grandpa and uncles and tell them cigarettes would kill them with cancer and they needed to stop immediately. (they prob. wanted to smack me since they were long time smokers). As an historical note, the word "cancer" was hardly ever spoken out loud. Very few people died of it (or so we thought) and people whispered the word and stayed away thinking it may be contagious. In the late '60's they were called "cancer sticks" even by smokers. The box with the surgeon general's warning was on each pack by the mid '60's. These people should not get a dime in settlement. It was a personal choice.