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.
Hybrid Mode
