EDITORIAL

Litigation

Why tobacco litigation?

R Daynard

Correspondence to:
Correspondence to: Professor Richard Daynard, Tobacco Products Liability Project, Northeastern University School of Law, 400 Huntington Avenue, Boston, MA 02115, USA; rdaynard@lynx.neu.edu

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Just how important is litigation in achieving the goals of the tobacco control community?

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Keywords: litigation

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

When a Los Angeles jury recently assessed $28 billion in punitive damages against Philip Morris in Bullock v Philip Morris Companies¹ the tobacco control community cheered. The jury had calculated that only one in 28 000 Californians who have suffered from tobacco caused disease ever sues, so to make Philip Morris confront the real cost of its misbehaviour, they multiplied a typical $1 million compensatory damage award (for medical bills, lost wages, and pain and suffering) by 28 000. Right on! Even though the trial judge subsequently reduced the award to $28 million² that is still enough to encourage many more suits to be filed.

Why ask "why tobacco litigation?" The reason is that the tobacco control community may soon have to decide just how important litigation is to achieving our goals. Two current examples put the issue nicely. First, the recently certified "Simon II" punitive damage class action³ . . . [Full text of this article]

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• Liberman, J. (2006). The future of tobacco regulation: a response to a proposal for fundamental institutional change.. Tobacco Control 15: 333-338 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
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• Wen, C P (2005). Facilitating the critical process in tobacco control. Tobacco Control 14: i1-i3 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Cains, T, Cannata, S, Poulos, R, Ferson, M J, Stewart, B W (2004). Designated "no smoking" areas provide from partial to no protection from environmental tobacco smoke. Tobacco Control 13: 17-22 [Abstract] [Full Text]