Tobacco Documents Online

Tobacco firms win liability suit WASHINGTON, Aug 23 (AFP) - In a victory for the US tobacco industry, an Indiana jury Friday rejected a lawsuit filed by survivors of a lung cancer victim, ruling in favor of four tobacco companies blamed in his death, a court spokeswoman said. 0 The family of Richard Rogers, who died of lung cancer in 1987, sued four tobacco companies, including giant Philip Morris. The lawsuit contended that nicotine is addictive and that smoking was to blame for Rogers' death. The case was first tried in February 1995 but ended with a hung jury. The verdict - coming at a time when the US tobacco industry is under attack from President Bill Clinton -- was being closely watched in industry circles. "This unanimous verdict sends a clear signal that there is no legal groundswell in the American court system to reverse 40 years of precedents that people are responsible for their own actions when it comes to tobacco use, " said Charles Wall, a senior vice president of Philip Morris. "Testimony in this case clearly showed that Richard Rogers willingly made the decision to smoke and completely understood the claimed risks that decision entailed," he added. But after the verdict, Rogers' widow Yvonne Rogers told reporters: "I don t believe it's the end of the war against the tobacco industry." Two weeks ago a jury in Jacksonville, Florida, ordered American Tobacco, makers of Lucky Strike, to pay 750,000 dollars in damages and interest in a similar action. That decision marked only the second time in 191awsuits that a jury had awarded damages to a plaintiff against a cigarette manufacturer. A 1988 award of 400,000 dollars to the widower of a smoker was overturned on appeal. Clinton on Friday declared nicotine in cigarettes an addictive drug and launched a series of measures aimed at stamping out teenage smoking. The action, sure to provoke years of courtroom battles, finalizes a Food and Drug Administration rule designed to restrict sales and giveaways to minors, curb cigarette advertising and set a federal minimum age of 18 for cigarette purchases. Copyright (c) 1996 Comtex Scientific Corporation Received by NewsEDGE/LAN: 8/23/96 10:41 PM 0