A widow brought suit against tobacco companies on behalf of her deceased husband seeking punitive damages for failure to warn, fraudulent concealment, design defect, and fraud in marketing pertaining to the Marlboro Lights brand. Upon motion to vacate an order for summary judgment previously handed down by the Court, the plaintiff argued that Philip Morris gave the public the false impression that Marlboro Light cigarettes were safer than other filtered cigarettes because they delivered a lower amount of nicotine and tar to the smoker in violation of state law. The defendant argued that the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act preempted state law's requirement or prohibition related to smoking and health with regards to advertising and promotion of cigarette packaging that conformed with the federal act's provisions. Finding no preemption and that a causal connection between the defendant's fraudulent statements and the deceased's injuries was established by evidence demonstrating that the deceased had continued smoking because he believed "light" cigarettes to be "safer" than other cigarettes, the Court granted the plaintiff's motion to vacate the summary judgment order.
Clinton v. Brown & Williamson Holdings, Inc., et al., 652 F. Supp. 2d 528, United States District Court, S.D. New York (2009).
Some jurisdictions allow an individual or organization to initiate an action against another private party who is not following a particular law. For example, a person may sue a restaurant that allows smoking despite a smoke free law. If the plaintiff is claiming the violation of the law caused physical harm, this may also be a personal injury case.
An individual or organization may seek civil damages against a tobacco company based on the claim that the use of tobacco products causes disease or death. Some of these cases will relate to general tobacco products, while others will relate to specific subcategories of tobacco products--for example, light or low products, menthol or other flavored products. Additionally, there may be cases relating to exposure to secondhand smoke.
Measures to regulate the marketing on tobacco packages. This includes both bans on false, misleading, deceptive packaging, as well as required health warnings on packaging.
(See FCTC Art. 11)
Any violation of a law designed to ensure fair trade, competition, or the free flow of truthful information in the marketplace. For example, a government may require businesses to disclose detailed information about products—particularly in areas where safety or public health is an issue.
The subject matter of the case should be dealt with at a state level or national level.
Type of Tobacco Product
None
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
"Plaintiff has, however, presented sufficient evidence to raise a material issue of fact as to proximate cause. First, although Plaintiff testified that the number of cigarettes the decedent smoked remained relatively consistent, and that she could not recall whether the way in which the decedent smoked cigarettes—i.e., how he inhaled smoke, or held the cigarette, or how far down the cigarette he smoked—changed over the years (Clinton Dep. 182-84, 193-94), there is evidence to show that many smokers engage in compensatory behaviors when they switch to "light" cigarettes, and that "Marlboro Lights were designed to permit the human smoker to easily compensate to obtain nearly the same amount of nicotine ... and tar." (Decl. of William A. Farone Ph.D. ("Farone Decl.") 8.) In addition, the fact that these behaviors are "unconscious" makes it unlikely that they would be perceptible to an observer. (Block Decl. Ex. 19 at 115.) Second, rather than receiving lower levels of tar and nicotine, which Mr. Champagne believed he was receiving and would help him to gradually quit smoking, there is evidence to suggest that he received levels comparable to those he would have received had he been smoking regular Marlboro cigarettes. Evidence submitted by Plaintiff indicates that Marlboro Lights deliver virtually the same amount of tar and nicotine as regular Marlboro cigarettes when smoked by human beings. (Id. 159-60; id. Ex. 23 at 14105-06.) In fact, Defendant's own study, the results of which were in agreement with other studies, concluded that due to compensatory behaviors, smokers did not receive less smoke when smoking Marlboro Lights as opposed to regular Marlboro cigarettes. (Id. Ex. 23 at 2-3.) A jury could conclude that Mr. Champagne was lulled into a false sense of security by the representation that he was smoking a "light," safer cigarette, and/or that he would have chosen a brand that in fact delivered less tar and nicotine had he known the truth about Marlboro Lights. Finally, Mr. Champagne, in the belief that Marlboro Lights were better for his health, continued to smoke them for seventeen years. Testing conducted by Philip Morris indicated that the tar in Marlboro Lights was more carcinogenic than the tar in regular cigarettes. (Id. Ex. 19 at 57-58.) Thus, there is also evidence to show that by switching to and continuing to smoke Marlboro Lights. Mr. Champagne was not only impeded in his efforts to quit smoking, but exposed to more carcinogenic tar than he would have been had he continued to smoked regular Marlboro cigarettes. In his expert report. Dr. Gary M. Strauss concludes that the carcinogens in the cigarette smoke of each brand of cigarettes smoked by Mr. Champagne, including Marlboro Lights, was "a substantial contributing factor to the development of his lung cancer." (Decl. of Gary M. Strauss 23.) Accordingly, there is sufficient evidence to raise a jury question as to the causal connection between Defendant's purportedly fraudulent statements and Mr. Champagne's injuries."
Limitations regarding the use of quotes The quotes provided here reflect statements from a specific decision. Accordingly, the International Legal Consortium (ILC) cannot guarantee that an appellate court has not reversed a lower court decision which may influence the applicability or influence of a given quote. All quotes have been selected based on the subjective evaluations undertaken by the ILC meaning that quotes provided here may not accurately or comprehensively represent a given court’s opinion or conclusion, as such quotes may have originally appeared alongside other negative opinions or accompanying facts. Further, some quotes are derived from unofficial English translations, which may alter their original meaning. We emphasize the need to review the original decision and related decisions before authoritatively relying on quotes. Using quotes provided here should not be construed as legal advice and is not intended to be a substitute for legal counsel on any subject matter in any jurisdiction. Please see the full limitations at https://www.tobaccocontrollaws.org/about.
A widow brought suit against tobacco companies on behalf of her deceased husband seeking punitive damages for failure to warn, fraudulent concealment, design defect, and fraud in marketing pertaining to the Marlboro Lights brand. Upon motion to vacate an order for summary judgment previously handed down by the Court, the plaintiff argued that Philip Morris gave the public the false impression that Marlboro Light cigarettes were safer than other filtered cigarettes because they delivered a lower amount of nicotine and tar to the smoker in violation of state law. The defendant argued that the Federal Cigarette Labeling and Advertising Act preempted state law's requirement or prohibition related to smoking and health with regards to advertising and promotion of cigarette packaging that conformed with the federal act's provisions. Finding no preemption and that a causal connection between the defendant's fraudulent statements and the deceased's injuries was established by evidence demonstrating that the deceased had continued smoking because he believed "light" cigarettes to be "safer" than other cigarettes, the Court granted the plaintiff's motion to vacate the summary judgment order.