Why do people feel the right to sue cigarette companies?

Question

Everyone knows that cigarette smoking is bad for there health, no one that has been alive for the last twenty years can blame anyone one but themselves for lung cancer (other than second hand). Its ridiculous and should not be allowed in court. People should take responsibility for there own actions.

Answer 1

I don't think they should anymore.
We have over 60 years of warnings how bad it is.
So there isn't any excuse.
I think it just a way for lawyers to make money.

Answer 2

We live in a litigious society--people don't want to assume responsibility for themselves,and they wish to blame others when things go wrong.
In all fairness, I have to say that when I was a kid, everyone smoked. It was almost a social requirement, and people who would not tolerate smoke didn't have much of a social life. It was allowed in Courthouses, schools, restaurants, even some churches had a smoking room. The Tobacco Industry did a terrific public relations job on the average person in the USA between the 1920s-1970s.Smoking was said to make you more popular with the opposite sex, thinner, more sophisticated, etc. Cigarette ads on TV were not banned in the US until the mid-1970s, but the Tobaccco company just upped the number of ads in print media.
Things have changed a lot since then, but there are plenty of older people who have health problems today because they were yesterdays' smokers. Then there are the spouses and children of smokers who smoked passively and developed health problems.
I think the Tobacco Czars should be held responsible for some of the problems they created. Everyone's bills come due.
They made billions of dollars on US citizens,and now they peddle tobacco products around the world--especially in 3rd World countries. Last time I was in Mexico, there were many Marlboro consumer items-IE T-shirts, hats, wallets, etc, being given away, along with Marlboro cigarette samples at concerts.
The only good use for tobacco that I can think of is to use it the way Native Americans do--as an herb for medicinal purposes. The less acculturated Natives that I know would never think of smoking a cigarette.
Just my 2 cents.

Answer 3

I feel bad for anyone that gets cancer from smoking, but they had a choice to stop. I think those that get cancer from second hand smoke have the right to sue because they don't have a choice and are victims of someone else's bad choice. And another thing, seeing cigarette butts all over the place is gross and people should be fined!!

Answer 4

I really agree with your argument in most respects--people should take responsibility for their own actions, and warning labels have been around for quite a long time. I do, however, think that it's entirely too easy for minors to obtain cigarettes, though I don't know if that's the fault of the tobacco companies so much as local enforcement. I do agree, though, as well as another respondent that those affected by second hand smoke should be able to get some form of compensation.

Answer 5

A better question, to my mind, is why does the government continue to permit cigarette smoking in law abiding society? It is proven to be the leading cause of lung cancer and heart disease...massive killers in the United States. But somehow, it is still legal to purchase and smoke cigarettes. HMMMM - can anyone say tax money?

Suing is an instinctual reflex in the United States...if you've been wronged, you've gotta be able to sue someone. No one takes responsibility for their own actions, and expects a handout from somewhere or someone.

Answer 6

I am not going to get involved with agreeing or disagreeing, but I will say that the crux of the argument are:

- Do tobacco companies violate federal law by engineering more addictive tabacco? This act alone isn't illegal, but if this is the case, tobacco would need to be regulated by the FDA (and they currently are not).

- Why is tobacco not Schedule I by the DEA? The requirements for this Schedule are:
(A) The drug or other substance has a high potential for abuse.
(B) The drug or other substance has no currently accepted medical use in treatment in the United States.
(C) There is a lack of accepted safety for use of the drug or other substance under medical supervision.
Tobacco meets all of these criteria, so why is it legal? The argument is that because tobacco companies lobby to government to allow the sale of an addictive and unsafe product.

I personally am not sure, as I said above if individuals should be able to sue, but I do think the government should be able to sue in order to reclaim public health costs. It is unfair to me that I have to pay tax and higher insuarance premiums to cover someone's lung cancer while tobacco companies profit.

Answer 7

Twenty years? I was told in Junior High School it was bad for me and could kill me, that was in the 60's.

People smoke because they choose too. There should be no laws or taxes in an effort to stop smoking but at the same time a smoker has only himself/herself to blame if they choose to smoke.

The thing that worries me the most about all the litigation against tobacco companies is that it is going to and already has lead to litigation against other companies like gun manufacturers, car makers, fast food vendors and so on. If a product is defective they need to be sued but if you harm yourself through negligence or over-indulgence you are the responsible party and should not be able to take action against a business.

Answer 8

As a smoker it is my own stupidity to smoke. however, for a non-smoker to blame the company that makes the cigarettes...that is ridiculous.

Would you blame GM or Ford for a car accident if a drunk was the driver?

As adults, we are responsible for our actions. If you contract cancer from second-hand smoke...look to those around you who smoked, not the tabacco companies.

Imao

Answer 9

I agree! It's a sad state of affairs that we can sue anyone for our own lack of self control. I'm going to sue the whole Napa Valley for producing wines that are so delicious that I MUST drink them! They have turned me into an alcoholic and therefore are damaging my liver! (wow... you know, someone may actually try that....) :o)

Answer 10

People want someone to blame for their own stupidity. No one put a gun to your head and made you smoke those cigarettes. Just like the people that sue McDonald's because they're obese. No one made you pick up that cheeseburger, honey.

Answer 11

I agree that those who smoke and contact diseases that are related can blame no one but themselves. But those of us who are ill because of someone elses smoke and have never smoked in their lives have every right to attack the source.