[billethkid]

I disagree witht the premise and extent advertizing plays in people smoking.

When I see mothers with kids in car seats smoking in the car, that is not due to advertizing. It is just plain honest to GOD stupidity.

When I see patients outside an oncology office where they are taking chemo for cancer and are outside taking a break SMOKING! Advertizing has nothing to do with it.....just STUPIDITY.

Each person who puts a cigarette in their mouth are doing so of their own free will. Most smokers today know the dangers and have rationalized them away.

I do not support those who have fallen ill trying to get rich off the tobacco companies (usually lawyer driven).

The easier thing to do is just keep raising the prices. I continue to be amazed at how some low income families can afford to buy cigarettes at todays prices.

Nope I do not believe in the theory "they" made me do it!!!!

[George Bieniaszek]

Originally Posted by Vic&Judy

$23 Billion

Wow.

If lawyers have their way, soon we'll be talking about real money!!!!!!

Yes, totally absurd award!!

They should have settled for $999 Trillion

This is going to be tied up in appeals forever!!

[Taltarzac725]

Originally Posted by George Bieniaszek

Yes, totally absurd award!!

They should have settled for $999 Trillion

This is going to be tied up in appeals forever!!

The punitive damages do seem to be extremely excessive especially given what I can see of the facts. I suppose they want to try to bankrupt this company?

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

I'd like to know what law RJ Reynolds broke. They a perfectly legal product and advertise it in a perfectly legal manner.

People say that they knew the dangers of cigarette smoking long ago and continued to sell and advertise. Does anyone believe that the government did not have this same information?

If the government knew all along, why did they not pass laws controlling the sale and advertising. If the government didn't know what the tobacco companies knew, why didn't they?

Now we have the government courts placing blame on corporations who were engage in activities that were approved by the government.

Ridiculous!

[Dr Winston O Boogie jr]

Originally Posted by Bonanza

Yes, R. J. Reynolds will appeal and I'm sure this will carry on for years.

The attorneys who take these cases should be disbarred!
Outrageous, but the almighty buck plays into this, doesn't it?

Did you know that 99% of attorneys give the rest a bad name???

Are you suggesting that accused shouldn't be allowed a proper defense? Or that people who feel that they may be wronged shouldn't be able to hire a competent attorney to represent them?

I know things get out of hand and that there are ambulance chasers out there that try to make cases out of nothing. The problem is where do we draw the line?

We have rights guaranteed by our constitution and I'm very thankful that we do.

[tippyclubb]

Oh boy this will open up a can of worms. Who will be sued next, perhaps a fast food chain restaurant because someone allowed their self to become obese eating there. It's a person choice to smoke that cigarette and eat Big Macs. What I resent is when these people blame the businesses when health issues arise.

We are all aware of the dangers of smoking and many of us have quit. It is a hard habit to stop but it can be done. I smoked for years and never once blamed tobacco companies for my addiction. It was a choice I made fully aware of the dangers involved. If I fall ill because of it I have no one to blame but myself.

It makes my blood boil when people do not step up and take responsibility for their actions. People need to stop blaming everyone else for their choices.

[rubicon]

I began smoking when I was 12. Even back then cigarettes were referred to as "another nail in your coffin" or "cancer sticks" In the early 1960"s the Surgeon General was posting warnings on the side panels of cigarette packages. Now you don't have to hit me over the head with a hammer to get me to act. I quit cold turkey. So fair warnings have been publicly on display for well over 60 years

The case in question is a classic example of how inept our jury system has become ( think OJ and Casey Anthony) This family already won $17 million in damages and now hit the lottery for another $23 billion. This verdict is obscene and you can bet the jury had absolutely no inclination on what they were doing. If this verdict stands it is going to result in unprecedented verdicts in the future that could potentially reach in the trillions of dollars.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by tedquick

I quit drinking, smoking and gambling, so I have little sympathy for those who look outside of themselves for blame. And while I have many friends who are attorneys, there are those who indeed take full advantage of the law. When I was going to college I wrote a paper titled "Law is not Justice". In my paper I discussed the "necessarily" part of it. There will always be those who take advantage of the law, irrespective of its ethics or morality. Having said that, I believe the majority of people are honest and indeed a bonus and are assets to and for all of us, just as most of those who write herein are positive and upbeat. Life is life and life is good. We just need to smile at the things that aren't perfect and thank God for the things that are. I can hardly wait to get moved into our TV house this coming October. My wife and I will be frogs.

I agree with you somewhat, but I do think that everyone's addiction level is different. It took me four tries to quit smoking for good. Each time I quit, two years would go by and I would be slammed with a horrible desire for nicotine. I was never able to overcome this until patches became available over the counter. So the fourth time this happened, I just wore patches till I finally overcame the addiction for good. I truly understand how difficult it is to quit.

Like they say, don't quit quitting.

[rubicon]

This issue is about choices we make in life and taking responsibility for those choices. I should have gone to college. I should not have married that person. Why did I take drugs.

Another dimension to this large verdict is the incongruity of punishing a company that produced unhealthy products yet state after state are passing laws allowing the legalization of marijuana that has 4 times the tar content of cigarettes and is as addictive....and additionally because of its "getting high effect"makes it riskier for people around those using marijuana. so if a person is driving in Denver and it by a driver high on marijuana expect a multiple billion dollar verdict against the driver, the marijuana producer and the state

Does it occur to some of us that people in this nation have lost any sense of common sense?

[Villages PL]

Originally Posted by mtdjed

Recent Florida Jury punitive damages award for $23B against RJ Reynolds .

What are your thoughts?

My thoughts:
No smoker in this day can say that he did not know the risks. The USG has broadcast the dangers and even made the manufacturers put warnings on packaging and ads.

I believe that claims against manufacturers should be deemed frivolous and dismissed. I know there might be some rare situations, but to even have a trial and the expense of a trial is ridiculous and simply a tool to make money for the legal profession.

Just trying to provoke a non political discussion.

Poor RJ Reynolds, it's not fair that they should have to pay so much money.
They were just minding their business with honesty and integrity. They are really very nice people, once you get to know them.

I'm a big believer in taking personal responsibility. I quit smoking at age 30. I don't smoke, drink or eat junk food. But I understand that not everyone is the same; some, as stated earlier, knew the risks but can't stop smoking because they are just plain addicted.

What about RJ Reynolds? They knew the risk too, I mean the risk of being in the cigarette business. They should have quit selling cigarettes but couldn't because they became addicted to making billions of dollars off of self-destructive smoking addiction.

So the smokers and the company have a lot in common: Neither one can help themselves - they can't help what they do. Perhaps, in a strange way, they deserve each other.

[CFrance]

Originally Posted by Villages PL

Poor RJ Reynolds, it's not fair that they should have to pay so much money.
They were just minding their business with honesty and integrity. They are really very nice people, once you get to know them.

I'm a big believer in taking personal responsibility. I quit smoking at age 30. I don't smoke, drink or eat junk food. But I understand that not everyone is the same; some, as stated earlier, knew the risks but can't stop smoking because they are just plain addicted.

What about RJ Reynolds? They knew the risk too, I mean the risk of being in the cigarette business. They should have quit selling cigarettes but couldn't because they became addicted to making billions of dollars off of self-destructive smoking addiction.

So the smokers and the company have a lot in common: Neither one can help themselves - they can't help what they do. Perhaps, in a strange way, they deserve each other.

Of course, there's two sides to every story, but what you say makes sense. The only point where my thinking veers off is where the tobacco companies targeted the teenagers. If nobody ever fed me chocolate, I wouldn't know how good it tastes. But alas, they did.

So somewhere along the line the teaching of little kids that smoking is bad has to be strong enough to overcome teenagers' immaturity during the "acting out" years. Somehow I doubt that's going to happen.

[gatherer47]

Everyone has to make their own decisions and be prepared to endure the consequences.Having said that,I have no sympathy for the tobacco companies.If it hurts them financially so be it.

[zonerboy]

Absolutely ridiculous!
Hello juries out there.....
You are not punishing tobacco companies with your verdict.
R.j. Reynolds will never pay this judgement. It will be appealed and re-appealed. Some final amount will eventually be settled upon and guess who will pay it? Not R.J. Reynolds, but some insurance company contracted by R.J. Reynolds. And ultimately all of us who purchase any kind of liability insurance will be the ones who suffer.
The attorneys for both sides will make big bucks.
Please remember this if you are ever on the jury in a liability case.

[rn1tv]

Smoking is a choice; I know as I was one and am suffering the consequences as a result. Should I, and the other millions of smokers, sue the tobacco companies for millions of dollars? Profits would never pay the number of smokers that would be "entitled" to the pay out. We made a choice and many of us are paying for it today.

[rubicon]

Originally Posted by zonerboy

Absolutely ridiculous!
Hello juries out there.....
You are not punishing tobacco companies with your verdict.
R.j. Reynolds will never pay this judgement. It will be appealed and re-appealed. Some final amount will eventually be settled upon and guess who will pay it? Not R.J. Reynolds, but some insurance company contracted by R.J. Reynolds. And ultimately all of us who purchase any kind of liability insurance will be the ones who suffer.
The attorneys for both sides will make big bucks.
Please remember this if you are ever on the jury in a liability case.

zonerboy: Bingo! These emotional hateful actions against corporations are in part used intentionally by lawyer to raise the payout often by using junk science and manipulating medical information causes. e.g. The jury focus was on the plaintiffs smoking but were there other environmental or genetic issues provided to the jury for review or was that documentation withheld?
But for most people it was those greedy hateful corporate types and that's good enough