Tobacco Products

Cigarettes, cigars, and chewing tobacco are all tobacco products. Smoking has been linked to lung cancer, emphysema, heart disease, and other serious illnesses. Cigarette smoking by pregnant women increases the risk of birth defects and exposure to second-hand smoke can lead to serious diseases. Chewing tobacco has been linked to oral cancer.

Claims Against Tobacco Product Manufacturers

One claim by consumers is that tobacco products are unreasonably dangerous due to their carcinogenic and addictive qualities. A consumer who establishes a claim against a manufacturer is entitled to damages as compensation for his or her injuries.
Defenses Available to Tobacco Product Manufacturers

A manufacturer has several defenses to claims by consumers. These defenses include: assumption of risk (the consumer knew about the danger but continued to use the product); the risks of tobacco use are open and obvious to consumers; and a manufacturer of inherently unsafe products intended for personal consumption is exempt from liability under the laws of certain states.

Class Action Lawsuits

Individuals with similar claims can participate in a class action lawsuit in which one person, acting on behalf of the individuals, files a lawsuit against a defendant. Many of the lawsuits filed against tobacco product manufacturers are class actions because the claims of the individuals present common issues.

Copyright 2011 LexisNexis, a division of Reed Elsevier Inc.