Punitive damages against Big Tobacco: A Mockery

Punitive damages against Big Tobacco: A Mockery


I stopped smoking 22-years ago. I started when I was 13 and ended up smoking three packs of cigarettes a day. Now I knew at 13 (and I’m 59 years old now), I knew then cigarettes were bad for me, so when I read a case like the one I read today “…$80 million punitive damages ruling against Philip Morris. The damages had been awarded in a suit brought by the family of an Oregon man who died from a smoking-related disease. …Williams told her: ‘Those darn cigarette people finally did it. They were lying all the time."’ CNN (after 47-years of smoking). Now let’s get serious.
I knew at 13 they were bad, don’t tell me this guy at 60, didn’t’ know until he got cancer. He’s smoking more than tobacco if he can’t figure that out, I mean, my mother was telling me that, my teachers, everyone, tobacco is not good for you for 45-years. He must be from Mars. Are the judges that dumb to believe him; I’m not for Philip Morris, or for the man with cancer, I just don’t believe he didn’t know they were bad for him, and he didn’t care until he figured he could leave or get some money for nothing, if indeed the reward was based on that.
Feeling sorry for someone who wants to be self destructive is one thing—you can do that, I can’t, but let’s take a little responsibility for our actions. We should go after the liquor people, since they give us all these internal origin disease then, I mean we get hooked on alcohol just as fast, with deadly consequences; and how about gambling, lets tax the casinos for all the broken homes they’ve caused, because gambling can be a psychological addiction, and rob the family of a roof over ones head, and bread to eat. Where do we start and stop? If the government allows it, the government should pay half that $80-million, if the judges condemn it and reward the user. That is how I feel anyhow.