Posted on 02/02/2006 10:22:55 AM PST by SmithL
I don't think so. I'm for limited government.
It is the tobacco companies that have relied on government interference to stay in business all these years. If the government role was eliminated, the tobacco industry would have been sued out of existance long ago.
One question. Is nicotine addictive?
If the answer is "yes", then PM did quite a lot to force this person to use their product.
If the answer is "no", then your position makes sense.
Unfortunately for you, the answer is most assuredly "yes".
many states have that same rule regarding punative damages.
It is one of the reasons tort reform does not get so much traction.
I hope this is overturned on the federal level somehow.
The courts will just do what the courts do. If they award damages to enough people, it will have the effect of putting the tobacco industry out of business. This is simply what happens when the tobacco industry is forced to bear the cost of the damages it causes. It is a good thing if they are forced to bear these costs.
But, I agree. It would be wrong for a court to ban the production of tobacco. That is outside the scope of their authority, generally speaking.
"tobacco companies" are diverse multinationals.
You may "feeeeeel" good about attacking legal profits but you have no concept of business. These suits are NOT about damages or harm. These suits are about social engineering behavior to comply with approved conduct.
Today tobacco, tommorrow it will be "conservative forums/blogs cause stress" and should have warnings and then be regulated. Perhaps we will have a lawyer filing a class action for "Freerepublic addiction".
From what I've read, the Tobacco Companies knew the damage their product was doing long before the warnings were required by law. Smokers who got hooked before Big Tobacco was required by law to warn of the health consequences seem to have a good case. And heck, if they weren't required by law to put the warnings on the packs, I doubt they'd be there today.
...and people called cigarettes "cancer sticks" looooooong before the public service commercials were out there.
The issue is personal responsibility.
This is no different than the 3 cheeseburger a day buffoon who tries to blame being overweight on a food chain.
Thanks for the ping!!!
Government intervention, by requiring the warning, has preseved the tobacco industry long after it should have died a natural death. The tobacco industry has been hiding behind the skirts of the government for decades.
This suit was about damage and harm. PM was found liable. Now they will have to pay. It's really a very simple matter.
Sorry to burst your bubble but the government ain't gonna let that happen, they are as addicted to the tax revenue as the people are to the tobacco.
Obviously Government and the Tobacco Companies have conspired to keep a clearly dangerous product on the market. If cigarettes were invented today, they'd never get passed the FDA. So the courts are called upon to balance it out. Now if I were king, the rule would be "You stick it in your body, whatever happens is your fault", but that ship clearly left port l-o-n-g ago. This is the system we have. So it goes.
Unfortunately, the government has come to rely on the tobacco industry, and now will wind up preserving it long after it should have been allowed to die. You're absolutely right.
Why people should think that the preservation of the tobacco industry through government intervention is a good conservative small-government position, I cannot understand.
Can't argue with that philosophy.
The tobacco companies past on the cost of the previous lawsuit settlement to their customers in the form of higher prices. With an addictive product like tobacco you can do that and get away with it. Don't you care about all the pensioners who depend on the $3.20 dividend/share for their retirement?
How do I emigrate to the United States of Wolfie?
If PM has not funded their pension liability, the retirees can get in line with everybody else when it comes to parceling out the money.
But that's also true if GM goes out of business for building lousy cars or Almalgamated Buggywhip Corporation goes out of business for producing a product that nobody uses.
Not sure you'd like it there. The adjunct to ""You stick it in your body, whatever happens is your fault", is "What you stick in your body ain't none of anybody's business".
Maybe it wouldn't be the best place to live, but it sounds like a helluva a place to go on vacation!
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