By\u00a0Austin King<\/p>\n
Cigarette\u2019s can\u2019t be smoked without someone deciding to smoke them. That\u2019s how the jury ruled in the DeLand tobacco case between R.J. Reynolds and Daytona Beach\u2019s Stella Koballa.<\/p>\n
They were right.<\/p>\n
Koballa was seeking $1 million in damages as a result of smoking, but the jury found her 70 percent responsible. The presiding judge will determine how much, if any, the tobacco company is responsible to pay out of the remaining 30 percent.<\/p>\n
How much should they have to pay?<\/p>\n
Not a dime.<\/p>\n
Koballa\u2019s lawyers tried to frame the case around alleged disinformation by the tobacco industry, but their side of the story seems to ignore a key fact \u2013 reality.
\nRegardless of what R.J. Reynolds advertised, tobacco smokers are to blame for health problems they experience later in life. No company forces its customers to absorb something through their lungs.<\/p>\n
Buying tobacco isn\u2019t like other purchases. You don\u2019t buy tobacco to decorate your house. You don\u2019t buy tobacco to accessorize your wardrobe. You buy tobacco to smoke it. No marking campaign can force you to smoke a drug.<\/p>\n
In a recent report in the peer-review journal, Chemical Research in Toxicology,\u00a0scientists found the effects of smoking on DNA to be immediate. According to the report, \u201cthe results clearly demonstrate immediate negative health consequences of smoking, which should serve as a major warning to anyone contemplating initiating tobacco use.\u201d<\/p>\n
This type of information isn\u2019t new though. In January 1950, Reader\u2019s Digest ran a cover story about cigarette health concerns. Two years later, the magazine ran a series on the link between cancer and cigarettes with the damning title, \u201cCancer by the Carton.\u201d<\/p>\n
In 1964, the Surgeon General reported that cigarette smoking was a cause of cancer. In 1966, cigarette packs were\u00a0required by law to list health warnings.<\/p>\n
Yes, these changes occurred after Koballa began smoking, but she continued to do so. Being diagnosed with lung cancer shouldn\u2019t be the reason someone decides to finally quit.<\/p>\n
Circuit Judge Robert K. Rouse Jr. should set a precedent. He should hold Koballa accountable for her decision and send a message to others attempting to bring similar suits.<\/p>\n
R.J. Reynolds didn\u2019t cause Americans to smoke in the 1950s and they aren\u2019t the reason many of us smoke now. You knew the risks, we know the risks. We have no one to blame but ourselves if our health fails as a result.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
By\u00a0Austin King Cigarette\u2019s can\u2019t be smoked without someone deciding to smoke them. That\u2019s how the jury ruled in the DeLand tobacco case between R.J. Reynolds and Daytona Beach\u2019s Stella Koballa. They were right. Koballa was seeking $1 million in damages as a result of smoking, but the jury found her Continue reading In DeLand tobacco lawsuit, jury got it right<\/span>