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Jury rejects flight attendant claim in second-hand smoke case 

A jury on Tuesday rejected claims by a former flight attendant that her health problems were caused by exposure to second-hand cigarette smoke aboard airliners.

The Miami-Dade Circuit Court jury rejected claims by Lorraine Swaty that her chronic sinusitis was caused by smoke during her 20 years as an attendant for US Airways.

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• R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company Wins Flight Attendant Case in Florida 

Today a Miami jury found that R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company and other cigarette manufacturers were not liable in the case of a flight attendant seeking compensation for a form of chronic sinusitis she claimed was caused by exposure to secondhand smoke on airplanes. The suit was filed by Lorraine Swaty, a flight attendant for US Airways.

"After hearing all the facts in this case, the six-member jury unanimously agreed that exposure to secondhand smoke in airplanes did not cause Ms. Swaty's condition," said Anthony Upshaw of the Miami office of Adorno & Yoss LLP, who represented R.J. Reynolds and Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corporation.

Swaty is the eighth flight attendant case to go to trial since 2001.

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• Restaurants, bars gain business under smoke ban 

Sales and employment at Massachusetts restaurants and bars grew slightly during the first six months of a statewide smoking ban, disproving predictions that the prohibition would inflict serious damage on the hospitality industry, Harvard researchers are scheduled to report today.

As part of the study, analysts from the Harvard School of Public Health tested the air in 27 bars and restaurants both before and after the ban went into effect last July 5. The result: Dangerous cancer-causing toxins plummeted by 93 percent once cigarettes, cigars, and pipes were banished.

The findings arrive as the campaign to eliminate smoking from its last indoor public havens gains momentum not just nationally but globally . . .

an increasing body of evidence also suggests that what's good for the health of workers and patrons may also boost the bottom line of businesses.

''Now, we can tell other states considering this kind of law: 'If you implement this law, you're not only going to have a better work environment -- you don't have to affect the economics of your hospitality industry,' " said Gregory Connolly, an author of the Harvard study and former chief of the tobacco control program at the Massachusetts Department of Public Health . . .

''It caused kind of a minor blip in business at first," said Gail Anastas, director of communications for the Massachusetts Restaurant Association. ''But then they did things to attract people back. Everybody just wanted a level playing field, and when it went statewide, it made it the same for everyone." . . .

The Harvard research was underwritten by the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute

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• Court Upholds Secondhand Smoke Case 

A state appeals court upheld a $500,000 award to a flight attendant who blamed secondhand smoke on airliners for her bronchitis and sinus trouble -- a decision Wednesday that could clear the way for damage trials on up to 3,000 similar claims.

The ruling for former TWA attendant Lynn French was a test case interpreting a $349 million settlement reached in 1997 between the tobacco industry and nonsmoking attendants. The flight attendants blamed their illnesses on smoke in the cabin before smoking was banned on domestic flights in 1990.

"The court agreed with us, and we're happy with it," said Marvin Weinstein, French's attorney. "Based on this, I think there are a lot more they're going to be paying."

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Weizmann Institute receives $8 million grant from Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute 

The American Committee for the Weizmann Institute of Science (ACWIS) announced today that the Weizmann Institute in Israel has been awarded an $8 million grant from the Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI). According to ACWIS chairman Robert B. Machinist, the grant will fund the Center for Advanced Research on Lung Cancer (CARE on Lung Cancer). This "Center of Excellence" on the Weizmann Institute campus represents FAMRI's commitment to linking scientists and physicians from various disciplines in order to enhance knowledge relating to exposure to tobacco smoke, and to serve as a new source for methods of detection, diagnosis and therapy for diseases associated with tobacco smoke.

The new center will focus on lung cancer research with an emphasis on instances of the disease caused by second-hand and mainstream tobacco smoke, as well as patient care issues. Importantly, CARE on Lung Cancer will link the Weizmann Institute's world-class cancer and biomedical researchers with leading oncologists from the Sheba Medical Center, a major research-oriented Israeli hospital known for its pioneering approaches to cancer diagnosis and treatment.

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Is cheap cigarette the cause of flight attendant s sinus - Press Release 

Here's an unbelievable, but true news story making the rounds of websites on cigarette. Ever wonder what causes sinus? An American Airlines flight attendant thinks it is secondhand tobacco smoke. . . .

Secondhand cheap cigarette smoke! Geez, be real! We thought sitting in the no smoking section was safe. How about secondhand cigarette smoke causing the common cold? . . .

A split appeals court supports a new trial for a former American Airlines flight attendant who lost her claim against the cheap cigarette and tobacco industry that secondhand cigarette smoke caused her sinus disease.

Guess they need some excuse to blame the tobacco industry. Anything will do be it second hand smoke in offices, aircraft, theatres, even the rest rooms! Guess anything is good enough reason to sue the tobacco industry for damages.

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• Appeals court: New trial for flight attendant against big tobacco 

A split appeals court supports a new trial for a former American Airlines flight attendant who lost her claim against the tobacco industry that secondhand cigarette smoke caused her sinus disease.

A three-judge panel of the 3rd District Court of Appeal ruled 2-1 in favor of a new trial Wednesday for Suzette Janoff, which Circuit Judge Leslie Rothenberg ordered after trial.

The majority agreed with Rothenberg that expert testimony for cigarette makers was unfairly "bolstered" by a defense attorney after questions by the woman's attorney punched a hole in his conclusions.

After testifying that allergies caused the woman's condition, the expert conceded that one medical group's Web site said secondhand smoke could aggravate sinus conditions.

Cigarette makers argued that Janoff's attorney, Steven Hunter, opened the door for the testimony.

Hunter called the decision a "stinging rebuke" of conduct at the September 2002 trial.

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Millions of Secret British Tobacco Industry Documents to be Released 

Flight attendants' decades-long exposure to potentially deadly secondhand tobacco smoke has now led to a strikingly different sort of exposure. Eight million pages of secret tobacco industry documents describing the activities of British American Tobacco (BAT) the world's second largest tobacco company will be released on the internet.

The Flight Attendant Medical Research Institute (FAMRI) has provided a grant of about $1 million to UCSF to make the full text of the documents publicly available online.

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• Table of Contents (13 [Suppl 1]): The Airline Flight Attendants' fight to end smoking aloft 

• Tobacco Industry Continues Winning Streak In Secondhand Smoke Cases 

Tobacco companies continued their winning streak last month when a Miami jury found that secondhand smoke in airplane cabins did not cause a former flight attendant's lung cancer.

It was the seventh flight attendant case to reach trial against the tobacco industry and the fifth defense verdict.

But plaintiffs' attorneys believe that their cases are following the pattern of earlier tobacco litigation - losing the early cases and slowly developing more successful arguments with each trial.

Stuart R. Silver of Miami, Fla., the attorney for the plaintiff, pointed out that when tobacco litigation began nearly a half century ago, plaintiffs lost for decades before finding a formula for success.

"It took a little time before lawyers, scientists and physicians were able to evolve the case in a matter that was convincing and compelling," he explained.

Silver believes the same evolution will occur in secondhand smoke cases. . . .

Mark Gottlieb at the Tobacco Control Resource Center at Northeastern University School of Law in Boston called the latest defense victory "a missed opportunity."

"The jury actually came to the conclusion that secondhand tobacco smoke can indeed cause lung cancer," he said of the Oct. 14 verdict. "But at the same time, they accepted an argument - a staple of the tobacco industry's playbook - that this particular cancer was not caused by the defendant's products.

"I think we're in the early stages of what's probably going to be a long chess match between the plaintiffs and the defendants in the flight attendant cases," he added.

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Altria wins secondhand smoke case 

On Tuesday, a Florida jury shot down a secondhand smoke claim by a former flight attendant, handing Big Tobacco a victory in the ongoing cigarette wars.

In the middle of afternoon trading a Dade County Circuit Court panel found that Altria unit Philip Morris and Carolina Group's Lorillard were not responsible for Gloria Routh's various ills. . . .

Shares of Altria added 10 cents to $45; Carolina Group was up 40 cents to $23.66 William Spain is a reporter for CBS.MarketWatch.com in Chicago.

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Miami-Dade Circuit Court Jury Finds in Favor Of Brown & Williamson Tobacco 

"We are pleased with the jury's verdict," said Ben Shively, an attorney representing Brown & Williamson. "As usual, when a jury applies common sense to the facts, a proper result is reached," he said.

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Lorillard Tobacco Company Found Not Liable In Miami Environmental Tobacco Smoke Case 

"In this specific case, medical evidence made it clear that Ms. Routh was genetically predisposed to contract the type of cancer from which she suffers.

Her exposure to ETS simply was not a contributing factor," said Ronald Milstein, Lorillard Vice President and General Counsel. "Additionally, her own medical records plainly reflect that she has never suffered from the chronic sinusitis or other conditions she claimed.

"Jurors are increasingly seeing through the transparent body of evidence in these types of cases, and we will continue our vigorous defense against any and all such future claims." bro

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Lorillard Tobacco Co Found Not Liable In Miami Environmental Tobacco Smoke Case 

A Miami jury found in favor of a number of tobacco companies when it denied the claims of a flight attendant who alleged her lung cancer was attributable to exposure to environmental tobacco smoke. . . .

Plaintiff Gail Routh, 54 years old, worked as a flight attendant for Allegheny Airlines and U.S. Airways Group Inc. (USALA) for 27 years. In addition to lung cancer, Routh claimed she developed sinusitis and chronic bronchitis.

Routh's was the first out of six flight attendant smoking exposure cases in which the plaintiff claimed he or she contracted lung cancer, according to a separate release from Philip Morris.

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Jury Finds Cigarette Companies Not Liable for Flight Attendant's Lung Cancer 

A jury in Miami, Fla., ruled on Tuesday that cigarette companies are not responsible for the ailments a former flight attendant claims were caused by her workplace exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS).The six-person Miami-Dade County Circuit Court jury deliberated approximately five hours after a two-week trial before concluding that Gail Routh, a 54-year-old former flight attendant, was not entitled to recover compensatory damages.Routh claimed that her lung cancer, chronic sinusitis and chronic bronchitis were caused by ETS exposure during her 27-year career as a flight attendant with Allegheny Airlines and US Airways . . .

Silver disagreed. "It should have been an affirmative finding," he said. "To say there was some other cause is quite surprising.

"This is a woman who was healthy as could be when she started working in 1972, a lifetime nonsmoker who had no medical problems," Silver added. "Everything points to secondhand smoke as the cause."

Routh and Silver are reviewing their options for appeal.

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