Tobacco.org

• Landmark case suffered lack of expert evidence 

IT has taken 13 months to write and is 350,000 words long, but Lord Nimmo Smith's judgment on the McTear case has left many disappointed. . . .

The judgment states: "I am prepared to accept that Mr McTear found it difficult to wean himself off his habit once he had started smoking and in that sense could be described as addicted. I do not accept that he was for this reason unable to stop smoking. The averment that tobacco is more addictive than cocaine is not proved." . . .

The judgment says: "There is no breach of a duty of care on the part of a manufacturer, if a consumer of the manufacturer's product is harmed by the product, but the consumer knew of the product's potential for causing harm prior to consumption of it."

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