Tobacco.org

Tobacco Firms Win Round in N.Y. Court 

Tobacco company lawyers had presented evidence that Anderson, 57, could have contracted cancer from exposure to toxic substances through his work as a bathtub refinisher and in other jobs.

Even so, the conclusion that smoking was a non-factor in Anderson's illness was described by an industry spokesman as an "improbable" basis for victory, and by Martin Feldman, a tobacco analyst with Salomon Smith Barney, as a "remarkable decision."

It appeared "the jury accepted the defense contention that bathtub refinishing is more likely a cause of lung cancer than 30 years of smoking Salems," said Mark Gottlieb, a staff attorney with the Tobacco Products Liability Project, a Boston-based support group for lawyers who sue the industry.

Stuart Finz, one of Anderson's lawyers, called the verdict "shocking . . . in view of the overwhelming proof that 33 years of cigarette smoking indeed caused Mr. Anderson's lung cancer." He said the case will be appealed.

Jump to full article »

[It appeared] the jury accepted the defense contention that bathtub refinishing is more likely a cause of lung cancer than 30 years of smoking Salems.
Mark Gottlieb, a staff attorney with the Tobacco Products Liability Project, on the ANDERSON verdict. LEVIN, M., <I>Tobacco Firms Win Round in N.Y. Court</I>