BMJ  2006;333:722 (7 October), doi:10.1136/bmj.333.7571.722

News

US judge allows class action over light cigarettes

Florida

The first 150 words of the full text of this article appear below.

People who smoked "light" cigarettes because they thought that they were less harmful than ordinary ones can pursue their claim of fraud as a class action lawsuit, the US federal judge Jack Weinstein ruled last week. The lawsuit was filed in 2004 against Philip Morris, R J Reynolds, Lorillard Tobacco, British American Tobacco, and others.

"The plaintiffs are entitled to the chance to prove their allegations," Judge Weinstein said in his 540 page ruling. Class certification was necessary because "no individual can afford to prosecute the case alone," he said. This is the first time light cigarettes have been certified as a class action in a federal court. Three similar cases have received certification in state courts.

The plaintiffs' lawyers allege that the companies have defrauded consumers since 1971, when Philip Morris began selling Marlboro Lights, falsely marketing them as light, low in tar, and less harmful than ordinary cigarettes. . . . [Full text of this article]

CiteULike    Complore    Connotea    Del.icio.us    Digg    Reddit    Technorati    What's this?

Relevant Article

Questions, questions

Trish Groves
BMJ 2006 333: 0. [Extract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Online poll

Find out more >>