A new post on Eye on the Trials provides a concise summary of the tobacco companies losing a series of defense motions launched at the conclusion of the plaintiff’s case, including a motion to dismiss for lack of evidence. One hopes big tobacco continues to lose on all issues. It’s well past time to end the massive economic and human harms caused by smoking.
In my view, virtually all employers (including my law firm) subsidize big tobacco in several ways. For example, employers pay health insurance premiums and worker’s compensation payments that are increased because of illness and disease in persons whose immune systems are compromised by their employees who smoke (or did smoke). We likewise collectively eat part of the cost (through income taxes) for free or subsidized low cost medical care provided to smokers via Medicare, Medicaid and charity care payments. Certainly asbestos defendants are providing major subsidies to tobacco companies as they pay for cancers and non-malignant diseases mainly or exclusively caused by smoking.
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