Smokeless Tobacco Company Admits that Its Products Cause Oral Cancer

In its defense of a lawsuit brought by the family of former San Diego Padres great Tony Gwynn who died of oral cancer in 2014, the U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company hasadmitted that its products cause oral cancer and that the public was widely aware of it, to the extent that it was " obvious. "As reported byUSA Today: " The U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Company has filed a response to the family of deceased baseball legend Tony Gwynn, saying that Gwynn was warned about the alleged risks of using smokeless tobacco and that such risks are “commonly known” but Gwynn accepted them anyway. ... “Plaintiffs (the Gwynns) are barred from recovering any damages because the dangers claimed by Plaintiffs, if any, are and were open and obvious,” says the company’s response, filed by attorneys at the firm Shook, Hardy& Bacon. "Furthermore, the company argued that: " Gwynn “had the means of knowing, by the exercise of ordinary intelligence, the truth of alleged statements concerning smokeless tobacco use and health.” "The company ' s primary defenses are two-fold:First, the company argues that the oral cancer risks of smokeless tobacco were widely known, to the point that they should have been obvious to everyone. Second, the company argues that Gwynn ' s oral cancer was not due to smokeless tobacco, but to some unspecified " pre-existing condition. "The Rest of the StoryThis is about the weakest defense imaginable. On the one hand, the company argues that the link between smokeless...
Source: The Rest of the Story: Tobacco News Analysis and Commentary - Category: Addiction Source Type: blogs