Question

Please give comments on post. Thank you

The warnings on the cigarette packs are sufficient to protect tobacco companies from further liability. First, these warnings are given because of the known risks of smoking have to made public. For example, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention says that smoking cigarettes can cause lung cancer death, stroke and coronary heart disease among other known risks (“Health effects of cigarette smoking, n.d.). Some of these risks are printed on cigarette packages, so a consumer can’t sue on the basis of failure to warn. Second, cigarettes are popular products, so the “harm the product causes… is difficult to attribute to its source” . Many factors, other than smoking cigarettes, could contribute to many dangerous diseases. Third, like many consumer products, cigarettes are regulated by the consumer Product Safety Commission (CPSC), so if this agency hasn’t recalled cigarettes yet, then, cigarettes manufacturers are following regulations.

Answer 1

Answer: I agree with this post. The cigarette companies are well protected from any liabilities as they have sufficient safeguards in place. The major factor that protects the cigarette companies is that they clearly display the warnings about the ill effects of smoking. The sale of cigarette is well regulated and there is an authority like CPSC for controlling the sales of cigarette and hence cigarette companies do not operate in an unregulated environment. Thus by printing the warning on the packets and as they operate in a regulated environment, the cigarette companies cannot be held liable for the ill effects that their products have on the public health. Also there are a number of consumer products that also have health related issues inherent to them. Thus the cigarette companies are not indulging in any act that comes under negligence. Thus there are a number of factors that protect the cigarette companies from liabilities.