Off topic: Tobacco class action- qualifier

[Guest guest]

Oops. I forgot to include in my message: personal responsibility is dear to

my heart. People have known for decades that cigs. cause disease.

Consider this:

Can you imagine how many people would be turned on to chiropractic if it was

paid for by the government while young people were in the military?

Cigarettes were available to GI's during all wars and I would guess that

they were pretty cheap (sans government taxes for our boys' and gals'...the

least we could do.) And with some of the most boring work in the world

coupled with sleep deprivation duty, stretches of nerve jangling fear, and

peer pressure I'm sure many came home with an addiction they may not have

had if cigarettes had not been so available.

I trained to be a counselor at a state hospital in Minnesota (1978). Most of

the retardeds and mentally ill and virtually all the chemically dependant

people smoked. A minimum amount were provided by tax dollars to patients.

Although they had no way to earn money, they received a weekly allowance and

many spent it at the " Canteen " on cigarettes and candy. There were electric

lighters mounted on the wall and you could have a nice smoke right there in

the dining hall after " food " . I'm sure tobacco lobbyists didn't have a hand

in this policy but rather simpley grew out of our culture. It made some

folks a ton of money.

--

Dr. Abrahamson

>

> class action

>>

>> ,

>>

>> Here is the info on the class action:

>> *****************************************

>> News Release

>> Contact: Kesten, mobile 503-804-0668

>> November 19, 2001

>> Copies of the lawsuit complaint are available.

>>

>> EARLY WARNING FOR CANCER PATIENTS GOAL OF LAWSUIT

>> Class Action Aims At Big Tobacco Accountability

>>

>> Saving the lives of lung cancer patients is the goal of an Oregon class

>> action lawsuit filed Monday morning in Portland against the tobacco

>> industry. Details of the lawsuit were announced at a news conference held

>> Monday at EPIC Imaging West, a medical imaging clinic in Beaverton. The

> news

>> conference was held on the final day of national Lung Cancer Awareness

> Week,

>> November 12-19. The lawsuit aims to make cigarette manufacturers create a

>> special fund to subsidize medical screening for the early detection of

> lung

>> cancer, emphysema and other smoking-related illnesses. If successful, the

>> class action would be the first of its kind because of its focus on

>> preventative health care for at-risk smokers.

>>

>> " I want every smoker in Oregon to have the opportunity to live a full and

>> healthy life, " stated Patsy Lowe, the representative plaintiff named in

> the

>> class action. " And I want the tobacco companies to be held accountable for

>> the health care costs of their product. "

>>

>> Lawsuit organizers estimate 400,000 Oregonians could qualify as

> participants

>> in the class. To qualify, an individual must have a smoking history of

> five

>> pack-years. A " five pack-year " history means someone has smoked a pack of

>> cigarettes a day for five years or an equal amount, such as a half pack

>> every day for 10 years.

>>

>> The class action is only for Oregon residents. Those Oregonians who want

> to

>> participate in the lawsuit should contact the Class Action Coordinator at

>> the law offices of Swanson & Coon 503-228-5222.

>>

>> " The goal of this lawsuit is to save the lives of Oregonians, " stated Bill

>> Gaylord, a Portland attorney and a member of the team organizing the court

>> action. " What we want from the tobacco companies is the cost of annual

>> testing for Oregonians who have been put at-risk by those same companies.

> We

>> feel once people know the medical monitoring will be paid for, they will

> be

>> more willing to sign up for the scans that can save their lives. " Other

> than

>> the screening fund and the cost of other prevention programs, the lawsuit

>> seeks no punitive, economic or non-economic damages.

>>

>> The lawsuit asks the tobacco companies to provide Spiral CT Scanning, a

>> relatively new technology that can identify lung cancer tumors in their

>> earliest stages, tumors that traditional chest X-rays miss. The technology

>> is available at EPIC Imaging West and other locations. The scanning was

>> demonstrated for reporters attending Monday's news conference. A regimen

> of

>> a Spiral CT Scan every two years can increase the survival rate for lung

>> cancer patients to as much as 80 percent. EPIC Imaging provides the scans

> at

>> a cost of $325. (More information on the technology is available at

>> www.epicimaging.com .)

>>

>> " This is an exciting opportunity to save the lives of many thousands of

>> Oregonians, " said Dr. Gerald Warnock, Medical Director for EPIC Imaging.

> " It

>> makes sense that the industry responsible for spreading lung cancer would

>> cover the cost. "

>>

>> The lawsuit, filed in Multnomah County Circuit Court, names the tobacco

>> companies Philip , RJ Reynolds, Brown & on, Lorillard, and

>> Liggett & Myers as defendants. Attorneys for the plaintiff class say they

>> will argue in court that the cigarette manufacturers are negligent for:

>> · Manufacturing and selling a product the companies knew or should have

>> known contained toxic substances.

>> · Selling prior to labeling requirements (in the late 60s) a product the

>> companies knew or should have known contained toxic substances, without

>> providing an adequate warning to consumers.

>> · Manipulating nicotine and other substances in cigarettes to increase the

>> addictive effect of cigarette smoking.

>>

>> To save the lives of at-risk Oregonians, the lawsuit would require the

>> tobacco companies to fund the following:

>> · Medical monitoring using the Spiral CT Scan technology to provide for

>> early detection of lung cancer and other smoking related lung disease.

>> · Programs to help smokers quit smoking.

>>

>> The Portland team of trial lawyers filing the lawsuit is the same team

> that

>> successfully sued Philip tobacco company in Multnomah County in

> 1999,

>> including Bill Gaylord, Ray , Chuck Tauman and Jim Coon. Portland

>> attorney Sugerman is also assisting in the action.

>>

>> The class action lawsuit is similar, though not identical, to a West

> Virgina

>> case that ended on Wednesday, November 14. In that suit, the jury ruled

>> against the plaintiffs. The Oregon case differs in that it directs tobacco

>> companies to help smokers quit.

>>

>>

>> ********************************

>>

>>

>> Kesten

>> KestenMedia

>> 10430 SW 43rd Ave

>> Portland OR 97219

>> michael@...

>> http://www.kestenmedia.com/

>> 888-246-1126

>> fax 503-246-7051

>>

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