A verdict this week favoring tobacco companies - one that found a smoker responsible for her own cancer death because she chose to smoke - is a setback in the battle to force cigarette makers to pay for the death and illness their products cause. But the loss of one battle isn't the end of the war.
More lawsuits against tobacco pushers are inevitable, and there will be juries who put the blame for tobacco-related suffering where it belongs - at the feet of tobacco companies.That's why a settlement in another lawsuit brought by a group of states against tobacco companies is so important.
The court is considering a proposal from the tobacco companies that would severely restrict future lawsuits against them. Such restrictions would be wrong.
The fact these companies are offering to pay billions over a period of years to the states would not compensate for taking away the right of organizations, groups or individuals to sue tobacco companies.
The tobacco companies have been successful for years in convincing juries they have no responsibility for the effects of their products. But new evidence shows company executives knew nicotine is addictive and actually manipulated the ingredient to get people hooked - especially teenagers and children.
As the evidence piles against tobacco companies, showing they are culpable in millions of deaths and many more cases of lost health, juries will begin handing down verdicts that favor those who have suffered from their addiction.
Making it difficult or impossible to sue the tobacco companies for these losses takes away a basic right Americans hold to receive justice in the court system. Who knows what additional evidence may yet surface indicting tobacco pushers?
Tobacco companies will fight hard for a settlement that includes this stipulation. The court should deny it.