Tobacco cos. sued over secondhand smoke

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Tobacco cos. sued over secondhand smoke

LOS ANGELES, July 15 (UPI) - Los Angeles city prosecutors have filed the first-ever lawsuit by a U.S. governmental entity targeting tobacco companies in connection with health risks posed by secondhand smoke.

The lawsuit, filed in Los Angeles Superior Court, alleges that 16 tobacco companies have violated California's Safe Drinking Water and Toxic Enforcement Act by selling their products without warning the public about the health risks of exposure to secondhand smoke.

City Attorney James Hahn said today that the state law clearly requires that anyone doing business in California warn the public before exposing them to any chemical that causes cancer or reproductive toxicity.

The city attorney said, ``We know _ and so do the tobacco companies that there are dozens of chemicals in tobacco smoke that are carcinogens or reproductive toxicants.''

The lawsuit seeks an injunction banning the tobacco companies from continuing to sell their products in California without first giving a ``clear and reasonable warning'' about the health risks of secondhand smoke and conducting a court-approved public information or advertising campaign to warn the public about the hazards of secondhand smoke.

The suit also seeks civil penalties that could exceed $2.5 billion.

The tobacco companies named in the lawsuit include Philip Morris Inc. , Liggett Group Inc., Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp., R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. and Lorillard Tobacco Co. Other defendants include Consolidated Cigar Corp., Pinkerton Tobacco Co., Swisher International Group Inc., 800-Jr Cigar Inc., General Cigar Co. Inc., Havatampa Inc., John Middleton Inc., Lane Ltd., United States Tobacco Co. and Cuban Cigar Factory Inc.

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