Smoking

A widow whose husband died of lung cancer has lost her landmark court battle against the cigarette giant Imperial Tobacco. His widow claimed that he was unaware that smoking was detrimental to health and caused lung cancer. However, he started smoking in 1964 when the dangers were already well known and the judge decided he must have been aware.

I have mixed reactions to this sort of case. I do feel that the tobacco companies kept people unaware of the dangers even when they knew there was a problem, and I do think they need to be brought to account but I do have a problem with people who know the dangers and carried on smoking yet then sue the tobacco companies when they develop a related illness.

I hate smoking and I object to having to breathe in other people's smoke in places like pubs; irrespective of whether there are dangers in passive smoking or not it is uncomfortable, smelly and it makes your clothes reek. The sooner England brings in a ban on smoking in public places the better as far as I am concerned.