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Dealers
Lawsuit Against Tobacco
Dealers
sue tobacco companies over secondhand smoke
Five casino
dealers are filing separate lawsuits against the nation's tobacco
companies, claiming years of exposure to secondhand smoke damaged
their health.
Three lawsuits were filed in U.S. District Court in Las
Vegas Tuesday. Two more were expected to be filed today in
Reno. The lawsuits allege the tobacco companies lied about the
addictive nature of nicotine and the ill health effects of
breathing secondhand smoke.
The tobacco industry concealed and continued to conceal the
truth about nicotine in order to sustain the addictions of
existing cigarette smokers and to 'hook' thousands of new smokers
every day, so that the tobacco companies can continue to profit at
the expense of lives and the health of the American public."
a lawsuit filed by the retired dealer Robert Murphy states.
The complaints against 17 tobacco companies and
organizations, including R.J. Reynolds Tobacco CO., Brown &
Williamson, and the Tobacco Institute seek damages for physical
and economic losses and emotional distress. The amount of damages
was not stated, but Murphy said he would like to be awarded $40
million.
Murphy who was diagnosed with throat cancer in December
1995 claims years of breathing secondhand smoke led to his health
problems. Since then, the cancer has spread to his spinal column,
lymph nodes, tongue, and one of his lungs, which was removed in
July.
Murphy, 60, was a dealer at several casinos, including the
Sands, Hacienda, Tropicana, the Dunes, and the Flamingo Hilton. He
smoke off and on from 1948 to 1978, but said his lungs were clear
until 1995.
The lawsuits are similar to the one filed against the
tobacco companies in October on behalf of several dealers. They
are seeking compensation that could run in the tens of millions of
dollars. The lawsuits, as well as the one filed in October,
seek medical monitoring for dealers.
Officials with the Tobacco Institute and the R.J. Reynolds
could not be reached Tuesday for a reaction to the lawsuits.
The tobacco industry recently settled a secondhand smoke lawsuit
brought by 60,000 flight attendants by agreeing to establish a
research foundation on the diseases blamed on cigarettes.
The settlement marked the first time the tobacco industry
had agreed to pay damages in a secondhand smoke lawsuit.
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