A cigarette is the perfect type of a perfect pleasure. It is exquisite, and it

leaves one unsatisfied. What more could one want? (qtd. in Hilts, 102).

Statistics show that there have been 1.1 billion smokers in the past 90 years, making it the most widespread addiction in the world. Those smokers make up 47% of the men and 12% of the women out of the whole world population (Tobacco to 21). The age a person starts smoking is getting lower every year and, in lots of countries, including America, kids are already smoking regularly at age 15. Also, more than 400,000 Americans die each year from smoking, making it the most preventable cause of premature death. In fact, one in every five deaths in the United States is caused by smoking (Tobacco Stats).

The reason these statistics are important is because there is an ongoing controversy over whether or not the tobacco companies should be held responsible for injuries or deaths due to smoking. They are being blamed for deaths among smokers in the last half century. Numerous lawsuits have been filed against the companies claiming that the companies failed to warn the consumer of the dangers of smoking, but there has yet

It would be ludicrous to discuss the history of the cigarette without discussing the history of cigarette advertising. Cigarettes and advertising have always gone together. Unlike some products, such as soap or cereal, cigarettes probably never would have achieved a true mass market in the United States without advertising. Advertisers have never had much more to sell than the "sizzle" of cigarettes (White, 118). Unlike candy or liquor, products which have their own payoff, cigarettes taste horrible to anyone who as never smoked and the nicotine kick is not exactly euphoric. It takes a certain amount of perseverance to learn to smoke, so young people have to be motivated by peer pressure, which is generated, at least in part, by alluring advertising. The Marlboro man and his imitators flying helicopters or riding motorcycles are embedded in the minds of Americans. The glamorous Virginia Slims models advertise "pleasure" (White, 115). These advertising techniques certainly have an effect on the viewers. The viewers see these advertisements and want to have that same image for themselves, so they are drawn to go out and buy that cigarette brand. Although it is the advertising that really draws people to cigarettes, can the tobacco companies be blamed for any physical harm to the consumer?

The negotiations over this settlement stemmed mainly from a horde of lawsuits by state governments trying to recover the alleged costs of caring for indigent citizens injured by tobacco (Chapman). But if smokers cost states excessive amounts of Medicaid funds, why not sue the smokers or refuse to pay their medical bills? They are also to blame for the costs of smoking. The states involved in litigation against the tobacco industry are also guilty. If they thought smoking was too costly a habit to indulge, they could have banned it instead of milking it for billions in tax revenue. They could have also acted more forcefully to prevent sales to minors, something which most have only done in recent times (Chapman). Surprisingly, on balance, the government does not actually lose money from the damages of smoking. Though this may sound harsh, everyone on Medicaid or Medicare will eventually die from some illness that the state will have to cover. For non-smokers, the costs are postponed, but not averted. Smokers actually yield savings in other places. Every smoker who makes his exit at age 60 instead of age 80 reduces spending on things like Social Security and other pension payments. According to Duke University economist W. Kip Viscusi, in terms of money, society gains more than it loses from smoking, even without counting the taxes paid on cigarette sales (Chapman).

After the Cipollone case, many more like it were to follow. In 1994, Jocelyn Tompkin filed a lawsuit against several tobacco companies, including American Tobacco Co., Philip Morris U.S.A., Loews Corp.'s Lorillard Tobacco Co., and Liggett Group, alleging that her husband, David, had developed lung cancer while using cigare

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Approximate Word count = 2026
Approximate Pages = 8 (250 words per page double spaced)