Californian Sues Philip Morris Over 'Self-Extinguishing'
Cigarette
California resident Leena Gurevitch has filed a lawsuit in Los Angeles
Superior Court against Philip Morris USA over its Merit self-extinguishing
cigarettes. The lawsuit claims that the paper used in the cigarettes
pose a greater risk for fire and injury than regular cigarettes,
Bloomberg News reported May 21.
Philip Morris introduced the new cigarette paper to reduce the
number of fires that are started by cigarettes; such fires kill
1,000 people each year.
But the lawsuit claims that Philip Morris failed to warn consumers
that the paper causes pieces of partly burned tobacco to fall from
the ends of the cigarette.
"Despite the existence of evidence that the new Merit cigarette
did cause harm to individuals due to the coal drop-off, defendants
hid the risks from the public," according to the lawsuit, which
seeks class-action status.
The lawsuit calls for Philip Morris to surrender any profits realized
from the sales of the self-extinguishing cigarettes. |
