The Nation - News from Nov. 19, 1985
An elderly couple filed a $58-million lawsuit in Austin, Tex., against three tobacco companies, claiming their disabling illnesses were caused by years of cigarette smoking, court records showed. The suit claims cigarette manufacturers should be responsible for a percentage of damages even though the Bastrop, Tex., couple--Weldon Carlisle and his wife, Hazel--chose to smoke. Carlisle, 71, said he developed throat cancer from smoking. Hazel Carlisle, 61, is dying of emphysema, has suffered a stroke and is confined to a wheelchair.
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