Tobacco Firm Cleared in Death Linking Asbestos and Smoking

The jury in a case linking the hazards of asbestos and smoking found today that the American Tobacco Co. was not liable in a former shipyard worker’s lung cancer death, but should have put warning labels on cigarette packs sooner.

Tobacco was not a substantial factor in the death of John Ray Gunsalus, 55, of Chester, who died last year, the federal jury said. However, it said the company should have warned of the dangers of tobacco before 1966, when warnings began to be printed on packages.

Attorneys for American Tobacco cheered the verdict outside the courtroom, but declined to comment to a reporter.

American Tobacco attorney Edward F. Mannino had contended smoking’s dangers were not the issue, but instead told the jury that Gunsalus drank heavily, suffered multiple stab wounds and had three heart attacks before dying of lung cancer.

Attorneys for Gunsalus’ estate tried to show that American Tobacco produced a defective product because cigarette packages carried no special warnings for people who work near asbestos. Gunsalus worked for several years at a Chester shipyard where asbestos was prevalent.

The case was decided less than two weeks after a jury in Newark, N.J., decided three tobacco companies should pay $400,000 to the widower of a lifelong smoker.