Tobacco Company Opponents Tackle the Smokeless Industry

A lawsuit was filed against makers of chewing tobacco and snuff Monday, accusing them of trying to hook young people in what experts said was the first action of its kind against the smokeless tobacco industry.

The lawsuit, filed in federal court in Wichita, Kan., against United States Tobacco Co. and other defendants, claims that manufacturers of smokeless tobacco promoted products to teen-agers and hid the addictive nature of nicotine.

The suit, which seeks class-action status, is the latest in a wave of litigation against the tobacco industry that has gained momentum in recent months.

The industry has been hit by allegations that it seduces teen-agers by creating an image that smoking is sophisticated, then hooking youngsters with nicotine.

Lawyers say the lawsuits have received a big boost in recent weeks from studies showing a rise in teen-age smoking, reports that the Food and Drug Administration believes nicotine is a drug that should be regulated, and the American Medical Assn.’s strong stance against the tobacco industry.

“I certainly think it [teen-age smoking] is a central theme,” said Richard Daynard, a Northeastern University law professor and chairman of the Tobacco Production Liability Project, a Boston-based anti-smoking group that tracks tobacco lawsuits.

He said litigation brought by individuals, several class-action suits and cases brought by four states to recoup health care costs of smokers are related because they involve people who began smoking at an early age, became addicted and later developed serious illnesses.

“People now understand that this is an industry that needs to get its people underage, when it’s illegal to sell the product to them, or they are not going to get new customers,” Daynard said.

While smokeless tobacco companies have been sued before, the case filed Monday is believed to be the first to seek class-action status in litigation against that industry.

Lawyers in the case hope it will be certified by a federal judge to represent residents of Kansas, and they said it might be expanded to include plaintiffs across the United States.

United States Tobacco, based in Greenwich, Conn., said it will vigorously fight the suit.

It said it believes the action is being taken by lawyers who are trying to capitalize on the current wave of anti-tobacco activity that began with congressional hearings last year “and is reflected by more recent activities such as Dr. [David] Kessler’s threats of regulation by the Food and Drug Administration.” Kessler is FDA commissioner.

Other defendants in the case are Pinkerton Tobacco Co., Conwood Co., Helme Tobacco Co. and Brown & Williams Tobacco Corp., as well as industry groups the Smokeless Tobacco Council, the Smokeless Tobacco Research Council, the Tobacco Institute Inc. and the Council for Tobacco Research Inc.

The suit is being brought by some of the same lawyers in the huge class-action case pending in New Orleans against cigarette makers. That suit alleges that the tobacco industry hid information about the addictive nature of nicotine.

A federal judge granted class-action status to the case, but his ruling is being appealed.

Last week, lawyers attending the annual meeting of the Assn. of Trial Lawyers of America, the world’s largest personal injury bar, shared documents that allegedly show that the tobacco industry targeted youngsters.