A Sociolegal History of the Tobacco Tort Litigation

Two waves of tobacco tort litigation in the 1950s and 1980s were successfully defended by the tobacco industry. The cigarette companies' strategy was to wear down their opponents by making litigation as expensive as possible and never offering a settlement. In the cases that were tried, personal blame became the main issue. The industry has never paid a monetary award, which illustrates the limitations of the tort system as a means of social control. In combatting smoking, legislation and regulation based on the public health perspective have been much more successful.