PHILADELPHIA — An individual is suing Philip Morris USA Inc. and R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Company for alleged negligence and product liability.
David Robinson filed a complaint on April 25 in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania, alleging that the defendants manufactured cigarettes despite allegedly knowing that they were hazardous to human health.
According to the complaint, the plaintiff alleges that he is suffering from kidney, prostate, testicular, brain and lung cancers due to smoking Kools, Salems and Newport cigarettes. The plaintiff holds the defendants responsible for allegedly denying the health risks of smoking their cigarettes, deliberately adding more carcinogens to their products and manipulating the bitter taste of nicotine by adding sugar to enhance their addictiveness.
The plaintiff requests a trial by jury and seeks punitive damages of $5 million, plus interest, court costs and legal fees.
U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania case number 2:18-cv-01743-GAM