WATCH: Michelle Obama Weighs In On President's Past Drug Use
Keli Goff: Did Michelle Obama Make a Major Misstep with…
The Lorillard Tobacco Co. learned the hard way that trying to do something nice for black people ain't worth the time.
The North Carolina–based tobacco firm was generous enough to hand out free samples of its cigarettes to black children in the late 1950s.
And this week, the company awarded $71 million in compensatory damages to a family dealing with the devastating affects of lung cancer.
That's right.
The family of Marie Evans (pictured at age 10), who died of lung cancer at age 54 after smoking for 40 years, was able to persuade a jury that Lorillard was trying to hook black kids on tobacco by handing out free Newports, Old Gold and Mavericks in order to build a lifelong following.
Can you imaging that? A tobacco company targeting people just so it could make money?
That would make it akin to drug dealers, who give out a free taste of a high to hook a newbie and bring them into the drug life.
In videotaped testimony given to her lawyers before she died, Evans said cigarettes "seemed to be always available" and that she tried to quit about 50 times but couldn't.
No one put a gun to Evans' head to force her to smoke, and we all know that people have to use their own good sense to protect their health.
Lorillard's targeting of young people, though, when they are impressionable and vulnerable, was dirty.
Cigarette companies had the research to back up the addictive nature of tobacco. They knew a certain percentage of poor people would become loyal customers for life, even if those lives were cut short in the process.
I'm not sure whether Lorillard should have to pay $71 million to one family since so many families were affected. A judge will probably reduce the jury award, as is common with these types of cases.
Even so, I think businesses can learn a valuable lesson for the jury verdict -- don't fight dirty when marketing your product.
Comments: (10)
Add a comment
By: The Truth on 12/15/2010 1:35PM
Did they know wether or not it caused cancer back then?
There’s plenty of businesses getting kids hooked at a young age.
The business of gang-bangin’ leaves our youth with an age expectancy of around 20 years old.
Now if we could sue someone over that, we might start to make some progress!
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: alBgreenwitcha on 12/15/2010 1:52PM
Do we really think that pittance put even the slightest dent in the tobacco industries pockets?
The music industry gets em hooked too.
All that sex and thug bull crap they rap about aint doing nothing but promoting the selling of drugs, violence, and casual sex leading to AIDS.
Those kids are the ones dying too soon.
Report This
By: AL on 12/15/2010 2:04PM
C"MON MAN..
What the article say this happend 60 Years ago?
THEY GAVE EM OUT TO THE ALL KIDS BACK THEN.
Stop trying to make things a reason to raise the racial tension flag.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: ADRIAN HARRIS OF ADRIAN HARRIS 1986 GRADUATE STATE UNIVERSITY on 12/15/2010 3:20PM
HAIL!!!! E'LI!!!! YAHWEH ALYON(LORD MOST HIGH)!!!! GOD THE FATHER ALMIGHTY!!!! MASCULINE SALUTATION!!!! HAIL!! SEPIA SENSATIONALS!!----MY COMMENT----WHAT IF THESE "WHITE BASTARDS" JUST LEAVE US ALONE. HISTORY---THE AFRICAN IN SHORT, WAS IN AMERICA TO STAY. WHAT WAS TO BE DONE WITH HIM? LET HIM ALONE.----FREDRICK DOUGLASS----"YOUR DOING WITH NEGROES IS THEIR GREATEST MISFORTUNE.....THE NEGRO SHOULD HAVE BEEN LEFT ALONE IN AFRICA.....LET ALONE WHEN THE PIRATES AND ROBBERS OFFERED HIM FOR SALE IN OUR CHRISTIAN SLAVE MARKETS." "LET ALONE BY THE COURTS, JUDGES, POLITICIANS, LEGISLATORS, AND SLAVE DRIVERS." "IF YOU SEE THE NEGRO PLOW IN THE OPEN FIELD, LEVELING THE FOREST, AT WORK WITH A SPADE, A RAKE, A HOE, A PIKE AXE, OR A BILL-LET HIM ALONE; HE HAS A RIGHT TO WORK. IF YOU SEE HIM ON HIS WAY TO SCHOOL, WITH SPELLING BOOK, GEOGRAPHY AND ARITHMETIC IN HIS HANDS - LET HIM ALONE....IF HE HAS A BALLOT IN HIS HANDS, AND IS ON HIS WAY TO THE BALLOT-BOX TO DEPOSIT HIS VOTE FOR THE MAN WHOM HE THINKS WILL MOST JUSTLY AND WISELY ADMINISTER THE GOVERNMENT WHICH HAS THE POWER OF LIFE AND DEATH OVER HIM, AS WELL AS OTHERS - LET HIM ALONE.-------MIGHT BE GOOD FOR THEIR WHITE AND OREO ASS BEFORE GOD DAMNS ALL OF THEM TO HELL. THINK HE WILL NOT? USING OUR CHILDREN FOR ALLIGATOR BATE IN FLORIDA? THIS ARTICLE ABOVE? THE ASSISSIANTION OF OUR CHILDREN IN OSAGE AVE IN PHILLY IN 1985? THE REGULAR SHOOTING OF 30,000 BLACK MEN A YEAR ON UNFOUNDED CHARGES? THE TORTURE OF BLACK MEN IN CHICAGO? THE GUNNING DOWN OF A BLACK MAN IN NEW ORLEANS BY POLICE AND THEY TRIED TO BURN UP HIS BODY IN A CAR? NOW HIS SKULL IS MISSING? POLICE FLIPPING AN 82 YEAR OLD BLACK WOMAN PHYSICALLY IMPAIRED ON ONE SIDE OF HE BODY AND BUSTING HER HEAD OPEN? NEED I SAY MORE? I GLSD I'M BLACK. ARE NOT YOU? OH THE POLICE KNOWS THAT THE WHITE POPULATION SICKS THEIR DOGS ON US WHILE WE WALK UP THE STREETS ANS SIDEWALKS OF AMERICA. A LOT OF US A MAULED BAD. NOTHING IS DONE ABOUT IT. BYE Y'ALL!! I BACK MYSELF UP ALWAYS! LOVE YE ONE ANOTHER, IT WORKED BEFORE AND IT WILL WORKED AGAIN. HAPPY KAWANZZA!!!
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: SteveLC on 12/16/2010 4:26PM
"AL" Learn how to use lower case typing. And you went to a university?
Report This
By: shellfish789 on 12/16/2010 9:01AM
Companies ALLWAYS use Blacks as Guinea pigs...they take advantage of Blacks and then turn around and say they are doing good......They go over in third world countries as Missionaries and do experiments on the people claiming they are trying to help and do GOOD work in the name of GOD....they get paid by big companies to do research on NEW drugs and new medical procedures ....just like the men who got Syphilis shots..they did not know they were infected ....they thought they were giving some other type of shots.....
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: bidcactusreview on 12/16/2010 2:45PM
The business of gang-bangin’ leaves our youth with an age expectancy of around 20 years old http://www.bidcactusreview.org/
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Ed on 12/20/2010 12:43PM
Are we a society of children? What ever has happened to individual responsability? This should NOT be an issue. All it does is fragment our society and pit one against the other. Three Boo's for the author.
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Foxxe on 12/20/2010 5:29PM
I was watching tv the other day and saw a news show that introduced the "SAGGIN" suspenders, has anyone seen this? I could not believe it when I saw this. It's bad enough this style is horrible, senseless, and unattractive but it's just plain ridiculous!!!! The suspenders are to help keep the pants from falling down (mainly when they are running from the authorities i'm sure). I guess they figured since this trend doen't look like it's going away any time soon may as well make some money on it. Hmm.... wonder who they ae targeting?
Reply to this Comment | Report This
By: Nick D on 12/21/2010 2:06AM
This is the same type of marketing that has people's feathers ruffled when talking about Happy Meals. Doubt if it will have an impact for either of the products even though the research says addict kids and they will be lifetime customers. You think it would be different since they are both proven to kill people. But with that being said Americans want what they want and will make angry posts but still exhibit the same behavior.
Reply to this Comment | Report This