Ill. appeals court revives cigarette lawsuit

Sunday, February 27, 2011 2:29 AM EST

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill. (AP) — A lawsuit that led to a $10.1 billion verdict against cigarette-making Philip Morris USA before it was tossed out by the Illinois Supreme Court has been revived by a lower court, sending the case back to the county once tagged as among the nation's most lawsuit-friendly turfs.



The unanimous ruling Thursday by the three-judge panel of the Mount Vernon-based 5th District Appellate Court cleared the way for the plaintiffs to argue that a favorable 2008 U.S. Supreme Court decision in an unrelated case may be applied to reinstate the questioned Madison County one involving Philip Morris' marketing of "light" cigarettes.



In 2003, now-retired Madison County Circuit Judge Nicholas Byron found that Philip Morris misled customers about "light" and "low tar" cigarettes and broke state law by marketing them as safer, ending a trial that both sides at the time said was the nation's first over a lawsuit accusing a tobacco company of consumer fraud.



The state's Supreme Court overturned that verdict in 2005, saying the Federal Trade Commission allowed companies to characterize or label their cigarettes as "light" and "low tar," so Philip Morris could not be held liable under state law even if such terms could be found false or misleading.



The U.S. Supreme Court in late 2006 let that ruling stand, and Byron dismissed the case the next month. But in December 2008, the nation's high court, in a 5-4 decision, ruled in a lawsuit on behalf of three Maine residents that smokers may use state consumer protection laws to sue cigarette makers for the way they promote "light" and "low tar" brands.



Counting that decision as new evidence, the attorney behind the Illinois lawsuit, Stephen Tillery, again approached the Mount Vernon appellate court in hopes of reopening his firm's class-action lawsuit involving 1.1 million people who bought "light" cigarettes in Illinois.



That suit has claimed that Philip Morris knew when it introduced such cigarettes in 1971 that they were no healthier than regular cigarettes. But the company hid that information and the fact that light cigarettes actually had a more toxic form of tar, the lawsuit claimed.



Philip Morris, which can appeal Thursday's order to the state's high court, said Saturday in a statement it would continue to fight. Murray Garnick of Altria Client Services, which represents Altria Group Inc. subsidiary Philip Morris USA, said Thursday's 11-page ruling was based solely on a procedural question about whether the plaintiffs met a statute of limitations — the appeals court found they did — and not the merits of the plaintiffs' bid to reopen the case.



Since Illinois' Supreme Court reversed the damages award, Garnick said, "the plaintiffs have made multiple unsuccessful attempts to reopen the case. We believe that the plaintiffs' latest attempt is equally without merit."



Tillery countered in a statement that his St. Louis firm is "eager to return to the courtroom to seek the justice our clients deserve." Tillery said there would be no additional public comment, citing the pending status of the case.



The St. Louis Post-Dispatch first reported Thursday's appellate victory for Tillery.



The protracted Illinois legal fight has proven to be a headache for even some jurists on the state's highest court. After Byron asked the Mount Vernon appellate court in May 2007 whether he had authority to reopen the lawsuit he decided against Philip Morris, the Illinois Supreme Court in 2007 ordered without explanation that Byron stop such inquiries.



"The court's action today is entirely predictable because it quickly and quietly closes the book on a case that a majority of this court, I am sure, would rather forget," Justice Charles Freeman wrote then in dissent in the 4-2 ruling.



Former Illinois Gov. James Thompson, a Chicago attorney who was representing Philip Morris, argued then that the appellate court has no authority to decide whether the case can be reopened.



The lawsuit and its massive damages award fanned the reputation of Madison County, just east of St. Louis, as a place where lawyers from across the country filed cases hoping for big payouts in matters involving everything from asbestos exposure to medical malpractice. President George W. Bush visited the county in January 2005 as a backdrop to pressure Congress to pass legislation limiting jury awards for medical malpractice. And in August of that year, then-Gov. Rod Blagojevich came to Madison County to sign a law seeking to hold down medical malpractice costs for doctors by limiting the amount of money people can collect in lawsuits against hospitals and physicians.



Some tort-reform advocates branded the county a "judicial hellhole" but have backed off in recent years, citing reforms by the county's judiciary aggressively bent on rehabbing the jurisdiction's image.

IAL Reports

The IAL reported that 13 new larys have joined our way of life with one passing on during the past few weeks. Here in Ct. one new lary joined the rest of us.

Oral, Head and Neck Cancer Support Group

The February Meeting will be held 0n the 7th. at 7 PM at ECHN/Eastern COnn. Cancer Institute
John A. DeQuattro Cancer Center
100-Haynes Street
Manchester, Ct. 06040
In the First Floor Conference Room

Recipient of rare voice box transplant can speak again; yearns to live a normal life

ALICIA CHANG, JULIET WILLIAMS

The Hartford Courant

5:31 PM EST, January 20, 2011

SACRAMENTO, Calif. (AP) — A woman whose natural voice could have been silenced forever because of vocal cord damage is able to talk again after undergoing a rare voice box transplant.

Brenda Charett Jensen, 52, reunited Thursday with the team of surgeons who performed the delicate operation last October, only the second surgery of its kind performed in the United States.

"It's just been amazing — simply, simply amazing. And I'm still in shock," Jensen said in a raspy voice at a news conference with her doctors. "I never know what's going to come tomorrow, but I know it's going to be better than where I've been."

Jensen damaged her vocal cords more than a decade ago after she repeatedly pulled out her breathing tube while under sedation in the hospital.

Because the injury left her breathing passage completely closed, the Modesto woman had also been unable to smell — a sensation that she is enjoying again.

Before the transplant, Jensen "talked" with the help of a hand-held device that produces an electronic voice.

The robotic-sounding device, which Jensen's granddaughter dubbed the "talkie-talkie," led to people hanging up on her or treating her like she was not there, so Jensen said the risk of the surgery was worth it.

After years of putting up with humiliation and teasing, "I was game to go. I wanted to talk again," said Jensen, a slim woman who walks with a cane.

The operation lasted 18 hours over two days. Doctors replaced her voice box, windpipe and thyroid gland with that of a donor who died in an accident. The transplant, which came after nearly two years of planning, was led by the University of California-Davis Medical Center and included experts from England and Sweden.

Chief surgeon Dr. Gregory Farwell said the neck is "an unbelievably complex structure" with tiny nerves that had to be connected using sutures smaller than a human hair. Surgeons spent 10 hours working under a high-power microscope as they sewed the nerves back together, he said.

Two weeks after the transplant, Jensen voiced her first words to her doctors in a hoarse tone: "Good morning," followed by "I wanna go home" and "You guys are amazing."

Jensen has since been able to speak more easily. Doctors said Jensen's voice was her own and not that of the donor.

The special qualities of a person's voice are determined by the shape of the throat, mouth, nose and sinuses. Following the transplant, Jensen told doctors that friends who had not heard her speak in years were able to recognize hints of her "old" voice.

Jensen has worked a variety of jobs, including driving trucks and working in a restaurant and as an executive secretary before going on disability several years ago. She is not currently working, but she hopes to get a job again with her voice restored.

Soon after the surgery, Jensen said, she stepped out her door and smelled turkey wafting from her neighbor's home. She still can't eat or drink because she needs a tracheotomy tube to help her breathe, but she is working hard to strengthen her neck muscles so the tube can be removed.

In the meantime, she receives nourishment through a feeding tube.

"The bakery — God, that kills me!" she joked, describing visits to the grocery store to buy household items. "But it's just been a really, really unbelievable experience: smelling freshly cut grass, the air, breathing."

Jensen had a checkup Thursday and was able to swallow a glass of water for the first time since the transplant.

Dr. Peter Belafsky, principal investigator of the UC Davis laryngeal transplant project, said the operation offers hope to others who have suffered the loss of their voice.

"I've had three messages and two texts just this morning from patients saying, 'Am I going to be a candidate for this?'"

Not all patients who lose their voice are eligible for voice box transplants. It's still considered experimental, and recipients have to constantly take anti-rejection drugs that can shorten life expectancy.

Jensen was a good fit because she was already taking the drugs after a kidney-pancreas transplant in 2006, doctors said.

Unlike lifesaving heart or liver transplants, people can live many years without a voice box, although a transplant would improve their quality of life. But the surgery is still rare, in large part because it's not covered by private or government insurance, said Dr. Gerald Berke of the UCLA Head and Neck Clinic, who had no role in Jensen's care.

The university paid for much of Jensen's hospital-related expenses, which were not immediately disclosed. Doctors and staff donated their time.

In 1998, doctors at the Cleveland Clinic performed the world's first successful larynx transplant, restoring the voice of Timothy Heidler after a motorcycle accident. He spoke normally for the first eight years after the transplant, but later experienced some swelling in his vocal cord that made his voice sound a bit breathy and froggy. Despite that, doctors said his quality of life improved.

"He's been able to live a far more normal life. He can interact, and it gives him confidence," said his surgeon, Dr. Marshall Strome, who now directs the Center for Head and Neck Oncology at St. Luke's Roosevelt Hospital in New York.

___

reported from Los Angeles.

Smoking Damages DNA

Smoking damages DNA within minutes, research shows
Enlarge PHOTODISC

Investigators focused on a class of cancer-causing culprits found in cigarette smoke called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons.


A DEADLY PRACTICE

1 in 5 deaths attributed to tobacco annually.

443,000 Americans killed by tobacco per year.

$193 billion annual cost in health care and lost productivity in the U.S. due to cigarette smoking.

4,100: approximate number of teens who smoke their first cigarette each day.

85% of lung cancers are caused by smoking.

Source: U.S. Department of Health and Human Services




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By Alan Mozes HealthDay
Cigarettes start to destroy a smoker's DNA within minutes of inhaling, new research indicates, suggesting that the habit causes immediate genetic damage and quickly raises the short-term risk for cancer.
"The results reported here should serve as a stark warning to those who are considering starting to smoke cigarettes," lead study author Stephen S. Hecht, from the Masonic Cancer Center and department of pharmacology at the University of Minnesota in Minneapolis, said in a news release from the American Chemical Society.

Hecht and his colleagues reported their observations in the current issue of the journal Chemical Research in Toxicology.

In their research, the investigators focused on a class of cancer-causing culprits found in cigarette smoke called polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, or PAHs.

PAHs are known to inflict damage on DNA and are therefore thought to play a large role in the onset of lung cancer, a disease that the researchers pointed out has been linked to the loss of 3,000 lives a day worldwide, mostly as a consequence of smoking.

To date, however, little had been known about the exact mechanism by which PAH exposure causes disease.

To better understand the risks, Hecht's team conducted what they called a "unique" analysis, by labeling and tracking a single PAH — phenanthrene — through the bodies of 12 volunteer smokers.

The study authors noted that this approach was "the first to investigate human metabolism of a PAH specifically delivered by inhalation in cigarette smoke, without interference by other sources of exposure such as air pollution or the diet."

The results: having rapidly transformed in the body into a known toxin, the PAH in question began to cause havoc on the DNA of the smokers within just 15 to 30 minutes after smoking.

The velocity of the cancer-causing process surprised the research team. They said the speed with which the potentially lethal DNA assault began was comparable to having injected the PAH directly into an individual's bloodstream.




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Too Many New Larynectomees Nationwide

Unfortunately, there have been 44 New Larygectomees nationwide with 7 others passing away.

Here in our area locaton of Ct. we have had one new lary and no recent deaths.

Smoking studies help curb addictive habit for many

TV host and nighttime icon Johnny Carson said he knew a man who gave up smoking, drinking, sex and rich food. “The man was healthy right up to the time he killed himself,” Carson said.

Most people — like Peter Baranowski — refuse to pay that price. Instead, when making their new year’s resolutions they opt for a safer, more logical approach.

UConn Health Center, which became a smoke-free campus on Nov. 18, is taking smoking, the addiction, seriously. In fact, Dr. William White, who heads up one of UCHC’s smoking cessation programs, expects a plethora of smokers to sign up this month.

“January is resolution time,” White says. “Usually, it’s a busy time for us.” Several ongoing health center smoking studies have reported impressive results.

Baranowski, 49, of Wethersfield, a radiology worker at the Health Center, participated in a program in 2010 conducted by White, professor of medicine at the Center’s Calhoun Cardiology Center.

Baranowski’s blood pressure was elevated, and he was smoking two packs a day.

At times, his blood pressure read 180 over 130. He had tried the medication Chantix (varenicline) at home, but with little success. However, when he heard White’s program featured counseling, he decided to enroll. The year-long program included counseling two times a week from trained therapists at first, then once a week, then once a month. “I think it worked for me because I realized I needed to be held accountable to someone,” Baranowski says. “I didn’t want to let them or myself down. Reporting to someone made a difference to me.”

With the help of a round-the-clock monitor a little larger than an iPod his blood pressure dropped and his craving for cigarettes eased. Today, he is no longer a smoker, and his blood pressure is under control.

“There are a number of goals for this study,” says White, an internationally recognized expert in the treatment of hypertension and related complications.

White’s program looks at how smoking and smoking cessation affects blood pressure and the impact counseling has on helping people stay away from cigarettes.

All participants undergo 24-hour blood pressure monitoring to look for fluctuations before and after they stop smoking. In addition, the study randomly divides participants into two treatment groups.

Both are treated with Chantix, an FDA-approved smoking cessation medication. Several studies have shown that Chantix can more than double the chances of successfully quitting, compared to other types of treatment.

The difference between the groups determines the kind of counseling participants receive in conjunction with the medication. One group participates in traditional, individual counseling; the other receives a “contingency management” counseling approach.

Contingency management is an incentive-based intervention in which participants receive prizes such as vouchers or small gifts for compliance — in this case, for not smoking. It has been used to treat of variety of addictive disorders and in recent years, its success rates have gained national attention, as well as increased credibility in the medical community. “In essence, contingency management is the same technique parents use with children every day by rewarding good behavior,” Dr.Nancy Petry MD explains. “It’s behavior modification and behavior shaping.”

Petry is professor of medicine and an investigator of the study along with Sheila Alessi, assistant professor of medicine. A prominent researcher in the field of addiction treatments, including drug and gambling addictions, Petry is a leader in contingency management research.

“Several studies have indicated that combining medical approaches with counseling can vastly improve a smoker’s chance to quit for good,” says Petry.”

This study answers questions about the role of contingency management counseling in motivating smokers to say away from cigarettes over the short term as well as the long run.”

White’s program will be in its third year in January. Supported by a federal grant, it determines the best strategies not only for quitting smoking, but helping people stay off cigarettes. The few who experience a relapse tend to smoke less than before. “We’re using medication plus behavioral therapy to treat high blood pressure,” says White. “Nicotine increases the heart rate and can raise a person’s blood pressure.”

The first few weeks, White and his staff took readings every 15 minutes during the day, 30 minutes at night of the 50 people enrolled in the program.

White’s program targets smokers who have 10 or more cigarettes a day. The participants are 18 or older. Cigar smokers also are considered for acceptance in the program.

To date, 139 smokers have gone through the program. White says he can take up to 260 participants. Everybody gets a cardiogram and blood test at the start of the program. Participants also receive Chantix free of charge.

White has praise for the addiction therapists who do the counseling.

“They’re great at encouraging participants to stick with the plan,” White says.If you want to join his program, call (860) 372-8418 or (860) 679-4116 and leave your name and telephone number. Someone from White’s staff will get back to you.

Though Baranowski trumpets the program’s success, like many people who quit smoking, weight gain became a problem. Since he stopped smoking he has put on 40 pounds. However, walking regularly has helped him lose 12.

His resolution for 2011: Lose the other 28 pounds. Maybe a boot camp like Average Joe’s is the answer.

Written by Scott Whipple, staff reporter of the New Britain Herald