Asbestos Exposure Coupled with Tobacco Use Is a Deadly Conspiracy, Complaint Alleges

LUCEDALE, Miss. - Twenty-seven former employees of Ingalls Shipbuilding in George County, Miss., have filed an action against Big Tobacco and others alleging they were the victims of a massive 50-year-old conspiracy to sell cigarettes despite the known health risks of smoking and asbestos exposure. Cochran, et al. v. R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co., et al., No. 01-0022 (Miss. Cir. Ct., George Cty.).

Filed in Mississippi state court on Feb. 7, the complaint claims that over a dozen tobacco companies, a handful of non-profit research centers and a chain of tobacco discount stores in Mississippi conspired to conceal knowledge of the …