The Oregon State Supreme rejected a class-action lawsuit against cigarette manufacturers to pay for medical monitoring costs.

Oregon's high court ruled unanimously that smokers must show actual harm to make a negligence claim against cigarette manufacturers — not just the possibility they will be harmed. The lawsuit, brought by Patricia Lowe on behalf of about 400,000 Oregonians, argued the tobacco companies "knew or should have known that their cigarettes contained toxic and hazardous substances likely to cause lung cancer" and that they should pay for tests to detect lung tumours at their earliest and most treatable stage.
The court ruled instead that Oregon law has long recognised that "a threat of future physical harm is not sufficient" grounds for a legal claim.
The companies named in the lawsuit were Philip Morris, R.J. Reynolds., Brown & Williamson, Lorillard and Liggett Group. (ci)