Big Tobacco Viewed Children as “Crops,” Plaintiff’s Lawyer Argues in COPD Suit Against RJR

Alex Alvarez tells jurors that decades of documents showed tobacco companies viewed minors as “crops” of replacement smokers to further the tobacco industry’s business. Alvarez’s client, Thomas Ryan, is suing R.J. Reynolds, seeking compensatory and punitive damages for his chronic obstructive pulmonary disease that he claims was caused by Reynolds’ cigarettes and deceptive marketing.