Smoker Sues Tobacco Company for Yellow Teeth

A Beijing smoker has taken a tobacco company and one of its sales agent to court, accusing them of producing or selling cigarettes which turned his teeth an ugly yellow, The Beijing News reported yesterday.

Liu Shengjiang, a 35-year-old law professor at the Capital University of Economics and Business, started smoking 15 years ago and now smokes on average two packs per day. Liu said smoking has affected his health and tainted his teeth.

Liu said he was addicted to the “Nanjing” brand cigarette produced by the Nanjing Cigarette Factory in east China’s Jiangsu Province. He accused the factory of “failing to give a clear indication of the harm of smoking.”

“The producer only said ’smoking is harmful’ on its package, but we consumers don’t know what harm it will cause us,” Liu said.

“If there were more specific warnings a lot of potential consumers will stay away from smoking,” he added.

Liu demanded a written apology and 350 yuan (US$45) in compensation for cleaning his teeth from the factory and the Guohua Department Store, where he bought the cigarettes.