title: The divergence between scientific and legal approaches concerning the cause of effects of tobacco use under Spanish law.
abstract: When dealing with damages related to tobacco use, causation and its proof is one of the main aspects to take into account when victims--smokers and/or their families--try to claim compensation. In Spain, legal and scientific approaches to the problem seem to diverge. Scientific statements about the consequences of tobacco, which support the fight against this product worldwide, hardly serve plaintiffs' interests before courts, whose judgments oddly reveal an unusual tendency, in contradiction with principle pro damnato, that this article aims to briefly highlight.
authors.affiliation: Universidad Pública de Navarra, España.
authors.forename: M Luisa
authors.initials: ML
authors.lastname: Arcos Vieira
mesh_terms: D015984:Causality; D003257:Consumer Product Safety / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence; D007722:Health Knowledge, Attitudes, Practice; D006801:Humans; D016365:Liability, Legal; D012907:Smoking / Q000009:adverse effects / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D013030:Spain; D019460:Tobacco Industry / Q000331:legislation & jurisprudence*; D014029:Tobacco Use Disorder / Q000150:complications / Q000209:etiology*