Little Tobacco Hit With $3.5 Hundred Lawsuit

October 3, 2001 | Issue 37•35

DETROIT—Buckhead Tobacco Inc., makers of Hamtramck Smooths and Eastpoint cigarettes, and three other small tobacco manufacturers braced for a protracted court fight Monday, when a $350 class-action lawsuit was filed against Little Tobacco. "The defendants in this case peddled their deadly product for weeks at three local stores," said lead prosecuting attorney Stanley Green. "And memos show their intent to advertise on small, backcountry roads that children bike on every few days." If Little Tobacco is defeated, the $3.5 hundred award would go toward reimbursing its victim and removing the cigarette vending machine from the breakroom of a Detroit-area Safeway.