Tobacco company rare settlement over chewing tobacco

Tbacco producer Altria Group agreed to pay $5 million in a rare settlement over the death of a chewing tobacco customer.

The case was brought by the family of Bobby Hill who died in tongue cancer in 2003. He chewed tobacco made by U.S. Smokeless Tobacco Co – bought by Altria in 2009 – from the time he was a teenager until his death from tongue cancer at age 42 in 2003. The deal arose from one-time circumstances and Altria does not plan to settle future claims, a spokesman for the company pointed out.