Product Description
Plaintiffs alleged in publicly filed U.S. asbestos personal-injury and wrongful-death litigation that Lorillard Tobacco Company’s original Kent cigarette, marketed with the “Micronite” filter from March 1952 through approximately mid-1956, allegedly contained crocidolite (“blue”) asbestos as a functional component of the filter media. Lorillard and its filter supplier allegedly incorporated crocidolite fibers into a crepe-paper/cotton/acetate matrix, which the company promoted as a health-oriented filtration innovation. Kent Micronite is widely regarded as one of the earliest documented consumer inhalation product-vector defendants in asbestos litigation — a mass-market product where the exposure pathway was direct fiber inhalation through the mouth with every puff.
The Micronite filter was allegedly reformulated to remove crocidolite in mid-1956, but hundreds of millions of the original crocidolite-filtered Kents had already been distributed nationwide.
Workers Exposed and Household Consumers
- Consumer smokers 1952-1956 — the primary exposed population; direct crocidolite inhalation through the filter with every draw
- Retail tobacco and drug-store clerks handling opened cartons
- Household contacts of heavy Kent smokers (secondhand smoke plus fibers on clothing)
- Lorillard production-line workers at the Micronite filter fabrication and cigarette-assembly lines
- Filter-media supplier employees handling raw crocidolite for the Micronite blend
If You Used Kent Micronite Cigarettes
If you or a family member smoked Kent-brand cigarettes between 1952 and 1956 and were later diagnosed with mesothelioma, lung cancer, or another asbestos-related disease, publicly filed litigation has established Kent Micronite as a recognized consumer-inhalation asbestos product. Older smokers in this era are prime candidates for evaluation.
Free, confidential case evaluation: Speak with O’Brien Law Firm — (314) 936-2956