Abstract
Recent epidemiological studies show a correlation between estrogen based oral contraceptives and breast cancer. In certain groups the studies indicate a two to four fold increase in breast cancer. The epidemiological data are bolstered by a well accepted connection between estrogens and breast cancer. The unique status of oral contraceptives and the special problem of breast cancer make this one of the first viable consumer “toxic tort” cases. Consumers in the United States who use oral contraceptives and develop breast cancer should be able to recover damages based on a theory of failure to warn.
Zusammenfassung
Neuere epidemiologische Untersuchungen zeigen eine Korrelation zwischen oestrogenhaltigen oralen Empfängnisverhütungsmitteln und Brustkrebs. Für einige Gruppen deuten die Ergebnisse der Untersuchungen auf einen Anstieg von Brustkrebs auf das zwei- bis vierfache hin. Die epidemiologischen Daten werden durch eine auch sonst akzeptierte Beziehung zwischen Oestrogenen und Brustkrebs gestützt. Die einzigartige Stellung oraler Verhütungsmittel und das spezielle Problem des Brustkrebses machen daraus einen richtigen Fall von “Konsumentenvergiftung”. Konsumenten, die orale Verhütungsmittel benutzen und Brustkrebs bekommen, sollten auf der Grundlage der Theorie unterlassener Warnung Schadenersatz erhalten.
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Additional information
Vincent Brannigan is Associate Professor of Consumer Law, University of Maryland, College Park, MD 20742, USA. The author gratefully acknowledges the assistance of Christine Berg, Georgetown University, and Ruth Dayhoff, George Washington University, for their contributions to the medical analysis in this paper.
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Brannigan, V. Oral contraceptives and breast cancer: A consumer toxic tort. J Consum Policy 13, 201–214 (1990). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411408
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00411408