Inflation can be a deadly economic woe, and rarely can it have struck so devastatingly as it has against the tobacco industry. When I first encountered the industry more than 20 years ago, claims against cigarette manufacturers were measured in millions (of dollars). Now they are always in billions. I guess this is in part because in the US, where most claims arise, there is no single word to describe those amounts between a million and a billion (1,000m), and because lawyers need to be in tune with headline writers.
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