In the mid-1990s the United States Supreme Court rendered a

In the mid-1990s the United States Supreme Court rendered a judgement that allowed the estate of a deceased smoker to recover a small pecuniary amount against a large contingent of tobacco companies. This monetary judgement, however small, opened a floodgate of litigation against the tobacco industry. Heretofore the issue of proximate cause allowed cigarette companies to escape liability for wrongful death lawsuits to long-time smokers. But now spurred by the Supreme Court decision, plaintiffs from every state filed multimillion dollar lawsuits; attorneys brought actions on behalf of class action clients, and large coalitions of states banded together to file billion dollar lawsuits in federal courts. The state coalitions offered statistical evidence that soaring state health costs in treating constituents for smoking-related illnesses-such as lung cancer and heart disease-should now be borne by the tobacco industry. The states cited the recent cases that demonstrated the causal link between smoking and health issues. Immediately, the tobacco industry opened settlement talks

Which of the following statistics that came to light during the settlement discussions between the states and tobacco companies, that, if true, tends to undermine the states’ statistical argument?

A) Statistics reflect that many more women than men are stricken by illnesses related to smoking.

B) According to medical research, certain types of lung cancer and heart disease may be caused by other external hazards.

C) Smokers have a shorter life expectancy on average than non-smokers.

D) The larger, more populated states incur more monetary expenses than the smaller, less populated states in treating tobacco- related illnesses.

E) Proximate cause remains a legal issue in many federal district courts that will hear tobacco cases well into the 21st century.