An Ex-Marlboro Man Died From A Smoking Related Disease

Eric Lawson, who spoke out against his former employers and the negative health effects of their products, died of chronic obstructive pulmonary disease.

Eric Lawson, a former "Marlboro Man," has died at the age of 72 from complications related to chronic obstructive pulmonary disease. Cigarette smoking is a primary cause of COPD.

Lawson appeared in advertisements for Marlboro cigarettes in the late 1970s. He started smoking when he was 14.

Lawson spoke out against the negative effects of smoking, even going so far as to appear in a parody commercial. Despite renouncing his role as the public face of cigarettes, he continued to smoke until he was diagnosed with COPD, according to his wife.

Lawson now becomes the third Marlboro Man to die from smoking related causes, joining David Millar, who died of emphysema in 1987, and David McLean, who died of lung cancer in 1995.

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