Well, not quite technology, not quite law. But in a tech publication so close enough. The Register reported on a story of a woman whose life was saved by cigarettes – or rather one cigarette:

Brenda Comer, of Rock Hill, had just finished washing the dishes at around 11am when she popped out for a gasper. At that moment, The Seattle Times dramatically recalls, “an 80-foot-tall oak tree, felled by winds gusting up to 40mph, crashed through the roof”.

Of course, that doesn’t quite make up for the hundreds of millions of other deaths caused by smoking. But at least its something positive.