QUIT Forum -

Breaking news from CBC July 19, 2011. Full article can be found here: http://www.cbc.ca/news/politics/story/2011/07/29/pol-scoc-tobacco.html#accessibilitylinks%23accessibilitylinks

The Supreme Court of Canada delivered decisions in two cases Friday related to the federal government’s role in lawsuits against tobacco companies. The decision is a victory for the federal government as it could have been on the hook to help pay bills in lawsuits against big tobacco companies. The tobacco companies wanted Ottawa to share responsibility for any damages should they lose in court and the decision states that the federal government cannot be drawn into these cases as a third party. The legal claims for this shared responsibility could have been worth millions and even billions of dollars.

The first was a class action lawsuit against Imperial Tobacco’s light and mild brand of cigarettes. Smokers are using consumer protection laws to try and get their money back as they felt misled by the safety of these light/mild cigarettes. In the second case, British Columbia wants tobacco companies to pay for any health-care related costs associated with smoking-related illnesses. This case has been going on for 13 years and $10 billion is at stake!

What are your thoughts and feelings? Should people be in charge of their own health and to what degree are the Federal Government and tobacco companies responsible?

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