Tobacco Industry Nears Settlement of Litigation
Canada’s three leading cigarette manufacturers will pay CAD32.5 billion ($23.6 billion) to settle a long-running lawsuit as part of a court-appointed mediator’s proposed plan, Philip Morris International announced on Oct. 18.
In 2015, a Quebec court award damages to some 100,000 smokers and ex-smokers who alleged the companies failed to warn consumers about the health risks of smoking, which they had known about since the 1950s.
The verdict was upheld in 2019, forcing the Canadian subsidiaries of PMI, BAT and Japan Tobacco International to seek bankruptcy protection.
The subsidiaries have been under a court-supervised mediation process negotiating a possible settlement since then.
The allocation of the aggregate settlement amount between the tobacco giants remains unresolved, according to Philip Morris.
“Although important issues with the plan remain to be resolved, we are hopeful that this legal process will soon conclude, allowing RBH [Rothmans, Benson & Hedges] and its stakeholders to focus on the future,” said PMI CEO Jacek Olczak.
“Today marks an important step towards a potential settlement,” said Eric Gagnon, vice president, corporate and regulatory affairs for BAT’s Imperial Tobacco Canada subsidiary in a statement. “The plan resolves all Canadian tobacco litigation and provides a full and comprehensive release to Imperial, BAT and all related entities for all tobacco claims.”
The Lung Health Foundation (LHF), too, welcomed the prospect of a settlement. “This is a meaningful first step in acknowledging decades of harm,” noted LHF President and CEO Jessica Buckley in a statement. “But financial restitution can’t make up for the loss of life. It can’t make up for the experiences of Canadians who have suffered through lung cancer and COPD.”
Buckley called for the funds to be reinvested into vaping and smoking prevention and cessation support, mental health and addiction initiatives, and improved access to screening and care for conditions like lung cancer and COPD.”
