Two former Soviet republics file suits against the Marlboro Man
hehe, go get 'em comrade!
By Michael Connor
MIAMI, Jan 24 (Reuters) - The central Asian nations of
Tajikistan and Kyrgyzstan on Wednesday filed U.S. lawsuits in
Miami, claiming Marlboros maker Philip Morris and other
American tobacco companies should pay the medical costs of sick
smokers in the former Soviet republics,
Part of a tidal wave of litigation against U.S. cigarette
makers, the suits were filed in Miami-Dade County Court where
jurors last July awarded $145 billion to sick smokers from
Florida.
The governments of Venezuela, Russia, Bolivia, states in
Brazil, and other countries have filed similar U.S. lawsuits,
seeking cash damages on claims big cigarette makers were
responsible for the health costs of their sick smokers.
The foreign lawsuits began after 1998's unprecedented, $206
billion deal settling healthcare-cost claims against cigarette
companies by America's state governments.
No specific damages were requested in the Tajikistan and
the Kyrgyz lawsuits but should be substantial and in line with
the billions awarded in other cases, plaintiffs lawyer Joe Raia
said.
"The republics ... are seeking judgments covering the
hundreds of millions of dollars spent treating smokers who
developed various forms of tobacco-related illnesses, including
cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, emphysema and birth
defects," lawyers for the countries said in a news release.
The suits, echoing in part the charges of lawsuits brought
by U.S. state governments, said the cigarette makers exploited
the ignorance of the health risks in the two small countries
and actively suppressed medical and scientific information
illustrating smoking's risks.
In addition, the governments want compensation for economic
growth lost to the illnesses and would have regulated tobacco
more closely if the companies in "the tobacco cartel" had been
honest about smoking's risks, plaintiffs lawyers said.
"We believe the 'tobacco cartel' intentionally targeted
these developing nations where most of the citizens are poor,
undereducated and unaware of the dangers of nicotine
addiction," attorney Sonny Holtzman said.
"The 'tobacco cartel' held crucial health-related
information back simply to get more people hooked."
John Sorrells, a spokesman for Philip Morris Cos. Inc.
<MO.N>, the world's No. 1 tobacco group, said the company had
not yet received the lawsuits.
"Although we have seen the suits, we believe these two
cases have no more merit than the Ukraine case, which was
dismissed last year by a federal court," Sorrells said.
Last March, a judge threw out Ukraine's claim, one of
several foreign government lawsuits seeking payments for
healthcare costs arising from tobacco-related illnesses.
Defendants named in the lawsuit include, R.J. Reynolds
Tobacco Holdings Inc. <RJR.N> and the Brown & Williamson unit
of British American Tobacco Plc <BATS.L>.
((- Michael Connor - Miami newsroom, +1 305-374-5013, fax
+1 305-358- |
