BC Takes Legal Action Against the Industry
Tobacco takes a terrible toll on British Columbians. Over 5,600 people die each year in B.C. of tobacco-related illnesses. Many more get sick from it.
That's why the B.C. government brought in the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act in 1997, and strengthened it with amendments in 1998.
The Act allowed the province to sue the tobacco companies for health care costs attributable to tobacco-related illnesses. And on November 12, 1998, the B.C. government launched a lawsuit against Imperial Tobacco Limited; Rothmans, Benson & Hedges Inc.; and JTI-Macdonald Inc.
The industry challenged the constitutionality of the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, and the act was struck down by the Supreme Court. The court ruled that the province had overstepped its bounds by holding giant multinational tobacco corporations liable for the actions of their Canadian subsidiaries.
In response, B.C. introduced new legislation to deal with the Supreme Court's concerns and on January 24, 2001, the Province re-launched its action against the tobacco industry.
And once again in June 2003, the Supreme Court struck down the act. The court ruled that the act continued to have an extra-territorial effect because exposure to tobacco, which is one element of the government’s cause of action, is not confined to the Province of B.C.
The government appealed the decision and a hearing was held at the Court of Appeal in November 2003. In May 2004, the B.C. Court of Appeal upheld the Province's right to sue the tobacco industry and rejected all the legal arguments brought by the tobacco industry in their most recent challenge.
This ruling overturns the June 2003 Supreme Court decision. It allows B.C. to continue litigation to recover the health care costs of treating people who became ill as a result of being misled about the harms of tobacco use.
To learn more about BC’s ground-breaking lawsuit
www.health.gov.bc.ca/tobacco/litigation/