Tobacco Litigation

In 1998, British Columbia became the first jurisdiction in Canada and the Commonwealth to launch a lawsuit for the recovery of those tobacco-related health care costs that were incurred by the government of BC as a result of the past, wrongful conduct of the tobacco industry, including the deceptive promotion of their product.

The lawsuit asserts tobacco manufacturers:

Marketed “light” cigarettes as safer when they knew they were not.
Targeted children in their advertising and marketing.
Conspired to suppress research on the risks of smoking.
Conspired to invalidate the public warnings on the risks of smoking.
Are responsible for health care costs associated with smoking.

The action was authorized by the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (1998). The defendant manufacturers successfully challenged the constitutionality of the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (1998) at the British Columbia Supreme Court.

In response, British Columbia introduced new legislation, the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (2000), to deal with the Supreme Court's concerns. On January 24, 2001, the Province re-launched its action against the tobacco industry.

In September 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada unanimously upheld the Province’s right to sue the tobacco industry and concluded the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act (2000) is constitutional.

For more information:

Legislation