Fifteen non-governmental organizations (NGOs) yesterday appealed to 25 county and city governments across the country to file lawsuits in the US against five US-based tobacco giants for compensation to cover the medical costs of Taiwanese suffering from illnesses caused by cigarette smoking.
There are currently around 6 million smokers in Taiwan, according to the John Tung Foundation (董氏基金會).
Medical, women's and consumers' groups that initiated the move are currently pressuring the Taipei City Council to approve the filing of lawsuits by the Taipei City Government against five international tobacco companies based in the US. They are also urging councilors from other cities and counties to do the same.
Taiwan may lead such suits among Asian countries if Taipei city councilors approve the action. A previous suit filed by Thailand was overruled by a US court because of procedural flaws.
The NGOs plan to file lawsuits against the tobacco companies for at least US$2.6 billion in the name of Taipei City Hall before May 31, international non-smoking day. The targeted companies include RJ Reynolds Tobacco Co, Brown & Williamson Tobacco Corp, Lorillard Tobacco Co, Liggett Group Inc and Philip Morris Co, the largest tobacco supplier in the world.
Judy Lin (
"We should take the action now before the US tobacco giants that provided campaign contributions to US President George Bush grow even more powerful," she said. "It is also a good opportunity to show the WHO that our people's health issues cannot be ignored for political reasons."
"Our public health policy against tobacco risks can be demonstrated through the suits," said Sea-wain Yau (
NGOs, which have been preparing the move for two years, are urging local governments rather than the central government to file the suits, "because Taiwan's international status is so special that it could result in politicization of the issue," according to the foundation.
Yao said that tobacco was proven harmful to human health in 1953, but that prior to that discovery, the tobacco industry had consistently tried to conceal its harmful effects. It was not until 1996 that a victim first won a suit against the tobacco companies.
Internal tobacco company documents have shown that these industry giants systematically co-operated with medical professionals to release false messages that tobacco was not a threat to human health.
"We can't say that smokers deserve the health problems caused by tobacco. They are not well-informed of the facts and are usually addicted," Yao said.
Evidence given by the US state of Minnesota in a previous compensation claim showed that Marlboro had added ammonia to its products to accelerate the influence of nicotine on the brain.
Last year, a sufferer of lung cancer in California won US$20 million in her suit against two tobacco companies. The jury decided the suppliers were guilty of harming her health because the had not provided sufficient warning of the dangers.
"Moreover, tobacco products are now being targeted at teenagers, who lack rational judgement, now that more and more adults are aware of the risks of tobacco," Yao said.
RSS