Tobacco settlement won’t protect future generations from addiction: advocates – Brandon Sun

The Canadian Cancer Society and other health advocates say a proposed settlement that could see tobacco companies pay billions of dollars would do little to prevent future generations from becoming addicted to smoking.

A proposed $32.5 billion settlement filed in an Ontario court would allow three companies — JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. — to financially compensate provinces and territories, as well as some smokers and their families.

Rob Cunningham, senior policy analyst and lawyer for the Canadian Cancer Society, says that while the agreement is a good first step, it does not support public health measures that would change the fact that tobacco is the leading cause of death in Canada.

The deal includes $1 billion for tobacco-related disease research, but Cunningham says it should be amended to also include community awareness, education and prevention programs; otherwise, the limitation is “a gift” to the tobacco industry.

“It will mean that there will be a large number of people who will get cancer and other diseases in a completely preventable way,” he says.

Lung Health Foundation President and CEO Jessica Buckley acknowledged that the proposed settlement sends a signal that tobacco giants are taking responsibility for decades of addiction.

“But financial restitution cannot compensate for the loss of life. It cannot compensate for the experiences of Canadians who have suffered from lung cancer and COPD,” Buckley says.

Buckley says the nearly $25 billion that would be handed over to provincial and territorial governments should be reinvested into preventing people from vaping and smoking, supporting those who want to quit, and mental health and addiction initiatives.

Jacob Shelley, co-director of the Health Ethics, Law and Policy Lab at Western University in London, Ontario, says he’s pleased to see the plaintiffs finally receive compensation after five years of legal proceedings.

Shelley, who has followed the lawsuit closely for years, says it’s “a significant kind of moment and a breakthrough in what has been a very failed space in terms of litigation,” but the proposed compensation for individual smokers and your loved ones will not cover the costs of having lung cancer or emphysema.

“It is not a significant individual victory in the sense of a large payout, but it is significant that there will be an opportunity to collect on this claim that began decades ago and that there is an acknowledgment and imposition of liability for the failure to warn about the risks associated with using this product,” he says.

Action on Smoking and Health, Physicians for a Smoke-Free Canada and the Quebec Coalition for Tobacco Control say compensation to victims is “the only positive component” of this deal.

“How is it possible for governments to allow companies that have knowingly caused the premature death and suffering of countless Canadians and a huge burden on the health care system to walk away?” say the defense groups in a joint statement.

They say provincial governments have allowed these corporations to continue to cause harm by shifting their business models to other nicotine products, such as e-cigarettes.

“It is clear to us that the provinces have forgotten or simply rejected their moral responsibility to protect the health and well-being of future generations,” the statement said.

Ontario’s attorney general’s office says it will have more to say about the redistribution of funds if the deal is approved and that the provincial government is “committed to holding tobacco corporations accountable for their role in the public health crisis caused for tobacco-related diseases”. “.

The federal government is not part of the deal, but the office of the minister of mental health and addictions says it stands by its goal of reducing tobacco use among Canadians to less than five per cent by 2035.

In a statement, Imperial Tobacco Canada says it is “supportive of the framework and structure of the settlement.”

“This settlement will be funded with available cash and cash generated from future sales of tobacco products in Canada, while maximizing creditor recovery,” said Eric Gagnon, the company’s vice-president of corporate and regulatory affairs. , in the statement.

In a press release, Rothmans, Benson & Hedges says there are still “significant issues” to be resolved with the plan, but the proposal “represents an important step toward resolving long-standing tobacco product litigation in Canada.” .

This report by The Canadian Press was first published on October 18, 2024.

Canadian Press health coverage is supported through a partnership with the Canadian Medical Association. CP is solely responsible for this content.