And the fans hit the shit. Or is it shit hit the fan, what to do now they ask :unknw:
Big Tobacco will have to dole out $15 billion to Quebec smokers after losing a historic class-action lawsuit.
Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald have been ordered to pay moral and punitive damages for misleading consumers about the dangers of cigarettes.
"Today is a great victory for the fight against smoking," Mario Bujold, executive director of the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health, said.
The Quebec Superior Court ruled Monday on a lawsuit that's been 16 years in the making.
Two Quebec groups -- one representing smokers who became ill and the other representing smokers who can't kick the habit -- launched the lawsuit in 1999, but legal proceedings didn't begin until 2012.
The companies must pay $90,000-$100,000 to plaintiffs with cancer, $24,000-$30,000 to those with emphysema and $130 to smokers who are unable to quit.
The companies plan to appeal.
JTI-MacDonald issued a statement that it "strongly believes that the evidence presented at trial does not justify the Court's conclusions.
"Since the 1950s, Canadians have had a very high awareness of the health risks of smoking.
That awareness has been reinforced by the health warnings printed on every legal cigarette package for more than 40 years," it said.
Imperial Tobacco Canada echoed that sentiment.
"Today's judgment ignores the reality that both adult consumers and governments have known about the risks associated with smoking for decades, and seeks to relieve adult consumers of any responsibility for their actions," Tamara Gitto, vice-president of law and general counsel, said.
Appeal or not, the companies have been ordered to begin issuing payments within 60 days.
Big Tobacco will have to dole out $15 billion to Quebec smokers after losing a historic class-action lawsuit.
Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges and JTI-MacDonald have been ordered to pay moral and punitive damages for misleading consumers about the dangers of cigarettes.
"Today is a great victory for the fight against smoking," Mario Bujold, executive director of the Quebec Council on Tobacco and Health, said.
The Quebec Superior Court ruled Monday on a lawsuit that's been 16 years in the making.
Two Quebec groups -- one representing smokers who became ill and the other representing smokers who can't kick the habit -- launched the lawsuit in 1999, but legal proceedings didn't begin until 2012.
The companies must pay $90,000-$100,000 to plaintiffs with cancer, $24,000-$30,000 to those with emphysema and $130 to smokers who are unable to quit.
The companies plan to appeal.
JTI-MacDonald issued a statement that it "strongly believes that the evidence presented at trial does not justify the Court's conclusions.
"Since the 1950s, Canadians have had a very high awareness of the health risks of smoking.
That awareness has been reinforced by the health warnings printed on every legal cigarette package for more than 40 years," it said.
Imperial Tobacco Canada echoed that sentiment.
"Today's judgment ignores the reality that both adult consumers and governments have known about the risks associated with smoking for decades, and seeks to relieve adult consumers of any responsibility for their actions," Tamara Gitto, vice-president of law and general counsel, said.
Appeal or not, the companies have been ordered to begin issuing payments within 60 days.
