Fallo por el tabaco sienta precedente: salud por encima de interés comercial

elobservador.com.uy – 18 de Julio 2016 – Uruguay 

El contundente fallo del Centro Internacional de Arreglo de Diferencias Relativas a Inversiones (Ciadi) sobre el arbitraje de la tacabalera Philip Morris contra el Estado uruguayo desestima cada uno de los reclamos de esa compañía internacional con distintos argumentos, pero destaca uno de fondo que permitió al gobierno de Tabaré Vázquez celebrar una victoria histórica.

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http://www.elobservador.com.uy/fallo-el-tabaco-sienta-precedente-salud-encima-interes-comercial-n942767

Tobacco distributor fights plain packaging change

irishexaminer.com – 14 de Abril de 2015 – Irlanda

A distributor of a number of well-known tobacco brands says the Government cannot unilaterally introduce plain packaging on its products as a member of the EU.

JTI Ireland Ltd says this would be contrary to EU harmonization objectives and an obstacle to trade between member states.

JTI also claims the rules, due to come in next month, will distort and impair the dynamics of competition in the tobacco market. They will dramatically reduce the ability of consumers to engage in “informed switching” and are likely to lead to a fall in the average price of tobacco products as a whole, it is claimed.

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http://www.irishexaminer.com/ireland/tobacco-distributor-fights-plain-packaging-change-323803.html

independent.co.uk – 8 de diciembre de 2014 – uk

Gambian diplomats found guilty of using London embassy for tobacco fraud

Seven Gambian diplomats who used their London embassy as a front for selling more than half a million pouches of tax-free tobacco have been found guilty of cheating the UK taxpayer out of almost £4.8m.

Yusupha Bojang, the deputy head of London’s Gambian Diplomatic Mission, ordered 29 tonnes of tax-free rolling tobacco in a three-year scam together with his colleagues.

During the trial, Southwark Crown court heard how the embassy building in London’s Kensington Court was transformed into a tobacconist store, with smokers queuing outside to buy imported packets of Old Holborn and Golden Virginia.

In some cases diplomats were ordering tobacco worth more than their annual salary – quite an investment, especially given that there was no evidence the defendants are smokers.

The racket meant more than £4.8m of tax revenue went evaded, the Crown Prosecution Service (CPS) said. Bojang, along with first secretary Gaston Sambou, welfare officer Georgina Gomez and finance attaché Ebrima John – who all had diplomatic privileges – were found guilty of conspiracy to cheat the revenue along with Veerahia Ramarajaha, Audrey Leeward and Hasaintu Noah.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/uk/crime/gambian-diplomats-found-guilty-of-using-london-embassy-for-tobacco-fraud-9911414.html

independent.co.uk – 21 de Octubre de 2014 – Uruguay

Big Tobacco puts countries on trial as concerns over TTIP deals mount

Tiny Uruguay may not seem a likely front line in the war of the quit smoking brigade against Big Tobacco.

But the Latin American country has unwittingly found itself not just in the thick of that battle, but in the middle of an even bigger fight – that of the rising opposition to international free trade deals.

Philip Morris is suing Uruguay for increasing the size of the health warnings on cigarette packs, and for clamping down on tobacco companies’ use of sub-brands like Marlboro “Lights” which could give the impression some cigarettes are safe to smoke.

The tobacco behemoth is taking its legal action under the terms of a bilateral trade agreement between Switzerland – where it relatively recently moved from the US – and Uruguay. The trade deal has at its heart a provision allowing Swiss multinationals the right to sue the Uruguayan people if they bring in legislation that will damage their profits.

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http://www.independent.co.uk/news/business/analysis-and-features/big-tobacco-puts-countries-on-trial-as-concerns-over-ttip-deals-mount-9807478.html

guardianlv.com – 15 de Agosto de 2014 – UK

Tobacco Giant Phillip Morris Prepares to Sue U.K. Government Over Packet Law

Tobacco giant Phillip Morris has declared that it is prepared to sue the U.K. government over a packaging law that would mean only plain packets would be legal for cigarettes. The government is considering implementation of the plain packaging law in the hope that it will act as a better way to warn consumers of the dangers of smoking.

Should the law go through, cigarette boxes and packs would not be allowed to have any form of branding on them. Instead, graphic health warnings would be placed in order to communicate the dangers of smoking to those that still do so.

Phillip Morris makes the Marlboro brand of cigarette, and the brand has spent years on marketing strategy to gain the hold that is currently has in the tobacco industry. The cigarette giant has made it clear that it is prepared to sue the U.K. government should this packet law go through.

The Australian government implemented plain packaging laws in a similar attempt to improve public health, Phillip Morris are currently suing them. In a statement the company announced that it is prepared to “protect its rights” and in doing so will go to court to seek what it considers to be a fair value of its property.

After a review earlier this year found that the number of children who start smoking could be reduced if smoking packets were not branded, the U.K. government announced that it wanted to step towards plain packets for cigarettes. It is believed that doing so would lower the incidence of new smokers in the country. The first drafting of the potential plain packaging rules were published in June this year. After the drafting, a six-week consultation period commenced. That period concluded last week.

Phillip Morris submitted a statement to the Department of Health saying that the company would be seeking compensation of “billions of pounds. “It is thought that the appropriate compensation for tobacco branding should be in the region of 11 billion pounds, according to the 2014 Exane BNP Paribas report.

According to Phillip Morris, plain or standardized packaging is a way of disgusting what the company considers to be a government mandated destruction of property. The company has argued that plain packaging rules are unlawful and run in opposition to the most basic requirement of what lawmaking should be. Phillip Morris went on to term the proposed standard as “disproportionate”.

Australia is having problems after implementing the packaging law. The complaints are that the laws have created what should be considered as illegal obstacles to companies trying to do business. It was thought that the tobacco giant used the Australian case as an example to other countries that might also try to implement packaging laws.

An estimated 200,000 children in the U.K. begin smoking every year. The government had hoped that the packet law would be already in place before the next general election. Fears over legal challenges have already delayed the progress, and now that tobacco giant Phillip Morris has said that it is prepared to sue should the law be put into action, further delays are expected.

By Tabitha Farrar

Sources:
The Global Mail
FOX Business
The Week

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http://guardianlv.com/2014/08/tobacco-giant-phillip-morris-prepares-to-sue-u-k-government-over-packet-law/#sdRJeqyKmlITq0aK.99 

dailysabah.com – 21 de Julio 2014 – EEUU

American widow wins $23.6 billion tobacco payout

MIAMI – A Florida jury has slammed the R.J. Reynolds Tobacco Co. the No. 2 cigarette maker in the U.S. with $23.6 billion (TL 50.1 billion) in punitive damages in a lawsuit filed by the widow of a longtime smoker who died of lung cancer in 1996. The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict. That ruling also said smokers and their families need only prove addiction and that smoking caused their illnesses or deaths.

Last year, Florida's highest court re-approved that decision, which made it easier for sick smokers or their survivors to pursue lawsuits against tobacco companies without having to prove to the court again that Big Tobacco knowingly sold dangerous products and hid the hazards of cigarette smoking. The damages a Pensacola jury awarded Friday to Cynthia Robinson after a four-week trial come in addition to $16.8 million in compensatory damages. Robinson individually sued Reynolds in 2008 on behalf of her late husband, Michael Johnson Sr. Her attorneys said the punitive damages are the largest of any individual case stemming from the original class action lawsuit. 

"The jury wanted to send a statement that tobacco cannot continue to lie to the American people and the American government about the addictiveness of and the deadly chemicals in their cigarettes," said one of the woman's attorneys, Christopher Chestnut. Reynolds' vice president and assistant general counsel, J. Jeffery Raborn, called the damages in Robinson's case "grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law." "This verdict goes far beyond the realm of reasonableness and fairness, and is completely inconsistent with the evidence presented," Raborn said in a statement. "We plan to file post trial motions with the trial court promptly, and are confident that the court will follow the law and not allow this runaway verdict to stand."

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http://www.dailysabah.com/money/2014/07/21/american-widow-wins-236-billion-tobacco-payout

dailymail.co.uk – 21 de Julio 2014 – EEUU

American widow wins $23.6 billion tobacco payout

Widow of chain smoker wins $23.6BILLION in damages from tobacco company she sued over his death

The case is one of thousands filed in Florida after the state Supreme Court in 2006 tossed out a $145 billion class action verdict

The damages were awarded Friday to Cynthia Robinson, whose husband died of lung cancer

Reynolds' vice president and assistant general counsel, J. Jeffery Raborn, called the damages in Robinson's case 'grossly excessive and impermissible under state and constitutional law'

Publicación original: 

http://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/article-2698740/RJ-Reynolds-tobacco-company-hit-23-6B-judgment-punitive-damages-widow-chain-smoker-sued-company-death.html

presstv.ir – 21 de Julio 2014 – EEUU

US tobacco giant told to pay wife of cancer victim $23.6 billion

A court in the United States has ordered Reynolds Tobacco Co., the country's second largest cigarette maker, to pay record punitive damages of $23.6 billion to the widow of a cigarette-smoking cancer victim.

Michael Johnson Sr. smoked the company’s Kool brand menthol cigarettes for over 20 years before dying of lung cancer in 1996 at the age of 36.

His widow, Cynthia Robinson, took action against Reynolds in 2008, seeking compensation for her husband's death. She argued the conspired to conceal the health hazards associated with its menthol cigarettes.

On Friday, the jury in northwestern Florida first awarded $17 million in compensatory damages and then emerged at 10 p.m. with a $23.6 billion punitive judgment.

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http://www.presstv.ir/detail/2014/07/20/372022/widow-in-us-wins-236bn-tobacco-payout/ 

tampabay.com – 8 de Junio de 2014 – EEUU

U.S. Supreme Court sides against Big Tobacco in Florida litigation

The U.S. Supreme Court denied a tobacco industry appeal Monday in Florida litigation that stretches back almost two decades.

With billions of dollars potentially at stake, hundreds of Florida smokers and their families can still press forward with lawsuits over cancer, emphysema and other maladies.

According to one Wall Street analyst, Florida litigation is one of Big Tobacco's two largest areas of legal exposure.

At issue is whether Floridians can pursue individual lawsuits based on jury findings from a class-action suit that was thrown out years ago. The class-action jury had found that the tobacco industry conspired to withhold evidence that their product was dangerous.

The Florida Supreme Court has ruled several times that people who were part of the class-action case could still use that conspiracy finding when pursuing suits as individuals. The industry appealed the latest cases, totaling about $70 million, citing violation of due process. By rejecting that appeal Monday, the U.S. Supreme Court let the Florida law stand.

So far, 110 cases have already been tried, with about $500 million in outstanding verdicts, according to a Morgan Stanley analysis in May.

Publicación original:

http://www.tampabay.com/news/courts/civil/us-supreme-court-sides-against-big-tobacco-in-florida-litigation/2183646

fool.com – 19 de Mayo de 2014 – EEUU

Even More Lawsuits Hit Big Tobacco

Big tobacco companies are no stranger to lawsuits. Indeed, Altria (NYSE: MO ) and Reynolds American (NYSE: RAI ) take the threat of lawsuits in stride, as it is just an occupational hazard of working in the tobacco industry.

However, it seemed as if tobacco companies were catching a break last year when Reynolds reported that the number of pending "smoking and health" cases against the company had fallen from 352 in 2001 to just 69 in the third quarter of 2013. The number of health-care reimbursement cases fell from 62 to two over the same period.

Unfortunately, this revelation was followed by an order from a federal court. This order obliged the major U.S. tobacco companies to publish a series of corrective statements through advertisements on television, newspapers, and the Internet which stated that the companies had deceived customers about the health risks of smoking.

Now, yet more suits face the industry.

Publicación original:

http://www.fool.com/investing/general/2014/05/19/even-more-lawsuits-hit-big-tobacco.aspx

cityam.com – 28 de abril de 2014 – UK

Tobacco plain packaging braced for legal showdown at the WTO

The battle over Australia's law compelling the standardized packaging of tobacco is set to come to a head after two years of procedural wrangling.

The case will now be settled in court by the World Trade Organization (WTO) after five countries brought the action against Australia arguing the law was a restriction on intellectual property rights.

Introduced in 2012, the law is the first of its kind and has been widely criticized as ineffective and a boon to black marketers.

"Its plain packaging measure is failing to have the desired health effects of reducing smoking prevalence and remains detrimental to our premium tobacco industry," said Katrina Naut, the Dominican Republic's director-general of foreign trade.

The agreement reached between Australia and the five complainants ensures the case will commence within weeks. Director-general of the WTO Roberto Azevedo will appoint three panelists by the 5 May to judge the dispute.

Among the host of complaints against the prohibition was that the removal of all branding from tobacco products hampers the ability of tobacco producers to differentiate their premium products from other competitors.

Publicación original:

http://www.cityam.com/blog/1398682575/tobacco-plain-packaging-braced-legal-showdown-wto

radioaustralia.net.au – 22 de abril de 2014 – Corea del Sur

South Korea takes on 'big tobacco'

The National Health Insurance Service has taken legal action against Philip Morris, British American Tobacco and the local KT&G Corporation, to off-set the cost of treating smoking related diseases.

Publicación original:

http://www.radioaustralia.net.au/international/radio/program/asia-pacific/south-korea-takes-on-big-tobacco/1299854

reuters.com – 27 de marzo de 2014 – Australia

Australia demands opponents stop stalling WTO tobacco case

(Reuters) - Australia asked five countries challenging its tobacco policies on Wednesday to stop delaying the progress of their cases at the World Trade Organization and took the unusual step of speeding up one of the complaints against itself.

Indonesia, Ukraine, Cuba, Honduras and Dominican Republic have all launched complaints at the world trade body to try to overturn Australia's "plain packaging" laws on tobacco.

Australia hopes the stringent packaging laws will reduce smoking and improve public health, and other countries around the world have said they may follow suit, based on the WTO case, raising the stakes for a speedy resolution.

Publicación original:

http://in.reuters.com/article/2014/03/27/us-wto-tobacco-idINBREA2Q0T520140327

smh.com.au – 12 de marzo de 2014 - Australia

Tobacco industry claims on impact of plain packaging go up in smoke

One of Australia's biggest tobacco companies has been accused of lying after it claimed plain packaging of cigarettes has had "no impact" in Australia except to increase illegal cigarette smuggling.

Official Customs figures obtained by Fairfax Media indicate plain packaging has had almost no effect on tobacco smuggling, in direct opposition to the arguments the tobacco industry is using in its campaign to stop the health measure being adopted internationally.

Publicación original:
http://www.smh.com.au/federal-politics/political-news/tobacco-industry-claims-on-impact-of-plain-packaging-go-up-in-smoke-20140311-34kfc.html#ixzz2vkmPURVt