Guatemala May File Suit (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Monday April 20, 6:22 pm Eastern Time

Guatemala may file tobacco suit - Houston law firm

HOUSTON, April 20 (Reuters) - The government of Guatemala is considering
filing a lawsuit against tobacco companies to recover the cost of treating
sick smokers, a Houston law firm said on Monday. The firm -- Fleming,
Hovenkamp & Grayson P.C. -- said in a statement it had been hired by
Guatemalan Attorney General
Acisclo Valladares Molina to study the feasibility of such a suit.

Any suit likely would be similar to those filed by 40 states in the United
States seeking reimbursement for the cost of treating smoking-related
illnesses. Mississippi, Florida and Texas have settled with the tobacco
industry for a combined $30 billion.

D'Lisa Simmons, a spokeswoman for the Houston law firm, said it was not yet
known when a decision would be made on whether to file.

According to Action on Smoking and Health, a Washington-based anti-smoking
group, the governments of Belgium, Brazil, Britain, Israel and other
countries are considering legal action against tobacco companies. A Costa
Rican study found that sick smokers had cost the nation's social security
system $534 million, the group said.

The tobacco industry reached a proposed $368.5 billion settlement last year
with U.S. state attorney generals in an attempt to end its legal woes, but
legislation has been introduced in Congress that would raise the cost to
$516 billion.