Panama to Sue Tobacco Companies (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

                        Published Saturday, August 29, 1998, in the Miami
Herald 
             Panama sues 18 U.S. tobacco companies for
             health damages

             PANAMA -- (EFE) -- The government has announced that it has filed a
             multimillion-dollar suit against 18 U.S. tobacco growers for
damage inflicted on the
             health of thousands of Panamanians.

             In a news conference Thursday, Health Minister Aida de Rivera
said the suit was
             filed Tuesday in Louisiana by four U.S. lawyers representing
the Panamanian
             government. 

             Panama sued multinational companies, which were not named, to
establish a
             precedent and to repair the damage to health of Panamanians
from tobacco
             consumption in the past years, the minister said.

             Statistics from the Health Ministry showed an annual average of
2,240 deaths
             caused by malignant tumors and heart attacks in Panama.

             Of the total number of deaths due to malignant tumors, 197
cases involved cancer
             of the trachea, bronchial tubes, lungs, mouth and larynx, all
linked to tobacco
             consumption. 
                                                    

                               Copyright © 1998 The Miami Herald