Israeli Cigarette Case Rejected (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Israeli Cigarette Case Rejected
by Laurie Copans / Associated Press Writer
Source: AP, Wednesday, 9/15/99

Wednesday, September 15, 1999;  3:13 p.m. EDT

JERUSALEM (AP) -- A judge rejected a health insurance company's lawsuit
against a local cigarette manufacturer on Wednesday, ruling that a
successful suit would subject just about any product to sanctions.

The Kupat Holim Maccabi health fund demanded that the Dubek cigarette
company assume responsibility for the smoking-related deaths or sickness
of hundreds of thousands of Maccabi clients. The health fund said it had
intended to demand the payment of damages in the next phase of the suit.

But Tel Aviv District Court Judge Adi Azar ridiculed the suit, saying that
accepting the claim would make it impossible to sell anything but lettuce
and tomatoes in Israel, the local army radio reported.

In his written decision, Azar reasoned that if cigarette manufacturers
could be found liable for illness, automakers could be held responsible
for traffic accidents and hamburger cooks for obesity.

Azar not only threw out the lawsuit, but also ordered the health fund to
pay the cigarette makers $7,000 in court costs.

Alon Gellert, a lawyer for Maccabi, dismissed the army radio's
interpretation of Azar's ruling, saying the judge had rejected the suit on
technicalities, not on principle.

Gellert said the lack of a specific figure in the suit was one of the main
reasons Azar rejected the suit.

``The judge didn't close the door, far from it,'' Gellert told The
Associated Press. ``He only said that the suit can't be filed this way.''
Gellert said the health fund would resubmit the case, naming a damage
claim for hundreds of millions of dollars.

Health ministry figures show 28 percent of Israelis smoke, and 5,000 of
Israel's 6.1 million citizens die of smoking-related illnesses each year.