Dutchman Challenging Big Tobacco (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Dutchman Challenging Big Tobacco
by Anthony Deutsch / Associated Press Writer
Source: AP, Saturday, 9/25/99
Friday, Sept. 24, 1999; 4:50 p.m. EDT


AMSTERDAM, Netherlands –– In the first Dutch challenge to Big Tobacco, a
man suffering from chronic emphysema after smoking for 41 years is suing
R.J. Reynolds, Philip Morris and two other tobacco companies, claiming
additives in cigarettes ruined his health.

Wim ter Schegget, 55, quit smoking this week after suffering from
smoke-related illness for years. He started at the age of 14 and his habit
later led to chronic emphysema, for which he will undergo surgery on
Monday.

Ter Schegget says that by the time he realized how dangerous smoking was,
he was puffing a pack a day and couldn't stop.

In a letter this week to four tobacco manufacturers – the other two are
London-based British American Tobacco and Douwe Egberts, the leading Dutch
cigarette maker – Ter Schegget's attorney, Martin de Witte, informed the
companies of his intent to sue for damages. He said the Dutch government
also was being included in the suit for "failing to sufficiently inform
the public of the damaging effects."

The document alleges that the manufacturers knowingly withheld information
about addiction-enhancing substances and harmful chemicals used to treat
tobacco leaves. De Witte said cases in the United States and Britain have
proved the companies knew of the health implications, opening the way for
prosecution in the Netherlands.

Leading the battle against cigarette makers in the United States, the
Justice Department on Wednesday sued the tobacco industry in an attempt to
recover billions of government dollars spent on smoking-related health
care, accusing the companies of operating a "coordinated campaign of fraud
and deceit."

Although the Dutch case could result in financial compensation, De Witte
said that is not the suit's aim. He said his client, who argues he was
misled by marketing campaigns, is pushing for sweeping changes in the
Dutch tobacco industry.

"The manufacturer is going to have to prove that the product isn't faulty
and that it has been presented to the public in the proper fashion," De
Witte said. As an example, he pointed to Camel cigarettes, which he said
are promoted as "fun, energizing and surprising."

Camel is one of the leading brand cigarettes in the suit, which also
targets the makers of Barclay, Pall Mall, Lucky Strike and other
well-known brands.

Smokers' advocates and the companies under attack have rejected the case's
chance of success before it even reaches the courts.

"The situation in the Netherlands is luckily different from in the United
States," said spokesman Ton Wutz of the Amsterdam-based group Smokers
Rights. "As a smoker, I think it's ridiculous simply because people are
responsibly for their own choices."

Wutz is one of more than 5 million Dutch smokers which make up a third of
the population in this country of just under 16 million. In the
Netherlands, smoking is widely accepted at work, in restaurants and most
public buildings.