French Anti-Cigarette Case Allowed (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

French Anti-Cigarette Case Allowed
by The Associated Press
Wednesday, Dec. 8, 1999; 12:18 p.m. EST

MONTARGIS, France –– A county court ruled today that a groundbreaking
lawsuit brought against a French cigarette company by the family of a
three-pack-a-day smoker who died of cancer was admissible.

In the first such trial in France, where smoking is still socially
acceptable and smoke-filled cafes are the norm, the court appointed a
doctor to report on the link between cigarettes and the cancer that killed
Richard Gourlain this year at the age of 49.

The court ruled that Seita, a formerly state-owned tobacco company, "had
committed a fault against Richard Gourlain by not respecting its
obligation to give information before 1976."

Seita's lawyer said after the ruling in this Loire valley town that the
company would appeal.

Gourlain brought a lawsuit against Seita in December 1996. His widow
continued the action after his death, claiming the company provided
insufficient information about the health risks of smoking.

Gourlain smoked up to three packs of unfiltered Gauloise cigarettes a day
for many years.

The appointed doctor will gather information about Gourlain's medical
state and determine whether cigarettes caused the lung and larynx cancers
that killed him.

The doctor's report will be used to determine what damages, if any, are
awarded to Gourlain's widow, Lucette Gourlain, who is seeking $431,000
compensation.

But the Montargis court dismissed a local insurance company's case against
Seita. It was seeking $158,000 as reimbursement for the victim's treatment
and hospital costs.

Seita was privatized in 1995, but the government maintains a minority
ownership. The company agreed to merge with Spain's Tabacalera in October.

Nearly 84 million cigarettes were lit in France in 1998 – a one percent
increase over the previous year, according to the Center for Information
and Documentation on Tobacco. The Health Ministry says that smoking causes
60,000 deaths a year in France.