Poland begins first U.S.-style anti-tobacco case (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

Poland begins first U.S.-style anti-tobacco case
Source: Reuters, Tuesday, 12/7/99

WARSAW, Dec 7 (Reuters) - A man who lost his mother to lung cancer sued
U.S. giant Philip Morris and a Polish firm controlled by France's Seita on
Tuesday, the first such U.S.-style anti-tobacco suit in Poland.

PAP news agency said that a district court in the southern city of Krakow
began hearing a suit against Philip Morris, a major foreign investor in
Poland, and cigarette maker Radom.

``The tobacco concerns made my mother an addict and killed her,'' PAP
quoted the plaintiff, 42-year-old Slawomir Lubicz-Sienicki, as saying
before the hearing.

Lubicz-Sienicki is claiming 10 million zlotys ($2.4 million) in
compensation for losses he suffered when his mother died after smoking for
at least 42 years.

Philip Morris, which has invested nearly $400 million in Poland, rejected
the demands.

``We offer our condolences because of the tragedy, but we see no
connection between this event and our company,'' said Robert Rychlicki, a
lawyer representing Philip Morris.

Due to Poland's often lengthy court procedures the case may last months,
or even years, especially if the sides decide to go to appeal.

Philip Morris and other tobacco companies have faced multi-million dollar
suits in the United States.

The industry also faces a claim by the U.S. Justice Department to recover
the $20 billion the federal government spends annually to treat
smoking-related illnesses.

Western cigarette companies have expanded in Poland and eastern Europe
since the fall of communism in 1989.

About 25 percent of Poland's 39 million population smoke some 90 billion
cigarettes annually.