European News Bulletin - EU9947 - 13 December 1999 (fwd)

[Robert Weissman <rob@essential.org>]

EUROPEAN BULLETIN EU9947 – 13 December 1999

Headlines

FRANCE: Seita partly to blame for smoker’s death

HUNGARY: Government seeks deferment on maximum tar yield 

NETHERLANDS: Smoking ban in aircraft popular with Dutch travelling public
SLOVAKIA: Tobacco tax rises

UKRAINE: Local production of Philip Morris cigarettes

UNITED KINGDOM: Smokers told: ‘Leave your cigarettes in the 20th century’



Full Text

FRANCE: Seita partly to blame for smoker’s death


A French court has ruled that French cigarette maker Seita was partly to
blame for a smoker's death, opening a new front in the war on tobacco
firms just as Seita prepares to merge with Spain’s Tabacalera.

The court said Richard Gourlain, who died of cancer of the lung and tongue
at 50, was at fault himself for smoking two packs of filterless Gauloises
cigarettes a day for more than 35 years, but that Seita was also largely
responsible.

Seita said it was surprised by the verdict and would appeal, but the
ruling sent its shares plummeting on the Paris bourse and raised the
spectre of protracted legal wrangles at a time when Seita is preparing to
fuse with Tabacalera. Seita’s stock shed nearly 10 percent after the
ruling before recovering somewhat, to close down 3.85 percent.

Industry analysts said it was hard to assess the impact of the ruling
beyond the immediate hit for tobacco shares in France and further afield.
But they said it was the first time a suit had got so far in Europe, where
efforts to take tobacco firms to task in Britain and on the continent have
been proving tougher for plaintiffs than in the litigation-happy United
States.

The local court south of Paris said in the case taken by his widow that
Gourlain was 40 percent to blame himself from the age of 20 onwards, when
he had already been smoking for six years.

It said Seita was responsible on the grounds it had not fulfilled it
obligations to inform smokers of health risks after 1976, the year France
introduced laws obliging companies to put health warnings on cigarette and
tobacco packets.

Gourlain’s widow is seeking close to three million French francs
($469,000) in damages following the death of her husband on January 7 this
year. The court set a three-month deadline for an evaluation of the
damages claim.

Seita’s lawyer, Pierre Louis Dauzier, said the appeal would be lodged
before the evaluation of damages was completed and the firm itself
reiterated that it could not be held responsible.

"Seita is surprised by this decision...Seita cannot be held responsible
today for the choice, which is one of individual responsibility," it said
in a statement. The company said it welcomed the fact that the court had
rejected a parallel complaint by the health authority in the Loiret
region, which wanted 977,396 francs in damages on money spent to care for
Gourlain.

Source: Reuters, 8/12/99



HUNGARY: Government seeks deferment on maximum tar yield

Hungary, one of the East European countries seeking to join the European
Union, has sought a deferment until the end of 2005, of the requirement to
reduce the maximum tar delivery of cigarettes from the currently
permissible 15mg to 12mg, the ceiling set by the EU. An industry source
said a 2005 deadline would be "very humane", given that the production of
cigarettes with lower tar and nicotine deliveries required large-scale
investments by manufacturers. Currently lower tar cigarettes account for
around 40 per cent of the Hungarian market.

Source: World Tobacco, November 1999




NETHERLANDS: Smoking ban in aircraft popular with Dutch travelling public

Research carried out by the Dutch touring club ANWB (the largest
organisation representing the interests of the travelling public in the
Netherlands, with more than one million members) into the public
appreciation of air travel, showed a high level of general satisfaction,
with special praise for the smoking ban which has been in force for some
time in the flights of all Dutch airlines and many other airlines using
Netherlands airports. The unexpected success of this measure puts paid to
all the criticism that had been expressed beforehand.

It is now clear that the public at large is enthusiastic about the
non-smoking rule. The question now is, whether other sectors such as
public transport, catering, and all others involved with areas accessible
to the public, will draw the only possible conclusion from this.

Correspondence from Fons Nypels, Dutch Nonsmokers Association CAN (CLEAN

AIR NOW!) 6/12/99




POLAND: First tobacco litigation case

A man who lost his mother to lung cancer has sued Philip Morris and Radom,
a Polish firm controlled by France’s Seita, the first such anti-tobacco
suit in Poland.

"The tobacco concerns made my mother an addict and killed her," the
plaintiff, 42-year-old Slawomir Lubicz-Sienicki, said 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.

Source: Reuters - Wednesday, December 8, 1999



SLOVAKIA: Tobacco tax rises

The Slovakian parliament is aiming to raise a further SK 2bn from
increases in tax on tobacco, alcohol and fuel. Tax on cigarettes will rise
by SK0.05 per piece.

Source: Tobacco Europe, November/December 1999



UKRAINE: Local production of Philip Morris cigarettes

Philip Morris’s Kharkiv tobacco factory in the Ukraine has started
producing L&M and L&M Lights cigarettes for local consumption. The factory
is already making Chesterfield cigarettes as well as local brands. There
are plans to produce Marlboro and Parliament brands at the factory.
Capacity has been increased from 2bn cigarettes per year to 11 bn. Philip
Morris has invested $37m in the Ukraine over the past five years and
intends to spend a further $13m in the next three.

Source: Tobacco Europe, November/December 1999



UK: Smokers told: Leave your cigarettes in the 20th century’

The Government launched its latest anti-smoking campaign on 10 December,
the biggest ever to be held in England. Alan Milburn, the Health
Secretary, unveiled a poster encouraging smokers to "Leave your cigarettes
in the 20th century".

Billboard posters will be placed in prime locations across England from
now into the new year. Immediately after Christmas the posters will be
backed by a series of television advertisements.

The three-year campaign is part of the Government’s strategy to tackle the
causes of the nation’s biggest killer diseases - cancer, heart disease and
stroke. It was launched on the first anniversary of the publication of the
White Paper ‘Smoking Kills’.

The campaign includes a telephone helpline (0800 169 0169) to provide
information and support for people wanting to stop smoking.

Mr Milburn said: "Smoking is a dangerous and expensive habit. We know 70
per cent of smokers actually want to give up, so our campaign will provide
the incentive to give up backed up by helpful advice and support. People
who quit smoking soon feel the health benefits - and that would be a great
start to the new millennium."

Source: The Times, Friday, 12/10/99



Amanda Sandford Research Manager ASH 102 Clifton Street LONDON EC2A 4HW
tel: 0171 739 5902 fax: 0171 613 0531