Tobacco Companies Cheer South Korean Court Ruling.

A South Korean court Thursday ruled in favour of a local cigarette maker in the longstanding suits filed by ailing smokers and their families against the company, saying there was no evidence to prove smoking caused their illnesses, South Korea's Yonhap news agency reported. They are the first anti-tobacco lawsuits involving individuals in South Korean legal history.

The court said the plaintiffs failed to prove a connection between smoking and cancer they or their family members contracted. "There is no evidence to prove cigarettes produced and sold by the company had problems in terms of manufacture, design and labelling, and that smoking was the direct cause of their lung or laryngeal cancer," judge Cho Kyung-ran of the Seoul Central District Court said.

In the suits filed separately in September and December of 1999, two groups of 36 plaintiffs sought about 400 million won (US$426,800) in combined damages, accusing the nation's single tobacco maker KT&G Corp. of failing to warn people soon enough about the dangers of smoking and for producing the dangerous, addictive product. Seven of them were cancer patients but four died of the disease before the ruling came.

The attorney for the plaintiffs, Bae Keun-ja, said she would appeal. "We cannot accept the ruling denying a tobacco manufacturer's responsibility for lung cancer outbreaks while recognising the general cause-and-effect relationship of smoking and cancer," Bae said.

But KT&G's lawyer Park Ghyo-sun welcomed the decision, saying "it was a wise judgement as the court recognised there could be many other causes of lung cancer in addition to smoking." The ruling was also hailed by KT&G.

If the plaintiffs file an appeal, the future trial is likely to reignite a heated debate about the danger of smoking and the impact of smoking on cancer.

Anti-smoking and consumer rights groups instantly showed strong disappointment. Lee Bok-geun, chief planning official of the Korean Association of Smoking and Health, said the court ruling "could cause far-reaching havoc to the people by encouraging juveniles or those who already quit smoking to smoke."

"The risks of smoking are known to the entire world," said Jang Gwang-mo, head of the Consumers Union of Korea. "We cannot hide our disappointment at the court ruling." (Bernama)

***** Well, well, well. That ruling must bring a lot of happiness to our own legalized murderers, the tobacco companies. Do you agree with the contention of the judge? Is there truly no connection between their illness and smoking? Or should we just take the attitude that since they knew about the dangers of their addiction, they and they alone are responsible for the terrible physical condition they are now in? Your views please.
Image - Source
An interesting link: How the urge to smoke can just vanish