Canadian Cancer Society criticizes proposed tobacco settlement as inadequate

Deal fails to include measures to reduce smoking 

OTTAWA, ON, Oct. 18, 2024 /CNW/ - The Canadian Cancer Society (CCS) is strongly criticizing a proposed settlement of tobacco lawsuits announced Thursday. CCS states that the settlement must include measures to reduce smoking, which is not currently the case.

The settlement sets up a Foundation independent of government with $1 billion in long-term funding, an approach that CCS has long supported. However, the Foundation will not be able to engage in any tobacco reduction measures such as smoking cessation initiatives, awareness campaigns or public health programs. Instead, it is narrowly constrained to funding research focused on improving diagnosis and treatment of tobacco-related disease.

"The approach in the proposed settlement falls massively short and fails to protect the future health of Canadians properly," says Rob Cunningham, lawyer for the Canadian Cancer Society. "How can such an approach possibly be justified when we continue to have millions of Canadians who smoke each year and while tobacco remains the leading cause of cancer death? This settlement fails to support public health efforts to reduce smoking."

The proposed settlement includes $32.5 billion in payments, with $24.7 billion to provinces and territories, $4.1 billion to the Quebec class action plaintiffs, $2.5 billion for compensation to individuals outside the Quebec class action plaintiffs, and $1.0 billion to the Foundation. This is a far cry from the more than $500 billion collectively being sought by provinces in the original lawsuits. 

CCS strongly supports the compensation being provided to the Quebec class action plaintiffs as well as to the other individuals receiving compensation.

The tobacco industry — over a period of decades — has engaged in deceitful behaviour causing insurmountable damage to the lives of Canadians and our healthcare system. As a result, Canadian consumers were induced into addiction. Tobacco use kills 46,000 Canadians every year and is the leading cause of disease and death in Canada. According to 2023 data, there are still 3.6 million Canadians who smoke, representing 11.4% of the population aged 18 and over. 

"Without investing in significant measures to reduce tobacco use, this proposed settlement misses the very intention of the lawsuits in the first place, which is to curtail the damages caused by the tobacco industry," says Cunningham. "The health disaster caused by the tobacco industry is still ongoing and needs immediate attention, which this proposed settlement fails to do. This is a deal that won't reduce smoking."

In the United States, similar lawsuits were settled in the late 1990s and resulted in settlements of USD $245.5 billion as well as the public disclosure of more than 40 million pages of previously secret tobacco industry documents, new marketing restrictions on tobacco products, and the establishment of an independent foundation to reduce use that continues to this day.

"The proposed settlement must be changed before it is approved," adds Cunningham. "The Foundation must have the ability to fund a full range of initiatives to reduce tobacco use, such as smoking cessation and community programs, among others. Moreover, as in the US, the settlement in Canada should contain policy measures to reduce tobacco use such as banning remaining tobacco promotion, and should require public disclosure of secret tobacco company internal documents."

CCS has been supporting lawsuits against the tobacco industry since the 1990s as a means to reduce tobacco use.

About the Canadian Cancer Society The Canadian Cancer Society works tirelessly to save and improve lives. We raise funds to fuel the brightest minds in cancer research. We provide a compassionate support system for all those affected by cancer, across Canada and for all types of cancer. Together with patients, supporters, donors and volunteers, we work to create a healthier future for everyone. Because to take on cancer, it takes all of us. It takes a society. 

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SOURCE Canadian Cancer Society (National Office)

For more information, please contact: Rob Cunningham, Lawyer and Senior Policy Analyst, Canadian Cancer Society, [email protected], 613-762-4624