Quebec Sues Tobacco Corporations for $60 Billion

Cigarette smoke | BCBusiness
Quebec is hoping to recover some health care costs via a $60-billion lawsuit against Big Tobacco.

The province joins five others in Canada to sue cigarette makers to recoup health care costs related to treating smokers.

Quebec has finally jumped on legal bandwagon opposing Big Tobacco.
 
On Friday, Quebec joined the ranks of several provinces taking a legal stand against the country’s largest tobacco companies in the form of a $60-billion lawsuit. The province accused cigarette manufacturers of hiding the true detrimental health effects of their tobacco products, including links to heart disease, lung cancers and underweight births.
 
However noble the intention, the move echoes as an outright cash grab from the provincial government. The lawsuit spans 60 years from 1970 to 2030, and officials have admitted the high damages amount is meant to recoup the costs for treating Quebec residents afflicted with various ailments related to smoking.
 
As with other similar cases in the U.S., this suit will likely be settled out of court with the tobacco firms doling out an undisclosed amount to the open hands of the provincial government. For the companies, it’s just a necessary cost of doing business.
 
Quebec barely beat Alberta’s own version of the lawsuit, which the province filed Saturday seeking just $10 billion for health care costs.
 
The five other provinces to take similar legal action against tobacco companies are Newfoundland and Labrador, Alberta, Ontario, New Brunswick and our own British Columbia.