Tobacco.org

• French court rejects smoker's suit against Altadis 

A French court has rejected a lawsuit brought against French-Spanish tobacco company Altadis ALT.MC ALDS.PA by a smoker seeking damages for lung cancer, Altadis said on Tuesday.

The Court of First Instance in Bethune held that Altadis met its obligations on providing health warnings and that it was entitled to make use of health information from sources other than public authorities, Altadis said.

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• Seita Wins Suit Before the Beziers Regional Court 

Altadis is pleased that the Beziers Regional Court (Tribunal de Grande Instance) accepted its arguments and dismissed the suit filed by the family of Suzanne Berger. With this decision, the Court rightly considered that Seita could not be held responsible for failing to provide information, as claimed by the plaintiffs...

The family of Mrs. Berger, who died of cancer she attributed to cigarette smoking, filed a suit demanding EUR 230,000 in damages and a monthly allowance of EUR 1,525 for her three children in compensation for the moral injury suffered. . . .

The Court underlined that, before 1976, Seita did not have the authority to place health warnings on cigarette packs at its own initiative. As a result, the company cannot be held responsible for failing to fulfill an obligation to provide adequate information that did not fall within the scope of its competence.

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