Jump to full article: AP, 2009-07-30
Author: YURI KAGEYAMA ; Associated Press Writer
Intro: YOKOHAMA, JAPAN -- One plaintiff is a cancer patient. Another is represented by his widow. The third, has emphysema and rolls into the courtroom on a wheelchair with tubes trailing out of his nose.
The three Japanese are waging a minnow-vs.-whale battle against Big Tobacco in one of the world's most smoker-friendly countries. But precedent suggests they're likely to lose, and they hope their suit will at least draw attention to the dangers of smoking.
Even if they win, they're unlikely to dent the finances of Japan Tobacco Inc., a former monopoly still half-owned by the government. The three are asking for a total of 30 million yen ($320,000) from a company with 6.8 trillion yen ($72.8 billion) a year in sales.
Their larger goal, they say, is to gain stronger curbs on tobacco, and legal and social acceptance of a notion that much of the world now takes for granted: that smoking makes you sick.
They have a long way to go. . . .
The lawsuit demands sterner warning labels on cigarettes, a ban on cigarette vending machines, and an acknowledgment that smoking is addictive and harmful.
"When I began smoking, about 80 percent of men were smokers," Mizuno said. "The advertising phrase was, 'You're healthy when a cigarette tastes so good."'
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When I began smoking, about 80 percent of men were smokers. The advertising phrase was, 'You're healthy when a cigarette tastes so good.'
Masanobu Mizuno, one of the plaintiffs in the 4 1/2 year old suit against Japan Tobacco. Arguments have concluded; a decision is due by Jan. 20, 2010.
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