Jump to full article: Canadian Press, 2000-11-20
Author: NANCY CARR
Intro: A former tobacco executive was back in court Monday for the start of his David-and-Goliath trial against cigarette giant Imperial Tobacco that alleges mild cigarettes are deceptively dangerous.
Joseph Battaglia, 59, alleges that Imperial misled the public and failed to warn smokers about the risks of so-called mild cigarettes. Battaglia filed his suit in small claims court three years ago because proceedings there are generally quick and inexpensive.
"Joe can't afford to sue big tobacco, nobody can," said Douglas Lennox, a lawyer with Toronto's Rochon Geneva who stepped in to represent Battaglia free of charge after the case had dragged on for two years.
Battaglia is seeking $6,000 in damages, the maximum allowable in small claims court. He also wants Imperial to be honest about the risk of its product and "devote considerable resources to developing safer cigarettes." . .
Neil Collishaw, research director for Physicians for a Smoke-free Canada, told court that two factors make Imperial's Matinee Extra Mild cigarette's deceivingly dangerous.
The package claims that Battaglia's cigarette of choice contains 0.4 milligrams of nicotine, and lab tests confirm this amount. But the suit alleges that the amount a smoker actually gets is six times higher than that.
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