Jump to full article: BBC Online, 2001-01-25
Intro: A lawyer said the two countries believed they had been intentionally targeted by the tobacco giants because many of their people were poorly educated and unaware of the dangers of nicotine addiction. . .
But their lawyers said the two countries spent hundreds of millions of dollars treating smoking related illnesses such as cardiovascular disease, lung cancer, emphysema and birth defects.
They also said both governments would have regulated tobacco more closely if the US companies had been honest about the risks of smoking.
"We believe the 'tobacco cartel' intentionally targeted these developing nations where most of the citizens are poor, undereducated and unaware of the dangers of nicotine addiction," attorney Sonny Holtzman added.
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