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Jump to full article: St. Petersburg Times (ru), 2001-04-06
Author: Molly Graves and Galina Stolyarova / STAFF WRITERS
Intro: A lawsuit brought by a pensioner against the Petro tobacco firm moved into its second hearing on Thursday, with proceedings concentrating on evidence from medical specialists.
The suit is the first of its kind to be heard in a Russian court. Ivan Prokopenko is demanding health and moral damages of $71,500 from Petro, owned by multinational Japan Tobacco International (JTI), for lung cancer which he says was the result of smoking Belomorkanal papirosy - a type of non-filtered cigarette - for 40 years.
Prokopenko's lawyer, Sergei Osutin, invited three witnesses to speak at the court on Thursday, including Alexander Yatsuba, Prokopenko's neighbor for over eight years and co-worker for three years, and two physicians specializing in cancer-related disorders. One of the doctors is familiar with Prokopenko's case history.
Yatsuba said Prokopenko was a heavy smoker of Belomorkanal cigarettes, although he was unable to say how many Prokopenko smoked daily. He was also unsure if Prokopenko only smoked Petro's cigarettes. . .
Although the damages requested by Prokopenko amount to small change for JTI, the suit is being seen as a test case, particularly in light of the recent spate of similar actions in the United States.
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