Parliamentary Research Branch

PRB 98-8E

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), if current smoking habits persist, about 500 million people now alive, or about 9% of the world’s population, will die as a result of tobacco use. In 1995, about 3.1 million people were estimated to have died from tobacco-induced diseases; that figure is expected to rise to 10 million deaths per year by the 2020s or early 2030s, with 70% of those deaths occurring in developing countries.(1) In October 1998, Dr. Gro Harlem Brundtland, Director-General of WHO, announced the development of an International Framework Convention to cover key aspects of tobacco control that cross national boundaries.

United States (2)

The United States has been particularly influential in introducing tobacco control legislation and dealing with tobacco-related litigation because of its size, its position as the home base of the major tobacco manufacturing companies, and the nature of its legal system. Aggressive lawsuits in that country have sought damages for illnesses or death allegedly caused by smoking, and some courts have awarded large settlements.

Moreover, in March 1996, the Liggett group, one of the five major U.S. tobacco companies, settled out of court on a number of pending anti-tobacco lawsuits. In March 1997, it concluded a settlement with various states whereby the company was insulated from tobacco litigation in return for an admission that cigarettes are addictive and for its co-operation in implicating other tobacco companies.

On 20 June 1997, the tobacco companies reached a provisional settlement on lawsuits brought by 40 states. The tobacco companies would have paid $365.8 billion to the states over 25 years in return for broad protection from liability suits. Most of the money would have been spent on anti-smoking campaigns, and to repay state Medicaid money spent on the treatment of smoking-related illnesses. The settlement, however, required the approval of Congress, which attempted instead to impose its own agreement by legislation; this attempt collapsed in June 1998.

In late July 1998, nine states (California, Colorado, Massachusetts, New York, North Carolina, North Dakota, Oklahoma, Pennsylvania and Washington) resumed talks with the tobacco industry to see if a national settlement could be salvaged; however, as of the end of the summer, little progress had been made.

Meanwhile, four other states had settled their lawsuits individually for a total of over $35 billion: Mississippi ($3.6 billion) in July 1997, Florida ($11 billion) in August 1997, Texas ($14 billion) in January 1998, and Minnesota ($6.6 billion) in August of 1998. The various settlements work out to between approximately $725 and $1,400 per capita, with the provisional national settlement involving approximately $1,350 per capita (before legal costs are deducted).(3)

1954: Industry faces first liability lawsuit by lung cancer victim alleging negligence and breach of warranty. Suit dropped 13 years later.

1964: Surgeon General releases reports concluding that smoking causes lung cancer.

1965: Federal Cigarette Labelling and Advertising Act requires Surgeon General’s warnings on cigarette packs.

1972: Officials rule all airlines must create non-smoking sections.

1980: Surgeon General reports that smoking is major threat to women’s health.

1981: Insurers begin offering discounts on life insurance to non-smokers.

1988: President Reagan bans smoking on short domestic airline flights. Surgeon General reports that nicotine is an addictive drug.

1990: Smoking banned on interstate buses and all domestic airline flights of six hours or less.

1992: Nicotine patches introduced.

1994: Case filed by Diane Castana, whose husband died of lung cancer, grows into largest potential class action lawsuit in history by including millions of smokers.

Executives of seven largest U.S. tobacco companies swear in congressional testimony that nicotine is not addictive and deny manipulating nicotine levels in cigarettes.

Brown & Williamson documents show that tobacco executives had discovered the risks of smoking before the Surgeon General did so.

Mississippi files first of state lawsuits seeking to recoup the cost of smokers’ Medicaid bills from the tobacco companies.

1996: Liggett Group, the smallest of the major tobacco companies, settles claims with the attorneys general of five states, and promises to help them in claims against other companies.

Court strikes down class action status of Castana case, calling it too unwieldy to cover all states. Lawyers begin filing class action suits in dozens of states instead.

1997: Liggett concludes settlement with states whereby the company is insulated from tobacco litigation in return for admitting cigarettes are addictive and implicating other tobacco companies.

(3) See U.S. Census Bureau, State Resident Population, 1997, at
http://www.census.gov/statab/www/part6.html.