Tobacco policy experts say without further pressure, major companies are unlikely to shift their business models toward less harmful alternatives despite a proposed settlement reached that would see three industry giants pay out billions to smokers and their families.
Under a newly proposed deal filed in court on Thursday, JTI-Macdonald Corp., Rothmans, Benson & Hedges, and Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. would pay nearly $25 billion to provincial and territorial governments.
More than $4 billion would go to Quebec class-action members and another $2.5 billion would be paid to smokers in other provinces and territories who were diagnosed with lung cancer, throat cancer or chronic obstructive pulmonary disease between March 2015 and March 2019.
But University of Toronto professor Michael Chaiton, who studies tobacco and addiction, says the agreement offers little incentive for companies to abandon tobacco products that continue to drive their profits.
He says major industry players have maintained a willingness in recent years to promote tobacco-based products and fight proposed regulations that would curb their use, despite offering alternatives such as e-cigarettes.
The three companies sought creditor protection in Ontario in 2019 after Quebec’s highest court upheld a ruling ordering them to pay nearly $15 billion in two class-action lawsuits.
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 18, 2024.
