Health, Government - Hold Big Tobacco Responsible, Say Researchers

Health researchers are advising Australian governments to recoup the $31.5 Billion spent on smoking-related illnesses by suing the big tobacco companies.

The report from three health researchers in the Medical Journal of Australia that the next tactic to drive down smoking rates ought to be a series of multi-billion dollars lawsuits.

"Successful litigation could reduce its financial capacity to engage in future activities and undermine any remaining credibility it may have in the policy arena," says the trio of Macquarie University health studies lecturer Dr Ross MacKenzie, Curtin University's professor of health policy Mike Daube, and Canadian tobacco control consultant Eric LeGresley.  "Legal action would clearly pose substantial challenges, but the potential benefits of holding tobacco companies to account through litigation mean that it could play an important role in future Australian tobacco control strategies."

"Litigation is increasingly recognised as a valuable tobacco-control approach," they continue.  "Unless the momentum of tobacco control is maintained with further innovative approaches, the industry will inevitably develop new strategies to undermine measures in place, and public health gains will be at risk."

Smoking-related illnesses currently kill 15,000 Australians per year.