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Canadian court rules against tobacco firms

Canada is now the first country outside the US where governments can sue tobacco manufacturers to recover billions of dollars in smoking-related health costs, thanks to a unanimous Canadian Supreme Court ruling last week. Tobacco foes hope other countries will follow Canada`s litigious lead.

",Canada is a pioneer in this,", says Richard Daynard, president of the Tobacco Control Resource Center. ",The legislation would obviously be available as a model for legislation in any other country.",

British Columbia",s law, upheld last Thursday by the Canadian Supreme Court, allows the western province to sue tobacco companies for the cost of treating past and future health problems related to smoking.