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The "Tobacco Wars"—Global Litigation Strategies
Lawrence O. Gostin, JD
JAMA. 2007;298(21):2537-2539.
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The Framework Convention on Tobacco Control (FCTC) identifies civil and criminal litigation as a public health strategy and promotes international cooperation (reporting, technical assistance, and information exchange). Holding the tobacco industry accountable through civil and criminal liability serves a number of public health objectives: punishes companies for hiding known health risks, manipulating nicotine content, and misleading the public; deters and prevents future harmful behavior; compensates individuals and stake-holders for health care and other costs associated with smoking and exposure to environmental tobacco smoke (ETS); raises prices, resulting in lower tobacco consumption; increases disclosure of health risks, through labeling and advertising restrictions; and promotes transparency, by compelling discovery of internal industry documents.
Tobacco litigation frequently has been used as a method for promoting tobacco control in the United States. Litigation is less common outside the United States, but increasingly advocates have brought innovative lawsuits abroad. . . . [Full Text of this Article] Compensation/Recovery
Author Affiliations: ONeill Institute for National and Global Health Law, Georgetown University Law Center, Washington, DC, and Department of Health Policy and Management, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, Baltimore, Maryland.
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