Go to Appeal
Go to Article
Print
PRESS RELEASE July 17, 2001
RE: Battaglia vs. Imperial Tobacco Ltd.
On July 10th, 2001, I filed my appeal with the Superior Court of Justice (Divisional Court) against the decision by Justice Pamela Thompson, wherein among other things she said "only Mr. Battaglia can control his smoking habit". After 10 days of shock and assessing the decision with a clearer mind the reasons for appealing are as follows:
1) It would take another person at least 5 years to achieve the legal position I am presently in. This would be a waste of valid accusations which has the potential to expose Imperial Tobaccos' deceitful manufacturing and marketing techniques, specifically where it relates to their Light and Mild cigarettes. If I quit this fight now I would be enabling them to continue these deadly practices.
2) There are tens of thousands of adult Canadian cigarette smokers, like me, who wished they didn't smoke, have tried to quit, failed and don't understand why. Well, I know why!
3) The Honorable Justice Thompson primarily based her decision on my existing health, which has stabilized because of prescribed medication. (No Harm, No foul) Health was never my issue. When I commenced this claim in 1996, I was not aware that in 1999 I would be diagnosed with coronary heart disease. It was added to my claim to show a probable result of Imperial Tobaccos deception. In particular the design, formula and marketing of Matinee King Size Ultra Mild and Matinee Slim 100's Ultra Mild.
4) I am not a "Johnny come lately". My claim goes back 5 years following an action to quit on my part in 1994. What we know today confirms my suspicions of seven years ago. I don't expect those who have never smoked or those who have quit, to understand or have empathy for us. We wish we were one of you. But there still are millions who have tried to quit by trying the same method of weaning themselves off cigarettes as I have by switching to brands which hold the image of being lighter, safer, less addictive so that one day we could quit forever. I do expect them to be as mad as I am at this particular company and their deadly tactics. Even if you are not a Matinee smoker there are now many clones out there because of Imperials successful deception.
For almost 40 years of my smoking life I accepted the blame for my smoking habit, I believed myself to be the weak one. The one with an addictive personality. Forever destined to smoke, until death do us part. But that attitude changed in 1996 when I put 2 and 2 together and came up with the claim before the courts to-day.
5) In a nutshell this is what they knew, did and are still doing. Imperial Tobacco finally stated to a Senate Hearing in the year 2000 (after more than 50 years of denial) that cigarettes are addictive, cause cancer and other deadly diseases in some people. Who they are they do not know. Well we know the number in Canada is 45,000 people a year, you or I could be one of them.
With this knowledge they continue to exhibit a wanton disregard toward the value of human life. Rather than study how to make a safer cigarette (which can be done) they deliberately designed cigarette brands (Matinee being the worst) to specifically target smokers who were trying to quit. Effectively sabotaging their efforts, without regard to their personal welfare. Surely if not the law, divine intervention will take its course and punish the offenders. If Imperial Tobacco knew cigarettes killed human beings, why are they designing cigarettes that keep smokers hooked?
6) There were many other critical issues raised as evidence at trial by the Plaintiff that were not refuted by Imperial Tobacco. Somehow, over the 8 month period between trial and judgement they were forgotten and the foundation of my case became my heart disease. I don't need to be sick nor do I need to have quit to prove my allegation against them. Its their actions that frustrated my efforts to quit in 1994. Had they not planned to market lighter cigarettes that were actually more dangerous and addictive than regular cigarettes I may and several others might not be smoking today. Imperial Tobacco and Matinee cigarettes should be the focus of our attention along with the deceitful practices shamelessly exhibited by them. How could Mr. Battaglia "control his smoking habits" if he was being injected with nicotine while he slept?
7) Unknown at the time of trial in November of 2000 but known now, it certainly appears that perjury was committed by the defense witness, Mr. Donald Brown, former Chairman & CEO of Imperial Tobacco when he stated under oath that his company has studied elasticity in cigarettes but would never sell them. In fact, 80% of the mild cigarettes that they sell are elastic, so say Doctors for a Smoke Free Canada in a press release dated June 6, 2001.
Never mind the micro holes in the filter (that our lips cover) that's too simple. Now we have scientists and pharmaceutical formulas to worry about. What are chemists doing in the tobacco business? As a personal exercise rip open one of these so called softer cigarettes and examine the content inside. It's certainly not tobacco! What you will find are called ends, chips of tobacco bark, twigs and very little fine quality tobacco. It's the stuff we used to sweep off the factory floors in 1957 when I was the office boy at Rothmans. We wouldn't be caught dead selling cigarettes filled with ends. Where did the "Best Tobacco Money Can Buy" go? (Elasticity allows the smoker to obtain the optimum amount of nicotine required to satisfy the body, with little effort)
8) If with a straight face Imperial Tobacco can deny the obvious, for over 50 years and only recently recant their denials. If a recent head of Imperial Tobacco can, (with a straight face) deny that they would sell elastic cigarettes in Canada but were, then it can be said with justification that all evidence put forward by the defense should be, disregarded. At the very least a new trial should be ordered.
This appeal will be argued by "Justice", (Traffic Agents @ Court)
A copy of appeal can be found on the Web site, www.justice.on.ca on July 23, 2001
What's the solution?
A) The Federal Government agency responsible for Consumer and Corporate Affairs should immediately suspend the Charter which allows Imperial Tobacco to conduct business in Canada. Continue the revocation until they stop selling pharmaceutical products and get back to putting tobacco in cigarettes.
B) Legislate that within 2 years the tobacco industry must produce and manufacture cigarettes which do not carry any addictive ingredients. It can be done. The reason why it hasn't is because a smoker who wants to quit would be able to. It would also admit that existing cigarettes are unsafe.
No addiction, No Craving, No Smoking! No Money, No Big Tobacco.
C) An investigation of Imperial Tobacco executives advertising agency and scientists who participated in the design and marketing of these deadly cigarettes should commence and when warranted appropriate charges should be laid and prosecuted to the fullest extent of the law. What is happening now in the tobacco industry is inexcusable. I am mad at them and all others like me should be mad at them as well. It's not all our fault!
Joseph Battaglia
E-mail:justice@416dontpay.com

Appeal

Court File No. 456/2001
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE DIVISIONAL COURT
BETWEEN:
JOSEPH BATTAGLIA
SUPERIOR COURT OF JUSTICE Plantiff
FILED (Appellant)
JUL 10 2001-and-
REGISTRARIMPERIAL TOBACCO LIMITED
DIVISIONAL COURT TORONTODefendant
(Respondant)
NOTICE OF APPEAL
The Planitiff(Appellant) appeals to the Divisional Court from the Judgement of the Honorable Justice Pamela Thompson of Toronto Small Claims Court dated June 5th,2001 at Room #3, 45 Sheppard Ave. East, Toronto, Ontario.
The Appellant asks that the judgement be varied as follows:
1) That the judgement be set aside and an order be granted as follows:
2) An order to overturn the learned trial Justice judgement with costs as allowed under the Small Claims Court rules.
3) In the alternative, an order granting a new trial of the Appellants action.
THE GROUNDS OF APPEAL ARE AS FOLLOWS:
1) The learned Trial Justice did not give the proper weight to the direct examination and cross examination from the Appellant, specifically with regard to Imperial Tobacco Limited and the intentional manipulation of their products. Instead, the decision was based on the health of the Appellant, Mr. Joseph Battaglia.
2) On June 6th, 2001, a press release from Mr. Neil Collishaw, research director for Physicians for a Smoke Free Canada, emphatically stated Imperial did manufacture and sell cigarettes in Canada which were "elastic". Extensive analysis of lab results results shows that two thirds of cigarettes -31 billion annually- sold in Canada are "elastic", "Elastic" meaning that they produce and unexpectedly large nicotine hit when a smoker takes a puff or that companies have used certain methods to deliver more nicotine per puff. Imperial Tobacco Canada commands 70 percent of the Canadian market. In November 2000, Donald Brown, Chairman and former Chief Executive of Imperial Tobacco Canada, told the Court his Company had researched "elastic" cigarettes, but would never sell them. In his quest to be completely honest and forthright Mr. Collishaw testified in November 2000 that he had found no evidence that "elasticity" was part of Imperial Tobacco Limited's practice. Justice Thomson made reference to this evidence in her reasons for judgment. With this new evidence by Mr. Collishaw a doubt has been cast on the evidence given at trial by Mr. Donald Brown and his knowledge of manufacturing and marketing of these "elastic" cigarettes.
3) This is a critical issue in regard to the health and welfare of tens of thousands of Canadians. For 50 years, the cigarette industry had denied any link between smoking and health disease. Last year the President of Imperial Tobacco Canada admitted that nicotine is addictive and smoking causes cancer and other diseases. 45,000 Canadians die annually from smoking related causes. Very few adult smokers want to smoke, wished they didn't, have failed in their efforts to quit and don't understand why. The Appellant respectively submits, that the evidence from Imperial Tobacco Limited, at trial was not credible and deceptive manufacturing techniques were used.
The Appellant requests that this appeal be heard at Toronto.
Date: June 29th, 2001
From: Justice, Agents @ CourtTo: Deborah Glendinning
           2255 Keele St., Suite 101      c/o Osler, Hoskin & Harcourt
           Toronto, Ontario      1 First Canadian Place, Suite 600
           M6M 3Z6      Toronto, Ontario
           (416)-366-8729 Fax-(416)-614-8436      (416)-826-4714 Fax-(416)-826-4719
           Contact: Joseph Battaglia      Solicitors for the Defendants


Article

'Positive'
tobacco
deaths
knocked

Cig maker under fire

The Toronto Sun, Wednesday July 18, 2001
    GENEVA(AP) - Anti-smoking groups reacted angrily yesterdey to a report by cigarette giant Philip Morris that said tobacco could save a government millions of dollars in health care and pensions because many smokers die earlier.
    The report, by research company Arthor D.Little International and commisioned by Philip Morris, looked looked at the cost of smoking in the Czech Republic in 1999 and concluded the government had benefited from the "indirect positive effects" of early deaths.
    Savings on health care, pensions and housing for the elderly totalled $46 million, the report said.
    The British-based group Action on Smoking and Health described the study as "a sort of extermination program for the newly retired."
'Callous disregard for life'
    "The whole exercise is repellant and should be dismissed. Philip Morris is whispering in the ear of the Czech government, saying: 'Look, we can help you deal with those expensive old people, so why don't you go easy on controlling smoking?'" said John Connolly, the group's public affairs manager.
    Matthew Myers, president of the U.S. group Compaign for Tobacco-Free Kids, said the analysis represented "not only bad economics, but also a callous disregard for human life."
    Remi Calvet, director of communications for Philip Morris at its European headquarters in Lausanne, Switzerland, said the report had been commisioned to obtain economic data for the company, which makes 80% of the cigarettes sold in the Czech Republic.
    "We deeply regret any impression that premature death of smokers could represent a benefit for society," he told the Associated Press.
Smoking's positive effects
The Toronto Star, Sunday July 22, 2001
    Ain't that great!
    That pretty much sums up tobacco giant Philip Morris' response to the warning on cigarette packs that Smoking Kills.
    After decades of denying that cigarettes are lethal, Philip Morris is now trying to make a virtue out of the fact.
    In a bid to discourage governments from strengthening anti-smoking laws, the Marlborough Man-turned-Grim Reaper is touting all the savings countries can harvest from premature deaths.
    In a study it commissioned on the cost of smoking in the Czech Republic, Philip Morris reported that there was a net benefit to the government from the "indirect positive effects" of early deaths.
    First, it argued that tobacco taxes more than offset smoking-related costs such as health-care expenditures, fires, lost income, and lost work days. Then the study went on to point out that governments could expect an added windfall in the form of savings on pensions, health care and housing because smokers don't live as long as non-smokers.
    After Philip Morris put a cold, calculated $46 million figure on this dividend from death, a spokesperson for the company offered a hollow apology, saying, "We deeply regret any impression that premature death of smokers could represent a benefit for society."
    To put a dollar value on the "indirect positive effects" of killing people only affirms another Health Canada warning on cigarette packs: "Tobacco smoke can cause the arteries in your brain to clog...."


Back to Top










Direct Links to MTO sites