Province Of Ontario Suing Tobacco Companies

[chinamon]

i know this article is not about hookah but it does deal with tobacco so i thought i'd share it with you.
i think its abso-fucking-lutely stupid of Ontario to do this.
anyway...

Ontario suing tobacco companies for $50B
Bradley Bouzane, Canwest News Service
Published: Tuesday, September 29, 2009

Ontario is looking for $50-billion from a group of tobacco companies to recoup health-care costs linked to illnesses stemming from tobacco use.

Under the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, which passed the provincial legislature this year, Ontario can file suits against companies seeking the recovery of tobacco-related damages.

The legislation impacts alleged damages from the past, as well as ongoing tobacco-related health issues.

Ontario Attorney General Chris Bentley told reporters Tuesday the government filed the suit in an attempt to reclaim the money dished out by taxpayers to fund the health-care system as it relates to ailments linked to smoking.

"The taxpayers of Ontario have paid a lot of money for health-care costs directly related to tobacco use over the decades," Mr. Bentley said, adding $50-billion is the estimated financial strain on the health system linked to smoking since 1955. "We have passed legislation that is consistent with legislation in other places and we believe the taxpayers should be compensated for the costs they have paid."

Although the new law allows government to move forward with the process, it is still required to prove its allegations -- and cost estimates -- in court.

Mr. Bentley played down questions about the government suing over tobacco use in Ontario when the province places hefty taxes on the products. "Even if we related the two, the amount paid out in health-care costs far exceeds the amount any government has collected for taxes," he said.

Acknowledging the length of time that may pass before results, Mr. Bentley said: "This is an important lawsuit . . . and we'll pursue it as expeditiously as we can and we'll pursue it to its conclusion."

Provincial NDP Leader Andrea Horwath said Tuesday the focus should remain firmly on reducing smoking, which would then filter down into less stress on the provincial health-care system.

"There's no doubt it will be an expensive undertaking and that it will take decades, likely, before it's resolved," Ms. Horwath told reporters. "That's why we're saying government should be doing something proactively . . . to help people quit smoking and to help young people to not start smoking in the first place."

Ontario is among six other provinces to have taken steps to recover health costs from tobacco companies.

British Columbia introduced similar legislation in 2000, which was contested by Montreal-based Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd.

In 2005, the Supreme Court of Canada upheld the B.C. law, allowing the province to seek health costs from tobacco companies dating back 50 years.

New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, Newfoundland and Labrador and Manitoba have also enacted tobacco-cost recovery laws.

In May, a similar bill was tabled in Quebec, where a health department study estimated the health-care costs of smoking in the province at $4-billion a year.


Article: http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=...9#ixzz0SW36odRT

[Stuie]

...NOW TAKING BETS ON THE FIRST U.S. STATE TO DO THIS!

[SynysterPhoenix]

...NOW TAKING BETS ON THE FIRST U.S. STATE TO DO THIS!

$20 on california

[Stuie]

...NOW TAKING BETS ON THE FIRST U.S. STATE TO DO THIS!

$20 on california

Good guess... isn't the state government bankrupt?

Seriously, we are going to sue you because...well we can't think of a good reason that doesn't come off as sounding like "we think our constituent are idiots".... so TOBACCO BAD!

[gaia.plateau]

So... so... so stupid.

Step 1. Tax Fatty and High Cholesterol Foods. Step 2. Tax tobacco more. Step 3. Tax alcohol more. The end.

Blaming the producer for producing a product which consumers wish to consume is completely retarded. Edited September 29, 2009 by gaia.plateau

[SynysterPhoenix]

...NOW TAKING BETS ON THE FIRST U.S. STATE TO DO THIS!

$20 on california

Good guess... isn't the state government bankrupt?

Seriously, we are going to sue you because...well we can't think of a good reason that doesn't come off as sounding like "we think our constituent are idiots".... so TOBACCO BAD!

I'm not sure if they are bankrupt, but I beleive they are very low in funding, and it seems to me when something tries to be banned or outlawed, it seems to happen in Cali first.

[twoapplesplease]

I don't think it'll be a state to sue but rather the FDA that sues the tobacco companies after about 2 years after we get a goverment option health insurence.

In ten years all american tobacco products will be manufactured and sold on Indian reservations because they have religous protection for tobacco.

Gosh I hope not, but I'd love to go to a hookah casino

[McLovin600]

I don't think it'll be a state to sue but rather the FDA that sues the tobacco companies after about 2 years after we get a goverment option health insurence.

In ten years all american tobacco products will be manufactured and sold on Indian reservations because they have religous protection for tobacco.

Gosh I hope not, but I'd love to go to a hookah casino

I cant believe i never thought of this! i mean shit you can smoke in there why not

[Click]

dumb as hell.  The people who smoked chose to do so willingly. Ontario is just looking to make up money that they used to 'treat' these people.

[shaffaaf27]

sounds good IMO.

[chinamon]

sounds good IMO.

how so?
the government is the one that allows cigarettes to be legal and already taxes the shit out of it and now they want more money?
if they go through with this then they should sue alcohol companies for causing liver damage, fast food restaurants for making people obese, automobile companies for causing car accidents... all things that put people in the hospital requiring health care.
i think it is pure bullshit.

[destructo]

So... so... so stupid.

Step 1. Tax Fatty and High Cholesterol Foods. Step 2. Tax tobacco more. Step 3. Tax alcohol more. The end.

Blaming the producer for producing a product which consumers wish to consume is completely retarded.

this makes no sense. why should i have to pay taxes because i like to eat, smoke or drink something? its not the governments roll to tell me what i can and cant do to my own body. whats going to be next wiping my ass for me?


on a second thought that would be kind of cool Edited September 30, 2009 by destructo

[omgitsjimmy]

So... so... so stupid.

Step 1. Tax Fatty and High Cholesterol Foods. Step 2. Tax tobacco more. Step 3. Tax alcohol more. The end.

Blaming the producer for producing a product which consumers wish to consume is completely retarded.

this makes no sense. why should i have to pay taxes because i like to eat, smoke or drink something? its not the governments roll to tell me what i can and cant do to my own body.

When the government is responsible for your healthcare, they are also (partly) responsible for how you treat your body. Taxes would be like a form of Co-payment

[destructo]

bravo you figured out what my underlaying view was to that post

[chinamon]

So... so... so stupid.

Step 1. Tax Fatty and High Cholesterol Foods. Step 2. Tax tobacco more. Step 3. Tax alcohol more. The end.

Blaming the producer for producing a product which consumers wish to consume is completely retarded.

this makes no sense. why should i have to pay taxes because i like to eat, smoke or drink something? its not the governments roll to tell me what i can and cant do to my own body.

When the government is responsible for your healthcare, they are also (partly) responsible for how you treat your body. Taxes would be like a form of Co-payment

if they dont like it then they need to ban it.
as long as they allow it to be legal then it is our right to decide what we do with our bodies.

[erufiku]

Well you know the thing about universal healthcare... it's like having a black hole in the budget.

[JDHarding]

Uhm..

That lawsuit's gonna be thrown right back in Ontario's face. It's the smoker's fault for smoking, not the company. They put warnings on tobacco products. Can't do anything about it. Sorry, Ontario, but I guess you guys are the capital of stupidity.

[Hookah S Moka]

Wow........ is mostly all i have to say here, ok, this is how screwed up there logic is...... tax the hell outta things like alcohol and tobacco so people use it less and tend to quit, but then all that does is make people spend more to drink/ smoke. Even though i hate when people smoke cigerettes ( i know hookah isnt the greatest thing to do either, but its better), in the end everyone pays for it here. My $0.02

[shaffaaf27]

but thats good though. make people pay more, more tax for the government, more money to be spent on schools/healthcare etc.

[gaia.plateau]

Wow........ is mostly all i have to say here, ok, this is how screwed up there logic is...... tax the hell outta things like alcohol and tobacco so people use it less and tend to quit, but then all that does is make people spend more to drink/ smoke. Even though i hate when people smoke cigerettes ( i know hookah isnt the greatest thing to do either, but its better), in the end everyone pays for it here. My $0.02

Booze and cigarettes aren't taxed so that people will quit, they're taxed to compensate for the extra healthcare needed for their consumers.

[destructo]

Wow........ is mostly all i have to say here, ok, this is how screwed up there logic is...... tax the hell outta things like alcohol and tobacco so people use it less and tend to quit, but then all that does is make people spend more to drink/ smoke. Even though i hate when people smoke cigerettes ( i know hookah isnt the greatest thing to do either, but its better), in the end everyone pays for it here. My $0.02

Booze and cigarettes aren't taxed so that people will quit, they're taxed to compensate for the extra healthcare needed for their consumers.

so its not taxed in the US? im kind of confused because it was taxed before FDR did his shit. in fact alcohol has been taxed pretty much since it began way before socialized medicine was even thought of. back in roman and greek times it was gods and what not that made you sick not wine. its the same idea of taxing you for every time you pee, they know that you are going to do it and you arent going to stop.