加拿大裁定煙草公司須鉅額賠償煙民

A Canadian court has ordered three tobacco companies, including a subsidiary of British American Tobacco, to pay C$15.6bn to two groups of smokers following a 10-year class-action lawsuit.

加拿大一家法院裁定，在一場為期10年的集體訴訟之後，包括英美煙草公司(British American Tobacco)的一家子公司在內的三家煙草公司須向兩組煙民支付156億加元賠償金。

British American Tobacco has challenged what constitutes the largest damages award in Canada’s history, in a case that shows the continuing legal risks faced by tobacco companies.

第一組是患有肺癌和咽喉癌煙民，第二組則是對尼古丁上癮的煙民。英美煙草公司對這筆加拿大歷史上數額最高的賠償金提出了質疑。該案反映了煙草公司面臨的不間斷的法律風險。

BAT said there were “strong legal grounds” to appeal the judgment and to challenge the court’s “provisional execution order”, which requires an immediate C$1.131bn payout in the event of an appeal.

英美煙草公司表示，他們有“充分的法律依據”對該裁定提起上訴，並對法庭的“臨時執行令”表示質疑——臨時執行令規定，如果提起上訴，則須立即支付11.31億加元賠償金。

“No payments will be made until the request to stay the provisional execution order has been heard and a judgment made,” said BAT in a statement on Tuesday regarding its subsidiary, Imperial Tobacco Canada.

加拿大這起集體訴訟涉及近100萬名煙民。他們聲稱，當他們在20世紀中葉開始吸煙時，香煙包裝上的警示內容未能充分揭示吸煙的風險。