Nanny state rules — again
Re: Quebec Smokers Win $15B, June 2. According to Judge Brian Riordan’s line of reasoning, if I repeatedly hit my head with a hammer, over and over, for years, I can sue the hammer manufacturer for the pain and suffering that are the inevitable consequence of this self-inflicted abuse.
Barry Jackson, St. Lazare, Que.
I love the way Quebec Superior Court Justice Brian Riordan wrote that “the companies chose profits over the health of their customers.” What on earth was he expecting from the tobacco industry?
John Clench, Vancouver.
While growing up in Ireland in the 1930s and 1940s, I well remember my father warning my brother and me about the health hazards associated with cigarettes. Our school sports coaches also told us smoking was bad for our health generally, and our lung capacity in particular, when we were trying to engage in active sports like boxing and rugby. Not to be outdone, my mother claimed smoking would stunt our growth.
In reality, we needed no warnings about cigarettes, but we smoked anyway. This leads me to conclude that any adult smoker who now says he was not aware cigarettes were a major health hazard is either a liar or a damned fool, or both.
The Quebec decision is an example of judicial activism on a grand scale; a judicial transfer of enormous wealth from the tobacco companies, their employees and thousands of their shareholders, to people who chose to smoke and to continue to smoke when they knew or ought to have known of the health hazards of doing so.
Frank Casey, Calgary.
Justice Brian Riordan has erred gravely in discounting the responsibility of adult smokers in causing their health problems while enjoying the pleasures of smoking, an imbibing activity with a long history all over the world.
Furthermore, smoking was a lawful activity that generated tax revenues for the state. Therefore, every citizen is liable, not just the tobacco companies. The “holier than thou” attitude after the fact sets a bad precedent. What next? Sugar manufacturers liable for obesity and chocolate manufacturers, for tooth decay? Stop behaving like a nanny state toward responsible adult citizens.
Jiti Khanna, Vancouver.