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Saudi Hospital to File $2.9 Billion Suit Against Tobacco Firms
RIYADH, Nov. 29 (IslamOnline & News Agencies) - Saudi Arabia's main cancer hospital will sue tobacco firms and their agents in the kingdom for $2.9 billion to recompense 25 years of treatment of smoking-related illnesses, a health executive said in remarks published Thursday.
Executive general manager of King Faisal Specialist Hospital (KFSH), Anwar al-Jabarti, said the decision was taken after negotiations with tobacco firms held earlier this year in Geneva ended without an agreement.
The hospital will file a lawsuit in Saudi courts "soon", while more cases will be filed in the United States and Europe at a later date, Jabarti said, quoted by newspapers.
A team of Saudi and foreign legal experts are currently taking the necessary procedures to file the case, he said.
KFSH claims it has treated some three million patients over the past 25 years for illnesses caused directly or indirectly by smoking, at a cost of almost three billion dollars.
The hospital is the main health facility in oil-rich Saudi Arabia for the treatment of cancer and other major diseases.
Jabarti said the hospital holds a complete account of cancer cases in the kingdom and the number of tumors in Saudi Arabia and the Gulf, and this will be submitted with the lawsuit.
On July 18, representatives of KFSH and international tobacco companies met in Geneva to discuss the possibility of an out-of-court settlement relating to the lawsuit.
The Saudi newspaper Arab News said that the hospital and tobacco moguls have been locked in a dispute since last February when the hospital launched its lawsuit for damages and costs wasted in treating tobacco-caused diseases.
In February, Anwar Al Jabarti, the hospital's Executive Director General, announced that the hospital has filed lawsuits in the U.S. against the tobacco companies, as well as against tobacco factories and their agents in Saudi Arabia.
At the time, Al Jabarti disclosed that an American tobacco company had negotiated with him in order to settle the matter. The company also proposed to extend no less than SR (Saudi
Riyal) 10 billion ($2.6 billion) in compensation for losses suffered by the hospital
He added that he turned down the offer and rejected any settlement of the issue outside court.
However, both the hospital and tobacco companies seem to want to avoid a court trial.
KFSH proceeded with legal action after U.S. courts ordered the tobacco companies to pay $246 billion in damages to U.S. states over the next 25 years,
Arab News said.
The courts also banned advertisements on tobacco products.
If the tobacco companies are found responsible, Saudi judicial authorities may take separate action against the companies and their local agents, news sources have said in the past. The international companies can either withdraw from the Saudi market or pay compensation, they went on to say.
Saudi Arabia, with a population of 22 million, including 16.5 million Saudi nationals, has one of the highest smoking rates in the world despite decisions to hike customs duty on cigarettes to 100%.
The kingdom is the world's 19th largest importer of tobacco products. Residents of Riyadh alone smoke $54 million worth of cigarettes annually.
In recent years, the Kingdom's cigarette imports have declined considerably; they dropped from SR1.29 billion in 1991 to SR633 million in 1996. The government has stepped up a campaign against smoking by setting up a number of specialized clinics to help people kick the habit.
In July, Kuwaiti and Qatari Ministers of Health lauded the decision of the hospital; the Kuwaiti Health Ministry claimed that it might also file a similar suit against tobacco companies and their agents in Kuwait, the Saudi Press Agency said.
The health ministers of Saudi Arabia and the other Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states proposed - in a recent meeting in Manama - to increase the tariff on tobacco imports to 150% from the current 100%.
The GCC states increased customs tariff on tobacco imports to 100% in 1995. They also called for the reduction of nicotine content in tobacco, and banned production of tobacco and its derivatives in all the member countries.
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