Brazil tobacco cost-recovery lawsuit reaches milestone as court decision nears

Brazil’s 2019 lawsuit seeking to hold the country’s biggest cigarette makers financially responsible for smoking-related public health costs has reached a key stage, with all legal submissions now filed and a federal prosecutor’s opinion backing the claims brought by the AGU (Brazil’s federal legal office). A federal court in Porto Alegre must now decide whether the companies are liable for harms linked to the marketing and sale of cigarettes in Brazil. The case aims to force BAT Brasil, formerly Souza Cruz, and Philip Morris Brasil, along with their parent companies British American Tobacco and Philip Morris International, to reimburse the Brazilian health system for treatment costs associated with diseases scientifically linked to tobacco use. The statement describes the lawsuit as one of the world’s most significant efforts to recover health costs caused by tobacco and says a favorable ruling could reinforce the principle that tobacco companies should be held accountable for the health and economic burden created by their products. Smoking is described as a major strain on Brazil’s public health system, causing about 177,000 deaths a year and an estimated R$75 billion, or nearly $15 billion, in healthcare spending for tobacco-related illness. The suit argues that while producing and selling cigarettes is lawful, the companies still have a legal duty to compensate society for the damage caused by their products. The statement says Brazil’s action is the first of its kind in a low- or middle-income country to reach a liability ruling stage. It also points to similar health-cost recovery efforts in Canada and the United States, where governments have successfully pursued compensation linked to tobacco use. A positive judgment, it says, would mark a major milestone for Brazil and set an important precedent for governments seeking to hold the tobacco industry to account.