加拿大裁定烟草公司须巨额赔偿烟民

A Canadian court has ordered three tobaccocompanies, including a subsidiary of BritishAmerican Tobacco, to pay C$15.6bn to two groupsof smokers following a 10-year class-action lawsuit.

加拿大一家法院裁定，在一场为期10年的集体诉讼之后，包括英美烟草公司(British American Tobacco)的一家子公司在内的三家烟草公司须向两组烟民支付156亿加元赔偿金。

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

第一组是患有肺癌和咽喉癌烟民，第二组则是对尼古丁上瘾的烟民。英美烟草公司对这笔加拿大历史上数额最高的赔偿金提出了质疑。该案反映了烟草公司面临的不间断的法律风险。

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

英美烟草公司表示，他们有“充分的法律依据对该裁定提起上诉，并对法庭的“临时执行令表示质疑——临时执行令规定，如果提起上诉，则须立即支付11.31亿加元赔偿金。

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

加拿大这起集体诉讼涉及近100万名烟民。他们声称，当他们在20世纪中叶开始吸烟时，香烟包装上的警示内容未能充分揭示吸烟的风险。