{{South Korea’s state health insurer is suing three tobacco firms, including the local unit of Philip Morris, to offset smoking-related treatment costs.}}
The local arm of British American Tobacco has also been named in the lawsuit, along with market leader at home, KT&G Corp.
The insurer is seeking an initial sum of $52m (£31m) in damages.
The state insurer has said previously it spends more than $1.6bn each year on treating smoking-related diseases.
South Korea’s National Health Insurance Service (NHIS) said in a statement: “Smoking is a serious issue affecting people, particularly the youth and women.
“So we will push ahead with this suit with a strong determination, for the future of our nation and sustainability of our health insurance.”
The lawsuit from NHIS comes days after South Korea’s Supreme Court said there was a lack of proof that smoking causes lung cancer.
The country’s highest court made the statement when it threw out a lawsuit filed against the government and formerly state-run KT&G, in a legal fight that dates back to 1999.
In that lawsuit, 36 cancer patients and family members claimed that KT&G added elements to their cigarettes that increased the risk to smokers’ health and raised the chance of addiction.
{{Industry value}}
According to industry estimates, the tobacco industry in South Korea is valued at about $9.3bn. About a quarter of South Korean adults smoke.
KT&G Corp has a majority foothold, with a market share of about 60% and annual sales of $2bn.
The local units of Philip Morris and BAT together have a combined market share of 33%.
Japan Tobacco has the smallest market share in South Korea of about 6%. It was not named in the lawsuit.
The country’s ministry of health and welfare drew up new anti-smoking regulations in 2012. As part of the new measures, smoking in restaurants will be banned from next year.
BBC
Leave a Reply