British American Tobacco Regulatory News (BATS)

30 Sep 2005 07:45

British American Tobacco PLC30 September 2005 For immediate release: Friday 30 September 2005 British Columbia Decision The following statement was issued by our Canadian subsidiary, Imperial TobaccoCanada Ltd, yesterday, Thursday 29 September 2005: "Montreal, September 29, 2005 - Today's Supreme Court of Canada's rulingreassures Imperial Tobacco Canada that it can have a fair trial and bringforward all the relevant information in any legal action undertaken by the B.C.government under the Tobacco Damages and Health Care Recovery Act. The companyintends to vigorously defend itself in any trial initiated by that province. It must be remembered that the decision rendered today does not in any way findany tobacco company to be liable, but merely allows the action already taken bythe provincial government to continue. "This case is not about tobacco and it's not about health, it's about abuse ofpower and a grotesque cash grab by the government. The B.C. legislation is ablueprint for any government in this country to facilitate a lawsuit against anyindustry or any person or group of persons that a provincial government decidesto target," said Don McCarty, general counsel of Imperial Tobacco Canada. "Thisdecision essentially means that it is open season on any industry that anygovernment decides to take on for its own benefit. Industries such as fast food,alcohol, gaming and others are all now fair game for a statute of this kind. "Governments in Canada currently collect more than $9 billion a year in taxesfrom the tobacco industry, which is more than 13 times the profit of Canadiantobacco companies," he added. Since 1970 they have collected more than $130billion in tax revenues on the sale of tobacco products, and the B.C. governmenthas directly collected more than $9 billion. "We intend to fight for our right to a fair trial both before, during, and afterthe trial pursued by the B.C. government. We are confident in the numerousexcellent and meritorious defences we intend to bring forward," McCarty said. Inappropriate This trial will take years to bring forward and to plead. Imperial TobaccoCanada will ensure that the conduct of all parties in the history of tobacco inthis country is called to account, including the government itself, addedMcCarty. The role of governments in the development and implementation oftobacco policy will be relevant to this lawsuit and must be fully explored. We now hope that the B.C. government will take time to think carefully beforedeciding on a future course of action. The pursuit of a lawsuit to recoverhealth care costs will be a lengthy and expensive process. We estimate theeight-year constitutional lawsuit has cost B.C. taxpayers well in excess of $20million. And there will be no big pay out at the end of the day, even in thedoubtful event that the lawsuit is successful. There is a better way. As a tobacco company we operate under the strictregulation of both federal and provincial governments. We believe a moreco-operative, non-confrontational relationship between the regulator and theregulated companies would serve everyone's interest. Should this case proceed, we are confident that, when all the facts are broughtout, we will be successful in our defense." The question as to whether the Act can be enforced against a number ofnon-Canadian tobacco companies has still to be resolved. That issue will comebefore the British Columbia Court of Appeal in February 2006. Meanwhile, theclaim is stayed against those companies pending the outcome of that appeal." ENQUIRIES British American Tobacco Press Office Investor RelationsDavid Betteridge/Teresa La Thangue /Emily Brand Ralph Edmondson/Rachael Cummins+44 (0) 20 7845 2888 (24 hours) +44 (0) 20 7845 1180 or 1519 This information is provided by RNS The company news service from the London Stock Exchange