TORONTO, Oct. 21, 2024 /CNW/ - The Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud today accused the provinces and territories of one of the most destructive cave-ins to Big Tobacco in Canadian history. "It is difficult to overstate the magnitude of the sell-out to the manufacturers in the proposed settlement between the industry and the governments negotiated under the Companies Creditors Arrangement Act," said Garfield Mahood, the CJTF president. "These governments sued to recover health care costs caused by 50 years of fraud and other negligence," said Mahood. "The proposed settlement will recover $25 billion, less than five percent of their claimed losses, literally pennies on the dollar."
January 2021 – In this month’s edition of Tobacco Control, the speciality health journal of the British Medical Journal Publishing Group, Tobacco Control has published CJTF President Garfield Mahood’s editorial critique of the new American tobacco package warning system. The U.S. warnings have been delayed several times by tobacco industry lawsuits and now, for the second time attributed to the COVID-19 pandemic, by a Texas judge. The latest delay will postpone the implementation of the U.S. Food and Drug Administration’s warning regulations until January 14, 2022.
For direct access to the editorial in Tobacco Control, visit link below:
For Gar Mahood’s critique of Canada’s current warnings, go to the item: “2012 Briefing Note for the Canadian Media: What the government didn’t tell you about Canada’s new tobacco warnings. Documents obtained under the Access to Information Act reveal flaws in new warning system.” This critique is of interest because of the American warnings now scheduled to be implemented in 2022.
February 26, 2019/CNW/ – National and regional health groups, combined with deans and
professors of medicine, health and law, published an open letter to provincial premiers today to press the provinces to put public health into their demands for outcomes from their lawsuits against Big
Tobacco. “The provinces are suing the cigarette makers to recover the costs for the health care for
sick and dying smokers,” said Garfield Mahood, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco
Fraud. “Their illnesses arose, allege the provinces, from industry conspiracy and fraud”.
Toronto, 26 février 2019 / CNW – Des organismes de santé publique nationaux et régionaux, de même que
des doyens et des professeurs de médecine, de santé et de droit, ont publié aujourd’hui une annonce incitant
les premiers ministres provinciaux à tenir compte de la santé publique dans le cadre des procès intentés
contre l’industrie du tabac. D’après Garfield Mahood, président de la Campagne pour obtenir justice face à
la fraude du tabac, « les provinces poursuivent les fabricants de cigarettes pour recouvrer le coût des soins
des fumeurs malades ou mourants. Selon elles, l’état des victimes découle de la conspiration et des fraudes
de l’industrie. »
An open letter to Provincial and Territorial Premiers. ARE PROVINCES COMMITTED TO JUSTICE
IN THEIR TEN LANDMARK LAWSUITS
AGAINST THE “RUTHLESS” AND “IMMORAL”
BEHAVIOUR OF THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY?
Our thanks to the following endorsers of the open letter
to the Provincial Premiers on the page opposite for their
leadership and philanthropy.
February 22, 2019, THE WRONGFUL BEHAVIOUR ALLEGED IN THE PROVINCES’ HEALTH CARE
COST RECOVERY LAWSUITS AGAINST THE TOBACCO INDUSTRY
May 29, 2018, Garfield Mahood and Neil Collishaw, Special to montreal Gazette published Opinion: Canada's anti-tobacco plan is smoke and mirrors. This 'aspirational' target means reducing consumption by one half per cent a year over the next 18 years, an embarrassingly weak objective in the face of entirely preventable diseases, especially when one considers how aggressively governments attack other epidemics.
May/June 2017, Garfield Mahood and Brian Iler publish a feature article about the 'ruthless' behaviour of tobacco industry executives in the Monitor, the magazine of the Canadian Centre for Policy Alternatives. The CCPA is a leading progressive think tank. A fair amount has been written about the misbehaviour of cigarette companies but little if anything has been published about the unconscionable behaviour of the individuals behind the development and perpetuation of the tobacco epidemic. This article attempts to bring a measure of justice and accountability into the legacies of some of these individuals and suggests where public health should go as it attempts to reduce tobacco diseases.
January 18, 2016, Garfield Mahood published "Liberals can help stub out smoking epidemic". It is disappointing that, in Canadian politics, so little is said about regulating tobacco products given that such products still pose a massive threat to public health ' a threat that is within Ottawa's power to quash.
October 16, 2015, Garfield Mahood, president of the Campaign for Justice on Tobacco Fraud, Mary Jane Ashley, Professor Emerita of Public Health, Dalla Lana School of Public Health, University of Toronto publish a scathing critique of the Harper government's track record on the tobacco issue in iPolitics. The authors explain how the government of Stephen Harper, contrary to its oft-repeated claims to be a world leader in tobacco policy, has either slowed or reversed progress in tobacco use reduction or, worse, has aided and abetted the interests of Big Tobacco.
In the week of May 17, 2015, as a project of our Campaign to mark World No Tobacco Day (May 31), more than 60 Canadian health and legal experts wrote to provincial attorneys general and health ministers about each province's tobacco industry health care cost recovery litigation. At the same time, the Campaign released a previously confidential poll that shows that the public has almost zero knowledge about the alleged behaviour which, if proven in court, would become the largest and most destructive fraud in Canadian history. The news release, template of the letter and national poll follow.
February 2015, Garfield Mahood and Brian Iler write about Canadian charities under attack in The Toronto Star, The Gazette and The Vancouver Sun." Readers are now familiar with the headlines of news reports, editorials and commentaries: "Canadian charities feel 'chill' as tax audits widen", "Charity chill raises alarm," "As CRA audits charities, there's a scandal within a scandal" and "Cracking down on those pesky charities," to name but a few among hundreds. Environmental, human rights and international development charities, organizations struggling to address poverty and women's issues, are examples of non-governmental organizations that have lost their ability to issue charitable tax credits under the Income Tax Act. Either that or they face the threat of a loss of time and money as a result of ongoing Canada Revenue Agency audits. These articles explain how for many non-profits the rejection of charitable status can enable an organization to more effectively pursue its objectives."
In June 2014, to launch our Campaign, we wrote to the attorneys general and ministers of health of the provinces and territories and urged them to make public health objectives key outcomes of their health care cost recovery litigation with Big Tobacco. The 137 signatories included professors of law and public health, university deans of public health and medicine and the CEOs of major health agencies.