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ASH Daily News

14 November 2003

HEADLINES

+ Lovells partner fights US attempts to force evidence;
Martin Broughton sought by US courts to give evidence
+ NHS to get free stop-smoking aids
+ Extra security for French tobacconists
+ ... yes, do tell us Mr Davis
+ Letters


FULL TEXT

+ Lovells partner fights US attempts to force evidence;
Martin Broughton sought by US courts to give evidence

A senior litigation partner at City firm Lovells is this week resisting attempts to make him give evidence in a major US tobacco case.

Andrew Foyle is contesting an application by a US court requesting that its English counterpart take evidence from him and British American Tobacco chairman Martin Broughton in the US government's action against a host of top tobacco companies in the US, including a subsidiary of Lovells clients BAT, known as BATCo.

The US action alleges that the companies fraudulently concealed research on the health consequences of smoking and deceived consumers as to the addictive qualities of nicotine.

It also claims some of the defendants destroyed crucial documents.

A US court wants to ask Mr Foyle about his knowledge of BAT and BATCo's document management policy and the alleged destruction of the relevant documents.

It wants to ask Mr Broughton questions on BAT's corporate structure.

A BAT spokesman said Mr Broughton, represented by city firm Herbert Smith, says he should not be party to the proceedings because he is chairman of the UK plc and not an employee or director of BATCo, which is being advised by Lovells.

He added: "This litigation in the US was started by [President] Clinton and has been going nowhere fast. We think it is entirely without merit, and will be vigorously defending it if it comes to court."

Source: Law Society Gazette, 13 November 2003



+ NHS to get free stop-smoking aids

Quitting products are to be given free to the NHS in a move which could help 10,000 more smokers kick the habit. The deal with manufacturers will include products such as nicotine patches and gum prescribed by doctors. Secretary of State for Health said: "It will help the NHS to reach our target of 800,000 quitters by 2006.'

Source: Metro (London), 13 November 2003



+ Extra security for French tobacconists

The Guardian reports that French police have had to step up guard on tobacconists are being targeted after the recent rises on tobacco taxes.

Increased police protection for France's tobacconists was announced yesterday as part of a series of emergency measures to stem the rise in violent attacks on cigarette-sellers since tax increases were imposed on tobacco last month.

The New York Times also looks at Frances 34,000 buralistes or tobacconists and provides a personal insight into their working lives and its politicisation - Jean Marie Le Pen, of the far right National Front has taken up their cause, portraying them as hard working, law abiding little people abandoned by Chirac's centre-right government.

Guardian story:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/international/story/0,3604,1084549,00.html
NYT coverage:
http://www.iht.com/ihtsearch.php?id=117664&owner=(NYT)&date=20031113175754
Source: The Guardian, The New York Times, 14 November 2003



+ ... yes, do tell us Mr Davis

The Daily Express says today: "Gareth Davis, the £1million-a-year chief executive of Imperial Tobacco, reckons that smoking does not cause lung cancer. So that's the experts divided then. On the one hand is every scientist and cancer specialist in the world; on the other is, er, Mr Davis. As Mrs Merton might ask, which part of your million-pound job led you to that conclusion?"



+ Letters - BAT Burma

A letter on the suffering of the Burmese people, the ethics of investing in such countries and the role of high profile campaigns such as those against Premier Oil and BAT appears in the Financial Times.

Mark Farmaner of Burma Campaign UK underlines the point that campaigns can achieve by default the investment sanctions that governments have failed to impose - and warns that delays simply add to the suffering of people.

Link:
http://search.ft.com/search/article.html?id=031114001186
Source: Financial Times, 14 November 2003


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