The Stockholm District Court today
dismissed Mr Leif Silbersky’s attempt to use the Swedish
judicial system for purely political purposes.
Without issuing summons to Swedish
Match the Court concludes in its dismissing decision that there
are no legal grounds for the complaint.
In the minutes the Court states
that the Silbersky American-style lawsuit claiming that Swedish
Match failed to warn about the risks associated with smoking is
based on a clear misjudgment of the law.
-The Courts refusal to allow
itself to be used in Mr Silberskys anti-tobacco propaganda will
strengthen the confidence for the Swedish judicial system, says
Bo Aulin, General Counsel and Senior Vice President.
-The failure in this case is not
Swedish Match’s, but rather Mr. Silbersky’s, in failing
to remember that Swedish Match was totally owned and operated by
the Swedish state, and cigarettes were sold at the direction of
the Swedish government, during the time period his client claims
to have begun smoking and during most of the time she decided to
continue to smoke, says Bo Aulin
Swedish Match operated under the
direction of the Swedish government, for the sole benefit of the
Swedish people and our government. The Swedish government in
doing so was implementing the societal decision to permit adults
to choose to use tobacco or not. The Swedish Government decided
that cigarettes should be sold by its own company. The Swedish
Government also decided what warning label and content disclosure
should be used (and where it should be placed) in order to inform
the public of the health risks of smoking cigarettes. The
Company, throughout its history, has always complied with the
rules established by the government.
These rules have been established
with the full knowledge by our society of the substantial health
risk associated with cigarette smoking, including the risk of
lung cancer. This information has been given wide public
attention for decades. As a result, our society has made the
decision that adults should be free to choose to smoke cigarettes
or not smoke cigarettes - use tobacco or not use tobacco. The
fact that the Government in the early 90’s decided to
transfer ownership to private interests, does not change
anything.
-Mr Silbersky has successfully
used a sad and regrettable individual case to gain wide media
attention, but as a lawyer he should know better than trying to
use the Swedish courts for political purposes, Bo Aulin, General
Counsel and Senior Vice President, comments.
For further information please
contact:
Bo Aulin, General Counsel and
Senior Vice President. Phonenr: +46 658 03 64
Mobile: +46 70 558 03 64
Home: +46 8 768 45 22