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Former tobacco official gets day in
court: Lawsuit against cigarette company sent to trial:[Final
Edition]
Sudbury Star. Sudbury, Ont.:Apr 3, 2000.
p. A1 / FRONT
TORONTO (CP) -- A former cigarette company
executive has won the right to sue a tobacco company in court over
the damaging effects of smoking.
Joseph Battaglia's case against Imperial
Tobacco was ordered to trial Friday by Judge M.D. Godfrey after a
hearing in a small claims court in Toronto.
"I was ecstatic," Battaglia said Sunday.
"We've got them. We've won. We are now going to get our day in
court."
The move was applauded by anti-smoking
groups, which say senior Imperial executives may now be forced to
testify.
...
Michel Descoteaux, an Imperial spokesman,
said their lawyers would defend their case if it proceeds to
trial.
Battaglia is asking for $6,000 in damages.
The two sides will meet April 22 to attempt to set a trial date.
Smoker battles tobacco giant ; Wins
right to civil suit in small claims court:[1 Edition]
Kerry Gillespie. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Apr 4, 2000. p. 1
Full Text (656 words)
Copyright 2000 Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
A man who calls himself just an average Joe
has won the right to take Canada's largest cigarette company to
court - small claims court, that is.
It's the only place where citizens can
fight the big bullies, Joseph Battaglia says.
But even there it hasn't been easy.
After nearly three years, a North York
small claims court finally granted Battaglia the right to take his
civil suit against Imperial Tobacco - which holds 70 per cent of
the Canadian market - to trial.
....
"They were my family. I worked for them. I
defended them with my family, my kids and my friends. Whenever
they would tell me to stop smoking (because of health risks) I was
the first one to say that's a lot of propaganda."
It all changed for him in 1997 when he
learned of litigation between American states and the tobacco
industry, which claimed tobacco companies knew nicotine was
addictive and were manipulating the levels.
"I got mad. Really really mad," he said. "I
always thought it was my fault I couldn't quit, that I didn't have
the willpower, but then I realized it was their fault."
He alleges that Imperial Tobacco
deliberately designed their Matinee Extra Mild King Size and
Matinee Extra Mild Super Slims with small holes near the filter
which "cheat" the government smoking machines. He alleges this
results in the delivery of more toxic tar and addictive nicotine
than the label claims.
While the fight is a personal one for
Battaglia, others are hoping his suit will lead to bigger things.
Individual Smoker Wins Right To Sue
Imperial Tobacco Canada AM - CTV Television.
Toronto: Apr 4, 2000.
Full Text (753 words) Copyright CTV
Television Network Ltd. Apr 4, 2000
HOST: Dan Matheson
GUEST: Joseph Battaglia, Suing Imperial
Tobacco; Douglas Lennox, Lawyer for Joseph Battaglia
MATHESON: There's another very significant
lawsuit making news today. For the first time ever in this country
an individual has won the right to take a tobacco giant to trial.
Joseph Battaglia is suing Imperial Tobacco. He joins us this
morning along with his lawyer Douglas Lennox.
Good morning, gentlemen.
BOTH: Good morning.
MATHESON: Can we start at the beginning?
What's the genesis of this suit?
BATTAGLIA: For a long time I really thought
it was own personal weakness that I wasn't able to quit smoking
cigarettes. I made a very concentrated effort to quit about seven
or eight years ago. And I decided to switch from cigarettes that
on the side of the package is indicated how much nicotine was in
each box. So I gradually decreased the amount of nicotine that I
was taking by changing brands from say from 14 to ten, down to
eight. And eventually I came across this product that seemed to
satisfy almost everything that I wanted and had a very low rating.
It was four milligrams of tar and four milligrams of nicotine. It
was a 100- millimetre cigarette, it had good value and if it said
four and four that's the lowest I've ever smoked so now it might
now be easier for me to quit because how I weaned myself off the
nicotine craving.
Well, little did I know that that four on
that package really represented a much larger number. And that's
happened through the manipulation of the nicotine levels. And I
feel that my efforts to quit have been sabotaged by the tobacco
industry by injecting more nicotine or giving more of the
addictive ingredient in cigarettes which then puts me in line for
any diseases that are supposed to be associated with smoking
cigarettes. I'm not saying that I have cancer, I'm not saying that
I'm sick or dying, even though I may have contracted in the last
few months heart disease. That's not my issue. It wasn't there
three years ago, it's not there now. It's that I tried to quit to
save my own self. And they had no care for my welfare. And then I
said this is not my fault anymore. I've tried --
MATHESON: Why Imperial? Why do you go after
them?
BATTAGLIA: It was the product I was
smoking. That's not the only product out on the market.
MATHESON: First time an individual has been
allowed, given the go-ahead. Were you surprised by this ruling?
LENNOX: Floored, actually.
MATHESON: Why?
LENNOX: These guys, they never lose.
They've got their army of lawyers, they beat the BC government,
they beat the federal government, they've beat everyone that's
ever tried to take them on in Canada. Joe got the decision, he
faxed it over to me. He said call me when you get up off the
floor.
MATHESON: So what was successful for you?
What worked?
BATTAGLIA: It made sense. It made sense.
It's a formula that makes sense. If one and one equals two it
shouldn't equal evil. And that's what they've done. One, everybody
knows that nicotine is addictive. Everybody, including tobacco
companies. The other one: everyone knows that if you smoke a
cigarette or smoke cigarettes you're susceptible to getting the
disease that could kill you. Everyone knows that, including the
tobacco companies know that. So that should equal two. But it
doesn't, it equals evil.
What did they do? They didn't try to make a
safer cigarette, they took the nicotine and made it a nicotine
delivery system. Tobacco isn't in the formula anymore. It's just
science, it's chemicals. Remember the ads used to say "the best
tobacco money can buy and look how beautiful my golden leaf is and
--"?
MATHESON: Yeah.
...
Cigarette firm stays in court rather
than apologize and pay $1
Gay Abbate. The Globe and Mail. Toronto,
Ont.:Jun 15, 2000. p. A.3
Full Text (497 words) All material
copyright Bell Globemedia Publishing Inc. or its licensors. All
rights reserved.
Man suing Imperial Tobacco over health
risks of 'mild' cigarettes
A case in small-claims court that Imperial
Tobacco Ltd. could have settled for $1 and an apology will now
lead to a costly trial in November.
The company has had numerous opportunities
to resolve the three-year-old civil suit that alleges Imperial
misled the public and failed to warn smokers about the health
risks of its so-called "mild" cigarettes.
Yesterday, a week after the head of
Imperial admitted to a Senate committee that cigarettes are
addictive and dangerous, the company remained resolute that it
would not settle. It opted instead to continue spending thousands
of dollars for a trial that is expected to last about two weeks.
....
In February, Mr. Battaglia offered to
settle the lawsuit for $1 and a letter from Imperial apologizing
for withholding vital information about health risks and for its
efforts to mislead the public through its development and
marketing of "low-tar" cigarettes.
In its statement of defence, Imperial
Tobacco rejected Mr. Battaglia's allegations and denied "that it
is now or has ever been involved in any conspiracy as alleged, or
otherwise."
The same document denies that Mr. Battaglia
is addicted to nicotine, as he claims, and states "that millions
of smokers quit every year."
Suit against Imperial Tobacco to go to
trial; company rejects offer of settlement
Canadian Press NewsWire. Toronto:Jun 15,
2000.
Full Text (567 words)
Copyright Canadian Press Jun 15, 2000
TORONTO (CP) - A case in small claims court
that Imperial Tobacco Ltd. could have settled for $1 and an
apology will now lead to a costly trial in November.
The company has had numerous opportunities
to resolve the three-year-old civil suit that alleges Imperial
misled the public and failed to warn smokers about the health
risks of its so-called "mild" cigarettes.
On Wednesday, a week after the head of
Imperial admitted to a Senate committee that cigarettes are
addictive and dangerous, the company remained resolute that it
would not settle.
"Small-claims court is supposed to be
quick," a frustrated Joseph Battaglia said after yesterday's short
court appearance.
....
Mild cigarettes deceptively dangerous,
charges lawsuit against big tobacco
Canadian Press NewsWire. Toronto:Nov 20,
2000.
Full Text (485 words)
Copyright Canadian Press Nov 20, 2000
Joseph Battaglia, 59, alleges that Imperial
misled the public and failed to warn smokers about the risks of
so-called mild cigarettes.
Battaglia filed his suit in small claims
court three years ago because proceedings there are generally
quick and inexpensive.
"Joe can't afford to sue big tobacco,
nobody can," said Douglas Lennox, a lawyer with Toronto's Rochon
Geneva who stepped in to represent Battaglia free of charge after
the case had dragged on for two years.
Battaglia is seeking $6,000 in damages, the
maximum allowable in small claims court. He also wants Imperial to
be honest about the risk of its product and "devote considerable
resources to developing safer cigarettes."
....
Smoker accuses tobacco firm of deception
; Suing after he developed heart disease:[Ontario Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Nov 21, 2000. p. A26
Joseph Battaglia says he was fooled for
years by the packaging on his Matinee Extra Milds into believing
he was smoking a safer cigarette that might help him quit, a court
has been told.
Now the 59-year-old Toronto man is suing
Imperial Tobacco Ltd. for $6,000 in general damages in small
claims court, saying he developed coronary heart disease as a
result of smoking the cigarettes.
"It's about a consumer that didn't get what
he thought he was getting and it's about a manufacturer who denies
any liability for what appears on its package," Doug Lennox,
Battaglia's lawyer, said in his opening statement yesterday.
Battaglia is also seeking reimbursement of
the $4 a day he estimates he spent on Matinee Extra Mild King Size
and Matinee Extra Mild Super Slims 100.
Battaglia claims he inhaled 650 per cent
more tar, 560 per cent more nicotine and 546 per cent more carbon
monoxide than was stated on the packages. The packages read 4
milligrams of tar, 0.4 milligrams of nicotine and 5 milligrams of
carbon monoxide per cigarette.
"He was attracted to this label because he
wanted to quit or at least reduce the risk," Lennox told Madame
Justice Pamela Thompson in North York Small Claims Court.
Battaglia, a paralegal, still smokes about
a pack a day despite trying to quit.
.....
Safer smokes stifled, court is told ;
Company's former boss says U.K. owner frustrated ambitions:
Ontario Edition] Peter Small. Toronto
Star. Toronto, Ont.:Nov 23, 2000. p. A15
Full Text (572 words) Copyright 2000
Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
British American Tobacco resisted efforts
by its Canadian subsidiary, Imasco, to develop a safer cigarette
in the 1980s, Imasco's former chief executive testified yesterday.
Purdy Crawford said although the Imasco
board was very keen to develop the safer cigarette, it was
disappointed it wasn't able to convince its minority owner,
British American Tobacco (BAT) of London, to lend its support and
expertise to the project.
Crawford told a North York small claims
court yesterday that Jean Louis Mercier, then chief executive of
Imasco-owned Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., "was frustrated in
dealing with his contemporaries at BAT."
"He was crestfallen, as I recall."
Crawford, Imasco's chief executive from
1986 to 1995, was subpoenaed as a witness by Joseph
.....
British American Tobacco refused to help
research safer cigarette, court told
Canadian Press NewsWire. Toronto:Nov 22,
2000.
Full Text (359 words) Copyright Canadian
Press Nov 22, 2000
TORONTO (CP) - British American Tobacco
resisted efforts by its Canadian subsidiary, Imasco, to develop a
safer cigarette in the 1980s, Imasco's former chief executive
testified Wednesday.
Purdy Crawford said although the Imasco
board was very keen to develop the safer cigarette, it was
disappointed it wasn't able to convince its minority owner, BAT,
to lend its support and expertise to the project.
Jean Louis Mercier, then-chief executive of
Imasco-owned Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., "was frustrated in
dealing with his contemporaries at BAT," Crawford told a small
claims court Wednesday.
"(Mercier) was crestfallen, as I recall."
Crawford - Imasco's CEO from 1986 to 1995 -
was subpoenaed as a witness by Joseph Battaglia, 59, who is suing
Imperial Tobacco for $6,000 in small claims court.
Battaglia claims the Matinee Extra Mild
cigarettes he smoked were designed with tiny vents in the filter
to fool him and authorities into thinking they delivered much less
tar and nicotine than they actually did.
...
Ex-smoke salesman slams nicotine
'manipulation' ; 'Mild' brand wasn't, man alleges in suit:[Ontario
Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Nov 22, 2000. p. A27
When Joseph Battaglia started smoking
Matinee Extra Milds in 1994, he thought the low tar and nicotine
levels stated on their packs would help him quit, yet he was
pleased they seemed to answer his nicotine cravings.
"They gave me a satisfaction. They
surprised me," he testified yesterday.
But the former cigarette salesman said he
was furious when he found out a few years later the toxin levels
he was inhaling were likely much higher.
"They were manipulating the nicotine
levels," he testified, calling it "a manipulation of my
addiction."
In a trial closely watched by the tobacco
industry and anti- smoking groups, Battaglia, 59, is suing
Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd. for $6,000 in damages in small claims
court, alleging the company designed a cigarette with minuscule
holes on the side to give a false low reading in tests.
"It's the cigarette of the guy who wants to
quit. That's why it's so successful," the Toronto paralegal said.
Battaglia demonstrated for his lawyer, Doug
Lennox, how he puffs and holds a cigarette, covering with his
mouth or fingers the tiny holes that would have weakened the
smoke's concentration if left exposed to the air.
...
'Elastic' cigarettes studied, official
says ; But testifies more potent product wouldn't be sold:
[Ontario Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Nov 24, 2000. p. A30
Imperial Tobacco Canada has done research
into "elastic" cigarettes that deliver a relatively high tar and
nicotine hit when puffed harder, but it would never try to sell
them, a top company official says.
"It was to find out what consumers are
looking for in their product," Donald Brown, chairman and former
chief executive of Imperial Tobacco Canada, said yesterday.
Brown was testifying in a North York court
at the first case ever brought to trial against a tobacco company
in Ontario. It's being watched closely by anti-smoking groups and
Health Canada.
Joseph Battaglia, 59, of Toronto, is suing
Imperial, alleging that the Matinee Extra Milds he smoked for six
years were secretly designed to deliver more nicotine and toxins
than the packages indicated.
Yesterday, Stewart Massey, Imperial's
director of scientific affairs, testified that the research on
cigarette "elasticity" was conducted only in 1993 on foreign
products and hasn't been looked at since.
Brown testified that Imperial Tobacco
Canada is developing a safer cigarette.
"We have been able to reduce 50 to 75 per
cent of a number of smoke constituents. I don't think we have a
product yet that would be strongly accepted on the market, but we
are making progress."
At the urging of tobacco companies and at
considerable expense, Canada's tobacco farmers have agreed by 2001
to cure their product a new way that will cut nitrosamines, Brown
added.
Nitrosamines are the most active
cancer-causing agent in tobacco smoke.
In his $6,000 small claims court lawsuit,
Battaglia says Imperial Tobacco put minuscule vents in the Matinee
Extra Mild filters with the purpose of producing falsely low tar
and nicotine readings on tests.
...
Albert Liston, a consultant who once headed
Health Canada's health protection branch, told the court he
doesn't agree that it will be useful to have new mandatory
markings on packages showing a range of possible tar and nicotine
dosages that take into account such things as vent blockages. The
markings will be mandatory late next month.
Under questioning from Lennox, Liston said
he was being paid $1,600 a day over four days by Imperial Tobacco
to attend and testify at the civil trial.
[Illustration] Caption: SMOKING GUN?: A
lawsuit by Joseph Battaglia, left, brought Imperial Tobacco Canada
official Donald Brown to the witness stand yesterday.
Credit: STAFF REPORTER
Anyone can quit smoking, trial told ;
Cigarette company's witness says tobacco not truly
addictive:[Ontario Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Nov 28, 2000. p. A24
Full Text (481 words) Copyright 2000
Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
A U.S. expert on substance abuse
testifying for Imperial Tobacco Canada says cigarettes are not
truly addictive and anyone can quit if they're motivated.
The word addiction is no longer employed in
a medical context because it's overused and applied in society to
such behaviour as eating chocolates and watching bad movies,
testified Dr. Harvey Hammer, chair of the department of psychiatry
at Morristown Memorial Hospital in New Jersey.
"The implication is the person has no
choice, that a person has no free will," Hammer told a North York
small claims court yesterday.
Hammer was testifying in the lawsuit
launched by former tobacco salesman Joseph Battaglia, 59.
He is suing Imperial Tobacco Canada for
$6,000, claiming the Matinee Extra Milds he smoked for six years
delivered far higher tar and nicotine than their packages stated,
keeping him hooked.
He alleges Imperial Tobacco Canada knew
smokers would inadvertently cover minuscule vents in the side of
filters, preventing them from drawing in air to dilute tobacco
smoke.
Hammer, who confirmed he is being paid his
usual rate of $7,500 (U.S.) a day over two days for attending and
testifying, said the term substance dependency is preferable to
addiction.
....
Tobacco firm knew danger, court
told:[Ontario Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Nov 29, 2000. p. A36
Full Text (263 words) Copyright 2000
Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
Imperial Tobacco Canada is trying to shift
the blame to the federal government and smokers for its failure to
warn them that mild cigarettes aren't necessarily safer, a court
was told.
"If you are going to sell a product that
causes disease . . . before someone lies in a hospital bed, sick,
you have got to give them all the information," Doug Lennox,
lawyer for Joseph Battaglia, said in closing statements.
Battaglia claims in his suit the Matinee
Extra Milds he smoked for years had more tar and nicotine than
stated on the package.
The 59-year-old Toronto paralegal is suing
Imperial Tobacco for $6,000, the maximum allowed in small claims
court.
Battaglia said the company knew smokers
would inadvertently cover tiny ventilation holes in the filters,
increasing the tar and nicotine dosage, by up to six times. But
Imperial Tobacco says tar and nicotine levels posted on packages
complied with government rules, and the firm did not try to
deceive anyone.
Battaglia was hooked on cigarettes long
before he picked up Matinee Extra Milds in 1994, already had heart
disease and had ignored warnings to quit smoking in 1991, said
Imperial lawyer Lyndon Barnes.
....
Cigarette company shifting blame to
government, smokers in Toronto court case
Canadian Press NewsWire. Toronto:Nov 29,
2000.
Full Text (352 words) Copyright Canadian
Press Nov 29, 2000
TORONTO (CP) - Imperial Tobacco Canada is
trying to shift the blame to the federal government and smokers
for its failure to warn that mild cigarettes aren't necessarily
safer, a court was told Tuesday.
"If you are going to sell a product that
causes disease . . . before someone lies in a hospital bed sick
you have got to give them all the information," lawyer Doug Lennox
said in his closing statement.
Joseph Battaglia claims the Matinee Extra
Milds he smoked for six years packed a far higher tar and nicotine
punch than stated on the package.
In the first case against a tobacco company
ever to go to court in Ontario, and the second in Canada, the
59-year-old is suing Imperial Tobacco for $6,000, the maximum
allowed in small claims court.
....
Tobacco case ruling expected
today:[Ontario Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Jun 5, 2001. p. B04
Full Text (399 words) Copyright 2001
Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
A judge will rule today on a Toronto man's
fight against Canada's largest tobacco company, in a case closely
followed by governments and anti-smoking groups.
Joe Battaglia, 59, a former cigarette
salesperson, is optimistic he'll win his lawsuit against Imperial
Tobacco Canada, which claims 70 per cent of the market.
It's the first case brought to trial
against a tobacco company in Ontario.
"I'm very excited," Battaglia said in a
recent interview. "I feel very fortunate that I have an
opportunity to make a difference in this world."
Battaglia alleges the Matinee Extra Mild
cigarettes he smoked for six years were secretly designed to
deliver more nicotine and toxins than the packages indicated.
He claims the company knew smokers would
inadvertently cover tiny ventilation holes in the filters, thus
increasing the tar and nicotine dosage up to six times.
"These cigarettes were designed to sabotage
my attempts to quit," he said.
Imperial Tobacco says tar and nicotine
levels posted on packages complied with government rules and that
the firm did not try to deceive anyone.
Imperial Tobacco spokesperson Michel
Descoteaux said Friday the company is taking Battaglia's lawsuit
very seriously. The tobacco industry has never lost a case in
Canada, he said.
Battaglia is suing for $6,000, the maximum
allowed in small claims court.
...
Toronto smoker loses court fight against
cigarette giant Imperial Tobacco Pacienza, Angela. Canadian Press
NewsWire. Toronto:Jun 5, 2001.
Full Text (650 words) Copyright Canadian
Press Jun 5, 2001
TORONTO (CP) - An Ontario smoker who got
heart disease despite switching to "mild" cigarettes was
unsuccessful Tuesday in claiming damages from Canada's largest
tobacco company.
A small-claims court judge ruled
59-year-old Joe Battaglia had only himself to blame for his
smoking habit, and failed to find Imperial Tobacco responsible.
"The plaintiff is the only one who has
control over how he smokes," Justice Pamela Thomson said in her
decision. "The only thing he could have done was quit."
Battaglia had alleged that the Matinee
Extra Mild cigarettes he smoked for six years, after smoking
"stronger" brands for decades, were secretly designed to deliver
more nicotine and toxins than the packages indicated.
He sought $6,000, the maximum allowed in
small claims court, from Imperial in the first case brought to
trial against a tobacco company in Ontario.
"It's over," the obviously disappointed man
said outside court.
"I really thought I was going to make a
difference."
Battaglia, who continues to smoke, claimed
Imperial knew smokers' fingers and lips would inadvertently cover
tiny ventilation holes around the filters, thus increasing the tar
and nicotine levels listed on the package by up to six times.
...
"Even in losing I think Joe can claim moral
victory," said Neil Collishaw, of Physicians For a Smoke-Free
Canada, suggesting tar and nicotine levels listed on cigarette
packages are now a matter of public debate.
"There's now a lot of information on the
public record that can be studied and people can figure out ways
that we're going to call the tobacco industry into account in the
future."
Federal Health Minister Allan Rock has
already called on cigarette manufacturers to stop using terms such
as "light," "mild" and "ultra-light," given the mounting evidence
that low-tar brands cause just as many illnesses and death as the
regular brands.
Rock has threatened regulatory action if
tobacco firms won't voluntarily drop the labels.
Health Canada had no immediate reaction to
Tuesday's events.
Ottawa intends to change the way tar and
nicotine levels are listed on cigarette packages, indicating the
possible range of levels instead of the average level listed
currently.
Smoker's lawsuit snuffed ; Imperial
Tobacco not liable for man's habit or poor health: [Ontario
Edition]
Peter Small. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Jun 6, 2001. p. A18
Full Text (382 words)
Copyright 2001 Toronto Star, All Rights Reserved.
A Toronto man has lost his lawsuit against
Canada's largest tobacco company over the "mild" cigarettes he
claimed are secretly designed to prevent him from quitting.
Joe Battaglia's $6,000 small claims court
case against Imperial Tobacco Canada was dismissed by Madam
Justice Pamela Thomson yesterday.
"The plaintiff is the only one who has
control over whether he'll smoke or not," Thomson said. "Common
sense is common sense."
It was only the second case against a
tobacco company to make it to trial in Canada. Imperial Tobacco
also won the first, a small claims case in Quebec in 1997.
Battaglia, a former cigarette salesman,
alleged the Matinee Extra Mild cigarettes he smoked for six years
were secretly designed to deliver more nicotine and toxins than
the packages indicated. He claimed to have developed heart disease
from smoking.
He claimed the company knew smokers would
inadvertently cover tiny ventilation holes in the filters, thus
increasing the tar and nicotine dosage up to six times what was
posted.
Imperial Tobacco argued tar and nicotine
levels written on packages met government rules and that the firm
did not try to deceive anyone.
The judge said yesterday that Imperial
Tobacco had in fact misrepresented what is meant by the "average"
numbers posted on its packages, since the numbers were generated
by smoking machines, not actual smokers.
But there was no evidence that Battaglia's
heart disease was affected by the cigarettes, she said. In fact,
his condition stabilized in 1999.
...
Toronto:[Ontario Edition]
Toronto Star. Toronto, Ont.:Jul 23,
2001. p. B04
A former cigarette salesman is appealing
his unsuccessful lawsuit against Canada's largest tobacco company.
Joe Battaglia, 60, alleged the Matinee Extra Mild cigarettes he
smoked for six years were secretly designed by Imperial Tobacco
Canada to prevent him from quitting. Last month a judge dismissed
his $6,000 small claims suit. Battaglia claimed to have developed
heart disease from smoking. Imperial Tobacco argued tar and
nicotine levels written on packages met government rules and that
the firm did not try to deceive anyone. The judge ruled that
Imperial Tobacco had misrepresented what is meant by the "average"
numbers posted on its packages. But there was no evidence that
Battaglia's heart disease was affected by the cigarettes, she
said.
Press release from Joe Battaglia - July 21, 2001.
Former tobacco seller battled cigarette
giant:[ONT Edition]
Philip Mascoll. Toronto Star. Toronto,
Ont.:Sep 7, 2004. p. B02
Joseph Battaglia met everything in life
head on, his son says.
And that is why the former tobacco
salesperson wasn't afraid to face down Canada's largest tobacco
company in hopes of proving the Matinee Extra Mild cigarettes he
smoked for six years were secretly designed to prevent him from
quitting.
Mr. Battaglia, 63, died Friday night after
suffering a heart attack while he walked to a corner store near
his apartment, his son Tony said.
His suit against Imperial Tobacco Canada
was the first of its kind in Canada, and not about money, his son
said.
"The issue was that the public was being
misled, not money," Tony Battaglia said.
"The suit was just a small segment of a
full and successful life. He was an excellent salesman. Selling
was his thing."
Born in Toronto, Mr. Battaglia started in
the tobacco business at Rothmans as an office boy at age 16, his
son said.
By the time he left the company, he was a
cigarette brand sales manager and had travelled - in his early 20s
- as far as Africa to introduce products on that continent.
After leaving the tobacco business, he went
into real estate. Between 1975 and 1985, he built and ran a chain
of arcades and record stores in Northern Ontario, his son said.
After selling his interest in the arcades,
he sold prefabricated homes in Barrie before joining his son Tony
in 1987 in an agency that fights traffic tickets in court.
The case that catapulted Mr. Battaglia into
prominence is still before the appeal courts, his son said. In
2001, a judge dismissed Mr. Battaglia's $6,000 small-claims suit,
in which he claimed to have developed heart disease from smoking.
Mr. Battaglia had two other children,
Darick and Elizabeth, as well as six grandchildren.
Tony Battaglia said his father played golf
and was, in his youth, a superb hockey goalie for St. Mike's
school in Toronto.
Visitation is at the Ward Funeral Home,
4671 Highway 7 in Woodbridge, from 2 to 4 p.m. and 7 to 9 p.m.
today. The service is at 11 a.m. tomorrow at the funeral home's
chapel.
[Illustration] Joseph Battaglia, who died
Friday at age 63, took Imperial Tobacco Canada to court.
Credit: Toronto Star
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