SMOKERS QUEUE UP IN BID TO GET TOBACCO FIRMS TO COUGH UP

SMOKERS who've suffered lung and heart disorders are queuing up to take
claims against the world's largest tobacco companies.

Three legal firms are bidding to bring the test case into Irish courtrooms.
All have been inundated with queries from addicts and those affected by
passive smoking.

Dublin firms, Ward & Fitzpatrick and Peter McDonnell are all choc-a-block
with queries, as is Cork-based solicitor, Declan Guilfoyle. "We're getting
20 to 30 inquiries a day. We're putting our cases together but have no
indication as to when the first case will be brought," explained Declan
Guilfoyle.

Tobacco firms have huge sums of money and solicitors know they won't want
to part with it quickly. But they anticipate the test case will be brought
soon and that such action will spur a further deluge of claims.

"We realise all too well, that if you are dying, no amount of money will
compensate. There's no way of estimating how much compensation will be
awarded - it's all up to the judges. How much do you place on the value of
a human life?" he added.

Firms such as Guilfoyles have published special brochures explaining the
claims procedures to those who believe their health has been affected by
tobacco smoke.

This year, smoking-related diseases will kill six times more people than in
any other category of fatalities, the brochure explains.

"If you have been diagnosed with a cigarette-related illness then you
should immediately seek legal advice and investigate as to whether or not
you would have a justifiable claim against tobacco manufacturers.

Any such claim may include compensation for loss of wages, medical expenses
and costs, pain and suffering and other damages. There is no exact
calculation of the amount of damages that may be recovered but this will
ultimately be decided by the courts," the brochure adds.

Solicitors involved in the claims are liaising closely with ASH, the
anti-smoking lobby. Claims are also being brought by passive smokers but it
is thought those affected in the first instance will make up the bulk of
the claims. The legal battles will focus on whether the disclaimer
published on cigarette packets in recent years is strong enough. Little
attention focused on the adverse affects of smoking on the 40's and 50's.
It was only in the late 70's that the harmful affects of smoking really
came to light, the solicitors claim.

Cigarette firms, meanwhile, continue to insist that smoking is not as
harmful to your health.

The comments come as new research shows low-tar cigarettes are just as
harmful as stronger brands. Smokers using low-tar brands tend to try to
draw in more smoke and suffer lung disorders such as adenocarcinomas, a
previously rare form of lung cancer.