Over the past two decades, each of Canada’s provincial governments has filed a lawsuit against tobacco companies to recover the costs of treating diseases caused by the companies’ wrongful behaviour.

Health organizations have long supported these efforts, recognizing that they can help achieve justice against corporate wrongdoing, can compensate taxpayers for health-care costs, and can expose the truth about unscrupulous industry behaviour. Most importantly, these lawsuits are seen as a way to protect future generations from the ravages of smoking by accelerating an end to this harmful trade.