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THtirISDAY,SEFTEMBER1,1994 FINAL*** 50 CENTS (plus GST)
Tobacco firm report says smoking
AMILI deaths save monqg-.y -
Cigarettes reduce
hospital costs,
economist argues
By Caro" Adolph
S*k*vrnStsr Netwmit
MONTREAL - A rt coza.
missionod by Imperial Tobacco
so" tobacco4olated deathi; we an
le advantage to Canisdians.
because cigarettes kill people of
wore they become a burden to
the health-Cam system
. xift the tobacco onat Al.
wvp denied any link between c2&
arett= WA dea&
-Anti-smaking group =rely
sider the reduction in boom
resulting from the ;xremature death
of certain smokem' said the re-
port, wrfttcn by economist Jesin-
Pierre Vidal.
'A PM son Who dies of ]Two cwi-.
Cer at imp 70 will not be hospital-
ized W@w with another digeose.'
Vidal. co-a-bor of a I= study
on the same thenift was commis-
-icned by imperial after LA*.Paw
T --- it Universily of Quebec ac-
counting proressor, published a
scattift report of the tobacco in-
dustry in June. Latace said tobacco
companies rake in huge profits
while controlling the market for a
deadly product am costs Caruidi-
am 39.7 hilhoc annually in health-
Care C05131.
Be citm a 2W1 Worid Sz-ft Or-
ton.".600 repnrt for tliat
figure.
Vidal. a non-smokar, concluded
tire I ---= had no evidence That
scioking had a negetrve impact on
society. He also said that T-m='s
S9.7-billion of tobacco-m-
lated health-care cosU was too
high. Health and Welfare Canada
has estimated that com to be SZ2
billion. be said.
Vidal aLso contends that rew-
cues lost by snicken because of
Y emature ri--th are not 0 COK ibr
governments or taxpeyem because
people who don't work simply we
not paid.
In on interview, Vidal said he
did consider the cost to tsixpayers
-ben &allies are MP r - I an to wel.
fare because their breadwinner
has died frain tobaccomlated catw
e& But this cost is -low because
most smokers die around mdre-
mdat W be said.
And there via even be another
, , =vu3c. he added- dead smok.
ers dool callect the pensimis *AY
have contributed to all draw ]rare
Vidal also condirmed thaL he had
-takes ft as a gr4m, that tobecco
causes cancer and other diseases.
11 was not going to go against the
weight of evidenM' he said.
Imperial spokesman Michel
Descoteaux said his company
would issue a statement today
abciul Vidal's mpom
The Former medical director of
the Montreal Bean Inaft'r M"
-If as a tobacco numufacturw I
mwr= killing people " they want
CDGL' that's terrible.
'If You Push that 100c Author.
you can don the children's bospi@
tak la save Money.-
1he Pim-sm Gum
onk" CWCjM . Ubw&ts. U*a=
clause choiang researcrws. A2
Un
00
-
00
C1%
BATCo document for Province of British Columbia 14 April 1999