CIGGY BIGGYS SMOKESCREEN IN LANDMARK CANCER CASE…..Bapu Deedwania
Customs officer battling cancer objects to ITCs paid scientists deposing in court
Customs officer battling cancer objects to ITCs paid scientists deposing in court
Affidavits filed by four scientists in a case where a cancer-stricken customs officer has sued tobaccoto-hotels giant ITC for Rs 1 crore have come under scrutiny.
Commissioner of Customs and Central Excise at Mumbai Deepak Kumar,who lost his voice after his larynx was removed to prevent the spread of cancer to other parts of his body,has charged that ITC has got “paid”scientists to file affidavits in consumer court,where his claim is being heard,denying any connection between cigarette smoking and cancer of the larynx.
Kumar,who now breathes through an artificial opening,has alleged that the four scientists — Jeffrey Idle,Michael Lewis,Jaques Lelorier and Cyril Fisher –have long been associated with the British American Tobacco Company (BAT),which holds 30% stake in ITC.
* Customs commissioner Deepak Kumar,who started smoking at 16 and subsequntly lost his voice to cancer,has filed a case against ITC for not displaying adequate warning on their packs
His application claims BAT has either paid for travel expenses of these scientists or facilitated their participation in seminars and discussions across the globe.Some of them have batted for BAT in similar cases for many years now,he has alleged.
All four scientists Kumar has cited in his application have argued,through independent affidavits,that there is no conclusive proof that cigarette smoking can cause cancer of larynx,a condition that severely damaged Kumar’s vocal chord,voice box and other areas of throat.
Idle’s affidavit concludes that the ‘mechanism by which larynx cancer develops is unknown’and that no ‘constituent or group of constituents as it exits in the complex mixture of a cigarette smoke causes laryngeal cancer.
As for Lelorier,his affidavit says that ‘statistical association from observation studies cannot establish casualties and that cigarette smoking has not been established to cause laryngeal cancer.
Citing several specific instances of Idle,Lelorier and the other two scientists benefiting from their association with BAT,Kumar in his application seeks rejection of their affidavits citing “conflict of interest.”
His application points out that all expenses of Idle’s trip to New York to attend a meeting of the Scientific Advisory Board of the Council of Tobacco Research were borne by BAT.He has attached a letter dated October 10,1988 written by Idle to BAT expressing ‘hope and belief of a beginning of a long and fruitful relationship.’
Expenses incurred by Idle on a visit to Copenhagen in June 1993 were also met by BAT.Hand-written letters by Idle in this connection have been attached.
Questioning Lelorier’s association with BAT,Kumar has asked ITC to confirm if he testified for BAT in another litigation concerning tobacco consumption causing cancer at the Circuit of Ohio County,West Virginia.His application also alleges that Lelorier has a record of appearing as independent witness across several cases and points out that he was also a lead investigator in a study on the effect of statin (a class of drugs used to lower cholesterol) on obesity when he was on the payroll of companies producing statin.The third scientist,Michael Lewis’s role has been questioned on the basis of the evidence he gave in the case of Margaret Mctear vs Imperial Tobacco Ltd,which is a subsidiary of BAT.Kumar’s application also alleges that Lewis testified as an expert on behalf of BAT and its affiliates in several other cases.
As for Fisher,Kumar alleges that BAT in a letter dated May 5,1999 had called upon Fisher to have a look at the report of a study comparing use of branded cigarette against self-rolled ones.
Kumar,who began smoking when he was 16,believes that the long-standing association of these scientists with BAT “would have an effect on the weight to be attached to their expert evidence.”
Nazeeb Arif,vice-president,corporate communications,ITC,refused to comment on Kumar’s charges.”We would not like to comment since the matter is subjudice.”The company’s lawyers also declined to speak on the ongoing case.
Kumar,who believes that his addiction to smoking was fuelled by constant advertisements glamourising smoking,submitted papers documenting the four scientists’ association with BAT to ITC,but did not get any response.
When Kumar began smoking,cigarette packs did not carry any warning.Later,when such warnings were made mandatory,adequate information on carcinogenic effects of tobacco was not displayed.
The next hearing of the case will take place on January 15 next year.
ITC in this case is being represented by senior counsel Navroze Seervai with Kevic Setalvad and Nanu Hormasjee & Co.Kumar’s lawyers are senior counsel E P Bharucha and advocates Firoz Bharucha and Farida Poonawala-Tata.