Supreme Court Rules on B.C. Does not Have to Disclose Health Records to a Cigarette Maker

British Columbia does not have to hand over the detailed health care records of millions of people to the Philip Morris International Tobacco Company, says the Supreme Court of Canada.

Unanimous decision of the Supreme Court on Friday morning

Judge Russell Brown stated that health care databases ask for information about who the province is required to protect privacy [19659004]. last chapter of British Columbia's legal battle to force cigarette makers like Philip Morris International to compensate the province for the cost of treating tobacco-related illnesses – a battle that began in the late 1990s. 19659002]

Counsel for the province argued that the release of personal health information – even anonymously – could violate privacy laws.

b.c. She drew attention to a provision in the Health Care and Tobacco Cost Recovery Act that deals specifically with privacy.

Last year, the BC Court of Appeals upheld the decision of a lower court that was in agreement with the company and ruled that to guarantee a fair trial, the province had to submit the patient's data.

The Supreme Court was not in agreement. , the decision says

Brown wrote that lower courts focused on the relevance of databases rather than on the content of information. He added that documents related to individual health care benefits can not be shared even if the information is removed.

British Columbia offered tobacco companies access to Statistics Canada data, but Philip Morris refused.

Brown said Philip Morris could ask for a "statistically significant sample."

Rothmans Benson & Hedges (RBH), the affiliate of Philip Morris International in Canada, does not consider this a total loss

. The Supreme Court rejected the decision of the British Columbia courts that anonymous databases should be produced now. The Supreme Court has recognized that RBH and the other defendants still have the right to produce the databases. producing a statistically significant sample of databases and other documents, "wrote spokeswoman Sarah Tratt in an email.

BC. was the first province to begin the dispute resolution process, but all other provinces have since filed similar lawsuits against the tobacco industry.

Together, they are looking for about $ 120 billion.

Rob Cunningham, Attorney The Canadian Cancer Society said the decision made today is a major preliminary defeat that could affect other provinces' records

"The goal of the Tobacco industry is delaying the start of this trial. "It is really important that the provinces take drastic action to bring their cases to justice, which took too much time."