The Ontario Government is suing the large tobacco companies for fifty billion dollars.  They want to recoup the costs of healthcare for the past fifty years.  The government has accused the companies of misleading people about the health risks of the product.

Now – first and foremost – I have never been a big fan of smoking.  I can see absolutely no positive benefits of taking up this habit.  It makes people stink.  It’s addictive.  It’s unhealthy.  It’s expensive.  However, in so saying that, I also believe in an individuals right to choose.  If that person chooses to smoke and by doing so is not offending anyone else or subjecting them to any health risk, then by all means light up.

It does seem very hypocritical of the government, however.  They could just ban smoking outright, ridding themselves of the health care costs.  However, they choose to educate the people, restrict advertising, and otherwise legislate the industry.  They also collect taxes from the sale of cigarettes.  They do the same with alcohol, yet there is no lawsuit pending.  Why?  If you go after one industry, then why not all of them?

There is precedent, however.  All fifty U.S. States successfully sued the U.S. tobacco industry and won an out of court settlement for $247 billion dollars.  A significant amount of money, but you have to take into consideration that the United States has ten times the population of Canada.  Ontario represents about a quarter of the Canadian population.  Doing some quick math, Ontario could expect about six billion dollars if the case is settled out of court.

To ease the burden on the health care system, my solution would be to have smokers sign away their right to free health care for any medical issues resulting from their smoking.  As it should be their right to choose whether or not to light a cigarette, it should be our right to choose to not have to pay for the consequences of their actions.