Jung Ki-seok, chairman of the National Health Insurance Service (a specialist in respiratory medicine), submitted a statement to the court ahead of the appeal ruling regarding the 53.3 billion won cigarette lawsuit, noting that "70,000 people die each year from smoking" and emphasized that "the state has a responsibility to warn about tobacco addiction." According to the National Health Insurance Service on the 27th, Chairman Jung recently submitted this statement to the 6-1 division of civil affairs of the Seoul High Court.
Previously, the National Health Insurance Service filed a damage compensation lawsuit against tobacco companies KT&G, Philip Morris Korea, and BAT Korea in April 2014. The argument is that since citizens are developing lung cancer and laryngeal cancer from smoking, which is costing medical expenses from the health insurance fund, the tobacco companies should be held responsible. The first trial ruled in favor of the tobacco companies, and the National Health Insurance Service appealed, leading to a forthcoming decision in the second trial.
◇"Tobacco companies are indifferent to public health…only chasing profits"
The key issue in the lawsuit is the causal relationship between smoking and cancer. Chairman Jung stated that "70% of smokers will develop a disease at least once due to smoking, and 98.2% of small cell lung cancer patients have smoking as the sole cause," adding that "the opinions of professors and academic societies in Korea align." Earlier, the first trial court indicated that due to factors like family history, personal habits, and environmental factors, there is a possibility of developing cancer unrelated to smoking, thus the tobacco companies may not have to compensate for damages.
Just one cigarette can deliver nicotine into the bloodstream, increasing dopamine (a neurotransmitter) levels in the brain. Smokers feel a continuous urge to smoke. The National Health Insurance Service views that tobacco companies have manipulated nicotine to induce tobacco addiction, resulting in citizens developing cancer. Domestic societies such as the Korean Lung Cancer Society, Korean Liver Association, and Korean Society of Smoking Cessation, as well as the World Health Organization (WHO), support the National Health Insurance Service.
Chairman Jung noted that "tobacco causes harm to individuals and society," indicating that "the burden of smoking on health insurance fund expenditures is 3.8 trillion won annually, ranking first." He further stated that "the health of citizens in this precious low-birth era is directly linked to Korea's future," emphasizing that "the nation must uphold justice to protect citizens from tobacco companies that are indifferent to public health and only chase profits.
◇1.5 million citizens support the tobacco lawsuit
Tobacco companies maintain the stance that smoking is merely a personal freedom and that individuals can choose to quit smoking. These companies submitted such opinions from experts to the court. Chairman Jung asserted that "one of the two experts introduced by the tobacco companies only treated geriatric mental disorders in a hospital and has no research or papers related to tobacco addiction," while adding that "the opinion submitted by the other expert was reviewed by the Korean Society for Preventive Medicine and found to be incorrect." He further expressed that "it is unethical for a doctor, whose mission is to protect public health and lives, to act for the benefit of tobacco companies," lamenting that "as a senior physician, I cannot contain my disappointment."
The tobacco lawsuit has an effect of informing the public about smoking cessation. The National Health Insurance Service's nationwide signature campaign for the tobacco lawsuit gathered more than 1.5 million participants, exceeding the original goal of 1 million. Citizens expressed, "There are those suffering from lung cancer and laryngeal cancer; why have tobacco companies never taken responsibility until now?"