The Supreme Court has cleared the way for an 80-year-old woman, a lifelong smoker who is suffering from cancer, to sue two tobacco companies for personal injuries allegedly resulting from her addiction to their cigarettes.
The three-judge court yesterday dismissed an attempt by tobacco manufacturer Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd to overturn the High Court's refusal to halt Ms Margaret Delahunty's claim on the grounds it disclosed no reasonable cause of action.
Ms Delahunty, from Ballinahowen, Furbo, Co Galway, had brought proceedings against tobacco manufacturers Player and Wills (Ireland) Ltd and Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd for personal injuries allegedly caused by the cigarettes she smoked over many years.
She has also sued the Minister for Health and the Attorney General, claiming failure on the part of the State to effectively regulate the sale of tobacco products.
Ms Delahunty claims she began smoking cigarettes manufactured by Player & Wills in 1938.
Giving the Supreme Court decision yesterday, Mr Justice Nial Fennelly, outlining the background to the case, said Ms Delahunty claims she became addicted in 1938 and continued to smoke cigarettes, 20 to 30 a day, manufactured by Player & Wills. She had changed to a tipped brand in the 1960s.
In 1995 Ms Delahunty became ill, coughing blood and had recurrent chest infections, weight loss and shortness of breath.
She said she learned of the harm caused by cigarettes, including addiction, from her doctors after the diagnosis of her cancer in October 1995.
At that time, she changed her brand to Silk Cut Extra Mild, manufactured by Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd. She said she has smoked and continues to smoke that brand at a rate of about 20 a day. Because of her alleged addiction, she claims she is unable to give up smoking.
The judge said Gallaher disputed whether Ms Delahunty's claim that she had suffered continuing injury since 1995 as a result of smoking cigarettes manufactured by Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd was properly pleaded.
The company contended she had sustained her injury before she ever smoked a cigarette manufactured by this company.
The judge also noted Ms Delahunty claims Gallaher (Dublin) Ltd specifically aimed the marketing of its Silk Cut Extra Mild brand of cigarettes, at least in part, at people such as Ms Delahunty who, though already addicted, were concerned about the health risks of smoking.
Mr Justice Fennelly said that there are complex and difficult issues of both law and fact to be decided which it would be more appropriate to argue and test at the full hearing of the action.
Ms Delahunty was seeking to make the tobacco companies amenable for selling cigarettes which they sold but which she voluntarily consumed and it was well known there was tobacco litigation of many types in many jurisdictions, he observed.
Mr Justice Fennelly said he was of the view that the claim based on liability for defective products could not be dismissed at this stage.