A 75 year old Spanish smoker, Francisco Muñoz Bermúdez, now suffering from cancer, has lost his case for compensation from the state.
Muñoz was claiming €300,000 compensation from the state because, up until 1998, the tobacco company Tabacalera was state owned. He was claiming that he only smoked brands made by Tabacalera and had not been warned of the dangers associated with smoking.
The National Court agreed that smoking is indeed harmful and a carcenogenic factor but, although the state was responsible for the sale and distribution of tobacco, it did not impose consumption of the substance, the ultimate decision being that of the individual. In other words, the state has no liability in the case.