Cigarette advertisements could no more be accused of turning people into smokers than turning people into cowboys like the trademark Marlboro Man, a court heard yesterday.
The argument was put forward by lawyers for Marlboro cigarette manufacturer Philip Morris in response to a $28 million lawsuit filed by a Hong Kong smoker against the company he accuses of damaging his health.
The court was also warned of a 'major disruption to society' if it found the campaign to market tobacco was a 'legal wrong'.
'A large part of the Financial Secretary's income comes from tax of the product [cigarettes]. If the marketing of tobacco is in itself a legal wrong, that will effectively make a declaration that it should be halted . . . it is too complex an issue,' argued Mohan Bharwaney, counsel for Philip Morris Asia Ltd.
Businessman Wah Po-hing, 57, has filed a High Court writ claiming he suffers a 'doctor phobia syndrome' because of his 16-year smoking habit. He said he refused to be examined by doctors for fear of being diagnosed with lung cancer. He also said smoking had caused him to suffer premature ageing, glaucoma and cataracts.
Mr Wah said he started smoking Marlboro cigarettes, made by the company, in 1983 after watching advertisements showing a strong American man on a big horse. He claimed he was misled by the advertisement, believing smoking could improve his image. (David McLean, the actor who appeared for years as the Marlboro Man in advertisements, died of lung cancer in 1995.)