Imperial Tobacco Canada

Imperial Tobacco Canada Limited is a cigarette manufacturing company operating in Canada. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of British American Tobacco. It was created in 1908 and bought out the Canadian interests of the American Tobacco Company, which was a monopoly in the United States until it was reorganized in 1911.[1] Imperial Tobacco Canada has no relationship to Imperial Tobacco Group plc.

History

American Tobacco, which had acquired the Kinney Brothers Tobacco Company, makers of the then-popular cigarette brand Sweet Caporal (which commanded a 50% share of the Canadian cigarette market at the time Imperial Tobacco bought out American Tobacco), had entered the Canadian market by acquiring the Montreal-based American Cigarette Company and D. Ritchie and Company, forming the American Tobacco Company of Canada, Ltd.

Imperial Tobacco was the first Canadian cigarette manufacturer to be successfully sued by a governmental entity in Canada. The province of British Columbia's lawsuit against Imperial was upheld by the Supreme Court of Canada in the landmark case British Columbia v. Imperial Tobacco Canada Ltd., [2005] 2 S.C.R. 473, 2005 SCC 49. The Supreme Court ruled that the provincial Tobacco Damages and Health Care Costs Recovery Act, which allowed the government to sue tobacco companies, was constitutionally valid.

On June 1, 2015, the Quebec Superior Court ruled against Imperial Tobacco Canada, JTI-Macdonald, and RBH in two Quebec class action suits. The judgment against Imperial Tobacco was in excess of $10 billion – the highest tobacco judgement in Canadian history. The court found that Imperial failed in its duty of care to Quebec consumers prior to 1998. The court required a $1 billion payment to the plaintiffs within 60 days, regardless of appeal.[2]

Brands and products

Imperial Tobacco Canada (known as BAT Canada since approx. 2017) is a Canadian market leader in tobacco products, with approximately 50% market share of total tobacco products. Brands that BAT Canada markets include du MAURIER, Player's, Matinee, Peter Jackson, John Player Standard and Pall Mall. BAT Canada recently (since approx. early 2018) started marketing a vaping product called Vype, an alternative to combustible tobacco.

References

  1. ↑ "Brand Sweet Caporal". Cigarettespedia. Retrieved 25 December 2013.
  2. ↑ http://tjl.quebec/wp-content/uploads/2015/06/2015-05-27-AA-Jmt.pdf
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