Uruguay Wins Case Against US Tobacco Company

Uruguay President announced that the country had won an arbitration case against US tobacco giant Philip Morris, which sued the state claiming its anti-tobacco law harmed the cigarette maker's business.

"The Uruguayan state has emerged victorious and the tobacco company's claims have been roundly rejected," President Tabara Vasquez said in a televised address.

‘Uruguay President Tabara Vasquez stated that the country has emerged victorious after the claims of tobacco giant Philip Morris company have been roundly rejected by the World Bank�s arbitration body.’

He was citing a decision by the World Bank's arbitration body, the International Center for Settlement of Investment Disputes.

Philip Morris sued Uruguay in 2010 for $25 million over legislation enacted in 2006 banning smoking in public and tobacco advertising.

Uruguay became the first Latin American country and the fifth in the world to ban smoking in public places under Vazquez, an oncologist who was serving a previous term as president (2005-2010) before returning to power last year.

The company argued the law violated an investment treaty between Uruguay and Switzerland.

Source: AFP