Three tobacco companies are appealing against a “historic” decision by a Canadian court to award smokers C$15.6bn (£8.2bn) in damages…Bruce Johnston, a lawyer with one of the firms that took on the tobacco companies, called the ruling “historic – not just for the compensation for victims but also for public health and accountability”. More than a million smokers and former smokers in Quebec were seeking damages, on the grounds that the companies knew they were selling a harmful product but concealed the risks. The case covered two groups of plaintiffs: those who became seriously ill from smoking and those who said they could not quit…Imperial Tobacco Canada said the judgment “ignores the reality that both adult consumers and governments have known about the risks associated with smoking for decades”…JTI-Macdonald said…“The company strongly believes that the evidence presented at trial does not justify the court’s conclusions.”…[Refers to Imperial Tobacco Canada, JTI-MacDonald, Rothmans Benson & Hedges (part of Philip Morris International)]