Scandinavian tobacco companies House of Prince and Skandinavisk Holding have won a historic case against a former smoker after the Supreme Court ruled in their favour.
Dane Allan Lykke Jensen, who smoked for more than half a century, sued what at the time was called Skandinavisk Tobakskompagni a decade ago, citing several irregularities such as adding addictive substances during production.
Following the ruling, he said that he did not agree with the outcome as the companies were well aware smoking would make him ill. He claimed that Prince had for many years been misleading consumers on the amount of nicotine and tar contained in each packet.
The man from Funen, 67, argues that the tobacco companies lied about their measurements and put more nicotine and tar in the cigarettes than what was listed on the packets. He initially wanted compensation of 53,000 kroner, but the Eastern High Court ruled in December 2011 that he was not entitled to any compensation for the damage smoking had caused him.
In 2012, Jensen appealed the ruling to the Supreme Court, which has now ruled in favour of the tobacco companies.
All court costs will be paid for by the state, with the figure totaling more than two million kroner.