City official says Denver's lawsuit against major tobacco companies won't cost taxpayers
The city of Denver filed a lawsuit last week to hold major tobacco companies accountable, going after corporations that manufacture popular cigarette brands like Marlboro and Camel to pay up for the cost of cleanup.
"There was a group that approached us I think late last year and basically said we're looking at pursuing litigation in a couple of different cities, would you be interested in joining?" said Jon Ewing, a spokesperson for the mayor's office. "And we said 'Absolutely' because there's cigarette butts littering streets all along Denver."
According to Ewing, the law firm representing the cities approached them offering to file suit on a contingency basis.
"We're not paying for any of the attorneys, but they will take a cut of the fee if there is a settlement or a reward," he said.
It's an effort to not only recoup costs to fight pollution cigarette butts cause, ultimately paid for by taxpayers, but to force Big Tobacco to make changes to its filters.
"They're not biodegradable. And I think there's been a little bit of pretending over the years that maybe they are. They're not, and they're incredibly difficult to recycle. So where they end up is on the side of your street, or in the storm drain, or in our waterways," Ewing said.
The city says joining the fight was a no-brainer, and Ewing says for those thinking vaping is in and smoking is out, "Look down the next time you're on your walk, and you will see that (people) are in fact still smoking cigarettes."
A CBS Colorado crew did do that, and a short walk from the City and County of Denver Building to a nearby parking lot was littered with cigarette waste.
"It's something that our teams have to pick up; they have to deal with. It's something that you'll see like community bids have to pick up and clean up all of the time. So, it's something that we put a lot of resources to, or at least energy toward. And it made a lot of sense to us," Ewing said.
One of the plaintiffs in the lawsuit, ITG Brands, responded to CBS Colorado's request for comment, saying in part "As a responsible manufacturer, we take this matter seriously and disagree with the claims made against us."
