Retired tobacco executive cites memory gaps in Montreal tobacco trial

Quebec smokers are suing Canada’s three largest tobacco companies for over $27 billion in damages.

They claim that they were misled by cigarette companies, that they were not informed of the dangers of smoking, or that they have developed health problems accordingly.

Roger Ackman, a 73-year-old retired vice-president of Imperial Tobacco, testified in court Tuesday.

Ackman admitted that documents including research about the health effects of smoking were destroyed under his watch.

According to The Canadian Press, Ackman says that he can’t recall the information present on these shredded documents, nor can he recall the reason why they were destroyed.

While Ackman was being interrogated by the plaintiff’s lawyer, he kept citing that he had memory gaps that prevented him from giving any extra information.

The documents in question were shredded in the early 1990s and the court battle is expected to last up to two years.

Flickr image by: Justin Shearer