Profits over People: The Case for Prosecuting Australia’s Tobacco Industry for Homicide Offences
Frankie Berardi School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland Herston 1School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston, QLD, Australia
Abstract
Title: Profits over People: The Case for Prosecuting Australia’s Tobacco Industry for Homicide Offences
Stream: Public Health Law and Ethics
Authors: (1) Frankie Berardi, (2) Radha Ivory, (1) Coral Gartner
Affiliations: (1) School of Public Health, Faculty of Medicine, The University of Queensland, Herston QLD 4006 Australia; (2) TC Beirne School of Law, Faculty of Business, Economics and Law, The University of Queensland, St Lucia QLD 4072 Australia
Australia’s tobacco industry continues to prosper despite public awareness of the harms associated with cigarettes. Following scientific studies and internal document disclosures, tobacco companies were shown to have known that nicotine is addictive and smoking causes premature death. This research aims to explore whether tobacco companies doing business in Australia can be criminally litigated for murder and manslaughter. The murder and manslaughter statutes in every Australian state and territory were analysed and compared. Then a preliminary case analysis was commenced to discern the dominant attribution theories for corporate criminal responsibility in each jurisdiction. Based on a preliminary analysis, prosecuting tobacco companies for murder is possible but unlikely, whereas successfully prosecuting them for manslaughter is plausible. A deeper case analysis will be conducted during August and September 2023 to further examine whether criminal litigation could be an effective strategy for holding corporate actors accountable for committing public health wrongs in Australia. Additionally, this research explores and challenges the effectiveness of Australia’s corporate attribution frameworks and existing murder and manslaughter statutes. Thus, this research informs opportunities for future legal action and law reform.
Biography
Frankie Berardi is a current PhD student at the University of Queensland. Frankie holds Juris Doctor and Master of Public Health degrees from the University of Florida in the United States. Frankie’s current research focuses on corporate prosecution under both Commonwealth and state or territory laws in Australia.