We all know the Bible story of David versus Goliath. The young shepherd boy defeated the fearsome giant soldier with only a slingshot and raw courage.
One fearless lung cancer patient, Anne Marie van Veen, has taken on a similar fight against daunting odds.
Anne Marie van Veen, a lung cancer patient from the Netherlands, is challenging the tobacco industry.
The legal complaint against tobacco companies
The story began in 2016. Anne Marie and an Amsterdam lawyer, Bénédicte Ficq, filed a criminal complaint against major tobacco companies.
The complaint accused tobacco firms of intentionally trying to turn smokers into addicts. It also claimed they caused “deliberate damage to public health”.
The action called for several companies to face criminal charges. These included Philip Morris International, British American Tobacco, Japan Tobacco International and Imperial Tobacco Benelux.
The complaint argued that the companies should face charges of “attempted murder, alternatively attempted manslaughter and/or attempted and premeditated severe physical abuse and/or attempted and premeditated injuring of health”.
More than 20 organisations supported the action. These included the Dutch family doctors’ association, the city of Amsterdam and the Netherlands’ main cancer hospital.
The complaint also accused the companies of forgery. It argued that they had “for years declared on tobacco product packaging levels of tar, nicotine and carbon monoxide that were lower than the actual levels”.
A criminal prosecution of tobacco producers would have been a world first. The case attracted worldwide news coverage. However, public prosecutors in the Netherlands refused to open a formal criminal investigation.
The tobacco industry knew time and time again how to seduce me to keep me smoking. But I will not allow them to secure my children.
Anne Marie set up Sick of Smoking to challenge the tobacco companies
Prosecutors reject the case
In a written statement, prosecutors explained their decision.
They said that current Dutch legislation offered no realistic prospect of a successful prosecution against tobacco companies.
They also stated that smoking is “deadly, and the design of cigarettes contributes to that, the tobacco producers do not … act in breach of the laws and rules”.
Living with lung cancer
Anne Marie received her lung cancer diagnosis more than three and a half years ago.
Soon afterwards, doctors told her chemotherapy was no longer an option. They said she had only months to live.
At the end of 2014, however, she joined a clinical trial for an immunotherapy drug.
While coping with her illness, Anne Marie also began her legal campaign against the tobacco companies.
Facing criticism
She launched the campaign publicly in April 2016. She appeared alongside lawyer Bénédicte Ficq on the Dutch television show ‘RTL Late Night’.
The reaction was not always supportive.
Many people argued that she had smoked, so blaming tobacco companies for her illness seemed “ridiculous”.
She often heard the same response: “It’s your own fault”.
Anne Marie challenges that argument directly:
“People ask the wrong question. The question is not: is it their own fault if someone who smokes gets lung cancer? No, the question is: is it their own fault if a child who starts smoking, later gets lung cancer? That sounds different, eh?”
Anne Marie van Veen, living with lung cancer
Anne Marie’s response
Anne Marie has spoken openly about the criticism she receives.
Anne Marie said: “I haven’t used Facebook for a long time. I still get emails, saying things like: “You say you’re doing this for your children, but you smoked when you were pregnant. How could you?’ But I was addicted. And that addiction is not my fault. Many people don’t understand that.
That’s because those people ask the wrong question. The question is not: is it their own fault if someone who smokes gets lung cancer? No, the question is: is it their own fault if a child who starts smoking, later gets lung cancer? That sounds different, eh? Because that’s how it is: the vast majority of smokers start in their teenage years. Me too. I was 15. That’s what the tobacco industry wants.”
“You are seduced as a child. So, is lung cancer still your own fault?”
Children are called “Replacement Smokers by the tobacco industry. They have to replace smokers who die prematurely.
A message from the Sick of Smoking website
Growing support
Eighteen months after launching her campaign, Anne Marie began to see a shift in public reaction.
The mockery and criticism started to fade. More people began taking action.
The number of complaints against the tobacco industry has now reached 30. Almost the entire medical community in the Netherlands has submitted a complaint. The City of Amsterdam has also joined the action.
What began as a brave personal step has now turned into a wider movement. Anne Marie now finds herself leading a growing group of supporters.
Determined to continue
Anne Marie remains determined to continue the fight.
She says, “It has not been for nothing. So much has happened. Soon, cigarettes will not be allowed to be on open display in shops (as is the case already here in the UK).
“We’ve already made history. And if justice does not proceed to prosecution, then … we will go to a higher court. This will continue.”
International support
Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation is part of a global alliance of patient-advocacy organisations called the Global Lung Cancer Coalition (GLCC). The coalition represents the voice of lung cancer patients worldwide.
Our partner organisation, Lung Cancer Netherlands, has supported the case brought by Anne Marie and her legal advisers.
After the prosecutors’ decision, the organisation released a statement:
“We are deeply disappointed that the Public Prosecution Service has decided against proceeding to criminal prosecution of the tobacco industry.
“It could prevent a lot of illness, suffering and social costs. We are extremely proud of Anne Marie van Veen, Lia Breed, Wanda de Kanter, Bénédicte Ficq and all other declarants. This case brought wider awareness of this matter. We have not yet given up. On to the court”.
Smoking rates and ongoing action
Recent statistics show that almost 25% of people in the Netherlands smoke. Around 20,000 people die each year from smoking-related illnesses.
In the UK, the adult smoking rate has fallen to just under 16%. This figure marks a record low since records began.
Health awareness campaigns, better education and the ban on smoking in public places have all contributed to this decline. Roy Castle Lung Cancer Foundation campaigned strongly for those changes.
We also support people who want to quit smoking. Our anti-smoking film and creative media project, Cut Films, encourages young people to make healthier lifestyle choices.
Patients who joined the #HeadHigh campaign also played a vital role. They helped challenge the stigma surrounding lung cancer — the same prejudice Anne Marie has confronted so courageously.
The fight continues
The fight against lung cancer continues.
So does the battle against smoking and the stigma surrounding the disease.
Campaigners continue this work in the Netherlands, in the UK and across the world.
Like Anne Marie, they refuse to give up.