Liquor producers and marketers around the world are watching anxiously as the native American tribe, the Oglala Sioux, initiate a case against several major US brewers to recover US$500 million in compensation for costs and damage wrought by alcohol abuse, on their people at Pine Ridge reservation.
Pine Ridge has one of the most alcohol damaged populations anywhere, with 25% of children suffering foetal alcohol syndrome from a population with the highest rate of alcoholism in North America. The average life span of Oglala Sioux is 33% less than that for all Americans and the lowest in the United States.
The lawsuit has been filed with the District Court of Nebraska, and potentially could set a precedent for claims against liquor producers on public health grounds, in much the same way as prosecutions against tobacco companies. While the case is unlikely to be concluded with a decision from this court, the US system, especially in a case with federal implications through the US Indian Reservation system, will ultimately see it in the US Supreme Court where a decision could have global ramifications.
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This is a crazy world where a lot of people just wont take responsibility for their actions. What ever happened to the “I” – I drank too much (and damaged my body), I ate too much (and damaged my body), I took too many tranquilizers (and damaged my body), I drank whilst pregnant and damaged my child. People know that there is a risk of damage to themselves with excessive consumption and yet they still want to pass the buck.