Passive Payback
A former bar worker, who developed throat cancer while working at an Australian club, has been awarded a compensation of US $450,000. Marlene Sharp, 62, a non-smoker, who worked at the Port Kembla RSL Club from 1984 to 1995, sued her former employer saying that the club exposed her to an "unnecessary risk' and failed to provide a safe workplace. She was diagnosed for malignant cancer of the larynx and underwent surgery and radiotherapy. The New South Wales Supreme Court on May 2, 2001, ordered the club to pay the compensation and recommended the government to impose a total ban on smoking in clubs and hotels. Government sources, however, say that it will not impose the ban "at this stage'.