Tobacco Settlement

Overview For claimants For clinicians FAQ

Need help? tobacco@medchart.caRequest my records

Medchart works with Tobacco Claims Canada to help claimants retrieve their records.

Get the medical records you need for your tobacco settlement claim.

Your claim needs records that prove your diagnosis. Tell us once, and Medchart requests them from your doctors and clinics, follows up for you, and sends them back to you securely.

Request my records Do I qualify?For clinicians

The settlement's official agent helps you file your claim for free. Medchart does the part they do not: finding and collecting your records from every clinic, and following up until they arrive. We are not the settlement administrator and do not give legal advice. This service is for claims outside Quebec.

About the settlement

What this settlement is

On March 6, 2025, the Ontario Superior Court approved settlement plans for Canada's three major tobacco companies: Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges, and JTI-Macdonald. The plans set aside money to compensate people who smoked their cigarettes and were later diagnosed with certain diseases.

$2.521 billion is set aside for eligible claimants outside Quebec, under the Pan-Canadian Claimants' Compensation Plan. To receive money, you file a claim and prove your diagnosis with medical records. That is the part Medchart handles for you.

Before you start

Do you qualify?

You can likely take part if all four of these are true, either for you or for a family member you are claiming for:

1You smoked at least 87,600 cigarettes (about 20 a day for 12 years) of eligible brands made by Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges, or JTI-Macdonald, between January 1, 1950 and November 20, 1998.
2A doctor diagnosed you with primary lung cancer, a primary squamous-cell cancer of the throat (larynx, oropharynx, or hypopharynx), or emphysema or COPD (GOLD Grade III or IV), between March 8, 2015 and March 8, 2019. What counts?
3You lived in Canada when you were diagnosed, and you still live in Canada today.
4You were alive on March 8, 2019.

Request my records What records count?

Not sure? That is completely normal. We can help you add up your smoking history and check whether your diagnosis counts. Email us at tobacco@medchart.ca, or start your request and we will guide you.

Claiming for someone who has passed away? You can still take part if they met the rules above and passed away on or after March 8, 2019. See For claimants.

A simple, three-step process

How it works

Tell us about yourself

Answer a few questions about you and the doctors or clinics you have seen.

We collect your records with your permission

We contact your doctors and clinics, follow up for you, and gather the records you have given us permission to get.

You get your records

We send them back to you, organized and ready to add to your claim before the September 3, 2027 deadline.

Who is Medchart?

A Canadian medical records company you can trust

Medchart securely collects medical records across Canada for patients, lawyers, insurers, and clinics. For the tobacco settlement, we work with Tobacco Claims Canada to help claimants get the records their claim needs.

800+

organizations connected

15,000+

providers in our network

350,000+

records requests per year

Your records belong to you. We do not sell or share them.

Private and secure. PHIPA and PIPEDA compliant.

We work with Tobacco Claims Canada to help claimants retrieve their records.

Talk to a real person. Email us at tobacco@medchart.ca if you would rather not use a form.

Proof of diagnosis

What counts as a qualifying diagnosis

The diagnosis must have been made between March 8, 2015 and March 8, 2019. Only these qualify:

Primary lung cancer

The cancer must have started in the lungs. Cancer that began somewhere else and later spread to the lungs (secondary or metastatic) does not count.

Certain throat cancers

Only a primary squamous-cell cancer of the larynx (voice box), oropharynx (middle throat), or hypopharynx (lower throat). Other throat cancers are not covered.

Emphysema or COPD

Must be severe, at GOLD Grade III or IV.

Eligible brands

Eligible cigarette brands

To qualify, the cigarettes must have been one or more of these brands, made by Imperial Tobacco, Rothmans Benson & Hedges, or JTI-Macdonald, and smoked between January 1, 1950 and November 20, 1998.

Accord

Accord KF

Avanti / Light

B&H

B&H 100 Del.UL.LT/MEN

B&H 100 F

B&H 100 F Menthol

B&H Light Menthol

B&H Lights

B&H Special KF

B&H Special Lights KF

Belmont

Belmont KF

Belvedere

Belvedere Extra Mild

Camel

Cameo

Cameo Extra Mild

Craven "A"

Craven "A" Light

Craven "A" Special

Craven "A" Ultra Light / Mild

Craven "M"

Craven "M" KF

Craven "M" Special

du Maurier

du Maurier Extra Light

du Maurier Light

du Maurier Special

du Maurier Ultra Light

Dunhill

Dunhill KF

Export

Export "A"

Export "A" Extra Light

Export "A" Lights

Export "A" Medium

Export "A" Special Edition

Export "A" Ultra Light

Export Mild

Export Plain

John Player's Special

Macdonald

Macdonald Menthol

Mark Ten

Mark Ten Filter

Matinee

Matinee Extra Mild

Matinee Slims / Menthol

Matinee Special / Menthol

Medallion

North American Spirit

Number 7

Number 7 Lights

Peter Jackson

Peter Jackson Extra Light KF

Player's

Player's Extra Light

Player's Filter

Player's Light

Player's Medium

Player's Plain

Rothmans

Rothmans Extra Light

Rothmans KF

Rothmans Light

Rothmans Special

Rothmans UL LT KF

Select Special / Ultra Mild / Menthol

Vantage

Vantage KF

Vantage Light / Menthol

Viscount

Viscount #1 KF

Viscount Extra Mild / Menthol

Winston

Not sure which brand you smoked, or do not see it here? Email us at tobacco@medchart.ca and we can help you check.

I am a claimant

I need my own records, or a loved one's, to file a claim.

For claimants

I am a clinician

I received a records request, or I need the Physician Form.

For clinicians

Ready to get your records?

Start your request now. It takes a few minutes, and we handle the rest.

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