Today's ruling is not what we had hoped for, says Chairman of the Board René Medema: "We would, of course, have preferred to have seen that the Public Prosecution had started a criminal case against the tobacco industry. At the same time, we feel supported by the large number of (healthcare) organizations and individuals who have followed our example. We are very happy with that and it makes us even more motivated to continue. We see the harmful effects of smoking in our patients every day. We must make it clear to the tobacco industry that their behavior is unacceptable. We're fighting a losing battle treating patients who have become sick as a result of smoking, while on the other hand consumers are knowingly made addicts. The tobacco industry uses so-called 'milder' cigarettes for this. We think that this should stop. We now have more time to prepare ourselves well for an appeals procedure, we are discussing this with Bénédicte Ficq. An article 12 procedure is a possibility. We are also asking the Court of Appeal to order the Public Prosecution Service to prosecute."