a coalition of over 40 state attorneys general seeking to recover the costs of treating tobacco-related illnesses announced they had reached an agreement with the tobacco industry to settle their claims out of court. Before going into effect, this agreement must be approved by Congress, and Congress will be listening closely to members of the public health community as they consider their options. Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, who filed the first lawsuit and has led the coalition during the negotiations, settled separately with the tobacco industry on July 3. The $3.6 billion settlement reached between Mississippi and the industry is not expected to affect the larger agreement but may signal other state settlements in the near future.
Members of the public health community have staked out two major positions on the agreement now before Congress. One side believes that settling is wrong, regardless of the concessions made by the industry, while the other believes it is a necessary and promising first step toward an effective resolution of this public health crisis. Those who believe that any settlement, no matter how strong and sweeping, is a mistake argue that the tobacco industry is on the ropes, and if the public health community stands firm, we can gain even further concessions. Instead of settling, they would press forward with litigation in the hope that recent revelations about the industry, especially those emerging from the Liggett Group, will provide attorneys with the ammunition they need to win and eventually put the tobacco industry out of business.
Although this position appears to be in the minority, it has the support of many thoughtful individuals with experience in tobacco control. Nonetheless, it has one serious and perhaps insurmountable flaw: until the recent settlement with Mississippi, no one had ever received a single dime in compensation from the tobacco industry. From the very start, the industry has been remarkably successful at defending itself in the courtroom, largely by portraying tobacco addicts as willing participants in the use and abuse of their products. Juries have seemed reluctant to hold tobacco companies accountable for what they believe is an individual's conscious and willing choice.
The industry's record of success plays a significant role in shaping the other major position in this argument. A large number of individuals and organizations in the public health community believe that success in the courts will come at too high a price, if at all. Even if the tide were at last to turn, it would take years, if not decades, to do enough damage to the industry to disable it permanently. In that time, millions of new smokers will have become addicted, and a good portion of these will be well on their way to an early death. Most