SMOKING ISSUE NOT A HOT ONE IN CAMPAIGNS

Politics: Big Tobacco is not eager to put the matter in the public eye,and
anti-smoking criticism could hurt the Republican Party.

Washington-After dominating politics early this year,tobacco has faded to a
grace note in campaigns this fall.

The real noise could come post-Election Day.

In recent weeks, state attorneys general have been meeting in small groups
across the country to review the latest proposal for a national setlement of
their lawsuits against the tobacco companies to recover health-related
costs.

Negotiations have been kept largely under wraps. But even if a deal is
close, a leading analyst says cigarette makers aren't eager to go public
with it right now, for fear of putting tobacco back on the radar screen
before the federal elections Tuesday.

Any new accord will likely be attacked by anti-smoking groups as a
"sweetheart deal" for the industry - possibly hurting Republicans, whose
party killed tough tobacco legislation earlier this year, said Gary Black,a
Wall Street analyst who closely tracks the industry.

So far, the smoking issue hasn't caught fire on the campaign trail, even
though Democrats vowed last spring that it would.

"I think the folks is Washington got it wrong," Black said. "Tobacco never
was going to be a major issue with the American people."

As he pushes his party's ticket, President Clinton mentions tobacco control
as one of several needed reforms that died this year in the Republican-led
Congress.

But tobacco isn't a standalone issue, acknowledged Richard Daynard, an
anti-smoking advocate who heads the Tobacco Control Liability Project in
Boston.

"I think it's part of an overall picture that Democrats are trying to
paint," Daynard said.

In some corners of the country, industry defenders have tried to play the
flip side of the issue. That also hasn't gained much traction.

In a close Senate race in tobacco-friendly North Carolina, incumbent
Republican Lauch Faircloth has suggested that his Democratic opponent, John
Edwards, would have fully supported Clinton's efforts to crack down on the
industry. Edwards has denied the charge.

While anti-smoking issues barely ripple the surface in campaigns, tobacco
money still swims deep.

Cigarette giant Philip Morris, for instance, has contributed more than $2.5
million during the current election cycle, through its political-action
committees and in direct donations from company employees, federal election
records show. Most of that cash - about 77 percent - has gone to
Republicans.

Still at play, particularly in state-level races, are the behind-the-scenes
negotiations to settle the states' lawsuits against cigarette makers.

Industry watchers expected a tobacco settlement to be announced earlier this
fall, Black said. The idea was that attorneys general and governors facing
re-election could campaign on a deal that would potentially bring billions
of dollars to their states.

That has worked in Minnesota, where Attorney General Hubert Humphrey 11 can
highlight his widely praised settlement with Big Tobacco in his campaign for
governor.

But the national settlement now in the works isn't the same as Minnesota's.

Current negotiations are for a deal that would cost the industry about $200
billion. There would be money for anti-smoking campaigns and some
restrictions on cigarette marketing. Health groups say it is too lenient,
allowing, for instance, cigarette companies to continue sponsoring at least
one major sporting event a year.

As the public-health community voiced its objections in recent weeks, the
proposed deal fast became more political burden than boon, Daynard said.

"The initial pitch was, 'This is going to be a political winner,'" Daynard
said. "I think what's happened is the settlement negotiations have become a
political albatross."

Checked-by: Don Beck