BIG TOBACCO BETTER WORK WITH GREGOIRE

There's at least one general left who's fighting the tobacco battle.
Industry executives should be scared.

Washington Attorney General Christine Gregoire is now carrying the national
campaign to punish tobacco companies for their despicable behavior. Given
her record for success and her tireless conviction, tobacco's future
doesn't look good.

Too many victims are caught in Big Tobacco's web of addiction, deception
and lies. Gregoire knows too well the damage it's done in Washington. One
way or another, she'll find a way to stop the web from growing.

As we all know, Congress failed miserably when it killed a comprehensive
anti-tobacco package. Voters shouldn't let up on the pressure. A ruling
from Congress is still the only way to achieve real change in the way
tobacco operates.

Last week's appeals court ruling, which declared unlawful the Food and Drug
Administration's authority over tobacco, is more proof of this. Courts are
not the appropriate venue to make significant changes in the tobacco
business.

But there are still methods to chip away at the empire's evil power.
Gregoire is just the person to succeed in this endeavor.

Since the last round of tobacco negotiations, several states' AGs have
concluded their lawsuits successfully. Now-famous AGs Hubert H. Humphrey
III and Mike Moore, of Minnesota and Florida respectively, have left the
tobacco scene. Gregoire's fellow AGs across the country appointed her to
chair a new round of discussions between tobacco companies and attorneys
general. Because Congress isn't a player this time, there are less
altruistic expectation. The negotiations are couched in more traditional
settlement terms. The wish list that came out of the original round of
negotiations last summer is erased. But significant progress can still come
out of the talks.

What we can hope for from these negotiations is further protection for our
children, full disclosure of tobacco's health effects, reformed business
practices by Big Tobacco and monetary relief to cover tobacco-related
health care costs.

Nine states -- California, Colorado, Oklahoma, North Dakota, North
Carolina, Massachusetts, New York and Washington -- are banking on these
discussions to produce significant change and end their expensive lawsuits.
If the tobacco industry agrees to at least these stipulations, the pending
suits filed by these states would dissipate.

That would be a positive move for the sake of taxpayers and the AGs'
offices. Lawsuits are expensive, especially tobacco lawsuits. Recently, the
tobacco industry requested 30 million state documents from Gregoire's
office. Despite high costs and limited staff, the AG's office had to
comply.

Washington's lawsuit is still scheduled to be heard in King County Superior
Court on Sept. 14. Gregoire will do her best to settle the case with her
fellow AGs and the tobacco industry before then. But there will come a time
when she'll have to forego a multi-state agreement and work directly for
Washington.

Washington can be proud it has an attorney general who is willing to fight
endlessly for such as noble cause. There is every reason to believe she
will succeed -- either at the negotiating table or the courthouse.

She ought to have the support of Congress backing her up.

Checked-by: Joel W. Johnson