TOBACCO FOES CHALK UP IMPORTANT VICTORY

Minnesota didn't exactly bring the tobacco industry to its knees last
week, but that state did deliver a painful legal blow, one likely to
help Wisconsin when its own lawsuit against cigarette makers goes to
trial next year.

Friday's settlement of Minnesota's suit against the tobacco companies
has important implications for the rest of the states, not only
because of the money involved -- more than $6 billion to be paid over
25 years in compensation for Minnesota's tobacco-related Medicaid
costs -- but because of the far-reaching conditions. These include a
ban on any marketing to children, a critical component because teen
smoking is on the rise.

Other important conditions include the disbanding of an organization
that Minnesota claimed was a tobacco public relations front; a ban on
distributing merchandise, such as caps and jackets, that carry tobacco
logos; billboard restrictions; and a requirement to disclose money
spent by the industry on lobbying.

The settlement of Minnesota's suit -- the first to go to trial --
comes only weeks after Big Tobacco defiantly vowed to fight any
anti-tobacco legislation in Congress. It's noteworthy also that by
bringing the case to trial, Minnesota ended up with 50% more than it
would have received under a proposed settlement last June with 40
state attorneys general, including Wisconsin's Jim Doyle.

Doyle's office has monitored the Minnesota case. He and private
litigators hired by the state wisely plan to use the same strategy
that Minnesota so successfully employed. Rather than relying primarily
on expert witnesses and whistle blowers, Minnesota cleverly used the
industry's own internal documents -- many of which speculated that
tobacco's addictiveness could be parlayed into profits -- against the
companies. "All we would want then," one particularly damning document
said, "is a larger bag to carry the money to the bank."

As part of the settlement, $102 million would go to a fund to help any
smoker in Minnesota quit, a hugely important public health benefit
that Wisconsin should also pursue.

While cheering the Minnesota settlement, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.)
vowed to continue to fight for federal anti-tobacco legislation. Smart
move. Squeezing cigarette makers from both directions -- in state
lawsuits and in Congress -- may help to finally ease tobacco's awful
grip on the American public.

Checked-by: trikydik@inil.com (trikydik)