ELLEN GOODMAN

Big Tobacco
Isn't Done Yet

Boston

NOW THEN, before we go rummaging around for the devils in the details, a
moment of appreciation for the deal itself.

Until this summer, the cigarette manufacturers had transformed nearly every
antismoking victoryfrom a ban on TV ads to warning labels into tobacco
profit Year after year, a phalanx of straightfaced executives insisted
that smoking didn't cause cancer, cigarettes weren't addictive and Joe
Camel was a cartoon for grown~ups.

Finally the balance was shifted by the sights, sounds and (law) suits of
change. The sight of tobacco executives Iying to Congress, the sound of
whistleblowers and FDA regulators, the suits by smokers and finally by
states looking for Medicaid reimbursement of smokingrelated illnesses.

As for the deal itself? It has some star items on the health community's
wish list. In return for protection from potentially ruinous lawsuits, the
industry admit that nicotine is an addictive health hazard, accepts a ban
on the most obnoxious advertising to kids and forks over $368 billion over
25 years to compensate for damages.

When all is said and done, when the president and Congress and the health
community weigh in, any agreement has to be judged by whether, in the end,
there will be fewer new smokers, especially among children.

Right now, Wall Street is betting on the survival of smoking. When you deal
with Big Tobacco, Richard Daynard of the Tobacco Products Liability Project
warns, "You have to assume that every suggestion they make, however
innocuous, has a fishhook in it"

So we move on to the devils in the details:

Devil One: The FDA Handcuffs. The agreement limits the FDA's ability to
regulate nicotine levels If we really want to deal with the most lethal
drug, we need to regulate how much nicotine and assorted carcinogens are in
a cigarette.

Devil Two: Freedom from Classaction Suits. In the future, anyone who wants
to take on tobacco is on his or her own. This makes it more expensive for
smokers to sue and easier for tobacco companies to survive.

Devil Three: Taxpayers Foot the Bill. The money the drug dealers must pay
is tax deductible. that means we all share the bill for damages.

Devil Four: Nearsighted LookBack Procedures". In theory, tobacco companies
now have an incentive to cut down the number of underage smokers. The deal
builds in a "look back" at the numbers. Either the percentage of young
smokers decreases or the companies pay a penalty. But alas, this penalty
has a devilish feature: There's a cap on it. It may be more profitable to
pay the fine and keep hooking the customers.

Devil Five: The Devil and the Deep Blue Overseas Market. There is nothing
in this global agreement that prevents American tobacco companies from
making up profits by addicting women and children in Asia and Eastern
Europe.

For the health community, the $368 billion question is whether these
tradeoffs are better than what antismoking forces could win in court.
Many lifers in the antismoking movement feel torn. Greg Connolly figures
that the package might reduce smoking by as much as 20 percent. That's the
good news. But it will keep the companies ~ business for the long run. Bad
news.

The postscript to the pact is going to be long and raucous. Before this new
deal is a done deal, we've got to dance with the devils.

Boston Globe