How does the new information on “light” cigarettes relate to earlier lawsuits and settlements?
In 1998 there was a landmark settlement called the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA). This was exclusively between the state governments and the big tobacco companies. In exchange for an overall stop in civil litigations, the industry promised to compensate the states for Medicare and Medicaid money spent on tobacco-related diseases. The industry settled for a $240 billion figure, paid out over 25 to 30 years. So the states have received a good deal of money since. But they have spent it on whatever they wanted, at their discretion—unfortunately, very rarely on tobacco control and tobacco cessation policies. And the tobacco industry passed on a lot of those costs to consumers by raising the price of tobacco. Many people felt that after the MSA there would be radical changes in the marketing of tobacco. But the current case of “light” cigarettes shows that the tobacco industry remains healthy and aggressive in the promotion of its products that cause death and disease. So what o
