Scarcnet News Summaries (Advocacy Institute)
Clinton Uses State Of The Union To Announce Lawsuit Against Big Tobacco
Length: pages
Abstract
The Justice Department is preparing to sue the tobacco companies to recover the costs of treating smoking-related diseases, President Clinton announced last night during the State of the Union address."Smoking has cost taxpayers hundreds of billions of dollars under Medicare and other programs. You know, the states have been right about this. Taxpayers shouldn't pay for the cost of lung cancer, emphysema, and other smoking-related illnesses, the tobacco companies should," stated Clinton. After months of reviewing the legal issues, the Justice Department concluded it had sufficient grounds to sue the industry and recover $20 billion in costs borne by federal programs such as Medicare. "We have looked at this issue at different times in the past and have been reviewing them more actively since the failure of the comprehensive tobacco legislation. We came to the decision that there are viable grounds for recovery," stated Justice Department spokesperson Myron Marlin.
The announcement came as a surprise to Congress and the tobacco industry. Scott Williams, a tobacco industry spokesperson, criticized the plan as "a blatantly political act" and added, "The White House continues to choose confrontation over solutions." But tobacco control advocates were excited by the announcement and saw the lawsuit as a means to force concessions from the tobacco companies not achieved in the multi-state settlement.
Sources: David Cloud, "US Is Preparing To Sue Tobacco Firms To Recover Costs Of Smoking Illnesses," WALL STREET JOURNAL, January 20, 1999, p. A2; Barry Meier, "Clinton's Lawsuit Threat Shocks Tobacco Industry," NEW YORK TIMES, January 20, 1999, p. A20; Wendy Koch, "Tobacco Lawsuit Has Stiff Opposition," USA TODAY, January 20, 1999, p. A3.