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Sunday, May 25, 1997

Report: Tobacco companies agree to reduce cigarette sales to teens

DALLAS (AP) - Tobacco companies have agreed to a goal of cutting teen-age smoking by 60 percent within the next decade under a landmark deal proposed to settle smoking liability issues, The Dallas Morning News reported today.

Although a broader agreement is still being worked out, the industry agreed to a variety of measures aimed at cutting the number of cigarettes sold to teen-agers - or else face millions of dollars in fines.

The newspaper quoted Mississippi Attorney General Mike Moore, who is among 29 attorneys general involved in private talks with industry officials, health advocates and lawyers for those seeking to recover millions of dollars for smoking-related health care.

The goal is a settlement calling for a huge financial payoff from the industry and new government regulations covering tobacco products. In exchange, the industry would continue to make their products under limited exposure to lawsuits.

The talks have been going on for two months.

Under the deal, tobacco companies must work to reduce teen smoking by 30 percent within five years, 50 percent in seven years and 60 percent in 10 years, Moore said.

If the goals were not reached, companies would have to pay a large fine for each percentage point they were short. CBS Evening News on Friday reported that the penalty for not meeting the seven-year goal would be $1.5 billion.

The settlement also requires tobacco companies to pay $500 million a year for anti-smoking advertising and end all marketing to teens.

"We have already gained more concessions and done more to reduce future smoking by teenagers than any lawsuit could ever do," Moore said. "We are going to change the way this industry does business."

The deal also calls for federal laws that would:

- Ban cigarette billboards and "character" advertising, like those that include Joe Camel and the Marlboro Man.

- Require tobacco companies to sell their youth dance clubs.

- Ban cigarette vending machines in places where minors have access.

- Require retailers to pay licensing fees and store cigarettes behind their counters, fining those that sell tobacco products to minors.

- Offer incentives to states that strictly enforce the laws and punish states that do not.

Other details of the agreement trickled out this week through other media outlets. Those reports said lawsuits from current smokers and those claiming illnesses from secondhand smoke would be restricted under the proposed deal; for example, smokers would have to try to quit by 2005 or lose their right to sue.

And it would be virtually impossible for future smokers to be compensated for lung cancer and other tobacco-related illnesses.

The two sides also are discussing the creation of a settlement fund larger than the $300 billion over 25 years originally considered.

It could be another two weeks before both sides reach a final agreement that would be sent to Congress for approval. Moore said the biggest obstacle in the talks is how the government will regulate nicotine, the active ingredient in cigarettes. Send a Letter to the Editor about This Story | Start or Join A Discussion about This Story
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