President Clinton announced in his State Of The Union address that the Justice Department is preparing to sue tobacco companies to recover money spent by Medicare and other federal health programs to treat smoking-related illnesses. The announcement sent shock waves through the tobacco industry, whose main companies just two months ago agreed to pay $206 billion to 46 states. Under the settlement terms, the companies also agreed to restrict their advertising and marketing.
Due to the success of such strategies, tobacco lawsuits have now become a blueprint for cities planning to sue gun manufacturers.
Guest:
- Richard Daynard, professor of law at Northeastern University in Boston and chairperson of the Tobacco Products Liability Project, a public interest group that encourages lawsuits against tobacco companies as a public health strategy.
Related link:
Related Story
StoryMay 05, 2025“End Times Fascism”: Naomi Klein on How Trump, Musk, Far Right “Don’t Believe in the Future”The original content of this program is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-No Derivative Works 3.0 United States License. Please attribute legal copies of this work to democracynow.org. Some of the work(s) that this program incorporates, however, may be separately licensed. For further information or additional permissions, contact us.
Top
Media Options