CALIFORNIA: STATE FILES SUIT AGAINST TOBACCO INDUSTRY
"California joined the immense legal battle over smoking"This is part of the California Healthline Daily Edition, a summary of health policy coverage from major news organizations. Sign up for an email subscription.
yesterday, becoming the 37th state to sue the tobacco industry to
recoup the costs of treating smoking-related illnesses (Levin,
Los Angeles Times, 6/13). The state is seeking about $1.3
billion in damages to cover Medi-Cal payments for the past three
years (Lucas, San Francisco Chronicle, 6/13). The complaint,
according to the Times, "also seeks penalties of no less than
$500 million for alleged violations of the state Business and
Professions Code, which bars deceptive marketing practices." The
state suit charges the industry with conducting a "decades-long
campaign to suppress information" about the risks of smoking and
to block any attempt to introduce a "safer" cigarette. It also
charges that the industry knew that nicotine was addictive and
that tobacco makers specifically "targeted minors through
advertising and marketing campaigns."
UNDER PRESSURE
The suit, which was filed in state court in Sacramento, came
just hours after Gov. Pete Wilson (R) signed legislation changing
a 1987 state law that Attorney General Dan Lungren (R) alleged
prevented him from filing (see AHL 6/12/97) (Levin, 6/13).
Chronicle notes that Lungren "has been under increasing
criticism" from Democrats and health groups "for waiting so long
to file a lawsuit." In signing the law, Wilson said, "Tobacco
companies have enjoyed a special statutory immunity from product
liability suits. State government doesn't smoke, but taxpayers
have been forced to pay for the medical costs of smoking. That's
simply not fair" (6/13). Times reports that Wilson "said the
case seeks relief for a different group of victims -- 'taxpayers
who have not taken a single puff.'" The suit names seven tobacco
manufacturers and four industry lobbying and public relations
groups as defendants.
HIGH PRICE FOR JUSTICE
Attorney General Lungren "vowed to aggressively pursue" the
suit, but "said that although the state's case is strong,
citizens and lawmakers should realize that it 'is no slam-dunk.'"
He said state employees will handle the case, instead of hiring a
private law firm, which many other states have done, paying them
with a percentage of the settlements or judgments. He said that
because state lawmakers favored the suit, they would be "willing
to pay for it." Times notes that several California localities,
including Los Angeles and San Francisco counties, have filed
their own suits (see AHL 6/12/96), but according to Lungren, it
was unclear if those suits will be consolidated with the state's
case. He also endorsed yesterday the global settlement
negotiations.