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Tobacco

Peter Levin, Tobacco Project Director and Chief Counsel

The Tobacco Project serves as the liaison to the NAAG Tobacco Committee and Settling States for the implementation and enforcement of the Tobacco Master Settlement Agreement (MSA).The Project assists the States in defending the MSA, in coordinating enforcement strategies, and in dealing with other tobacco issues. Since June 2006 the Tobacco Committee has been chaired by Arizona Attorney General Terry Goddard and Washington Attorney General Rob McKenna.

In 1998, the Attorneys General of 46 states signed the MSA with the four largest tobacco companies in the United States to settle state suits to recover billions of dollars in costs associated with treating smoking-related illnesses. Four states - Florida, Minnesota, Mississippi, and Texas - settled their tobacco cases separately from the MSA states.

The MSA created a broad array of restrictions on the advertising, marketing and promotion of cigarettes. For example, it prohibited the targeting of youth and the use of cartoons in cigarette advertising. It also includes prohibitions on outdoor advertising of cigarettes and the advertising of cigarettes in public transit facilities, as well as the use of cigarette brand names on merchandise, and a host of other restrictions.

The central purpose of the MSA was to reduce smoking, and particularly youth smoking in the United States. Since 1997, when the first State settlement was announced, cigarette sales in the United States have fallen by more than 21%. Cigarette sales in 2005 declined by 4.2% from 2004 levels, marking the largest one-year percentage decrease in cigarette sales since 1999. The 378 billion cigarettes sold in the United States in 2005 represented the lowest number of cigarettes sold in the United States since 1951, when the US population was less than half of what it was in 2005.

The declines in youth smoking have been even more pronounced. According to the federal government, the decline in cigarette smoking at every age level measured exceeded the national decline.

Despite these gains, tobacco remains the number one cause of preventable death in the United States. As advocates for the public interest, State Attorneys General are actively and successfully enforcing the provisions of the MSA to reduce tobacco use and protect consumers.

Resources

Attorneys General Announce That The Weinstein Company Will Add Anti-Smoking Public Service Announcements To Newest DVD Release

Forty-one (41) Attorneys General announced October 24, 2006 that The Weinstein Company is the first motion picture company to insert anti-smoking public service announcements (PSAs) in DVDs in which smoking is depicted. The Attorneys General offered free and unlimited use of teen-targeted anti-smoking ads developed for the truth® campaign of the American Legacy Foundation, created pursuant to the 1998 settlement of the states' tobacco litigation against the major tobacco companies. To successfully view or download the PSAs, you must obtain a user name and password before clicking ftp.americanlegacy.org. Please call NAAG’s Communications office at 202-326-6027 for access.