COLUMBUS - If a proposed settlement between the tobacco industry and state attorneys general is successful, Ohio would not go forward with its lawsuit - filed last year - against tobacco companies, Chris Davey, spokesman for Ohio Attorney General Betty Montgomery, said Sunday.
Eric Brown, Ms. Montgomery's lead tobacco negotiator, left New York on Saturday after several days participating in the negotiations, Mr. Davey said. He wouldn't discuss any details of the settlement from Ohio's perspective.
A formal announcement on the details was expected today.
Ohio was not among the eight states directly negotiating with the tobacco industry but was in a pool of large states with lawsuits pending against the companies and whose perspective was sought as negotiations proceeded, Mr. Davey said.
In Ohio, Ms. Montgomery has the final say on whether the state will accept the settlement, Mr. Davey said.
No matter what Ohio does, however, "ultimately it's up to the tobacco companies to decide if there's a sufficient number of states participating in a settlement to warrant their agreeing to it," Mr. Davey said. "Obviously a state with a larger population like Ohio carries more weight."
Mr. Davey said Ms. Montgomery wants the same things in the new agreement that existed in the 1997 settlement of $368.5 billion that Congress ultimately rejected.
These include major restrictions on tobacco companies' ability to advertise and major steps to prevent them from marketing to underage smokers.
Ohio sued the tobacco industry last year to recoup the health costs of tobacco smoking, and a trial is set for that lawsuit in January 2000.
Estimates of smoking-related health care costs are in the hundreds of millions of dollars. If the state wins its case, it could collect triple the costs, Mr. Davey said.
"We have always hoped that one possible way to resolve this would be a settlement," Mr. Davey said. "But we will not accept any settlement that does not fully address issues of compensation for the people of Ohio and also future protection against the negative behaviors of tobacco companies."
Under the agreement to be announced today, tobacco companies would pay $206 billion to settle remaining state claims.
The industry payments would be made through the year 2025.
