Word: tobacco
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Dates: during 1990-1999
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...What ties all these mood-altering drugs together, they say, is a remarkable ability to elevate levels of a common substance in the brain called dopamine. In fact, so overwhelming has evidence of the link between dopamine and drugs of abuse become that the distinction (pushed primarily by the tobacco industry and its supporters) between substances that are addictive and those that are merely habit-forming has very nearly been swept away...
...Liggett Group, smallest of the U.S.'s Big Five cigarette makers, broke ranks in March and conceded not only that tobacco is addictive but also that the company has known it all along. While RJR Nabisco and the others continue to battle in the courts--insisting that smokers are not hooked, just exercising free choice--their denials ring increasingly hollow in the face of the growing weight of evidence. Over the past year, several scientific groups have made the case that in dopamine-rich areas of the brain, nicotine behaves remarkably like cocaine. And late last week a federal judge...
...TOBACCO COMPANIES Seeking immunity from lawsuits, they let old resistance go up in smoke. Desperate deal...
Wall Street responded with enthusiasm to the prospect of an end to the uncertainties associated with tobacco stocks. But any talk of a final settlement appeared wildly premature. For one thing, antismoking forces in the Administration and Congress stress that the Food and Drug Administration must retain the power to regulate tobacco as a drug, as well as limit the nicotine content of cigarettes--conditions that the industry has resisted. And some lawyers were dismissive of the $300 billion as not nearly enough compensation...
Even more daunting is the signal opposition to the outcome Big Tobacco most craves: freedom from future legal claims, a provision that would require an act of Congress. "No one is prepared to give the industry blanket immunity," says Matthew Myers, executive vice president of the National Center for Tobacco-Free Kids and a participant in the talks. Moreover, Myers adds, "this is a movie in mid-plot." The plot will thicken as negotiations continue this week...