Word: tobacco
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When the Justice Department abruptly changed course last week, reducing the penalty sought to $10 billion, critics cried foul, charging it was a reflection of the Administration's ties to the tobacco industry, including a Justice Department with a handful of high-level political appointees who used to belong to law firms that represented Big Tobacco. "The public has to be on the lookout for clandestine negotiations," says Matthew Myers, a witness in the case and president of the Campaign for Tobacco-Free Kids...
...speculation that politics was behind the move is "exactly wrong," a career Justice Department prosecutor involved in the case told TIME. Government attorneys were caught off guard in February by a circuit-court ruling that severely limited the payout they could seek from Big Tobacco, said Justice Department officials. Under the racketeering statutes cited in the case, the government could not recommend a penalty for any past wrongdoing and instead was restricted to proposals geared to prevent and restrain future action. Prosecutors scrambled to adjust their case. The solution, based on recommendations by longtime Justice lawyers...
...Most smokers have little notion of their brand’s tar and nicotine levels,” the 1987 report reads. “Perception is more important than reality, and in this case the perception is of reduced tobacco consumption...
...editorial that accompanied the study in ADDICTION criticizes the tobacco industry for its exploitation of slim-cigarette consumers’ misconceptions about the product’s health risks...
...While the tobacco industry continues to target female smokers today, their current strategies are more multi-faceted and less readily identifiable than they were decades ago,” reads the study...