Tobacco

Our offices, in association with 57 law firms from around the nation, called the "Castano Group," filed 26 class action lawsuits on behalf of all smokers in the United States against the tobacco industry. The work done by our firm and the Castano Group led directly to the Master Settlement Agreement ("MSA") reached between the Attorney Generals for 47 states and the Tobacco Industry. As a result of the MSA, the Tobacco Industry must pay $246 billion dollars to the states.

Benefits of the MSA to Future Generations

As a benefit to future generations, listed below are some of the Tobacco Industry's restrictions and prohibitions as a result of the Settlement Agreement:

- prohibited from targeting youth;

- prohibited from using cartoon characters;

- prohibited from paying for the use of tobacco products in movies and television programs;

- prohibited from selling merchandise with tobacco brand names;

- prohibited from selling cigarettes in packs of less than 20 cigarettes;

- prohibited from using misrepresentations regarding health consequences of smoking;

- prohibited from outdoor advertising;

- prohibited from using proof of purchase gifts;

- prohibited from opposing state and local laws intended to limit youth access to tobacco products;

- required to disband the Tobacco Industry lobbying groups (Council for Tobacco Research, The Tobacco Institute and The Council for Indoor Air Research);

A primary goal of the Tobacco class actions was to preserve the most efficient and adequate means of recovery for all persons who were injured by the defendants' harmful tobacco products and wrongful conduct. Prompt resolution was necessary to help prevent injury and death, provide medical monitoring, treatment and smoking cessation programs for those at risk and those already injured.

Cigarette smoking, our country's deadliest addiction, is the leading preventable cause of premature death and disease in the United States. Statistics show that there are over 650 million smokers in the world today. By the year 2025, the annual number of tobacco-related deaths is projected to reach 10 million, with 70 percent of deaths occurring in developing countries. In the United States alone there are over 50 million smokers today.