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Judith Mackay, FRCP

JAMA. 1999;281:1849-1850.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text and any section headings.

INTRODUCTION

When Koop et al¹ published "Reinventing American Tobacco Policy" in THE JOURNAL in February 1998, they were hopeful that the US public health sector, legislators, and the community at large would finally grasp the political nettle of tobacco control, reining in the tobacco industry domestically and internationally. Their hope was misplaced; the tobacco settlement talks collapsed and the US Senate voted to defeat a major tobacco control bill in June 1998.²

Koop et al clearly described the tobacco industry's unwillingness to abide by ethical business rules and social standards, its ruthless marketing of an addictive lethal product, its denial of the health evidence, and its obstruction of government action to prevent and reduce the epidemic. These tactics are now universal. People throughout the world have been exposed to sophisticated and seductive tobacco promotional advertising, especially since the introduction of transglobal satellites, cable and Internet advertising, and paid . . . [Full Text of this Article]

What Was the Settlement and What Difference Would It Have Made?

What Happens Now?

Author Affiliation: Asian Consultancy on Tobacco Control, Sai Kung, Kowloon, Hong Kong.