The attorney general says he intends to press for passage of one of the measures under consideration by the Senate subcommittee that would set up a strict licensing program for tobacco merchants. The proposal would call for license revocation of those merchants convicted of selling cigarettes to children. Anti-smoking activists think there might be more political will to pass such legislation in the year to come. One lawmaker said he thinks his colleagues are beginning to agree with that feeling. Never before has Big Tobacco had its back so firmly to the wall.
Analysts say the prospect for tough national antismoking legislation has never been better.
They face 39 state cases and a large number of individual suits that haven't been filed yet. They can't afford not to deal. The attorney general charges cigarette makers violated racketeering, fraud, and conspiracy laws. A class-action lawsuit in Miami. Thousands of flight attendants say they became sick because of secondhand smoke.