[El Conservador]

The states thought they'd struck rich when they fleeced the tobacco companies.

They were wrong.

[SoDak]

After this golden goose is killed off, it's the brewers and distillers. It will be, of course, for the children. Law firms are already researching litigation on the liquor industry and junk food. Neither of these have been properly 'softened up' yet by 'consumer watchdog groups'. Once that demonization is complete, the lawyers will move in.

[I_dmc]

The most annoying aspect is that the huge sums were supposedly to pay for health care for those affected by tobacco marketing (smokers!). Think one smoker benefits from the states being paid these huge sums? I rather doubt it.

[Flyer]

(Iowa Attorney General Tom Miller) "If there's less smoking and we're paid less money, that's the best money we never got."

I bet the Iowa legislature would rather have the money.

[lockjaw02]

"The states thought they'd struck rich when they fleeced the tobacco companies."

More correctly, they fleeced smokers, not the big tobacco companies. The attorneys general conspired with big tobacco to pass on the costs of the settlement to smokers and as the story portrays, to have the states squash competition to preserve big tobacco's market share.