Minnesota Sets New Standard For Tobacco Settlements

Washington, DC - The CAMPAIGN FOR TOBACCO-FREE KIDS today issued the following statement in response to the settlement between the State of Minnesota with the tobacco industry. 'The Minnesota settlement today advances the ball and sets a new, higher standard for all future settlements,' said CAMPAIGN President Bill Novelli. 'No state, in future settlement negotiations, will settle for less than Minnesota. If future cases go to trial, we would hope that the new floor would be raised even higher.' 'The Minnesota resolution makes Congressional action more likely,' said CAMPAIGN Executive Vice President and General Counsel Matthew Myers. 'Congress couldn’t act until the full truth was out. Minnesota has accomplished that task.' 'We would hope that Congress would move rapidly to provide all Americans with these and substantially more protections,' Novelli said.